I just have to put a plug in here for Terry Pratchett because he seems to be one of the best writers at capturing the philosophy of modern day witches, true witches -
real witches - even when they live in a totally fictitious world.
I just finished reading
A Hat Full of Sky, which follows the character
Tiffany Aching through her adventures as a trainee witch with a certain Miss Level (yes, it's juvenile fiction, technically, but I think they only call it that because the main character is a young girl). Pratchett even features a real geographic location, the
Uffington White Horse, a chalk drawing in the hills of Great Britain, which, as certain characters in
Hat accurately point out, it's not so much what a horse looks like, as what a horse
be.The novel features Granny Weatherwax, one of my favorite fixtures of Discworld, who also appears in
Wyrd Sisters, which I have also read and highly recommend.
In
Wyrd Sisters, Granny Weatherwax teams up with Nanny Ogg and Magrat Garlick to restore an exhiled heir to the throne of Lancre. Although I've never seen anyone truly pull off time travel in this reality, the characters themselves are model witches. Throughout his novels, Pratchett outlines very sound principles of magickal ethics and very accurate depictions of life as a Witch. Of course, some live up to those ethics better than others, and some of his witches see fame as synonymous with acheivement. I have definitely met some crones who meet Granny Weatherwax's meddle: staunch, grouchy, apparently crotchety, but brave and when the need arises, downright resourceful.
For an example of sound ethics, that I have seen in practice with real witches, in
Hat Full of Sky, Miss Level explains to Tiffany how she handles gifts given to her in exchange for her services as herbalist, midwife, and all-around helper.
"What do you do with all that food?"
"Store it," said Miss Level.
"But you---"
"I store it in other people. It's amazing what you can store in other people," Miss Level laughed at Tiffany's expression. "I mean, I take what I don't need around to those who don't have a pig, or who're going through a bad patch, or who don't have anyone to remember them."
"But that means they'll owe
you a favor!"
"Right. And so it just keeps on going around. It all works out."
The witches who would fail an ethics test are not evil, simply caught up in their own character flaws. One such witch, Mrs. Earwig ("It's pronounced Ah-wij") comes across as rather vain, attached to material goods, and, as a creature trapped in Tiffany notes at the time of her visit to Mrs. Earwig's house, "she thinks you can buy magic."
Indeed, I have noticed that the most admirable witches I have met seem not to hang onto any anxiety about getting their physical needs met, as long as they are doing the best they can with what they have to help others who need it. If this doesn't sound very glamourous, that's because it's not. What counts is that we're there for people.
Conversely, I've noticed that other witches that don't exactly ring my bell are the ones who get really caught up in having the stuff (which I am guilty of sometimes, after all: human) and maintaining their reputation.
The one point that I disagree with, that Pratchett maintains is a taboo for witches in his Discworld series, is that good witches help check one another against cackling. I personally like to cackle sometimes, but it may be a guilty pleasure, come to think of it.
Now go, readers, read! And let me know what you think.
Light and Laughter (and maybe a little cackling)
Fae
Tarot helps people look at the future. On the surface, this seems like a simple process of memorization of symbols and key phrases. However, the Tarot itself holds a potential of awe-inspiring enlightenment, and holds important messages for the querent that are sometimes better summarized by the card itself than by any phrases associated with the card. Gazing at the picture on the 7 of Wands, for example, says more than simply “competition,” “defense,” “stamina” or “rivalry” because it contains all those things plus other words that may come to mind as the querent meditates on the image. Pictures speak to us more profoundly than words (don’t believe me? Ask Jung and Campbell). 
