Monday 11 March 2024

Post No. 2,734 - Part 1 of my response to the hashtag #OcculTea - “Social Media Witchcraft: Grifters, Aesthetics, Imposter Syndrome | A Community Discussion”

I first came across this in: 

That video, and the the first three I have linked to below, give an overview of the intention of this, which is to promote a large discussion - not limited to creators, nor to YouTube - on the topic of social media impacting the Witchcraft and Occult Community. The topics and questions are available at https://www.instagram.com/p/C3oP4acKOnO/   

  • the Polish Folk Witch - see   “#OcculTea Social Media Witchcraft: Grifters, Aesthetics, FOMO, Consumerism | A Community Discussion”   https://youtu.be/ffqdChfKLug?si=9VvCz2fNVQIIRNl0   (1:24:23 long)   Has some excellent introductory comments about community/interaction/safe space/inclusion issues, and an excellent introduction to, and explanation of, the concept.  
  • Ella Harrison - see   “Social Media Witchcraft: Grifters, Aesthetics, Imposter Syndrome | A Community Discussion #OcculTea”   https://youtu.be/-ybxvDJjOo8?si=13Cbq5dewFBEMC80   (1:03:11 long)  I particularly like the commentary in her intro about - in my words - being ethical enough to fix past mistakes.  

There were already 26 videos at https://www.youtube.com/hashtag/occultea   when I first looked (and the number continues to grow), and I am looking forward to finding out more about other channels this way, in addition to getting others’ thoughts.

As a start, two others that I particularly want to watch (as I am familiar with the channels) are:

  • Thorn Mooney’s   “OcculTea: The Truth About Internet Witch Life”   https://youtu.be/UtElNQq5498?si=bJpidwmWCgl9BFXg   (1:09:50 long)   The appreciation of the resurrection of response videos is a comment that I consider should be well noted! I this video begins with a very useful history of the Internet. Also, as with this creator, I am more of a coffee drinker than a tea drinker.  

The discussions are based on the following topics (introduction, four (4) No. topics, and an overall conclusion) containing 31 No. excellent, very thought-provoking prompt/guide questions. I have put my responses after each, together with any additional thoughts at a few locations. 

The aim is stated to be for the discussion to maybe lead to a panel discussion and further actions. Based on the thoughtfulness of the questions and the depth of responses I have seen to date, I look forward to those and anything else which may eventuate. 

This is Part 1 of my response - there will possibly be five in total.

 

Introduction 

1. How long have you been participating in the Witchcraft online space? What Practices and topics do you discuss primarily?

I started this in around 2005, when I started studying Wicca and wound up in several Yahoo groups. That later spread to include other online groups over the next few years, but all of those have eventually gone by the wayside - largely over my frustration at the lack of interest in world-focused witchcraft activism. 

In 2007 I found Blogger, and I have been here ever since. I briefly tried posting sort-of “videos” on YouTube, but that wasn’t my natural inclination, and when YouTube demanded the right to use my content whenever/wherever/however they wanted, I decided to shift back to just being a consumer on that platform (and removed a fair bit of what I had posted). Vimeo felt more accommodating to me, by the way, but my natural preference for written forms of communication mean I never did any sustained creation work there either.

On Blogger I predominantly cover what is nowadays termed witchcraft activism, and working directly with energy. 

Viewing the videos I linked to above one thing I will add is my age: old enough to have been born in a different millennium ... 😁 In fact, I started my spiritual/psychic work in the 1970s, while still at high school (maybe primary school, actually ... ). 

 

 

 Topic 1: Impact on Community

2. What is my personal reasoning / inspiration behind sharing my practice online? 

I started to shift to blogging when I realised I could potentially reach far more people that way than by doing face-to-face workshops (books would also be another option, but there is a lot of work involved in a book). 

That also quickly extended to including me sharing my journey - including mistakes, so that others would hopefully be encouraged by my human flaws ... and any good idea I had along the way. 

And on top of that, I realised what I also really wanted to do, was to address my ultimate audience: me, in a future life ... 

The focus of the blogging has also shifted from technical to application - to witchcraft activism, over time.

One things about this: I don’t think I was aware of the potential to earn money from advertising, but I was so annoyed - and concerned at the potential for abuses of power - of financial and other gatekeeping that I wanted to make this as free as I could. 

There is a certain amount of knowledge that I consider should, for ethical and/or safety reasons, be kept unavailable, but the overwhelming majority of information that is hidden behind gatekeeping is, in my opinion, done so for questionable reasons - and, as mentioned, I have seen people do unethical things to try to gain access that knowledge. 

