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How Witchcraft Saves Me/You/Us: Resourcing, Resilience, and Resistance

How Witchcraft Saves Me/You/Us: Resourcing, Resilience, and Resistance

Last updated on: January 4, 2019 at 7:43 am by Irisanya Moon

How Witchcraft Saves Me/You/Us: Resourcing, Resilience, and Resistance 2019-01-04T07:43:00-07:00 Irisanya Moon

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Sometimes I think about how I might feel if I didn’t have Witchcraft in my life at this particular time. I wonder about how it would feel to be in a world of power struggles and wars and isms. I wonder if I would tune out or sink into the background noise of injustice or accept everything as truth.

Or would I fight for a new government? Would I be able to see something better that’s worth fighting for?

While I’m not here to convert to Witchcraft, or even Reclaiming, or even deity-focused practices, I think Witchcraft can save, can hold, and can support us in the times where light seems so dim.

Counter-protest against Donald Trump rally: credit to Fibonacci Blue from Minnesota, USA

Resourcing

As soon as I wrote that previous sentence, I thought about myths. I thought about Lord of the Rings and the way that beings came together to achieve a common goal. (And yes, I know there are complexities with the story, the author, the time in which it was written, the issues of race, etc.)

For now, let’s move back to myth. The stories that inspire and motivate us. The stories that might make us pause to consider our own actions, our own decisions. These stories are resources for courage, for boldness, for fighting against, and standing up for what I feel to be right and just.

I turn to myths for the wider view, the larger possibility, and to find resources for the energy that moves me forward.

But Witchcraft also provides resourcing from communities. The communities of covens and local groups, the large communities and traditions. And still the even large groups that might stretch to pantheons, larger multiverse views, etc.

Even in the times of conflict or confusion and greater questions, community is where I am inspired and motivated to learn and grow. And this is often the place where I replenish and ask for support. After all, it’s not sustainable to hold the same role all the time.

Sometimes, you need to step in and sometimes you need to step back. There is value in both, and there are certainly gray areas between.

Resilience

Witchcraft has also shown me resilience and has pushed me in the direction of my own internal strength.

Resilience: the act of coming back from what which knocked you off balance.

Much like the idea of balance, I don’t think there is a perfect state of resilience. I do think that using magick, being in ritual, and interacting with witches has enabled me to see that even when it seems like all is lost, I can come back.

I will come back.

Maybe it’s the way that magick is predictably unpredictable.

Maybe it’s that witches are just as human as anyone else.

Maybe it’s because the godds always seem to have a plan for me even when I don’t think they do.

I come back to where I am grounded.

It might take time.

It might take some work on my part.

It might take some bravery.

I come back.

And the more I return, the more I believe I can the next time too.

Image from page 279 of “Witch Hill : a history of Salem witchcraft, including illustrative sketches of persons and places” (1870)

Resistance

Witchcraft has also saved me from complete hopelessness and apathy. By using my magickal tools, I can influence and impact the world around me. I don’t always go to the place of hexing, but there are ways in which I can show up and stand up to what could/has harmed the ones I love.

I know how to stay grounded in difficult situations. I know how to cleanse my space and self of negative energy and how to shield.

I know how to protect my physical and psychic space, and be ready to resist in any way that I can.

And what I’ve learned from myself along this journey is that resistance takes many forms in many spaces. Sometimes, it’s writing about it. Sometimes, it’s being on the streets and drumming to keep people’s energies up.

Sometimes, it’s trying (once again) to get that one relative to at least listen to what you’ve been trying to tell them about oppression and injustice.

I wish there was a simple way to end this, but it’s really the beginning.

How does Witchcraft (however you define that) save you?

What tools do you find the most important?

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About Irisanya Moon

I’m a Witch. I’m a writer. I’m a priestess, teacher, drummer, feminist, and initiate in the Reclaiming tradition. I serve the gods, my community, and the Earth. I’ve called myself a Witch for nearly 20 years, and my life has been infused with magick. I am interested in shifting stories – the ones we tell ourselves and the ones that are told about us. I’m continuously inspired to engage as the storyteller and the story, the words and the spaces between. I am a devotee of Aphrodite, Hecate, the Norns, and Iris. I seek to find love and to inspire love by reminding us we are not alone, while also meeting myself at the crossroads, holding the threads of life, and bringing down messages from the gods. I am a Witch. You can read more about the author here.

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