How to Become a Witch, Amber K. [new books to read .txt] 📗

and intellect): Gold, yellow, orange. Corresponding metal: Gold, vermeil, gold-washed.

Monday (the moon; lunar deities of magick, change, and intuition): Silver, silver-gray with black. Corresponding metal: Silver.

Tuesday (Mars, Tyr/Tiw; deities of action, assertiveness, and war): Red. Corresponding metal: Iron or steel.

Wednesday (Woden, Odin, or Mercury; deities of the hunt, the harvest, war, victory, wisdom, poetry, prophecy, and magick; guides of the dead; and, in Mercury’s case, trade, abundance, travel, and communication): Rainbow, any and all colors. Corresponding metal: Bronze or mixed metals.

Thursday (Thor, Jupiter, and deities of thunder, lightning, and weather in general; strength, rulership, protection, the sky and the heavens): Purple, red, and gold. Corresponding metal: Tin (tin is hard to find; use pewter).

Friday (Venus; deities of life, love, and creation): Rose/pink, aqua green. Corresponding metal: Copper.

Saturday (Saturn; deities of limitation, discipline, organization, and time): Black. Corresponding metal: Lead (however, we do not recommend wearing lead jewelry, even if you could find some; hematite and pewter are safer substitutes).

Of course, you may not have a huge wardrobe in all the colors of the rainbow. That’s okay; your chosen color for the day can be represented by an accessory such as a scarf, tie, vest—even your socks!

Where the pointed hat came from

Why do Witches wear pointy black hats? Well, real Witches don’t, unless they’re having fun mocking the stereotypes. But why do fantasy witches almost always have them?

At least three theories exist: (1) The hats represent the “cone of power” raised by Witches at their rituals. (2) The hats are like women’s headgear that was out of style centuries ago—think about princess hats—and were a way to belittle Witches for being hopelessly old-fashioned. (3) They are a distant descendent of tall, conical metal crowns with magickal and astrological symbols on them worn by the priest-kings of early civilizations.

Who knows?

Many Witches wear magickal jewelry with stones of the appropriate colors, or simple amulets such as a holey stone or shell, or even elaborate talismans designed to store particular kinds of energy. The metals used in jewelry correspond to different deities or energies, as described in the list. In choosing jewelry for the day, you can think out the appropriate correspondences, use the charts in the appendices, or simply go with your instincts.

The Socially Aware Witch

The majority of Witches tend to be progressives, socially and politically, but there are certainly exceptions. Almost the only broad issues where the Craft is unanimous are (1), that the environment is sacred and must be respected and protected (exactly how is not always so clear), and (2), that freedom of religion must be defended.

But let’s look at a few other hot-button issues and see, if we can, where Witches stand.

War and Peace: Many Wiccans serve honorably in the military, but they are no flag-waving warmongers. In keeping with a “live-and-let-live” attitude, most would rather leave other nations alone unless our homes are directly threatened.

Abortion: Discussing abortion seems to be a no-win proposition, which is perhaps why there is very little real discussion of the issue and a great deal of rigidity and anger surrounding it. As with most issues, Witches have no official position or dogma as a religion. Doubtless there are sincere Witches on both sides of the issue; the majority (if numbers mean anything) would probably say that abortion should be a woman’s personal choice, with input from her family and physician. The Rede says harm no one, and this may be a case where choosing the lesser harm must be left to the individual Witch’s higher self.

Drugs and Alcohol: Most Witches would rather keep their faculties unclouded by drugs, and develop their psychic and spiritual abilities without that complication. However, there are certainly some who like recreational cannabis, and a few others who will carefully experiment with entheogens—plant substances that are said to trigger religious experiences, such as peyote and certain mushrooms. We would caution anyone exploring this path: first, be aware that such use can be dangerous, especially if it’s not guided by someone very experienced in such practices.

Second, if the practice is illegal, are you willing to pay the penalty for violating the law? Remember too that a Witch arrested on drug charges harms the entire Craft community by association. It’s unlikely that a headline would read lutheran arrested for drugs, but you can bet you would see the headline witch arrested for drugs. This alone is enough to keep us, the authors, far away from illegal drugs.

Alcoholic beverages are legal for adults to consume, and their effects are better understood. However, we know Witches who never touch alcohol, Witches who will only take a sip of wine in the circle, Witches who drink lightly and socially, and some who really, really savor a good bottle of mead. A Witch who truly lives by the Rede may not drink to the point where her health is damaged, nor may she drive a vehicle if alcohol impaired. Under the Rede, a Witch who drank so much that he lost control of his thoughts, his tongue, or his reflexes would be creating the potential for harm. A Witch who does overindulge too often may want to take advantage of Pagan 12-step programs. Almost every festival hosts meetings, and you can find more information by searching “Pagan 12-step” on the Web.

Civil Rights and Race Relations: Witches by their very nature support civil rights, because if civil liberties and personal freedoms are threatened, we are among the very first targets. Regarding race, skin color is irrelevant to us. The majority of Witches are Caucasian, because Wicca originated in Europe and many are drawn because of their ancestral connections. Sometimes it is simpler for whites to connect with their European roots, blacks to connect with their African roots, etc. However, the Craft is open to anyone who is called to it, and we are fortunate that some people of color have found their spiritual home in the Craft community. Many folks of Hispanic heritage are discovering the Craft as well, which seems