Tag Archives: Witchcraft

Books, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: What is your favorite witchy book, both fiction and non-fiction. Why?

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This post was inspired by Question #39 from this list.

I am a huge fan of Terry Pratchett’s books about Tiffany Aching. I listened to The Wee Free Men on audio-book over fifteen years ago. The thing I love about these books is that it actually downplays magic as part of what witches do and explores what it means to be a witch in terms of mindset as well as other ideas, such as the importance and power of stories.

In the realm of non-fiction, I would say that my favorite book is just about anything written by Diana Paxson, who I suspect might not refer to herself as a witch. But whether you’re talking about her tome on runes or her guide to deity possession, she offers a lot of helpful information for many witches (though I admit atheist witches may find her less helpful) can access easily. Paxson tends to be well-researched, has personal experience to offer, and writes in a style that is easy to follow.

Paganism, Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: How do you incorporate your spirituality into your daily life?

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This post was inspired by Question #37 from this list.

I think a huge portion of everyday spirituality was covered by my podcast episode on the everyday sacred. Much of working my spirituality into daily life is just doing little things to help me remember that I and everyone and everything around me is sacred. This is reflecting in the fact that the coworker I’m talking to is another part of the Sacred Whole (so maybe I should rethink how I’m treating them). Or taking a moment to check in with my body, thanking it for getting me through the day so far, and asking if there’s anything I can do to keep it going.

Everyday spirituality also comes in those moments when I chant “Hail Freyja! Feed the flames!” and seek to rekindle my passion for and enjoyment of life.

Everyday spirituality is easy when you make spirituality about living and life.

Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: What is your favorite type of magick to preform?

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This post was inspired by Question #36 from this list.

I tend to prefer keeping my magic simple. I’m not the kind of person who comes up with complex rituals with lots of wordy chants, spell components, and complex instructions. Most often, I prefer to just visualize my objective and send that out into into the universe with a few words. Or I might light a candle or two if I feel the need to have something more concrete to focus on or do.

Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: What is your favorite season?

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This post was inspired by Question #35 from this list.

I grew up in Tioga County of Pennsylvania, not far from the Pennsylvania Grand Canyon, which is well-known for its fall foliage. (To be honest, the image in that article doesn’t do it justice.) It was always a delight to watch the trees go from green to being adorned in halos of red and gold. It’s a sight that I still occasionally enjoy going home briefly to catch a glimpse of.

Another thing I love about the fall is the weather here in the Northeastern United States. We’ve escaped the heat of July and August, but are not yet to the bitter cold temperatures of December through February. This is a time of year where our light jackets reappear and you can run around outside. It’s like Spring, but usually more dry. And you get the view of the lovely leaves.

There’s also that sense that the world is slowing down again, ready to go dormant, which appeals to my too-busy mind. (Seriously, I wish my often over-active brain would learn to be more like the earth in the Fall.) To me, that time of year offers the promise of rest. I am a bear, maybe even hibernation. Wouldn’t that be nice?

Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you meditate?

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This post was inspired by Question #34 from this list.

One of the practices I’ve ben trying to work on regularly is just spending a few minutes connecting with my body. I will close my eyes and try to calm my mind. Then I will breathe deeply and focus on my body. I try to get a feeling for each muscle in my body and gauge its state and how it is feeling at that moment. This is an important exercise for me because I’m the kind of person who gets “stuck in my head” a lot and forgets to pay attention to my body, how it feels, and what it’s trying to communicate with me.

Another thing that I’ve been doing lately — though other distractions have gotten in the way for the past week or so — is light a candle and start out by reading this invocation to Freyja, Afterward, I’ll sit there and think and repeat “Hail Freyja! Fan the flames!” in my mind like a mantra as I try to feel her passion and zeal for life rise in my body.

Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Would you ever teach witchcraft to your children?

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This post was inspired by Question #33 from this list.

I suppose that if I were to have kids — Joe and I both agree that we do not really see them in our future — I would approach this topic the same way that I approach sharing my wisdom, knowledge, and advice with other people in my life.

