How do you define the boundaries of your own power?

Undoubtedly a question from a witch.

Well I don't hold a conventional view on power. The things I can do are largely irrelevant. I think people get very hung up on the trappings of witchcraft. I do not believe my power is defined by my ability to control the minutiae of my life. (Though of course it is naturally confined to an extent by the big stuff. I can no more prevent myself from being diagnosed with a terminal illness than the next person can.) Obviously I have a greater control over details than a non witch would. I can make people agree with me, I can manipulate my surroundings to a certain degree. I can change the things I dislike and I usually get my own way...But this is quite showy stuff for a witch.

The real essence of any power I have lies is my control over my own mind. I can choose how I react to things and cope with them. So I may not be able to ensure I never lose a job, a parent or a husband but I can certainly ensure none of those scenarios will ever push me to a place where I am no longer comfortable in my own mind. I can flat out guarantee I'm the least likely person I know to ever have a nervous breakdown. I think of that line in Kipling's "If" where he talks about meeting triumph and disaster and treating those two imposters just the same. Some people think witchcraft is managing your life to avoid the disaster, but to me it is about learning how to integrate the disaster in your life and not allowing it to influence you. And its perspective. So little actually matters. Not really. I have the power not to care. Interestingly enough that is one of the things that people find hardest to understand about me.

Power to me is taking control of my life and my identity and finding the courage to be honest about who I am. It's about forcing a balance. I may not have wanted to be Mrs 2.4 children but I didn't want to be the crazy cat woman living in the middle of a wood either. I didn't want to leave one group behind just to conform to the expectations of another. So my power was about creating my own niche in the world and to a certain extent refusing to live in extremes.
I suppose really its been about doing exactly what I want and compromising as little as possible – and to do that I've had to bend the world around me to accommodate the space I want to fill.  That's power - to get exactly what you want at very little cost.

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