I have never been so interested in politics my entire life like I am now. Every single day I read news articles from different news sources. I watch CNN when I can and see what they are saying on FOX News. Granted, sometimes I have entertained FOX for two seconds before I turned it off. I want to know everything I can on the issues and what is going on in our world. Before the ill fated election of 2016, I kept up with politics, but would often go days and sometimes a couple of weeks without checking the news. I’ve learned my lesson. We cannot afford to let anything slip by us. There are many of our political leaders who do not have our best interest at heart. It seems it’s all about money and doners and tax cuts for the greedy. If you have seen my facebook pages or twitter you will see I post political things from time to time. We, the public, we the people, need to make changes. We must stand up for our rights and we must be informed. But what does any of this have to do with witchcraft? Everything.
As I have talked about before, there are many types of witchcraft. There is Traditional Witchcraft, Wicca, Feri, Satanic Witchcraft, Reclaiming Witches, Green Witches, and many others. Each is as individual as we are. This is a good thing! At their core, they all have one thing in common; to empower the witch! Yes, witchcraft at its core teaches us to take our personal will and develop personal power. What we chose to do with that power is up to each individual witch. Everyone’s path is different and this is a wonderful thing. Our paths help us develop our own spirituality and strengthen our soul. But what happens when someone or some organization tries to take away our personal power, our personal choices, and our spirit? We must use magick.
I’d like to take you back in time to the 16th and 17th Centuries where witches were still persecuted for their beliefs. Yes, I know you have heard the story, but humor me for a moment. During this time the witch hunts were running rampant in Europe and were felt in the US. If you were thought to be a witch, you were arrested, “tried”, and executed. Often the victims of the witch accusations were old women who were hot tempered, odd, husbandless, or simply undesired by the community. Likewise, many women and men of all ages were accused of witchcraft. Those horrid men in power were taking away choices and free will away from the people to feed their political and religious agendas. It was the greed and bigotry of men in power who were trying to destroy the power of those who were considered less than or “other”.” Meaning those people who did not fit into the social norms of the time so they were considered a threat.
Many of the accused were not witches, but some may have been. See Emma Wilby’s wonderful book The Visions of Isobel Gowdie for further reading on those who actually were witches. That being said, why would people work with the Horned One or Devil to practice witchcraft? There were a couple of main reasons. First, many older women had lost their husbands and sons to death and were on their own. They had little means to make money and their survival depended on something more; the magick of witchcraft. Witchcraft allowed people to reclaim their independence and power and, bottom line, survive. Performing magick and having familiar spirits do their bidding aided them a great deal. Another reason was that, contrary to popular belief, not everyone during that time was a god fearing christian. There were many people who were atheist or simply did not believe the hogwash of the ruling Christians. They wanted personal power and witchcraft was a way to get it. There are many reasons why someone at that time may become a witch, but this is a discussion for another day. Witchcraft has always been about developing personal power and living a life the way YOU want it to be.
So then why are we not using our witchcraft for personal power during these troubled political times?
There are many ways that we can use our magical power to help each other and become a witch activist. I have read articles on facebook that talk about witches who continue to curse Trump and his family. I am not one to judge another witch, but for me, this is not the way I want to be a magical activist. One of the most important things I think a magical activist can do is support each other. There are many people who are volunteering, making phone calls, and sending emails to help. I for one think it’s very important to use our magick to send healing energy to these wonderful people. Not all of us have the time and resources to do these things and we cannot win without them. Another thing that we can do as a magical activist is stand up for other cultures that are being targeted. Personally, I don’t understand religions that treat women as second rate citizens or repress them, but that does not mean that everyone should not have the freedom to practice their chosen religion. So as a magical activist I will stand up for targeted religions to help them the best I can. Sometimes that means educating people. Sometimes that means putting magical protection on their places of worship. Hell yes, I will ask the gods to protect a temple, a mosque, or any other religious sanctuary that is being targeted by hate.
Being a magical activist means that we have special powers and can work with the spirits in order for justice. The witch has the power to commune with the spirits of the land. We can establish a relationship with the spirits of the land we live on, the spirits of cities, as well as the spirits of the country. Yes, each of these things has a spirit. By communing with these spirits we can ask them to adjust the energies of that land to favor justice, freedom, love, and protection from tyrants. Here are a few easy steps to get you started to work with the spirits of the land in which you reside.
- You may sit or lie down. Make sure your spine is straight so as not to impede the energies of your body.
- Use a shamanic drum recording or a song that makes you feel Otherworldly.
- Take a few deep breaths and relax your body the best you can.
- State allowed your intention to speak with the spirit of your town, city, or country.
- Visualize your city or country as a whole. See the lands, rivers, lakes, or any other landscape. Take a moment and open your heart chakra. Connect to the land. Feel the natural energies of the land. Now, take a moment and feel the energies of the people who reside in the city or country. Feel the different cultures and religions. Feel how people are unique but are all part of the human race.
- Now, visualize a place that feels like the heart of the city or country. For a city, is the heart city hall or downtown, or is it a natural landscape that is prominent in your area. For a country, is the capital city? Or is there some natural landscape that it is famous for? For example, the US is famous for its prairie and farm lands. I may visualize the heart of the US in the prairie lands where the farmland is.
- Once you have found the heart of your area, visualize yourself in that landscape and ask to speak with the residing spirit of the city or country.
- Once they appear, spend awhile getting to know them. Explain the situation at hand and ask what you can do to help the spirit take care of the land and the people. When ready, give your thanks and return to everyday waking consciousness.
- It is important for you to follow through with the things the spirit asked you to do. Follow through and take the energy of change into physical manifestation.