I have now watched this part of my selected videos, and my additional comments are:   I was not directed to do this by a Matron/Non-Binary/Patron/Tutelary Deity or my BPM  Guides;   fun & entertainment were not and are not part of my motivation for blogging;   I never saw this blogging as a way to build community, partly because I turned off the comments as I lacked the time, energy, and inclination to moderate comment wars, but also because I saw this more as a relatively passive version of a library that would outlive me, than as something dynamic. Particularly after the COVID-19 pandemic lockdowns, but also through my limited-duration social media experience, I am aware of the potential for that to happen, including through blogging, but that would require me to turn on comments and I am not interested in that for the aforementioned reasons;   I always viewed forums and later social media as a way for me to try to find community, but that has never worked out (except for some livestream YouTube events - mainly in the autism community);   I don’t like talking, and for personal (safety and security, mostly - related to being a member of several community minority groups) try to avoid having my image, or much of my voice, online anywhere;   because I am not doing this commercially (although I might allow ads if I ever get consistently high enough views), I am spared much of the (“dispersed”) commercial pressures that one mentioned - and would still be spared that, even if I did allow ads;   an age/generational divide was mentioned, and I tend to agree that is an issue to some extent, although it hasn’t been a problem for me;   I like the question about “am I sharing my practice online? ... How much of my practice am I sharing online?”, and have realised I am these days sharing mostly the activist side of my work, and less of the routine personal work - although I try to make sure I post about anything I consider significant;   the “desire to help” is a succinct way to summarise much of what I wrote for this question;   I like writing (if only I had listened to English teacher’s suggestion to be a writer of some form ... );  

 

 

3. What am I looking to achieve by participating" Do I seek to educate, learn, or connect? 

My main goals are to educate and learn. 

Something I learned early in life (in sailing, I think) is that one learns best by teaching others - perspectives get raised that one hadn't considered, one has to be very conscious and deliberate in order to understand everything properly, and the extra practice is also good. 

In fact, I have often learned the most by teaching matters I have initially struggled in - and skippering in sailing was one of those. I also reacted to others in a Wiccan group I was rushing to get their first degree in the traditional year and a day by slowing down and being more thorough. 

This blog has fulfilled those aims of teaching and learning (I particularly like some of the idea I have come up with along the way).

As I have already explained, I am not here to develop an active, interactive community, although I pay attention to the views (especially the variety of nations) and get a sense of fulfillment from those, but it is not the same as the communities that build around - and between - various YouTube creators.

I have now watched this part of my selected videos, and my additional comments are:   other blogs can be inspiring and educational for me;  

 

4. How do I believe social media, as a whole, has impacted the community? 

Overall, I consider social media has been beneficial, as it has improved access - particularly for people with limited mobility or other restrictions on access. 

I have also seen people coerced into putting up with abuse, compromising their ethics, or even resorting to theft to address financial gatekeeping, so the generally lower cost access to info via social media is an improvement.

Concerns about dogy info are often raised, but it is not so much the existence of dodgy info (that has always been around) as that it can spread more easily. That is an issue in other areas of life, and is something we have to accept exists and work at recognising, not spreading, and challenging mis/disinfo wherever it occurs - just as people had to adapt to a faster pace of life and increased access to info as we introduced things like the printing press, the mail service (unaffordable still in some places of the world), telegrams, phones, telexes, faxes, emails, smartphones, and social media. 

We may not like it, but the world is not going to willingly go back to older and less efficient ways of doing things - even if some of things are not good or even harmful.

The introduction of machine learning (aka "AI") may change the balance more towards disbenefit, but that also is subject to efforts to manage problems and recognise our Right to Reality.

I have now watched this part of my selected videos, and my additional comments are:  YouTube is possibly better than the other forms, but I have never been on many of those, and am not on any now so I cannot say definitely;   the problem of “light and fluffy” aka spiritual bypassing had been particularly bad in the 1980s when I started learning formally, so that also has been in existence before social media ... it just perhaps need to be managed slightly differently on social media, and the maturing of the community is an important part of that;   increased acceptance through social media is a valid point, but changes to laws in recent decades (removal of bans, etc) have also been important - and I agree that acceptance is not perfect;   I agree that the commercialisation of social (“the algorithm”) is an issue to be aware and wary of - and the shorter focus that some platforms can potentially lead to;   identifying and naming problems (such as echo chambers, which actually existed before social media) is an important first step in managing those problems;   I agree that the risk of missing nuance is a valid concern, and that it is particularly significant for social media - as is abuse by ego-driven people;   I don’t feel pushed to buy stuff, but that may be just me and my minimalist preferences;   a good reminder was made that social media is a way of getting around backward social restrictions;   good comment about the search for credibility as a genuine practitioner, community (including friendships IRL - which have shifted to other platforms for interactions within that group), and bigotry (particularly sexism) in the early days (that’s one of the reasons I avoid some platforms - and the platform still exists, albeit it in different forms);  

5. How do I think social platforms such as TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube have each impacted education / sharing information?

