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Discussion
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I thought I would make a post where we can respectfully discuss our witchcraft pet-peeves. please do not disrespect anyones culture, religion, or spiritual beliefs. For example, don’t respond with “I hate when witches do \_\_\_\_\_ spells!”. Be kind and try to keep things light hearted.
some of my witchcraft pet-peeves:
1. when people spell altar as alter
2. when people water down my beliefs and practices to me just being “witchy”
3. when people call me a “baby witch”
4. the phrase “do people *still* believe in Greek gods???”what are yours?
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What are some of your witchcraft pet-peeves?
updated 1 year, 8 months ago
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The alter thing bothers me so much! It’s all over TikTok!
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The fucking difficulty getting ethically sourced ingredients for anything! Need lapis, obsidian, whatever other crystal for a spell? Good luck figuring out how and where it was mined. Need an herb or spice from a faraway land, like cinnamon or ylang ylang or anise? Freaking almost impossible to find out if it’s ethically harvested/processed. And why does it matter? Because, I believe, if the ingredients you’re using harmed the earth, it’s creatures, or it’s people to get to you, they’re not going to be bringing clean energy to your craft. Also, ya know, slavery and deforestation are objectively evil. It’s driven me to use almost exclusively local goods in my practice (and as much as possible in my mundane life). I even bought my own still for making essential oils myself. But goddamn, a little transparency in the supply chain would be appreciated!
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Wanting to meditate but the cats want attention. Wait this is more “common witch problems” than a pet peeve.
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Serious: Calling a pet a “familiar”.
Considering the history behind the term, derived from “familiar spirit”, and what they have been (and still are, in many traditions) used for – just off the top of my head: protecting the witch from the energy/works of malicious practitioners, assistants in spirit-work and shadow-work, even astral messengers – would anyone who cares for a living breathing creature (dog, cat, bunny, lizard, snake, etc.) *really* **want** to put said critter through all that‽
Once a pet has crossed the Veil, I do believe they may come back in spirit form as a potential or quasi-familiar; and it is then up to the witch to decide if that progresses or not.
Lighter:
– Coloured candles where it’s just an outer layer over standard white wax (those awesome “bleeding” candles are excepted).
– Over-eager newbies wanting to assign deeper meaning to everything that happens (hoofbeats = horses, not unicorns!).
– People who don’t walk a certain path gatekeeping it.
– “WitchTok”, and all that that implies… -
When people claim they come from Salem witches…or reference the American burning times. Neither of which are factual historical inferences. There were no witches in Salem, people were killed for property, fun, and mass hysteria. And there was no great american mass hunting of witches for our spiritual practice (yet).
It’s one thing to claim generational practice(super valid, super real, super common), it’s another to claim “potent bloodlines” that make you specialz. The European witch hunts were so much more than just hunting people for religious beliefs. It was used to control, intimidate, fear monger, and murder people who were respected by their community so that mainly Catholic churches could take over(but not limited ro). I mean claim a man’s a witch if he’s the towns governor, kill him, and install new government. Super easy scheme. Even if you do come from some lineage that has a distant relative who was persecuted, it’s not likely they were practicing witchcraft as we do today. And to use it as a cudgel against other witches, or to use it to feel superior is just dumb.
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1.”I did a spell/ritual last night and haven’t seen it work”
2.”what books/crystals/supplies do I need to buy for a beginner’s (Insert item here)”
3. “What Gods/Goddess should I invoke?” -
“A spider died on my altar/I found a bird feather outside/I saw a cloud that looked like a cat, what does it mean? Is it Insert X Deity Here?”
Most likely it has no greater significance other than you found something/saw something. Focus more on what it *means to you* and in your pursuit of the Craft instead of “OMG it’s Loki asking to be my patron!!!!”
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The big one that really grinds my gears, personally, is someone saying someone is more or less a witch based on, for instance, what tools they use, what spirits they commune with, or…. anything like that really. you aren’t more a witch because you went out and spent $500 on some super fancy athame made of obsidian and deer antler, and I’m no less a witch because my ‘cauldron’ is an old stew pot. If it waddles like a duck, and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck. If it says it’s a witch, and practices like a witch to any degree, it’s a witch. ‘Nuff said.
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The fact that I can’t just light a candle/incense stick/general fire whenever, wherever, and expect it to behave itself.
I constantly have to babysit the fire to make sure it doesn’t try to burn my house down.
Absolutely rudest element, imo.
*(But it’s one of my favorite elements, besides metal, so I put up with it because it’s just so useful and pretty when contained properly. I generally make a water “offering” in my copper bowl nearby and keep it on hand just in case…)*
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Idk if people will remember this but when apparently a “witch” hexed the moon and witchtok had this huge cringe moment, like I remember seeing this girl read tarot cards for the moon and began to cry about it.
The pet-peeve is that, ITS THE FUCKEN MOON, how are you gonna hex a powerful Magick energy and think you can get away with it??? Like the moon isn’t gonna have a pity party, it’s gonna remain strong because it’s STRONG and POWERFUL.
Also not using common research when stuff like that happens. Obvious it was a hoax or just trolls trying to get to us. -
“but you don’t actually believe in that stuff, do you” usually said with an awkward or mocking smile by people who think I’m delusional and think I think I can summon fire or something stupid like that. Nonbelievers in general lacking respect for witchcraft and not taking the time to even acknowledge that it’s not fantasy play magic.
And then these same people ask you to do a spell for them and complain when it doesn’t work (almost as if they don’t believe in it 🙄)
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when people say that theyre in a polyamourous relationship with certain deities or that theyre the child of [insert diety here] or when they claim that theyre some spirit or creature taking up a human form
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1. Used to bug me more than it does now. Spell check created this mess up. Laziness perpetuates it.
2. I only share my status with like minded individuals. As in, other witches or witchfriends.
3. I thought that was more of a self identifying thing. I was unaware it had been turned around and used as an insult. That sucks.
4. Spoken like a true “manifestation” worker would say.
5. People who post a question, get good advice, and lash out at the people that gave it to them. It is called “Tough Love”, and sometimes it gets dished out here, and the recipient gets kinda bent. My pet peeve. People try to help and get crap in return. A lot of very knowledgable regulars comment here. -
Misspelling altar is one of mine too. I was also introduced to the phrase mall witchcraft, which I dislike.
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1. “I’ll pray for you” – no thanks
2. “If magic is real, win the lottery” uh… what?
3. More a self inflicted one… I’m tired of washing Mason jars lol
