I see a lot of stuff on here (well, less lately since I feel like it’s been quite quiet on this server for a while) about how there is nothing unsafe about witchcraft or any pagan/neopagan practice and that anyone trying to tell you otherwise is some kind of fearmongering grifter. I’ve taken a long, long time to mull over various perspectives on this and have begun to realize a few reasons why I find I just can’t agree with this: 1) Any spiritual practice: be it any Abrahamic religion, any adoption of a contemplative tradition, any form of new-age, syncretic, neopagan or other less “organized” disciplines, or occult order — becomes an opportunity to project or transfer our own image, traumas, or desires. And especially when we are practicing outside of structure where we are inherently accountable to other *humans*, we are more likely to shape what we’re learning and doing into *our* narrative. This isn’t even necessarily a bad thing, and I think it’s unavoidable though I think we can practice becoming more aware of ourselves, but it definitely sets the stage for issues in certain contexts. And while a lot of folk practicing nature-based witchcraft or spirituality (for lack of better terms at this moment) feel that they’re at least accountable to something non-human, and are, a total lack of governance structure in our practice means that this accountability is itself our own projection, at least at the start. 2) Continuing from this, neopaganism and “witchcraft” as broad umbrellas are going to be especially rife with the projections not just of our own selves, but of whatever our sources are. We are in MOST cases inherently practicing outside of continuous lineage and tradition and interpreting either our own lineage or a reconstruction of what we think a given lineage practiced, looked like, and believed — and it’s hard for me to imagine a scenario where there aren’t potential psychological or social pitfalls for folks generally reinventing an entire worldview and cosmology that runs counter to the dominant social narrative, without any specific human accountability or guiding oral tradition/elderhood. 3) When it comes to so many things: folk remedies, plant allyship, mystical healing practices, deep consciousness alteration — there are things we need to be aware of in terms of navigating the realities of *not knowing* the risks of certain practices (or the risk/benefit breakdown of using such practices in lieu of, say, modern medicine or psychological support) 4) To purport that everything animate is inherently our ally no matter *what we do* or how we engage and that there is *no wrong way* to go about building relationship with other beings, spirits, what-have-you is extraordinarily arrogant and is not a concept that historically exists. There are no cultures that do not believe in upsetting other beings and experiencing backlash or that do not believe in some kind of malicious entities. We need not *fear* “demons” to recognize that if we truly believe in what we are doing we may well also at least entertain the concept that not everything is a friend to us in all circumstances, and that we are not above missteps and curating poor relationships in all realms. One is probably better off not needlessly invoking whatever found, desired, imagined, or interesting entity without perhaps first doing some work. 5) In my own cultural tradition if nothing else, from one of the most conquered landmasses in the world, we don’t believe in total and complete beneficence. Perhaps this is why I cannot believe it: if the world is but a representation of its source, we imagine the forces we witness at work in some of the higher ripples of themselves as well, and that we are not pretending to access “pure” source, right? This feels intuitive to me but I suppose not to everyone. And no, none of this is disparaging or discouraging. The rules of human and non-human relationships apply to our practices: we move with thoughtfulness, good will, we evaluate what “good” means, we find markers for it in the real world and beyond, and we expect to be met with the same but understand that sometimes we won’t be and that that’s okay. Carelessness and arrogance beget natural consequences, sometimes large and sometimes small, depending on the action and also sometimes just pure chance. Some folks never experience a negative result despite them, or at least they don’t *notice*. Some folks fall down deep holes that are hard to get out of. I’ve seen both in our social sphere. You shouldn’t be any more afraid of these things in spiritual practice than in life!