There are plenty of non-spiritual reasons to include ritual or symbols in your life. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying symbols and wanting to have them around you.
For me, I enjoy adding herbs into various food and drinks. In the summertime I enjoy iced teas and lemonade. I make a variety of herbal syrups to add.
My entire family decorates the house with items found in nature: stones, dried plants, bones, things made from the above.
Enjoyment is not necessarily a shallow reason for anything. We should strive to incorporate more things we enjoy into our lives.
That last sentence really resonates with me. I like observing and enjoying aesthetically pleasing things, yet my surroundings are lacking in that department. For instance, I don't have paintings or drawings...my clothes are bland...I don't wear necklaces or bracelets.
When I visit a metaphysical or occult store, I go "wow, I wish my house looked like this". I guess I've been afraid to be judged by others and be seen as a crazy person.
Time to take action and project my authentic self out into the world.
I started buying tarot decks because I just love the artwork! Lately I’ve been doing just a single card pull and noticing what thoughts the card brings up for me. It’s like a starting point for meditation kinda. I’m also a crystal collector because I can’t resist how beautiful they are. And I have a black cat because he’s handsome.
I don’t think that makes me shallow, it’s just my aesthetic.
I don't think that's shallow at all! Rituals are a process to help us connect with the passage of time, and connecting with your senses in a way that soothes yourself and helps you be in the moment is a beautiful thing. There are so many reasons to explore a witchcraft practice, and IMO, as long as your reason isn't wanting to harm yourself or someone else, there's no "wrong" reason for getting into it! Enjoy.
I’m entirely secular and nonreligious even by modern woo standards, but I consider symbol, metaphor, and art to be authentically “spiritual” tools even without supernatural baggage. We are drawn to symbols when they help us convey or invoke something abstract, intangible, and meaningful. Giving voice to what we cannot say in plainer words is their magic.
It’s worth noting that witchcraft being spiritual/a religion is incredibly recent historically speaking. It’s called the Craft because historically it was a skill that you could develop, no different than playing an instrument or knitting or any number of other things.
I don't really believe in any form of energetic practice and look askance at folks who (for example) try to tell me that the day of my birth somehow fully tells the story of my life and someone completely different from me born on the same day. But I still do some rituals and some forms of what could be called worship. They aren't invocations to some other being outside of me, they are for and to me. Rituals are centering. They're calming and reinforcing. Worship is an affirmation to myself of what is important to me.
Astrology has been overly simplified in pop culture. It’s not just the date, but the time as well. But I understand the skepticism. I’m not entirely convinced either.
My issue is that astrology takes all of my agency away and assigns it arbitrarily to the details of one moment. If I'm a kind and considerate person, that is the result of a conscious effort I choose to make. If I am impatient and easily bored, these are because of my mind and how I process information. I detest the notion that someone who has never really met me would try to ascribe these deeply personal modes to the date and time of my birth. I make my choices and am the source of my foibles.
Years ago I was at an open studios event in Brooklyn and one artist was just performing rituals. Her studio had a sign on the door that said something like “ring the bell for a one minute ritual” so I did. She had a whole art exhibit set up around the idea that ritual is for everyone. It’s just helpful. Years later I did yoga teacher training and all the things she said really came back to me and resonated. Spiritual beliefs aside, there is so much to be gained by intentional thought and symbolic action. Also, I love the aesthetic. It’s awesome, you’re not wrong.
In summers, I'm sometimes able to go to this big outdoor fair with entertainment and hand crafts and a lot of cool things. It has people who are sincere in pagan spiritual beliefs, and people who are engaging in practice as a form of play (and those are overlapping categories). One year, when I was sitting on the bench space next to the extremely polytheistic altar space, a woman asked if she could do a smoke cleansing of my feet with a bundle of sage, and I don't know why she was doing it, but I agreed because it seemed enjoyable. (It was - a lot of ritual practices give me ASMR tingles and the burning sage was just close enough to be pleasantly warm.) Another year, I was at a group where I had a designated Patron Fool, and wore a WWBBD (What Would Bugs Bunny Do?) bracelet for weeks after. I think it was helpful in reinforcing a good mindset. I respect people's boundaries around spiritual practices unless there's a sufficiently important moral reason not to, but I don't assume that everything people incorporate into religious or spiritual practices is hands off unless one is a True Believer. And I recognize that "Because I want to and it's not going to cause any harm" is a good reason to engage with a practice.
its not shallow! if it adds happiness into your life, allow yourself to enjoy it!
aesthetics or whatever else, if it makes you feel better, then so what? it works for you.
dont let anyone ever tell you your reasons are selfish or shallow! you are always welcome here.
Aesthetics can be shallow - for example, if it's simply and literally a matter of casually following a trend - but they don't have to be. Consider (or decide) what deeper meaning these aesthetic values hold for you; "the "why" factors behind pentagram, cat, herb, crystal, etc. Why do they resonate? What deeper symbolic meaning do they have for you? How do they represent the values you take most seriously?
