#in conclusion all book bans are bad (yes even bans of books by idiots like bill o'reilly)

[prome-th3us]

How study and practice must dialogue in witchcraft (unpopular opinion)

Especially on the internet it is full of more or less young witches yelling at novices that they need to study, but then what? Often they don't give advice on which books to read or do, but they discredit all authors other than the one they recommend.

The problem is that witchcraft is an extremely personal practice and often what we study does not coincide with our ideas. What to do about it?

We need to create our own philosophy and therefore also the ability to abstract specific concepts. An example: I know that many discredit S. Connolly as an author on Demonolatry, but I find him a perfect author for a first approach to the subject since he does not impose absolute truths and stimulates critical thinking, because that is what is needed. I am not saying that there must be no dogmas to follow, but are all those that are imposed on us really necessary?

To talk about things of the least importance, I have seen many traditional witches who impose the use of beeswax or soy candles and non-stick incense because everything else does not work: obviously their use for safeguarding is preferable. of the environment, but here we get to give power to the object instead of to those who use them. If a person does not have the opportunity at the moment to find certain materials is it really that important? It is not the candle that makes the ritual work and it is not the incense itself that purifies the room, otherwise we would all be very powerful witches just because we use certain objects. I accept their idea not to change the instruments (athame, chalices, wands, etc ...) at each ritual, because the more they are used, the more they are charged with energy: in fact, the witch charges them, they are not already charged in themselves .

Witchcraft evolves over time precisely because the world around us evolves, so staying closed-minded is useless. There is no need to devour books after books if you do not think and take everything as true: little truth, most of the books on witchcraft are full of bullshit.

We could also talk about pagan magick and the approach that the (neo)pagans have with the deities. In ancient Greece it was common practice in public rituals to make hecatombs, or to sacrifice a hundred oxen to the gods, and in private it was customary to sacrifice individual animals. Today no one would sacrifice a hundred oxen for this purpose (the single sacrifice is still made and I fully agree if its meat is consumed later), because there has been an evolution in thought. The Bacchantes (the followers of Dionysus) even went as far as murders and massacres in the ecstasy they felt and for this reason the cult was not well seen, so much so that it was even forbidden (if you don't believe us, there are countless historical sources that have reached us regard). In ancient Rome, the priestesses of Vesta who lost their virginity during the priesthood were sacrificed to the Goddess as a purification ritual for the impure act they had committed by offending the divinity; while now we do not look at all at the virginity of the priestesses. These are just a few examples that show that ancient rituals must be respected, but must be adapted to the modern context.

Let's move on to the Gods. The tablets of Greek curses show that those who resorted to this type of magic were not so respectful of the deities: they were threatened not to worship them anymore, not to make sacrifices if they did not intervene and even to eliminate their cult from the city. On the other hand, however, we have requests, prayers and you can see the fear and respect they had towards them. Oh, it was also common practice to compare oneself to the gods when reaching important milestones and in funerary epitaphs. Now, however, it seems that disrespectful turning to a God can cause your death. I was once talking to a girl about my relationship with my patrons Loki and Beelzebub: Loki and I often call each other idiots (joking) and make fun of Sleipnir; in Beelzebub I often say that I am less rigid, more open-minded and more in control of his anger. She was horrified and claimed that I would either die shortly / would have serious consequences or that I was talking to impostors, because my gods are not as she knows them. As in ancient times different cities and people worshiped different aspects of the same divinity, so each of us now learns about different parts of the same God: a softer or more "bad" and playful Loki, a more demonic or quieter Beelzebub etc ... We also establish a relationship with them, which means that we get to clash with them and ask them to change their behavior according to our preferences (and vice versa), but we also get to joke and establish a relationship of mutual affection. especially if you work together for a long time. They are not human, but they also have feelings and are able to become attached to them, even if in a different way from us maybe; however, the key remains dialogue. I can call Loki an idiot, but if someone talks bad about him, I become a hyena (I was banned from a discord server to "protect him"); Beelzebub may be irritated by my chaos and lack of order, but he does not abandon me for this and indeed, if he feels that I am in danger, he arrives immediately.

Obviously I would never dream of behaving like this with all the gods exactly as I would not behave like this with a person I just met. Relationships must be built, on both sides, so in my opinion all this fear of every single thing that is done for a deity should be eliminated or at least managed better. We have come to a point where we know that lightning does not fall for Zeus and boats do not sink because Poseidon did not like the offer (and yes. I am criticizing those who see divine signals in weather events. Look at the weather forecast first).

There is still a lot to say about it, but I will do it calmly. In conclusion: read, but reason and adapt what is written to you. And if you are a pagan witch, go and read directly from ancient sources: historians, writers, poets of the time and adapt what you read, do not blindly trust those who offer you rituals. And if they criticize you for what you do, remember that rites and prayers are the product of man and not of the gods, so you are free to modify or create something new. The only good thing about rituals done the same for generations is that they are charged with energy and this can help in the realization, but if you don't like something or it doesn't resonate with you, you shouldn't do it just to be accepted by others. You validate your practice, not others and certainly not authors of books who don't even know you.

Blessed be,

Prometheus.