Category: Ask Black Witch


Ask Black Witch

Filed under: Ask Black Witch, Divination, Pagan Life — 2 Comments
December 31, 2010

Can you recommend a tarot deck for a black pagan newbie? I cannot relate to the ones I see in the metaphysical bookstores where I live, as they are full of white images.

– Lynn

I personally use the Revelations Tarot made by Zack Wong and it’s perfect for me because it reflects the reversals, has amazing art and it’s fairly diverse (kinda) but it isn’t a Black deck. The best deck I can recommend to you is the African-American Tarot but it seems more of an African deck than African-American to me because the symbolism is greatly African. I’ve never used the deck but it’s worth a shot, the imagery seems very strong and well done. If this doesn’t suit you well, I would have to suggest you might have to learn cartomancy (playing card divination) which is a wonderful alternative to tarot cards. If you choose to try cartomancy, get Playing Card Divination for Beginners by Richard Webster. You may have to look high and low for that book at a reasonable price because I think it may be out of print, judging by the price hike for even a used book. As of this moment, I have not found another deck that reflects our race but if someone knows one, shout it out.

Okay, on the Black Witch Fan Page, I have received alternative tarot card suggestions from Renee D.: “I have the African American deck , and thought the art is nice , it doesn’t do anything for me as far as reading it. I agree with you BW, the images are more African , but then the images of famous AA’s in the background of some of the card…s don’t have any relation that I could figure out to the meaning of the card or the main image on it. I read with the New Orleans Voodoo tarot, but I’d like to recommend the “Tarot of the Ages ” as a nicely done deck that has a people of many different races in it. Aztec Indians are on the suit of cups, Northern Europeans are swords, Africans are wands, and East Indians are coins, while the major arcana has a mixture of ethnicities.” Good mention.
 

1. How do Black Pagans who aren’t doing vodun/candomble/ife, etc… dealing with the fact that lots of modern Paganism comes out of European beliefs and cosmologies, i.e. Norse/Greek/etc… or dallies with ideas constructed by Euro-Americans (Summerland?). Apologies in advance if this question has a lot of ignorance in it.
 
2. Do you ever feel that modern events and phenomenon (massive, i.e. 1M+ massacres, electromagnetic radiation, destruction of entire forests, poisoning/extermination of living areas, sheer population density, etc…) changes or mediates the way humans can engage the forces and bodies in the natural world? Thank you.

– Wesley

Well, I’m not vodun (Voodoo), Candomble or Ife but because I never really felt I clicked with the European pantheons for kinda obvious reasons (I’m Black) so instead I don’t believe in the Summerland (the Wiccan version of Heaven with a reincarnation twist) and even take a step back from the pantheons that honor Yule, Beltane or any Pagan/Wiccan holiday that’s actually Euro-Pagan rather than all-inclusive. Being Black and in Paganism, you don’t see much of yourself and your culture so you have to take a step back often and wonder what is in it for you. I like Yule not for the pantheon but because of what it represents, the winter solstice. I don’t really get into European deities much because they’re not my deities personally. Instead I would be more nature-focused rather than theist-focused with my beliefs because Paganism is way more than about Gods and Goddesses. Yeah I cringe (and rage a little) every time I see a White Isis with a ski-slope nose but Paganism is pretty Euro-centric without saying and because people perceive that to be “normal” Black Pagans often have to sit back and think a little more about their faiths and what is that really than their White counterparts. There’s no ignorance in the question, trust me. All you can do is make what you can from Paganism, it’s a very diverse belief system.

Do I ever feel that modern events & phenomenon change or mediates how humans can engage the forces and bodies of the natural world? Yeeeeeeees. We’re part of nature, very hard to say we play a separate and detached role when we humans are right in the thick of it. However, I think part of the issue is people (including Pagans) believing that our interaction with nature should stay on the surface, with happy feelings and “Green is the new black” bumper stickers, stuff that makes humans feel we’re affecting nature but to be honest, saying “Ohm” over and over doesn’t magically remove the oil from the BP spill and bring back the wildlife it has (and still is and will for a very long time) destroyed.

There’s this awesome word I learned back in an  Environmental Science class in college – Anthropocentric, bringing the human element into the environmental discussion because we are indeed part of the world, may as well act like it. It now is mentioned more and more with every natural disaster, natural benefit and little in-betweens that happen because just like nature moves with its own force, we’re also part of nature and affect or are affected by that force. I think people were originally pretty in tuned with nature (that’s kinda how Paganism came about, the personification of nature by man as he tried to understand this big ol’ scary world (in a very small nutshell)) but as technology got better and industry became stronger, that connection was kinda lost. Work with the earth? Hippie talk – let’s strip mine this globe till there’s nothing left behind! People do want what they want, after all. Even now you can’t really talk about environmentalism without people thinking you’re some barefoot airhead still thinking it’s Woodstock or some stuck up yuppie with an iphone and an app on it that measures their (and somehow your and the city behind you) global footprint. Personally, I believe that there needs to be some serious changes in governments around the world and global perception towards environmental problems and to be active in that is going to affect nature a lot more than doing a yoga pose on a 100% organic mat. Since nature has a way of balancing itself out (humans included), we should be fine but not by sitting about and waiting for the world to shake itself back in place (for us humans, of course, because what might be right for man may not be right for nature and vice versa). We can’t sit, wait and be fairly passive when nature can’t change itself or won’t be able to change itself well if we people simply resort to tactics that make us feel like we’re doing something but in reality, doing nothing.

To best work with the forces and bodies in the natural world in these changing times, work with the natural world. Learn about how the natural world works (that means staying awake in biology, chemistry, physics and environmental science classes or taking some of these classes) and the problems that impact it (ocean acidification, global warming, changes in biomes, etc etc) as well the political issues that are wrapped up in it (Monsanto, BP, Live Earth, Genetically Modified Organisms and Food (GMO & GMF) and how it affects nations). Actual awareness and knowledge is a lot more worth than just lighting incense and thinking happy thoughts – though incense and happy thoughts are nice for the stressful times, as well as the yoga and the “ohms”. Modern events and phenomenon are going to happen one way or another and how people will interact with nature is going to consistently change no matter what but there’s an option to either attempt to still maintain some sort of relationship with nature or treat it continually like a force to fight against. I would opt for the former, personally.

