Welcoming back the sun

 

 In the middle of winter, Yule is the time for us to welcome back the sun.  Today, we think of this as a symbolic gesture, we know that it is the moment when the days start getting longer again, and the sun will be out more, but our ancestors didn't know take this expectation for granted, and until they saw the signs of the longer days there remained that fear that maybe this year the sun would just keep getting less and less.  Welcoming back the sun was a heart-felt appreciation for the life and warmth it brings to our lives.

One common practice I see a lot of people embracing for Yule is to stay up all night (and literally welcome the sun back in the morning).  And while this can be a really powerful way to celebrate, it isn't necessarily accessible for everyone.  Obviously, some people work, and others may not be able to stay up all night for a variety of reasons (children, health issues, age).  A simpler practice would be to watch the sun rise, but even that may be difficult or impossible for many people.  

But while experiencing things in person may be an idealized practice, the truth is we live in a day and age where we aren't limited to that!  We can watch videos of the sunrise, or look at breathtaking pictures that capture that magical moment.  We can read poems that put emotions into words, or read other descriptions of the wonder of sunrise.  It can be really eye opening to read about other people's experiences, to be able to put yourself in their shoes for a moment and see what the shared experience of sunrise means to people who live very different lives from ours.

We might also take this opportunity to do a bit of journeying, and to wonder about how our ancestors might have approached this time of year.  It's one thing to think about the hardships they might have faced, and another to try to put ourselves in their place.  Doing a visualization and stepping into the role of one of our ancestors can not only open our eyes but can teach us so much about how similar (and different) we are.  

I have always thought that one of the hardest things for us to really grasp is how uncertain things felt.  People made up stories to try to explain all the mystery of the world around them.  They noticed that the sun rose and set at different times throughout the year, and they didn't understand why, but as the months grew colder and the sun was out less, it was only natural to worry that maybe this year it wouldn't come back (especially if you also consider that they felt that gods were present in the world around us and that we could displease them in a way that would make them lash out to punish us).

Trying to put yourself back in that situation, to really feel how it must have felt (or at least as close as we can come to understanding it) not only brings us closer to our ancestors, but it gives us a unique perspective on some of our modern fears (I may not worry about the sun not rising in the morning, but I have definitely thought about the effects of our sun one day dying, or other catastrophic events that science has told us are possible).  It makes me feel comforted to know that one day, perhaps one of my decedents will wonder how I could possibly worry about things like that (because they may have figured it out and know how things work).  It reminds me of the idea that any science significantly advanced enough will appear to be magic (and also that maybe one day what we see and practice as magic might be fully defined and understood as science!)

I also feel like the sun has a very different role in our lives today than it did in times past.  If you go far enough back, the sun was the only reliable source of light, and so it's cycles truly dictated our ancestors lives.  Even back before the advent of electricity, light at night was not always accessible (or abundant), and people lived much of their lives at the mercy of daylight.  Today, we are not as limited, and yet we still find ourselves drawn to the light, and especially when something like daylight savings time comes by and we notice the big shift (and it is now dark in the afternoon...) and we feel off kilter.

Even when it comes to electric lights, we are constantly striving to make our lights more natural and realistic (or we run in the other direction with things like color changing LED lights).  We know that indoor lights are not created equal, and many people struggle with different qualities of light.  We also know that actual sunlight is important for many health reasons (from our sleep cycle to emotional regulation and mental well being).

So even though we don't worry about the sun not rising in the morning when we go to bed at night, we need to acknowledge the important role that the sun plays in our lives.  It warms us and lights our way and grows our food and it is nice to have this time dedicated to acknowledging that and taking the time to not only show our gratitude but to also express our appreciation to the light for all it does in our lives. 

Winter storms

 

 Mother Nature isn't always gentle and kind, as we see in storms of all kinds.  But winter storms have the added effect of lingering, and can last days...or more!  Even today, winter storms can cause a lot of devastation, interrupt our lives and even prove deadly.  And that is even with all our advances in modern science, for our ancestors this time of year would have been even more dangerous.

But while storms can create unexpected tragedy, they are also undeniably powerful, and we can tap into that power for many purposes.  As with most storm work, storms can be unpredictable, so stay mindful of that as you prepare for your work.

When we think about work our ancestors might have done with storms, we often think of protection and destruction as the two main focuses.  Protection was mainly focused around protecting you and your loved ones (and property) from the storm itself, where with destruction work you were using the storm as a representation of the destruction you were wanting to cause.

Today, while protection work is still quite valid, it may just look a little different from what our ancestors would consider.  In most cases, it would take a historic storm to do more than inconvenience most of us.  Even when we loose power, we have resources at our disposal now to help make sure we are taken care of.  With cell phones, we often don't even loose communication, which can be quite problematic when talking about being snowed in.

But even though we may not have the same deep seated fears about the effects of storms, we still want to avoid the worst they have to offer, and would welcome help in not being too effected by them.  So along side tapping into the storms energies to protect you and your household, consider also the myriad of ways your life will be effected by the storm.  While I can absolutely manage in my house without internet, I'd rather not have that limitation, so protecting my connection to the outside world is something I work towards.  On a similar thought, while we could probably survive for months on the food in our house, I like having the option of outside food, so I also work to keep the roads clear and safe (because we live in a place that doesn't get a lot of winter storms, so people aren't great at driving in winter weather).

I also really enjoy opening myself up to the energy of storms, as I find that it often lets me express feelings that I bottle up inside.  Especially in the winter, with all the holidays and events and obligations (and gifts!) weighing us down, we can become quite frustrated with having to stay in good cheer all the time (because you aren't allowed to be grumpy during the holidays, right?)  Try opening yourself up to the energy of the storm, and have some good tools of self-expression handy for whatever comes up.  You might feel inspired to do art to express what your are feeling, or you may want to write/type about the experience instead.  If you have a witchy (or just open-minded) friend you trust you might do this together and you can talk about how it felt afterwards (as well as doing any other activities, together or later when you are alone).

If you do end up being snowed in, I think that is a very special kind of energy as well.  I know the Pandemic has altered many people's thoughts about being 'stuck home', and I know that as adults we often have trained ourselves to look at what we 'should be doing', but I have always seen being snowed in as I did when I was a child...it's a free day!  Yes, you can't do the things you had planned to do, and often you are quite severely limited in what you can do....but that just means that you now have no plans for the day!  It's the perfect day to just play (whatever that means to you...it might mean playing a game, reading, watching something, doing a hobby, crafting.....and bonus points if it is something you 'always meant to try' or 'never have time to do').

Divination is always a fun activity to do, whether you want to tap into the energy just before the storm starts, at it's height, or in it's aftermath, each provides you an opportunity to explore a part of your life that isn't ordinary.  Just prior to a storm, there is often that stillness and a sense of something about to happen.  We can get a similar experience sometimes in life around a powerful event.  So this would be a good time to look for clarity on big changes in your life, especially in what you can do to prepare for them.  In the middle of the storm, you are caught up in all the drama of everything that is going on, and sometimes it can feel hard to slow down enough to think.  Here you might ask about what the best course of action is, and how to move yourself into a safe space where you can have the time you need.  And after the storm, we are often just so overwhelmed with the sense of loss that we can't figure out what we need to do to recover or how to start moving past it.

