On why I don't call myself a witch

Recently, there was a thread in the Tarot Forum asking about people who consider themselves "witches". If we think of "witchcraft" as a certain practices based on supernatural beliefs, I think I could be considered one. But me, I have become weary of the word.

Below is my personal response to the topic. I am sharing it here because I believe I have managed to explain why I think the world "witch" has lost its strength, to become just another empty word (together with "empathy" and "gratitude") in the hands of an esoteric trend that has a lot more to do with consumerism than anything else.

~*~

I don't call myself a witch.

I have nothing against the nomeclature itself. But, at least in my country, I feel that capitalism has taken over the word... Being "witchy" and "mystical" is something that sells a lot right now. I don't think spirituality should be reduced to products, aesthetics, empowerment and social media persona. And I also don't think the religious experience - regardless of how you experience it or how you call it - is mainly about being empowered. In fact, in my experience, it is often a profoundly humbling thing. So the world "witch" has become loaded with a type of mentality that I disagree with.

I call myself a Pagan, period. It gives a good idea of how I commune with the divine that I see in the world.

Whether I do magic or not, it's another matter entirely, and it is not even the most essential part of my practice anyway...

The Goddess Oracle: Seeking the silver lining

Following my previous post, which was rather pessimistic, I decided to do a reading in order to gain a more growth-oriented view of my situation and of how I have been feeling. I used The Goddess Oracle with the Tree Spread for that.

1. The current situation/issue ~ Artemis (Selfhood)

Artemis speaks of a difficulty in establishing the "limits" of one's individuality - how permeable one is to what is external or not. "Do the boundaries of your selfhood seem blurred and indistinct?", she asks, and I can relate to this question. I have always been easily affected by what goes around me, but lately, this has become even more intense, to the point of being unbearable sometimes. I think the social isolation has made me even more sensitive (oversensitive even), and the fact our social context here is rather chaotic adds to the insecurity.

Artemis also asks "how can you expect to hit any targets if you don’t have a self from which to shoot?", which confirms the idea that I need to work on this notion of "self", because it has been one of my weak spots.

2. The origin of the situation/issue ~ Hestia (Hearth/Home)

Now that's an interesting card. One of the major changes that happened to me this year is the fact that I moved to live alone for the first time in my life. A bit late, I know, but I have always been a late bloomer in pretty much everything. Hestia in this position seems to point that, although I have gained physical and material independence, emotionally I still have a hard time being a "home" to myself. This movement towards creating my own home has helped me to achieve greater independence, which is very important, but maybe it has left me more unconsciously insecure, since now I must rely mostly on myself and face the realities of the life I have been creating.

3. How to grow from the situation ~ Hecate (Crossroads)

Hecate speaks of choices and the need to face the fear of the unknown when making decisions. But she also says that, sometimes, we need to wait until we are ready to make the necessary choice and trust that, when the time comes, we will be able to do so. I think Hecate here tells me that I need to discern the things I can choose about from those that are beyond my personal choice, and thus there is no point suffering endlessly about. This ties with Artemis' message: define what pertains to my selfhood, in order to choose from that point, instead of constantly trying to "fix" or suffering for what is beyond my control

4. The outcome or future developments ~ Pele (Awakening)

In this position, Pele says that even thought things seem bleak right now, new awakenings are possible - IF I manage to tackle the challenges that this readings has unveiled, of course. I have been "sitting in stillness" for too long now, but I won't be able to suddenly spring up into action unless an inner movement occurs first. "Pay attention to all that life is telling you. Pele says that when you nurture awakening, your life becomes creative rather than reactive."

In order to be able to reach this place, I need to become more secure in my selfhood and individual value, which are the joined messages of Artemis and Hestia. I need to become a home for myself, because I can hope to have anything to offer to this world. The path to that is to start making possible choices, instead of focusing on impossible problems that I cannot personally solve. 

As usual, The Goddess Oracle is very incisive in its advice. I know I have been going around in circles here, often struggling with my own feelings of powerlessness and inadequacy, having a difficult time accepting that my path is different from what I feel is expected from me. I still compare myself unfavourably to other people in my social circle, and I feel like I have nothing important to give to the world. But, like Artemis and Hestia said, I will only improve on that when I learn how to respect my own unique ways, and how to be a welcoming home to my own spirit.

