Magic and Accessibility
Accessibility when it comes to witchcraft is a topic I've been interested in a while now. So much of witchcraft and spirituality's allure comes from its mystery. No one knows for certain how a reading becomes true or how a spell works. We are simply held by the belief that x comes before y, thus y is caused by x (Post Hoc ergo Propter Hoc.)
But that is neither here nor there. I can talk about the intricacies of spirituality and beliefs in general in a separate post. We're here to talk about accessibility. There's no debate that there are a bunch of practitioners and believers that gatekeep information for the sake of exclusivity.
A common concern I see is that the more witchcraft becomes more accessible, the more people get into it. More people = more bad eggs. This is then added upon with other concerns such as bastardization of open practices, appropriation of closed practices, and disrespect towards entities and/or deities. Therefore, gatekeeping is important so that we can weed out the bad eggs and ensure that our community is safe.
I'd like to pose a question. Where did you learn witchcraft and/or spirituality? Was it through your family, your friends, or the internet? Regardless of your answer, I am 99.99999% sure that you learned it somewhere. Whether that be from a book, movie, show, or another individual. You learned it from somewhere. What you learned didn't simply just spawn in your brain. Someone taught you that shit.
Another question, what did you feel after your first successful spiritual act? (your spell worked, your reading was accurate, your prayer was heard, etc.) Did you feel like your needs or wants were met? (even if it was just a little?)
If that's the case, then now you have two reasons as to why accessibility is important. If it isn't obvious, let me list it down.
- YOU LEARN FROM OTHER PEOPLE. IF OTHER PEOPLE DON'T EXIST THEN HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO LEARN MORE???
- People have needs and wants. Our reasoning may not all be the same, but what we have in common is that we were brought to this path because we need and/or want something. It can be as simple as plain interest or as dire as a dying loved one.
It is important to remember that spirituality is not a monolith. There is no one and done way to do things. As time goes on, society evolves and so does history. Our needs as an individual and our norms as a society will change and our practices will reflect that.
That is not to say that you can just take what you need, do what you want, and leave. As an individual that interacts with the spiritual community online, you have the responsibility to guide other practitioners and/or believers into the path you believe is best. You yourself would not have learned magic on your own. You would have learned it either through your family, friends, or the internet (If someone comes here to tell me that they learned it on their own, that's absolute bullcrap. Try me.)