Today I was tagged in a post linked to an article about the recent furore surrounding so called baby witches on TikTok and their supposed hexing of Fae folk and the moon of all things. I was asked if I had any comment on the subject given my position within the Pagan community. My first and immediate response was to laugh out loud at the idea of hexing the moon given I’m a witch with over twenty years of experience and practice but as I thought about it further, I realised there was much more to this than first met the eye.
There’s a lot to unpack in this situation so please bear with me while I work through it.
Researching this online it would seem that while the whole fuss is about new witches who may not know better themselves, the person behind this is a more experienced witch. If this is true, then I have my concerns about this whole situation.
New witches, especially those who are young and probably quite naïve to the world and how it works, are open to influence from those older and/or more experienced than themselves, it’s the same whether we’re talking about witches or cooks with Gordon Ramsey aspirations – we all need someone to look up to when we have no knowledge ourselves.
These witches seem to think that being a witch is about outward power over beings and entities which they have no knowledge of and little experience in. Given the state of the world right now, and especially the USA, am I surprised that they are drawn to have power over something right now when they seem to have so little of their own power? How easy would it be to convince these young folk that they can have power and over things that are bigger than themselves simply by preying on their fears of having no control over their own lives and what happens to them? I believe that it is entirely possible that they know no better and have been influenced by someone more experienced and sadly, in the same position as they are – feeling as if they have no control over their lives so seek it in other places.
As we’ve seen recently with certain political figures, power seeking is a destructive behaviour when it’s used to control people and events. It’s nothing short of abusive and dangerous, and my concerns are that these new witches have been coerced into believing things that a responsible and sensible witch who understands the true reality of a craft path would never teach them in a million years.
That’s not to say their behaviour should be excused at all but anger towards them rather than their teacher seems misplaced. They should of course be helped to understand the consequences of their actions fully from the implications and responsibility of using hexes to the damage that is done to people’s perceptions of those who follow craft paths. Once that is done hopefully, they will seek more solid education from sensible and well-grounded practitioners who can teach them where the real power in a craft path lies.
As for the person behind all this while I hope they find the help they need to heal and then find their own power in their life, I also hope they face the full force of their actions and the consequences that come with it. It’s a special responsibility to be in a position to be able to pass on knowledge learned and those of us who chose that path need to be both acutely aware and respectful of that responsibility. To use it to hold power over people is to me a heinous act and that person deserves to have their platform taken away from them at least.
To those who are scared this will be having an affect on their lives – please, please don’t be. The likelihood of their dabblings actually working are slim and are far more likely to affect them than they are anyone else if they do. It’s easy in times such as these we are living in to attribute difficulties we are going through to things like this but the reality is that it just isn’t realistic or likely. What it is realistic and true is that as a global community we are facing the consequences of our own actions as a whole race and now have to face them and deal with them just like any individual does when they make mistakes.
To those who are angry at the people who brought this upon us all I say please let’s use that anger more effectively than by typing angrily on internet forums. I understand it, we are too often laughed at and mocked for our beliefs and practices when to us they are a very real and important part of who we are and the lives we lead. Actions like this make it harder for us to be taken seriously, and that anger and frustration felt is righteous. I would suggest that we might be better directing that anger in more useful ways and using the energy it gives us to fuel activities that show us in a better light.
We can all learn from this, please lets do just that!
Bright blessings,
Sarah x
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