That’s all the Ask Black Witch for this month. Please do submit questions either through twitter, the Facebook fan page, Ask Black Witch submission form, email or even just in the comments.

This is the very last day of 2010 and I would like to say that I am very astonished at the success of this column (although I would like more Ask Black Witch submissions). This column has been seen over 2,000 times within nearly 8 months (on the WordPress side alone, more on AfroPunk), the Facebook fan page for Black Witch has grown incredibly in its very short existence and I have met a lot of different people and perspectives I would have not otherwise seen. I honestly didn’t expect this much success on the WordPress or AfroPunk side, I’m very pleased. I am very happy that I have Black teen readers most of all because I remember when I was roughly 15 or 16 (It wasn’t that long ago, I’m only 23) and figuring out what I believed with very limited but potentially bountiful resources. It’s already not easy being Black and a kid, being Pagan simply complicates things; I aim for Black Witch to simplify some of those complicated things and to give a hub of resources that they (and everyone else) can use to not feel so alone and to be more informed. So far it has worked, my site has added new links to the “Links of Interest” such as Greater Than AIDS, African-American Wiccan Society and God Checker but also there is the The Arts!: Samhain Edition post that is chock full of valuable information. I want for Black Witch to be a staple in the Black Pagan community and useful for any and everyone, even if they aren’t Black or Pagan.

What I would like to see for Black Witch in 2011, besides more Ask Black Witch submissions, is to expand it just a liiiiiittle more. BW is still in its first year so I still have a little more time to move and modify things about. I’ve been meaning to get to it sooner but I will be introducing occasional month-long series that may or may not be involved with the Black Pagan experience but relevant nonetheless. The will have guest writers, features and interviews. The first series will regard music culture, titled “Fandom and the Fan”, and showcase in March. Besides series, I will be having more contests and giveaways and Ustream chats throughout 2011. Not every month will be contests, giveaways and Ustream chats though, don’t confuse the two (you’d be surprised how often that confusion has happened) but I’m making sure these will be set as tradition. There’s already Samhain Pickers, the Halloween divination giveaway, but I would like to add a few more, just enough to give Black Witch a set motion for the years to come. Black Witch is currently in very good shape so the most that I hope for is Black Witch remaining useful as it goes through its first anniversary and beyond.

Happy New Year!

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Ask Black Witch

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November 26, 2010

Black, how long does your research process and the drafts and all that go into your columns?

– Jay J.

Since my column is weekly, I don’t have a lot of time to just sit back and admire my work like my readers do. This isn’t to say that I don’t but it can be difficult to remove myself from writer-mode just to simply read my work without worrying if it is grammatically correct, with sound logic or simply doesn’t come off as crazy talk. I’ve only just been able to read Black Witch on its mobile site (on my phone) just to seperate myself from writer-mode. Plus, once a post is up, the first thing I think is, “Okay, what’s next week’s going to be?” It’s an endless process kinda and I’m glad I have kept up with it thus far.

I actually have a bank of unpublished and roughly written columns that I made back in the summer when I was waiting for AfroPunk to put my column up. I figure if I had a selection to choose from, I would be less stressed in the long run (and it works!) and it’s always good to have a bit of a backlog when life wants to go upside down for a bit so that no matter what happens, I’ll always have a fairly decent post up every week. I still add to the bank because my mind never really sleeps, I always think of new ideas that I haven’t touched on and would like to write about in the future. I may have up to three or four new columns being written in a single week because I had a mental slew of material but there are weeks in between I barely touch the computer, save for the column I’m writing for that very week. In other words, you may see a column that’s looks fresh but has been in my computer since July or it was penned and completed on Monday, it depends on how I feel (or what the reader response is) but  hopefully the reader will never know the difference. It ebbs and flows but I thankfully haven’t really been stuck yet. I’m a chatty person so it isn’t too tough for me to think of something to write about. If I felt I was drying up, I would simply ask about and have conversations to see where that gets me.

I have an app on my phone (yay, android!) called Documents To Go that I use to write columns when an idea strikes me and I’m away from my laptop. It helps me jot down ideas – be forewarned, as of this writing, their capitalization feature sucks rocks They’ve fixed it! Pretty perfect now! – and the starts of future columns so I won’t forget. All I have to do when I get home is upload them to my computer to polish and complete, it really is useful. If I can’t use my phone (because apparently it looks like I’m doing some heavy duty texting) I just jot down the column piece in a journal I always have around. I’m a writer so I’m used to toting about writing instruments. If somehow I’m without my journal or a pen or with limited use of my phone, I will put a simple note on my phone titled “BW idea:” so I won’t forget.

When I write a piece that needs research such as “Okay, Mr. Illuminati”, I actually plan pieces like that out weeks in advance because I have the opportunity to. Countless times I have pushed back or pushed around pieces because there simply isn’t enough Fridays in a month to cover them all. I thought up “Okay, Mr. Illuminati” roughly around when the column began but didn’t type anything until October when the mood to continue that piece had hit me again and I had the resource (Watkin’s Dictionary of Magic) to make the proper definitions. Otherwise, it’s all from my own experiences and knowledge. I don’t have to worry much about research because I’ve been practicing Paganism and Witchcraft for almost ten years, I’ve wracked up enough books and knowledge so far to buoy this column for the longterm. So I could write a piece that needed research with less than a week’s time and it wouldn’t bother me any, I have all the resources needed so far.

I’m very tidy when it comes to writing columns and storing them away, I have a folder for each thing on my computer from the bank of potential columns to the folder of published columns (so I don’t post the same thing twice) to a separate folder for The Arts! and Ask Black Witch and more, all inside a Black Witch folder. This is so I don’t confuse myself and keep everything where it’s supposed to be. Otherwise I would be super frustrated because when it comes to electronics, I prefer simplicity. I also have a sticky note gadget on my laptop that tells me what columns are being posted for the next few weeks so I don’t forget what I’m doing and lose direction or have an installment post sneak up on me. Whenever a new column is posted, I move the Word file to the “published” folder and erase the title from the sticky note.

