I’ve been sitting with my thoughts about Laura Tempest Zakroff’sVisual Alchemy: A Witch’s Guide to Sigils, Art & Magic for about a week now. After all, what can I possibly say about this powerhouse of an artist and witch that hasn’t been said before? Anyone even remotely aware of her work already knows she’s an amazing creatrix and a much-loved and vital contributor to our community.
Visual Alchemy is a follow-up work to Zakroff’s Sigil Witchery: A Witch’s Guide to Crafting Magick Symbols, in which she introduces her method of crafting symbols. That’s a book I haven’t read because I’ve never really done much with sigils – I tend to find them confusing and, although I can intellectually grasp the concept, I’ve never felt intimately connected to sigils I’ve seen. So, when Visual Alchemy came my way I came to its teachings as a tabula rasa – a reader with no preconceived notions beyond my own puzzlement.
I found this book to be enormously satisfying, particularly Part One: Create. In her first chapter, Zakroff quotes Elizabeth Gilbert’s Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear, and this quote quite suddenly snapped a sigil connection into place for me:
I believe that our planet is inhabited not only by animals and plants and bacteria and viruses, but also by ideas. Ideas are a disembodied, energetic life-form. […]. Ideas have no material body, but they do have consciousness, and they most certainly have will. Ideas are driven by a single impulse: to be made manifest. And the only way an idea can be made manifest in our world is through collaboration with a human partner.
Elizabeth Gilbert, as cited by Laura Tempest Zakroff (p. 29)
With elegant and straightforward prose, Zakroff guides her readers through the Sigil Witchery method of identifying a goal or issue, sandboxing the marks to include in the sigil, and designing what you’ve come up with to represent that goal or the issue’s solution. She generously shares her creative process, and breaks down and explains the reasoning that helps a sigil-maker get from a blank space to a finished sigil that is throbbing with the potential and power you’ve imbued it with.
Throughout the book she includes the perspectives and art of guest contributors. As a result, the reader feels fully welcomed into the community as a person who is capable of creating prophetic art. Zakroff encourages her readers to cast off the shackles of severe self-judgment or self-criticism. “The understanding,” she writes, “comes in the doing, not in the labeling.” (p. 19) She challenges readers to question any previously held notions about art, and to focus on the process (“do the thing!”) rather than the end result.
The second half of the book, Collaborate, covers communal sigil work as a form of shared magic-making. Included are several (over 50!) public sigils that can either be utilized as is or serve as inspirations for your own creations. Their applications cover personal (good health, time management), communal (defense of transfolx, refugee safeguard), environmental (containing wildfires, protection of water), and a wide array of additional concerns.
Visual Alchemy is a terrific addition to your Laura Tempest Zakroff shelf. You’ll come away feeling confident, empowered, and ready to manifest your will through the creation of the sigils that you bring into life. Really, one of the most transformative books I’ve read.
The Book of Mermaid Magicis the latest offering by Leeza Robertson, whose previous works include A Year of Angel Guidance, Tarot Reversals for Beginners, The Divine Practice of Angel Numbers, and several other books. Leeza has also written the guide books for Mermaid Tarot, Cirque du Tarot, and Animal Totem Tarot.
In the Introduction to Mermaid Magic she writes:
Your mermaid heart, that piece of you that yearns for the water, needs to know who it is and how to express itself in the world of the two-legged. […] This mermaid heart beats within you as a frequency, a vibration that is looking for a match – a mermaid match, if you will.
In this book Leeza presents the Mermaid Pantheon that she has created, consisting of eight archetypes that have a hierarchical relationship with each other and each of which have their own chapter. These chapters include devotional, ritual, healing, and spellwork exercises designed to connect you to the energies of the mermaid archetypes that most align with your own personal merfolk energy.
As part of her system, Leeza also associates each member of the Mermaid Pantheon with a particular chakra, a complex and ancient energy system that originated in India and was first mentioned in the Vedas, written between 1500 – 1000 BCE. She’s very clear that The Book of Mermaid Magic is not a book about chakras; however, chakra work is integral to the book. Leeza reminds her readers that she has been “incredibly selective with the [chakra] content” she has included in the text, and offers her book Tarot Healer as a resource for further reading. I would also encourage readers to do some additional research on the origins of the chakras that is seated in a non-Western (that is, not a Theosophical or New Age) point of view.
The chapters include a Cartomancy section, presenting a particular Tarot card that aligns with each mermaid archetype. Places of power and moon phases that are specific to each archetype are also explored. Overall, the author has created an internally consistent Pantheon that readers who are looking to connect with water energies will enjoy learning about and building a mermaid-centered practice around. Leeza makes a point of telling readers that although the book might feel feminine in nature, “merfolk do not organize themselves into dual aspects of gender. Instead, they believe in personalized self-expression; they have a come-as-you-are type of philosophy when it comes to self-identification.” Accordingly, the book presents as non-binary.
The Book of Mermaid Magic is available for pre-order through Llewellyn Publishing and is due to be published December 2022.
When you cease to learn new information or are insistent on doing things the way you have always done them, you are, in effect, disempowering yourself from more effectively enacting change in the modern world. (p.70)
Warrior Magic: Justice Spirituality and Culture from Around the World is a deeply satisfying read. The book is dedicated to Ares in the hope that he may “continue to fight alongside us […] as we hold the line against injustice”. Prower calls his readers to join him on a mission of combating the systemic wrongs we see and experience in the world, and then equips us for that unending battle by examining the history of justice warriors across both ancient and modern civilizations.