The Goddess Oracle [Brazilian Edition] copyright © Amy Sophia Marashinsky & Hrana Janto

Pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will

Every now and then, I am overcome with a certain hopelessness.

Not in a sense of thinking that "life sucks" or that this world is bad. Not at all. I love life and I love this world, passionately. I love watching its rebirth from the winter to spring, the birds singing and building nests, the buzzing insects, the little animals with their newly born offsprings... all in harmony with All There Is.

All, except for us. Humans.

Not all humans, of course. There were (still are, a few) humans who knew how to co-exist in a balanced way with the Mother. But they were killed, and their descendants are left to die in poverty and indignity or are forced to adapt to our so-called "civilised" ways. Ways that have created a lot of sublime things – art, music, science, literature –, indeed. But ways that have also become increasingly destructive and selfish.

Sometimes, when am I all alone and in silence, I feel no hope for us. I don't feel we are becoming any better as a species or as a planetary community. Despite all our "evolution", we are not becoming more creative, more advanced in anything that is not technology, or even more humane. Quite the contrary, our culture is dwindling into social media-fostered mediocracy, everyone having their "15 minutes of fame" or suffering because they can't. Meanwhile, species disappear, thousands of kilometres of forest burn, poor people die from lack of basic living conditions and arseholes like Bezos and Musk, who have enough money to change the game, prefer to waste billions sending penis-shapped vessels into the space.

We are destroying everything we touch, including each other. In our collective blindness, we devour resources, anihilate trees, birds, insects, fish, herbs, flowers, mountains, and still have the gall to believe that we will somehow make it in the end because we are "special", like the heroes of a typical North American film, with a perpetual plot armor.

I'm afraid today I wasn't in the mood for an oracle reading. The fact my own country is thrown in a disastrous political, social and economical chaos, with little hope of crawling back out, doesn't help to make my mood any better.

That said, pessimism is a rather poisonous (and useless) state of spirit. It feels too much like giving up, and the Dionysian in me always wishes to affirm life, no matter what. So when it arrives, I follow Antonio Gramsci's motto and try to balance my "pessimism of the intellect" with an certain "optimism of the will"...

Mythic Tarot: A reading for business matters

This is a reading I did for a friend earlier today. Let's call her J. 

J. owns a Pilates studio together with other two friends, and despite all economic instabilities caused by the pandemics, they have been doing quite well. Now they are thinking about expanding their business, so she came to me for a reading to ask whether it was a good time for it or not.

I chose to use the Mythic Tarot, which is a deck I really like working with. I also pulled a card from The Goddess Oracle, because I find it tends to complement well the Tarot readings. I used a simple Peladan spread.

1. What is the situation about? ~ Judgement
In this position, the Judgements tells me that, indeed, this is a very important moment of decision and reassessment. They have to analyse their entire journey, from how they started to now, and decide where they want to go. Also, they need to decide how committed they are to something more long-term, because the same things that has potential to bring them greater gains, will also demand more from them. No sitting on the fence.

2. What is the situation not about? ~ Seven of Wands
Here, the 7 of Wands, which is a card of defensiveness, criticism and opposition, loses some of its power. I get the impression it's telling us there is no opposition right now to what they wish to do. They no longer need to fight to "find their place in the sun", so that energy can be harnessed to another goal.

3. Most likely development ~ Six of Cups
This card confused me a bit at first. What is a cup card doing in a business reading? But then, I remembered the 6 of Cups speaks not only of nostalgia, but also of the ability to integrate the past into the present under a more realistic light. When we start a project, we have many idealisation about how it will go. As time passes, our idealisations give room to a more realistic view. But becoming more realistic does not need to mean becoming cynic or losing love for that you do. It means learning to love the reality of what you do. I feel this is what the card is telling them - this moment os decision and reassessment will make them think about what they had in mind when they first started, and how these dreams and wishes have transformed and can continue to inspire them.

New Moon Reading: Holding out for a hero

This month's spread is a bit bleak, with all those black cards, but we have dearest Lancelot (J♣) in the Foot position and he usually gives things a more positive spin. I confess the J♣ still eludes me somehow... in theory, I know what he's supposed to mean, but in practice, during an actual reading, I find it hard to define exactly who or what he is.