 

So, when winter hits, and you feel that stillness in the air, get ready for any storms that might be approaching.  Think about how you want to work with each storm that comes your way, for each one is an opportunity to connect with the storm and use it's energy to enhance your life.  Whether you simply want to stay safe and protected or whether you want to ride the storm and see where it takes you, remember to not only take appropriate magical precautions, but also all the physical ones as well.

Leaf Magic

 Autumn is here in my part of the world, and that means gorgeous falling leaves!  Leaves are such a great resource for magic, and with the colors changing for fall, there are even more options available to us.  Not only do we have the variations in shape and species, but now we have color options as well...just one more variable to play with.

One of the first practices I remember that involves leaves was simply using them as a way to release things that no longer serve us.  So many trees loose their leaves each year, and that is a lesson we can learn, that no matter vital a thing may seem to us, we may find a time where we have to let them go and trust that when we need them again, we will have them.  But even for things that are clearly not a benefit to us, we can sometimes cling out of fear (the foe I know versus the unknown) or simply out of habit.  Find a leaf that feels like it fits what you want to release, and charge it with your intention (you can whisper to it, write on it, or just hold it between your hands and visualize transferring the thing you are releasing into it), and then hold it up and let the wind take it away.

For a bit more of a punch, you can burn leaves to really remove things from your life.  For this, I like writing one thing on each leaf, one thing that I want gone.  It can be really liberating feeling to sit down with a pile of leaves and just do a bit of a mental inventory, to see what in your life you would want free from.  Keep writing things until you run out of ideas, and then sett up a fire source.  Remember, dry leaves are both light and flammable so make sure you take the appropriate fire safety precautions, and then one by one burn your leaves. 

Leaves can also be used as messengers (along with any number of seeds that are designed to float on the wind, like maple seeds or dandelion puffs).  Speak your message into the leaf, and then think about who you want to send the message to.  The nifty thing about this is that fallen leaves can be thought of as being in a limbo state...they are dying, and thus can also cross the barrier between worlds, so you can use them to send messages to people who are no longer with us.  When you have the one you want to communicate with firmly in mind, release the leaf and let it carry it's message away.

 

I really enjoy utilizing the features of an object to enhance my magic, and one feature that leaves have is veins.  These veins can represent a lot of things.  You could use leaf veins to do family work, using them as a representation of your family tree.  We also have veins, so you can use them for healing work (especially anything to do with blood flow in your body, or our nervous system).  The veins fork and branch, so they can be used to help navigate situations where you have a lot of choices (consider writing different options on different parts of the leaf and then casting onto the leaf to see how different options will go for you).

 

Which leads us firmly into leaf divination.  You can divine with leaves in all sorts of ways.  You might like to gather leaves from a variety of plants around your home, and keep them in a bowl.  When you want some guidance, you can pick a leaf from your bowl, and then look to the plant it came from for your answers (which is also a great way to become more familiar with plants local to your area!).  You can toss a leaf in the air and interpret how it falls, or light part of it on fire and read the burn patterns, you can crumble a leaf and scatter the bits and read how they land, and you can always look for images and signs in the colors of the leaf.

 

Leaves can be a unique starting point for intentional art!  Especially with the wide range of colors, shapes and unique properties that make each leaf different.  You might gather a bunch of leaves and use them to create collage art.  Or you might search out individual leaves and trace art in the patterns of color found in each leaf.  You could trace leaves and use those shapes to be creative (turn the leaf outline into funny animals or whimsical houses).  If you apply paint directly to a leaf, you can use it as a stamp!  You can even pound the pigment from leaves onto paper or cloth (lay out wet leaves in a pattern on the paper or cloth you want to pigment, put another piece of paper over them to cover and use a hammer to transfer the pigment).  And with any of these art projects, you can set an intention as you work on them, write out an issue and art over it, or simply play with the process as a way to sink into sacred space.

 

 If you want to create meaningful fall decor, consider using leaves as a way to celebrate gratitude.  For this, you can use real leaves, fake leaves or make leaves out of paper or cloth (or anything you like!).  You can string them on garlands and hang them in your home, or keep/attach them on branches and arrange them like a bouquet.  On each leaf, write something you are grateful for.  This can be a great activity for a family night or friend gathering, letting everyone contribute and share the things they are grateful for.

And we can also tap into our childhood by playing with leaves!  Make a small pile and kick it about or jump into it.  Make patterns in fallen leaves, or use fallen leaves (and other natural bits) to make mandalas.  Use sticks and leaves to make little people and create scenes with them.  Have a leaf fight with a friend!  Just allow yourself to tap into your inner child and play!

There are a ton of things we can do with leaves, and so many ways to fold them into our practice.  And you may find, that by trying some of these activities, you think of new ways to work with leaves!  Embrace the season and see how you can use leaves in your practice.

Figuring out your spiritual needs

 

 One of the things I've always loved about Paganism is how much of it is very much 'choose your own.'  Sure, if you join a group or pursue degrees in an organization, there may be structure, but in our personal practice, there are no hard and fast rules or really anyone to tell us that we should (or should not) be practicing a particular way.

And in fact, this can be a struggle for a lot of people, both new and more experienced.  It's hard, because you kind of have to figure it out yourself, there is no guidebook to turn to when you have a question about how often to do a thing or whether one method is 'better' than another.  It definitely takes some getting used to, that every part of your practice is ultimately up to you.

I also think it complicates things that many resources out there suggest a way of doing things, but don't make it clear that it is JUST a suggestion!  I've read so many books that will introduce a practice, like meditation or reading tarot, and they will give suggestions on how often to do something, but not give a lot of options for if that one way doesn't quite work for you.

Meditation is a great example.  A ton of sources recommend meditating daily, often for between 10-30 minutes.  And for some people, that works great!  For others, it's too long, or too frequent.  Maybe you just don't have that much free time (and you don't want to spend what time you do have meditating!), or maybe you tried it and sitting for 30 minutes a day was just too much for your body.  

 

One saying I absolutely adore suggests that doing a thing at all is better than not doing it (often applied to difficult tasks, where we may not be able to do them perfectly or even completely, but doing a little is still better than not doing it at all).  In the case of meditation, if 30 minutes a day doesn't work for you, but you enjoy doing 30 minutes once a week on the weekend...do that!

Many people like to have a framework to start from, and books are great for that.  It used to be that Pagan books told you how to do things (as in they explained how to cast spells, how rituals were structured, how to ground), but didn't often suggest a plan for actually doing all the stuff.  However, in recent years, more books have come out with a plan, whether it is a way to build up practices or a full year of daily activities.

If those kind of things appeal to you, find one that seems enticing and give it a try!  I haven't seen a suggested plan yet that I feel I would be worse off for having tried it, even if it didn't work for my life.  So you really aren't out anything by giving things a go, and you might find that even if the whole plan doesn't work for you, bits of it do (and you can always keep the parts that work for you and let go of the rest!).

