Am I a bad Witch for not following thru on my celebration plans

[Turtle]

I've told my husband about jumping the fire and celebrating skyclad. And for whatever reason, as much as I talk about wanting to do it, it doesn't happen. Now, I'm guessing hubby's on board just because of the naked part(of course)-- so he's teasing.... or is he?

I light candles, recite a prayer to Artemis and a little verse appropriate to the Sabbat in the wee hours of the morning(If I don't miss my window before the 2yr old terror wakes up.) Some Sabbats I don't even manage that. Yesterday would've been a gorgeous day but we had company.

Am I a bad witch? Do I have any business calling myself a witch?

[RoseKitten]

I'm sorry, but I didn't realize there were specific rules that dictated one must be skyclad and jump over fire to be a witch.

In fact, without one common definition of what a witch actually is, it's hard to say what makes one a better witch than another. Of course, you could determine it based on who was more effective at their craft, but that still has nothing to do with who celebrates what and how.

[Ibis]

Don't worry yourself too much. You're not a bad witch. Being a witch is part of your life - you can celebrate another day, not necessarily the set day. Think about it, we didn't have precision clocks to determine exactly when a certain day came about, or when the seasons were going to follow.

I assume this is related to Beltane (as per your description above) - well I'm not celebrating at all until the middle of the month as I simply do not have the time or mental focus (because of the tonne of things I need to do) at this point.

If you want to celebrate tonight or tomorrow morning, then go on! Also... as the above person said, there isn't a set way to celebrate. As I like to say, go with the flow. Or rather, go with your instinct.

Blessings, Ibis.

[MonSno_LeeDra]

Well when you consider that none of these sabbats / esabbats mean anything to Artemis I don't see how she would hold you at faught. Then expound it further to include that many of her major ceremonies and holiday observances in Greece were not yearly but averaged out as much as 5 years apart I wouldn't say you missed on that facet either.

However, I do admit part lies in how you identify Artemis and to what persona you are working with. But that is a subject for a different thread and discussion.

[Faerydae]

I don't think so. Unless you flat out made a promise to Artemis, "Oh I'll be jumping skyclad over fires in your name on May 1st, 2011" I doubt she or anyone should find fault in not doing so.

Personally, I've no plans to celebrating Beltane this year. Haven't the heart for it. I don't think I'm a bad witch because of it. Just a tired, sleepy witch who wanted to stay in bed until 11AM and spend all day reading because she had a long week.

[Turtle]

He said it to me on Samhain, too. We were going to light a candle for each person close to us that we'd lost. Even had the candles lined up. And I fell asleep on the couch after dinner.

I have to agree with the point about Artemis and her observances as they were in the Greek Culture. It would seem I've got more reading/searching to do.

And about the time and method being amendable: I know people who've gotten together for Christian holidays on a different day. So I shouldn't let Hubby get to me.

[Caitlin.ann]

I don't think it makes you a bad anything. Sometimes life just gets in the way and that is ok. Honestly, I never really make a huge fuss about the holidays. I actually did more today to honor Beltane than I ever planned to. But my own practice is very informal and practical. I have never celebrated all the sabbats and never felt the need to. In the end I think the most important thing is to be mindful.

[Meadhbh]

I don't think any one will be insulted. Life happens and they understand. So long as you have the right set of mind you'll be fine. Its not like your ignoring it on purpose or the like.

[TuathaSidhe]

If your a bad witch for doing it then I am a bad witch cause I will not do anything skyclad...forget it, no way no how. lol.

Seriously though, there is nothing that says you *have* to do anything a certain way, or that you *have* to do it on that day. Unless you are doing something very specific then its fine to say a little prayer or light your candles, etc the day of/before/after/etc.

There are no hard and fast rules on being a witch, there isnt really any dogma except your own you might make for yourself if you are a religious witch.