#OCCULTEA
WHAT IS THIS HASHTAG ALL ABOUT?
Whether or not this idea has been generated by AI or by an actual living being, I don't know...but it appeared on my YT the other day and it does pose some interesting questions!
I shall also do a video on each of the 5 aspects, alongside the posts here (also in 5 parts!). Enjoy, share, reply and make your own if you feel so inspired!
IMPACT ON COMMUNITY
What is my personal reason/inspiration for sharing my practice online?
What am I looking to achieve by participating? Education, learning or connections?
How do I believe social media has impacted the witchcraft community as a whole?
How do I think social platforms (tiktok, Insta, YT) have impacted education/sharing information?
​Has consuming witchcraft content become a substitute for practice?
1. My practice is multi-faceted, after all everything is magick! For me, it's not just something I 'do', it's how I live. And, in spite of being caught up in the webs of the societal matrix at times in my life, I have always embodied a different way of thinking/feeling/being (and am blessed to now be with someone who holds that space for me and vice-versa!).
So, my craft has been one of decades...honing, evolving...through the lenses of acting (excellent occult training!), voice work, yoga & meditation (and training to teach both of these), Soul-level healing, sound therapy, occultist and Witch...Witchcraft being the pinnacle of all of those lenses for me, as I see it. It continues to evolve!
The reason why I share online (think of it like a slice of what we do, not the whole apple...else I would be on the laptop 24/7!) is when I began this journey....a long long time ago, BI (Before Internet), having these kinds of conversations and sharing these kinds of ideas were impossible unless you knew the right people. I'm not even going to talk about what my friends, back then 30 odd years ago, said when I told them I was walking a Witchcraft path! I wish I had then the kind of guidance I offer people now. I have had some most amazing feedback from adepts, novices and those betwixt the two, who were stuck in something or unsure about how to move forward. They thank me, even send gifts...but that's not the reason for sharing...I grin like an idiot when I see someone fly (LOL not literally, well not yet anyway!!), it's that simple!
I also have an innate fondness for responsibility HAhahah. Advanced Witchcraft/Magick is only ever shared with our students (coven). Simple.
I also love creating my metaphysical machines (altars)...for me they are a from of my creativity and I do share them (again...more of a slice, rather than the close-ups!). I will say this though...I will not be in fear of sharing. I spent waaay too long in the broom closet to ever be scared of the label Witch or Occultist!
2. Participation means I am adding my energy into the mix! How that unfolds is the beauty of my synchromystic illuminated path!
3. My own experience with social media and Witchcraft has not been great - honestly, I do prefer a gathering...online or in person, I'm not fussy, what I found when I did have a Witchcraft fb group was the constant challenge of engaging folk...and not for want of trying either...hours sat in front of the screen creating content for the group...not that it wasn't appreciated, but there was a very small percentage who did engage. It felt very 'not me'. The times when it didn't feel like that were when I was doing a livestream in the group. Video really makes a difference when engaging online...it's part of the reason I got over my fear of the camera and started my YT channel! It's the next best thing to being in-person!
I have to say that the 'plastic fantastic' perfectionism which social media can foster is rather obvious when you have the magickal eyes with which to see! And what folks want now...more than ever is an authentic connection to an actual person and not some 'vision' of what the societal matrix deems as acceptable! Let the world see more of who you really are! ​💚
4. In these times of faster, more, bitesized info, nownownow...I say we go deeper! Challenge the narrative...break the programming! Screw the algorithm! But that's the Lion's Roar in me LOL 'The scroll' has birthed a nation of screen zombies...we see it all the time. I guess I find it sad, because I've had most of my life without all this gadgetising (yes, that IS a word!) and I'm really damn happy about that! As much as I enjoy the internet and creating an online presence...it's a tool, not a lifestyle!
5. Information and knowledge is not wisdom. Wisdom is knowledge in action. Knowledge is information embodied.
You can read book after book after book and claim to be knowledgeable by repeating what you have read...but the knowing is different...it's in your being an usually not from books. Wisdom comes from applying your knowledge and weaving your synchromystic illuminated path! It's called the Craft for a reason!