I think that having a rough idea of what you want your path to look like can help, so it may be useful to sit down and brainstorm about what spirituality means to you.  Are you looking for something with more structure, or do you need freedom to follow your whims?  Do you want daily practices that you can build on, or would you rather stick to bigger observations throughout the year (or both!)  How close of a relationship do you want with deities...or do you even want to work with any?  Do you want to work alone, with others or a combination?

These are a few, broad questions to start with, but anytime you learn something new, you can ask yourself how you see that fitting into your practice.  It might be that you want to start off learning a little bit about a bunch of different topics, just to see what interests you the most, or maybe you already have something you really want to dive deep into, and you can start planning out how you want to approach that study.

I feel like one thing to always keep in mind is that you are absolutely free to change your mind (and your practice!) at any given time.  You may have tried some things out, and realize that it's too much or not enough for your needs.  Adjusting how much time and energy you devote to this aspect of your practice can make it fit better with your life.  And remember, we are constantly changing, so our needs might change too...a practice that fits you now, might need adjusting in a few months, or even after decades of doing things a particular way.

 

Wherever you are on your path, spending some time to check in and see if your spiritual needs are being met (and are meshing with the rest of your life), can be a very helpful way to make sure you are living the best Pagan/witchy life you can.  And just taking a moment to think about whether you are doing enough, or too much, of anything can be a helpful starting point in figuring out just where that sweet spot is for you.  You may be surprised to find out that things that you thought were 'just fine' could actually use a little tweaking!

Brainstorming work

 

One of the things that I think takes the longest to get comfortable with is creating your own spells and rituals (or any practice really).  As much as I feel like Paganism embraces individualized and personalized practice, most books only go into the bare bones on how to build a working from the ground up, and many 101 books don't really talk about doing your own thing at all.  They just include a handful of premade spells and rituals, and often those don't really fit (because we are all individual, and we might live in a different country or time period from where the spell originated, which also makes things complicated).

 

I've always been a big fan of making your own spells (and for ease of wording, I'm going to say spells for the rest of this post, even though the same process can be used to build any spiritual working, from rituals to protections to Sabbats!), or at the very least tweaking the bits that don't work in spells you find out in the wild.  In my very early days I did work with spells straight out of books, and while it has a certain comfort level (because it's very easy to doubt your own capabilities), it was always like wearing hand-me-down clothes....they feel like they don't quite fit most of the time.

 

But writing your own spells can feel daunting, and for many people even figuring out where to start is an issue.  It's one of those weird things that feels like it should be talked about everywhere, and yet it's not, and when it is talked about, it's in a very bare bones kinda way (I mean even this blog post won't be as complete an explanation as might be wanted, but it's more extensive than a lot of the 'how to write your own spells' sections we see in books). 

The start is always the why...why are you doing a spell.  Note, I don't start with what you want to seek, because I feel like the why is always more important than the what.  The why will lead to the what (and sometimes, as you explore the why, you discover that you are actually needing to work towards a different what than you thought you did!)

So start by asking yourself why, and really dig in here.  If you wanted to make a spell to get a job, why are you looking for a job (do you want money, more excitement in your life, a chance to do something creative, or are you just bored).  Notice, that all of those things could be reasons to find a job...but many of them lead to very different types of jobs.  Knowing the why of your spell will help inform every step of the process!

Sometimes the why will be straightforward, like if you have a friend who is sick and you want to do something to help them heal.  You care about your friend and you want them better, that is your why.  But sometimes the why is more elusive, like if you want to loose weight, your why might be that you want to be healthier, but it might also include wanting to look better (and feel sexier or more confidant) and that you want to be able to play soccer without feeling winded immediately.  You don't have to pick just one why, in fact exploring the many reasons behind your spell can help you create a much more inclusive working!

If you are struggling with understanding your why, it can be helpful to get outside advice.  This might mean turning to your favorite divination method, and spending some time journaling out your whys, or it might mean asking a trusted friend or loved one for their input.  Just remember, if you are talking to other people, that you want to not only ask someone who you trust (and who knows you), but also someone who isn't going to try to talk you out of doing your work (sometimes you can get advice on your why without explaining what specifically you are planning on doing, so take our job example, you might ask a friend what type of job they think you would enjoy without telling them you are planning on doing a spell for it).

Once you have your why, you can start to think about the main shape your spell will take.  There are tons of types of spells out there, from candle spells to jar spells to bag spells or simple fire and forget spells.  This is one place where reading examples (especially examples that are similar to what you are planning, so if you are wanting to heal a friend, looking at a selection of healing spells can give you a sense of what other people have found works, and that is a great place to start!).  You might also just like one method over another, and prefer to use it, and that's perfectly fine too!

Almost every spell includes correspondences of some sort, whether they are physical items, representations or simply words to be called upon.  This is where your whys really come into play.  You will want something to represent all of your whys, so if I am wanting to loose weight (to be healthy, to look sexy and to be able to enjoy soccer more), then I should have at least one thing to represent each of my whys.

I sometimes think of deities as a way to include more correspondences.  I have a pretty wide group of deities I work with, so I have a lot of choices for deities that will fit my spell.  And sometimes you can work with multiple deities for the same spell, though this can often require more planning (and some deities just don't work well together, so understanding how they interrelate is important too).  You don't have to call on a deity for your spells, and some people have a patron deity that functions like a catch-all for them, when it comes to calling on deities in a spell.

I also want to note that spell creation isn't necessarily something that needs to be done all at once, in one sitting or quickly.  It can be, and learning to create on the fly is somewhat of a different skill, but for the purposes of this blog post, don't feel like you need to rush the process.  Sometimes, I will let an idea stew in my head, and that helps me come up with connections and ideas that I might have otherwise missed.  If you are planning your spell like this, having a notebook or some spot to jot down your ideas and thoughts as they come can be really helpful!

And, your actual 'spell work' doesn't have to be done in one setting either.  Sometimes, we ritualize the prep, especially if you are making any kind of herbal blend, poppet, totem or amulet/talisman (which might need to be prepared ahead of time).  Your spell might also extend into the future (like when you burn a 7 day candle for a spell), or have reactivation activities (like shaking a jar spell when it needs a boost or charging a ward every full moon).  

With any spell work, I think it's important to not pressure yourself too much over the results.  You aren't a bad witch/Pagan if you do a spell and it doesn't work out.  It's not even necessarily that the spell didn't work...sometimes our spells are like trying to hold back the push of the ocean with just your hands....you might not have enough force to create the change you are working towards.  But every spell you do (especially those you create) help you become better at them in the future!

One thing that I think can be important (but often overlooked) when talking about spell creation is reflecting on, and adjusting, the spell after the fact.  Especially for something (like a healing spell) that you might want to use again in the future, taking the time to think about (and make some notes on) what went well and what didn't go as well as you would have liked, along with how the spell felt as you did it and the results afterward...these all help to let you refine the spell for future use.

 

Creating your own spells isn't as hard as it first seems, and the benefits are countless.  Not only does it give you the ability to tailor your spells to your exact needs, but it also gives you complete control over what you use to do your spell, what deities (if any) you choose to work with, and how complicated or simple you prefer your work to be.  I highly recommend anyone who hasn't made their own spells give it a try...it's not as scary as it sounds!

