Good Afternoon,
As my regular readers know, this blog, or as I like to call it, discussion, that I have with you weekly, is dedicated to the witchy and the magickal, the spiritual and the ritual of witchcraft. But every now and again I feel I must step out of the magickal realm and speak to you about things that are not so magickal.
For example, I will tell you about a conversation I had this week at my witch shop, Enchantments. A woman called and was concerned about her brother. She said he has been living in a house that is over run with ghosts! Not just a few, but 20-30 or more! She asked if I could help her, perhaps sell her something that would make the spirits leave.
Well, I have been working and practicing in the magickal realm for a few decades and immediately sensed something was amiss. That many spirits haunting one building would be far more likely in an abandoned insane asylum or a closed and boarded up prison. Not a single house. This just didn't feel like a 'haunting' situation. So I asked her a few questions.
- What has he been experiencing? She answered that he sees ghosts from adult people to little children all over the house, everywhere. All around him, in every room, all the time. He often asks if she or others can see them.
- I asked her, "And can you? See them or any manifestation such as unexplained sounds, lights flickering on and off, objects moving, cold spots etc?"
- No, she answered, no one has experienced any of these things, only her brother has had the experiences.
- I asked how long has he been living in this house? She said about 20 years.
- How long has he been experiencing seeing the ghosts? She said for about a year.
Well, that clinched it for me. Everything fell into place. I gently explained to her that it was not a case of spirit activity or a ghostly haunting, but that her brother needed to be seen by a medical professional as he may very well have an underlying condition brought on by the stroke or something else going on in the brain that is causing visual and auditory hallucinations. Trust me, a smudge stick isn't going to do it!"
She was very disappointed, as I guess she was hoping it wasn't mental or physical or shall we say biological, but she really wanted it to be metaphysical or paranormal. Maybe for her it was less scary thinking it was ghosts than the possibility it could be a brain tumor or some other medical issue. But, I was left with the strong sense she was not going to seek out competent medical care for her brother but would continue to contact witch shops or go on line and try to find someone who would cast a spell or light a candle, all for a lot of money, and magickally fix her brother. And the sad part is . . . she will find someone. Not someone who will fix her brother magickally, but someone who will convince her they can, and for a good amount of money, will take her for all they can get and leave her with nothing. In the meantime, her brother remains trapped with the 'ghosts' only he can see and the fear and discomfort that condition brings him.
Not everything is magickal, nor should it be. We live on many planes of existence and each is to be acknowledged and respected. The spiritual plane, the astral plane, the physical plane, the mental and emotional planes. And when something goes awry on one of these levels sometimes magick can help and sometimes it can hurt. What I mean by "it can hurt" is exampled in the above story about the woman and her brother and his ghosts. By not giving him the medical and or psychiatric care needed and leaving it up to the magickal world and magickal practitioners, her brother is being hurt by not receiving the treatment that could possibly relieve his symptoms and give him some peace.
If someone has cancer, or a broken bone or diabetes, it is not only dangerous to simply and only rely on the magickal, it is unethical and unfair to not steer the person, that has come to you, in the right direction, to receive the help they need. And there are times when magickal herbal remedies, spell casting and ritual work will not help and are not appropriate.
Of course, if the person is receiving the medical care necessary, one can assist in ones treatment by burning a candle, asking the Goddess for help in healing and if desired carrying some stones or crystals to help focus on the healing process. Much of the healing will come from the mind and spirit, but to forgo modern medicine (which to this witch is one of our greatest magicks to date) is simply being foolish.
I have had another young man come into the shop a couple of times, also looking for a magickal remedy for what ails him. This gentleman is approximately 18-20 years old, and is absolutely convinced someone has cursed him with an evil spell. He feels this evil follows him around and sometimes he can even see it. He is starting to hear voices and he wants me to sell him something that will make it all go away. I am not a doctor nor am I a psychiatrist, but many signs and symptoms of the onset of schizophrenia are apparent in this young man. I have gently suggested that he ask a doctor about what he is feeling, but again he pushes that aside and says he will think of something that will make me believe him, someday. I believe, he believes, everything he is telling me, but it is simply not of the magickal, supernatural or paranormal world.
As a witch and Priestess who works openly in our community, and being a teacher teaching others about witchcraft and Wicca, I feel a deep obligation to not go the easy, money making route and exploit these individuals even though they themselves, would much prefer I simply sell them something and tell them all of their problems will go away.
In these situations as difficult as it may be for some, the best response is to not delve into the magickal but to tell them the truth and strongly suggest they seek out proper care and treatment. I have even in the past, had to advice potential students that wanted to learn at Enchantments, when it became apparent they suffered from drug or alcohol addiction that the magickal world is not going to help them until they got a handle on their other issues.
Yes, as a witch you can find the magickal is just about anything, and I do feel that everything has a magickal component, but that is not to say we must be blind to what is right before our eyes and to disregard the help, treatments and medical world that is available to us for many, many issues.
It is the well rounded, educated, practiced and experienced magickal practitioner or witch that will utilize all the gifts the Goddess has bestowed upon us.
"The Lady has created Medicines out of the earth and the Wise will not abhor them." author unknown
"All things are poison and nothing s without poison, it is the dose alone which makes a thing poisonous" - Paracelsus
Peace and Happiness
© 2010-2016 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.
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