Totem and talisman stones

 Painting stones has become quite a trend, and you can find all kinds of tutorials online (and sometimes even workshops at places like your local library) that will guide you through the process of creating them.  And while many people create these as pure art, we can infuse such stones with intent and make them as talismans or totems, tools we can later return to for spiritual work.

Creating something by hand is always a labor of love, and the process of finding the right art and the right way to lay it onto a stone invests that stone with energy.  We often learn details about our subject as we study pictures for inspiration that we didn't know, and paying attention to these details helps us gain a greater appreciation for the subject as well.

Now, before we get any further, this is a project that doesn't require any artistic ability!  Because you are using your intention to create a stone dedicated to something you want to work with, you can make the simplest picture and have it hold the spirit of the thing you are painting.  Think about some of the early cave drawings, that are little more than stick figures, and yet clearly display whole scenes and emotions!

The first thing you will want to decide is what the purpose of your stone will be.  There are so many applications for this process, but a few ideas are:  an animal you wish to work more with, a plant who's energy you want in your home, an event you want to commemorate, a protective symbol, a blessing.  Really, you can turn any spell or working into art to be put on a stone, and once you do that stone becomes a holder for the energy of the spell, to be tapped into whenever you like.

 

You also don't have to stick to stones!  There are lots of other mediums you can use, for example clay or salt dough, to create your 'stones'.  You can mold forms out of the clay, like I did here with this cat and wolf head, or you can roll them out like cookies and carve symbols into them.

Of course, if you want to add more details you can, you can even fully paint the forms after they are hard, but simple suggested shapes work well too.

 

Wolf and cat have always been powerful figures in my life, and these two in particular are also associated to deities for me (wolf and Odin, cat and Freyja), so they have a double representation on my altar space.  I can use them as touchstones when I want to connect to their animal energies, or as a sort of go-between when working with their deity.

On the more symbolic side, you can create talisman stones that represent more abstract energies.  The stone with the circle and dot was created as part of a community project, a linking symbol for everyone to work with, while the sigil on the flattened bottle cap was one I made as part of a tarot journey I took part in.

Both of these are ways for me to tangibly connect to a project (and to the group associated with the project), and when I want to work with those projects I can pull out my stones to assist.

This stone is my Memorial day stone, and features poppies (the red for veterans who died for their country, the white for non-combatants who died and the purple for animals).

I created this stone as a way to honor and remember the many people who have died, so that I could put it on my altar and be mindful of all the lives lost in conflict.  I use it as a way to keep their sacrifice in mind, and to reflect on how I have benefited from their loss.

These are eclipse stones I made during a solar eclipse.  I painted the stones ahead of time, and then took them out to charge as the sky darkened overhead. 

I see these as a container for the energy of that event, a way to tap into that eclipse energy and all the magic it holds.  They remind me of that time, and stones like these can be made at gatherings or other events, as a way to tap into the energy that was present at that time, or to connect to the people you were with.

The great thing about creating stones (or other non-stone objects) like these is that you can put them on altars, around your house, at the edges of your property, or wherever you want to call upon the energy they represent.  You can use them as touchstones for meditations, journaling or other internal work.  You can create them as a way to deepen your connection to their subject.  You can infuse them with a spell and give them as gifts.  The possibilities are endless!

Spiritual Roleplaying

 Roleplaying is something that has been a part of my life since childhood..back when it was 'playing pretend.'  I've always loved the idea of being someone different, of stepping into a world that is not my own, and of seeing where the story takes me.

I also feel that roleplaying often gets a bad reputation.  It's fine for kids, or it's okay as a hobby, but that's all it is:  a game (often for younger people that you are expected to grow out of).   And yet, roleplaying has so many benefits, and can be adapted to so many different areas of your life...and spirituality is definitely one of them!

Now, I know there is a bit of a stigma with crossing roleplaying with spirituality, especially as many people who don't understand Paganism or witchcraft assume we are all 'playing pretend.'  But at some point, we have to stop letting ignorant people dictate how we practice, especially when many of those people who are going to be extremely judgmental aren't going to listen with an open mind to what we actually do, they are just going to believe their own preconceived notions of our practice....so what we do is really up to us!

I also don't think that using tools like roleplaying makes someone more susceptible to loosing touch with reality, even when it overlaps with other areas of your life.  I get just as drawn into stories in books, tv and movies, and I have never had a problem knowing the difference between my actual life and any story-life I may be imagining (even when I use the story-life to explore things that I'm struggling with in my actual life...more on that in a bit).

It may surprise many people to realize that some of what we already do, especially with guided meditation, is a very basic form of roleplaying.  When we work with a guided meditation, especially one that has us interacting with things or having choices that lead to different visualized actions, we are engaging in rules-light roleplaying!

