I’m sure many of you have seen the #gettoknowyourwitches tag make its rounds on YouTube. I was tagged by Nathan of Nathan’s Way, who I adore. The tag was originally started by Little Cosmic Crow and here’s a link to the tag questions.

Instead of joining on YouTube, I’ve moved over here on my blog. =)

1. Does your Sun Sign (Zodiac Sign) portray you correctly? If not, do your other planetary signs?

My sun sign is Libra, but it’s 1° in Libra, which means it’s right there snug up to Virgo in conjunct with a Ceres empowered in Virgo, and I think most anyone would attest that this is very, very much me.

I also have this crazy-ass stellium in my house Libra: sun, Mercury, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto, and Vesta, along with the asteroids Demeter, Isis, and Shiva.

I’m a Leo moon and Aquarius rising, for anyone who cares about that, too.

2. What songs bring you the most magickal vibes?

Buddhist mantra chanting and Gregorian chants, Anglican chants, that kind of thing.

3. Which one of your deities/guides/ancestors is most sarcastic with you? If this doesn’t apply to you, which of your tarot/oracle decks is?

My ancestors are Asian. Old School Asians do not understand sarcasm.

Tarot or oracle deck that’s most sarcastic with me? Hmm. I’m not sure there’s one that’s always one way. It’s more a matter of a case by case scenario. The readings I’m receiving might come through dripping with a lot of sarcasm when the situation calls for it. So it’s not limited to this deck or that deck. It’s case by case.

4. Biggest witchy mess up or misinterpretation?

I have so many. I wouldn’t even know which to share first or even which “top five” to ‘fess up to. Typically they involve botching up curses or following something to summon something that I really shouldn’t have.

5. Would you write a book on your craft/spirituality? Why? If you already have, what were your challenges in doing so?

Maybe. I mean each to their own extent, both Holistic Tarot and The Tao of Craft were about sharing my craft and/or personal spirituality. The biggest challenge for me is always what to share and what not to share, how much to share, what to keep mum about.

Even though there’s The Tao of Craft, I think there’s a book in me on Chinese and Taoist folk magic and even though I could probably write a relatively comprehensive book on it in just a couple months’ time, the real question is do I want to position myself there. Publishing such a book will position me in a very particular way and do I want that? It might just be a book I do finish writing, but tuck the manuscript away onto a shelf, along with a note in my last will and testament to publish it after I’m dead.

6. If someone wanted to summon you to their circle, what 5 items would they need?

You better bring home-cooked food, baked sweets, and a damn good reason for summoning my dead ass. If you summon me for shits and giggles, ghost-me will rain down hell and fury.

All that being said, I don’t mind being called back for counsel, or to help in a situation of sincere need. Just please, no one call me back for shits and giggles, just to see if you can.

7. If you were a ghost, what place would you haunt?

See, this relates back to #6. None. No. Not for me. Once I’m done with this lifetime, I’m outta here!

8. What is the funniest way someone has reacted to finding out you are a witch?

My perspective on “witch” diverges from the majority view, and by that I even mean “majority view” held by those who identify as witches. I don’t identify as a witch but I don’t not identify with it either. To me, this is a designation society either chooses to call me by or not. This is for society to decide whether what I do, to them, constitutes being a witch. I know what I do and I don’t need an identity marker to define that practice.

If people react in funny ways to my occult practices, they don’t do it to my face apparently, because I haven’t experienced any funny reactions. =P

9. Do you have any superstitions?

Too many to keep count. Most of them are admittedly nonsense. Like if you eat a watermelon seed then you will grow a watermelon in your belly. That fear was hammered into me since such a young age that even today, I find I cannot bring myself to willfully swallow a watermelon seed.

Some of the superstitions I have are the opposite of the mainstream one, though, like black cats crossing my path– to me, that’s really good luck!

10. If you could possess any fantasy magic, what would your power be?

I used to say healing, but James brought up a really good point. If you can heal people, then wouldn’t you need to sacrifice the rest of your life, 24/7, to healing people? Every minute you choose not to heal someone dying of cancer or suffering a debilitating illness would seem kind of like a slap in the face of your gift, no? Possessing the ability to heal would be a curse, the greatest burden anyone would ever have had to bear.

So instead, I say: Teleportation.

11. What is something random on your altar(s)?

Does that little red and white guy with the plastic googly eyes count as random enough? I didn’t take a photo of its back, but the little guy is made out of a fabric with a pattern that’s considered a cultural trademark of the Hakka people (I’m half Hakka from my father’s side; Mom is Minnan).

I don’t have a permanent altar set up. I have what can only best be described as sacred storage space. The so-called “sacred storage space” is not for ritual work, so that’s why I don’t necessarily consider these spaces altars. If and when I’m doing ritual work, I have certain working tables for that, which I’ll anoint, prep, etc. just for that occasion, or space where I’ll consecrate, etc. just for the occasion.

12. If one of the YouTubers you watched was a genie and they could grant you 3 wishes within their power, who would it be and what wishes? (Can’t be for more wishes)

So initially I was confused by this question, but here’s how I’m interpreting it: If any YouTuber I chose could grant me 3 wishes based on what in real life are their actual powers, abilities, skill sets, etc., what would those 3 wishes be.

I’m subscribed to so many YouTube channels that I can’t even keep track, so to answer this question, I clicked into my Subscriptions and just scrolled through the most recent uploads in my feed.

PaganPerspective isn’t one individual, but a cast of individuals, so I’m not sure how this answer is going to work out in relation to the original question. Like, are all of the contributors to the channel genies in the same lamp or what? All of them appear and any one of them can grant my wishes or they as a collective grant the wishes?

Anyway, (1) I wish they’d do interviews with pagan thought leaders in addition to what they’ve got going on right now, (2) I wish for more cross-channel collaborations, and (3) I’ve had this fantasy YouTube video concept for some time now…Iron Witch. =P

Like Iron Chef. You familiar with that show? A master of ceremonies chooses one ingredient or one theme (money magic, sigil, charging a crystal, etc.) and then several pagans from different traditions each create a video on what they’d do with that ingredient or how they’d approach that theme per their practices.

Actually, I kinda wish a whole bunch of pagan YouTubers would get together, each contribute an essay on their craft or pagan practices, and a collection of essays should be written and published.

Real talk, though? Forget the witchy channels. I’d wish for one of the makeup beauty gurus I’m subscribed to to appear every morning to do my makeup for me!

13. If you could instantly become an expert in any part of your craft/spirituality, what would it be?

This is a tough one, because I can’t wrap my sense around the concept of instant expert? If it’s something I just instantly wake up to, then I’m not an expert in that thing. This isn’t like Neo in the Matrix where your eyes pop open and suddenly you realize, “I know kung-fu.” Actually, that’s it. That’s exactly it. If I could instantly become an expert in something, it’d be shaolin kung-fu. Yes, in my world, that’s absolutely an aspect of craft and spirituality.

14. When you die, what do you think will happen to you/your soul?

My physical body decomposes and returns to the earth, my astral body also returns to the collective aethers, which is what you’re summoning when you do summonings, and then the divinity within me, my soul, moves on. Eventually I’ll get reincarnated, unless I’ve cultivated myself to the point of transcendence.

15. Where do you see yourself spiritually in the next 5 years?

Maybe a couple inches farther than where I’m at now.