“Maude, do you pray?" "Pray? No. I communicate." "With God?" "With life." Harold & Maude is a sweet little movie made in 1971. I saw it at the midnight movie a few years later when I was barely beginning to figure out what sort of person I wanted to be. I decided then that someday I wanted to be like Maude. I wanted to live a life that had meaning, I wanted to be true to myself, to have adventures! I wanted to L-I-V-E live so I would have something to talk about in the locker room! Doesn't make sense to you? Definitely do yourself a favor and see the film. Even fifty years later it still shines. Why am I talking about a cult movie that explores the meaning of life through the eyes of a suicidal twenty-year old and his relationship with a woman who is almost eighty? It's because without it, I'd probably never have led the life I have so far. I probably never would have been brave enough to stand up for myself when it counted, to choose my own path in my own way. I would never have become a witch. Though I have practiced now for close to thirty years, witchcraft has never been my religion. Organized religion is not for me. It never was and at this point I feel safe in saying that it probably never will be. I am not Wiccan, though I started out following the Wiccan path. I am simply a witch. I am spiritual, and until recently, most of my practice was as a solitary witch. My attempts to connect with others over the years was a mixed bag. I met some incredible people who became wonderful mentors and friends. I unfortunately also had a few occasions where my attempts at finding community would end with me making a quick exit from situations or people who were definitely not what I was seeking on my path. Last year, like many others, I began to look for ways to fill the time that I'd previously spent outside the house—with friends or traveling...you know, all those things we used to do in the before times. I was basically wanting to set the entire fucking world on fire so had to take a step back and just go outside, breathe, and remember that all the politics and bullshit have nothing to do with the more basic connections that really make my human existence wonderful. As the world around me got increasingly uglier, I leaned more heavily into what always gave me comfort. I began completely delving back into earthy bruja garden witch stuffs more than ever before. Really focusing on my practice was what gave me a much needed respite from the constant anger and anxiety I was battling daily. Getting back to basics, rededicating myself to an everyday practice of my craft really brought home how important it is to me and how much I truly enjoy it. I decided a few months ago that I wanted to create a website, something that might be a nice little place to stop along the way for anyone out there searching for information or community. As I began working on the site, I decided that I wanted to try and find a larger witch community again. It took me a while. I did a lot of looking around, checking out different resources and sites. I was very lucky to find small but really incredible coven of witches. More about that in a future post, but I will say that my coven has definitely been one of the big positives of this new year for me.
I am not here to tell anyone how to do things so much as to share what I find interesting or helpful. I will offer my opinions sometimes, but I am no authority. I'm just an ordinary person with all sorts of things that I juggle in life as everyone does. I try to be decent and compassionate. I am smart, educated, and fairly experienced with certain aspects of witchcraft but I am not here to be anyone's teacher. There is still so much that I don't know. And look, there's a lot of bullshit out there. Just like anything else, the world of witchcraft is full of shady hucksters and opportunists. Be smart and question everything. Treat your path and the choices you make on your journey as important. Always use common sense. That's about the best advice I know to give.
I hope that this will become a comfortable place for anyone who may share some of the same interests or those who might be looking for a practical sort of approach to everyday witchcraft. This is the beginning. My first intention is to be true to that same adventurous kind spirit that I admired in Maude so many years ago, to always stay true to myself and my path while being helpful to others.
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