March is Women’s History Month in which we celebrate all things female! We recognize the accomplishments of the women who’ve come before us and are mindful of our place in the lives of women who may come after us.
Tuesday, March 8 is International Women’s Day (IWD). (If you would like more information, please visit the website.)
Each year since 1911, IWD has been celebrated in an effort to accelerate women’s equality worldwide. It is a global movement not centered in any one country or with any specific group or organization. Each year there is also a theme and this year’s theme is #BreakTheBias.
That may mean different things to different people. Here at ATA, we recognize that there are likely many stereotypes or biases surrounding witches or divination in any form. We have heard them all.
- We don’t ride brooms (though with the price of gas, perhaps we should figure out how).
- None of us has a cat (though we all have dogs).
- We don’t sacrifice or eat children (I did have someone think that was what we did).
- We do not worship Satan (we do not believe in Satan though we do believe in evil – we just don’t personify it).
- We do cast spells but it’s not like you see in the movies (I generally say that casting a spell is not unlike praying in mainstream religions).
- We do not have green skin nor do we have warts (at least I don’t think we do).
- We do not perform a ritual or cast a spell on someone’s behalf without permission and those spells have to affect them specifically (we aren’t casting love spells to make someone love you – love yourself first).
- You must be psychic to work with cards, runes, or other divination methods (not necessarily, but it does require knowledge of the divination method).
- We can tell your future (sometimes……).
- Divination is evil and conjures Satan (see note above about Satan and evil).
How do we break these biases? Education, education, education. Follow us on our social media, read this blog, schedule a reading, and talk to us. We are actually shockingly, boringly normal.
Witches have been around in one form or another for centuries. Originally, women (primarily, though there are male witches) “practiced” because they had strong connections with nature. Before modern medicine, people relied on herbal and natural remedies to cure what ailed them. Because many of those remedies worked – and still work – women were considered conjurers. There wasn’t a scientific or rational explanation at the time, ergo, evil, witch, pact with the Devil.
Tarot and other divination tools faced the same backlash. What couldn’t be explained scientifically or rationally was dismissed as witchcraft. [As an aside, I do find it interesting that Christian “miracles” were never treated with the same shame and mystical fervor.] Some history suggests that “divination” methods may actually have originally developed as messaging tools to share information that was forbidden between parties who shouldn’t be speaking. It was through “fortune telling” that allies could share messages across enemy lines.
We’ve come a long way from witch burnings, drownings, and torture. We still have a way to go in universal acceptance. Each day we can #BreakTheBias surrounding witchcraft and all we do.
As I noted, each of us is perfectly normal in our own unique way. Take a look at our social media accounts and other websites to get a closer look at what we do and contribute.