To that end he covers cultural histories, deities, and legends of the greater Middle East, Sub-Saharan Africa and the lands of the African Diaspora, Europe, India and Southeast Asia, East Asia, Oceana, and the Americas. Reading through these chapters is like settling in by the fireside for an intimate chat with one of your favorite cultural anthropologists. Prower’s prose is engaging and at times quite lyrical, which makes Warrior Magic difficult to put down.
Each chapter begins with a brief cultural history of the inhabitants of particular geographical region, followed by a “Takeaway” for the reader to incorporate into their own justice magic. For example, in the Mesoamerica section of the chapter on Latin America, Prower examines what we may learn from the Mexica culture and warriors, whose experiences might be aligned with lessons learned from the Wheel of Fortune:
[T]heir culture lived through a complete rotation of the wheel of fortune. Starting off as a wandering band of persecuted refugees from northern Mexico, they settled on a new homeland and, through severe violence and merciless brutality, became the most powerful empire in the region. They were on top of the world, their rule was universal law, and no one came close to threatening them thanks to the overbearing power of their military. (p. 291)
They thought they could never be defeated, yet the people they oppressed hated them so passionately that when the Spanish colonizers invaded, they joined up with them to defeat the Mexica, thus bringing about the fall of the Aztec empire. The “Takeaway” that Prower offers to his readers is to “train yourself to become aware that no victory or defeat lasts forever, and a reversal of fortune awaits commoner, emperor, and warrior alike”. (p. 291)
“No victory or defeat lasts forever.” Public domain image by Carabo via Pixabay.
In the chapter on Latin America I also gained a more culturally nuanced understanding of one of my favorite childhood Christmas traditions, Las Posadas. As a child in San Antonio, Texas, I remember all of the emphasis on this nine-day festival during which children reenact the journey of Mary and Joseph as they search for a room at an inn. In Warrior Magic I learned that the Mexica warrior god Huitzilopochtli was celebrated during the ancient Aztec empire’s month that occurred around the same time as what we now call December. The Spanish conquerors overlaid the Mexica’s existing days-long ritual celebrating Huitzilopochtli’s winter solstice birth with the Catholic Las Posadas celebration, an act of cultural appropriation that is still going strong today.
Throughout the book Prower also invites other social justice warriors to share some of their insights on how they equip themselves to be effective agents for real change in our world today. Katrina Rasbold’s section on Brujería is one such dynamic speak-truth-to-power moment:
My Wiccan friends wince when they visit and see the kinds of spell work I have cooking on the altar for other people. What they don’t get is that an attitude of “harm none” comes from a place of tremendous privilege. The intent is admirable, but when it comes to practical application, sometimes you burn down the house and salt the earth to build something better. “Harming none” presumes that you are comfortable with a repeated beat down and doing nothing about it. (p. 317)
Warrior Magic is a compelling, inspirational book that will equip those who identify as social justice warriors as they engage in the seemingly unending battle against systemic oppression, legislatures that continue to pass laws that strip away our personal freedoms and rights, and a worldwide rise of fascism and authoritarianism. This book will strengthen your resolve and renew your energy to keep fighting so that the arc of the universe bends toward justice. Buy one copy for yourself and a second for a friend so that you may both become warriors for equality and peace, then go out and be the change you seek in the world.
I recently came across What’s Your Big Three? How Sun, Moon & Rising Signs Reveal Who You Really Areby astrological counselor Andrea Taylor. Don’t let its compact size (5×7) fool you! This mighty little book is packed full of useful and, at least in my case, sharply accurate information. (And, why no, I didn’t feel at all called out when I read her insights regarding my moon sign; why do you ask? Also, I apparently owe everyone who’s in relationship with me profound appreciation for sticking it out because oh dear. But enough about me ….)
The book is arranged in four straightforward chapters: Sun Signs, Moon Signs, Rising Signs, and Sun and Moon Sign Combinations. Taylor includes a brief introduction describing what a birth chart is, how to determine your Sun, Moon, and Rising Signs, and why they’re important in figuring out what makes you tick and may give you some awareness of why others may behave as they do.
Long-time practitioners who are skilled in astrology may not find this book as engaging as I did. For those of us who know next to nothing or very little about astrology and its impact on our lives, What’s Your Big Three? is a very friendly and informative introduction to the field. I appreciate Taylor’s tone, which is never pandering or ponderous. She treats her readers as intelligent seekers who sincerely want to learn more about astrology.
I found Chapter Four particularly interesting. Taylor writes, “[T]he sun embodies our outer persona and the moon relates to our inner emotions, but sometimes we have suns and moons that are so different we have difficulty reconciling our life drive (sun) and our emotional needs (moon).” (p. 169). Her understanding of my particular combination is uncomfortably spot-on. (Let’s face it, I have a difficult moon – apologies, all!)
Because I am in love with the production team at Llewellyn, I have to give a shout-out to cover designer Shira Atakpu, who has incorporated symbols representing each of the Signs into a visually pleasing composition that also relates directly to the book’s topic.
What’s Your Big Three is available for pre-order and should be coming to your local metaphysical store in the next few weeks. This is a tidy little reference book about astrology that is beginner-friendly and written in down-to-earth, accessible language. It’s a terrific addition to your witchy bookshelf!
Heading into the dark half of the year, the ancestors are once again calling to me in a louder voice. Or perhaps it is simply that my ears are more attuned to the wisdom they share as I walk further into my journey as Crone and more deeply question my place as an elder in the web of life.
