Not all witches care about the moon.
Some of us work with the sun, or other energies. Don’t generalise.
This is a PSA. I am not doing research, so I don’t know and can’t tell you how many other witches are similar to me. I’m speculating I might be in the minority because even WITHIN the community I get misunderstood and misjudged a lot — not to mention all the curious outsiders who know next to nothing about witchcraft and hold on to the moon stereotype. I’m not writing this to shame them. There is logic to their thinking. Historically, witchcraft has always been considered overwhelmingly feminine/yin/lunar or you-name-it. I’m simply introducing exceptions to you.
Before the feminist SJW police comes arrest me (for the zillionth time), consider this: try following me first. Get used to my way of speaking and the things I’ve already said over time. THEN, you’re allowed to make a judgement. Don’t make the judgement BEFORE getting to know me, because let me tell you, I’m not easy to figure out. No, I don’t care how many people you’ve successfully figured out at first sight because you have a strong intuition or whatever. I’m not one of them. I’m telling you. If you’re stubborn and insist on assumptions anyway, you’ll end up having to confront your failure. But sure, I don’t control you. You do you. I was just offering a friendly word of advice which would ultimately spare YOU from embarrassment. But I can only take a horse to water — I can’t make it drink.
The truth is, there are a lot of so-called feminists on the internet (who IMO are failing at feminism. Sorry, not sorry) who end up so radical and black-and-white in their views, that they go as far as worshipping femininity and accepting nothing less than hyperfeminine people in their circles of trust. I feel sad for them, for how misguided they are, and how many opportunities of legit alliance they’re missing out on in this pursuit of absolute perfection. Like, who cares if a woman says she’s “a bit masculine”? That’s not a hindrance for her to be a feminist too. The same way, men can be allies to feminism; their gender doesn’t matter, even if they’re super masculine men they can still be allies; what matters is their character. (And don’t get me started on the trans). But you’re not going to believe that unless you stop fearing so much and start DARING to trust more. That’s a decision I cannot take FOR anyone. That’s a lesson life usually teaches you, for good or for worse. You can only run away from it and stay in your safe place for so long.
Aye, there is a hint of sadness in my tone today. Congrats if you picked up on that. It’s the same feeling of non-belonging I’m well familiar with. I don’t belong in any one place, or culture. And today I also confess that I don’t belong in any one gender. I wish I was a woman, because I do identify with that, and I’m cis in fact, but whenever I look around… Women aren’t exactly welcoming to me, are they? I don’t tick all the boxes to be “one of them”. At the same time, I don’t fully belong with men, despite the fact some of my best friends are men. I’m still a woman after all. But that’s okay, I’ve come to terms with that. I’ve accepted already that I am a very “grey area person” in a world that is afraid of grey areas. As a result, most of the people who stick around me are above-average brave and bold (or toughened-up by trauma — there’s that too), regardless of their gender. Average people eventually run away. I’m not a piece of cake, of course they’d run away. That’s also okay.
Try not to misunderstand this as a sob story. I only share in public what can’t be used to hurt me, rest assured. And I only share in public what has a practical purpose — this is no exception. I said the above for you to understand that energy predominance isn’t exactly a thing we get to choose. I didn’t make a decision to “not be a femme”, because that has always been true, it didn’t just happen out of a sudden. I was born that way. Speaking of that…
My background with the sun started in birth.
The answer to the question “how long have you been working with the sun”, in my case, is literally “since birth”.
Not all solar people are like that; energy work is a thing that requires intent, you can’t accidentally do it. But in my particular case, that has always been true: ever since I remember, I’ve had intent. I wouldn’t just feel drawn to it because of the light and warmth, I also have always allowed it to recharge me in a way. Growing up, this remained true, and it’s a very intimate truth — if you know me from a secular context, you don’t know that. You wouldn’t have guessed that just by observing me, since there are times when I actually avoid the sun. I’m not into sunbathing either, because it’s not for the aesthetic. It’s not for the “exposure”. It’s WHAT I DO with the exposure I get, however little. I don’t take it for granted, don’t exaggerate, and don’t deprive myself too long either. It’s literally sacred.
And let me repeat a thing here real quick: you can’t be gluttonous with the sacred. Some level of self-control is key. No, that’s not just a Christian thing, you’ll also find it in Buddhism, and Hinduism, Shamanism, and you-name-the-religion. I don’t care that some Neopagans disagree; they’re wrong. They’re vastly outnumbered worldwide. Maybe they should get off the high horse and listen to this worldwide majority, because surely if the “sin” of gluttony has been figured out in so many cultures (some of which didn’t have contact), then there must be some truth to it. Just sayin’.
Anyway, I’ve always had “a thing” with the sun.
Astrologers would say my birth chart gives it away, and indeed it does, hence the picture above. I have one very important object in Leo. It reflects my stronger-than-normal connection to our closest star. That being said, I’m sceptical everyone’s birth chart would give that away, in case they relate. This could just be coincidence. I’m not after doing field research, so take it with a grain of salt.
When someone teaches me a spell, I often replace moon with sun, midnight with midday, water with fire (even if just an extra candle etc) in order to make it work
Sure, not always; just often. Too often for dismissing it as coincidence. Also, the examples above are simplistic. I just don’t feel like diving too deep into details and nuance here because let me remind you: we’re on Medium. Not Patheos Pagan, lol.
I often have to adapt the “standard” to my reality, or else I’ll struggle. This is also true for things that aren’t spells, for instance rituals with a purpose or even a simple guided meditation. I just don’t connect that easily with lunar/night/ “goth” imagery at all, and I’ve learned to embrace that instead of trying to force-fit myself into a place I wasn’t born to occupy.
I’m sharing this info because perhaps there are people out there who at some point felt drawn to witchcraft, but ended up shying away from it because they weren’t obtaining even a tiny bit of success.
Sometimes it’s not you. It’s the one-size-fits-all model you’re being fed.
Don’t misconstrue my message, though. I’m not saying EVERYTHING is adaptable. You must exercise caution. I’m talking about those spells/rituals/workings that already ARE elemental and/or seasonal in nature. What I said DOES NOT APPLY to workings where the elemental quality is just an aside or doesn’t matter much. Like for instance if you’re dealing with spirits, or demons, or whatever — Follow. The. Instructions. Don’t go changing things. If it’s not the 4 elements you’re primarily dealing with, don’t bring elemental adaptations into it. That should go without saying.
My discourse here has more to do with overall elemental and astrological leanings. Let’s face it: nobody on Earth is perfectly balanced. It’s okay to bring “imbalance” into your ritual if that’s going to resonate with the “imbalance” you already have within you. In a way, that’s empowering because it allows you to accept yourself the way you are, including your shortcomings.
And last but not least: aye, of course you can work on your weakness. Of course you can gradually introduce energies you aren’t familiar with into your practice in the pursuit of balance. That’s healthy and wise. But it’s gradual, and in the beginning it will feel like a struggle. It can’t happen unless you’ve already embraced “what is”.
