Solitary?

By the time you read this post it will have been resting for at least a few days because I am writing it in reaction, rather than in response to this blog post.

First up I have to say that Macha Nightmare has it bang on when she comments that there is a sense in which a witch is never really solitary. We are surrounded by energies and entities, and there is the tradition of the Red Thread which attaches us to all witches of all times. At least the ones we're talking to.

Where I would tend to disagree is about one of the reasons she gives for witches working solitary:

The Witch is socially maladroit.

This (and don't forget that it's coming from someone who calls herself nightmare and belonged to a coven called Holy Terrors) is to miss much of the point entirely. If your witchcraft and you yourself aren't socially maladroit and shocking, you're doing it wrong.

I first became aware of this as a child - I would have been in secondary school but very young indeed, and mentioned to a teacher about something that was going on in another teacher's private life. This was obviously something known in the staff room but not for discussion with the kids, and I got a cross examination about how I knew. Muggles are so slow sometimes - you would think that a teacher would be very aware of how kids can see things. Anyway she didn't believe that nobody had told me this and thought I was covering for someone, and some teacher had broken the secret.

The point of that is that magical abilities are automatically socially unacceptable. Additionally, transgressive actions can break down the social barriers to magical actions. To put it bluntly, if you're not socially maladroit, you're doing it wrong.

I think this view (which I find I have given the name of the No Fucks Given tradition) is something you come to as you get older. When I was a young witch first conscious of my witchiness I too thought that working with other people was the way to go. I belonged to the Children of Artemis and signed up for their coven finding service before it collapsed completely. In those days I had more time and energy for that sort of thing.

I think this more common reason for solitary working is obliquely mentioned in one of Doreen Valiente's books where she mentions that you will find older witches who work alone but have usually been members of covens when younger (I can't remember which book, sorry). Again the witches concerned are older: I think you just reach an age where you no longer have the patience to deal with politics. You may have a sense that there is limited time left in this incarnation, but you are certain that dealing with the ridiculous things people do in groups is a waste of time and you just can't be doing with it.

Once you reach this point you may come across as antisocial but frankly won't care. You will still find the advantages of a coven in other ways - the universe never leaves her witches unprovided for. This is of course a very individual view and this essay gives a different perspective, including more elements of how psychological development plugs into magical working. 

There is of course another very good reason for refusing to play nicely with the other children: doing so leaves you at a disadvantage to some c*nt who doesn't even pretend to play nicely. Who knows, if people stopped playing by the rules we may no longer have seas full of turds and a government which doesn't even pretend to follow its own rules.

In fact I've just realised that what I'm describing as the persona of the solitary witch is someone who has outgrown their previous ways and come into their own power! Anyone would think that was the point of solitary witchcraft! I'm also very aware that I am also thinking in the back of my mind that if you're going to start having to be nice to people and putting up with bad behaviour, you might as well be a Christian. And we've seen how well this approach has worked out for them. That's why they sit in neat rows for their rituals but ours are barely distinguishable from revolution. Because nobody is in charge.

So there.