Modern spell ingredients

 

 There is this concept, in many magical circles, that man-made stuff isn't suitable for magic.  If you consider most correspondence lists, or spells/rituals that have been published, the stuff you need is almost always natural.  And personally, I find this to be a silly restriction to limit yourself with!

I think that when we consider the history of witchcraft, we are talking about a practice that flourished among the common people...in that it wasn't something that required fancy schooling, expensive stuff or anything like that.  And I think that's why so many magical workings use natural ingredients (and if you look into it, they used local ingredients)...because they were there, relatively easy for anyone to get...and free.

Today, we are in the almost opposite situation.  Many witchy folks don't live near large natural places, where they can harvest whatever they may want or need.  In fact, many of us probably didn't know that much about different plants and animals...until we became Pagan and started learning.  It's just not an everyday thing for us now.

Instead, what we have familiarity with is man-made things.  We know what they are used for, and sometimes we understand how they function better than we understand the natural world.  But we still turn our nose up at using modern and man-made things, as if they can't hold magic.  

What makes this extra strange, is there are some things that have managed to escape being put into the 'non-magical' box.  We embrace the magical nature of candles, of bottles/boxes, of blades and chalices, of mass printed tarot cards or machine tooled stones.  And if you think about it, these are all things that were the 'technology' of our ancestors.  They embraced new things that people made, and they used what they had at hand.

So what does this mean for us?  Well, my personal opinion is that we should do the same...we should look at the world around us, at the stuff we already use every day, and take inspiration for our magic from there!

First, let's think about some of the man-made stuff we already accept as magical.  Let's talk candles.  While we often use candles as a representation of fire, they were also a light source.  Using a candle for a spell meant you could see (especially when you remember that a lot of old magic suggests doing things at night...and without modern lighting, that would make it pretty dark, especially if the moon wasn't present.  Using modern lighting, instead of candles, isn't that far of a leap to make, and we have so many really cool lighting options now that make it even more of a customizable tool for magic!

Keys are another thing that we have accepted as magical, but again, when you talk about keys (in magical terms), the mental image is almost always of the old, skeleton key style.  And while those have their charm, modern keys give us a lot of different options.  We can use car keys for things involving movement, house keys for protection, padlock keys (or padlocks!) for security or secrecy.  We could use a key blank as a universal opener.  We can even get a bit creative with non-physical 'keys'....with our passwords!  Give them a magical twist to enhance your personal security...or to enchant whatever the password unlocks (want your bank account to be more prosperous....work that into your password!)  A nice side-effect of this is often our magical words are not easy to guess (so harder to hack)!

A lot of spells include paper, and we often see specific types of paper requested, whether it is handmade or brown paper.  But we have paper all around us!  We could use magazine pages (pick the page based on your intent), old bills (for work associated with the bill), printed pages (the sky is the limit, find pictures that fit or type out some train of thought about the topic...you can also print over stuff, so you can layer multiple things on the same page).  These are especially great for doing dream boards or wish work...collect images that feed your goals!

I personally find toys to be a wonderful source of inspiration.  Often they come in a huge range of shapes and sizes, many times they move (so you can position them in the way that works best for you).  And many toys come built in with meaning (correspondences!) that may reach back into our childhood.  Think about it...we weren't raised on fairy tales or legends, we were raised on cartoons and tv shows...so those characters are going to have deep rooted meaning for us.  Why not tap into that, and use symbols that resonate with your inner child.

I know that many people love having their magic stuff feel magical, and that it being a bit anachronistic makes it feel more special (because it's NOT stuff we use everyday).  There is absolutely nothing wrong with building your practice like this....IF it's what speaks to you.  But if you struggle with finding herbs or stones, why not try looking towards modern stuff?  See if it will also work for you.  Because sometimes, working with what is always at hand makes things feel more magical...since now everything in your life can be infused with magic!

Books of shadows

 

 Welcome to my library...or at least part of it.  I am a book lover and a writer, and of course I have a million books that make up my 'book of shadows' (honestly, this isn't even all of them).  When we talk about a Book of Shadows, it is often described as being a huge tome, handmade with an ornate cover, with illustrated and beautiful pages, holding all the information one has collected as they walk their path.

But as you can see, for some of us, one book just won't do!  Not only is it simply not big enough, but it may not have the organization you want (or need!).  And a fancy book of shadows probably isn't something that the average person would have had (even the big coven BOS' were probably quite plain on the outside).  Of course, we live in a time now where we are free to have beautiful and fancy books to write whatever we want in, so if you like that kinda thing, have at it!  I have a few really lovely and unique books in my selection...though as you can see, quite a lot are very simple or basic.

My first BOS was a three ring binder.  This binder....which was really just my favorite binder from school.  It has pockets (which is really handy for all those odd shaped papers that I like to keep in them).  But most importantly, it has tabs and three rings!  It let me move stuff around as often as I wanted, and in the beginning, that was priceless.  It also let me easily remove and add pages...at any point!

In my early days, I remember reading all about the Book of Shadows, and how it had a counterpoint, the Book of Light.  If the BOS was dedicated to the nitty gritty "stuff you do" then the BOL was all about inspiration:  poetry and stories that delighted you.  I think of it as something to turn to when you need a bit of spiritual uplifting.  I have a few books where I keep particularly moving poetry (one for poems I write myself, and one for others I find).  I even have a wishes book, which is basically a paper version of a pinterest dream board!  I have a bunch of pictures I cut out of magazines or printed out, and it's just all pretty witchy stuff that makes me happy to look at.

From there, my books just started expanding.  I made a little one (so it was portable!) for a Correspondence book, and I also made a travel BOS (which is a cute little leather bound book that I kept my most basic and most well used stuff in..for when I was away from home, but still wanted something!).

I have a dream book, though I struggle to use that.  I used to dream every night, but only remembered my dreams for a short time upon waking.  The problem was, that I really hated the process of writing it down.  As soon as I started, it was like the process of writing made the fragments of dream flee even further.  I think this is part of the process of figuring out which kinds of books you might want for your practice...sometimes they just don't work out!

Another type of book I kept early on (but don't use as much now) is a working record book.  I would record the spells and rituals I did, how they went and how things turned out (okay I almost always forgot that last bit...).  I have several of them now, though today I am more likely to use my witchy log than directly recording my work.

Speaking of the witchy log, that is a very recent book I started a few years ago.  I really struggle with keeping up with tasks (in all realms of my life), and a planner has helped my everyday life so much, I thought having a book specifically dedicated to my witchy life would help.  It gives me a place to check in everyday, do moon work, journal about the sabbats, record random witchy facts or ideas....and it's really working for me.

 

This kind of replaced my old Sabbat book, which was dedicated to my own reflections after Sabbat rituals.  This one sort of fell in a funny place for me.  It felt like a cross between reflective journaling and record keeping, but when I started keeping the Witchy Log, I just stopped using this one.

I also started some topic specific books (because my brain likes organization).  I have books dedicated to runes, to tarot, to astrology, to moon work...pretty much any subject you are interested enough in to want a separate book for!

Art books are another whole category for me.  I have the one that started it all, which is a smashbook I did for an intentional art retreat.  It holds art that was done with specific purposes, so some of the pictures are about exploring archetypes or grounding or transforming.  I ended up with another book (that holds hole punched pages) for loose leaf art, and what I call my healing art book (which is blank pages that I draw pictures/symbols in for healing).  Sometimes my magic isn't about words, sometimes it's about images or color or emotions and these help me tap into that.