I would not try to convince my kids to become witches, let alone try to get them to practice witchcraft exactly the way that I do. Instead, i would rather focus on encouraging my kids to develop their own ethical framework — which I consider the most important thing in the world — and then consider them to explore the world and indulge in their own curiosity as they see fit. If that means they express an interest in the Craft, I will gladly share my wisdom with them and find any other resources that they may find helpful and enjoyable.

But in the end, my attitude toward any spiritual or magical practice they chose will be to make sure that it honors the dignity of all and otherwise let them be.

Paganism, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you celebrate the Sabbats? If so which one is your favorite?

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This post was inspired by Question #32 from this list.

I’ve always had a complicated relationships with the Sabbats. A few of them, I feel some sense of connection with at least some level. The others, however, don’t really resonate with me personally.

Samhain always resonates with them, as it reminds me of the ancestors and those who have gone before me. It gives me a time to think of them, honor them, and even seek out their wisdom at a special time.

Yule has also always held something for me. The image of the return of the light in the midst of the darkness, not quite ready to take charge, speaks to me. I’ve often enjoyed just looking at a single candle burning in an otherwise dark room and consider this mystery.

I have a certain love of Easter as the perfect balance and tension between the light and dark and the creativity it considers. This is also the time of year where I think of the Norse creation myth and how the fires of Muspelheim and the frost of Niflheim meet to form (or uncover) the first primal beings. It reminds me that while their may be a sense of duality, both are always necessary and work together.

And of course, I cannot be a devotee of the goddess of sexy times and passion without having some sense of love for the most sexual of the Sabbats, Beltane. To me, that is a time to really appreciate our sexuality and our full embodiment.

Memories, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: What is something you wish someone had told you when you first started?

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This post was inspired by Question #31 from this list.

I feel like my journey into the Craft was pretty perfect. Or at least perfectly planned. Sure, there’s part of me who wonders if I could have taken a more direct route to where I wound up if someone had, for example, suggested I read Gerald Gardner’s books sooner. But then I wonder, would I have been ready for his books any sooner? Or would that have turned me off and sent me down an even more circuitous route than the one I eventually took. And would I have missed important things by bypassing my forays into eclectic Wicca (and possibly Druidry)? How would I have met Freyja if I had somehow skipped over my friend Mike pushing me toward Asatru?

If anything, the lesson I could have benefited from had it come right from the beginning is to just trust the journey and have faith that I and those who worked with me would get me to where I needed to go no matter what.

Spiritual Development, Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you have a spirit guide? If so, what is it?

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This post was inspired by Question #30 from this list.

When it comes to everyday stuff, I tend to work most closely with Freyja. She’s the closest I have to a regular guide, as she offers me advice and guidance along with instructions on what she wants me to do as her devotee.

I have also communicated with various ancestral spirits and nature spirits, though not through anything so formal as a spirit guide relationship. I’ve also spoken with other gods in a more “one off” sort of situation.

Of course, I think one of the most interesting encounters I had was when a Norn decided to sit in with me during a rune reading I gave a friend a reading. The Norn didn’t identify herself beyond a simple statement of “I am Norn,” said in a tone that made it clear that I did not deserve nor should I expect any further details or elaboration on the point. It turned out to be a very profound reading for my friend, which probably explains why one of the keepers of wyrd herself decided to participate.

Witchcraft

Witchy Questions: Do you consider yourself a psychic?

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This post was inspired by Question #29 from this list.

I’ll be honest. I think most people that call themselves psychics are pretentious windbags who are mostly just stroking their own egos and trying to lord their being “special” over others.

I prefer to say that I have some psychic ability. I think most people have some psychic ability and can develop and refine it to some degree. Personally, i am highly empathic. i also have some ability as a medium, though I’m not nearly as sensitive in that area as others I have worked with. I also took a psychic development course and found I have some capacity for distance seeing. But mostly, I focus on my intuitive side when doing a tarot reading or rune reading for myself or friends.