‘Juju’, Creepy Crawlies and Bad Omens

‘Juju’, Creepy Crawlies and Bad Omens:

 the Realities of Feelings

Black Salt, Good for Banishing Spirits & Protecting a Home

 
     A friend and former coworker tagged me in a comment on Facebook sometime during the night. I rolled over and checked my email as I wake up, the way I do every morning. (Hey, some people drink coffee, I read my email to get my brain in gear.) He had encountered an animal on his way home from work late and it left him with a feeling of foreboding. The discussion progressed to supernatural reasons for seeing such a thing. Without something to add, I moved about my morning.

     Once I’m at my office and settled in, I pulled up Facebook. Right now, my job involves a lot of hurry up and wait. So they allow me to occupy my brain, as long as I make sure the customers are taken care of. So, back to Facebook, I’m looking through my feed when I see an update from the same friend.

     “So update to last night's story- I had a flat tire this morning and I'm just waiting for something bad to happen. Creepy, eh?”

     I told this friend I’d be writing a blog post about our interaction because this is something I’ve seen more than once and it’s something I wanted to discuss.

     Amy Blackthorn: Fuck that waiting around shit. Don't allow it into your space. Do something. Dump a McDonald’s packet of salt into a cup of water and anoint yourself. Say a prayer. Say, "Fuck off!" Light a birthday candle. Cast a circle. Cast a Square. Don't just sit and wait for bad shit to happen. Well protected is good. Just remember what they say in martial arts, "No matter how good you are, somewhere there's someone better." We have those senses for a reason. Any time I've had that sense and didn't do something about it,

BAD SHIT happened.

(Hello Tractor trailer, 27 broken bones, 72 pins and years in a wheelchair).

     I’m trying to figure out where we are in our personal evolutions. Go to a gathering of Pagans or Witchy folk and you’ll likely hear a mention at some point about feelings, ‘juju’, or the like. Most people are quick to jump in with their experience, but that’s usually where it ends. People want to talk and share their experiences and occasionally they’ll ask for opinions, personal revelations or simply validation of their feelings on the subject.

     I’ve noticed this outside of our little world in one place in particular, “Reality” ghost hunting television shows. People hear something go bump in the night, and the next thing you know, you’ve got a bunch of yahoos in fatigues running around your house with night vision cameras strapped to their heads. Viewers see people attempting to antagonize the dead, using dramatic pauses and fervent “Did you hear that?” questioning. One of the issues I have with shows of this ilk is If they find something they feel is compelling evidence, they show the owner of the property, and then pack up and go home. “Yup, it’s haunted. Bye!” Wait. What just happened?

     Why do we stop there? Why acknowledge the fact that you feel something bad is going to happen, only to sit around and wait for the other shoe to drop? Magic is supposed to be a last resort, after all of the ‘real world’ things have been ruled out. That doesn’t mean we have to sit idly by and wonder at our fate. If it really is fate, that the other shoe drops, it will. However, if taking a step out of the way saves your bacon, I’d take that step. Wouldn’t you?

     If we accept that we have developed these feelings for a purpose, then it stands to reason that we were meant to DO something with them. So do it. Rearrange the furniture so that energy doesn’t have a place to lie. Smudge the house. Open the windows and let the fresh air in. Get rid of your clutter. Just do Something.

One Golden Rule, slightly tarnished

The Wiccan Rede
From Pagan Prompts

While I know some of you are not Wiccan, I do know that lots of people follow a 'golden rule' of sorts. Do you follow the Wiccan Rede ("And it harm none, do as you will.")? Or some variant of?
-------

Part One: To Rede and Rite.
I taught an entire class on the Rede at one point; as a teaching duo. Neither myself nor the other instructor follow the Rede. Several students in the past have been shocked into silence at that statement. The assumption by one student was clear. "Well you don't have any morals!", she stated with her lower lip thrust out.

"I most certainly do", I assured the class. "'Rede' means 'to advise' and is not, as many new Wiccans assert the Wiccan version of the Ten Commandments." The student in question spent the rest of the class standing against the rear wall, arms crossed, and a scowl on her face.

Whether or not you follow the Rede, finding your own morals and making the choices for yourself, is what is important. We find our moral centers at different times in life, and through our own set of experiences. Some feel it is wrong to take a life, period. Our Soldiers and Law Enforcement are occasionally called upon to take a life in the line of duty to spare others. This is not a duty they take on lightly, but for the good of all. Whether or not you agree with a single action by police or military, they are doing what they feel is right for everyone.

Some Wiccans come from Traditions where they teach you to "do what is necessary", instead of refusing harm; a previous Tradition of mine is one such. It was founded by former abuse victims, who saw nothing wrong with binding those intent on doing others harm. We were taught that to refuse harm in the name of the Rede, rather than face evil and stop it was just as wrong. Again, it comes back to forming your own guidelines, rather than depending on an all encompassing rule.

An oft quoted movie once stated, "There is another kind of evil which we must fear most, and that is the indifference of good men." Good people stand by and allow evil things to happen so often, the phenomenon has its own name, "Genovese Syndrome". It may be hard or scary to come to the aid of another person, so stopping the harm before it happens to someone else could be the next step.

Living as best you can isn't so bad, is it? Gathering together with your fellows and celebrating your lives, trials and tributes is beautiful. The full version of the Rede is a beautiful poem. It has great ideas, and hints for living your life. For example: 'Elder be the Lady's tree, burn it not or cursed ye'll be.' Elder is a purgative, if you burn it, it will make you sick.


Part Two: Black and White, Not always right.
On the flip side, we have Victor Anderson's quote, "White magic is poetry. Black magic is anything that works." The idea of attributing color to magic is a popular one, but lacks vision.

Is healing "white" magic or "black" magic? Most of my students respond, "white". However, if your healing ritual prolongs someone's suffering in a losing battle with cancer, the line is no longer as clear. Buying someone flowers sounds like a nice thing to do, but if I'm only doing it so that I can butter you up to tell you I side swiped your car in the parking lot, the line between perceived good and bad gets thinner.

The reason I agree with Victor Anderson is we aren't omniscient. No matter how well we try to see the outcome of our spell work, there is always some possibility that we can not see. Need a job, do a spell, right? However, if you do a spell, are you keeping a mother of three on unemployment? If you work to get a specific job, are you closing the window to an even better job? If a spell is needed, make sure to leave room for the Gods to give you better than you can dream of.

Let's be clear, spell work is a LAST resort, not the first. If you really need to get your supplies out and connect, light some incense and meditate or cast circle and talk to the Gods.

In closing, it's not the Rule that should be Golden, it's you.
----------------
And in Blog related news, my Aphrodite post goes live July 13th!