Feathers have Meaning

I am a witch, and a shamanic practitioner. As a witch I cast magick, work with the spirits of the universe, utilize snake skin, raven feathers, candles, tarot cards, and any other magickal implements that I deem appropriate for my extended metaphor, or are useful for their inherent energetic vibration. As a shamanic practitioner I do the same thing. I have combined the Peruvian (Q'ero, pre-Inkan) cosmology with the eclectic Wiccan cosmology that I was trained in. (Keep in mind not all Wiccans are witches. There are Wiccans that do not cast magick, but do observe the holy-days). Honestly, I have also mixed these cosmologies with my experiences, and how I was raised. In some ways I've retrained myself (I'm not afraid of hell or the devil anymore), but otherwise I have kept the wise words from every tradition I have encountered. 
 In my reality, in my cosmovision, feathers have meaning. Inherent meaning. They resonate with the power of the birds, they connect the practitioner with the mysteries of the archetype as well as the beings. I found the feathers when they led me through a park, to a shaded grove that felt like magick. I took those feathers home, as crow and raven are both animals that work with me. I decided to make a crown of feathers, well, actually the feathers guided me to make a crown of feathers. Others may look at this and call it a headdress. I don't care the name that is applied, however, the latter will bring an implication of cultural appropriation. Now, cultural appropriation is a very interesting topic, and worth investing some time looking into. I would like to state this in the conversation surrounding cultural appropriation though: feathers have inherent meaning and connection to magick. I cannot steal feathers from another culture's practice because feathers exist outside of culture. They exist because birds exist, and in an animistic cosmovision birds and feathers have inherent energy, knowledge, and power. Magickal practitioners of every corner of the world engage with this. Feathers have meaning. A magickal practitioner making a crown of feathers is not cultural appropriation (unless it is -- those cases are when people are merely imitating magickal practice, but are not actually aware of the power they are engaging -- my view of this phenomenon is that the imitator is engaging in a magick that they don't understand, but the magick will go ahead and teach them first hand ;)).  

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