Just sharing a link about cultural appropiation in witchcraft.

[Za-har]

I was doing some research about the topic and I find this very interesting article called “How to be a witch without stealing other people’s cultures” and I think you epic people would like to read too, so I will just put the link because is long and keep going as I bless you!

[https://mashable.com/article/witchtok-problematic-witch-cultural-appropriation](https://mashable.com/article/witchtok-problematic-witch-cultural-appropriation)

Discussion

[DephosieDracaenae]

My mom’s side is italian ancestry. We use frankincense and myrrh
Dad is Irish heritage. Juniper is a good option.
Every culture has their own thing. Decolonize and find your roots

[starofthelivingsea]

Just read the article.

I loved it.Really put the dot on a lot of folks too.

From the article:

“There’s also a difference between folk magic and formal religions that were born out of slavery and colonialism, like Santería, Voodoo, and Candomblé.” THIS.

This is what also gives me a headache.When people generalize ATRs as just “witchcraft” or “voodoo” – not understanding that these are closed RELIGIONS one has to be initiated into.

[traumablades]

The worst for me is how smudging has become not only misappropriated but is widely misunderstood and misused. Not to mention the fact that over harvesting has ruined the wild populations of white sage, a particularly hard to find plant to begin with.

Smoke cleansing and smudging are not the same. Smudging is a closed practice. White sage is not the only cleansing smoke, and non Natives should avoid purchasing it to help prevent the plants extinction.

Thanks for the share, OP. Awareness is the first step to doing better

[SnoWidget]

That was an excellent read, thank you for sharing!

[GreetngsFrmVanWifers]

Thank you for sharing this! 👏

[cloverthewonderkitty]

I was just thinking about this the other day when the song Voodoo by Godsmack(?) came on the radio. Like, here’s this white dude capitalizing off of something POC women were straight up punished, abused and killed for practicing, but somehow he was cool and edgy for his pathetic white washing and cultural appropriation. Thanks for sharing this article!

[BipedalHumanoid230]

As far as I know, many if not all cultures have a history of ritual smoke cleansing using plants. I agree over harvesting is wrong, but using incense is okay.

[ArtLadyCat]

That article gives me mixed feelings with the specifics on where it comes from because it makes something that goes both ways into a one way street but also yes- my religion is not an aesthetic and I hate that I have to explain to uninitiated friends how to spot a fraud because mine is one of the more common ones to impersonate. Even certain other pagan faiths have a rocky relationship with us because they do so and have done so before, ‘for survival’ etc, because popular media at the time pushed it as ‘good witches’(enough in sure plenty will know what I’m talking about by that alone). So our relationship with other groups was strained for awhile as a rule, more so than the differences in core tenets already make it.

In the end I agree with the point, if not the extremely one way lense this filters it through.

[AppropriateScience9]

Very nice article. Thanks for sharing! This really makes me want to highlight and celebrate BIPOC and LGBTQ+ witches and their work even more. I love that this sub is a vehicle for that. 🙂

[erikalg_vo]

Thank you for the share!

[Training_Wolverine39]

WONDERFUL read!

[lupinus_texensis]

Lovely read! Thanks for sharing.

[Fudgiehead]

I’ve been looking for articles like this!! Thank you

[bisexualnosebleed]

My first book I read that made me want to practice magic/be a witch was Juliet Diaz’s Witchery: Embrace the Witch Within. Really cool to see her mentioned here!

[The_Living_Good]

Thank you! 💖