Closed Practice What You Preach

Last updated on: April 8, 2025 at 2:41 am by Thumper Forge

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Closed Practice What You Preach 2025-04-08T02:41:12+06:00 Thumper Forge

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My favorite example of cultural assimilation comes from the novel I, Tituba, Black Witch of Salem by Maryse Condé, in which Tituba is introduced as a traditional healer. At one point in the book, one of the Puritans is like, “Hey, Tituba, I want you to put a curse on someone,” and Tituba’s like, “Yeah, I don’t know how to do that, but thanks for thinking of me, I guess?” And the Puritan is like, “Oh, it’s super easy! You just make a cake, except you add a little urine to the flour, and then you get them to eat it. Bam. Cursed!”

I bring this up, because a) it vividly demonstrates how elements of European witchcraft could have been transmitted into Hoodoo over time, and b) one of the consistent arguments I’ve seen in favor of cultural appropriation is, “Well, [insert Folk Magic of the Moment here] takes from other magical systems, so I can take whatever I want from it.”

But as we know, applying destructive order to creative disorder results in destructive disorder. Ergo, forcing an appropriative mentality onto an assimilative model ends badly: It actively contributes to marginalization, and it stamps out the cultural traditions that marginalized groups are trying to protect and preserve.

And whether we want to believe it or not, we make things worse when we tack conditions onto allyship — like when we refuse to let marginalized groups take the lead in discussions on cultural appropriation. But if we can force ourselves to listen, and to accept the nuances of open and closed practices on a case-by-case basis, we’ll be helping to make the greater occult world a little safer for everyone involved.

*Like what you’ve read? You ca**n buy me a coffee about it.*

Oh, more discord, you say? But of course! Follow Fivefold Law on *Facebook**,* *Instagram**,* Mastodon, *TikTok**, Twitter, YouTube (but give me a week or so to finish setting it up), and* *Zazzle**.*

Cultural Appropriation

Cultural Assimilation

Lisa Redfern

Maryse Condé

Open Practice

About Thumper

Thumper (Horkos) Marjorie Splitfoot Forge is a Gardnerian High Priest, an initiate of the Minoan Brotherhood, an Episkopos of the Dorothy Clutterbuck Memorial Cabal of Laverna Discordia, a recovering alcoholic, and a notary public from Houston, TX. You can read more about the author here.

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Nahum describes the Lord as riding in the whirlwind and storms. What does he say are the clouds?

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The dust of his feet His chariot His glory His covering

Closed Practice What You Preach

Like what you’ve read? You ca**n buy me a coffee about it.

Oh, more discord, you say? But of course! Follow Fivefold Law on Facebook**, Instagram**, Mastodon, TikTok**, Twitter, YouTube (but give me a week or so to finish setting it up), and Zazzle**.

Nahum describes the Lord as riding in the whirlwind and storms. What does he say are the clouds?

*Like what you’ve read? You ca**n buy me a coffee about it.*

Oh, more discord, you say? But of course! Follow Fivefold Law on *Facebook**,* *Instagram**,* Mastodon, *TikTok**, Twitter, YouTube (but give me a week or so to finish setting it up), and* *Zazzle**.*