Oh my Gods, I've turned into Malcolm Reynolds!

In 1912, the Titanic sailed and sank on her first voyage. Ninety- eight years were spent on speculation of how the disaster originated, until one day this year a secret broke it's seal. It was not a hasty captain, it was neither the public relations person nor shoddy workmanship. It was the helmsman who lived with this horrendous guilt knowing that he was the cause. All of his instincts, all of his years on the sea, all of his skills in the moment he needed them, betrayed him. He was competent helms man, but this was new technology that defied his experience. When given the order to turn and turn hard, he did. In the moment of crisis, his instincts should have save him and the Titanic had the steering technique not shifted. You see, in the old world sailing vessels, you turned left to go right. In the Titanic, a brand new modern vessel, you turned the real direction. I hope this good sailor is resting in peace.

I am an old world witch trying to cope in the new world. I know I am not necessarily a dying breed. I speak to some of my peers and elders and they too are baffled how some of the new blood do not seem to understand the words honor and gate keeping. I realize there are not many real secrets to the craft. There never have been and there never will be. These days there are even less secrets because more of us are out of the closet. One of the secrets supposed to been have kept was the list of names. There are still those who are in the closet and their identity, should I know them, are kept as secret as they would have been hundreds of years ago, as should be. Granted, now a days, the punishment for witchery is no longer blood, stakes and fire. Now a days, economic hardship, the tearing apart of family, two faced back stabbing and hate crimes are on the menu. These things are rarely executed, most people either don't care that we exist or are amused by it. It's the rare hard liner filled with the rhetoric of brimstone and hellfire that acts against us. Don't mistake, they are there. . .

The inquisition these days looks different and acts different. Instead of long, regal robes adorned by crosses of gold, it looks more like misinformed bureaucracy all across the board. I'm not saying every member of bureaucracy is a member of this inquisition, it's more like a small pious cabal of people who seem to think that every witch is crazy, evil and out to hurt everyone in their path. Or at the very least a poor, delusional wretch being used by the black man himself or possessed by a demon. They make fallacious videos for law enforcement, perform dangerous and hateful exorcisms, pass out pamphlets filled with fear and cancel Halloween! This small cabal feels it is their duty to save humanity ( specifically other people's children) from the devil. I guess they don't understand that there is no devil in the craft. Then again, we are talking about a small group of people who see the devil in everything that isn't just like them. If human means 'just like me,' witches aren't human. Not to them anyway.

Now to make things even more ugly. There are genuinely unstable people out there who claim to the craft. Every deed that violates human trust is blamed upon their religion. What's worse is they make a large amount of noise dragging their supposed religion with them through the muck and mire. They go to craft elders and demand defense. They go to the ACLU and the Lady Liberty League and demand defense because they are being persecuted for their religion when in fact their religion is not in question. It's their criminal activity, what ever it is. (Keep in mind there are those who go to the ACLU and LLL with genuine grievance.)  We have seen a lot of this done in our name: rape, murder, sexual exploitation, child abuse, child neglect, senseless killing and torturing of animals, the list goes shamefully on. Just like child molestation is not a part of the Catholic religion, none of these things are the craft. Never has been, never will be. Those who do these things in our name most certainly should not be defended by us.

I am an old world witch trying to cope in a new world. I have taken oaths to protect the craft and my kin. I shall uphold them. I know many of  those in my order have taken similar oaths. I also know there are those in my order who have done no such thing, which baffles me. It occurs to me that that I may be just like that old world sailor. I am expected to sail a new ship and when I say no thanks I get salty remarks aimed at keeping me in line with the party line. I say no thanks, I'll stick to the vessel class I know my instincts won't betray. You see, I have taken a lesson from that old sailor, and being a sailor's daughter, I have to thank that sailor for breaking the silence on his most revealing secret. I may add new things like a better compass, comfy quarters, better communications equipment and lasers instead of canons, but the helm set up will remain the same. . .

Oh my Gods, I've turned into Malcolm Reynolds!