WITCHCRAFT IN A WEEK?

This will be I hope one of my shorter pieces. Short because I do not wish to devote my time or my energy, on something so hopelessly pathetic and unworthy of deeper exploration.  Saying that, it seems that some of my readers do expect me to pass comment on recent happenings. In the middle of January 2020 a British newspaper who is far from as impartial as its name may suggest, published an article relating to the modern practice of Witchcraft. The article was titled 'I spent a week becoming a witch and the results were worrying' and this was penned in relation to one of the many light weight pop-craft books now on the market.

In the piece the writer describes seven days of her exploration, of the phenomenon that she calls Witchcraft. Some of her comments are amusing, some accurate and some rather pithy. The work has caused offense and resulted in complaints against the newspaper. Whether the offence or the complaints are justified is a matter of opinion. Personally, I feel that the piece isn't really worthy of comment. It is clearly a light-hearted piece and the book being reviewed doesn't sound at all appealing to a serious practitioner anyway. However, there are two or three points that do need addressing.

One disturbing point is the suggestion that practitioners of Witchcraft are deniers of science, equivalent perhaps to those who support the model of a Flat Earth. Now it is true that I am no fan of New Age Garbage (NAG) and the suggestion that all who practice Witchcraft fall under the aegis of the New Age, is mildly irritating. Her criticism of the NAG that abounds today is not an issue. Of far greater concern is the suggestion that practitioners deny science. Although it may be true that some may hold rather peculiar opinions regards science, in my experience the majority of the practitioners of Witchcraft and Occultism, are far more educated with regards the sciences than the average member of society.

What is clear is that the article and the book that it reviews, bear no relation to the Witchcraft Traditions with which I am familiar. I have been a practitioner for thirty years and if I have learnt anything at all in those three decades, it is how little I know and how much I still have to learn. You cannot learn to be a Witch in a week or on a weekend retreat costing hundreds of pounds. Sorry to disappoint those who thought otherwise.

Witchcraft is a calling, it is a path of devotion and a lifetime of study. It is not a hobby that you can pick up and put down on a whim. Witchcraft can be dark, it can be dangerous, it is not all blue skies and rainbows. Witchcraft should be worrying, Witchcraft should be challenging but it can provide comfort. Witchcraft can be empowering but none of this can be achieved in seven days.