Change being the only thing permanent is almost an oxymoron. Yet, in this paradox of constant movement and transformation is the root of both all of our troubles and all of our achievements and comforts. As a shaper and weaver of our path, it is an early lesson for the Witch to accept and learn to craft. Without the skill set associated with this lesson, the Witch would be completely subservient. For the knowing Witch there is hope.
The hope that is the light upon the brow of the Witch comes from the nature of existence and harnessing it. The outside world external to us is in eternal flux. Reflect back to being a small child and the comfort brought on when something became known. So many adults become cynical when each and every one of those things and all of the things trusted since then has fallen to the way side and are gone. People have died, are dying, and we ourselves have to face the truth that we are upon the same road—death looms. Friends come into our lives and leave just a quickly as their own path leads them, often times in conflict with our own. Material possessions pass by with such regularity that little is cherished into the long term. All of this and so much more brings pain to us.
At the same time that each turn of the wheel removes and casts away it adds and brings. People are born, are growing, and we too are learning with each step. The friends that stay, even if only for a short while, make life a shared experience of potential. Things alone does not make one happy but it is a great aide when meeting our root needs, without which we could not grow unto focuses beyond finding food, water, or shelter. There would be no pleasure, even in simplicity, without the basic necessities of stuff. All of this and so much more allows joy to come to us.
Although it may seem as such when explained this way, existence is not so polarized. Both sides of the coin exist entirely and simultaneously. Growth and death coexist at each moment. It is at this point, where the two meet, that life happens.
Each religion has its own diagnosis for life, the problem therein, and how to overcome it. Contemporary Pagan Witchcraft is no different. The problem is not, however, one pertaining to the nature of existence externally. Our entire interface with existence happens from a point of complete subjectivity and relative understanding thereof. The problem is our own making. The desire to utterly control the world beyond our grasp is the root. It is the root because this ability is impossible. We have control over a very limited aspect of life. This is important though, for here is the key.
That limited part of existence for which we do have control is vast, so vast it is cosmic. Our control is here. Here is where ever we are, who ever we are. The Craft of the Witch is simply about molding and shaping our part of the grand relationship to All. Change comes to us, inevitably so, and often times in a manner undesired or preventable. The response of the Witch is not of trying to force that which cannot be forced but to seize it, shape it, and direct it through our action. The tree may not be able to be prevented from falling, but whether or not the individual is standing beneath it when it comes down can be. Even when life crashes in and pours turmoil freely in a storm of trouble, even then there is control, control over attitude, method of approach, and actions. This is the altar of the Witch upon which they rest their tools, of mind, body, and soul, for crafting creation. If life is like the coin, we are the hand controlling the toss.
Boidh Se!
-Spanish Moss
“Lost in a thicket bare-foot upon a thorned path.”
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