Finding Kinship
My spiritual practice includes indigenous North American traditions from my mother’s far past ancestors. Even though I am nowhere close to the quantum blood requirement (imposed by our government and not at all in keeping with the indigenous culture), a dear friend who belongs to a band of Ojibwe brought me into her ways. I was welcomed by others, included in ceremony and named by an elder. Their recognition of me makes perfect sense as I begin to understand more about the practice of Right Relations, and struggle to embody the ways that honor this culture.
Indigenous Native American culture encourages staying in Right Relation with all living things. Photo by petr sidorov on Unsplash.
Most North American Indigenous cultures believe that we are all related, not just humans, but all living things. We “two-legged” are but one part of the whole. While author Jamie Sams focuses specifically on the feminine aspect of spirituality in her book, The Thirteen Original Clan Mothers, I believe her introduction to the concept of being in right relation provides insight to this kinship.
“Talks With Relations is the Clan Mother of the first moon cycle and the Keeper of learning the truth. This Cycle falls in January and is understood through finding kinship with all life. Talks With Relations’ teachers are the Allies of nature: the Four Winds of Change, the Cloud People, the Thunder-beings, the Creature-beings, the Tree People, the Plant People, the Little People (Devas/Fairies), the Stone People, the Clan Chiefs of Air, Earth, Water and Fire, as well as all other life forms. These relatives of our Planetary Family are our teachers as well.”
— Jamie Samms
Do No Harm
The teaching tells us the importance of understanding and respecting the ways of all living things so that we may enjoy a good life. Being in right relationship requires cultivating an open mind, possessing self-awareness, and practicing humility, acceptance, respect and forgiveness.
Native American culture also holds the belief that honoring our ancestors has a direct bearing on our earthly walk. Additionally, all actions are considered for the effect on the next seven generations. In this way, as elders are guide the community, they are in the position of holding space between the ancestors and descendants.
Elders light the way between past and present, holding space between ancestors and descendants. Photo by Javad Esmaeili on Unsplash.
A True Understanding Of The Ancestors
Fetishizing the ancestors as being all wise, compassionate and faultless, presumes that dying suddenly bestows them with qualities they may not have embraced in life.
If your ancestors were not brutal or cunning, chances are you wouldn’t be here. Image credit A-Z Quotes.
As author Linda Hogan said, “you are the result of the love of thousands.” Somewhere among those thousands, your ancestors were cunning and brutal; they had to be in order to survive. If they didn’t survive, it follows that you would not be here. I believe it’s important to acknowledge these two facts if you are a witch working with ancestors.
You can certainly choose not to work with ancestors you know have caused harm, but honestly, who has walked this earth and not done some harm? If you cancel any of your near departed ancestors because of their toxic or abusive behavior in life, yet work with distant ancestors you really don’t know, you are selectively bypassing this fact.
I see two ways then, to work honestly with ancestors. You can accept their flaws and any attendant risks that come with that. For example, when I honor my ancestors I ask for their wisdom and courage to guide me—knowing that in some cases their wisdom may have manifested as guileful and their courage may have been barbarous, but also knowing I can temper that to my values.
Or, you can include healing work in your practice with the ancestors. In Healing Your Ancestors, I wrote about the importance of forgiveness in healing generational trauma, starting with self-forgiveness, followed by those who have directly harmed you, and finally forgiving the deceased for the harm they caused in their lifetime. Doing this work to heal your ancestors, known and unknown, can greatly enhance your ancestral connections and practice.
A Broken Link In The Chain
When you perpetuate the myth of innocent ancestors by refraining from working with those who were flawed, you are also creating an unrealistic standard of perfection for the elders among us—the next ancestors, not to mention reinforcing an already strong bias of agism.
As Samhain approaches, I’m giving thought to being in right relation as it applies to the ancestors and, more importantly, how I’m holding that sacred space between past and future generations in the continuum of my bloodline. I’m also looking at how our youth-centered culture in America holds space for elders. We cannot disrespect our elders and expect to appeal to our ancestors with any success.
Are we, as society, in right relation with our elders? Are we caring for their needs? Are we compassionate and generous with resources and time? When they become old and frail, do we care for them lovingly in our homes, the way they cared for us as infants and children? Or do we force them to rid themselves of all but their most essential personal possessions and tuck them away into closet-sized rooms in senior residences and care facilities?
Even before that, are parents becoming disposable once their job of raising the kids is done? Increasing numbers of adult children are estranging their parents, or severely limiting contact with them. Research indicates that 1 in 4 American adults has become estranged from their family. In a New York Times column David Brooks says, “At least 27 percent of Americans are estranged from a member of their own family, and research suggests about 40 percent of Americans have experienced estrangement at some point.”
This exodus seems to be supported by many in the therapy community who take one-sided stories from their clients of toxic or abusive parents at face value. Rather than encouraging family counseling, they oftentimes recommend limited contact and estrangement in the guise of healthy boundaries.
A large part of this phenomena seems to be a generational difference of opinion in what constitutes abuse, or even disrespect of boundaries. Let me state unequivocally that there are parents so abusive, so overbearing, so unaccepting of their children or their children’s lifestyle, and so critical, that distance and estrangement may be the only solution. But it doesn’t explain the growing number of parents being ghosted by their adult children.
Studies show that the increasing incidence of estrangement initiated by adult children is much more a power struggle than self-protection from abuse, past or present. Experts point out that rather than resolving grievances with their parents, these adult children simply flip the table to hold all the power. Do as the adult children want—or rather don’t dare do anything to displease them—if you want to keep them and your grandchildren in your life.
