Witchcraft is the recourse of the oppressed, and it always has been. It is subversive, countercultural, revolutionary. It breaks unjust bonds. It uplifts the downtrodden. It punishes the wicked. And the real danger for the Craft in the 21st Century is that mainstreaming it and becoming respectable in the eyes of the overculture — which many Wiccans and Pagans have worked toward for decades — will render the Craft impotent.
Maybe I’m just old-fashioned, but I learned early on in my training that a witch who can’t hurt, can’t heal, and that all magick has a cost that is far more expensive than money can pay for. It’s not the price of a candle or the inconvenience of physical effort. It’s whether or not you’re willing to step into the flow of fate and bend it to your will — and then accept the consequences of that action, however far-reaching they may be.
I grew up on 1990’s sci-fi, and one of the little axioms that has stuck with me is a quote from the TV series Babylon 5, from the black-clad space ranger Marcus Cole: “I used to think it was awful that life was so unfair. Then I thought, ‘wouldn’t it be much worse if life were fair, and all the terrible things that happen to us come because we actually deserve them?’ So now I take great comfort in the general hostility and unfairness of the universe.”
Yes, life is unfair. That’s what I said. And that unfairness is upheld by systems of injustice which disadvantage women, people of color, queer folk, and non-Christians, among others. Who gives a rat’s ass about recycling all your cans and jars or going vegan or using only fair-trade, organic textiles from woman-owned small businesses in parts of the world you have no plans to visit? Corporations are killing the planet here. Exploited workers are starving here. Black people are being murdered here. Indigenous women are going missing here. And if your Craft doesn’t support and embrace the act of leveling the playing field for those who are being oppressed, then what the hell are you practicing for except to make your own moderately privileged life a little more comfortable at the expense of others?
Ask yourself why you are upholding white supremacy, capitalism, and dominionism. Then stop doing it. Resist however you can — physically, magickally, financially. Organize. Support those who have already organized. Don’t cross that picket line. Record that police interaction. Use your privilege as a weapon and as a megaphone to magnify the voices of others. Don’t hide in your cloak’s hood and tell yourself you’re waiting for the right moment to strike. Stop the harm now.
Stop the harm now.