I’ve always considered myself religious and/or spiritual. The word I chose to describe myself really depended on when in my life you ask me and where I was on my path seeking Truth. Was I religious? Yes, indeed I was - if at that time I was Roman Catholic or Methodist or One of Jehovah’s Witnesses. Was I spiritual? Yes, if you asked me at any other time. Because, you see, just as countless others have, I’ve traveled a convoluted winding pathway of concepts and ideas some filled with contradictions and absolutes as well as freedom from all dogma and restrictions. I am constantly seeking the answers to life’s most profound questions. You know the ones: Why am I here? What is the purpose of my life? What does God want from me? The list of questions goes on and on and I always felt there was a way to find the answers. I was certain they didn’t dwell in a book nor would pure faith give me the responses I sought. I knew they were within my reach. Somewhere. I just couldn’t see them. I needed to find the key, which my spirit/soul/inner being told me was buried within spirituality.
Once I started consciously practicing magick I was comfortable labeling myself a witch; more precisely a solitary Eclectic Wiccan Witch. I realize there is much controversy in the pagan community as to whether a solitary should use the title of Wiccan but it never really bothered me. My intention isn’t to strip those who are members of a Traditional coven of their hard work and practice but to find a label that those in the mundane world can somewhat understand. Generally I tend to use the word Pagan to describe me in a broader sense but believe it or not, ‘Pagan’ is usually met by a look of confusion. So I will then explain that I am Wiccan – this receives nods of comprehension – even if it’s just because they’ve heard/read the word before.
When I started operating my booth at the local flea market I began using the word witch more often to describe what I am and what I do. The general public is comfortable with labels even if it is ones they don’t fully understand and I have no issues with them myself. I understand that people have a desire to categorize things so that it is easier for them to grasp the concept more fully. If an individual is of the more curious nature and inquires more into my beliefs then I do my best to explain what it means to be Wiccan – that it is my spiritual path, my religion.
A friend of mine has fondly labeled me ‘her psychic friend’. At first I scoffed because to me, at the time, a psychic was someone like Miss Cleo from The Psychic Friend’s Network. I was in no way like Miss Cleo. But after contemplating what being a Psychic is (a person who possesses the ability to sense nonphysical or supernatural forces and influences) I realized that yes, I am a psychic, too. Practicing magick, divination, and necromancy – all that would fall neatly into that category. So yeah, I am a psychic - though I’d rather use the term witch. But hey, whatever label you are comfortable with to describe me is fine by me.
Erin, one of my dearest friends used yet another term to describe me. A term that I would have never thought of for myself but yet may just be a fitting description of who I am. In an email that she sent to another of her friends she used the word ‘mystic’ to describe me. Mystic. Huh. I’ve never considered the word before. What is the definition of a mystic? Well, I found that a mystic is a person who is in pursuit of communion with divinity through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on practices intended to nurture those experiences. Yeah. Mystic. Spiritual. While psychic, in my opinion, really centers on science mystic in turn centers around spirituality and that definitely would be me.
So am I a witch? A Wiccan? A psychic? A mystic? Am I or could I be a combination of all of them? Funny how some of life’s complex questions still have answers I once thought I had found but apparently am still seeking them.
When I started operating my booth at the local flea market I began using the word witch more often to describe what I am and what I do. The general public is comfortable with labels even if it is ones they don’t fully understand and I have no issues with them myself. I understand that people have a desire to categorize things so that it is easier for them to grasp the concept more fully. If an individual is of the more curious nature and inquires more into my beliefs then I do my best to explain what it means to be Wiccan – that it is my spiritual path, my religion.
A friend of mine has fondly labeled me ‘her psychic friend’. At first I scoffed because to me, at the time, a psychic was someone like Miss Cleo from The Psychic Friend’s Network. I was in no way like Miss Cleo. But after contemplating what being a Psychic is (a person who possesses the ability to sense nonphysical or supernatural forces and influences) I realized that yes, I am a psychic, too. Practicing magick, divination, and necromancy – all that would fall neatly into that category. So yeah, I am a psychic - though I’d rather use the term witch. But hey, whatever label you are comfortable with to describe me is fine by me.
Erin, one of my dearest friends used yet another term to describe me. A term that I would have never thought of for myself but yet may just be a fitting description of who I am. In an email that she sent to another of her friends she used the word ‘mystic’ to describe me. Mystic. Huh. I’ve never considered the word before. What is the definition of a mystic? Well, I found that a mystic is a person who is in pursuit of communion with divinity through direct experience, intuition, instinct or insight. Mysticism usually centers on practices intended to nurture those experiences. Yeah. Mystic. Spiritual. While psychic, in my opinion, really centers on science mystic in turn centers around spirituality and that definitely would be me.
So am I a witch? A Wiccan? A psychic? A mystic? Am I or could I be a combination of all of them? Funny how some of life’s complex questions still have answers I once thought I had found but apparently am still seeking them.
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