@its-that-witch-again has asked me to share my story with you all because they do a weekly witchcraft themed topic and this week’s topic is “Male Witches and Pagans”. So I thought I’d happily oblige.
I found my path a little over two years ago after being in a very lost point in my life. I had a lot of unhealed scars and emotional baggage and was feeling very lost. I was born and raised Roman Catholic and for a long part of my younger years, I was a very devout Christian. But as I grew older, the concept of Christianity grew less and less appealing as I started questioning my upbringing and beliefs. I soon after found myself as a sort of deist, believing that there was most likely a higher power but I felt they were inactive and uninterested in our lives. But when I was going through my aforementioned struggles, I really didn’t believe in anything.
From a very young age I was a lover of all things magical and fantasy. So when I saw my first set of runestones at my local fair, I thought to myself “You know, these have always been interesting to me. I should just buy them.” So I picked up a set of black, beautiful onyx runestones.
It wasn’t long after that I learned the runes had meanings and purpose. And that they were used for divination. I delved deeper into mystic aspects of the runes, driven by a need to know more. Then I found they were tied to Odin and deeply a part of paganism. I started learning of rituals and spells and rites and I fell into a spiral of curiosity. I was consumed and although hesitant to call myself a witch or a practioner of magic, with time the title fell into place. Now I call myself a heathen and a witch and a Vitki, though I know my path is still starting and I have much to learn and discover. I have found immense strength not only in my craft but also in the concept of Heathenry and polytheism. The Gods and Goddesses don’t claim to be perfect, nor is there often the Christian concept of “Good” or “Evil”, rather a concept of order and chaos, both of which have a place and a power of their own. And that allows me to make more sense of the beautiful and terrible things that happen in our day to day lives and to process it in a more healthy fashion.
Nowadays, I practice when and how I can in our busy modern world and do what I can to share and inspire others. Witchcraft is a very female dominated niche and, respectfully, I say it is rightfully so. History has long repressed women and witchcraft has been a place of power for those that may not have power in other aspects of their lives. But I still hope to encourage masculine identifying individuals to find their own strength within and find their own magick and empowerment in a society that mistreats all the poor and marginalized. Magick comes from within ourselves, and we have every right to create such beautiful and vibrant power.
Juli Fusina and More 