I also keep a small book for future ideas.  I heard someone toss this out as concept, and it's so perfect for my brain!  The idea is that you write down stuff you might want to work on...but that you don't have time/energy/motivation to do right now.  It's a future log for magic!  Mine is broken into problems and dreams..so problems are often more outward focused (like when a situation in the world is just bugging you), while dreams tend to be more personal (though of course you could just keep all your future ideas together!)

 

Now, you can probably see that most of my books are pretty spartan.  I don't really decorate them (minus the art books, but those aren't technically decorated either...just full of art lol), because for me that honestly just feels like work.  It's also a bit like that feeling of having a blank (expensive) book and not wanting to use it (because you are afraid of 'messing it up'...though I find just deliberately making a mistake early helps in this...I'm not perfect, my books don't need to be either).  But many people really get into making their books into amazing art works, doing collage and making every word beautiful.  So if that's your thing, go for it!

And if physical books aren't your thing....there are always digital options!  I keep a ton of files on my computer, from books to stuff I've written to things I've clipped from websites.  I've been playing around with OneNote as a way to organize digital stuff, though I've heard great things about Notion as well (and seen some amazing digital books there!)  There are advantages to digital, it's easy to keep a ton of information organized and handy (and with smart phones, portable!)  Personally, I'm more analog than digital, I sometimes struggle to read online text (books are easier for me), so I doubt I will ever be fully digital...but it's so nice for stuff that I am not sure I want/need for the long term.

When it comes to your Book(s) of Shadows, the sky is the limit.  There is no right or wrong way to keep one, just ways that work better for you.  And there is nothing wrong with trying out a few!  Find the books you like to use (bound, spiral, 3ring, digital), figure out how you prefer to keep things (do you like one big book, lots of little ones, write as you go, dedicated sections) and then see which ones stick with you (because sometimes the one you are most excited about just doesn't click).

Helping troubled souls rest

 

Memorial day is a day to remember and honor those lost to wars, but as Pagans I feel there is an opportunity to care for these spirits after they are gone.  Not just to remember them, but to help them find their peace.  

 

War is a horrible thing, and of course fighting in them is traumatic.  Firstly, not everyone who fought...or died...in wars were volunteers, so there is room for a lot of conflicting emotions on the part of the soldiers.  And even if someone believed in the cause the war was fought on behalf of, the atrocities they saw and the actions they took might leave someone split and conflicted about their role in the war.

Now, there are a lot of perspectives on what happens to us after death.  Many people believe there are places we go, based on what we believe and our actions in life.  But many people also believe that the dead can be trapped, or lost, and never reach what should have been their final destination.  These are the people I am talking about in this post...souls who may be stuck, shackled by their actions or the traumatic nature of their death, unable to take their final rest in the manner that they should.

The good thing is that, if you believe that such souls exist, you also have a way to reach out to them and help them move on.  As every one of us is an individual, this will mean that the way in which you approach this task will be highly individual (not only for you, as the practitioner, but also for the person you are trying to help...different methods may be required in order to help different people).

 

I feel like the first step should always be some kind of divination...finding out who the person is that you are reaching out to.  You may have family members who have died in wars, and this might be a good place to start.  I don't feel like every person who dies in a war gets stuck like this, so the first step would be to determine if this particular person is...and divination is a great way to approach this.  You could also do some research on people who died in the war and work with others, who may not be directly related to you.

 

Of course you could also take a different approach and start with divination to find a soul who needs help.  In this case, the divination is less focused on whether or not they need help and instead focused on finding out who they were and what happened to them.  This information will form the basis of the work that you can do to help them move on.

 

 Now, not every lost soul will have the same level of coherence.  Some spirits will be able to communicate very clearly, will have a good grasp on who they were in life, what has happened to them, and even might be aware of the state of the world today.  Others might have lost a lot of themselves, and this process may be more about trying to help them remember who they were, and accept the fact that they are dead.

 

Once you have a decent idea of who you are working with and what their state is, you can start to figure out how to help them. Again, every spirit will be different, so one might only need to be reassured that their part in the war is over and that their job is done and they can move on.  Others may need to be updated on their family, or they may want to know how their actions (and the war they were in) influenced the world.

One thing to remember here is that our role isn't to judge, condemn or pardon these spirits.  We aren't evaluating how righteous or corrupt they are and sending them to where we think they belong.  We are simply trying to figure out what is holding them here, and helping them to let go of any lingering concerns and issues so they can go where they need to go.

While doing this work, it is also important to make sure you are keeping your protections up.  Especially when working with spirits who maybe don't align with our own moral compass, we don't want to risk that soul becoming fixated on us and hanging around when we don't want them to.  Keeping strong protections is always a good idea, when working with any spirit, and especially spirits that may wish to create hardship or chaos in our lives.

It won't always be possible to help every spirit, but we can reach out and do what we are able to.  We can be a light to the lost souls who are stuck and confused and afraid.  We can help diffuse the anger and hatred that lingers with some of them and encourage them to release their hold on whatever is keeping them tethered.  And helping these lost souls can also help us (and other people alive today) to release our own anger and resentment towards the actions of our ancestors and those who came before. 

The power of superstition

Superstitions are a broad category of beliefs that link different things with qualities, often luck or protection.  In a way, believing in a superstition is like believing in a correspondence.  Four leaf clovers and horseshoes are lucky, black cats and broken mirrors are not.  Some superstitions are based on actions, such as tossing salt over your shoulder when it spills (to avoid bad luck).

I feel like most superstitions have their roots in history, and often we don't know why things are lucky/unlucky.  Some do make sense, in a way, like walking under a ladder being unlucky (it was definitely dangerous, and so people who were likely to walk under ladders often were probably going to have other bad things befall them because they weren't cautious).  Others are based on outdated thinking (like black cat's being unlucky).

Now many people write off superstitions as nothing but old folk tales, and they may be right.  However, if you think about them as a power you can tap into, something along the lines of the law of attraction, then things seem a bit more logical.  If I hang a horseshoe over my door for luck, and every time I see it I think of what has been lucky in my life lately, I am creating a mindset of luck.  On the other side of the spectrum, if I believe that Friday the 13'th is unlucky, then my mind will be looking for examples of bad luck all day, and I will fixate on things that I wouldn't even notice on other days!

This also reminds me a bit of the power of cursing, and the belief that you have to believe in the curse for it to effect you.  While I don't personally think that way about curses, I do think superstitions might fall into this category.  If you believe in them, they will work for you (or against you...), but if you don't, then you probably won't notice any significant changes.

Personally, I'm a fan of superstitions, or at least the good ones.  I don't tend to put much stock in the negative ones, but I love me some good luck charms!  The way I look at it, if I make the choice to acknowledge a superstition, that is one more tool I can use to help me avoid mental traps (like feeling like you are unusually unlucky).

Now, if you were raised believing in superstitions that you no longer feel serve you, it can be hard to break away from that.  I feel like the best way to approach this kind of work is to replace the belief you want to be rid of with a new one.  

