About the name for the website – “The root of all power is in the naming.”

When I decided to get a website and do this for real my husband said, “You have to get ‘BurningWitch.com!” which is a bit of an inside joke. As a Pagan, there are sometimes references to The Burning Times in our house, but usually they come up because I’ve burned myself cooking, or I manage to have my videogame character walk into a bonfire and take damage. It’s actually kind of ironic that I haven’t gotten burned *knocks some of the copious wood items in the house* by the thing that’s meant to burn things. It’s a matter of time, I suppose. But I try to be careful.  (ed. – that didn’t last long.  I got burned pretty badly a few weeks later.  But hey…it was worth it.)

BurningWitch was taken, and I was at a loss. I thought about alternate spellings (ByrningWytch for example) but it didn’t resonate with me (I don’t really have a historical bent) and I just kind of gave up and thought I’d never get this done. Then a friend of mine on facebook posted this image.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I am bi-racial, raised white, and I pass for white. I grew up in an abusive household (see “about the artist” for more if you care about that stuff) and I rejected my Peruvian heritage for most of my life. I accept it now, it’s part of me, and there are parts of the language I adore. I liked the spanish version of the words, but then I realized that the nature of a web address is that it strings it all together, brujahquemando.com …and there is wordplay here.

Bruja/Brujah – without the “H” is the standardized spelling for “witch” in Spanish.  With the “H” is the spelling for Clan Brujah in the White Wolf Vampire universe.  Yeah…I’m a geek.  Clan Brujah’s story is that they were originally a clan of philosophers, they were focused on History and Time; the clan later fell and became known essentially as a bunch of fighters and brawlers.  The image most often used is that of a biker…but their roots are in Philosophy.  I like them.  (Not as much as I like Noble House and Clan Tremere, mind you, but I do like them.)  So using the “H” has become habit.

Brujah=Witch. Quemando=Burning. Sure.

But the other way to take it is Brujah, Que, Mando. The Witch Who Commands. “Mando” has the same roots as the word “mandate”, to commit to one’s charge, to command, literally “to give to one’s hand.”

As Pagans, we bring our will into the world, we give it life. These creations of mine are birthed into being through my labor. I will them into being by the fire of my being (and my burner), the sweat on my brow…the smoke in my eyes and the cramps in my hands are little labor pains, and each child is loved and sent into the world for someone else to love, joy, enjoy, share, or gift.

Through my will, (and the blessings of Deity, who have found me worthy enough to give this to my hands) I bring beauty and love and joy and deeper love into the world.

And as I will, so mote it be.