Social conditioning furthers the trend. The popular culture of the X, Y and Millennial generations portrayed parents as selfish, lame, out of touch and boorish (if not hopelessly bigoted and racist). Television shows like Friends and Seinfeld painted parents as hopeless buffoons and overly critical. Sex in the City all but ignored parents or any life before taking a bite of the big apple. Despite four weddings throughout the series run, there was nary a parent around to give a bride away or pose for portraits.
Now, social platforms like Instagram and Twitter contain tens of thousands of posts urging young people to cut ties with their “toxic” parents, even providing step by step exit strategies. The only wish of many of the adult children banishing their parents is that the parents do “something” to amass a financial legacy that will pay for the lifelong therapy they have necessitated for their children.
As a crone, I speak often of the difference between power of and power over. One is autonomy, the other is codependency and the desire to control others. It may be that these young adults feel so powerless in the chaotic world they live in (a circumstance they frequently lay at the feet of the older generation) that they have seized the only power they feel they truly have— access to their life. But this is not power. They are only avoiding their own emotional work, their shadow journey.
In his op-ed for the Los Angeles Times, Galit Atlas says, “After estrangement, adult children are not suddenly less dependent. In fact, they feel abandoned and betrayed, because in the unconscious, it doesn’t matter who is doing the leaving; the feeling that lingers is one of ‘being left.’ They carry the ghosts of their childhood, confronting the emotional reality that those who raised us can never truly be left behind, no matter how hard we try. They live inside us, even without our permission. This is something that can never be canceled.”
Estranging parents cannot be truly canceled, they live inside us. Image by Stefan Keller from Pixabay.
All Means All
The first pillar of witchcraft is To Know. The highest order of business for a witch is to know self and seek truth. Without this unvarnished honesty, without confronting your shadow, you will never truly reach your full power.
Further, the practice of manifesting that which we desire has everything to do with being in right relation to the sacredness of all life. We cannot make wise choices and take sustaining action for our children’s children when we cancel out one of the generations along our bloodline in what amounts to a power struggle.
This is where the craft hits the mystery of the cauldron head on, where you take a long hard look at your relationship with your parents, and towards aging and elders in general, instead of just giving lip service to the sacredness of all life. All means all.
If you’ve cut your parents off, or keep them at arm’s length, control all your contact, screen calls and texts, and spend little time with them, is it really because they were abusive or are toxic? Or, might you have low distress tolerance, experiencing disproportionate unpleasant or negative emotions from relatively mild levels of stress? Is there truly a failure to communicate, or are you just avoiding the hard conversations and truths? Might you be able to achieve right relationship with a bit of work, or family therapy?
Finally, can you honestly say you’ve made the transition from their child to your own adult? Have you established firm boundaries, without the need to cut off all contact? I allowed my parents to dispense all the unasked advice they chose—to me, in private (never in front of my children or spouse) and with the understanding that I was free to take it or leave it.
That was my true power—the choice to do as I pleased. I did not have to demonstrate control by excluding them from my life. Did they still drive me crazy sometimes? Yes, as I’m sure I did them. Did I spend time with them when I’d have rather been elsewhere? Yes, not because I owed them anything, but because I loved them and recognized they had needs, as we all do. It’s not about what you owe, or rather don’t owe your parents. Loving relationships don’t work on keeping score.
And what about your attitude toward elders and the older generation in general? Are you sharing memes and stereotypes that trash Boomers? Do you blame previous generations for all of your challenges, for all that is wrong with the world?
Every generation has inherited the mistakes of the previous one—you are not alone in this. The Greatest Generation were handed not one, but two world wars started by their elders. As children and young adults they lived through the crash of the economy, the climate crisis we know as the Dust Bowl, and the Great Depression—unlike any we have experienced since and without the social safety nets we have in place.
In response, they built the middle class, safe working conditions, created those social safety nets, and fought for education opportunities. They also manifested the leisure culture we take for granted, 8-hour work days, 5-day work weeks, vacation time, and retirement—something their parents had never been able to consider without the benefit of Social Security and Medicare.
Boomers fought for equal education and employment rights for minorities, women and the disabled. They brought protection of our resources and environment to the forefront. And they made enormous strides in bringing mental health, domestic and childhood abuse, and systemic racism out of the shadows.
Shaping the world has never been done without hard work at least, and upheaval at worst. You are living in Tower times—the old ways are being toppled to make way for the new. To disregard everything the elders have accomplished for your betterment, in favor of clinging to the mistakes they made (as you too will make) is not only a grave injustice, but a hindrance to inheriting the full power of your witchcraft.
My journey to finding right relationship with all that is sacred will never be completed in this earthly life, but as I walk further into my elder years, as I deepen my connection to the ancestors, I am being made aware of the importance of granting some grace to those who have come before us, for the sake of those to come after us.
Lately, I have been experiencing a lot of transitions in my life. In addition to the general chaos that this world has been experiencing for quite some time now, I find myself experiencing changes and loss on a level that is unusual for me.
I have family members who are dealing with some critical health issues. My son is getting ready to go into the military and I will be an empty nester for the first time. I have lost several loved ones over the past two years and my own underlying health conditions make this current pandemic a bit scary.
I feel untethered and my anxiety is in overdrive. Public domain image by 1239652 via Pixabay.
I am also pondering opportunities for myself that would result in my future looking different than it does now. Normally I adapt well to change but faced with this much uncertainty hitting me all at once from a variety of angles has left me feeling untethered and has put my anxiety into overdrive.
