‘Fore we start, I would like to note there is an important message at the bottom of post about my current situation, please read.
Ah, summer’s in the air. You know how I know? Teh fluffy bunnies.
Fluffy bunnies are newbs who really don’t know what they’re doing and tend to be quite vocal pretending that they do. They’re generally young – about high school age, but occasionally early college as well – extremely gullible and easily swept up into all sorts of different fancies. They’re vampires, werewolves, witches and anything else you’ll find on a Happy Halloween placard. These kids mean well but dear Gods do they not really know what they’re doing. Twilight is their bible, Harry Potter is their rule book an anything that is campy or overly fantastical they’ll buy into without a second thought. The Craft, they see as a Slice-of-Life type of movie of what their lives will appear like, full of drama and action.
A fluffy bunny is very easy to spot. They tend to spout nonsense like crazy and do most of their research on Wikipedia but are somehow adverse to reading genuine books. And they seem to be totally absent of discerning fact from fiction. While the wonderful world of the occult is full of mysteries and surprises, it isn’t exactly perfectly pictured through the stories of fantasy. They are also easily excited by anyone who talks about the occult and will chatter endlessly about it in hushed (or loud) tones as if you and they are the only ones who know about it or accept it. They’re not very knowledgeable in metaphysics, any sciences, history and barely magick itself. Plus they’re very imaginative with the things they can(‘t) do. Things like conjure amazing (and difficult to summon) deities, high pulsing psiballs, make the weather change, things that generally take a lot of practice and skill, both of which the fluffy bunny lacks.
Although I mentioned that a fluffy bunny is generally young, it is more of a state of mind because I’ve ran into adults far older than me who spout the same nonsense merely because they’re new and decided to believe all the nonsense and conspiracy theories before the actual facts. Not every new occult practitioner starts out as a fluffy bunny because with fluffy bunnies, there is usually a strong air of obnoxiousness and fluffy bunnies tend to be dabblers, not really wanting to genuinely practice. Some do mellow out and become some type of occultist practitioner but generally they don’t. That’s what makes a fluffy bunny so floofy: they’re not really serious about practicing in a sincere way, they just want to do something that they think will get them cool points somehow. It’s unfair to those who really do want to start out and find a teacher but very few will take them because fluffy bunnies got there first or that new practitioners aren’t taken seriously because again, everyone assumes they’re going to be derpy, hyperactive or over reactive odd things that will move on to something else in about a few months.
Being a fluffy bunny, they’re really vocal about silly things that doesn’t very much matter in the greater scheme of things as a Pagan or an occultist. They’re just doing it as a way to feel like they belong because they don’t have years of practice (and probably don’t want to achieve any) under their belt. They may obsess about, say, how lightly Halloween is taken or the fact that a lot of Halloween depictions of a witch is green faced, full of warts, with a long and crooked nose, terrible teeth, looks like a hag and in shabby clothes…and how all of that offends them greatly. These are surface issues, issues that can be bothersome if you put too much thinking into it but they’re not really issues like religious discrimination is an issue. A fluffy bunny wants so much to be part of a circle (yet different), they latch onto the non-issues but that’s it. They just want to live in their own little world where they are the cool kid because they can make rain come down in an instant.
Again, however, I stress that a lot of fluffy bunnies are dabblers. They’re not interested in taking on occultism as a lifestyle or Paganism as a religion, they just saw Vampire Diaries or Supernatural and thought “I want that to be me.” You’ll notice a lot of fluffy bunnies have a very cursory knowledge of magick that tends to closely resemble what media depicts. Media is a little better doing its homework when it comes to witches, magicians and other creatures but they’re still the media, not good at depicting anything it doesn’t consider the norm. Being dabblers, it’s clear they are quite adverse to research because that takes tiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiime and their favorite television characters don’t seem to spend forever and ever in libraries reading. It’s like they instantly know the difference between a Banshee and a Harpy. Dabblers don’t want to do any work, they just wanna get to the fun stuff and toute de suite. Remember, the occult is filled with reading and studying and getting headaches trying to interpret something written in Latin or 15th century French. That part is not emphasized in a lot of different shows about the supernatural. Why? Because show producers rightfully believe that watching someone read, read, read and merely max out their library card doesn’t make for a compelling show. Problem is is that you can’t get to the fun stuff without doing all the grunt work. And this is a fact a lot of fluffy bunnies miss. Nothing happens instantly in magick without putting any work into it.
Another issue with fluffy bunnies is that, despite how vocal they are, they really don’t follow the rules. I have met countless Wiccan fluffy bunnies who would endlessly cut themselves and say “It’s how I cope with life”, despite Wicca having a well known “An’ it harm none” rule in their faith. “None” means “everyone, including themselves.” They’re not trying to cease cutting or going to treat it as a problem now that they follow a new faith, nope, they’re pretty much going to take on a different label but do the same thing. There, it becomes clear that they’re just calling themselves Wiccan or Pagan because it can potentially make people moody for all the wrong reasons or just make them appear like they’re standing out somehow.
Nothing is wrong with being new, everyone started somewhere, but here’s how not to act like a fluffy bunny:
- Don’t be hyper/treat it like it is some secret thing: Oh sure, it’s exciting and new now but I ensure you, it’s not nearly as much of a big deal as you think. Be happy but don’t annoy anyone
- Know your knowledge: You’re new, so read. That’s all you can do now, read and ask questions. You’re a newbie, do not present yourself as a beacon of information. You’re not one and not going to be one for at least a couple years. And make sure the questions you ask are relevant, informative questions. Skip all the “Can you teach me how to levitate?” questions and save them for later. Way later.
- If you’re dabbling, stop: I have a whole post in the works dedicated to why dabbling is a bad idea. It is. Just develop a likeable personality and people will like you, no need for gimmicks. If you’re still invisible, just do whatever makes you happy and don’t vie for the attention of others because you’ll probably A) never get it or B) won’t like what you have to do to keep it.
And that’s all for this week of Black Witch.
As a lot of you have probably seen, I have gotten into quite a sticky situation. You can read about it here on “A Plea for Help”. I also made a video detailing what has been going on, which can be viewed here on Ustream (since Ustream embedding can be fickle).
If you look over to the right of your screen, you’ll see where you can donate, buy a natal chart reading or even proofreading services (something I did while in college, might as well bring it up to the fold). As you read over there, I’ll be collecting donations until May 31st or all $715 is collected, whichever comes first. This is important because if I lose my home, Black Witch will cease to exist. So far 16% has been collected and I thank all the donors who have already come forth.
Black Witch 