Now, for everyone who isn't familiar with tabletop roleplaying games (the ones with rules and dice, like Dungeons and Dragons), roleplaying games come in all levels of rules, from very light (where everything is story driven....much like visualization), to rule heavy (where every action you take has rules and parameters that determine how well you perform said action).  And all levels of roleplaying can be used spiritually, with a little bit of forethought.

We'll start with the very rule light versions, which as I mentioned are basically visualization.  The great thing about this style of roleplaying is it requires very little preparation or supplies.  You often are playing the 'role' of yourself, so you don't even have to think about how to act, you just do what you would do in a given situation.

The power of these types of visualizations is that you can give yourself different scenarios and practice what you might do in different circumstances.  This is great work to do alongside traditional spellwork, like if you are wanting to get a new job, you can do a spell to find a great new job, but you can also roleplay out (through visualization) callbacks, your job interviews and even your first day at the new job!  Using roleplay like this helps you calm any worries or anxiety you might have (especially if you get social anxiety), because you can practice the different things you need to do, and prepare for unlikely situations (like the interviewer asking you questions that throw you off).  By practicing through roleplaying, you become more confident and this will show through when you actually get that phone call or go in for the interview. 

And that leads us to the next version of roleplaying, where you are actually tweaking your own role a bit.  I think of this as Me+, in that I'm mostly being myself....just with qualities I wish I had more of.  So, if I am nervous and insecure about doing tarot readings for other people, I can think of the readings as roleplaying sessions, but instead of being myself when I do readings for other people, I am "Me, the professional tarot reader!"  You can also create a whole persona for yourself, like a new character, that is who you want to be as a tarot reader, and that becomes the character you play whenever you do readings.

It's almost like a mind hack.  By taking on a character, you can step outside of your insecurities and become someone who is skilled and confident at the task you are trying to accomplish.  You can use this for any thing you need to do, whether it is taking a leading role in a ritual or helping babysit your cousins.  

One nice little trick for this is to really think about who the character is you are going to be, and find something you can wear (clothing, jewelry, makeup) that will help you anchor that character.  You might have a particular ring that you wear as a tarot professional, or a shirt that the great babysitter wears.  Reserving those items for times when you are taking on the role of that character helps you stay in character and makes it easier for you to remember to embody them.  

Now the next step, in adding more rules to your roleplay, is to actually work with statistics and rules for success.  Now before I get into this, I need to talk a little bit about gamification.  Gamification is simply turning non-game activities into a game of sorts.  One of the reasons why people enjoy playing games so much is they get direct feedback and rewards for doing actions (often actions that might not be so fun on their own).

If you think about a video game, maybe you need to chop some trees down for wood.  If the entire game was just clicking on a tree enough times to get wood....and nothing more....most people wouldn't play the game, as it's not fun.  But, if you gather enough wood and now you can build a sword or a house or turn it in to a shopkeeper for some gold, now it is motivation.  It's no longer about chopping the wood, it's about the prize at the end.

We all have tasks in our lives that aren't so fun, but are necessary.  And sometimes, these necessary tasks don't really have good rewards.  Some do, like having a traditional job, where you put in the hours, do the work, and you get a paycheck.  Others have inverse rewards, like eating healthy.  For many people, eating healthy isn't the most fun (because unhealthy foods are tasty!), and the 'reward' is that you don't get sick....which isn't very tangible.  These are the kinds of things that can benefit from gamification, from adding in some light rules and creating rewards!

This might sound like pretty much every motivational system out there, and it basically is, but for many people that extra window dressing of making it feel like a game creates motivation to stick with it.  I worked with an exercise program that gamified working out, where you had some pretty basic exercises, but they were described in terms of a survival game, so instead of 'jogging for X minutes', you were traveling to the next town.  

One of the easiest ways to gamify your life is to dress things up in different terms.  Instead of drinking my morning coffee, I am brewing a potion to help revive me to life!  This can be a fun way to think about basic self-care actions, so if you struggle to drink enough water in a day, assign a value to each glass of water, and some way of rewarding yourself for meeting your daily minimums.  One neat way I've seen to do this to turn it into a battle, where you create a monster to fight, and each week it regains a certain number of hit points...in order to keep it at bay, you need to do your tasks to do damage to it.  Remember, rewards are key, so while tracking the damage can be a mini-reward, also find something to reward yourself for defeating enough monsters in a month!

Using gamification or roleplaying can also enhance your study.  I read something recently that talked about how repeating a skill during game play helped you learn it in less time (less repetitions) as compared to traditional learning.  I think that when we engage our imagination, when we create these alternative worlds and characters, we are using both sides of our brain, and it is memorable, which is why it's easier to learn.