I am what you would call a “high functioning” person with anxiety. Unless you really know me well, you likely won’t see any symptoms of my anxiety nor does my anxiety interfere with my ability to carry out my day-to-day responsibilities. It does, however, make ironically for exhaustion on the weekends and many sleepless nights.
A friend of mine suggested that I get back to a more formal daily practice. I almost brushed off the suggestion until she pointed out that having something consistent in my life right now could really help. As she put it, I might need a reliable anchor that I can look forward to every day that can ground me in the midst of all of this uncertainty.
In pondering this suggestion, I realized that while I read, write, and think about my spiritual beliefs on a daily basis, I have been lacking in any formal spiritual practice for quite some time and this undoubtedly has had somewhat of an impact on my outlook as well. I was reminded of a pilgrimage I did in Glastonbury in 2017. Every day was filled with some sort of spiritual activity, be it meditation, ritual, divination or traveling to sacred sites. I recall one moment in particular as I was sitting in the Cross Bath waters in Bath, England, participating in a guided visualization.
I recall one moment in particular as I was sitting in the Cross Bath waters in Bath, England. Public domain image by Aquilaten via Pixabay.
At some point in the meditation it dawned on me that rather than experiencing daily low energy due to a rare medical condition I have, I had been much more energetic and had felt greater vitality throughout this trip. The major difference between the way I spent my day on this trip as opposed to my usual daily routine was that the majority of my time was spent connecting to spirit in some way, shape or form. Just participating in daily spiritual practice helped me to feel an improved level of stamina as well as feeling more relaxed and grounded. The reality, of course, is that most of us don’t have the luxury of spending the majority of our day engrossed in a spiritual practice.
At times, I am a perfectionist and I can have an all or nothing mentality. I therefore had to manage my expectations and change my perspective to accept that even a simple, brief formal spiritual practice can have a powerful impact in helping me to feel more anchored and less anxious given my current circumstances. I started out by simply sitting in front of my altar and communing with one of my favorite goddesses, Rhiannon. I sat at the altar and shared some of my frustrations and then I simply listened. While I was only there for 5-10 minutes, I immediately felt a sense of calm and steadiness that had eluded me just moments before.
I would like to get back to spending more time on longer activities such as formal ritual. Yet, in the midst of the chaos that is my life right now, I have come to understand that having a “tool kit” of formal daily spiritual practices that take no more than 10 minutes may be the lifejacket I need to keep myself and my mental health afloat.
Below are what I like to call my 7 “fun size” daily spiritual practice anchors. Having a variety to choose from each day helps to ensure that I don’t get in a rut and that I can choose an activity to fit my current timeframe and location. While 10 minutes may not seem like a lot of time, the simple act of sacrificing and dedicating a small amount of your time in this way can be quite impactful.
I simply sit at my altar or shrine and am still. Photo by the author.
Altar or Shrine Visitation
This one is pretty simple and is the first practice I started with. I may light candles and incense to set my intention and then I simply sit at my altar or shrine and be still. If I am working with a particular deity, I may reach out to that deity for guidance or just to re-establish my relationship with them. Like any mundane relationship, spending more intentional time together can help you get to know your deity better and strengthen the bond. You might also spend this time meditating or doing a guided visualization to an inner temple or other sacred place. While it’s not necessary, I do try to leave time for writing about the experience in my journal.
Chanting
There is something about chanting that I find very peaceful. In fact, studies have shown that chanting can decrease stress and anxiety, uplift one’s mood, improve focus, and relax the parasympathetic nervous system (Fallon, Chanting is an ancient practice with mental health effects that might apply to our busy lives). There are many ways to chant, running the spectrum from repetition of words or phrases to repetitively singing songs relevant to your spiritual path and/or the deities you worship. Alternatively, if chanting isn’t your thing you might try simple drumming or toning as these activities can have similar effects.
Small Acts of Service
We have ravens that live in the forest behind our house. They are a lively bunch, and it’s not uncommon to see them carousing in our front yard or playing in one of our bird baths. About four years ago, as part of some work I was doing with the Morrigan, I decided to start leaving shelled peanuts out for the ravens. Each morning, I would take about 5 minutes to leave peanuts out in certain spots on my property and then I would just stand in an outdoor sacred space for a moment of stillness and to express my gratitude to the land and its inhabitants.
I decided to start leaving shelled peanuts out for the ravens. Public domain image by Gerhard via Pixabay.
Now, this act of service has become so ingrained in my family that other members of my family will automatically feed the ravens (and the blue jays and squirrels who have jumped on the bandwagon) if for some reason I am unable to. It is not at all uncommon for us to hear the ravens and blue jays squawking at us if we do not feed them according to our usual schedule.
Not only has this small act of kindness helped me to be in service and connect spiritually, I have enjoyed getting to know the ravens as they are more trusting and more likely to allow me to observe their shenanigans from a not too far distance. Your act of service can be anything that inspires you and it doesn’t have to be big. Simply picking up trash when you see it and throwing it away or leaving water out for wildlife when temperatures are high. If you are unsure what service you might want to do, look into the causes associated with the deity or deities you work with as a starting point.
Nature Immersion
One of the benefits of feeding the ravens each day is that I get a chance to be out in nature. Simply being in nature seems to ground me and make me feel more spiritually connected. Your immersion in nature could mean sitting outside for a few minutes, going barefoot in your front yard, spending a few minutes gardening, taking a walk in the park, or hugging a tree. Just a few minutes spent intentionally in nature can have a big impact on our energy and feelings of connection.