As for drafts, I write out all my columns in Microsoft Word and look them over a few times before posting them up to WordPress and then to AfroPunk. That way I can avoid most careless errors and misspellings instead of my readers seeing what may look like a result of smearing my hand across a keyboard. I try to have my columns completed and uploaded to WordPress by Wednesday so I can have ample time to catch any further mistakes, do coding and corrections in addition to actually seeing how the column will look on the website before it goes live. Because I’m a terrible perfectionist, I may look over a piece at least ten different times to make sure there aren’t any major errors and it reads okay.

When it comes to coding, I don’t see what the rest of the world will when Friday midnight strikes. I have a lot of brackets in my pieces as place markers to remind me where links and videos are supposed to go. Here’s a snippet of “’Tis the Holidays!” before it goes to WordPress:

“Yule marks the first day of Winter, the Winter Solstice. Following an astronomical calendar, the holiday falls on either December 20th, 21st or 22nd. It’s the last festival and harvest before the harsh winter and a call for the sun to return. Yule is often referred to as Saturnalia when actually the festivals are very different. The quickest distinction between the two solstice holidays is that Yule [link] is Germanic and Saturnalia [link] is Roman. I have seen The Boondocks history of Christmas [link] and the clip says that it stems from Saturnalia but actually it has stemmed moreso from Yule. (Yule logs and evergreen trees anyone?)”

See all those [links]? That’s my place marker to let me know that a link is supposed to go there when the column goes to WordPress and AfroPunk. Anything I put in brackets are directionals for me so I know what I’m supposed to do when the column leaves Word. When I’m done working on that piece and feel satisfied for it to be scheduled, I work on the next column. For example, right now as I speak, The Arts! for November is about to go live in two hours and I’m currently answering an Ask Black Witch question as well as writing all the columns for December (installments included) and the first week of January.

The Arts! take up the most time because I have to contact people and get them all together and let them know they’re being featured, if at all possible. I have to think of who is being featured almost two months in advance. I actually have planned The Arts! as far as five months in advance with some wiggle room in case I discover someone I want to feature right that very month (such as Human Machine this month, I found that out the very week of The Arts!). I even have a list written down in my room hanging on a wall so I can keep up and figure out what’s going on. There’s people on the list who I have been meaning to feature for months and those who I just happened upon and want to feature immediately, it’s a jumble that I only iron out solidly when the month in question is upon me.

Ask Black Witch takes up the least time because it’s just me answering questions, not too much work needed. In addition, ABW lets me know what readers may want to know or don’t already know. I’m a bit embedded in the Pagan world so I don’t always know or remember that not everyone knows what a esbat is or that Harry Potter is simply a well-written work of fiction, not a training manual. ABW is around for the reader to have a chance to speak and be heard. I have so many different methods of contact (email, twitter, submission form, comment, FB fanpage) because I don’t want anyone to say, “Oh, Black Witch ignored me” or “I wanted to ask a question but I didn’t know how to get in touch with her.” Can’t say that now, ha ha! They all come to the same place, my inbox, so my readers can always reach me without issue.

Since this is the very first year of Black Witch (this column is almost seven months old), there’s a lot of non-column writing work that goes into this as well. I have to keep up with the Twitter, learn Facebook and how to manage a Fan page, set up a formstack for Ask Black Witch, have pictures taken, get business cards, keep in touch with the maintainers of AfroPunk, continually trim the Black Witch inbox, figure out WordPress and promote, promote, promote.

In other words, Black Witch is kinda like a full time job. But I least I love it so it never feels like work. The trick to doing a good job is to like the job, I guess. Works so far for me.

That’s all the Ask Black Witch for this month! Remember, if you have a question you want to ask me, fill out the Black Witch submission form on the right, email me (with “Ask Black Witch” in the subject line), tweet me on Twitter, comment below or even comment at the BW fan page on Facebook!

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Ask Black Witch

Filed under: AfroPunk/The Establishment, Ask Black Witch — 2 Comments
October 29, 2010

The Establishment (AfroPunk) Version

Nota Bene: Black Witch Ustream chat time and place has changed. It will be at 4:30 PM EST now and on the AfroPunk Ustream. It will still be on Sunday, Halloween but at 4:30 PM and on the AP Ustream. Please take note and I’ll see everyone Sunday!

I was wondering what you think about numerology? How does it, if at all, relate to Paganism? Witchcraft?

– Djay

Numerology is actually a form of divination so it relates heavily to Paganism and witchcraft as divination tends to be pretty important. I don’t practice it myself but I know those who do and it definitely does relate. It’s also another form of divination that gets misused often and due to that it reaps a pretty bad rap, just like astrology. Perfectly acceptable form of divination that can definitely work your brain if you have a thing for numbers though.

Over the past couple of months or so I have been studying paganism, I was curious what lured you towards it. Also at the time did you have anyone else to share your beliefs?

– Rashawnda

What lured me to Paganism? Hm, kinda a good question and one I haven’t been asked in a while. I’ve always kind of had a hidden lure to Paganism ever since I was a kid. Heck, I remember when I was young and playing with long fake nails and funky nail polish I would always say to myself, “I wanna have these nails when I become a witch!” Ah, funny how things manifest (except for the fake nails, I dropped those after preteens because they simply destroyed my real nails and I lost interest) but I wasn’t always “Yea yea, Paganism!” I still had my reservations about the religion because I was raised hearing the same thing about Witches and Pagans but I read Where to Park Your Broomstick by Lauren Manoy, it looked like a harmless book and I’m glad I did for it opened my mind and, well, shown me a path I would soon take as my own.

