Ma'iingan's Mashup

It's time for another edition of "Maiingan's Mashup"!!!

1) What advice would you give your novice self?
--This is an excellent question. I think I would tell myself the same thing I would tell any novice I encounter now.
*Don't get caught up in buying "things" (I was bad for this, now I have a pile of stuff I never use)
*TRUST yourself
*There's really no wrong way of doing things, everything is a learning experience
*Research the books you buy before hand
*Determine if what you *think* you're interested in is what you're REALLY interested in.
*Take everything you read with a grain of salt (be skeptical until confirmation)
*TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Don't be in a rush to do everything (a problem I find I have, even now).

I think at some point in everyone's path, they should go back and reflect on their novice self.

2) Definition: Witchcraft

In all honesty, I don't understand how some people can get so confused over the word "Witchcraft"...at least in the more modern sense.

I see people repeat over and over again how Witchcraft MUST have some sort of connection with religion, particularly Pagan religions (i.e. Wicca). How...why is it so difficult for people to accept Witchcraft as simply being a practice.

I like to equate Witchcraft with many, MANY other practices out there to try to get people to understand the "act" nature of the craft, as opposed to any religious connotations. For example, I often use a familiar religion such as Christianity and equate it with a common practice (and something you would see associated with Christianity anyways, considering Jesus was one for a brief period of his life) Carpentry.

I don't understand how people can say that Witchcraft is a religion. To use my example above, that would be like saying Carpentry is Christianity. Christians can be Carpenters, but not all Carpenters are Christian. Wiccans (and well, any Pagans in general) CAN be Witches, but not all Witches are Wiccan (or even Pagan for that matter). Those Witches who identify as BEING Pagan, are so because they incorporate some sort of Pagan elements into their Witch crafts. It's by no means necessary to have Pagan beliefs and be a Witch. You can be an atheist and purely logical if you like, and STILL be a Witch (I know that most of the time my logical mind takes over, and if it doesn't make sense, I don't do it, yet I still practice Witchcraft for the fact that not everything in life has a logical explanation).

Witchcraft is a practice. The very word describes act, rather than religion. WitchCRAFT. It's ok to hold religious beliefs and practice, but please don't assume Witchcraft equates religious belief.

3) Working While Ill

When you're sick, should you work your craft? That really depends on the person. If you are a novice,  or someone who is fresh to the craft, I will say no. Being sick takes a lot of energy from your system, for the fact that your body is using all it can access to fight off whatever infection or bacteria that has invaded your body. Working any kind of magical craft can deplete your energy further, and then what are you left with? Aches, pains, headache, exhaustion, for hours to perhaps days. When you are new to the craft, it's difficult to judge how much energy you are going to use when using magic. It's better to wait until you are well again, before trying any sort of magical craft. It's a "better safe, than sorry" system.

If you are more experienced, it could depend on what you do. It's not really a good idea to work while you're sick to begin with, however many people successfully carry out whatever work they intend to do while sick, only because they have experience, and know how to properly prepare themselves before hand.

When you are sick, the best thing to do is to not worry about whatever tasks it is you think you need to accomplish, they CAN wait. Focus on healing yourself first. This can be done in combination with mundane medical assistance, such as over the counter medications (i.e. advil/tylenol, gravol, etc), herbal remedies (teas, tinctures, herbal supplements, etc), cleansing baths, and plenty of rest.

If it is absolutely imperative that you do some sort of work, take breaks when you need to, don't over do anything, drink plenty of fluids, and get plenty of rest...and by all means cleanse/ground and center afterwards.