Many teenagers find that on the road to learning about paganism and witchcraft, few or no people are willing to help them learn or to answer questions. There are two major reasons why teens are so often ignored.
First and foremost, many pagans are afraid of the legal repercussions involved in teaching witchcraft to minors. Whether we like it or not, no one under eighteen years of age has any legal rights in the United States. Parents have full control when it comes to shaping their children and this also includes religious beliefs.
Unfortunately, many parents are also uneducated when it comes to pagan religions. Even some non-religious families are disturbed by the thought of their children learning witchcraft, even people who claim not to believe in magic. Though it may not be the law, parents do have the right to control what their children are reading, doing, and learning on the internet. Fortunately for teens, there are ways of overcoming these problems . Some teens host their own pagan websites and are more than happy to teach others. Minors cannot be legally responsible for anything until they reach eighteen years of age. Many teens also prefer to learn from books. There are a number of good books that can be purchased that are suitable for teens to learn from. A list of books and websites suitable for teens is located at the end of this article.
The other reason teens find it difficult to receive help, and the most important reason of all, is because most teens wanting to learn witchcraft want to learn for all the wrong reasons. When teens think of magic, they think of shows like Sabrina the Teenage Witch or movies like The Craft and Harry Potter. Television producers know that in order to sell their product or boost their ratings, they need to make something that will draw teens in. Because teens are so vulnerable to what they see on television, they relate what they see to real life. During this "midriff" stage, teens are generally still unable to determine the difference between the TV world and the real world, a problem that has become more defined since parents have relied on television to baby-sit their children. As a result, lots of teens take what they see on TV and look for someone to teach it to them, when TV magic does not exist. Many witches find them selves inundated with emails from teens wanting to achieve popularity, levitate, get rich, or force someone to fall in love with them. I receive hundreds of e-mails every month from teens who want to fly, shoot lightning from their fingertips, or light a room full of candles with a thought. These things are impossible to do. Never believe anyone who tells you that they can do any of these tricks. They are lying. As a witch, believe me, I know. Don't you think that if it were possible to do these things with magic, that everyone would be rich, would be able to fly, and have the lover of their dreams?
So, in retrospect, don't take it too harshly when you can't get an answer for your e-mails. It may be that the person you are writing to is just too afraid, or you are asking the wrong questions. If you are a teen, your best bet is to study as much as you can from books and websites. Once you have learned everything you can, you can begin asking real witches questions you might still have on your mind. Be sure to know that when you ask one of the Priestesses of Light & Shadows.you WILL get some answers.
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