In this diverse global community that we call humanity, there are individuals and groups looking for Role Models to identify with, look up to, and for guidance. There have been many in our human history who have not only changed the world with their crazy ideas such as Galileo, Aristotle, Copernicus, and even Socrates but also in pursuit of what they believe is Right have changed the world in some way.

What about Spiritual figures that have influenced and shaped many different mainstream religions? We have Buddha, Krishna, Muhammad, and Jesus Christ. These icons play a huge Role for many groups in Society. These men offer guidance, philosophy, and ideas about how to live life. The main thing that seems to be common is the crazy notion of loving others, compassion for others and ourselves, living life in a loving and compassionate state of being.  

What about more modern Female Role Models from let’s say the last Century or two. We have Mother Theresa, Florence Nightingale, Rosa Parks, Anne Frank, and Wangari Maathai just to name a few.

One of my top favorite Leaders who lived in this last century who has changed the world is Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

Why is Dr./ Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. my all time favorite?  In a position of leadership as a Baptist Preacher during a dark time in history, he stepped up and made a progressive and effective stand. I will try not to go on too long here because I am quite passionate about this Leader. Not because of his personal life choices or even his personal opinions but because of his leadership and what his work meant. His infidelities or human choices he made that were less than perfect, moral, or whatever are not really important. He was still a human being who made a difference.

Looking past the religious perspective, if we Change the specific details of a specific race and replace it with humans and people, his message, his “Dream”, we can see in broad view that his passionate belief goes beyond the solitude of Racial injustice. He was a dangerous man because his passion and his belief inspired ideas that were extremely powerful because it was generated from a genuine passion and belief and had a great deal of influence. He was actually creating change and people, by nature, resist change.

His passion for a just cause that he truly believed, motivated society in a huge way. He could actually make his dream happen. Unfortunately, his dream would not be profitable to many in power who wanted to stop the progress of world change instilling “equality”, “peace”, “harmony”, and “justice” through Non-violence. Words (the pen) are mightier than the sword.

He was motivated to take action by an unpleasant world constructed of hate, injustice, oppression, and violence. His strength was his passion for what he believed. He spoke of a world of equality, and peace. That in itself is a HUGE world changing idea.

He was a man with a position of leadership in a small community and he took a stand. He was a true Warrior. He made his stand for what he believed was right regardless of the consequences. His goal, dream, or ambition was NOT to flip the balance of POWER through becoming the Oppressor over the Oppressed. His ambition was not about being the New Power in Control.

His ambition was to create a new world that is full of compassion and peace with humanity living together as brothers and sisters as one big Human Family. Equal and fair for ALL. His fight against Racial injustice has grown beyond racism. It has lead the way to fight for all of our Social Issues as a Society of Human Beings.

In his famous speech, “I have a Dream”, He said something that affects every single human being on this planet. It is a statement that is directed right into the human Soul.

“Do Not Drink from the Cup of Bitterness and Hatred”.

Okay, I’m getting a bit side-tracked from my intention of this post.

As a small little niche of a global community, we as witches and practitioners of the occult look for role models, and teachers for leadership. It doesn’t matter if it is to learn about a specific tradition of Witchcraft or how to use a tool such as Tarot. Unfortunately, we are faced with faux leaders that we need to be aware of. Although many are not as dangerous or extreme as Psychopath Cult Leaders such as Jim Jones, David Koresh, Charles Manson, and Marshall Applewhite. I mention these guys to give an idea of the extreme side of the truly dangerous and harmful type of people who often try to manipulate the masses of humanity for their own benefits without concern for who they hurt or destroy.

I do have a few unknown Role Models in my personal life and a few who are Public Leaders as well. Yes, a few have an Academic Degree of some kind. Yes, many have a following and Yes, most of them have accomplished a great deal to benefit the world. And all of them can be verified.

So, What do we do? How do we find the authentic leaders? How do we prevent getting duped by those who only want the accolades to boost their own psychotic inflated ego of Narcissism? How do we avoid the Sociopathic Cult Leader? The answer is to Know what one looks like. Better yet, Know what one is, then learn how to fact-check.

A sociopath is often very charismatic. They seem very charming. In fact, they are so charming they can make you believe an obvious deception and lead you to believe you are the one who came to that conclusion. They spin a web of delusion like this. The whispers of the rumors they spread sound like this: “Do you know so and so? She did a protection spell that killed someone”.  Or even more ridiculous like, “She flew to the moon on her broom, circled it three times and flew back and ate 50 babies for their baby fat. Really! I saw her do it”. Um, yeah, question the validity of those eyewitnesses and ask for the evidence. 

Sociopaths are not capable of feeling remorse. They don’t feel shame or guilt. This is how they continue to go around to everyone they encounter, intentionally betraying people without even thinking about it. They can hurt people who trust them and love them and feel no remorse or guilt. After they betrayed their victim, the sociopath will make excuses blaming the victim for not wanting to talk to them.

