by Angela Kaufman
As a practicing witch for the last several decades, I have had a good chuckle at the influx of articles describing plans to hex the president.
The same way one chuckles at the thought of running someone off the road in a moment of road rage.
Justified or not, one’s conscience kicks in.
Restraint familiar to any practicing witch who knows there are ways of bringing retribution on others, but Magick used to bring harm to others carries consequences.
Justified rage at the current fascist administration would pack a powerful punch in Magickal workings, but what is the end result of throwing kerosene on this raging fire?
A fire that, let us not forget, has been smoldering for decades before Trump ever took office.
Don’t get me wrong, I am not going to tell you to solve the problem with positive thinking or to disconnect from politics because it is all so… icky.
I hear those responses as well, and they make me want to hex people.
Just kidding.
But there are some legitimate costs to consider of hexing anyone, whether we feel they deserve it or now.
Like Karma.
Just as the president has access to nuclear weapons, we witches have the responsibility to acknowledge that just because we have access to certain abilities doesn’t mean we should wield them in reactionary ways.
By threatening Trump with Magick, especially revenge Magick, or Magick fueled by anger, we are no better than Trump threatening Kim Jong Un with nuclear attack.
We believe in the threefold law, that what is sent out to the world returns three times.
Perhaps anger, despair, and hopelessness have gotten you to the point of justifying taking your chances with karma, perhaps you are prepared to go kamikaze with your craft, if this is the case, keep reading before making your decision.
We are making an energetic contribution to the world around us.
As witches, we recognize the connection with the elements in nature and within ourselves.
We are currently engulfed in Fire energy.
From our tempestuous scuffles on Facebook to the outrage pouring into the streets, to the outpourings of hate groups displaying acts of intimidation and violence, we are experiencing an imbalance of Fire (ungrounded action) which could, in other expressions help us set boundaries, bring courage and resurrection.
Instead we are being fed a diet of constant imbalanced Fire energy, a steady stream of ‘inflammatory’ content because it results in more sales to online advertisers.
Hence, we also have the deep undercurrents of our society’s present dysfunction grounded in unbounded capitalism.
Earth energy out of balance.
This did not begin with the Trump administration.
The element of Air is being manipulated by corporate interests, literally in some cases, by words traveling through the air waves.
Air is the power of communication, the message and belief that fuels the fire.
These two are off balance and we see the catastrophic results in the rise in hate groups, and violent crimes.
We could instead harness air and fire power more productively in spreading our message, and through protest and activism.
But I do not believe hexing is an act of protest. Any more than I believe those calling themselves the “Proud Boys” are justified in beating people to the ground as part of their protests.
If we truly believe in Magick, which I do, and assume most witches do, then we know the ramifications can impact the physical world.
To call others to hex is akin to calling one to use their energy in a physical attack.
Is this what we want?
Is this the precedent we want to set for young generations of witches?
If you are outraged by the negative example the president is setting for young boys and girls, are we not following in the same energy by calling on the community to work Magick toward negative ends?
Ritual has been used in many cultures to influence politics, outcomes of wars, etc.
There is nothing wrong with using Magick to affect social change. But what is the intent? Revenge or harm? Empowerment?
Professor and Haitian Historian Bayinah Bello talks about the intricate link between spirituality, including magick, and Haitian history.
She also talks about the importance of balancing the elements in yourself before trying to bring your conjuring out into the world.
She stated as part of a recorded lecture on Haitian history “before I can ask what is wrong with Papa Doc Duvalier….I must ask what is wrong with Bayyinah…”
Personal reflection is missing from reactionary response.
Be it a Facebook argument or a ritual focusing only on targeting one or a handful of individuals with Magick.
Let us not forget the festering scab that has burst oozing Fascism into American society did not begin with Trump, it did not begin in 2016.
If we are to effectively counter the spread of Fascism we must first understand its entanglement in our systems of government and society, and we must also understand how we are personally entangled in these systems.
