The Dangers of Witchcraft

Witchcraft can be a dangerous craft to be a part of. But not because of the threat of being possessed by demons or unknowingly being in league with supernatural boogie-men such as "Satan". No, the dangers of being a Witch, even in modern days is the threat of being killed for what you are.

Life Threatening Witchcraft Accusations Still a Grime Reality for Women Worldwide

Today Witches are still being killed. Despite the denials of so many out there, Witchcraft is STILL seen as a malevolent act and those who practice it must be killed to relieve the world of our craft.

It's sickening to me, how people are still so ignorant. It doesn't really bother me when fundy Atheists go around calling us delusional, mental cases, etc. They're entitled to their opinion, however blind it is, but it sickens me that people are still so afraid of our craft based on the lies of a religion whose laws dictate that lies are great sins.

Witchcraft is no more harmful than cooking. Sure one might be burned by a candle or cut with a knife, but in all the years I've practiced, not one fearful event has happened to me that would make me determine Witchcraft is evil and should be banned.

I've enjoyed my time as a Witch and wouldn't trade the knowledge and experience I've had for anything in the world (and I have a lot of things I would trade a lot of other things for to have, such as the life of another).

It saddens me how our world has evolved so much in technology, tolerance, and acceptance, that the act and art of Witchcraft are still seen in such a medieval mindset. I pride myself on being logical, while still practicing Witchcraft. I look for logical explanations for the unknown before jumping to the supernatural conclusion. I really wish others would do the same, but then it doesn't help that the majority of murders of "Witches" are done in places where "missionaries" frequent, dictate that a people's beliefs are blasphemy, and that Christianity is the only way, and Witches are evil and of the devil and must be erradicated because the Christian bible says so. Ignorance, misinformation, lies, falsehoods, etc are ALL the reasons Witches are feared and killed today. No one can take 5 minutes to look at the logicality of something...they must run for their religious texts to tell them what to do. If the bible, quran, torah, whatever says to kill someone, even suspected as a witch, then it must be done. How horrible to abide by something so fully that says to kill another just because they do something a BOOK says to. I may as well go out and kill any Carrie White out there because they might be telekinetic. "Carrie" is a book too, but not all books speak the truth.

Let us all be proud of our craft, and take it seriously, as there are many who are being killed for it. Let their deaths not be in vain.

May whatever deities these women believe in, embrace them with open, loving arms

It's a Boy! Prince of Cambridge!

I want to offer an official congratulations to Prince William and Catherine Dutches of Cambridge from my blog, Walking the Unbeaten Path. While spiritual differences are about between my blog and those followed by the royal family, the joy is not. As a parent of two (well three, may my first rest ever in peace), I know the joys of holding such a precious child the first moments of it's life in the outside world. There are no words to describe the feelings...therefore I offer my congratulations to them.

Welcome to the world Prince George of Cambridge.

Sincerely
Ma'iingan
Walking the Unbeaten Path blog.

Summer Solstice Celebration and Stonehenge

I saw an article on Yahoo about the numerous "Pagans" flocking to Stonehenge to celebrate the Summer Solstice. Looking at the pictures they provided, I can only shake my head in disbelief at what looks to me as disrespect of an ancient sacred space.

I honestly don't think nearly 3/4 of the people there understand WHERE they are, or the spiritual significance of the space, but only go to show off, or parade around claiming they're Pagan just so they can drink, beat a small drum and think they're participating in something spiritual.

While I find Stonehenge to be a remarkable place, and would love to see it for myself one day, I would NEVER go on any solstice or other "Pagan" holiday, for the very reason it's over crowded by people thinking it's like Woodstock for Pagans.

The idea of flocking to Stonehenge on the Summer Solstice is to revere and experience full spirituality. From the images I saw, I was disgusted. The true druids are spinning in their graves over what's become of their megalithic structures.

Images from Yahoo! Canada
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/photos/summer-solstice-at-stonehenge-1371818659-slideshow/summer-solstice-stonehenge-photo-080653940.html

"It's the End of the World as We Know It"

Ok, well it's actually supposed to be tomorrow, however if the world IS supposed to end tomorrow, will we really have internet for me to post this (now thinking about it, it almost seems redundant to post this, because if there IS an apocalypse tomorrow, there won't be internet, and no one will read this anyway lmao).

