Tag Archives: magick

Magic/Magick, Religion, Videos, Witchcraft

New Video: Power in the Craft

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In this week’s video over on YouTube, I talk about the concept of power in the Craft.

[youtube https://youtu.be/lS43xAW1oMA]

As a former evangelical, I think it’s important to have an understanding of power that prohibits control and abuse of others. One of the things I did not mention in the video is the role of systemic power. Also, institutional power.

I think that systemic/institutional power should be avoided. All individuals should have access to power. This leads to equity and justice. I keep coming back to the idea of self-empowerment in witchcraft. That’s because I think it’s an important topic.

Institutional power and self-empowerment often come to odds with one another. For evidence, consider how institutions expect individuals to give up freedoms and make sacrifices for “the greater good.” But whose greater good? Most often, the institutions’ greater good.

As an aside, I’m amused by the fact that this topic came up during Pride Month. LGBTQIA people (though clearly not the only group) have been hit hard and abused by institutional power. Especially the institutions of various Christian churches. We desperately need a vision of power that breaks down that harm.

Magic/Magick, Videos, Witchcraft

New Video: Magic as Self-Empowerment

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I created and posted a new video yesterday about practicing magic for self-empowerment

[youtube https://youtu.be/8sxiYSOC8zQ]

Listening to some witches and other magical practitioners talk lately, I feel like we forget that we work magic to empower ourselves and improve our lives. At least, I hope that’s why we do it.

It’s too easy to get bogged down in the rules. “Only do this kind of spell when the moon is in this phase.” “You can’t do that spell right now! Mercury/Venus/Pluto/the moon is retrograde!” (I know the moon can’t go retrograde. It was a joke.) Or magic and our rituals start feeling like heavy obligations. (“Ugh! It’s the full moon! What am I going to do for magic?” “I don’t know what spell to do.”)

As I say in the video, I feel like these kinds of statements and questions often indicate that someone has forgotten that we do magic for self-empowerment. Our magic must be tailored to serve us rather than the other way around.

Magic/Magick, Videos, Witchcraft

New Video: Living a Magical Life

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After an extended break, I decided to get back into making some YouTube videos about witchcraft. In this latest video, I talk about what it means to lie a magical life.

[youtube https://youtu.be/N-3j-5DfCOM]

As I mentioned in the video, I think this meshes well with my old podcast episode about the everyday sacred. When everything is sacred and every act is magical, the world becomes a thing of amazing beauty and we are left in awe of it.

I also think this understanding of what it means to live a magical life creates a more holistic mentality than an understanding of magic that focuses on mere spellwork and ritual. It encourages one to see oneself as a witch when getting up in the morning, when doing the dishes, and when showering.

This mentality is also helpful, I think, for those who feel pressure to be magical all the time. I’ve noticed a few times on Twitter people talking about how it’s okay to not work magic if you’re not feeling up to it, even if it’s a full moon or a sabbat. I completely agree, but I’d take it a step further by noting that an intentional decision to take not do something for the sake of your own health is actively living a magical life as well.

Videos, Witchcraft

Witchcraft Video: Getting Started

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Banner for "A Wyrd-Worker's Wisdom" YouTube Channel

This weekend, I uploaded my second witchcraft video on YouTube. This one is about getting started.

[youtube https://youtu.be/6yg8cwpjnyc]

I appreciate Sarah Anne suggesting this topic to me. It pushed me to think about my recommendations for beginner witches. When people ask how to get started or what to study first, I often reply with, “It depends on what you want to learn.” That’s a true statement. However, it’s not helpful to those just starting out. Going through my personal story while writing this video’s script helped me come up with solid bits of advice. For example, I remembered the basic practices I consider fundamental.

By remembering my own “wrong turns” or “detours,” I remembered to encourage beginners to risk making a few false starts. I found the important message that figuring out what doesn’t work for you — even through trial and error — is an important part of the learning process.

I’m also convinced of the wisdom of my “stick with one book at first” stance. Many will question that position. However, I think that critical engagement with a single text really is important for beginners. With luck, they will seek out further sources as a result of that engagement.

Of course, there is one bit of advice that I did not cover in this witchcraft video. I still think it’s vital to define what one hopes to get out of witchcraft.

Magic/Magick, Witchcraft

Creating Magical Space

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Jarred wearing a ritual robe and casting a circle as part of creating magical space.

As I think back on my video about casting a circle, I find myself wondering if I fully answered Catz’s question. You see, I focused specifically on the part of marking out the circle and cutting it away from “ordinary” space. I’ve found that some people also consider calling the quarters as well. I see them as separate acts that are part of a single cumulative process: creating magical space. Some witches I know also call this “constructing the temple.”

To me, this is what the whole opening phase (and I’ll get into the phases of ritual in a future video) of a rite is all about.

  1. We cleanse the space with incense, saltwater, sound, and other methods to make sure it’s cleared of negativity and chaotic energies.
  2. We then mark out the magical space and separate it. As I said in the video, this is what casting the circle is all about.
  3. We then fill that space. By calling the elements in. We ask the Divine to join us. In my work, I also invite the ancestors and land-wights (nature spirits) in.

A well-planned rite or liturgical structure works to make sure that each of those steps work together. It keeps the themes going and offers a sense of cohesiveness. It draws us into our time with the Divine and the work we will do in that magical space.

For those who missed it, here’s my video on casting a circle.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQ42z40hk8]

I’m not sure whether I’ll do a video about the other components of creating magical space. Let me know if that’s something you’d find useful.

Meta-Blogging, Videos, Witchcraft

New Witchy YouTube Channel

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Image of the YouTube Banner for the channel.

Hello, readers! I’m back from a lengthy hiatus and I have a great announcement. I have decided to start a witchy YouTube channel.

Why I’m doing this

I originally considered starting a YouTube channel back when I started The Bed and the Blade podcast last summer. At the time, I felt like it would take too much time and effort.

But after looking at other witchy YouTube channels like Chaotic Witch Aunt and Hearth Witch, I decided I had too much to say on witchcraft and Pagan spirituality not to start a channel. Hence, A Wyrd-Worker’s Wisdom was conceived and, as of Sunday, born.

About the channel name

I chose the title, because in the Norse traditions, I see witchcraft as a sort of act of altering and laying out wyrd, and I felt that the use of the word “wyrd-working” would both uniquely identify me and pay homage to the primary context in which in which I work magic. I could’ve used “seithman” instead, but I liked the alliteration better.

How the new channel fits into my overall online presence

For any fans of the podcast, rest assured that I plan to bring that back as well and hope to work some sort of synergy between blog, podcast, and YouTube channel. The podcast will resume at it’s original pace of one episode a month, though I hope to do a YouTube video each week. In some ways, I’m finding it easier to produce videos than podcasts. Though I’m also finding that getting into video production is a (potentially) more expensive endeavor than a podcast, go figure.

Introducing the first video

Currently, I only have one video up. It’s about casting a circle. Check it out below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TvQ42z40hk8]

As you might notice, I need to work on the video quality. I’m still learning how to properly use my lighting equipment (plus I have more lights coming) and I need to position things better so I can refer to my script without looking like I’m gazing off into nowhere. But the information itself is solid, I think. Let me know what you think!

Planning ahead

I’m still trying to work out a schedule for everything. Tentatively, I plan on having podcast episodes continue to come out the last Saturday of the month and releasing a new video every Tuesday. As for blog posts, I may scale them back and/or change what days I schedule them for.

Keep checking for more details as they are become available!