 

Let's think about the superstition about black cats being unlucky.  Their dark color associates them with 'evil', but today we know that it is just a fur color, no different from orange or white.  So instead of feeling like seeing a black cat, or having one pass in front of you, imbues you with bad luck, you could twist it and work on creating a new superstition for yourself.  Perhaps something along the lines of, 'offering my hand to pet any black cat I see turns the luck around and makes them lucky!'

Superstitions and omens are quite similar, and that is another shift you can make to take a superstition and treat it like an omen instead.  Omens are more warnings of potential bad stuff on the horizon.  It's like doing divination and seeing trouble ahead.  It isn't saying that those things are absolutely going to happen, but it's giving you a heads up about the issue, so that you can prepare and take appropriate precautions.

 

One of the things I like about many (good) superstitions is that they are easy to do.  They might be something fairly common to find (like wishing stones) or a simple action (like crossing your fingers for luck).  This makes them a very accessible form of folk magic!  And that is how I like to think of them, as a type of magic that we can choose to harness, not like some kind of universal trickery that we need to defend against.

But whether or not superstitions are a part of your belief system, I think they are a nice handy little tool that we can call upon, when we need a little something.  I definitely use superstitions like a little magical security blanket...they are something that I can do when I'm feeling a bit off, just to kind of tip my mind back into a better space.  And there is absolutely nothing wrong with that!

Pushing your boundaries

 I think it's a pretty common thing for people to be more open when they are first starting out on a path (or learning about a new thing), and the more we practice, the more refined our path becomes.  It's only natural to narrow our focus, especially as we learn more about what really works for us, and what doesn't.

However, I think we are doing a huge disservice, both to ourselves and to others, to keep our circle small and focused.  When we surround ourselves with people who are 'like us' we become an echo chamber, and we loose out on so much of the beautiful variety that makes the human race so special.

Now I know that it's not comfortable for everyone to step into spaces that we are unfamiliar with, and it's definitely not something that (most people) are comfortable with for the bulk of their practice, but I do feel that it's important to try to broaden your experiences as much as you are able to.  The more we can interact with people who are different to us, the more we enrich all of our lives!

I recently joined a witchcraft group that is very different to any I have been a part of.  Firstly, the age range is highly tilted towards people who are much younger than I am.  And while it is definitely intimidating, it's also hugely fascinating.  

I think age is one of those categories that we are socialized to limit ourselves within.  From early school days, we are lumped together with people 'in the same year', and making friends outside your year wasn't as socially acceptable as hanging out with people in the same year as you.  We carry this into adulthood (though our range does widen a bit), and many people spend most of their time socializing with others who are roughly their own age.

In some ways this makes sense, because you share a historic perspective...people your age have lived through the same stuff you have, they grew up during the same time and thus have a similar perspective.  Spending time with people younger or older than you (by more than a few years) is almost like learning a new language and definitely like stepping into a different culture.

Beyond age differences, spending time with people who walk different paths humanizes practices in a way that looking in from the outside (doing academic research and the like) will struggle to accomplish.  It shifts your brain from thinking about things in a clinical way and into thinking about things in a personal way.  

And that is something that I think we really need to lean into and embrace!  People are widely varied and we have so many lovely unique ways of facing the world, but underneath it we all share many commonalities, and it's SO  much easier to understand practices that feel very foreign to you when you have connected with someone who actually lives those practices.

Especially in this modern age, where everything is changing so quickly, I feel like socializing with people who are different (whether that means in age, in where they live in the world, in what path they walk or any number of other differences we may see in the people around us) lets us tap into the pulse of the current moment.  It lets you see how things have changed, especially for those of us who have been practicing for a while.

The conversations people are having today, about their practices, are both similar and so very different, from the conversations that people were having when I first started.  The discourse around culture and ancestry is constantly evolving, and when we talk about cultural differences, we absolutely need to have voices from within the cultures being talked about.  

I see my practice as a living practice.  It changes as I change, it grows and evolves when I learn new things.  I don't want to be someone who clings to a stagnant path simply because it's how I learned to walk it...I want to embrace the learning and growing we've done as a society and to listen to the voices that have been silenced for so long.

I don't think it's necessary to toss away my familiar practices in order to open myself to new ones, but I do appreciate any time spent with people who are in a different place than I am (whether that means they are a different age, walk a different path, live in a different part of the world or are a different gender/sexuality).  I find it really rewarding to be in spaces that let people of widely different circumstances interact....the conversations are amazing!

So even if you have a very established practice and are comfortable and happy with it, I think it's well worth it to also reach out and spend time with people who you might not ordinarily interact with.  It helps me stay connected and it enriches my life in ways that I would never have discovered if I stayed within my safe and familiar boundaries.

Quiet Contemplation

 Life is a series of ups and downs, with times of frantic energy and times of stillness.  We just got through the holiday season, which is often very busy.  Many people have additional stresses around this time of year, whether it is due to spending more time with family (who may not 'get' you), or due to money issues, or just trying to get to all the parties!  And after such a busy time, it is often quite soothing to take some time to just...be.

If you already have a meditation practice, or a journalling practice, this could mean taking some extra time to slow down and just contemplate where you are at, right now.  This is a much more passive type of practice though, so there is no need to set a particular focus, just set some time aside to sit and think.

I often feel like we have really lost something in our busy modern life.  There aren't as many moments of stillness or times to just sit and be with ourselves.  There is always something to do, some distraction to keep you busy or something that needs attended to.  And if you wait for quiet moments to occur naturally, you may be waiting quite a while!

Instead, it is useful to schedule some down time.  Mark it in your calendar, make a sign for your door and put your phone on silent (or better yet, put it in another room!), and give yourself permission to take some time to yourself to just think.

It can feel kind of uncomfortable, at first, when you sit down for your quiet time.  And unlike many forms of meditation, you aren't trying to focus your mind one one thing, or keep it blank.  You are actually encouraging your mind to wander down whatever thought trails it wants.  

It can be helpful to have some kind of starting point, and I definitely feel that "how am I, right now," is a great one.  It starts you where you are, but as you know, thoughts are tricky things, and you may find yourself following a thought trail that leads you quite far from your starting point.

It's also perfectly fine to set some boundaries before you start.  If there are things that stress you out when you think about them, and you need a break from that, then absolutely shift your thoughts when those things come up.  There is plenty of time to sit with those uncomfortable thoughts at another time, when you aren't trying to recover from the business of the holidays.

I definitely find that I crave moments of quiet contemplation as my life gets busier.  Especially if I'm spending a lot of time with family (and thus having to put on my 'family face' lol), I find that having some time to just be myself, no apologies and no censoring, can really help me find that inner core of 'me' and gets me ready to go back out and handle whatever needs handled.

I should also point out that it's perfectly fine if you want to daydream as part of your contemplation.  I think daydreams are such amazing ways for us to explore different ways of being.  Maybe you have a favorite book/movie/show and you want to imagine what it would be like if you were part of that world.  Or maybe you always  wondered what it would be like to live as an animal.  Let your mind play in whatever world it wants, especially if your 'real' world is something you feel you need a little bit of a break from.