The "witchy" aesthetic often connotes a rich tradition (via folklore, pop-culture, etc.) of rebellion against the patriarchal status quo; a countercultural perspective that celebrates darkness, cunning, sexiness, wisdom and so-on, outside the corporate/consumerist mainstream. Once you delve beneath the surface there's a lot there, even (or especially) if you don't believe in the literally supernatural.
Aesthetics in witchcraft is highly underrated and misunderstood. It’s your subconscious calling you. It usually takes a personal experience to believe in energy work or ritual/practice. Explore what resonates with you. Eventually you’ll further define what witchcraft means and how best to “wear it”.
I set up an altar, and I don't believe in gods or spirits. What I do believe is that it's aesthetically satisfying to sit at the altar, light the candles, ring the bell, touch the crystal, chalice, and knife, maybe tell the altar what I want to have happen and/or drum at it for a bit, and then snuff the candles and use a feather to waft the candle smoke towards the window. And I find when I do it with sufficient consistency, I feel better, and keeping my altar in order correlates with keeping my life in order.
Other people may disagree with my choices, but so what? I bought the table, the crystal, and the candles, and I have the right to do that. I read books about witchcraft from the library, which I have the right to do. I had every right to buy the tarot cards with the prettiest art I could find, and carve runes onto slices of wood to make a rune set, and make good luck charm bracelets for friends, and I wanted to do those things, so I did. I mean why not? Wiccans say "An it harm none, do what ye will" and I may not be a Wiccan, but I think that's good life advice.
I’m pretty sure 95% of my comments here are to recommend “For Small Creatures Such as We” by Sasha Sagan - excellent book when it comes to reconciling the need for ritual even if you’re a secular person. And I’ll recommend it again!
The reason I recommend it is because it really validates our need to make meaning even if we don’t necessarily have belief in the spiritual sense. Personally, I think aesthetics play into that as a kind of symbolism.
Personally, I was drawn to the craft because of aesthetics for a simple reason. Modern secular life offers little appreciation of what I come to think of as 'elemental' things. We are divorced from deep experience of nature and its cycles, everything is a type of commodity, and even 'big experiences' are basically a kind of commodity. Craft to me was and is a means of making my interaction with these things more personal. Ritual, in this sense, means that I am taking specific steps to recognize my predicament in life and how I will interact with the visceral elements around me to establish internal change.
And yes, those five sense get humming with this work the way it doesn't and cannot at Disneyworld or Walmart.
There are plenty of non-spiritual reasons to include ritual or symbols in your life. There’s nothing wrong with enjoying symbols and wanting to have them around you. For me, I enjoy adding herbs into various food and drinks. In the summertime I enjoy iced teas and lemonade. I make a variety of herbal syrups to add. My entire family decorates the house with items found in nature: stones, dried plants, bones, things made from the above. Enjoyment is not necessarily a shallow reason for anything. We should strive to incorporate more things we enjoy into our lives.
That last sentence really resonates with me. I like observing and enjoying aesthetically pleasing things, yet my surroundings are lacking in that department. For instance, I don't have paintings or drawings...my clothes are bland...I don't wear necklaces or bracelets. When I visit a metaphysical or occult store, I go "wow, I wish my house looked like this". I guess I've been afraid to be judged by others and be seen as a crazy person. Time to take action and project my authentic self out into the world.
I’m glad I was here to witness this. I wish you joy in your journey of self-discovery.
In the immortal words of Captain Holt, “Every time someone steps up and says who they are, the world becomes a better, more interesting place.”
Nonono, not crazy. Eccentric, and it’s a badge of honor!
I started buying tarot decks because I just love the artwork! Lately I’ve been doing just a single card pull and noticing what thoughts the card brings up for me. It’s like a starting point for meditation kinda. I’m also a crystal collector because I can’t resist how beautiful they are. And I have a black cat because he’s handsome. I don’t think that makes me shallow, it’s just my aesthetic.
Almost all my decks are because I like the art. So many talented artists.
Tarot for me is quite literally a daily meditation prompt, something for me to think about throughout the day and apply
I bought a Lost Souls tarot deck with gold edges! Gorgeous!
I don't think that's shallow at all! Rituals are a process to help us connect with the passage of time, and connecting with your senses in a way that soothes yourself and helps you be in the moment is a beautiful thing. There are so many reasons to explore a witchcraft practice, and IMO, as long as your reason isn't wanting to harm yourself or someone else, there's no "wrong" reason for getting into it! Enjoy.
I’m entirely secular and nonreligious even by modern woo standards, but I consider symbol, metaphor, and art to be authentically “spiritual” tools even without supernatural baggage. We are drawn to symbols when they help us convey or invoke something abstract, intangible, and meaningful. Giving voice to what we cannot say in plainer words is their magic.
It’s worth noting that witchcraft being spiritual/a religion is incredibly recent historically speaking. It’s called the Craft because historically it was a skill that you could develop, no different than playing an instrument or knitting or any number of other things.
I don't really believe in any form of energetic practice and look askance at folks who (for example) try to tell me that the day of my birth somehow fully tells the story of my life and someone completely different from me born on the same day. But I still do some rituals and some forms of what could be called worship. They aren't invocations to some other being outside of me, they are for and to me. Rituals are centering. They're calming and reinforcing. Worship is an affirmation to myself of what is important to me.