Anyways...so...tomorrow is supposed to be the BIG day, where the end of the world is supposed to happen, and there are all kinds of theories:

-Rogue planet is supposed to crash into the Earth (my favorite lol)
-Zombie apocalypse (my husband's favorite)
-Pole reversal (not really a cause for the end of the world, but a possible explanation of what's to happen tomorrow)
-Asteroid collision
-Hell freezing over (well, it IS freezing rain here where I live)
-Beginning of a new cycle in the planet

There ARE all kinds of fun ideas as to what's supposed to happen tomorrow. But personally (and I've been saying this since the hype started about this "Dec 21" nonsense), I don't believe anything is going to happen tomorrow. Nothing major anyways. I don't see there being major earthquakes, massive sinkholes (like shown on the movie 2012, which, actually, will be entertaining to watch after tomorrow)...nothing majorly noticeable.

On the flip side, though, I think (because my life is so boring outside of blogging and answering peoples repeated questions on Wicca and Witchcraft) it would be really interesting and exciting if something DID happen tomorrow...like for instance, the Zombie Apocalypse my husband is so adamant to believe will happen. I believe that I would grow very tired of it after about a year or so, but for at least the first six months, I'd be all "G.I. Jane"...sporting my tight jeans and black tank top...hair in a messy bun sporting semi-automatics in both hands shooting out zombies to rescue innocents from their narsty grasp. Hey...I can imagine once in a while if I like :)

The truth is, I don't know how to shoot a gun. I can hold guns...both rifles and hand...but to actually shoot one would take a few tries. I've tried pie-plate shooting once (my second attempt, I actually got what I was trying to shoot at). It would probably take me a few weeks to learn how to shoot properly, before I go around sporting the jeans and tank.

But I'm digressing from all this. It's funny how things go. Some random idiot "scientist" or "interpreter" of Mayan culture, misinterprets a calendar found during an archaeological dig (or search), and gets people going (sort of like that Harold Camping dude did). BUT...when you get actual Mayans telling you what the calendar says, no one listens.

Sounds familiar, no? Ask a Wiccan what Wiccans do and no one listens, but you ask a CHRISTIAN what a Wiccan does, and everyone believes them. This is the reason I believe nothing will happen (Well, actually, I believed nothing would happen because just like all the other doomsday predictions, nothing happened (i.e. Y2K)), because the Mayans and more smarter scientists claim it's just the end of the calendar (akin to December 31 of our calendar). I mean, in 3000 years from now, when our civilization is gone, and another comes along, and takes a look at our Gregorian calander and finds "December 31" and compares it to their calendar, are they going to freak out and say their world is going to end? Or are they going to look back at us and think of how ridiculous our society is for believing such nonsense.

I really don't see anything happening tomorrow. I'm far too much a realist and too rational to believe something major will happen. I'm not that lucky. Tomorrow will be Friday, and that's all it will be. It will have been exactly 1 year since my husbands accident at work, and nothing more (and let's hope nothing happens again (fingers crossed)).





Ma’iingan

Oh...Conflicting Emotions Arise!!!

Oh, as you all know I'm a HUGE Vin Diesel fan. I've seen just about all of his movies; I've even given him the honor of being an honorary "god" in the character of "Riddick" (in which the latest movie comes out next year, Oh Yeah!!!)

I've just read an article on Yahoo News that he's going to be in a NEW movie (not related to Riddick or the Fast/Furious franchises).

Now, the conflicting emotional part:

He's going to play a "Witch Hunter" in modern times Manhattan (according to the article). Ooooh Noooo! I'm a modern Witch, does this mean that Vin is going to hunt me down if I go into Manhattan??

Pah, he wouldn't have to hunt me, I'd surrender to him any day lmao. Can't wait for this movie, even if it will be another stereotypical hollywood witch movie, in which the Witches are portrayed as the bad guy.

Link:
http://ca.movies.yahoo.com/news/vin-diesel-talks-summits-last-witch-hunter-185952557.html





Ma’iingan

eBay banning "Magical Items"

Cool down, before people get their panties in a bunch...they're banning the sale of such things as "love spells" and the like. I for one applaud eBay for this move. I mean, why allow something to be sold that cannot possibly be guaranteed??

Think about it. You go onto eBay and find someone selling prayers for financial aid for $100. Would you pay for it? How are you 100% sure that your prayer will be answered, much less answered with a definite yes? You've just wasted $100...$100 that you could have used to pay bills or buy food, seeing as you have financial problems anyways.