And there is NOTHING wrong with needing a break from your life sometimes!  It doesn't mean you don't love your people or that you are depressed...in fact knowing that you are stressed and need a break, and then planning time for it and actually taking that break is a very healthy way to handle the tough bits of life without either breaking down or avoiding things.  Just like you might take a rest when you are doing something physically demanding, taking some time for yourself in contemplation allows your mind (and emotions!) to rest, and is often quite refreshing.

So, if you find yourself feeling extra frazzled after the holiday season is over, try giving yourself some time to sit and think.  Let your mind wander, and even play with some daydreaming.  Even a small amount of time can give you that break you need, and allow you to return to your life feeling refreshed!

Purchasing spiritual services

 Exchanging money for spiritual services is definitely nothing new, and unfortunately neither is trying to scam people by offering sham services.  The rise in acceptability of things like tarot or energy work has led to a rash of people who are taking advantage of others who either don't know enough to see who is legit and who isn't or preying on the fears of the unknown.

There are a lot of red flags out there when it comes to spiritual services, but there is also a lot of grey areas.  Sometimes, it's pretty simple to see when someone is taking advantage, but other times it can be harder to pick up on.  At the end of the day, you really have to trust your instincts, and if you get a bad feeling about someone, pass them by!

One of my absolute no-go's is anyone pretending to be someone they are not.  I'm not talking about using a mystical name, as that is not only a well established practice, but often a measure of protection for the person taking on the name (especially if you live in an area where you might not want everyone who knows you (like your family, or your employer) to know that you have this spiritual practice.  

No, what I'm talking about is people who copy other people's profiles, steal someone else's social media photos or claim to be a member of a specific group or tradition (when they clearly are not).  Typically, with a little bit of looking, it's easy to see when someone is straight up copying someone else's profile...they add in an extra letter or punctuation.  And often, these profile scammers will be very aggressive in trying to get you to purchase their services.

When I say they are aggressive, what I'm talking about is when they send out personal messages telling people they 'had a message from spirit that you really need to hear!'  Now, marketing your skills is one thing, but the difference here is that they take it to a personal place (a private message that no one else can see), and it's unsolicited (you may follow their profile or have liked/commented on a post...but you never asked about what kind of services they offer).

Another personal red flag I have is when someone starts pushing for you to buy things when you have already said you can't afford it...if anyone suggests you spend money you don't have, that's a huge warning sign!  Similar to this is if they imply that you should lie to your loved ones about either the service you are getting or the money you spent on it.

I also find it a bit concerning if you purchase a service and they try to sell you other things through fear.  I don't have a problem with them saying something like, "I hope you enjoyed this reading, if you have more questions, I'd be happy to help you with those.  I also offer these other services if you are interested."  However, if they lead with something like this, "I see dark energy around you, there are forces working against you....I can do something about that for a price...." that sends of warning bells to me.

Something that is a bit related, but also very personal, is just the amount being charged.  Everyone has a different budget, so what is out of my price range might not be a big deal to someone else.  I also think it's fine for someone to explain why their service is worth what they are charging (as many things have hidden costs, and also you are often paying for years of experience and expertise).  But this goes back to the point about someone trying to convince you to spend money you don't have...if they try to convince you that you 'need' a particular service that you feel is too expensive, that tends to send me away even quicker.

And sometimes, I feel like people are trying to sell things that not everyone needs.  Things like moon water or blessed crystals.  And sure, there are people who may find these services very convenient (it's like buying pre-chopped produce at the store...it saves you doing the prep work at home), other people may have no need for them, and trying to convince them that your product is something they need is a bit skeevy.

Finally, I do feel that some services just aren't things that you can sell.  I've seen people offer to sell their relationship with a deity or spirit.  That's just weird to me.  That's like trying to sell your friendship...not even trying to sell your friend, but the relationship you have built with your friend.  I'm honestly pretty sure that can't be done.  Doing it with a deity or spirit sounds like a great way to make that deity or spirit mad (I know that if one of my friends came up to me one day and said "Hey, I sold our friendship to this other guy, treat him like you did me from now on," I'd be pretty mad at the both of them)

It can definitely be tricky to figure out who is legit and who is just in it for the money.  And I also know it can be a very fine line to walk as someone who sells spiritual services, because you have to get the word out, you have to keep selling yourself and trying to get people to buy from you.  Hopefully, some of these points will help you see who is honestly trying to help you (through the services they offer you) and who is just trying to use you (and get as much money from you as they can).

Livening up your daily routine

Routine is one of those two edged swords:  routines give us structure, but they can also become boring.  Familiarity brings comfort and it brings mindlessness.  What started as a sacred practice becomes something we just do without thinking about, and sometimes we may even dread it (because it has lost that spark of meaning that made it special).

But many of us, myself included, need routine in some flavor, to be able to function.  If I don't work on building good routines, all my intentions fly out the window and I just flutter around every day and the things that do matter to me never get done (because I completely space out and forget them).  Routine helps me build structure that I use to accomplish the things that are important to me.

I feel like there are two hurdles when it comes to resistance and routines.  When we first start, we may find ourselves reluctant to do something, because we haven't yet built up the habit of doing it.  You are still having to think about the doing of it (not the practice of it, but remembering what you are doing and that you need to do it).  This first hurdle is bypassed by time...you just have to stick with it and keep trying and eventually that routine will become a habit and you won't have to think about doing it anymore, it will just be a thing you do.

The second hurdle comes when things start to stagnate.  Life is change and change leads to growth.  If you don't change and keep doing the same thing every day, you may find that a task you once valued and looked forward to becomes something you drag your feet to do.  It no longer brings you the fulfillment that you once found in it, and you may keep poking at it trying to recapture that feeling you used to get...but typically once you hit this stage, you need to shake things up to make them feel meaningful again.

This is where livening up your routine comes in.  Whatever your daily routine is, when you start to feel bored by it, take some time to sit down and work out what each part of your routine gives you...and how you can shift it around a little.  These shifts need to preserve the heart of the practice, it's the details that can be changed.

Let's say you have the routine of doing a daily draw.  And you like that moment of checking in with yourself, or your guides or the divine (however you work with divination).  But you've been picking a card a day for years, and you are feeling a bit...repetitive.  So you decide to liven things up and alter your practice a bit.

You know you still want to work with divination in some way, but instead of just drawing a card, you may decide you want to work through a challenge (there are a million challenges you can find that include a prompt for every day, so things stay fresh), or maybe you just need to adjust how you think about the card you draw.  If you have been drawing a card as an outlook for the day, maybe you want to use your card to tell you what emotions you need to focus on that day, or you can draw a card and use it as a prompt for gratitude practice.  You could have fun and draw a card and practice looking for symbols from that card throughout your day.  Or maybe you want to use your card as an art inspiration and do something creative that is inspired by the card you drew.

Another simple way to liven up your routine is to change the timing of it.  If you have things you do every morning, you could try doing them at lunch time or before bed.  If you typically do things in a particular order, you can try different orders.  Sometimes you will try something and absolutely hate it...no worries, just change it up again!  You might just land on an even better order than when you started...and if you don't, when you come back to your original order, it will feel fresh again and even more comforting because you tried it in ways that didn't work for you.