Did I have anyone to share my beliefs with? Well that all depends on the age group. For the older crowd, I did have people to share my newfound faith with and even receive guidance at a local metaphysical shop. They’re not there anymore but good news, I’m currently looking for them and hopefully I’ll find them, especially the one I consider practically my mentor and second mom, Ms. Donna. As for the younger crowd, ehhhhhhh…not so much. I had one or two close Pagan friends that were my age but any others that were my age and Pagan, I seem to always fall out of touch with them. Though I had a couple close Pagan friends, I couldn’t always be around them so I kept to myself often and hung out at the metaphysical shop. When I did talk about my faith to others my age, I wasn’t always given the warmest receptions around. One of them I still keep in touch with thankfully but otherwise, since I wasn’t (and still am not kinda) the social type, I just stayed to myself and with my books when around my own peers. When I couldn’t be at the metaphysical shops, I hung out on online communities such as Mystic Wicks and Witch Vox and made friends through that. (Be careful when making friends online if you’re a teen in the Pagan circles, there are some pretty creepy people out there.)

What do you think about this article about the Air Force being more open to pagans in the battlefield?

– Mat

Well, I must firstly say that my personal political feelings aside, I am very proud to hear of someone serving in the military and doing their duty. From the title of the piece “Air Force Academy Now Welcomes Spell-Casters,” I can kinda tell it’s gonna be a piece that’s going to be a bit misleading and carry a tinge of sensationalism since they are putting a Harry Potter/”aren’t these people crazy?” twist to their words. Instead of calling us “spell-casters” and giving the image that we fight wars on Firebolt 3000’s broomsticks and can make the Taliban disappear with the flick of a wand, they could have simply called us by our proper names: Pagans and Wiccans  or better yet, Witches – especially since no one obviously dropped the writer a memo that not all Pagans and Wiccans participate in spell casting.

Although I feel that the article could have been held to a higher standard of journalism, I do like this part: “…keep in mind that magic doesn’t necessarily mean miracles…. Say you have cancer, and someone does a healing spell for you. It doesn’t mean the cancer disappears overnight. It could mean your doctor thinks up a different treatment.”’ Sound like someone knows what they’re talking about, which is a step in the right direction for the military to understand religious tolerance. I am happy that the military is growing more open to Pagans but I am cautious all the same. As I see the military (and a lot of American homestead policy), if you’re not Christian or living by a Christian standard, you’re tipping on a nasty tightrope. I don’t think that Christian/Pagan relations of the military will automatically be smooth – something clearly shown by the wooden cross planted in the middle of dedicated sacred space and by the journalistic piece itself – but it is nice to see the military is trying to do something rather than brushing the problem under the rug. I feel that if the American military is supposed to defend the American people, they should do so without discrimination of race, religion, orientation and/or gender because we the American people are not of one sole race, religion, orientation or gender and our military ought to reflect that.

That’s all the Ask Black Witch for this month! If you wanna send me a question, you can email (on the About Me/Contact me page), tweet me on Twitter, comment below or best of all, use the Ask Black Witch form on the right side of the site! Remember, should you email me, please put “Ask Black Witch” or something along those lines in the subject line so I won’t regard it as spam and delete.

All the winners of Samhain Pickers have been picked and read for! I hope you like your readings and there are any errors, lemme know and we’ll get ‘em fix tout suite!  Thank you everyone for making this giveaway such a success! I hope to do more giveaway and contests in the future! Samhain Pickers will be yearly so if you didn’t enter or didn’t win, there’s next year!

And remember readers! Halloween/Samhain is on Sunday and that’s the Black Witch Ustream chat! It will be here on Oct. 31 at 4:30 PM EST. How this is gonna work: I video cast and you guys talk to me via chat and we hold a convo in real time! Bring good questions! I’m really excited as this will be my first vcast! Don’t want to use Ustream to talk to me? If you have a Twitter account, you can speak to me via tweeting me @thisblackwitch and I’ll get your comments and questions all the same. See you Sunday!

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Ask a Witch/Ask Black Witch

Filed under: Ask Black Witch, BW Announcements, Relationships and Dating — Leave a comment
September 24, 2010

I have known this man on and off as a friend of my son’s father.  This summer things got very serious between us very fast, you know, “I love you”, “I will never break your heart.”  Guess what he did.  I don’t know why and I can only guess but my heart is in so many pieces and I find it hard to concentrate. I am 48 years old and you think I would know better. Never had a clue.  Mother of his 20 year old son I guess the bonds are hard to break but I did not even know.  Should I let this go?  When do I finally get my true love or is there even such a thing? Why am I always getting it broken?

– Lisa

I would not believe anyone who says, “I’ll never break your heart.” No one should. It can’t exactly be promised because any relationship can go wrong with or without warning, it can only be shown. Dating someone who says “I’ll never break your heart” sounds too good to be true and it usually is. If the guy (or girl) says, “I’ll never leave you” or “I’ll never break your heart,” chances are strikingly good they’re going to do just that, especially if it’s said so early in the relationship. I hate to say it but it sounds like you’ve been gullible, hoping for a Prince Charming and upset you’re winding up with nothing but frogs.

Everyone wants someone who can give them the moon and stars, even me. There’s nothing wrong with wanting that, it’s perfectly human. True love is something everyone wants, the ultimate companionship that is painless, perfect and forever without doubt. I personally believe that there is true love but I also believe that not everyone meets it in the life they’re currently in (side note: I believe in reincarnation).  True love, just like everything else in life, serves its own purpose so if you’re meant to meet them, then you will. If it’s not for this life, then it’s not. Yes, it sucks but the universe doesn’t work for one person nor plays favorites.

As for figuring out if you have a true love or if you’ll meet them, it isn’t easy. Possible but a total Pandora’s Box. You can’t actively seek out true love like it is simply sitting there and waiting to be discovered. Your true love has (or should have) a life of their own and when it’s right for you two to collide then you will. Otherwise, don’t bother looking incredibly hard for it because you could be screwing up your own chances. Plus, would you be happy with what you get? Right now, you simply might not be ready. I used to do a “True Love Spread” which actually consisted of a series of individual spreads but that had proven to consistently open up a can of worms such as this so I decided to stop. Some things are better not knowing…though it certainly doesn’t make anyone feel better knowing that.