It's a waste of money. Someone complained to me once saying something like "not all spell sellers are scammers". No, I've never said "ALL" but I did say a good majority are, because it's an easy buck. People are naive enough to shell out that $100 bucks thinking someone's going to cast a spell for them OR that whatever spell they've bought is going to 100% guaranteed work. Spells cannot be guaranteed. There are a LOT of factors that contribute to the success or failure of a spell, and experience in casting is one; actually doing it is another. Many people who sell casting services for others don't actually do it. It's like "Mama Isis' Psychic Reading" shop down the street littered with stereotypical paraphernalia and a HUGE "crystal" in the center of her table, and "worn" out tarot cards. She's not actually psychic, but a body reader, telling you information you already subtly told her (I'm not shinking on actual psychics out there, because I know there are legitimate psychics out there, but the ones who make their sole business the stereotypical nonsense tv shows as psychics). Spell sellers are just people making money off the naive and ignorant. So what happens when someone pays for a spell and it doesn't work? Do the sellers even have a guarantee?

Now, Tarot, that's tricky. It's an intuitional thing that people shouldn't take as literal fact, but as a guideline (unfortunately there are a LOT of gullible people out there who think that if the tarot cards say that you're going to marry in the next month, you're going to get married in the next month). Tarot cards offer a possible outcome to a specific situation, not a definite. Again, this kind of thing can't really be guaranteed, and the reader should REALLY stress this before making a reading.

I think eBay is doing a good thing. For one, it's but a beginning to the end of people thinking Wicca, Witchcraft and Paganism in general is stereotypical fictitious nonsense of love spells that guarantee you the love of your life (there's that "guarantee" word again).

Selling potions can be dangerous, especially if those "potions" are made by someone who uses plants and herbs they are unfamiliar with OR in dangerously large quantities (even culinary herbs can be dangerous if you ingest too much of them). One should NEVER buy "potions" from someone simply because they make the claim that they're Wiccan or a part of some other spirituality. Being a part of a religion does not mean you are automatically certified in herbalism and herbal medicines. Unless you went to school, you should not be selling or offering concoctions made by herbs. If someone dies or becomes EXTREMELY ill because of what you sold or offered, you can be found criminally negligent, charged and fined if not jailed.

I think it's ignorant for people in the "Pagan" or "Occult" community to complain about this and make the claim that they're being religiously discriminatory (and I use "Pagan" and "Occult" in quotes here for the simple fact that it's not those who truly understand what eBay is doing, but those who like to go off on a tangent without even THINKING or understanding what the reason behind something is...they just see the word "ban" and think "persecution" and "discrimination"). It's not religiously discriminatory, it's preserving the integrity of their business and website. EBay is a private company and IS allowed to discontinue selling anything they want!

You want to waste your money on things that cannot be guaranteed? Go find the hundreds of other websites that are willing to take your naive money and give you nothing in return.





Ma’iingan

New ACW Dissolves Before it Even Began

Welp, I called it:
http://onewitchsway.com/2011/12/us-american-council-of-witches-dissolves/

Before they even officially formed, the new American Council of Witches (ACW) has dissolved. What a shocker (note sarcasm and insert eye roll).

What was the major problem I saw?? The attempt to re-write the 13 principles of belief and try to organize Witches into some sort of organized belief system in which all Witches adhere to some sort of ethic (which would probably include the Wiccan Rede and/or Threefold Law) that doesn't sit the same with all Witches. It doesn't make sense to mish-mash everyone together if they don't believe in the same things...you'll have constant arguments, disagreements and flat out fights. This ACW was supposed to bring people together, yet before they even formed, I saw SO MANY issues with this.

Yes, I understand that this was done with the best intentions, but there is a popular saying "The road to hell is paved with good intentions" Why fix what isn't broken? You can create a united group of Witches, Wiccans and Pagans, without defining and determining what they all believe. Have representatives from all walks...from Satanic Witches, to Wiccan Witches, to Pagan (non-specific) Witches, to Norse Heathens, to Celtic Reconstructionists...kind of like a senate...all there to represent the interests of each group, but not define and determine what it is they should and can do.

Perhaps in the future something like this may resurface and be done right, but in my opinion, the resurrection of this "ACW" was a bad idea in the first place, and I saw it in the words of those hoping it would determine Wicca as the new Witchcraft, imposing their beliefs on ALL Witches.