The Spirituality of Politics
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understand why it’s important to “talk politics” within the spiritual community.
learn more about how witchcraft and feminism intersect.
get tips for the mundane and magical actions you can take to make the world a better place.
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Being a witch is more than just buying pretty rocks and creating love potions. It is, and has always been, about standing up against the oppression and marginalization of humans, and the destruction of habitats. Part of practicing witchcraft is shouting when something is wrong, speaking for those who have no voice, and lifting up the voices of those who have been silenced.
Don’t believe me? Let’s talk about it.
The Online Spiritual Community
Over the course of this year, I have been very observant of the online spiritual community and how it has reacted to the events and circumstances of 2020. In the Mumbles & Things Community Facebook Group I’ve moderated several conversation and I’ve also seen conversations happening in other witchy/spiritual groups I’m in.
I have even been banned from quite a few spaces for starting or participating in conversations surrounding the racial justice protests, the importance of wearing masks, the rights of transgender people, the climate crisis, and cultural appropriation.
Many folks justify banning people and conversations by saying that politics and social issues have no place in spirituality; that it is negative and causes arguments; that witchcraft / spirituality groups should be “high vibe” and “love and light”.
But I think they’re wrong.
Pretending there is a “safe space” away from social issues is privilege. The people who are most marginalized in society don’t get a break from thinking about the systemic hardships they face.
Sticking our heads in the sand won’t make the problems in our society go away. Talking about them and, more importantly, taking action will.
It is spiritual bypassing when you ban conversation about human rights and social issues from spiritual spaces.
I’d like to talk more about spiritual bypassing down the line, but for now just know that spiritual bypassing is a term coined in 1984 by psychologist John Welwood. According to Welwood, spiritual bypassing is "the use of spiritual practices and beliefs to avoid dealing with our painful feelings, unresolved wounds, and developmental needs."
In addition, avoiding the negativity that comes from addressing problems in society—and removing the people who are educating, creating positive change, and fighting for justice—protects bigots and allows them to thrive in our space.
It’s far more powerful to share where you stand on these issues and protect the vulnerable people in our community.
Spirituality and Politics
Let’s talk about the interconnectedness of spirituality and politics.
Spirituality is, by definition the exploration of the human experience. Whatever your beliefs, humans experience humanity.
I hope this post speaks to you whether you follow one of the Abrahamic monotheistic religions Judaism, Christianity, or Islam; an Eastern polytheistic or non-theistic tradition or religion such as Hinduism, Buddhism, or Taoism; an Indigenous earth based tradition; or are atheist, agnostic, or a secular humanist.
Spirituality is the exploration of the human experience and it’s also the exploration of the forces that connect each of us to other living beings. That is the essence of Spirit Work. The connections between us means that when one of us is suffering, we all feel it, and must do everything we can to ease the pain, and remove the source of the pain.
We live in a world where protecting humans, animals, and the planet requires legislation. Therefore, yes, these conversations are political. But, everything is political if you think about it.
The word politics comes from the Greek word for “the affairs of a citizen.” It is the activity of voluntarily joining with others to create, sustain, defend, and renew a community whether that’s your neighborhood, city, state or province, country, or the world.
Therefore, to take care of a community—to remove suffering and ease the pain—we have to take political action. Good politics requires spirituality and fosters connectivity.
Exploring the spirit and building community are intertwined.
While both of these cultural expressions have elements that separate people, it is essential to allow them to coexist and mingle if the ultimate goal is peace, which is achieved through justice.
Libra Season
I wanted to talk about magical activism today because we are now in Libra season and the Libra energy is about justice, balance and equality.
In Mumbles Academy we will be focusing on different types of magical activism during the following 30 or so days.
If you are a member of Mumbles Academy, make sure you go to your zodiac guide so you can learn more about Libra energy and download your resources.
The crystals and herbs associated with Libra that you might want to include in your spells and rituals this season, a tarot spread, tea blend, and more, as well as links to the relevant resources and masterclasses like the Self Care for Witches course.
The 2020 Libra season masterclass can be found here as well.
If you are not a member, I would love for you to join us. Just click the button below.
Witchcraft and Feminism
Now, I want to explore the connection between witchcraft and feminism with you. As always, I think it’s important to define the words we use because sometimes people use the same word to describe different things. So, let me start by clarifying what I mean by feminism.
Feminism is about embracing the feminine energy that resides in all of us whether you identify as a woman or not. Let me explain further.
The Principle of Duality
Previously, I shared with you the seven Hermetic Principles of Magic. One of these is the Principle of Gender, or what I call the Principle of Duality. It talks about masculine and feminine energies and how everything expresses properties of both.
Related: How Witchcraft Works
I call it the Principle of Duality because I think it's important to update our vocabulary as our understanding of the world we live in changes and the meaning of the words we use shifts to explain that understanding.
