Something I’ve been thinking about for some time. This post brought the subject to the forefront.
I hear (well, read) a lot of folks saying they practice their magic as did their ancestors. Right underneath that statement is a photo of a dutch oven/cauldron sitting on a stove. And an electric stove, at that. (Okay, no specific instance but you get my drift.)
If someone truly practiced as their ancestors did, I would expect to see either an outdoor firepit or a large indoor fireplace with that cauldron hanging above the fire. If indoors and at night, there had better be candlelight rather than electric lamps.
Don’t get me wrong – I adore modern conveniences. Especially electricity. And I make use of them. I own several mortar and pestle sets, yet an electric grinder is my go-to “utensil” for grinding or powdering herbs. My gas stove heats potions faster than a fire would, without hauling logs, feeding the fire & stirring coals to ensure even heating.
Computers. So many I know now keep an electronic Book of Shadows/Grimoire/Notebook, whatever your term. It makes searching for a particular piece of information almost effortless, rather than having to page through what can be a very thick tome. Then there’s the Internet…
A while back, some of us on a forum got into a discussion about doing spells during a specific moon phase. Thanks to modern technology, we now know exactly when the moon becomes full, quartered or new. I rarely pay attention to such things but when I do, I’m not concerned with when the moon is at an exact phase. Our ancestors wouldn’t have known that the moon was only 98% full, waxing or waning. To the naked eye, it looks like the moon is full for 3 days. Works for me. But do I keep a chart to know when the moon is in a particular phase, even if the sky is thick with clouds for days? No. There’s an app for that (or take your pick of various websites).
Have we become lazy? In a sense, yes. There’s the point of putting your own energy and time into a spell, including all the preparations leading up to casting. On the other hand, our lives aren’t the same as our ancestors’. There are many more demands on our time and energy than even my grandparents experienced. (Hell, there are more demands on my kids’ time than mine.) Technology helps us with our lives, including the practice of magic.
So, what do you think? Is technology a good thing for witchcraft or bad?
Image retrieved from http://www.pulpartists.com/Leyendecker.html