I have read more occult books...well...I was counting up and realizing that I have self-identified as a Witch for 32 years now...and I am a librarian. I have read a lot of occult books. They warn you about all sorts of eldritch dangers...but the one I have never seen as a warning is that if you become even a half-serious practitioner, your life is in danger of being taken over by MAGICAL CLUTTER!!! Now THAT is a serious bane. I'm not entirely sure what Japanese Organization Lady would advise me to do since, "does this sealed arcane spell binding the power of a serial rapist bring you joy?" is not a sentence that should ever be uttered. Or typed. TOO LATE! Because I am a witch and I say shit that certainly wouldn't be said in polite company and maybe shouldn't be said at all.
This post is coming from a Facebook post that I wrote, and I am memorializing it so it can serve as a reminder and cautionary tale for me in the future.
As an urban witch who lives in a one-bedroom apartment, I am incredibly fortunate to have a special nook just for my altars and magick. Now...of course, I have altars and other stuff ALL OVER the apartment, but I also have a dedicated little personal temple space. GLORY! So superior to the years spent in the 400 square foot studio! But it really, really needed to get straightened up. But the STUFF. How do I have this much stuff? What is this stuff? The occult books are very clear that one should not have a cluttered magical working environment. Both, TRUE and HAH! I mean, I live in a one bedroom apartment and have 9 altars, 3 of which get daily use and the other 6 get used over once a season. Minimalism is just not the witchy way...no matter how much we romanticize our ancestors and their "simpler" ways. And I consciously TRY not to do this. Try and fail. Try again.
Anyway, I needed to clean up my supplies. So, I decided to clean house. It went something like this:
What are these stones? Why are they together? There must be a reason...is that bark? Is this the molybdenite? Why did I buy this much selenite? I must have been planning to do something with it. What the hell was it? Is it disrespectful to throw this out? It was an offering at one point. I know I'm supposed to bury or burn it...but I think my apartment manager would be mad at me if I did that and I'm not in the mood to get caught digging in the park. Oh bloody hell...what is this? I know it's not one of the McCormick spices...I just used the bottle. And here are bottles of oils that the labels are no longer readable or that fell off. And save me from the collection of feathers and special bits of string and other ritual detritus. I really should have labeled my rocks better. The sacred waters are reasonably labeled at least. Note to self...I DO NOT NEED HYSSOP OIL!!! I HAVE PLENTY. Make a bloody inventory already! Why did I ever think it was a good idea to create a spell that leaves me having to keep a physical item until the end of time? That's just bad planning. Etc. etc. etc.
I know that part of this is because we feel like we need to be prepared for all sorts of unknown circumstances...so we collect all sorts of things with the "just in case" mentality. My personal favorite, for me, was an early morning phone call from my sweetie (who is a magnificent Darren).
I answered the phone and he excitedly burst out with a "Good morning, sweetie! Do you need a snake in a bottle?"
I couldn't even fully parse what he was saying and was like, "Wha....?"
"Do you need a snake in a bottle?"
At this point, I was trying to think through whether or not this could be some really weird double entendre that was sailing over my head, or something. Then he decided to explain."My friend at work gave me a dead snake preserved in a bottle of alcohol and I don't know what to do with it. Do you need a snake in a bottle."
"OH! You mean do I need a SNAKE in a bottle." And you know, for a witch, the answer to that question, taken literally, is "Yes...Yes I do. I do need a snake in a bottle."
I have a magnificent Darren. He gave me a snake in a bottle. Now, should there ever be an emergency in which we were thinking, "I could save the world with my wild edge-walking magicks if only I but had...a snake in a bottle..." The struggle, it is real.
But seriously...I am still not done organizing the clutter. I did create an inventory. I am thinking maybe I should capture and release some rocks back into the wild. But I do think we need to be thinking about our magical detritus problem. If I never, ever, ever get another random piece of special string or a candle I'm not supposed to finish burning or whatever in a ritual...this would be good. And I am going to be much more conscious about what I saddle people with at the rituals I run.In the meantime, if I'm ever caught burying shit in the park...I promise you a weird trial.