One very simple way to liven things up is to find an alternate version of the same practice.  I do this with my daily affirmations when they start feeling stale.  I first start by checking in with the affirmations and making sure they are all still things that I feel are relevant to my life.  Then I think about the wording, and often I'll come up with a new way to say what I am wanting to affirm.  I also do visualization while I say my affirmations, so I'll change up the way that I'm visualizing the affirmation taking hold (I might visualize drinking a potion representing each affirmation, or putting on an article of ritual clothing, or even the affirmations being on my body as sacred art)

The one main thing you need to remember is that by making a choice and changing up your routine, you are NOT giving up on it or failing at your routine and practice.  And not everyone needs to change things up, though I honestly think it's good to do even if you are enjoying your practice....whether the change ends up good or bad, you always learn something!  Some people may need to make small changes very regularly, while others can stick with the same thing for a much longer time before it feels stagnant.  Trust your instincts and when something feels bland or tedious, think about whether a refresh would help bring your focus back to the practice.

Remember, it's all about creating a meaningful practice for you....about doing things that bring you joy and fulfillment and create the life and practice you want and/or need.  And if that means swapping things around, then go for it!  Keep adjusting until you find what works for you, and sometimes fiddle with it just to see what will happen.  You can always go back to your familiar routines (and there is something really satisfying about returning to an old routine that you loved...especially after being away from it for a while).

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.

Variable daily practice

 

I've written before about daily practice, and it's a topic that comes up a lot.  It's something that many people struggle with, and finding a way to practice daily that works for you can be a process!  Now, over the years I've developed a morning and evening routine that works for me, but I always feel like I want to do more.  I'm definitely someone who struggles without structure, but I don't always want my spiritual practice to feel too structured, if that makes sense.

I could list off a whole slew of things I'd 'love' to do daily, as I'm sure many of you can.  But I also feel like if I haven't actually started doing these things daily, maybe I am not quite as called to them as I think I should be.  It's kind of the idea that it if were important enough to me I would find time to do it.  And yet, life often gets in the way, and we find ourselves working with the time we have instead of being able to do all the things we wish we could do.

I also feel like some things just aren't really practices that I need to do every day.  Now here's where I struggle a whole lot.  If I do things on a regular basis, I can remember them.  It's why I blog every Wednesday, because if I just aimed for 'once a week' without setting a particular date, then the odds are I wouldn't blog regularly.  Knowing that it's Wednesday and that means I need to blog makes it something I don't even have to think about, it's just something I do.  

But a lot of spiritual tasks don't really fit into that mundane form of scheduling.  I may feel a need to cleanse more than once a week sometimes, but if I know it's scheduled for a certain day, I might feel it's okay to put it off until it's regularly scheduled day.  Other things just feel weird when scheduled, like working with my ancestors.  I don't want to ever feel like it's a chore, and "It's Friday, so I guess I gotta work with my ancestors today."

I use habit trackers in my daily planner, to help encourage me to build the habits I want to grow into a daily practice.  My daily planner does contain some of my spiritual stuff, but it's mostly just everyday stuff.  My tracker there includes things like:  moving (aka doing something physical for health reasons), reading (engaging my mind), writing (being creative), posting in Ky's Crossroads (building community), and other things like that.  My goal in this tracker is to tick everything on the list off every day.

I've learned to be kind to myself with trackers, and though the goal is to do everything every day, that rarely happens.  But each day is a new opportunity to do each thing, and that works for me.  When it comes to spiritual stuff, I didn't want the goal to be do every thing every day, but rather I wanted to go more fluid.  

This is what I ended up with, and though I've just started it, I am really enjoying it so far.  I made myself a list of the basic categories of 'stuff I do,' things that could be done in a day with no need for previous planning.  Kind of off the cuff practices.

By putting them in a tracker, I can use the list as a springboard for daily practice.  With this tracker, my goal is to do at least one thing every day, but which thing is completely up to what I feel I need that day.  The list becomes a suggestion, ideas for inspiration.

But also, the tracker itself lets me look back over the whole month and see what types of activities I was drawn to, or maybe to see what I hadn't done that I might want to do in the next month.  It's a way to check in with my daily practice and see where I am.

Because I wanted to work on my daily practice, I started what I am calling my Witchy Logbook, which has my variable daily practice tracker in it.  This book is to help me manage my daily practice, all the witchy stuff I may do (or think...more on that in a minute) in a day, and keep it all in one place.

When thinking about a regular spiritual practice, I often come back to the moon cycle.  I love how it naturally flows through a whole cycle of work, and gives structure without being too strict.  I had an image saved on my computer of this version of a moon cycle, which I really loved and wanted to work with, so it's the first thing I put into my book.  I really like how it alternates yin and yang for each of the phases, so there are active and passive spaces built in.  I also love how it has little affirmations for each, to help remind me of what the energy of that phase is.

Then, because I kind of wanted some other type of reference on the opposite page, I copied in this rune poem I had found.  Again, it's just something I really liked and thought would be fun to have in my book.  I'm still thinking of this book as my everyday carry (my daily planner really isn't an EDC, it's a "lives on my desk where I work" book), so having things in the book I might want to reference regularly just fits.

  I also knew I'd want to have a key, or some way to find specific things I might be looking for.  I remember finding this method of indexing (because I didn't want to do page numbers and traditional indexing), where you color code a strip on the edge of the page, then you can just fan your pages and look for pages with the color you want on them.  If you look closely, you can see that the first page is coded for Reference, as it has the moon cycle info and rune poem on it.  As I love symbols, I also added in some symbols so I can see what a particular line might include.

 

Then I get into the meat of the log book, where the daily work really lives.  As you can see in the cover image, I highlight the date line, to separate different days, and then I add in notes or thoughts or records of what I did that day.  When I started this book, I really didn't know how I wanted to use it beyond 'spiritual BuJo style log', so there are lots of orange 'ideas', where I was just thinking about what might work and brainstorming.  I did know that I wanted to note the moon phase, so I drew that in after every day line.

There are a few things I tried that I am definitely going to be continuing.  I am doing daily intentions, making a conscious effort to set my energy for the day.  I am writing down prayers and ancestor communication (and may get into write and respond with this, we'll see).  I am keeping notes on my moon work, on how I am working with the different phases as they come along.

And I love having all my future ideas handy, so I can read back through them and see what I might like to try, when I'm feeling like doing something brand new.  I'm going to have to figure out a way to note when I've worked with something, but for now, just having all those ideas gets me excited!

I still feel like this is a practice I'm growing, and yet I'm really loving it so far.  I feel like having a variable aspect to my larger daily practice really encourages me to branch out, to do different things and to go with how I am feeling instead of simply following a strict schedule.  I love being able to look back and see what I did on different days. 

I think the most important takeaway from this idea of variable daily practices is that we each have to find ways to practice that works for us and our life.  And that may mean breaking the mold a little bit and trying different things to see if one of them takes hold.  Daily practice is an established thing, both in the spiritual word and in my own life, and yet I felt like having a set daily routine wasn't fully serving my needs, and so adding in this log and the variable practice tracker lets me expand and adjust in ways that a set daily practice simply doesn't.  So, if you are looking for more out of your daily practice, and this idea of a variable practice sounds interesting, give it a try!