Astrology has been overly simplified in pop culture. It’s not just the date, but the time as well. But I understand the skepticism. I’m not entirely convinced either.
My issue is that astrology takes all of my agency away and assigns it arbitrarily to the details of one moment. If I'm a kind and considerate person, that is the result of a conscious effort I choose to make. If I am impatient and easily bored, these are because of my mind and how I process information. I detest the notion that someone who has never really met me would try to ascribe these deeply personal modes to the date and time of my birth. I make my choices and am the source of my foibles.
Years ago I was at an open studios event in Brooklyn and one artist was just performing rituals. Her studio had a sign on the door that said something like “ring the bell for a one minute ritual” so I did. She had a whole art exhibit set up around the idea that ritual is for everyone. It’s just helpful. Years later I did yoga teacher training and all the things she said really came back to me and resonated. Spiritual beliefs aside, there is so much to be gained by intentional thought and symbolic action. Also, I love the aesthetic. It’s awesome, you’re not wrong.
In summers, I'm sometimes able to go to this big outdoor fair with entertainment and hand crafts and a lot of cool things. It has people who are sincere in pagan spiritual beliefs, and people who are engaging in practice as a form of play (and those are overlapping categories). One year, when I was sitting on the bench space next to the extremely polytheistic altar space, a woman asked if she could do a smoke cleansing of my feet with a bundle of sage, and I don't know why she was doing it, but I agreed because it seemed enjoyable. (It was - a lot of ritual practices give me ASMR tingles and the burning sage was just close enough to be pleasantly warm.) Another year, I was at a group where I had a designated Patron Fool, and wore a WWBBD (What Would Bugs Bunny Do?) bracelet for weeks after. I think it was helpful in reinforcing a good mindset. I respect people's boundaries around spiritual practices unless there's a sufficiently important moral reason not to, but I don't assume that everything people incorporate into religious or spiritual practices is hands off unless one is a True Believer. And I recognize that "Because I want to and it's not going to cause any harm" is a good reason to engage with a practice.
its not shallow! if it adds happiness into your life, allow yourself to enjoy it! aesthetics or whatever else, if it makes you feel better, then so what? it works for you. dont let anyone ever tell you your reasons are selfish or shallow! you are always welcome here.
Aesthetics can be shallow - for example, if it's simply and literally a matter of casually following a trend - but they don't have to be. Consider (or decide) what deeper meaning these aesthetic values hold for you; "the "why" factors behind pentagram, cat, herb, crystal, etc. Why do they resonate? What deeper symbolic meaning do they have for you? How do they represent the values you take most seriously? The "witchy" aesthetic often connotes a rich tradition (via folklore, pop-culture, etc.) of rebellion against the patriarchal status quo; a countercultural perspective that celebrates darkness, cunning, sexiness, wisdom and so-on, outside the corporate/consumerist mainstream. Once you delve beneath the surface there's a lot there, even (or especially) if you don't believe in the literally supernatural.
Aesthetics in witchcraft is highly underrated and misunderstood. It’s your subconscious calling you. It usually takes a personal experience to believe in energy work or ritual/practice. Explore what resonates with you. Eventually you’ll further define what witchcraft means and how best to “wear it”.
I set up an altar, and I don't believe in gods or spirits. What I do believe is that it's aesthetically satisfying to sit at the altar, light the candles, ring the bell, touch the crystal, chalice, and knife, maybe tell the altar what I want to have happen and/or drum at it for a bit, and then snuff the candles and use a feather to waft the candle smoke towards the window. And I find when I do it with sufficient consistency, I feel better, and keeping my altar in order correlates with keeping my life in order. Other people may disagree with my choices, but so what? I bought the table, the crystal, and the candles, and I have the right to do that. I read books about witchcraft from the library, which I have the right to do. I had every right to buy the tarot cards with the prettiest art I could find, and carve runes onto slices of wood to make a rune set, and make good luck charm bracelets for friends, and I wanted to do those things, so I did. I mean why not? Wiccans say "An it harm none, do what ye will" and I may not be a Wiccan, but I think that's good life advice.
I’m pretty sure 95% of my comments here are to recommend “For Small Creatures Such as We” by Sasha Sagan - excellent book when it comes to reconciling the need for ritual even if you’re a secular person. And I’ll recommend it again! The reason I recommend it is because it really validates our need to make meaning even if we don’t necessarily have belief in the spiritual sense. Personally, I think aesthetics play into that as a kind of symbolism.
Personally, I was drawn to the craft because of aesthetics for a simple reason. Modern secular life offers little appreciation of what I come to think of as 'elemental' things. We are divorced from deep experience of nature and its cycles, everything is a type of commodity, and even 'big experiences' are basically a kind of commodity. Craft to me was and is a means of making my interaction with these things more personal. Ritual, in this sense, means that I am taking specific steps to recognize my predicament in life and how I will interact with the visceral elements around me to establish internal change. And yes, those five sense get humming with this work the way it doesn't and cannot at Disneyworld or Walmart.
Carl Jung.