So how can you use that to help you study?  I know that memorization is hard for a lot of people, and things like learning the meanings of runes (and remembering which rune goes with which meaning) can be really hard.  But you could build a game around the runes, where you use the rune meaning to create some kind of spell (Isa could freeze things or Kenaz to create light), and then create a world for yourself too explore, but in order to use your spells, you need to draw the right rune (and you can totally have your notes with you!).  It may sound a bit silly, but as you use your 'spells' over and over, you will start to remember what the symbols are.  And you can start getting more creative as you get more familiar with the basics, so to start you might use Fehu to tell you how much something is worth, but later on you might expand your understanding and realize you can also use it to change something's worth.

The important thing is that you have fun with it!  Roleplaying and gamification are all about having a good time, the goal isn't always obvious, and often the journey is worth more than the destination.  Try things out, see what works for you, and when you find something you enjoy...run with it!

Not all shadows are dark!

 Shadow work is a big part of a lot of people's practices, and I feel like it is often something that is somewhat misunderstood.  Some people think of shadow work as getting rid of the negative traits or aspects, while others see it as learning to accept and work with those less desirable bits of yourself.  Some people think of it as harnessing the monster inside, or even chaining it up so it is 'harmless'.

But what is our shadow?  The shadow self is a concept that was developed by Carl Jung, and he saw it as the hidden parts of our being.  It's the side of ourselves that we don't let let out in public.  Jung believed that the shadow needed to be expressed, so we could live our lives fully.

A lot of our ideas of what our shadow is are formed by societal pressure.  We are raised to believe that people should act a certain way in public (and also in private, though often more is allowable in private), and the things that aren't considered proper are things that form our shadow.  In many ways, the shadow is everything that doesn't fit the idea of perfection, and many people would have you believe that letting your shadow manifest at all is a bad thing.

But here's the twist....things that we tend to associate with the shadow are often highly situational!  Most people would agree that falling into a rage and lashing out physically isn't a good thing, but there are situations where that would be an appropriate response.  

I do think that many people come to this conclusion by doing shadow work.  When they really tune into those shadowy aspects of themselves, they see that these things aren't always bad, they just may not be coming out at the right times.

What I think many people fail to notice is that traits we often assume are good can be shadow traits too....when they come out at the wrong times.  The one that immediately comes to mind is that of  a helicopter parent.  Most people would agree that protecting your children and being involved in their lives is a good thing, but in the helicopter parent they are overly invested and they end up smothering their child.  It is a good trait that has been taken to a shadowy place.

Now, many people are aware of some of these traits that may be out of balance in themselves, but we don't tend to call it shadow work.  The most frequent term I've heard for working through some of these things is doing self-care.  We often see these unbalanced positive traits as areas in which we need to set boundaries and perform self-care.  When we know we like to help others, but we can spread ourselves too thin trying to help everyone, we see that as a self-care practice, not a shadow practice.

I actually think shadow work is self-care, and vice versa.  But separating it into this idea of dealing with the good and dealing with the bad creates a line in qualities that can be harmful.  We tend to think more favorably about people who say they struggle with self-care when compared to those who say they struggle with shadow work.  And yet both can be devastating, both to themselves and to those around them.  The world at large is harmed by both types of people, and working on both is really the ultimate goal.

One of the reasons why it's helpful to think of the two practices (shadow work and self-care) as being two sides of the same coin is that many behaviors can be thought of as paired...and too much on either end is problematic.  If we think of laziness as a shadow quality, the other end of that would be activity, which seems good, but if you are constantly needing to be doing something, every minute of every day, that leads to burnout (and often indicates that you are trying to avoid something or that you only feel 'worthy' if you are doing something...both qualities that are troublesome).  If we look at this as a slider between rest and activity, and not just that but as a slider that is constantly moving depending on what is going on around us, we start to see a healthier way to interact with these parts of ourselves.

The trap is that we often think of self-care as a purely physical practice.  It's typically a reactionary thing, we work on self-care when we feel the effects of issues in our lives.  Sometimes we do self-care as a precautionary thing, almost like spiritual vitamins, things we do because we know that we are going too be depleted (or just as part of our regular regimen, to keep us from spiraling).

The issue with this is that self-care often addresses the result, not the root.  It's the shadow work that really delves into what got us to the point we needed to take reactive self-care...or what is going to bring us back to that place in the future.  

Both practices are necessary!  We need to do the shadow work to see what is going on, and how we need to adjust, but we also need the self-care to actually start shifting that slider so we are in a more healthy space (and to keep it nicely lubricated so it can adjust as life throws things at us).  But when we start delving into the shadows, we need to remember to look for the places where the light is shining too bright as well, or we will find that we have places where we stay off-balance and can never get to that flexible equilibrium that we need to be whole.

Visiting death

 One of the themes of this time of year is the journey to the underworld.  And while this is a very thematic time to work with this practice, it is also something we can do at any time throughout the year.  This sort of visit with death can serve multiple purposes, whether we want to seek out someone who has crossed over or just to face some of our own fears and issues with death.  It can be a moving, if somewhat scary, experience, and many people are intimidated by what they might find on the other side.

