Building Your Own Practice: Eclectic Without Appropriation

BY NICOLE LAU

After learning about closed practices and cultural appropriation, you might wonder: What CAN I practice? How do I build a spiritual practice that's authentic, powerful, and ethical? Can I be eclectic without appropriating? The answer is yes—absolutely yes. You can create a rich, meaningful, personal spiritual practice by combining your own ancestral traditions with open practices, all while respecting boundaries and giving proper credit.

This article is your guide to building an eclectic practice with integrity. It shows you how to explore your own heritage, incorporate open practices respectfully, create something uniquely yours, and maintain ethical boundaries. Because eclectic doesn't mean "take whatever you want"—it means thoughtfully combining what's available to you with respect for what's not.

The Foundation: Your Own Ancestry

Start With Your Roots

Why start here:

• These practices are yours by heritage
• No appropriation concerns
• Connects you to your ancestors
• Provides authentic foundation

How to explore your ancestry:

1. Research your heritage
   • DNA test if needed (with privacy considerations)
   • Family records and stories
   • Historical research
   • Identify your actual ancestral cultures
2. Learn about those cultures' practices
   • Read books by scholars and practitioners
   • Study folklore and folk magic
   • Learn about pre-Christian practices
   • Understand historical context
3. Reclaim what's yours
   • Practices from your actual heritage
   • Not just "European" generally—be specific
   • Celtic, Norse, Slavic, Mediterranean, etc.
   • Based on your real ancestry

European Ancestral Practices

If you have Celtic ancestry:

• Celtic wheel of the year
• Ogham divination
• Irish/Scottish/Welsh folk magic
• Druidic practices (modern reconstruction)

If you have Norse/Germanic ancestry:

• Norse cosmology and deities
• Rune work
• Seidr and galdr
• Heathenry/Asatru

If you have Slavic ancestry:

• Slavic deities and spirits
• Folk magic traditions
• Seasonal celebrations
• Ancestral veneration

If you have Mediterranean ancestry:

• Greek/Roman practices
• Italian folk magic (if Italian)
• Hellenic polytheism
• Mystery traditions

Other European traditions:

• Basque, Iberian, Baltic, etc.
• Research your specific heritage
• Learn from legitimate sources

Adding Open Practices

What You Can Incorporate

Universal/widely accessible practices:

• Meditation: Various forms, acknowledge Buddhist origins when relevant
• Crystal healing: Working with stones for energy
• Tarot/Oracle cards: Divination tools
• Herbalism: Using herbs for magic and healing (ethical alternatives to closed practices)
• Candle magic: Found across many cultures
• Energy work: Chakras (acknowledge Hindu origins), general energy healing
• Astrology: Western astrology is open
• Moon work: Lunar cycles and magic

How to incorporate respectfully:

1. Learn properly
   • Study from reputable sources
   • Understand what you're practicing
   • Don't just make things up
2. Give credit
   • Acknowledge where practices come from
   • Don't claim ancient lineage you don't have
   • Be honest about your eclectic approach
3. Support originators
   • Learn from teachers from those cultures when possible
   • Support practitioners financially
   • Amplify their voices

Creating Your Personal System

How to Combine Ethically

The framework:

1. Foundation: Your ancestry
   • Start with practices from your heritage
   • This is your authentic base
2. Structure: Open practices
   • Add practices that are available to all
   • Learn them properly
   • Give credit to origins
3. Boundaries: Respect what's closed
   • Don't incorporate closed practices
   • Honor cultural boundaries
   • Find ethical alternatives
4. Integration: Make it yours
   • Combine in ways that work for you
   • Create personal rituals and practices
   • Be honest about what you're doing

Example Eclectic Practice

Sample foundation (Celtic ancestry):

• Celtic wheel of the year celebrations
• Working with Celtic deities
• Ogham divination
• Irish folk magic traditions

Added open practices:

• Crystal healing (with proper learning)
• Tarot (European origin, open to all)
• Meditation (acknowledging Buddhist origins)
• Herbal magic with ethical herbs

Personal integration:

• Celebrating Samhain with tarot reading
• Using crystals on Celtic deity altar
• Meditating before Ogham divination
• Creating personal rituals combining these elements