In our modern world we know that gender is a spectrum rather than a binary. As a society, we are evolving away from defining certain traits as masculine (of the male) and certain other traits as feminine (of the female).
This evolution aligns with The Principle of Duality because all people express both energies regardless of where they fall on the spectrum of gender.
However, there are still many who are of the mind that gender means male, or female. Because I want to be clear about what I’m talking about, I use the words "active" or "projective" when speaking about energies traditionally described as “masculine,” and "passive" or "receptive" when speaking about energies traditionally described as “feminine.”
Unbalanced Energies
Both of these energies are found within every single thing in the universe. But, our world tends to value the active energy over the passive, we live in a patriarchal society where male-identifying individuals are considered the default, systems are structured in favor of this energy.
These systems are unbalanced.
Without the receptive, the active is bound to act without restraint, order, or reason, resulting in chaos. The receptive alone, will constantly reflect and fail to act, resulting in stagnation. When the active and receptive energies are balanced, there is thoughtful action that results in success.
So again, I say, feminism is about embracing the receptive energy. In doing so, we bring these energies back into balance.
The Moon and The Sun
In terms of witchcraft, many witches follow practices involved in bringing these energies into balance. For myself, this comes in the form of honoring two celestial wheels: the solar cycle and the lunar cycle. This is the structure of Mumbles Academy, as well.
To me, the Moon perfectly represents the divine receptive, and the Sun perfectly represents the divine projective. These are more commonly called the “divine feminine” and the “divine masculine” respectively.
These archetypes are created from the collective unconscious of every single human on the planet whether cisgender, transgender, or agender. They encompass whoever is drawn to them and not the other way around.
In other words, these divine dual energies are not defined by the societal notions of man or woman, but by the people who seek to know them.
Oppression Through the Years
But again, for centuries, the misuse of projective energy has brutalized and suppressed the receptive, and the practice of witchcraft often rises up out of the oppression. In turn, powerful displays of receptive energy result in further attempts to suppress it.
The witch hunts of the middle ages targeted women and sometimes men who were outside the cultural and religious norms. There was also a lot of confusion about basic female reproduction and how it all works, so the mysteries of the menstrual cycle, infertility and sexuality were also cause for a person to be arrested, tortured, and murdered.
Many authors and scholars today believe this movement was a misogynistic attempt by the church and state to police female sexuality, women’s bodies and reproductive function.
In more recent history we see radical acts of witchcraft in the name of feminism as well. The Women’s International Terrorist Conspiracy from Hell—which forms the acronym, W.I.T.C.H—was a group that formed in the sixties with the goal of smashing the patriarchy. They did what they called hexes and zaps in an attempt to become the 60s equivalent of viral sensations.
And today there is the #MeToo movement, which is working toward bringing attention to the widespread misogyny that still plagues our society.
Related: The Secret Feminist History of Witches
A Call to Witchcraft
Feminism is about returning balance where there has been and still is an imbalance. But wherever and whenever there is oppression of people outside of the societal default, many people turn to witchcraft to help them claim or reclaim their power.
In fact, most people come to witchcraft in the first place when they feel powerless, that they have no control over how their life is going, and they desperately want to change it. This is a painful place to be in and therefore it is very motivating. When you feel like there are no mundane options to solve the problem, it’s time to turn to the realm of magic.
History is littered with witches and magicians using magic against the challenges they faced including Kings, slaveholders, invading armies, and the Nazis in World War II. Witches and pagans have long been at the forefront of environmental activism, religious freedom, and feminism. When freedom and liberty are removed, humans turn to magic, time and time again.
At the same time, in reaction to these folks seeking to claim their power, further oppression often follows.
So, I think it’s important to know that if you call yourself a witch, you are taking on a legacy of hundreds of years of oppression and marginalization, which means it is your responsibility to continue to stand beside anyone who is suffering injustice. Spirituality is aesthetic only if it doesn’t involve activism in some form.
Magical Activism
When I started Mumbles Academy, it was to create a place of community, encouragement and learning for witches. I wanted to foster connections between and among witches as we all grow and learn about spirituality.
I believe in creativity and freedom to explore spiritual concepts and ideas in order to make sense of the universe on an individual level. I believe that when humans have the resources and the knowledge to create the life they want to live, they have more to share with the other people in their community.
I want to help you discover your purpose and give you the tools for achieving your dreams so that we can make the world a better place. It’s one thing to use your magic to help yourself, and it’s even more meaningful when you use it to help others.
Choosing Your Top Three Causes
There are vulnerable people in the world. There are animals and ecosystems in peril. It can feel overwhelming, confusing, maddening, depressing, and/or hopeless to look at the challenges and pain in the world. But remember that ignoring a problem doesn’t make it go away, that is spiritual bypassing.
To keep from slipping into a cycle of apathy, I suggest choosing thrtop threeee issues you care about and directing your magic toward working for those causes. Ideally, choose at least one issue that doesn’t affect you personally.
