Witchvox Article

Author: Lady Abigail Welcher
Posted: August 4th. 2013
Times Viewed: 6,581

I have to bet you have heard the phrase “Fair Weather Friend”? So what do you think that means? What about when it is used to describe someone walking a magickal path. Is there such a thing?

As a child in the South, it was sometimes very hard for me to understand why people seem to love me one day and hate me the next. This happened a lot when I would play with kids and school and visit people that did not know who I was. I would make friends at school or out playing in the summer and we would have a wonderful time. Sometimes it could last a full summer, which to a child is a lifetime. But then somehow it would all change and they would not speak to me.

It was a beautiful morning and the first day of school. Not being a gifted student, this was not always my favorite day. But this year was going to be different and I was so excited. My Great Grandmother had made me a wonderful outfit to wear and I would see my new friend I made during the summer who had just moved to our little town. She had not been to our school yet and I was going to show her everything.

As my Great Grandmother walked me to school, I was chattering away about what fun it would be and how I was so excited for her to meet my new friend. As we walked onto the playground in the front of the school, I saw my friends talking with some of the other kids from my class. I could feel a knot growing in my stomach. Smiling and still excited I ran up to my new friend to take her hand and walk over to my Great Grandmother who I loved more than life and had been bragging about all summer.

She jerked her hand away as if I had hurt her and say, “Stop it, Go away; you’re not my friend.” I just stood there in shock and looked at her trying to figure out what had happened in two days. I told her I wanted her to meet my Great Grandmother, still thinking everything was somehow fine and soon we would be playing all over the playground.

Then she turned and said; “No, go away.” Pointing at my Great Grandmother, she said, “I have heard about her and she’s a Witch and you’re a Witch and my mother said I cannot play with you ever again.” I am sure a few other things were said but by that point I didn’t hear them. I just heard the kids who were standing there calling me names as the bell rang and I stood there in tears.

I think what hurt the most is that I know my Great Grandmother heard all the terrible things they had said. That it was going to be a long and lonely school year or that I just didn’t understand how someone could love you and call you a best friend one day and listen to the whispers of another person a few days later and forget the truths they already knew about you.

My Great Grandmother told me to hold my head up high and be proud of who I was no matter what nasty things others wanted to say about her or me. That as much as their words hurt me, I knew who I was and I was a loving and caring child open to everyone and if they wanted to be my friend someday again, I would be standing there open armed. She dried my tears and sent me into the school with a loving and gentle smile.

As I ran into the building, I turned around and saw my Great Grandmother pull her lavender handkerchief from her apron pocket and was wiping her eyes as she walked away. At that moment I could feel my tears flowing like water down my cheeks. I didn’t care anymore about what they had said about me. I was heartbroken that these people, these children, had hurt her so much.

I would never say a word to my Great Grandmother about seeing her cry. But I would remember that people can be blown like leaves in the wind and it doesn’t even take a storm. They are only there during the fair weather and when it rains or the wind changes they are gone.

Some people see those Pagans and Witches who only bring out their cloaks to wear on High holy days and gatherings as “Fair Weather Pagans.” Not a completely fair description since we don’t always have a place we can always go and be with others of like magickal belief. Plus Pagans and Witches are free thinkers and we are not going to conform to any one idea within a world of so many possibilities.

You are probably all familiar with the expression "fair weather friends." These are people who each of us have had in our lives from time to time who are only there during good times. Their loyalty melts away during times of adversity or if the weather is bad.

Unfortunately, there are a few within our Pagan, Witch and magick world whose who could be classified as "fair weather Pagans" for the same reason. Their commitment to any magickal path or tradition or even a group does not withstand hard times or adversity. I have even been told by a few that they are here within a group or gathering because they enjoy it and have always had fun. (Honestly, you should enjoy wherever you are attending.) But this was followed by: “But if anyone ever upsets me, or says the wrong thing, that's it for me and I’m gone.” It was as if his/her loyalty and so-called commitment was conditional upon things going well for him/her, having nothing to do with learning, sharing or growing within the diverse idea of our spirituality but only for what was in it for him/her.

I believe that most people are drawn to the beliefs within the understandings of Witchcraft and Paganism. They come with a longing for what they have always known within their spirits but were unable to find within the mundane world. Then one day, as if by magick, they stumble onto a book, a group or a person of like-minded heart … and find their way back home to who they have always been.

On the other hand, there are those who are group hoppers, just passing through for what they can get out of those they are around. This can be one-on-one or within a group or community. Some of them are struggling with something and need help; some are just into it for the shocked reactions others seem to have when finding out they are a “Witch.” But these are the ones who more often than not are gone when the storm passes and their commitment vanishes. Because when their lives return to normal, they drift and continue going their own way.

Over the years, I have heard of individuals pleading for spiritual guidance to steer them through as well as fix whatever problems they might be having, those who want to learn it all in one day. (We all do that in the beginning but quickly learn that is not possible) And a few who have read a book and now they know everything there is to know about the magickal world! (If only it were that easy.)

But when the circumstances change and their lives become relatively normal, they get bored and we never hear from them again. Their former zeal is gone or they have moved on to a new place where everything is bright and new.These are the ones that I would call “Fair Weather Pagans or Witches.” For they are only around when the weather is bright and shiny and there are not storms on the horizon.

The magickal path of Witchcraft or Paganism is a mixed and diverse path. No two beliefs being quite the same. In truth, you are rarely going to find two Witches or two Pagans who think just exactly the same. We are not made that way. We are made to wonder, to seek, to question and to find the truth within our own spirit path, not anyone else’s, as truth is the eye of the beholder. But once we find our path unto the light, we rarely let go. It becomes a part of us. We don’t wear it like an overcoat and cast it aside when the storm passes. We hang it out to dry and for the whole world to see.

My Grandmother told me when I was young, that when you find the truth hold on to it like a turtle holds to a stick. You are not ever getting that stick out of the turtle’s jaws once he has clamped down. Playing as a child, I learned this was true statement.

Lady Abigail
High Priestess Ravensgrove Coven
Copyright © 06192013

Copyright: Lady Abigail
High Priestess Ravensgrove Coven
Copyright © 06192013

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Lady Abigail Welcher

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