@magicianmew made a lovely point in a comment on my last post (the one about researching spell ingredients before you mess around with them). They implied that big-name Witch and Pagan authors are at a risk of being sued when they put forth potentially dangerous content. I disagree. Because….
This. This is part of the copyright page of Gemma Gary’s “Traditional Witchcraft: A Cornish Book of Ways.”
But don’t think Gary is alone. In her “Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells”, Judika Illes spells it out quite plainly. She uses up an entire page.
Even Scott Cunningham and/or his publisher, Llewellyn, smacked this on the copyright page of “The Complete Book of Incense, Oils, and Brews.”
A lot of books with spells in them have these little warnings. Check it out.
And I think this is a-OK. It is not an author’s job to say whether a historical practice is safe or not. Safe is relative. It depends on the person and their circumstances. Some people love eating peanut butter, but for others it leads to anaphylaxis.
Witches take pride in being fiercely independent. We are the other. We go against the status quo. Part of being independent is figuring out if something is right for you. So much of witchcraft can be risky. We deal with shifty spiritual beings, we use poisonous plants, we curse, etc. Even something as simple as taking a walk in a dark forest can be dangerous. You can get attacked by an animal. You can slip and break your leg.
We do risky things every day. Getting in a car is terribly dangerous, statistically speaking. But most people do it on a regular basis. You need to figure out what is right for you. I’ll walk into the woods at night, no problem. Boiling some paint thinner is not right for me. Maybe it’s fine for you. Independent thinking and cross-referencing things is the witch’s job.
Not the author’s.
This is pretty common among authors who translate some of the more gruesome grimoires as well. For example from Peterson’s Secrets of Solomon:
Relevant to a recent post of mine. You should always do your own research and consult a physician before consuming new substances.
