About

Circe

Hi there! My name is Joanne, but my friends call me Jo, and my pronouns are she and her. This blog is about my growing interest in Witchcraft and Divination, sprinkled with a healthy dose of feminism in that context, and generally any other topic of magical interest to me. With that, I find that writing gives me an outlet for thinking and hence a blog. So, for some context, here's how this all came to be...

In the Fall of 2022, around the time of Samhain, I was going through a really difficult phase of my personal journey ranging from concerns about heightened risks of breast cancer from a genetics test, to issues with getting an upcoming surgical date, to just an incredible level of hate and abuse on the Internet, especially on Twitter. Things really needed to change for me, epecially has it came to looking after myself.

So, the first step I took in this regard was to get rid of Twitter. Even before the change in ownership it was a toxic wasteland that valued hate more than anything, now it's even worse, the lip service to managing that hate is now vanished entirely. As a place, Twitter is simply outright harmful to anyone that is not a cisgender heterosexual white man. Hate will always drive away all around it and that is being quite evidenced by Twitter. I will bake a cake, and throw a party, when it goes under.

As a second step, I seriously trimmed who I followed on other social media platforms, notably Facebook and Instagram. Not so much as a function of not wanting their content, but more about not wanting their comment sections. I hate the notion that we're being chased out of spaces by hate and bigotry, but there's also where I want to fight these battles and there isn't it. At least for now.

The third step was to explore witchcraft. At first, I was thinking about Wicca and I spent some time reading, as I think many of us do, the classic Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner by Scott Cunningham. I found the book to be a fascinating read, though I think quite dated now in the context of modern terms and understandings, nevertheless, it served to do a few things for me.

First, it did show me that I don't have an affinity for the concept of deity. The Wiccan Goddess and God don't sing to me personally and I think that's okay. I think, for me, I am more attuned to the concepts of the energy of the Moon and the Sun and how they are embodied in all genders. I feel that there is connection of energy between the feminine that is embodied by the concept of the Goddess and represented with the Moon. Similarly, the masculine that is embodied by the God and the Sun. All genders have some element of both and can tap into those energies. 

Lilith

Second, that essential forms and concepts of Wicca have a lot to offer me personally. So, absent my belief in deity, I still feel that there is much beauty and value within. While I might prefer to channel the energy of the Moon and the Sun, the concepts described in the Wiccan Rede still resonate with me and I can learn and grow from that.

Finally, that witchcraft can do a lot for me on a personal, self-care, perspective. The focus on meditation, cleansing, and so much more just really sits within me deep and that is a powerful thing all on its own. So while the book didn't convince me that I am Wiccan, it did convince me that I am a Witch, albeit a very neophyte one.

It's also important to understand, and recognize, that the craft of Witchcraft predates Wicca by millenia and while all Wiccans may be Witches, not all Witches are Wiccan. There are many types of Witches, many belief systems involved, such that no one person holds the definitive reigns on what makes a Witch a Witch. With that, I think it became clear to me that I am a Secular Eclectic Solitary Witch. Whew, that's a lot, but let's break that down.

Secular in that I don't believe in deity, but that I do believe in the connected energies of life, the Earth, the Moon, the Sun, and the greater Universe around us. I believe that we can tap into these energies and use them in beneficial ways and that the rituals and focus of Witchcraft can help us do this.

Solitary in that I practice alone and seek my enlightenment through my own means. This is really intimately tied up with how I got to here in the first place and it's deeply personal to me.

Eclectic in that I learn from all and I don't shut off sources of wisdom because I am wedded to a concept. It's a fine, and very careful, line to walk because I will not incorporate closed practices into my spaces. I am fascinated and enchanted by those practices, but they are not for me to wield.

Nevertheless, with all that, I expect that my practices and beliefs will change over time. So be it. I prefer to call that growth and that, my friends, is why I am here in the first place.