Say you found your true love, then what? Is life going to be perfect or have more meaning? Not really, you still have to provide that for yourself because no one else can or will do that for you. If you don’t set time aside to better yourself and learn about yourself, prepare to get your heart broken over and over and over. You have to at least have a basic gist in mind of what you want in a relationship, in a partner and not be afraid to go after either. Stop believing some Prince Charming is simply going to pop up out of nowhere and sweep you off to Happily Ever After. Make yourself charming for yourself, the person you’re really going to have to live with and die with. When pursuing your own life rather than hoping for another to come along, maybe you’ll find your true love but even if you didn’t, at least you’ll be happier with yourself. It’s a struggle and far easier said than done but the best shot to take in your situation. As for the heartbreak – while it’s terribly cliché and I hate this saying myself but it’s going to take time for your heart to heal. Stop running after others for a while – maybe a year or so – to focus on the life and family you already have and let your heart have a chance to heal itself. So let the guy go and focus on yourself. He needs to figure himself out and so do you.

And for the record in case anyone is wondering, I consider true love and soul mate as two different things. You can meet your soul mate and not meet your true love. A soul mate is just that, someone who syncs very well with you through good times and bad or someone you’re simply supposed to know or be with. That soul mate can be your best friend to that stray constantly on your stoop every morning. True love is someone who helps you grow and reach your highest potential but you do the same for them likewise, you both grow and expand together. Does that mean no more arguments? No. Every relationship that involves two imperfect beings (which is every human relationship on this earth) is going to have its ups and downs. How else will the relationship grow anyways if there isn’t any push or pull? 

That would be Ask a Witch/Ask Black Witch* for September! It’s really nice to receive submissions, I don’t get enough. Feel free to ask me anything about myself, yourself or about somebody else. Ask a Witch/Ask Black Witch* is your time to give and get feedback about anything. You can ask me about why I believe in reincarnation or why I’m Black but don’t use the Egyptian pantheon, how to come out the broom closet to loved ones or why I can’t stand daily horoscopes but I study and use astrology. Your questions can also be personal issues from your own life such as the one Lisa asked, I’m perfectly okay with this. My only don’t for Ask a Witch/Ask Black Witch* is to ask for readings. I will not do readings for AaW/ABW*, sorry. You’ll have to wait for a sweepstakes or a contest to roll around (like the one that will be in October, the next post “Mental Mentality”) or do it yourself.

Another nota bene: While I can receive submissions through the Ask Black Witch submission form, via comments, on Twitter and email, please note that I get a nasty slush pile of spam in my Black Witch inbox every time I post my email here (You can find my email in the About Me/Contact Me page up top). I work pretty hard to keep that inbox looking nice and presentable so if you’re going to email a submission, please have something like “Ask Black Witch” in the subject line or I’m going to automatically think it’s spam and hit delete. If you can’t think of a decent subject line (and for some odd reason don’t want to use the one I just gave), just use the Ask Black Witch* submission form on the right hand side of this column, that’s what it’s here for.

*Nota bene #3/Editor’s Note: After some thinking, I have decided that this will be the last Ask a Witch – as for the name, that is. “Ask a Witch” shall be renamed “Ask Black Witch”. I just figured it would be a nice change… and the fact that just about every Pagan publication uses the name “Ask a Witch” for submissions is a daunting thought when you want your column to stand out. Just me putting my spin on things as usual. – BW

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Ask a Witch

Filed under: Ask Black Witch — 38 Comments
August 27, 2010

It’s the August edition of “Ask a Witch”, one of my favorite parts of the column where you ask me questions and I answer them! Wanna ask me something for a future Ask a Witch? Here are your options: Comment here on this entry with your question, use the Ask a Witch form on the right side, or email it to me at thisblackwitch@hotmail.com. It all goes to the same place, my inbox, so feel free to choose. Hey, use a Twitter? Ask me there too @thisblackwitch…or just click on the link in the site’s header to get to my Twitter faster.

This month’s questions:

“Just like it is hard to find acceptance within the black community or punk community in general…Do you find it hard to find acceptance within the pagan community as well which is largely white? Maybe you haven’t had a hard time finding acceptance…just wondering.”

– Taryn M. (AfroPunk)

I actually found this to be a good question and very poignant to me because if I did feel fully accepted in Pagan culture (Black culture, Alt-Culture), this column would not exist because I would have just about nothing to talk about and perfectly sedated by life’s blisses. I write this column because there is a complete and total lack of voices for Pagans who aren’t White and I firmly believe that no one can talk for us but ourselves. A Black Pagan, a White Pagan or even an Asian Pagan will not have the same exact experiences. Just like Christianity, the religion is modified by our own cultures and background. We have the same aims but very different means of how to get there.

Now that I’m done with my little soapbox…I would like to say that though I do have difficulty now with finding acceptance in Pagan culture, I was very lucky in the beginning because the metaphysical shop I went to was very Black. Black owners, Black sellers, everything was steeped in Black culture, and there was even a terrific Voudon and Santeria section. I could go there and talk about Cornel West, divination tips, Chris Rock and amethysts shards without having to explain myself or deal with stupid closet-racist jokes. I felt completely normal because I had wonderful mentors there keeping an eye on me and teaching me some of the very life lessons that has structured me in part of who I am today. The one mentor I appreciate overall is Ms. Donna. She was Black, raised in the city like I was and ran the metaphysical shop. I always would come to her constantly with my teen issues such as being jobless, guys, the world both near and far and simply life. She would always have something to school me about and I appreciate those moments. She was like a mom to me and it is because of her that I became so good at helping others through divination and magick if not simply by being a good person. She was willing to challenge my ideas and introduce me to new concepts. All around her were other wise women as well who I took on as aunts rather. Ms. Vita knew astral work, psychism and chakras; Ms. Annie was the best at numerology; Ms. Latonya was a self-made business woman. They all helped me identify nonsense when I saw it, how to keep focused, be happy with life and how to be a proper Witch. They were my group of few whom I trusted and turned to, especially when I started to chalk up strong religious dissenters.

