Love and light. It’s a phrase that is being spread as, “the only way” for a “witch” to be. When in all actuality witchcraft requires balance and witches have been known to curse since the beginning. That’s a soapbox for another day though. Today my thoughts are on love and light as far as how people portray themselves. People on Amino are the first, and to be honest, the only place where I can meet and get to know or chat with other practitioners. When I first ventured into meeting people who practice the magickal arts, I was greeted by the love and light crew. They were very….”Blessed be” “Merry meet”. Over time I got to know them better and though they may have had good intentions, many of them either simply fell to the wayside due to life, or eventually showed their true colors. Some of them were just downright fraudulent in the way they portrayed themselves to others. Some were just simply not good friends for one reason or another. Enter the opposition. I guess for entertainment value we can call them doom & gloom? (Hehehe) All jokes aside, I ended up getting to know a few who kind of came across as “dark” for lack of better words. Basically they practiced baneful magick, dressed in all black, weren’t overly friendly. You know the type. I instantly felt not only comfortable but happy around them. We got to know each other and I feel safe in saying I consider them friends. Close friends even. Since day one they have been honest and kind. I guess my point is, in the span of about a year and a half, everyone who was in group A showed that not only was it just flat out not possible to be all love and light all the time, but that most were quite the opposite. Group B was the same from the beginning and remains the same today. Not only was I treated WORSE by group A but group B was actually there to make me feel better. A person with my mind, when faced with these thoughts, quickly turns to thinking of reasons why. Could it be the people you think are all dark and negative have just been through some shit and get it? Then of course there’s all those cliché sayings. “Don’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Typically it’s used in situations where someone misjudged someone as something negative when they weren’t. But then what about the opposite end of the spectrum? People who appear good but are actually just garbage human beings? They are very real and exist too. I guess to wrap up, my final thoughts are pretty simple. Everyone who put out the peace, love, light shit ended up being some of the shadiest, foulest people I’ve ever met. The ones who had been in the shadows, being themselves, ended up being some of the most giving, supportive, kind hearted people I’ve ever had the opportunity to know. I went into business with a couple of them and one was even my first customer on my venture to work for myself with my practice. Take time to find your balance. Find those who not only keep it real with you, but want to see you succeed, that HELP you succeed. Those are your people. Don’t be blinded by the light of toxic positivity, and, you know, don’t judge a book by it’s cover.