Put simply, it is not enough to hex the poster children for Fascism, capitalism, racism, classism, sexism etc. without also examining how we as individuals have benefitted, knowingly or unknowingly, from the systems steeped in these ‘isms.’
When we have connected the dots and become aware of how we have been entrenched in these systems, and when we are willing to give up our societal privilege, for example, then we are in alignment to address the macro level changes to truly dismantle the systems of oppression in our society.
Not just put a band aid over the wounds of our society by creating a system that works for you, at the expense of others, but with less obvious Fascism.
When it comes to Magick, whether you want to lend your energy to preventing the further spread of fascism or to making a career change, we are the instruments.
Our magick is only as good as our alignment. We have to get our shit together on a micro level if we ever hope to get our shit together on a macro level.
In addition to checking your Magickal workings against karmic concerns before deciding to ask the God/dess to help kick ass on your behalf, it is also sensible to make sure you are using the mundane channels available to you.
Conjure all you want, but get organized, vote, demonstrate, educate, role model the change you are trying to manifest.
And when you go to the God/dess, the Elementals and the Ancestors, here are a few ways to ask their help to preserve democracy and fight fascism.
Consider the following intentions in your spell work as an alternative to vengeful Magick.
Clarity of Purpose – ask the God/dess to help reveal to you your purpose in the resistance, your role in bringing healing, integration and revolution in the midst of the chaos.
Ask for the path to be cleared so that you and others whose intentions reflect the greatest good can step forward and deliver your medicine.
Ask for the courage to sustain what is no doubt going to be a long ass battle.
Ask for clarity in how to channel your energy to be part of the solution.
Protection of the Innocent – rather than aiming your Magick at retribution, use this energy to protect the innocent.
To protect the children being locked in cages, those enduring abuse etc. to protect the environment.
We can also work with Magick to empower the victimized.
Justice – this is not synonymous with revenge but carries a different vibration altogether.
Communication Magick – petition the God/dess to help open doors of communication with those harboring opposing views so that understanding can be reached, or ask for the truth of a situation to be shown.
Love Magick – to awaken the energy of love within ourselves and within our communities.
Justice Magick – not synonymous with revenge, justice involves equity, objectivity, returning to balance.
It has nothing to do with one upping or punishment, except when viewed through the often distorted lens of our society.
Liberation Magick – similar to the intention of clarity, Liberation Magick is an intention to free ourselves from confines.
Whether these are the chains of capitalism, oppression, racism, sexism, classism, homophobia, transphobia, xenophobia.
We may also liberate ourselves from the influence of various agendas, even the agendas of our own party affiliation.
We may work toward liberation from the pre-conceived notions placed on us by society and find our own voice, message, mission and role in this changing landscape.
Rituals invoking justice, love, truth, communication and clarity, like any work of Magick, require letting go of what our mortal mind deems the ideal outcome to be.
How the God/dess restores order when we do a ritual for justice, for example, may not be the exact image in your mind.
Yet as the process unfolds further, we can see that justice is indeed being served.
Similarly, ritual to bring the truth of the matter to the surface may produce uncomfortable truths from all angles, challenging your views or affiliations.
Whether Magick is part of your resistance or not, prepare to get uncomfortable.
Just as the use of ritual and Magick outside of politics can set things in motion in ways one did not anticipate, so too can ritual performed on the macro level.
Magick on the macro and micro level as well as mundane activism have a few things in common.
They require attention to your individual path before all else. They require clarity of purpose so as not to fall prey to group think or become burned out.
Our most memorable acts of revolution may come in immersed in the energy of the fire element, yet every day, world wide, since time began, resistance has had a presence.
It has been called opposition, civil disobedience, and many other terms.
And it carried the energy of the element of water.
With compassion, love and the intention to bring healing, water maintains consistent action, eroding away the structures which no longer serve.
IN CONCLUSION
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