Saturday, April 24, 2010

What's In A Name?



I've been thinking for a while about the name I use here and on Twitter.  I worry sometimes that PhoenixWitch is slightly odd and may conjure images of a teenage girl, reading Ravenwolf and scrawling different craft names all over her math notebook, each one consisting of some inane combination or magical sounding words.  I despise the fact that the word Phoenix has become so entrenched in Pagan (and not so pagan) culture as to have lost all meaning.  You will, in fact, find me on Mysticwicks, a community of 22,535, under the name Phoenix - that's right, the original Phoenix, not Phoenix165 or PhoenixInsertRandomAdditiveHere.  I chose the name because of an experience I had while very young.  On my 5th birthday my house caught fire.  I had been playing with a neighbor across the street but came home early and went to my room.  My mother was decorating downstairs and did not know that I was even home.  She came upstairs, saw the fire (which had originated from something on the stove) grabbed my little brother and got out.  Once she was outside she looked up and saw the image of my grandfather, recently deceased, standing in the window, beckoning her to come back.   It was at this moment that she realized I was inside.  Firefighters came and got me, and I have this intense memory of not wanting to leave.  When we were finally allowed back inside, the majority of the house was gutted.  Strangely, my room was the only one in the house that looked pristine, despite the fact that the rooms surrounding it were ruined.  There was no indication that there had even been a fire, not even so much as smoke marks on the door.  This was my first encounter with the supernatural world and my first indication that there are actually forces working within our lives that we are unable to comprehend.  And so, having literally risen from the flames with the aid of something stronger than myself, I chose the name Phoenix to represent this part of my life.  I've considered many times about changing it, even spent hours contemplating new names, but nothing else seems to fit.  I guess I am stuck with Phoenix and it is stuck with me.

1 comments:

Danni said...

I could see why you might worry about it with all of the Phoenix Ravenwing Moonstones running about, but if it's special and meaningful to you, don't change it.

Personally, I haven't found my craft name yet, but when I do, I won't change it for anyone. :)

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