The Shape of Things

Greetings All.

I thank all who stepped into the breach in my absence to help Kaithlin keep things running smoothly here at home, and those who stepped up to the plate to assist us in our efforts to curtail a most unpleasant situation. And now, on to today's business.

There have been many inquiries as to the day to day routine in the lives of Witches; what they do, and hope to accomplish in the outside world. Fair questions that let me know some of you realize that Witches are as much a part of the Outsider's society as their own (the same is true of any Kind that chooses to reside in modern society and I will speak to questions pertaining to those along and along).

Mayhap the best way to lead into this discussion is to remind that being a Witch does not preclude being a person. As I have stated earlier, Witches are part of mainstream society. Their children attend schools with your children, the adults have careers, own businesses, attend social functions as others do, and so on. Some let it be known they are Witches, others prefer anonymity, as they go about the business of life in regular society. Sounds simple enough yet there is nothing simple about it, for the fact that Witches must incorporate both callings; duties of person and Witch into one existence, and function in both societies.

The lone Witch without ties to a coven tends to have an easier time of it (that is not to say they do not run into many of the same problems with Outsiders) because the choice of being 'lone' affords them the ability to live on their own terms. Those with ties to a coven are bound by coven law and by the very fact of being involved with more people than themselves, each within the coven is dependent upon the other's proclivity, or lack there of, for the good of all. Human nature being what it is, and taken into consideration, the many run the greater risk than the one.

If one considers other things such as personalities, degree of loyalty, personal desire (and for what that pertains to), one might begin to conclude that, as with any people, the issue of trust factors into the equation. And further, given the hierarchy within covens, one might also recognize that conflict can and does arise. As in ordinary society, conflicts within the witches society lead to challenges of authority, disloyalty, the breaking of old ways, and the making of new ways. And the more discord the more risk of danger.

Let us look at some things that lend themselves to discord. At the top of the hierarchy are Warlock and Sorceress; both known for being of hedonistic natures (some are, others are not), and for demanding complete and total loyalty (some without earning it). Take those and apply them to both societies and you have the power monger who will stop at nothing to achieve his/her goals, at any price. Then you have those Witches who throw their loyalties in one direction or the other and thus you have discord. Add to those the Outsiders who are enlisted for unsavory purposes, people with their own unsavory agenda, and you should recognize how easily things can go awry in both societies. Ex.- corrupt officials of position on the outside in the pocket of a corrupt Witch. More than one mayor, governor, sheriff, or police chief has attained that office with the assistance of powerful Witches, and both enjoy the spoils of their victory. See where I am going?

Let it be known that I am not focusing a bad light on 'all' of one Kind or position. I am merely pointing out these things to give you another perspective with which to understand that human nature applies to the Witch as well as the Outsider. To be fair, I will also point out that corrupt persons in both societies have been brought down by other Witches and Outsiders working in tandem, for the good of all. Think balance, for without it in every society where would we be?

Thankfully, there is balance among those with extraordinary powers and skills and those without, and that because of the Witches who take 'for the good of all', seriously. Those are the ones who believe in live and let live; that all are deserving of equality and prosperity and work to those ends.

So, as you go about your busy day, while you may not know it, you are working beside a Witch; attending social functions with the same; entertaining them (or vice-versa); chatting with them at PTA meetings; electing them on local and higher levels; retaining them as attorney; receiving medical attention from them as doctors and nurses... You get the drift. Being a Witch does not lessen their humanity, nor prevent their places in the society that belongs to all. Mayhap the day will come when Witches feel free to welcome you, an Outsider, into their midst without cause for concern for them and their own. 'Tis a world worth seeing and people well worth knowing. Prejudice (in every walk of life; race, Kind, etc.) on the face of the few who reflect, badly, on the many is not just cause. Ponder.