But that's kind of the whole point.  You can face those fears in small doses, taking little trips and short visits with death, taking on only as much as you can handle in the moment.  Each time you visit, you may see a bit more, or experience something new, and over time you will realize that your relationship with death itself has changed.

We live in a society that teaches us to fear death and all that is associated with it.  We don't talk about death, dying or the dead, and it is such a taboo topic that we often shy away from even thinking about it.  But death is a part of life, and we will be faced with it, in various ways, throughout our lives.  Having a good relationship with death will help you retain your footing when are faced with it, whether it is your own mortality you are seeing or the death of someone you care about.

The current global situation has shown a lot about how divided we are on our thoughts on death.  Some people are doing their best to completely avoid all thoughts of it, firmly retreating to the 'it won't happen to me' camp, while others are struggling to recover after having someone near to them battle death (whether they survived or didn't, the fight is always traumatic).

One of the sort of strange things about the way we approach death as a society is that we spend so much time and energy avoiding all talk of it that people get very uncomfortable when any reference to death comes up.  Even something as simple as how meat makes it to the grocery store can create an emotional reaction in people, which is often why they want their food to be unrecognizable in it's original form (they are okay eating fish or chicken, but only if it doesn't look like a fish or a chicken).  It's why some foods are named the way they are (like veal and lamb).

When it comes to people, we try to separate ourselves from the dead as much as possible.  We are supremely uncomfortable around the dead, and we often flounder when someone we know crosses that boundary from alive to dead.  

This is all further complicated by the fact that we can't say, with any certainty, what happens after death.  Every religion has their own explanation of the afterlife, whether it is an actual afterlife or more of a return to the source.  Even atheists often have very firm ideas of what happens to you after you die.  But knowing what you believe and having experience with those beliefs are two separate things.

There are many different levels of experiences we can have, when visiting death.  We may find we are more comfortable with some methods of visiting than others, and we may find we want to linger during some visits but not others.  It's always a good idea to start small and trust your instincts.

Now, it is my personal belief that the lands of death are for the dead and as a living person there isn't really any risk of me getting stuck or trapped when visiting, but it may still be useful to have some kind of tether, much like one might have when taking an astral journey, to help you return to your body whenever you feel the desire to do so.  I really find physical touchstones to be very useful, and in this case, I would probably think of the tether more as a gateway, as an object to help me travel to where I wanted to go (and get back again).

This object can be anything, it could be a rock with a symbol or picture related to death on one side and life on the other.  It might be a key with charms dangling off of it.  I could be a coin (like the one used to pay the ferryman).  Pick an object that you associate with death or with passing over, and dedicate it to your practice of visiting death.  You may find it useful to build a ritual for using your object, both at the start and end of each visit, much like you would cast a circle and then take the circle down (and you can absolutely also cast a circle for your visits!).

If you feel more comfortable with a partner to help keep you tethered, that is also an option.  This would be like having someone present for a guided meditation, and in fact you could use that method to facilitate your visits, either giving the other person a script to read (with pauses at appropriate places), or just loose instructions that they can improvise around (if they are comfortable doing so).

You can also use a more mundane and technological method to trigger the end of a visit.  If you want to set up some kind of timer or alarm, and make that your reminder to return.  This is a pretty common tool for longer meditations, and it can help you sink deeper into the work, because you know that you will be called out when your designated time has passed (and your brain won't constantly be trying to figure out how much time has passed).

So, what do you actually do during these visits?  Well, that is sort of up to you, and what you feel you need to explore.  It can be helpful to take some time before you visit, to consider what you might want to do during a visit.  You may want to use your favored divination tool to ask for suggestions, or journal out some questions you have and how you might look into answering them.

You can also think about people and places (or events) that could help you explore different aspects of death.  By visiting people, you can ask them about their deaths, or how they feel, looking back at their lives.  Some places can hold a lot of death in them, especially places like battlefields or hospitals, places where lots of people have died.  Visiting different places that have a strong connection to death can show you the similarities that exist between people who die in a specific place.  Tragic events can also show you how different people approach death in different ways.

Since this time of year is believed by many to be a time of weaker veil, where the lands of death and the dead are closer to this world than they are at other times, it can be an ideal time to start your visits.  You may find it easier now, though you may also find that you have your own times that suit your visits.  Keeping a log of when you visit can help you fine tune when it is best/easiest for you.

Just because something scares us, doesn't mean we can't explore it in a safe and healthy way.  Visiting with death can help us work out what we are most nervous or scared about, and how we can work through those issues.  We may never be okay with the idea of our own death (it's only natural to not want to die after all), but we may find it peaceful to get to a level of acceptance where we are no longer totally freaked out by any mention or reference to death.