When that little metaphysical shop changed and everyone dispersed, I can say that I do currently feel like a loner because I don’t have them around me anymore. I originally grew up in a Black Pagan world so being introduced to the bigger, far Whiter Pagan world at large did make me pretty jaded because I felt misunderstood and I didn’t understand the world around me anymore. Our backgrounds very different to the point it has been tough for anyone to feel comfortable sometimes and I never feel like dealing with people who think they are oh-so-funny cracking jokes about my culture and background. Calling a glitzy wand “bling” all the time or saying “oh snap” way too much isn’t funny and certainly doesn’t impress me for it doesn’t scream, “I’m culturally aware” but more of a “I’m a racist bigot and I don’t know it”. That’s actually kinda why I don’t go to a lot of Pagan outings unless I know for fact there will be at least one other Black Pagan there or someone who doesn’t act like their brain is marinated with stupidity. I can’t really relate to the White, middle-class Pagan story so that’s why I write this column – because I know I’m not the only one.

“I understand you are a pagan witch but why have you chosen not to be wiccan?”

– Pauline via Ask a Witch Formstack

Ah another good question. For the record people, I am not Wiccan but I am Pagan and a Witch. What’s the difference? Paganism is more like a spirituality as it is far looser in its forms (there are no particular godheads and it simply means “nature-based belief-system”) and Wicca is more of a dedicated religion, with consistent rituals, holidays and ideals. Here, read this awesome piece on “What is Paganism” that I found. Now, Wicca does falls under Paganism because it is a Neo-Pagan (nature-based) religion. Remember folks, not every Wiccan is a Witch, not every Witch is a Wiccan and not every Pagan is Wiccan. When I get a little venn-diagram or something made for this, I am totally gonna post it.

I tried Wicca but it simply wasn’t for me. I could not keep up with the Esbats (Full Moon rituals) and I didn’t feel entirely connected to the Sabbats (the eight holidays that make up the wheel of the year) because the backgrounds of the holidays were very Eurocentric and thus I couldn’t really relate beyond the basics. Wicca – if you can believe it or not – was a bit too structured for me and simply didn’t suit me and I haven’t even gotten into the different denominations of Wicca like Gardenerian or Eclectic. This is not to say Wicca isn’t a good religion, it just didn’t fit well with me. I like the freedom in simply being Pagan and live life as I see fit for me because I don’t want to cookie cutter my beliefs too much into a particular mold. All it would do is make me frustrated with that religion and leave it, just like I did with Christianity. Christianity wasn’t my bag, I tried to make it so and in the end I was very jaded until I finally left the religion for good. I didn’t want the same with Wicca so I decided to be simply Pagan. It was structured enough that I would still have spiritual guidance in my life but not so structured that I would be very frustrated by the politics within it.

And that would be your Ask a Witch for this month! Remember, it is you who keeps it running so send in questions big or small. So far I have gotten very good questions and that makes me happy, I like good questions. I also like silly questions too but good questions make me mega happy.

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Ask a Witch

Filed under: AfroPunk/The Establishment, Ask Black Witch — Leave a comment
July 30, 2010

The Establishment (AfroPunk) Version

Alright, this is the first Ask a Witch installment for the Black Witch column. Basically, you guys ask me questions throughout the month either in the comments or using the “Ask a Witch” form here in the right hand column. I’ll pick out the three best to answer from the queue and answer them here! You can ask me anything so long it’s not a divination reading or something stupid (I will take silly questions, just not stupid questions).

Because I started asking for Ask a Witch questions kinda midway into July, I’ll be keeping this entry to one question. But ‘tis a good question! I like those.

Question:

“One question i would like to ask you, Olivia, is have you ever been threatened, be it physically/otherwise, or descriminated against based on your Pagan adherence? Was there ever a case where you felt you had to take legal action, seek protection, etc.? Curious…” – Darkness Unlimited*

I haven’t been physically threatened for being a Pagan Witch (tho some of my friends have) but I have come across people who have threatened to do wacked out things like say I’ll jinx everyone or that they’ll sic Jesus on me for leaving Christianity. It really doesn’t bother me too much now, I even find it a bit funny at how flustered they are but back then it did worry me because I didn’t want people to think I was an evil and terrible person or something. I still don’t but I’m pretty well-respected for being me and it’s nothing I can’t clear the air with.

I have been discriminated against because I’m Pagan. Some people don’t want to talk to me, they think I’ll ruin their lives, harm their children (I’m not a real fan of kids but that’s not religion-related, I just don’t like kids) or associating with me will have their God turn His back on them. Basically people don’t dig me because apparently I’m the embodiment of what they fear? I dunno.

There’s one eatery I would go to where the wife/owner didn’t mind my religion, she really enjoyed my company but her husband/cook thought I was a walking jinx machine. At first it was funny but that humor faded quick when he thought that even my slightest movements were acts of bad magick against him and he could not get through his head that I’m. not. a. Satanist. If he tripped on a step, he thought it was my fault. It’s a little better now that the wife had a chat with him but stereotypical accusations like that did grate my nerves.

Then there are some places like colleges that are terrified of offending me because they think I have the ACLU on speed dial (next to the NAACP since I’m Black. Geez, White culture). That can get old fast because I feel like I’m being patronized and it’s not like I can’t tell when someone has a personal issue against my religion but trying to fake it with a business smile. Character glows in the dark and I’ve seen this kind of nonsense for years now. I think people should be just upfront with their paranoia instead of pretending and very poorly at that, I would be less annoyed in the long run. While I have been discriminated against for being a Pagan Witch, I’d have to rank it behind racial and gender bigotry. It sucks being prejudiced against as a Pagan but it’s worse for me being Black and female. Yay for being a triple threat…I think.