In 2016, I subscribed to the Americans of Conscience by Jen Hoffman and I got this idea from her. You can sign up for her weekly newsletter and checklist here.
Service Magic Action Planner
(no email needed)
I think it’s also important to consider why these three issues matter to you more than others. Why did you choose these three causes, what values do you hold that make these three causes more important to you?
Supporting The Cause
After choosing your top three, think about how you will support these issues. There are mundane actions like:
calling your state representatives and senators
writing postcards
attending protests and events
making donations
volunteering
These can all be enhanced with magic by enchanting your pen and paper, assigning a sigil to your phone wallpaper, carrying crystals with you, etc.
PRACTICAL VS. SERVICE MAGIC
There are also magical actions. This isn’t practical magic, which has a smaller scope, such as finding love, attracting money, feeling more confident, or grounded, or creative, increasing intuition, etc. This is service magic which is magic for the good of all.
That’s not to diminish the emotional intensity of everyday issues that arise and require the use of practical magic. It’s simply to say that the impact of our practical magic is smaller, limited to you, or potentially your family or friends.
The rewards of practical magic are seen clearly and often quickly: you attract your life partner, you get the raise, or your abusive co-worker gets relocated to another department.
Service magic impacts people on a global scale. Additionally, the rewards of service magic are not as clear or measurable because the targets are social structures like racism, homophobia, transphobia, misogyny, materialism, militarism, and greed.
Service magic is in service to the Earth, to the dispossessed, to the sick and broken, to the downtrodden, the marginalized, and those with no voices; animals, trees, ecosystems, soil, rocks, rivers, and oceans. This type of magic is about becoming aligned with the spirits of place, the ancestors, and a higher power, whatever that means to you.
MAGICAL ACTIVISM
Now, I’ll share some magical actions you can take to help to back up the mundane activities I shared before. You can find more information about this inside of Mumbles Academy as well if you want to go deeper into this topic.
An important magical action to take is to offer healing and protection to the people who are most negatively impacted by the cause you are working for.
You can also cast justice spells that are designed to bring about justice more quickly or with a greater impact on those who have been wronged.
If your belief system allows for them, hexing and/or cursing can be done against the people who are responsible for the harm.
And of course self care. Whether you are involving yourself in your cause magically or mundanely or both, self care is crucial. Think about it this way, you are a cup and when you take care for yourself you are filling yourself up with energy. When you are a full cup, you can share that energy with others. When you are empty, you don’t have anything to give.
When you do some good in the world, and do something that creates change, you grow your capacity for care as well. Your cup gets bigger and can hold more every time you share. Through giving your time, energy and money to others you’ll feel renewed, become more optimistic, experience a stronger sense of gratitude, and transform into a more confident person.
There is a course on Self Care for Witches in Mumbles Academy full of spells, rituals, tarot spreads, affirmations and more surrounding taking care of yourself.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg
I wrote this post before the death of Ruth Bader Ginsburg and as I’ve been reflecting on her impact on my life, offering blessings to her and her family and learning about her life and legacy, I cam across this quote.
“Whatever you choose to do, leave tracks. And that means, don't do just for yourself, because in the end it's not going to be fully satisfying. I think you will want to leave the world a little better for your having lived. And there's no satisfaction that a person can gain... that’s equal to the satisfaction that you get from knowing that you have made another's life, your community, a little better for your effort.”
- Ruth Bader Ginsburg
The timing of Justice Ginsberg’s death and the onset of Libra season is interesting to me and has me considering what is meaning in this.
I know that I have lived in a world that was made better by the actions of RBG and I hope that I will be able to carry on her legacy through my own political action in my communities. I hope this is a call to action for you too.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg as the Justice card from Tarot
Artwork by Lily Williams
Summary
That’s everything I have for you this week. Thanks for reading!
In this post, we discussed the interconnectedness of spirituality and politics. We learned about feminism and witchcraft and I gave you some practical tips for taking action toward the causes that matter to you in mundane and magical ways.
Join us in the Talk Witchcraft Facebook group to chat about this episode with other witchy folks.
Wait, don’t go yet!
Thanks for hanging out with me today. If you’ve enjoyed this post of Talk Witchcraft, I invite you to check out mumblesacademy.com.
Mumbles Academy is the place to be for intuitive souls at any stage on their WitchPath. Whether you are a Wildling at the very beginning of witchcraft journey and looking for a safe learning environment, a Creator who is already committed to their practice and wants to develop their witchcraft skills even more, or a Sage who full of wisdom already and is ready to share that with others, Mumbles Academy was designed for you.
With monthly masterclasses and live Q&As, an extensive archive of courses and training, and a supportive community to help you along the way with encouragement and advice, Mumbles Academy is the perfect place for you to be as you as you continue on your WitchPath.
Now it’s your turn!
Share how you practice magical activism.
