Witchcraft, the Law of Attraction, and Identity in Spirituality
One of the hesitations I had about starting a blog centered around the manifestation lifestyle was the labels we put on the many branches of spirituality.
A million texts have been interpreted a million ways. Modern methods of communication accelerate the rate at which information and ideas evolve. New terms are coined to convey similar – and sometimes exactly the same- ideas, and with this new language comes new purism. It’s a questionable game of semantics that seems to serve no one but, perhaps, our egos.
If any proof is needed, simply look to the fact that we put so much stress on semantics that we have people who claim they are “not religious, but spiritual.”
We separate the law of attraction from the teachings of Neville Goddard and the law of assumption from witchcraft from Christianity from Buddhism. And within each of those belief systems, we divide them further, with each sect claiming the others to be misguided or woo-woo or fantasy. Along the way, we forget that these ancient and even new-age teachings all held the same messages at their core.
My greatest influence is the mystic Neville Goddard. His works resonate with me in a way that most other teachings do not, and application of his teachings created a shift in my thinking patterns that changed my entire world for the better. What Neville did, and why I will always credit him as my biggest influence, is found the commonality between most of the spiritual teachings of the world. Neville (and Abdullah and the teachers that came before them) found where religions intersected and understood them at their most basic truths.
We create our physical experience with the thoughts we think and the states we embody.
Because of this, when I refer to manifestation as “my craft,” label myself a witch, relate the Promise to Buddhist enlightenment, or even allow a law of attraction term to slip into a post or conversation where I find it useful, I sometimes catch an off look or a confusing comment. We have people arguing from so many walks of life about whether or not they pray, meditate, visualize, or cast spells that we forget that they are all the same practice wearing different costumes. There are a million ways to say the same core message, but we all get so caught up in the semantics of it that we forget just how universal the divine truth really is.
I, personally, am incredibly eclectic in my language choice, which may be offputting to some. But to me, having so many sources to pull the same gospel is a gift we shouldn’t take for granted.
One person’s “alignment” is another person’s “state of the wish fulfilled,” and they are the same thing, and that is okay.
One person’s “magic” is another person’s “law,” and they are the same thing, and that is okay.
One person’s “god,” is another person’s “universe,” and they are the same thing, and that is okay.
I choose the language I do because it resonates with me and my identity as the god of my own reality, just as the language anyone else might choose should reflect theirs.
There is an argument to be made about clarity and simplicity. Yes, we should not have too many masters, lest we stray from the basic truths and limit ourselves with ritual. I will concede that the beginners among us may benefit from committing to one branch of semantics until they truly understand the law.
But we all learned the law from a different path in life and a different spiritual background. Some time ago I considered myself an atheist (and, in the spirit of eclectivity, I still am atheistic in that I do not believe in deities or external gods). Others will come from their own respective spiritual beliefs. So, while in some respects I am a Neville “purist” as well, believing that his teachings are the message at the core of all these branches of belief, I also respect that we can all use different angles and approaches to come to that core message.
Just like we all have different learning styles, we all have different learning backgrounds. Choosing to relate the law to other belief systems or using different language in our communication should be embraced as a gateway for all people to learn the truth about who they are. There will be small tweaks in the details of each, but the details yield to awareness always. Simply put, if the message is understood and applied, the rest doesn’t matter.
At the end of the day, the choice of semantics comes down to how one prefers to learn. Each branch of belief is valuable in its ability to relate to different people. For that, in my opinion, we should indeed be grateful, and appreciate each one for what it is: the law.