For ethical reasons, I prefer not to use facebook or anything associated with it - including the rebadged shelf company (which is what it seems to be to me) known as meta, and Instagram.

There have been concerns about TikTok (algorithm, abusive/discriminatory content - also found elsewhere [although I like the compilations on YouTube in areas of interest to me], etc), so I haven’t and won’t use that either. 

That leaves YouTube - which also has problems, including the commercialisation of it a few years ago (which is when I removed most of what I had posted on that platform). 

I consider YouTube has, overall, helped - people in isolated areas, as I was in  small country town in Queensland in the 70s, or people with restricted mobility and access, which, to some extent, includes me now, have a way of accessing content. 

It has also been a way of avoiding the problems caused by financial and other gatekeepers. 

However, mis- and disinformation are problems - and to an extent and in ways that did not exist previously, although it should be noted that there always have been such problems. 

Some books are problematic. 

In terms of the details of the education and sharing, videos are shorter than books, but they can be presented as a course - a series of videos in a playlist, as done by some human rights, political, and history YouTube channels. 

I think that is a potential that is underutilised - and would also aid with the use of videos as references. 

On that, hashtags need to be better - they are the equivalent of bookmarks/indexes in textbooks. (Shorts may be a form of hashtag if appropriately labelled ... )

I have now watched this part of my selected videos, and my additional comments are:  our frenetic pace of living and working have also contributed to reduced attention spans - I consider that, to quite an extent, short form social platforms are a reflection of life, and not the other way round - if we were all happy to use longer form considerations in our everyday life, and felt no time pressure, platforms such as TikTok would be less popular;   the problem of dramatic/polarising content is a valid point - as is the caution about trends;   I disagree that people don’t read captions - for some of us it is essential;   some of the commentary here was, i effect, about wanting to be popular - a bit like the way many people feel at high school: fortunately, as someone who wasn’t popular and had no hope of ever being that, and who found the ethical disciplines of Buddhism early on, that hasn’t been much of an issue for me - but the fact that I am proud of the number of views I have had shows I am not entirely free of it. I disagree that everyone likes things like gossip: the victims don’t - and not everyone was raised that way, some parents were and are ethical;   I emphasised my point about a series of videos as a course after listening to some of these comments (although better subtitles/captions would aid those who want to study topics formally);   the advice to check sources etc and whether people are “just sharing for aesthetics” is excellent;   I may be being spoiled a little, in that I am used to longer YouTube videos in the human rights and autism communities, but the comment about Professor Ronald Hutton’s longer lectures and talks was a good reminder of what can be found n YouTube;   one creator also pointed we like to blame whatever the latest thing is, with magazines as an example 😊 . It would be useful to see if an historian has put together a reference/resource(s) on how problems with new media were overcome in the past ...  The creator concerned quite rightly pointed out that the use of discernment is important, although that can be difficult on the technical aspects of practice;   knowing where to find information is always a problem - and not just on the Internet (considerable effort goes in to this in professional workplaces/careers);   interesting comment that social media wasn’t initially about education, and that a lot of content is aimed at beginners;  

6. Is consuming Witchcraft content becominng a substitute for practice? 

For some people, I would say probably yes. 

However, in the days before a public Internet, those people often used reading books as a substitute for practice, so, again, the problem existed beforehand. 

The main question is: is this more of an issue now? And on that, I would also say yes. 

There is no way a beginner is going to feel that they can perform as well as some of the highly polished performers on social media, and that is discouraging - especially when tied in to the the nastiness of some commenters.

I have now watched this part of my selected videos, and my additional comments are:  a good point that witchcraft content can be inspiring during a slump;   not so sure about the comment about living through others’ videos ... but am inclined to agree some posters don’t really believe in what they’re posting - it is just an attention grabbing ploy - I definitely agree that hoarding knowledge is a problem, both before Internet and now, and that some people just want the trappings so they can look like an expert;  

 

Additional comments/thoughts/reflections of mine 

The fact that this discussion is occurring at all, let alone occurring to such a depth and of such quality, is a significant act of maturing. 

That will, eventually, lead to a more constructive impact of social media on this community - particularly as its impact diffuses out beyond the initial group of creators and viewers.



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Remember: we generally need to be more human being rather than human doing, to mind our Mӕgan, and to acknowledge that all misgendering is an act of active transphobia/transmisia that puts trans+ lives at risk & accept that all insistence on the use of “trans” as a descriptor comes with commensurate use of “cis” as a descriptor to prevent “othering” (just as binary gendered [men’s and women’s] sporting teams are either both given the gender descriptor, or neither).

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