I am not a patient person.
I am a get-it-done-right-now sort of person. A figure-it-out-even-if-it’s-not-perfect-and-do-it person.
This has served me and not served me in my life.
And I made an offhanded remark about this (as I do) during my initiation, so I was tasked with making a pentacle to patience.
So I did.
And in this current state of the world, I thought it might be helpful to share this piece of magick with you. Perhaps in this time between time, when things are moving and still so many things are at a standstill, practicing patience may be what keeps our hearts whole and our resolve steady.
This time will not last forever, even if it’s felt that way.
Creating a Tool for Cultivating and Holding Patience
If this pandemic has taught us anything (and I imagine the learnings will continue for a lifetime), it’s that tools are only as good as the attention we give them. While we might have studied and learned and experienced so much, not using the tools we gain can lead to (possibly) unnecessary suffering.
But I know that I tend to forget all of my tools when I feel good. I mean, I feel good, so what’s the need?
However, in my learning about trauma and healing my own scars of that, I have learned I need to practice using my tools when things are fine. When I do, it allows me to stay steady and often more calm in situations as they arise.
And yet, I still forget to practice my tools. So I forget them in the moments when I REALLY need them. I fumble around wondering why I don’t know what to do. I do know what to do. I just need to keep up my practice.
In this moment, I invite you to consider what tools you have to support your patience. Are they walks in nature? Meditation? Deep breathing? Writing in a journal? Sitting with a deity or energy? Reading? Turning off social media for a few minutes or weeks?
Consider what makes you feel supported. Consider who makes you feel supported. Consider what allows you to remember that your heart is strong and steady. Even as the world is not.
And let’s talk about another tool.
The Pentacle of Patience
The way I’ve learned and now teach about pentacles comes from the Feri tradition. In my study, I have learned about Iron Pentacle and Pearl Pentacle, as well as other pentacles that have been borne out of these practices.
The pentacle is of earth, it is a tool of meditation and reflection, in my eyes. It is also a way to navigate and smooth the energies in our bodies. I also find pentacle to be helpful in noticing areas of imbalance.
The pentacle offers five points of focus. And between these points are the flow from one to another, enabling and allowing each energy to feed and support the next, as well as come from the energy before.
(This makes more sense when you run the energies)
Here is the pentacle of patience as I have envisioned it:
- Acknowledge
- Witness
- Stillness
- Silence
- Peace
The energies flow one to another, and then peace flows back into acknowledge. I’m not sure why some are nouns and some are verbs, but this is the way I worked with it, so I’m going to leave it as is for the moment.
If you choose to work with it too, you might adjust the words in a way that works better for you.
Or you might be inspired to create an entirely new pentacle. It’s your magick. It’s your tool.
Using the Pentacle in Your Life
To ‘run’ a pentacle, I think you stand or lay down with your arms straight out to your sides and your feet a little wider than shoulder length apart — as though you were a star. You then move your awareness/energy from the top of your head (Acknowledge) to your right foot (Witness), to your left hand (Stillness) to your right hand (Silence) and then to your left food (Peace) and back up to the top of your head (Acknowledge).
Here’s how this might look if I were doing this to start or end a day. Or before a stressful moment. Or after a stressful moment. Or before a tough conversation or interaction. Or after. Or whenever you might need a little boost. Or when you don’t so you’re making that energy more of an everyday feeling than a repair.
Closing my eyes. I might begin to envision my energy drawing into myself. Drawing up from my heart and heading to the top of my head. I might say in my head or out loud: Acknowledge. I let the energy stay there and feel what is there, what is not, and what this might be telling me about that energy in my life right now. When I feel ready, I would move on to my right foot and to the point of Witness. Again, what is there, what is not, and what might this be telling me.
When that feels done, moving up to my left hand and the point of Stillness. What is there. What is not. What do I need to know about this place. And when I’m ready, moving across my chest to my right hand and the point of Silence. What is there. What is not. What might I need to know. And then moving to my left foot and the point of Peace. What is there, What is not. What might I need to know.
Finally, moving back to the top of my head and the point of Acknowledge. I might stop there and feel what it feels like in my body. Are there some points that felt good or not good. Balanced or not balanced. Did I notice any sensations or images? What felt easy to move to? What felt more difficult to move to?
I then might close by running the energy around the body clockwise, so from the top of the head to the left hand, to the left foot, to the right foot, to the right hand, and back to the top of the head, saying the names of the points again.
You can also do this in bed, sitting down, or in any way that feels good to you.
Do this as much as you like. And it can help to take notes about what happens, how things shift and how things stay the same. You will likely get information about what steps you may need to take or what steps you should hold off on.
But be patient with yourself. With this time. With your heart.
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