"The Craft" (no, not the movie)

[Sanguina Cruenta]

I was just interested in what people thought about the term "the Craft" (with or without the capital letter).

Do you use it yourself?
If you do (and even if you don't), what do you take it to mean?
Will you use it in some situations and not others? How do you feel when other people use it?
What ways have you seen it used? Which ways are you OK with, and which annoy you?

Discuss! ^_^  

[iKillCaustic]

The only time i use the word "craft" is when I'm talking about arts and crafts like painting or sewing and things like that. If someone says craft to me that's what I immidiately think they're talking about.
When people use it in the sense of witchcraft or anything like that I'm somewhat indifferent, I don't bother calling it the "craft" but to them it must mean something so I don't pick nits over that.
I do get annoyed when fluffy bunnies use it as the the word to describe everything they do...there is always inacurracy behind it.  

[oOGarrettOo]

For me, the phrase "the craft/Craft" is a generic, almost slang term for witchcraft. It doesn't describe anything in particular, or refer to any one type of witchcraft, just a blanket sort of statement. Nothing special about it. It's kinda like saying "I'm pagan." No one knows what it means, other than one follows something other than an Abrahamic faith. Same with "the craft." Means nothing more than someone practices some kind of witchcraft and further explaining is necessary.  

[Esiris]

I think I really only use it within the coven, so it's pretty much all in context of BTW.  

[Morgandria]

Like Riri, most of the context 'the Craft' is used in around me is BTW.

I lump it in with other things I find pretentious and can't be bothered with - 'the Art/e', 'cowans'...etc. I really don't have use for specialist language whose sole purpose is to be exclusive or snotty.  

[oOGarrettOo]

Morgandria

Like Riri, most of the context 'the Craft' is used in around me is BTW.

I lump it in with other things I find pretentious and can't be bothered with - 'the Art/e', 'cowans'...etc. I really don't have use for specialist language whose sole purpose is to be exclusive or snotty.

O.o I've totally never thought of it like that. I've always assumed it was people being lazy or using a wider variety of terms so that saying "witchcraft" over and over didn't muddle things.

Have you been in a situation where the term "the craft" was used in an exclusitory manner? Or a snotty one?  

[Morgandria]

oOGarrettOo

Have you been in a situation where the term "the craft" was used in an exclusitory manner? Or a snotty one?

Absolutely. There are any number of people who are totally full of themselves who use 'The Craft' in that manner. They usually refuse to separate witchcraft from whatever flavour of neo-Pagan religion they practice - most would call themselves Wiccan, although the majority of them aren't initiates. I've run into more than my fair share in my wanderings around public gatherings and temples; it's as if they believe 'witchcraft' is a dirty word, and instead using 'The Craft' somehow makes what they do elegant, refined, 'higher'. These are people I have also seen calling anyone they assume (-assume-, mind you!) isn't pagan or a magic user 'muggles'. Just ******** rude!

For me 'the Craft' is one of those terms that I try to avoid, using or hearing. Unfortunately my experience has been that either people use it to try too hard to fit in, or are trying to impress upon me how special and important they are. I find when people use it it's like all the other buzzwords out there - 'Blessed Be', 'Merry Meet', that whole lot. If you're chucking it at me when we talk to show me you know all the cool special 'pagan' words and you're in the club, I'm gonna assume either a) you're new or b) you're a bit of a prat. It doesn't always strike me this way, but it's all in how it's used, how often, and why.  

[oOGarrettOo]

eek Oh. I guess I should seriosuly rethink using the term, then sweatdrop  

[Morgandria]

oOGarrettOo

eek Oh. I guess I should seriosuly rethink using the term, then sweatdrop

Don't let my personal dislike of terms and how I perceive and have experienced them put you off - after all, it is my UPG about those things. I get frustrated with these words that make people assume familiarity (sometimes over-familiarity) with me or my practices and beliefs, based entirely on assumption.

Like many terms, 'The Craft' is just so...vague. One person may mean it to mean Wicca, another thinks it's a kind of eclectic neo-paganism, still others may think it refers to those things + witchcraft, and others that it means only witchcraft. It's been tossed around as a synonym for all those things, and I find, like you do, that it means almost nothing as a definition.  

[too2sweet]

It's not really a term that I use all that frequently, and if I do (and honestly can't think of any particular instance in recent memory) it would be in reference specifically to witchcraft. In most cases though - I try to use proper terms for things, I'm just not a huge fan of "buzz" words.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

I think a part of why it tends to be a bit "abused" as Morg has found is that it lends itself to something of a familiarity with witchcraft. That is to say, it's sort of an "insiders" term - though ironically most "insiders" don't use it and plenty of "outsiders" do. But it's one of those "We call it 'the Craft'" things.

So sometimes it can make me, at least, feel a little more intimate about my work, but most of the time when I see it actually used it's done in a very irritating way - as you say, Sweet, like a buzzword. So I spend more time hating it than I do happily using it. In some ways I want to reclaim it.

To me it just means witchcraft, separate from (although maybe parallel to) religion. It really bothers me when people use it in reference to Paganism, but I've seen that happen quite a few times so that might be a reason why I'm not usually fond of the word.  

[Esiris]

I think maybe for me the difference would be if people were using it because it was shorthand for "witchcraft" or if they were talking about it as a craft.  

[Angel Bruja]

I've never heard of it used for anything except in reference to the movie. The only other place I've seen the word craft, in reference to spell work, are the Black Jewels novels by Anne Bishop.
I'm not sure if it would bother me in general. I think I would take what Esiris said and consider how it was being referred.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

It makes me sad because, as much as I love you guys, it's the same people commenting on this thread. I was hoping a topic like this might bring people out of the woodwork and get some of the lurkers and more quiet people commenting. xp

I'm going to think of some more topics to post.  

[X-Yami-no-Ko-X]

Sanguina Cruenta

It makes me sad because, as much as I love you guys, it's the same people commenting on this thread. I was hoping a topic like this might bring people out of the woodwork and get some of the lurkers and more quiet people commenting. xp

I'm going to think of some more topics to post.

Maybe they're intimidated because it is the same people posting everywhere?

I didn't exactly comment in this thread because its all about the context on how its being used on what I think of when I hear it. Not many witches I know use it often enough for it to sway me towards thinking it purely magical. Plus the fact that I don't know many witches to begin with. cat_sweatdrop