There is a difference for sure but meditation and exercise are not really comparable since there’s proven benefits, a closer comparison would be…religion. Consulting the deck is even sillier than praying because you get an “answer” every time which probably just reinforces your preexisting belief
I’m not sure you understand witchcraft from the perspective of those that practice it. It sounds more to me like you’re talking about a caricature of witchcraft and pagan practices, rather than what most witches actually believe
Out of curiosity, if we’re to dismiss the caricature you think might be at play here, what does define witchcraft? If it’s just a set of mental disciplines that help someone navigate life then the term witchcraft itself seems to be somewhat grandiose.
I want to hear OPs answer too, but to chime in: what are most religions/belief systems if not mental disciplines to help people navigate life?
This thing seems to always be involved in this kind of stuff. Noted, of course, that many do that in uncool ways/with uncool impacts (reinforcing hierarchies that justify concentration of power, legitimizing harm to others, glorifying ignorance, etc.)
I mean that’s the whole idea, you don’t create knowledge out of nothing. But it’s more than just preexisting belief, you try to grab it from collective unconscious.
Plus, card on itself doesn’t tell you anything SPECIFIC. The whole point of cards and magic is to believe that this specific card has bigger meaning, thus you need to interpret it, and think about it’s meaning. And thinking is useful. What conclusion you come up with depends more on the situation than the card itself.
Others have elaborated further, but I’ll give an example you can probably agree with:
If you’re having trouble making a decision, you can flip a coin. This is actually really useful if you don’t actually let the coin make the decision. If you’re disappointed with the result, you then found out you liked the other result better, and you should do that instead. There’s no magic. It’s just a way to help ourselves gain insight into what we believed but we’re having trouble realizing.
There is a difference for sure but meditation and exercise are not really comparable since there’s proven benefits, a closer comparison would be…religion. Consulting the deck is even sillier than praying because you get an “answer” every time which probably just reinforces your preexisting belief
I’m not sure you understand witchcraft from the perspective of those that practice it. It sounds more to me like you’re talking about a caricature of witchcraft and pagan practices, rather than what most witches actually believe
Out of curiosity, if we’re to dismiss the caricature you think might be at play here, what does define witchcraft? If it’s just a set of mental disciplines that help someone navigate life then the term witchcraft itself seems to be somewhat grandiose.
I want to hear OPs answer too, but to chime in: what are most religions/belief systems if not mental disciplines to help people navigate life?
This thing seems to always be involved in this kind of stuff. Noted, of course, that many do that in uncool ways/with uncool impacts (reinforcing hierarchies that justify concentration of power, legitimizing harm to others, glorifying ignorance, etc.)
I mean that’s the whole idea, you don’t create knowledge out of nothing. But it’s more than just preexisting belief, you try to grab it from collective unconscious.
Plus, card on itself doesn’t tell you anything SPECIFIC. The whole point of cards and magic is to believe that this specific card has bigger meaning, thus you need to interpret it, and think about it’s meaning. And thinking is useful. What conclusion you come up with depends more on the situation than the card itself.
Others have elaborated further, but I’ll give an example you can probably agree with:
If you’re having trouble making a decision, you can flip a coin. This is actually really useful if you don’t actually let the coin make the decision. If you’re disappointed with the result, you then found out you liked the other result better, and you should do that instead. There’s no magic. It’s just a way to help ourselves gain insight into what we believed but we’re having trouble realizing.