Although sociopaths who are good at it are also good at giving acceptable, learned responses. They are the ones who give a really good pout face with an upturned lip in response to a sad story. These guys can give pitiful tears at the drop of a hat and play on the compassion of others. They can mimic being sorry, but when no one is looking, their actions say otherwise.

The sociopath will fight to win an argument at all cost to the point of unreasonable logic. They will never concede in an argument or disagreement especially if it questions their delusional story. A Sociopath does not like being asked or confronted about their deceptions, lies or delusions. They will often become aggressively defensive no matter what factual evidence or documentation is presented to them that proves their claims to be false. They hate to be questioned.

Sociopath people are incapable of feeling love for anyone other than themselves. They mimic or pretend to love and have compassion but they don’t experience it the way you and I do. It can be very difficult to spot a sociopath. They look like everyone else even like nice little sheep.  Essentially, A wolf in sheep’s clothing.

Sociopaths can never genuinely apologize. They don’t feel guilt and therefore can’t feel sorry. They are often highly intelligent and can weave a fantastic story. The stories are usually wild and unrealistic but because the sociopath is delusional and believes the delusions they actually create stories such as eye color being green when they are indeed brown and people are convinced. Or the reason she has straight hair is because she has to use a flat iron when in reality, her hair has always been straight and completely void of curl.

The one way to stop a sociopath from affecting you is to fact-check everything they claim. Be careful not to ask people who are under the influence of the sociopath. These people will often believe ridiculous things such as the sociopath actually flies on a broom because they saw her do it. Don’t take their word for it. Check the facts with credible sources such as legitimate documentation. A whole history of documentation. 

When experiencing a Sociopath be careful about the credibility of the evidence. Even if there are not any police reports, there would be medical records. Oh, and court records are supposed to be public access as well. With court documents and other reports, we have to be careful not to confuse accusations with guilt and take the evidence for what it is.  The sociopath will often accuse the victim of crimes they didn’t commit to protect their own delusions.

For example, if someone claims to have been a victim of someone’s 26 years of continuous abuse but there hasn’t been even one police report ever, no medical records, no one ever knew about it not even people who lived in the home, however,  you personally saw videos made by the victim in her own self-made videos she made as a selfie video, likely indicates her story is a deception. 

If she claims to have been tied up in the kitchen for years and unable to escape horrible abuse but there are many verifiable recorded trips where she traveled with friends and not the supposed abuser, it is a good indication that the crazy story of being tied up in the kitchen and barely escaping with her life is false. There is a cause to not believe the sociopath when there is an indisputable history of verifiable evidence against the story she is saying.

There is always some form of evidence (pointing to the truth usually) left behind in many stories. We have to look at all the facts and it is important to be careful not to jump to conclusions without having enough facts to make an accurate judgment. Sometimes as with court cases, we have to follow the accusation to the findings or outcome to be able to see the truth. 

I found out quite by accident that broken bones from more than 20 years ago, although treated and healed are still visible in a simple x-ray. That is one way to verify a story about abuse. Everyone can say no, that never happened but as I discovered, a skilled Orthopedic Doctor can not only see evidence of an old broken bone but the professional expert can explain how the break occurred. An expert opinion like an Orthopedic Surgeon is something I consider verifiable physical evidence. 

So, what usually happens to the followers of the sociopathic cult leader? They usually end up a victim of some kind and in the worst case, dead. Jim Jones, David Koresh, Marshall Applewhite are all examples of extreme cases that are publicly known to end very badly. We don’t want to end up with one of those crazy types as our leader. 

Patrick McCollum is a great example of an authentic leader. I am using him as an example because so many people know who he is.  We can see that Patrick McCollum is truly who and what he says he is. The facts that he has achieved what he claims is verifiable. If we fact-check him, we have physical evidence and documentation to verify he is an authentic leader and his achievements are factual and credible.

Don’t be duped by a sociopath, psychopath, or any other fraud. Don’t believe anyone at face value. Always see for yourself. Ask questions and fact-check. There are many people in the Witch, Occult, Pagan community that place themselves on a pedestal. If someone is claiming to be an expert in something, keep in mind, that it is their own opinion until confirmed by the facts and your own assessment as well. There are many great teachers in the Craft that have a lot of value but no one knows who they are. Get to know which one is the Authentic version.

A great leader isn’t always someone who is known by many people but always have integrity, honesty, humility, and their actions speak out loud for them. Pay attention. True Leaders don’t have to speak for themselves and their greatness. They don’t hold themselves or others in high places on tall proverbial pedestals because they view what they do as simply doing what is right without much consideration for what they can personally gain from doing it.

In Love and Light,

Summer Song