So, this is the last Black Witch post on Afro-Punk. I first started there three years ago when there were regular columnist rotations such as Dorm Room Diaries and T.O.B.E. and even cartoonist Keith Knight was here. I think that Afro-Punk has indeed changed since then and rapidly at that and it feels a little out of place for me to stay here as a regular columnist. I’m sure it’s odd for some of the newcomers to see my columns pop up in the midst of the usual Afro-Punk postings because I hit a pretty particular niche (the Black and Pagan demographic).

I’ve had an awesome run there. Some notable memories:

– Helping photographer Nastassia Davis get put on BGLH (Black Girl, Long Hair) and in turn, on Afrobella. Yay, helping friends out.

– Meeting Lupe Fiasco in NYC and having him actually know who I was before I could really get two sentences out my mouth after “Black Witch” and him asking for my business card because he was happy that I gave his rock band, Japanese Cartoon, some shine. He’s a really cool person that I am really happy to meet and even chill with. He has a brilliant sense of humor.

– Got bored at an Afro-Punk holiday party, found an empty room at the [Walberg Center in NYC?] where nothing but a bunch of DJ’s were mixing and scratching one by one on stage with vinyl. It was so cool seeing seasoned musicians mix, fade and cut the old school way in the hometown of Hip Hop itself.

– Running into Solange Knowles at the 2012 AfroPunk Festival, it was a massive surprise. Pharrell Williams was too.

– Running down Reggie Watts at the 2012 Afro-Punk Festival in full gothic lolita (how I didn’t fall is beyond me) for an interview

– Hanging out with the Afro-Punk staff at Free Candy for Battle of the Bands last year, I really appreciated it

And many more memories. It was fun but I think it’s time for me to go.

Now, BW isn’t finished for good, I still have my own site here on WordPress, a Tumblr, an FB fan page and a Twitter account. It’s just ending on Afro-Punk. It’s nice to have gone on for so long though, it’s really nice. I didn’t think that BW was going to last for this long, especially not years. There’s still a lot I want to do and a lot I want done with Black Witch so, again, BW isn’t going to disappear off the face of the internet.

So, here’s the final Black Witch post for Afro-Punk:

“It’s October!”

I can usually tell when October is rolling around. How? My inbox starts to fill with some of the most idiotic questions I could possibly ever encounter.

Here’s the basic format of how these questions will be:

Poorly written: No matter what, these questions will always be written with a cross hybrid language of text speak and illiteracy. And no matter how much I ask them to repeat themselves in basic English, they still write as if they’re sliding their face across the keyboard. And it isn’t a case of “maybe English isn’t their first language”, I’ve worked enough with international folks (and speak multiple languages) to know what ESOL English looks like and it is usually better than what I’m seeing.

Subject matter is usually pretty derpy: The most letters I’ve gotten now are people thinking the Devil is paying them a visit or they want to be supernatural beings. I just…come on, someone send me some good questions, not some plain Jane subject. It seems everyone thinks Satan is personally pestering them. I know the dude gets around but jeez, I think even the devil would take some time off of trolling humans. There’s a whole world of spirits and energies, I’m sure humans can’t be that interesting.

Attempting to sound desperate/powerful: I don’t know why but people will talk to me like I’m their last and only hope in the C-rate Marvel Comics movie that is their life. I know to the untrained eye, I look like I’m going way too hard on these kids but trust me, once you have been practicing metaphysics for a long enough time and field enough questions, you start to get the sensation that it really isn’t as big a deal as these kids are making it seem.

Conspiracy Nuts!: These guys come once in a while but they’re memorable when they do. With their “I saw so-and-so with the Devil” accusations of some musician being part of the Illuminati or how the President has a secret conspiracy to sell America to China because Obama is somehow a secret Communist Socialist Nazi that hates America (yet will somehow put up with its bullsh*t as the first Black president), these guys are clearly off their rocker. They could use a hug…from a strait jacket.

Spell Requests: Despite the fact I have said countless times that I don’t post spells on BW, I still have people asking me for magick or for me to cast spells for them. Firstly, if you want a spell casted for you, that will never come cheap if you want it done well. Secondly, I don’t cast for others. Third, I said I don’t pass out spell info, why did you think this was just as good an idea to approach me with?

Look, everyone. I love hearing from my readers. I think it’s neat that y’all care enough to actually talk to me, I really do appreciate that. However, when it comes to asking me questions, I really prefer good questions in opposed to the Treehouse of Horror variety. Good questions make me think and I can feel like a real conversation is happening. With poor questions, I just feel like I’m simply receiving crap by the payload. It’s not that I mind answering questions, I just need them worth my while.

When it comes to metaphysics and the internet there, you can research your question before popping it into my inbox. I always appreciate a well thought out question.

Now that October is here, I guess it’s time to get things into swing.

As it is October, that means that this post starts the Samhain Pickers Giveaway. All you gotta do is submit an email to thisblackwitch[at]Hotmail.com with “Samhain Pickers” in the title and in the email, put down this info:

  • Name
  • Email
  • Type of divination (cartomancy, tarot, natal chart, dream interpretation)

Three winners will be picked on Samhain (Halloween). Only one submission per person!

Also there will be an Ustream chat on Samhain/Halloween at 8 PM EST. Be there!