Praxis

The LBRP — my experiences

/ Yvonne Aburrow / 2 Comments

Between 2004 and 2006, I experimented with the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram (LBRP). I’ve often compared it to having one’s psyche scraped out with a rusty teaspoon—in other words, effective but somewhat abrupt.

This was well before any online discussion about whether using Kabbalah practices is cultural appropriation. I’ve already written extensively about cultural appropriation so I have only addressed one aspect of it in this post.

Thanks to Sorita d’Este for the writing prompt.

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Occultea 5: Conclusions

/ Yvonne Aburrow / Leave a comment

Joanna Wiedźma (polish.folk.witch on Instagram) has shared some prompts to get people thinking about online witchcraft community. To participate, use the hashtag #occultea and tag her on Instagram or Threads.

5. Conclusions

• What are some topics of conversation I’d like to see more of in our community?

• What are my community needs?

• Where would I like to be held and supported?

• Where do I feel like I’m not truly being seen by my community?

• How can we help each other in removing the external peer pressure and grow in community?

• How can we, as a community, come together more with constructive criticism without it seeming shady/passive aggressive?

• How can we, as a community, do better when we do receive criticism/feedback?

• Who are some community members that I look up to that are reliable resources and aspirations?

• Add any further thoughts/comments/prompt questions of your own/express further points/offer solutions.

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Occultea 4: community and hustle

/ Yvonne Aburrow / Leave a comment

Joanna Wiedźma (polish.folk.witch on Instagram) has shared some prompts to get people thinking about online witchcraft community. To participate, use the hashtag #occultea and tag her on Instagram or Threads.

Topic 4: Capitalising Off Community

• Do I consider online communities as equally valid to in-person communities?

• How have online occult/witchcraft communities impacted me as a person & practitioner?

• What are some of the dangers of the current phenomenon of capitalising off the witchcraft community?

• Have I been personally affected by this, or have I witnessed someone else be affected?

• Should there be paywalled communities and online courses?

• How does one ensure the authenticity of courses/workshops/memberships/etc. as a financial investment?

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Occultea 3: Imposter Syndrome and FOMO

/ Yvonne Aburrow / Leave a comment

Joanna Wiedźma (polish.folk.witch on Instagram) has shared some prompts to get people thinking about online witchcraft community.

Topic 3: Imposter Syndrome and FOMO

• When I follow other creators in the community space, does it make me feel genuinely inspired and empowered or does it create feelings of FOMO and being less than?

• If I experience FOMO, has it ever left me feeling vulnerable to be taken advantage of financially, or otherwise?

• An example would be: the “need” to purchase the latest popular product or book to “fit in”?

• When practising my craft, do I find myself comparing what I do to what I’ve been seeing people do online?

• In what ways do I combat imposter syndrome?

• What would my practice look like without the social media influence of other creators?

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Occultea 2: Influencer Authenticity

/ Yvonne Aburrow / Leave a comment

Joanna Wiedźma (polish.folk.witch on Instagram) has shared some prompts to get people thinking about online witchcraft community. To participate, use the hashtag #occultea and tag her on Instagram or Threads.

Topic 2: Influencer Authenticity

• Out of what I share on social media, how much of it is staged vs. reality?

• Do I think there is an element of censorship in online spaces?

• How do I decipher what is “appropriate” to share online vs. what to keep privately? Is this based on “social media etiquette” or a personal preference?

• Have I ever encountered or heard of grifters in our community?

• Do I recognize them? What are significant signs of grifters in the community?

• What tools are helpful to decipher misinformation, and how can we as a community prevent widespread misinformation?

• How does a large following impact the perception of the creator?

• Does this immediately make them an “expert”? Or are there other assumptions as to why they may have a large following?

• How does one maintain the balance of authenticity and content creation?

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Occultea 1: impact on community

/ Yvonne Aburrow / 3 Comments

Joanna Wiedźma (polish.folk.witch on Instagram) has shared some prompts to get people thinking about online witchcraft community. To participate, use the hashtag #occultea and tag her on Instagram or Threads.

Topic 1: Impact on Community

• What is my personal reasoning/inspiration behind sharing my practice online?

• What am I looking to achieve by participating? Do I seek to educate, learn or connect?

• How do I believe social media, as a whole, has impacted the community?

• How do I think social platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have each impacted education/sharing information?

• Is consuming witchcraft content becoming a substitute for practice?

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Coven leaders support groups

/ Yvonne Aburrow / 1 Comment

Other religious traditions have formal support groups for leaders in their traditions. In Wicca, we tend to have informal support networks.

Given the potential for stress and burnout, and the occasional need to discuss issues that arise in a safe and supportive space, I think it would be a great idea to organize slightly more scheduled and formal support groups.

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Dual faith folk witches

/ Yvonne Aburrow / 6 Comments

Polish Folk Witch (on instagram and Patreon) has an excellent article on dual faith practice and syncretism among folk witches: Dual Faith: the elephant in the room of the witchcraft community.

The topic of dual faith keeps returning on a regular basis in the broader witchcraft community online, especially on the intersection of folk magic, paganism and christian occultism.

Folk witches often practice some form of dual faith, developed based on the mixture their cultural background, religious background, as well as bioregional features and animistic immersion in the world around them. Each folk witch’s exact praxis will therefore vary.

—Joanna Wiedźma (Polish folk witch)

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This reminded me of my articles on dual faith practice based on an essay I wrote for my masters degree.

Dual-faith practice (part 1 of 4)

Dual-faith practice (part 2 of 4)

Dual-faith practice (part 3 of 4)

Dual-faith practice (part 4 of 4)

And this article that I wrote about my personal experiences of practising more than one religion (not the same as syncretic practices):

Dharma and sangha

And here’s one that I wrote about my spiritual wobbles:

Wobbling, But Not Falling Off

Pagans and marriage

/ Yvonne Aburrow

Marriage is an odd composite of disparate concepts. It’s a legal contract to share property. It’s usually contracted between two people who love each other. It’s a meeting of minds and hearts. When it’s really special, it’s a sacred union of two people in an alchemical and spiritual relationship.

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