Cutting the last ties

Remember a little while ago when I posted about my cathartic experience of clearing my Readerof all the Witchcraft and other non-Hellenistic blogs? When I did that, I realized something, something I also ended that post with: 'I think yesterday's exercise [of clearing my Reader feed] marked the end of the struggle I carried on from the time of that post [about losing the knowledge from my previous Eclectic practice]. I am done with my previous practice, and yes--I might just start packing some books into boxes soon. I don't need them anymore, just like no longer need all those blogs'.

Once I cleared out my reader and, in fact, did pack a lot of stuff away, I realized there was one, huge, tie I still had to my previous practice--one I was slowly becoming to see as a 'must', rather than a 'may': Little Witch magazine. And so, a little over a week ago, I made the tough decision to stop making Little Witch.

It was a hard decision to make, and one I did not take lightly, but now I have taken it and am on the verge of wrapping up the last one, I cannot tell you how relieved I am. I started Little Witch in September 2010. It was a way for me to keep writing and keeping up skills, like InDesign, that I'm good at but have no reason to use beyond some rare events. I used to role play a lot and that forced me to write but as life got busier, I had to let that go. Little Witch brought me closer to Paganism, forced me to do a lot of research and it opened a lot of doorways into the (on-line) Pagan community. It helped me figure out a lot of issues I had with my faith and my place in Paganism. Now, though, I have my place. I know exactly where I belong, and I knew that the moment I progressed into Hellenismos. It was time to stop.

I would have loved to hand the magazine over to someone else, but most of the work always fell to me, so there is no one to give it to. A new Dutch initiative is about to emerge, though, and there are many English magazines focusing on Paganism. I can leave Little Witch behind with a clear conscience. It hurts, though; we made twelve issues over the span of three years, and that is quite a lot. I will miss it, regardless of how little I identify with most of the content.

Today, the last magazine goes live, and I will update this post with it once it does (noon, my time). It's a big step, a solemn moment. For those of you who read the magazine, thank you for your support. It was a good ride, a very good ride, but I now--officially--cut off the last tie to my previous practice. And by the Gods, I am so relieved.


EDIT: There it is!