I’ve never in my life had to take legal action to make any berating of my religion come to a stop. I didn’t really have to because I’m pretty witty with insults and taking apart someone’s faulty logic. Plus I always like joking around, “Oh the ACLU looooves Pagans. We’re open and shut cases. All they have to do is come in, read the first amendment, walk out and we collect money like Monopoly.”  Of course it isn’t that simple but it is a good reminder that since Paganism is a religion, any discrimination against me would be a violation of my constitutional right to freely practice any religion I choose. (I like reading law occasionally in my free time and I have two good friends who happen to be lawyers.)

While I’ve never had to take legal action to protect my right to practice freely, there was the one time I think I felt the most threatened of my safety. My apartment complex is owned by a church on the end of our street. It’s a really nice church with wonderful parishioners that have seen me grow up from when my family moved around there when I was about 11 or 12 to now. Now, the parishioners are nice and even accepting of my beliefs (I still have to explain myself from time to time but no brimstone and craziness here) but there was a retreat we went one a couple years ago. It was to some spot in Pennsylvania that was out in nature and I think two miles or so away from civilization. I would have passed up but one of the parishioners who also were a very nice neighbor of mine had already paid for me. I didn’t wanna feel like I was wasting his hard-earned money because it was a really nice gesture. Plus it was nothing but drama and problems at home so the trip was a golden opportunity and I took it. I really did feel bad initially because I felt that my neighbor did this because he figured I was a shut-in Christian when really I’m Pagan so I told him and the youth minister the truth. The reactions were a lot better than I expected, honestly.

Now while the church I went with was really nice, I was A) going to be hanging with my peers B) this trip was the conglomeration of three churches and mainly their youth groups. The main rule of the trip was no electronics – if it beeped, whirred or blinked, it had to stay home. That included cell phones too so I wouldn’t have any contact with the outside world for about three days. I thought I could manage that – the outside world was who I was trying to escape. I would be out in nature and all would be spiffy, the only thing I would have to do is tote a bible. I actually borrowed my bible from the library. (I don’t know what translation; I was just baffled at the wide selection. I thought, Don’t they all say the same thing?) In addition I got a copy of the Apocrypha because I thought that would solidify my “I swear I’m Christian”-ness, and a book called Pagans and Christians because I figured it would give me a good idea of what to say and not to say and where the differences are. I also dragged along my travel B.O.S. (Book of Shadows) with me to journal my experience since I wasn’t gonna have much else to do and I write pretty much everything down in that book, especially if I’m without access to my personal blog on livejournal.

The older parishioners were nice, the area was pretty, it’s those kids I had to hang with. They were mental. Throwing rocks, swearing, being evil, my goodness they were spawns of Satan. I had a feeling that I really should lay very low about my religious and moral beliefs in a spot of 300+ overzealous Christian teens that really didn’t know their own religion very much themselves. How could I tell? One night’s activity was “Showtime at the Apollo” talent show and I sang “Why Wait?” by P.O.D. since I thought it would be a nice song. How wrong I was, people started laughing quick because the song was Caribbean sounding, not a usual boring hymn, and they didn’t know that “Jah” meant “God” so I was pretty defused about everyone after that. I don’t usually mind being a bit open but there were a lot of trees, a combine tractor, some rope, rocks, a big pool of water and close-minded teens on a religious lean. Me no likee pain or death.

The trip wasn’t all bad because I befriended the adults quickly (and they were not crazy, this one lady minister was actually really open minded) but there was this one activity sermon going on that I couldn’t weasel my way out of. The counselor was asking how Christians should treat people from different religions. My hand went up in the back of the room, this should be a cakewalk right? I answered, “We should treat people of different religions with the same equality that we treat ourselves and other Christians as was taught by Jesus Christ.” I thought that was a good answer and so did the teacher. Classmates didn’t, I got a couple looks.

Everyone had to be bunked together in fours so I was lumped with three other girls that were from other churches and plus our chaperone. One of the other girls weren’t bad, she was really nice and from the church I was with, I didn’t really know the other two since they were from other churches. It was the last night so everyone was pooling up together in rooms to spend together. I took this as an opportunity to get to my empty room early, shower, pack up and even get in a rotation of my Wing Chun forms in peace and quiet. Around midnight, I was getting ready for bed, when my roommates and a couple extras were coming in to grab hair supplies before heading into the one room over. Catching me on the byways in our small room, one of the girls had said, “About what you said today…”

I thought, Yeah, it was a pretty awesome answer. All correct and such.

“I don’t think that I should love anyone that hasn’t accepted Jesus into their heart.” The other girls agreed.

Say what? Ain’t that what the whole freaking book is about? Aw, man, this could only mean trouble for me.

Apparently to these girls, I was a bit radical in my thinking (and I was spending the whole weekend thinking I was being super low key. I had a bible, a couple remembered scriptures and everything! And I didn’t really talk a lot either.) so they asked how I felt about the Bible. I didn’t want to outright lie but I also wanted to be asleep and preferably not in a body of water or up a tree. So I just sugarcoated what I could and not mention the rest. I told them, “Well, I don’t really agree with everything the Bible says or how it’s implemented.” They really didn’t like that answer so they decided to pry deeper. They asked what did I not like about the Bible. I just responded about how it’s been cut, reedited, added to, subtracted from, watered down, played up and everything. It’s not a perfect book that dropped from the sky and bopped someone on the head, somebody(-ies) had sat down and wrote all of that, they could have inserted something jacked up in but who’s going to call against it since it’s supposed to be inside the “flawless” Bible. That just doesn’t sit well with me, political uses aside. I tried to keep that as low key an answer as possible but the girls weren’t happy. Neither was I, I was sleepy and I had to explain the difference between an atheist and agnostic to them. It made me miss the people I usually debate about my religion with because at least they were pretty knowledgeable of the world outside them or were learned scholars.

