Over thinking, over analyzing separates the body from the mind.
Cyndi Brannen is my teacher. Long before I joined her Mystery School I was learning from the articles she wrote. I learned from posts in the group she founded on Facebook, The Witches Realm. And I learned from others she was teaching. One of the first things I ever learned from Cyndi was The Witches Hour of Power.
Life, for some of us, can be ridiculously chaotic. Between caring for people or things, raising children or pets, keeping up with house and yard work, working in whatever capacity that entails, and trying to chisel out some form of free time, we’re busy. Time management isn’t a skill we all possess and some of us out here find it hard to juggle the day.
Adding a formidable magickal practice to the mix can be exhausting. Some people question how to include magick into their already hectic day. I know when I first started my path it was daunting to consider dedicating an hour or more per day to being a witch.
Where was I supposed to get an extra hour between the gym, work, family, and rest? Sure, I could use the time while I drive places for giving gratitude or listening to some sort of witchy thing, like a podcast or a book on tape. Just doing those two things on a drive to and from anywhere will, in fact, take up an hour of my time, considering how often I am in my car. But is it enough?
How else could I get more time to practice, learn, and contribute to magick? Is there a way to do more with just the 24 hours I have in my day? Was I over-thinking things? Was I missing something? Or could it be both?
Feed my will to fill this moment.
On weekdays, I have my coffeemaker set to automatically brew at six am. My husband wakes up at three in the morning so he can be at the gym by four. I tend to wake up as he is leaving the house. I let the dogs outside, use the restroom, and hit start on my coffeemaker because it is well before six when I am actually getting out of bed.
I rise so early because I have things to do. Of course, the first thing I do is send a good morning text to my husband, if I missed him before he left for the gym. I then check Facebook where I administer a A Men’s group for Witches. After I’m caught up there I’ve been going to Mighty Networks because that’s where The Open Circle Institute is located now. I like to make sure I am on track for my witchy learning of the day before I bounce back to Facebook to check all the other witchy groups I belong to.
I open articles and then open them in Safari so I can save them to read later. These will live in the background of my browser until I have a chance to read them. In a worst case scenario they could sit there until Sunday, which is when I lie in my hammock for a while and read through anything I couldn’t get to during the work week.
After I’ve saved a few articles, I close Facebook and open Google Docs. This is where I do all my writing. I like to see where I left off the day before. Some days I stare at the blank screen on my phone for longer than I want to admit. Other days I read over what I wrote the day before, then nothing. And still others, I am alive with inspiration and I pump out enough work to put me behind on my morning routine.
Then, coffee in hand I move over to my bed and sit there with my Starman Tarot deck and pull some daily Tarot. This could end up being one to a million cards depending on what I’ve pulled. I’m still learning the Tarot so maybe I go overboard.
After my Tarot I normally need to run to the store for a pack of cigarettes. I know it’s a disgusting habit, but I’m only human and honestly, there are worse habits to have. On my way to and from the store I pray to Hekate giving gratitude for anything I can think of. Even on bad days I search for why I’m thankful so I can offer this to the goddess.
I do all this so early in the day because I love being a witch and I want to do these things.
Push the envelope watch it bend.
At this point in my practice I’m already giving gratitude at least 5 days a week, typically for a half hour. I read articles on witchery for about the same amount of time. This is the part of my practice where I learn and where I acknowledge how my magick works for me. When I add this to the time I spend writing for witchy things, my practice becomes this formidable thing I’m proud of.
Maybe you’re asking, “Okay but where is the actual magick?” I’m glad you asked because I’ve asked myself the same question more than once. Over some time and through a lot of discernment I’ve noticed that the magick is literally in everything I do. Here, I’ll explain.
Yes, I could take the time to mix a bunch of herbs and melt wax then create a candle. This is something I’ve done more than once in the last couple of months. I can set up my outdoor altar and have a full-on ritual and I do sometimes. But the real magick comes in the moments between all that stuff.
Reaching out to embrace whatever may come
Real magick happens in the seemingly mundane conversations with a coworker, when you realize you’ve just channeled the spirit, source, or whatever while giving advice. It happens in an interaction with a stranger when you offer a kind gesture that changes their day. Magick is finding a beautiful feather or stone that you know was left there for you to find.
Magick comes in the mundane moments all the time. It is our job as witches to discern these moments from each other. Your toddler picking you a dandelion is, let’s face it, likely just a child being a child. But the third snake you’ve come across in a day when the snakes don’t belong in the places you see them, that could be a deity reaching out to say, “Hey, I’m here.”
Practice isn’t always about what you are doing to further yourself. Sometimes, practice is about knowing when the things you’ve learned are paying off. Practice isn’t about how well you meditate but rather finding what you can do instead that works for you.
As below, so above and beyond
I could not possibly spend my entire day witching. I guess when I look at my life I am spending more than an hour though. The thing is that I hardly realize it these days. I have a pretty natural flow to my day and it just happens to have lots of magick in it.
It was a slow start at first. I failed to get anything done most of the time when I began working towards an hour of power each day. But as time went on and I created habits, it naturally grew to be a much larger practice.
The thing is witchcraft is often called the path of the wise. If I spend my time learning about witchcraft than I’m doing my job as a witch more so than if I spend the day making spells. That’s not to say making spells isn’t valid. It is, of course it is. But some of us don’t have that kind of time or wherewithal.
So learning how to make witchcraft a part of your daily routine is vital. Taking the time that you’re in the shower to say a prayer is cool. Speaking to your deities while you drive is awesome. And cutting out tiny moments in your day to read the last witch article is fantastic. These are all ways of participating in the witches hour of power. And, at the end of the day, they are enough.
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