The Witchcraft Trope
“Witchcraft is not simply for the desperate; it’s for the knowledgeable, the believers.”
~ Dikastiría
How often do we see magick users or non magick users seeking magick in times of desperation? Almost as if magick is for the insane; for those who have lost all hope and have no where “logical” to turn.
While magick is a life saver, and a wonderful way to reinvigorate ourselves, this portrayal of magick being for the desperate is perpetuating a disbelief in the art. As my dear partner Aondreiel says, “Magick is the art of science and the science of art”, and the two are inextricably linked. The ancients knew this and that is why we find magick and science together as bedfellows in ancient cultures. Ancient story tellers knew this correlation, but it seems some modern storytellers have taken to embracing disbelief.
I have read many a tale where the motif includes a desperate father or sibling using magick to save a life or to gain ultimate power for the sake of intoxication. For example, in a modern adaptation of 1001 Arabian Nights, where the father signs a deal for dark magickal powers to save his daughter, who by then has no need of saving. His selfishness and ego created a sense of desperation in him in which he perceived dark magick to be the only way out of his miserable situation. In some stories, like Full Metal Alchemist, the author brings the plot full circle and has the characters realize the true meaning and power of magick. In doing so the plot doesn’t stay trapped in the trope of “magick is for the crazy”, but rather shows the balance and the duality of magick in the hands of man. But not all stories make it that far. Some stay in the land of delusion and insist that the magick using character is an antagonist or will become one. There are some stories that illustrate different types of magick, the “good” and the “bad”, and although it is oversimplified, still does more justice in the sense that the protagonist portrays magick in a positive light.
Cultural stories hold a lot of collective power and are in their own right a form of magick. This is often why magick users in a work are also portrayed as story tellers. We as a community must acknowledge the weight of our words and stories and be sure to express the true beauty, resonance and duality of magick through our works.
It may sound bizarre, but magick is more than sparks from a wand and instant transformations. Magick, while it can be flashy, most often times can be mistaken for the mundane because it is around us at all times. Magick is a force inside all of us waiting to be awakened. We are all capable of truly amazing magick, and with intense study, research, devotion, discipline, and practice we can all be spectacular mages! Believing in magick is not “crazy”; it is not for the unhinged or ridiculous. Magick is for believers, for those who know and feel the power of the Earth and Universe coursing through their being; for those who seek to know and understand that feeling. Magick is power and this power brings with it a need for personal responsibility. When we accept that responsibility and hone our power we become master mages capable of wonderful things. We can show others the true gift magick is in this world.
So let’s get away from the “magick is for the crazy” narrative and instead embrace and share the knowledge and skill that inspires magick users around the world to delve into the mystical arts of the arcane. Safe travels and best wishes on your occult journeys my friends, and know I and my coven are always waiting for you at the crossroads.
Written by: Dikastiría