So instead of sleeping, I had to answer a bunch of rapid fire questions with as watered down an answer as possible. These girls I don’t think ever really had to go up against people from different religions before, especially people who didn’t agree with them. They asked me how I felt about homosexuality and how the earth came to be. For homosexuality I said I couldn’t care less, not an issue with me. I got the “It’s Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve” response. For what started the earth, I believe in creationism-evolutionism (I think it’s called “intelligent design” now? I believe God supplied the spirit and the ball just started rolling from there). I hoped they would focus on the “creationism” – nope, they focused on the “evolutionism” and heavy. One of them said, “I am not descendant of an ape!” Oh geez. I would have debated with her about that but I think I could be speaking in German for all they cared, I just really wanted to go to bed instead of argue. Now, the girls weren’t mean, just really wack and pretty sheltered in their beliefs. Annnnnd I’m on a Christian camp, I did see this coming – that’s why I tried to be low key and blend. I really just was there for the nature since I’m, y’know, Pagan and wanted to get away for a bit. Ain’t no rest for the wicked, I guess.

Apparently not since what got me noticed was that no one knew me at all. None of the three churches’ youth groups knew who I was and wanted to figure me out. That’s totally understandable but I just wanted to sleep. They left when I was about to take a walk myself because they felt they were chasing me out of my own room (good to know they picked up on that). Only one girl remained, the nice one who was from the same church I traveled with. I don’t ever really remember her saying much the whole trip but she was really a polite and decent girl. She felt kinda bad for me so she told me, “Sorry they put you on the spot back there. They just thought you were atheist –“

“’Atheist’?!” I exclaimed. “I’m Pagan!” Whoops.

My roomie was really baffled but a listener. And I could tell that whatever I say to her was going to be repeated directly back to those girls next door so I might as well keep my answers honest, short and fairly memorable. I told her that it’s a nature-based belief system, we do believe in a god, we’re polytheistic but can utilize the Christian divinity if that’s what we choose, and it’s got nothing to do with atheism or Satanism. Hopefully that’s what she told them.

The whole night I slept alone in the room (with exception to the conked-out chaperone that arrived later) and completely facing the door. Well, it wasn’t really “sleep” since I got up to lock the door, checked the locks, pack my bags, contemplate putting a chair under the knob – it really does work! – before thinking it would be too suspicious looking, remembered where all the emergency phones were, figured how fast I could run two miles straight and watched the window next to the door for any movement. I think I just slept a total of two to three hours the whole night until 7 AM when it was time to leave. I knew that a bunch of sleepy teens wouldn’t be up at 7 AM on a weekend when breakfast was supposed to be at 8-8:30 so the second they finished knocking at my door was the same second I was out with a hat on my head and my bags perfectly packed in tow. I shoved them in the coach bus’ loading area, went back to the breakfast area to eat quickly and was on the first seat of the bus waiting for everyone else to get on and go home.

Were all the Christians in my story raving lunatics out to get me? No, the adults were fairly sane and the one lady minister was actually interested in knowing about different religions. She was the only one I told that I was Pagan. I really wish I got to meet her again, she was really great. It was the teens that worried me because they didn’t know Christianity in their hearts, just what was stamped into their heads. The nature sights were beautiful but if I had to go on that again, I’m totally sneaking in a cell phone with Google maps on it and teaching my friends at home what S.O.S. is in Morse code (if you heard the loop for Live Earth, you know it). I don’t generally worry for my safety but when it comes to a big group of nutters and I’m stuck with them, I grow a bit concerned. If these kids totally dismissed Christianity ideals of acceptance, what else would they dismiss?

I’m used to dealing with some friction for my religion, though it isn’t always fun. I do occasionally worry how will people knowing my religion affect how they’ll treat me but since I’m always ready to explain myself and my beliefs – tho not everyone is and they don’t have to, keep that in mind – it usually works out. I have a good personality and fairly down-to-earth so people aren’t so scared to be around me usually. Or if they do, I have fun with it. Like when I met my university’s president of the Jewish Student Union and he was terrified to touch me when he found out I was a Witch. The rabbi, who was on very good terms with the Pagan Student Union (I was the president), let me chase the Jewish pres around a little until he shook my hand.

Discrimination does suck but for now, that comes with the territory. People generally fear what is outside the norm and what they don’t understand. That doesn’t make being a prejudiced prick any more justified, however. When people do make scathing remarks about my religion, I pick apart their beliefs and as well as them. I don’t say anything jacked up about their religion, they shouldn’t be saying anything jacked up about mine. I may poke fun at the denser and literalist followers but never anything too strongly about the religion itself. I know I have served as a very good mirror to those who believe that no one should be close-minded to them but they have a holy blank check to be a total jerk to everyone else.

Whenever people ask me, “Why won’t you return to Christianity?” I tell them exactly how the Christians I run into on average act: Intolerant, biased, hypocritical, could use a refresher on the Bible themselves. If what I meet constantly is the face of Christianity, then I’m staying firmly in Paganism. Pagans aren’t perfect either but at least we know it. Should people in Christian groups me grief about my religion and treat it as a joke, I just tell them, “So this is the face of Christianity. This is what your lord Christ preaches? Doesn’t seem like such a welcoming religion. Lemme leave before I get strapped to a stake in the name of ‘righteousness’.” Generally shuts people up because it reminds them that they are walking examples of their religion and its teachings and if I get graded hard for mine, I will grade very hard for them. The truest Christians I have met in my life are accepting and decent like the people who own my apartment complex but I believe the rest are completely self-righteous and heavily hypocritical dicks. If they actually followed what they were taught, I’d have a cheerier opinion but many don’t. Christianity is not a perfect religion, it’s not a one-size-fits-all. No religion (or lack thereof) is. More people – not just Christians – should remember that.

Usually, I would like to answer three questions for every Ask a Witch but since this Ask a Witch only had one question, I’ma catch up with the next month by doubling up! So instead of me answering three questions, I’m answering six. If they’re reeeeeeally burning questions you want answered, give me a usagi cell charm – nah, I’m just kiddin, just say so and I’ll try my hardest to get back to you. I check my Black Witch email everyday so needn’t worry. Or PM me, I respond to those too. If it’s a burning dumb question tho, it’s getting ignored. And if your question didn’t get picked for that Ask a Witch, feel free to ask again. I may notice your persistence and pick up the question.

And remember, you can ask me anything. About me, about what’s going on with y’all, anything really. Just keep the questions sensible and remember, I will answer silly questions but not stupid questions.

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