Aphrodite has made Herself known at various times in my life and recently I have found the call to work with Her again to be very compelling. One thing I have realized as a result of working with Her is that while I have loved and honored the divine in the form of various gods and goddesses, I have not put nearly as much time and intention to loving and honoring the divine that exists within me. I feel that our spiritual work is most beneficial if it is focused not just on honoring the gods and goddesses but also on honoring ourselves. I have found some simple ways to do this that don’t take much time and, oddly, I have found that the more I focus my spiritual efforts inwardly, the more powerful and satisfying my external devotion becomes.
Dedicating yourself to learning what makes you feel good and using all of our senses in that experience can be a great start. This might be making time to soak in a bath, taking a nap, going for a walk outside, curling up with a cup of tea and a good book, or wearing something that makes you feel good. My go-tos include sitting outside in the sun, curling up with a weighted blanket, and stretching. Of course, if you have more time and the resources something physically pleasing such as a massage or a favorite meal are also excellent endeavors.
It can be easy to neglect ourselves and our own needs. Public domain image by Myriams-Fotos via Pixabay.
It can be easy to neglect ourselves and our own needs amidst the chaos and demands of our lives. To make sure that I focus on my needs and worship the goddess within, I make a game out of it by putting an inexpensive clear marble/glass disk inside a clear jar with the intent of filling the jar to the top with marbles in a timely manner. This keeps me motivated and acts as a visual reminder. The more I honor the divine within, the more spiritually connected I feel.
Learn Something New
Taking a few minutes each day to deepen your knowledge of your path and practice is a wonderful way to develop a stronger spiritual connection. This can be done in a variety of ways including reading, listening to a podcast, and/or watching a Youtube video. I have found learning about the culture of the pantheon I work with to be extremely enlightening and this has brought me closer to the deities I work with. In addition, it’s a great way to identify additional methods for structuring an altar or shrine, providing offerings, and techniques for more intense work within my path. Reading myths related to deities has always helped me to deepen my understanding and establish stronger spiritual connections.
Reading myths related to deities has always helped me. Public domain image by kaboompics via Pixabay.
Fire Gazing
While the element I am most strongly connected to is water, I have to admit I love a good fire. I remember reading an article years ago that stated that while fire had a place in our ancestors’ daily lives due to the need for heat and warmth, it also had other psychological and physical benefits. Many studies have shown that gazing at fire can lower blood pressure and help us enter into a meditative state.
Fire can connect us to our spiritual and biological ancestors in many ways. The hearth or campfire was a focal point in many societies for not just basic survival but also for socialization. The relaxing effects of fire are also quite powerful. If you are someone who wants to have a more regular meditation but, like me, have major “monkey mind” and find it difficult to sit still, gazing at a fire can be a great way to meditation as the flames give us a focal point.
I personally have found scrying with fire to be very insightful and I have received beneficial wisdom and clarity as a result of this practice. While tending to a campfire takes more than a few minutes, you can accomplish the same results and benefits by lighting a candle and gazing into the flames. This is an easy way to implement a spiritual practice that takes very little time and resources.
I have found scrying with fire to be very insightful. Public domain image by David Mark via Pixabay.
These are all activities that have worked for me to help me get back in the groove of a daily spiritual practice and to feel more centered and able to navigate the transitions occurring in my life. This is by no means an exhaustive list, however; I would love to hear what activities have worked for you!
As Mabon 2022 gets closer, I’ve been reminiscing on Mabons past, and those to come. You may remember that Mabon is my favorite Sabbat. You can read about that here.
Why am I remembering and focused on Mabon now? Especially since it’s several weeks away? On Beltane 2020, during the pandemic, I moved to far western New York State. In-person Mabon’s didn’t happen. You can read about that here.
Mabon is my favorite sabbat. Public domain image by Joe Plenio via Pixabay.
The answer is that I’m moving back to my chosen homeland in Wisconsin this month. I’ve accomplished everything that I set out to do by moving here to New York. And it’s time to be able to celebrate Mabon again, after several years of not being able to do so. Moving back to my chosen home reminds me of this Mary Chapin Carpenter song “Going Home”.
Where I currently live, I’m not connected to any pagan community except by Zoom. It leaves me very frustrated even though I realize that I have no choice. So lately I’ve been thinking of some of my favorite Mabon celebrations in years past.
There are two that stand out among all of the rest. The first was Mabon 2017. It was called Magickal Mountain Mabon. It was held in the mountains near Albuquerque, New Mexico. I was invited by a good friend of mine who lives near there in Rio Rancho. This year it’s called Mystic Mabon Southwest if you’re interested.
Having lived in Southern Wisconsin most of my adult life I was thrilled to attend it. I love the mountains, and being able to camp and attend Mabon there was such a wonderful and magickal experience. Waking up every morning to the crisp, clean mountain air is so refreshing. The programs were superb and very well attended.
One of the highlights for me was the musical talent. I met the Crow Women and was able to reconnect with S.J. Tucker and Wendy Rule, especially since I have most of their music. The musicians also did some workshops which were awesome. There are definite advantages to attending pagan events way outside of your local pagan communities. This was one of them.
The other Mabon that still stands out to me was Mabon 2019 in Central Wisconsin at the Deeply Rooted pagan community. I do know several of their members so I didn’t feel like an outsider at all. It was small in comparison to any in-person Mabon I’ve ever attended in the past. But being in a very rustic area had lots of advantages for me.
The first was no cell or internet services. I was able to connect to the people there and land Spirits without any distractions. And being in such a rustic area so far away from any large city was so refreshing. Among all the Mabon’s that I’ve attended, I prefer the smaller, more intimate ones.
