Advice on a 'Personal' Matter

[Dr. H. Lecter]

A friend of mine, who started the Craft around the same time as I, said she recently had a medetative premonition pertaining to 2012. I tried to explain to her that the Mayan calander was simply ending, but she could not be detered from her firm belief that all creation was going to be decimated.

I don't want to turn her off from Witchcraft, but it often seems like she is only playing at being a witch... I need a way to help turn her onto the path, without making her feel like I'm judging her or being inconsiderate.  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Tell her she's full of s**t, maybe? Explain that 2012 was essentially exploited by unethical new-age dickheads to squeeze more money out of people.

Is it important that she's a witch? If she's only playing she's not interested in being one anyway and will lose interest in it soon enough.  

[Dr. H. Lecter]

But I don't want to be mean to her...
She's really nice, but very emotionally fragile, and been hurt by people close to her before.

And since I was one of the two that got her to start the practice, I feel like I should be trying to guide her. But the fact is, I'm still new, and I don't really know what I'm doing myself....  

[Sanguina Cruenta]

Let it burn itself out, then. She may just be coming out with this sort of thing to impress you, because you were the one to get her into it and she wants to succeed at something you find interesting. If you don't show an interest in this sort of response, she may drop the pretence... or, she may come up with more and more impressive feats and stories.  

[X-Yami-no-Ko-X]

I'd go with what Sang said. And then if she does start trying to come up with more and more impressive stories then that would be the time to start saying something about it and try to gently guide her. Unless it gets to be something really big.

It's like something that happened with my ex. We had talked about practicing magic. Then astral projection. Then past lives. That's when it started getting iffy. He would tell me that he had a couple of his past lives' spirits living in his body. I went a long with it. Then it started that there was this one spirit that would possess him(after I forget how many times of us getting rid of the damn thing) that he said was trying to break us up. It started bothering me but I just left it alone. Then I told him that I was starting to try to form a relationship with Djehuty. Next thing I know we have Thoth possessing him and talking to me through Him along with Anubis. That's where I had to draw the line.
So not really wanting to come down super hard on him I just said "Hey I don't think that's really them. These are the reasons why."  

[Dr. H. Lecter]

I see. I'll do that. Thanks for the help, yall. I'm glad I came here or advice XD  

[Morgandria]

It's not all that uncommon for people who are new to metaphysical practices and spiritualities to get a little disconnected from reality. It can seem glamorous and exciting, compared to daily life, and some people let themselves get caught up in the fantasy.

Most people outgrow it eventually. As people have said, you can try waiting it out, if you're not into having conflict over it. But this may be a process of years - your patience may wear out long before then.

You don't have to tell her she's full of s**t. You can politely and gently tell her, again, that she has misunderstood the whole Mayan calendar thing. You may have to explain to her the concept of UPG - unsubstantiated personal gnosis - and that while you can't say she's right or wrong, you're not obligated to take her UPG as fact or reality, either. It's HER vision. You weren't there to experience it, you can't share it, and you can't verify it. Thus you don't have to accept it.

UPG isn't bad or wrong. But it is exactly what it says - personal. She is being unreasonable if she can't understand that.

You can also point out to her, without being rude, that premonitions, visions, and other forms of precognition are often misinterpreted by those who experience them; they may become clearer or placed in greater context as time progresses. It's the possible future, not the definite future. Many of these through recorded history are so vague as to be able to have multiple interpretations, or simply failed to manifest.  

[Ren Tohimaru]

Being so new to the craft, your friend may have accidentally mixed up something she read, heard, or saw into her vision-i know I have to be careful every time i look into the future to keep everything else running through my head from invading and clouding my vision-or distorting and mutilating it altogether.

Any sort of farsight is a tricky thing-If you know enough about the technique yourself, or know someone who knows about it, you could try helping your friend to focus her vision, and see more clearly-assuming that's the angle you both want to take with the craft.

Also keep in mind that your friend may well have successfully looked into the future, but if this is the case, remember these points: The future is always in motion, and so any number of things can happen; also, visions are very much like dreams-they can leave a lot to be interpreted. If you both think it's really the future, try looking for the symbolism in what your friend saw.

The final point I'd like to make is that neither of you should dwell on one vision, especially if neither of you have ever practiced farsight before. As before, the future is always in motion, and I've found that the best way to change the future is to focus on the here and now-constantly trying to counter a possible event is often the way to make it happen.