Maintained boundaries:

• Not smudging with white sage (closed)
• Not practicing Vodou/Santería (closed)
• Not using Native American ceremonies (closed)
• Respecting all cultural boundaries

What to Avoid

Common Pitfalls

1. "Spiritual buffet" approach

• Taking whatever looks interesting without understanding
• No depth or respect
• Treating cultures as resources to sample
• Instead: Learn deeply, practice with intention

2. Claiming lineages you don't have

• Saying you're "Celtic witch" without Celtic ancestry
• Claiming to practice traditions you're not part of
• Inventing ancient lineages
• Instead: Be honest about your practice and sources

3. Mixing closed practices

• Combining Vodou with Wicca (Vodou is closed)
• Adding Native ceremonies to your practice (closed)
• Using closed practices casually
• Instead: Only combine open practices

4. Cultural mashup without understanding

• Mixing symbols and practices randomly
• No coherent system or understanding
• Disrespecting all traditions involved
• Instead: Understand what you're combining and why

5. Appropriating aesthetics

• Using Indigenous imagery without permission
• Wearing sacred items as fashion
• Treating cultures as aesthetic
• Instead: Respect visual culture too

Building Your Grimoire

Documenting Your Practice

What to include:

• Your ancestry and research
  • What you've learned about your heritage
  • Sources and references
• Practices you've adopted
  • Where they come from (with credit)
  • How you practice them
  • Why you chose them
• Personal rituals and spells
  • What you've created
  • What you've adapted (with attribution)
  • Your experiences and results
• Ethical guidelines
  • Your boundaries and commitments
  • What you won't practice and why
  • How you maintain integrity

Crystals for Authentic Practice

Building With Integrity

Clarity and authenticity:

• Clear quartz: Clarity about your practice, amplifying authentic intention
• Citrine: Personal power, authentic expression
• Carnelian: Creative courage, building your own path

Wisdom and Discernment

• Amethyst: Spiritual wisdom, discerning what's appropriate
• Sodalite: Truth, honest practice
• Lapis lazuli: Wisdom, integrity

Grounding and Protection

• Hematite: Grounding your practice in reality
• Black tourmaline: Protection, maintaining boundaries
• Smoky quartz: Grounding, staying humble

How to Use

• Place on altar as foundation
• Hold during practice development
• Use for discernment about what to include
• Keep in grimoire for integrity

Common Questions

Addressing Concerns

"What if I don't know my ancestry?"

• Research what you can
• DNA test if appropriate
• Start with open practices
• Build from what's available to you

"Can I mix practices from different open traditions?"

• Yes, if all are open
• Learn each properly
• Give credit to all sources
• Create coherent system

"What if I'm drawn to a closed practice?"

• Find similar open practices
• Explore why you're drawn to it
• Meet that need ethically
• Respect the boundary

"How do I know if I'm doing it right?"

• Are you respecting boundaries?
• Are you giving credit?
• Are you learning properly?
• Are you being honest?
• If yes to all, you're on the right track

Maintaining Integrity

Ongoing Practice

Regular check-ins:

• Am I still respecting boundaries?
• Am I giving proper credit?
• Am I learning and growing?
• Am I being authentic?

Staying educated:

• Continue learning about cultural appropriation
• Listen to marginalized voices
• Update your practice as you learn
• Stay humble and open to feedback

Supporting communities:

• Support practitioners from cultures you learn from
• Amplify marginalized voices
• Give back to communities
• Use your practice for justice

Integration: Eclectic With Ethics

You can absolutely build a rich, powerful, eclectic spiritual practice without appropriating. Start with your own ancestral traditions. Add open practices with proper credit and understanding. Respect boundaries around closed practices. Create something uniquely yours with integrity.

Eclectic doesn't mean "take whatever you want." It means thoughtfully combining what's available to you, learning properly, giving credit, and respecting what's not yours to take. It means building a practice on foundation of respect, not extraction.

There's abundance available to you. You don't need to appropriate. Explore your heritage. Learn open practices. Create something authentic and powerful. Build with integrity.

Your practice can be eclectic and ethical. Both/and, not either/or.

Next in this series: The Ethics of Learning from Other Cultures