As I get older I realize that simpler for me is better in pretty much everything that I do. I really enjoy my quiet time, walking in nature as much as I possibly can and away from large cities. Being with my deities outdoors is refreshing. I hear what they say and I love having that Divine guidance.
I’m not sure if I’ll be able to attend any in-person Mabon this year as I probably will be unpacking. But there’s always 2023. And I don’t intend to miss attending the Sabbat that I love. Mabon!
Hmmm, wonder where we’ll meet again…next time in the future!
The Empath’s Oracleis the third piece in Raven Digitalis’ Empath’s Trilogy, the first two pieces of which are his books Esoteric Empathyand The Everyday Empath. While the first book in the triptych is designed for Witchy and occult readers, the second book and this Oracle deck have been designed to be accessible to anyone who identifies both as an empath and a spiritual person regardless of spiritual path (or lack thereof).
“Empathy,” writes Digitalis, “is a force that transcends human divisions, boundaries, and culturally imposed limitations.” Artist Konstantin Baxrenders this concept exceptionally throughout each of the 40 cards of this deck. Mostly self-taught, Bax was an assistant to Ernst Fuchs, one of the founders of The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism.
Born into a family of artists (Bax’s father counted Salvador Dali as a friend), Bax is “at the forefront of the modern visionary and psychedelic art movement.” Every piece featured in this deck was originally hand-painted with acrylics. Digitalis writes, “These pieces are raw spiritual transmissions channeled through the lens of a single painter. They are channeled for you, channeled for me, and channeled for anyone who wishes to gain a piece of empathetic and spiritual knowledge from the pieces of art.”
The author recommends that no more than three cards be drawn at each sitting, as pulling more than three cards will dilute the message of each piece. He encourages those who are reading for clients to invite them to co-interpret the messages of each card, and also advises professional readers not to use this deck exclusively; the deck has been designed to use in tandem with Tarot readings and as an addition to other spiritual or psychological services. Digitalis also advises against reading reversals with the Empath’s Oracle.
Public domain image by the Hubble Team via Wikimedia Commons.
This is a luscious, deeply nuanced deck. The artwork of each card engages the viewer and invites them into the visual world presented. In some paintings a particular gender or ethnicity might be hinted at, but many of the cards are genuinely gender-fluid or nongendered.
Digitalis encourages readers to immerse themselves into each fantastical painting as they interpret the empathic messages, and suggests that the accompanying booklet can be used to practice bibliomancy. Each card’s concept is explored and expanded upon in the booklet through a listing of essential themes, an exploration of the imagery on the card, an expansion of the deeper meanings of the concept, and suggested actions to address the essential themes presented in the card’s imagery.
This is a terrific deck that comes alive in new ways each time the reader picks it up. It’s one of the few decks in which you can almost hear the artwork inviting you to become a co-creator of the imagery through your interpretation of it, to immerse yourself in a surreal landscape that will free you to discover your own hidden depths and truths. An absolute gem of a deck.
Sometimes, a book that wasn’t remotely on your radar falls into your lap and asks for your attention. Spirits Unveiled: A Fresh Perspective on Angels, Guides, Ghosts & More came into my life unexpectedly in just that way. Written by self-described “reformed attorney” Michelle Welch, owner of SoulTopiain Dallas, Carrollton, and Frisco TX, Spirits Unveiled examines the differences between planes, dimensions, and realms, introduces the reader to a wide range of energetic beings, and suggests practical ways to identify and connect with the spirit worlds.
Readers who are familiar with numerology will appreciate how often the number 11, associated with spiritual awakening, appears throughout the text. Welch covers energetic beings ranging from Ascended Masters (including a couple of surprising entities who, in the author’s words, “do not have anything to do with spirituality”), Angels and Archangels, Ancestors, Animal Guides, Ghosts, Land Spirits, Demons, Thought Forms, Elementals and more.
Also included is a section on Multidimensional Beings, known as starseeds. Welch writes:
“A starseed is a spiritual being that did not originate on Earth but is from a distant galaxy, star system, planet, or possibly a distant universe. These advanced intellectual beings volunteer to come to Earth for some reason. Starseeds typically do not feel like they belong on Earth, but they know they need to be here.” (p. 144)
In this section she includes a true or false exercise to help the reader identify which type of starseed they may be, or which Multidimensional Being the reader might be working with as a guide.
A chapter I found of particular interest is Thought Forms, Demons, and Predatory Spirits. “When you layer thoughts and emotions,” writes Welch, “you have the potential for energetic dynamite. […] A thought form is an entity and is no different from any other type of spirit.” (p. 133) I appreciate how carefully Welch guides readers through the concept of thoughts having energy and the journey they take from incorporeal to corporeal or “beingness”.
The book delves into energetic vibrations and oscillations, and the concept of energies transmuting across frequencies that are both within and beyond the range of human perception. Welch asks her readers to keep an open mind when coming across a concept that may be outside of their experience, and notes:
“Since our reality is based on our beliefs and perceptions, you will probably find no evidence of guides in your life if you choose not to believe. In fact, because your thoughts create your reality, guides may not exist in your reality because of your disbelief.” (p. 15)
Or, in the parlance of Maslow’s Law of Instrument, if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. The Law speaks of over-reliance on a familiar or favorite tool when solving a problem or, in this case, grappling with a concept.
I approached Spirits Unveiled with a determination to maintain an openness of heart and mind, and to not automatically fall back on the familiar (and somewhat over-intellectualized) precepts – tools, if you will – that I use to inform how I practice my witchery. This open approach to the text led to me being challenged in unexpected ways. As a result I’ve been moved to reexamine some of the ways I automatically tend to categorize and define my belief system, which in turn has challenged me to grow as a spiritual being.
