Now the majority of us may think that this is not within our community due to most of us are pretty open, But gatekeeping is still a issue within our witch communities . But what exactly is gatekeeping? Gatekeeping is when a individual or individuals shame or trys to control whom or what one can or cannot do within their path, As always keep in mind giving advice and gatekeeping are very different things. There are so many forms of gatekeeping within today's magickal community no matter if we agree on that or not. In this blog im gonna cover some of the most common gatekeeping situations our community faces. The first issue that still happens today is you are not born into a witch family. This one no matter how observed it sounds is still an ongoing issue. Another common phrase you will hear is " My family line came from witches and we are the only ones of power. Now if you dont know not everyone comes from a line of witches. But that doesnt mean this stops you from being a witch just because it's not in your family line. Not to mention a lot of family genealogy gets lost in time and no one can truly say that no family has never had a witch.
The second most common form of gatekeeping that alot will not agree with and i'm ready for the backlash. Is you cant follow this path or that path because you do not have the right skin color (this goes for anyone ). The argument here is that its only for those who fall within that line and anyone else is just taking from that culture. But here is the rebuttal i offer to those who are ready to come at me for bringing this up. If science says we all originated from the african region that means somewhere in our family lines we all come from the same line. Not to mention the fact that these bodies we have are just nothing but a mere shell to contain the spirit within. In some form or another we all share the belief in either reincarnation or energy , scientifically we know energy cannot die. Therefore it continues to move on and manifest into something more. To go even further for those who believe in reincarnation , What if that particular path or culture speaks to you do to a past life ? To me i never understood this and may never in my life path. The reason being is what ever you work with sees you for who you are not the body you inhabit. This bring up alot of grey areas and i personally love a good discussion when it comes to this area of topic.
The Third type of gatekeeping most seen within the community is that within leadership no matter what form it comes in. Now this is not saying that all leaders are gatekeepers , But realistically some are. This can be for many reason either the person who was placed into a power of position or the organization itself. A few years ago there was a big issue with racism within the asatru community. Due to one specific group of individuals who tried to keep out any people of color along with some other crude things. But Does that mean that all Asatru communities fall under that same branch , NO! But this category goes deeper than just group leaders it also falls under priest/ Priestess of the path as well. Either because of opposing ways of practice and shaming the other for doing it different. I've seen people who shame others for not wearing ritual wear in rituals.
The Fourth type of gatekeeping has to do with terminology and origins which is getting more widespread. Depending upon the path that you follow we have different terms for certain magickal tools and sayings. Which most people would agree terminology depends upon these factors. But in today's day and age we get into origin stories and who started what and this is what its really called. To be honest i've seen this more times over the last few years than i'm happy to admit . This planet along has had many periods of evolution and many cultures that have died out and some alive today. This means that there will be similarities in practices and each culture will have its own name for that. So to criticise someone for saying cleansing, smoke work or smudging followed by this is what its called. Is not only gatekeeping but unnecessary , just because that's the terminology / origin you identify with .
At the end of the day gatekeeping does our community more harm than it does us any good and limits us in the process, Many of us joined this path due to the limitations or regulations from another paths Bigotry . So to come to this path no matter what fraction you follow and do the same seems ignorant . We all have our own beliefs, practices that we either were taught or decided for ourselves. Like i stated in the start of this blog there is a difference between educating someone on what you learned and gatekeeping. Which honestly the lines and justifications can get lost within the mix. So if you are trying to educate and not dictate a path make it known. Just because we have differences in opinion doesnt mean were wrong just means we believe different ways.
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