The numerology of this spread doesn't promise many changes. All cards are even, which suggest a certain stability, and only the J♣ is an odd number. Also, he's the only card that has ANY red colour in it, even though he's a Club card. I get the feeling that Lancelot is going to play a significant role in the coming cycle.

Clubs and Spades together make a logical and predictable combination. This tells me this won't be a month of great surprises or excitements. The 4♣ of in the Head position and the 8♠ in the Heart tell me that it's likely to be a time of doldrums - slow head and a heavy heart.

But we also have two Court cards. First, Morgana Q♠) in the Throat position. I see that in two ways. She can represent an actual person, whose presence is likely to generate trouble and obstacles. Also, she can represent the attitude that is needed to overcome the problems pointed by the other cards. Morgana has enough patience, endurance and ambition to persevere even when the atmosphere isn't optimal. 

Second, we have Lancelot. Being the only odd card in this spread, I sense in him as if standing in defiance against the rest of the spread. He can mean someone who gives support, not only for the spirit but also for the heart. My impression is that he represents by boyfriend here, as he is a man with many Lancelot-ish qualities about him. 

The Geomancy is, once again, dismal: Tristitia + Via = Cauda Draconis. Cauda Draconis as the Judge worries me a bit because this figure often represents things that are about to end, and not in a nice way. But, in my current context, I can't really see what it could refer to - unless it refers with a "dead end", like, a situation that does not go forward, which would make more sense in this spread. Tristitia + Via together represent upsetting delays, or movements what do not bring satisfaction.

The TL/DR of this spread for me would be: a slow cycle, with heavy things to work through. I may have to deal with a difficult presence (probably an older woman) in my affairs, who will block my progress or slow it down. But also, I will be supported by a male, a very balanced individual who can help me endure and resist the crushing weight of my responsibilities. 

I don't foresee catastrophe, just another tiring month. I think I am going through that phase in which you have to stay the course until it's over, and find some comfort where you can. Anyway, this spread makes me think of Bonnie Tyler's "Holding Out For a Hero" for some reason...

The Playing Card Oracles © Ana Cortez & C.J. Freeman

On Prediction & Free Will

The text below is my (slightly ammended) response to a topic at Tarot, Tea & Me regarding the apparent paradox between free will and the possibility of prediction. I think it sums up well how I feel about the subject for now, so I decided to preserve it here. 

I once talked here about a similar topic, but focused on the aspect of Fate. My position still stands that I believe certain events in our life are fated, and happen regardless of our choices. We can run, we can hide, but we will eventually have to face them. I do not think this logic applies to everything that happens to us, though.

As usual, there is no hard science or philosophy to back me on this. It is but my very personal point of view. 

~*~

I don't think the possibility of prediction negates free will. There's causality, which says that things happen in consequence of other things, but these consequences are not as obvious or as immediate as we think they are. I think this is where prediction "acts" - it points to where our current "thread of causality" is leading. Sometimes is can be changed... sometimes, it cannot. There are things you can't just 'free will' your way out. The fact you were born in a certain time, place and family gets to determine a lot of things in your life. You can change where you are going in some aspects - move to another place, leave your family if they suck -, but the past cannot be changed, thus it is not subject to free will. 

I like Viktor Frankl's definition of free will: To choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way. So free will does not get to determine our circumstances - the causality behind they are way too complex and bigger than us - but, to some degree, we can determine how we react to them. 

Of course, if you suffer from, let's say, a health condition that impedes you from being able to choose your own attitude, then your power to free will is diminished. Some authors in psychology even define "mental illness" as a certain lack of freedom in which to navigate the world. Even physicists argue whether free will can exist in a universe pre-determined by the nature of the laws of physics. 

Last, but not least, there's a quote from the film The last Samurai, which I like a lot: 

Katsumoto: You believe a man can change his destiny? 

Algren: I believe a man does what he can, until his destiny is revealed.

I, too, think we do what we can, with what we have, as life reveals itself to us. Like Frankl, I believe a lot of our free will lies in the way we react or act about events that happen to us. 

This is where divination can be helpful, as it gives us an idea of what is ahead right now, so that we may better consider our own current steps. Or, in the case of fated situations, it lets us know what is to come so at least we may somehow prepare our spirits for it.