All this is to say: if the Universe drops something in your lap that is unexpected, you may want to take some time to examine the insights offered in that unforeseen source. You might be surprised by what you learn not only about a topic you’ve never really examined before, but also about yourself.
I’ve never gotten out into the larger Pagan community much, even before the pandemic and lockdown. It wasn’t until 2017 while I was still living in the Chicago area that I began to step into a more visible “public witch” role, which then came to an abrupt halt in 2018 with a couple of personally catastrophic events followed by an unanticipated across-the-country move in 2019. Seven months after my move came Covid and lockdown. I’ve had the “opportunity” to take a couple of years to review what happened, to reevaluate its impact on me and how I choose to interact with the world, and to reset my expectations both of myself and of my communities.
I decided to reset my expectations both of myself and of my communities. Public domain image by John Hain via Pixabay.
If you’re a first-timer at a large Pagan gathering there’s often the mild concern that there’ll be a sort of Inner Court and Outer Court dynamic going on – an awareness that the folx who’ve been attending for years have formed relationships that might be fairly impermeable to newbies. I experienced that at a large Pagan gathering a few years ago, where attendees were friendly enough but still fairly tribal. And I know myself well enough to recognize that I likely co-created that dynamic in my interactions.
And so I approached this year’s Mystic South with a determination to get over my darn self, to get out of my own way, and to embrace the personal connections that being visible in the larger community offered.
Theory
John Beckett has already written about how many outstanding workshops filled the schedule. Heron Michelle’s workshop on Elemental Witchcraft and a New Witch’s Jewel of Power made my little theory-loving heart get up and tap dance like Snoopy on their doghouse. Heron is an engaging and witty presenter, and her Jewel of Power theory is simply brilliant – it’s an intellectually satisfying system of magick that is structurally consistent across all of its domains. I have a low “woo” tolerance and workshops like Heron’s and Debra Burris’ The Science Behind Weather Lore were absolute highlights of my conference experience.
Practice
I’m a ritual wonk and liturgy geek, and could happily spend more time than most people are comfortable with talking about and exploring ways to craft effective ritual. I have a tendency to slide into an observer’s mindset during ritual, noting what seems to be working and – I’ll own it – what I would do differently.
Many times ritual doesn’t take me out of myself. Public domain image by Gerd Altmann via Pixabay.
As a result, many (many) times, ritual doesn’t take me out of myself. It’s not that I don’t value the rites I’ve experienced, but I’m rarely swept away into an ecstatic state wherein I’m distilled into simply being, doing, and feeling. That’s a neat trick to accomplish, especially in large-group ritual, yet Jason Mankey’sWitchfather rite managed to get me out of my observer mindset into a state of being utterly in the moment, and as a result I had a disconcerting encounter with the Horned One. I’m still trying to sift through what happened to me that night and, for me, that’s a hallmark of a successful ritual. I’m feeling its impact days afterwards. It has changed me, and I am profoundly grateful for the ways my spirit has been enlarged.
Play
The majority of my interactions in the Pagan world have been online, and online is a pretty flame-y place these days. There’s often way too much drama for this mama, but the ways folx talk to (or, more often, at) each other is interesting to observe and reflect upon, and one can often suss a person’s character through their online communications.
Thus, I already had a high level of trust for Mystic South’s Board before I ever met any of them face-to-face. Several BNPs (John Beckett, Jason Mankey, Ivo Dominguez, Heron Michelle, Thorn Mooney, Kelden, Laura Tempest Zakroff, and more!) also attended, and I have to say this was the friendliest bunch of folx you could ever hope to meet. I never felt as if anyone wished I would just move along so they could get back to being with their friends. I was beyond excited to finally meet and spend time with my co-author Vincent Higginbotham, with whom I’ve written Thrifty Witchery (available April 2023), and the Llewellyn Team. And – of course – to finally meet and spend time with Jason Mankey, who has become a very dear and trusted friend over the last several years.
Vini and Martha together at last thanks to Mystic South. Photo by the author.
In Conclusion
So what do I take from all this? Perhaps it’s simply because we’ve all been missing our Pagan festivals and conferences these past couple of years, but there’s some real joy to be found in the company of like-minded folx whether or not you’re already part of their tribe.
There’s often so much drama (and so much flouncing!) in our online communities, perhaps as a byproduct of wanting to be seen, heard, and valued. And because the interwebz are primarily how we’ve connected recently, many of us have been thirsty for face-to-face, side-by-side interactions.
As a long-time lurker, it was immensely gratifying to physically come out from the shadows and realize that the reason the Mystic South community looked safe from the edges is because it is safe at the center. That sense of safety and acceptance is a direct result of the mindfulness of everyone in attendance, and their willingness to interact in ways that authentically embody our aspirational precepts of perfect love and perfect trust.
Those aren’t just bywords; they’re the words by which we stitch and shape our community into vibrant being. I watched those threads being cast, woven, and rewoven countless times over the course of the conference. And that, my friends, is magick in action.
Mystic South is a massive endeavor with a lot of moving parts, and I’d like to close by thanking the Board (Marla, Stacy, Heather, Ryan, Gypsey, Star, and Nathan), the presenters, the sponsors, the vendors, the musicians, and the volunteers for all of your work before and during the conference, and for creating and holding a space where everyone – including this introverted witch – can feel connected, seen, and valued for who they are just as they are. I can hardly wait to come home again to you next year.
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