{"id":772,"date":"2017-08-22T11:56:23","date_gmt":"2017-08-22T19:56:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/?p=772"},"modified":"2017-08-29T14:38:13","modified_gmt":"2017-08-29T22:38:13","slug":"immediate-witchcraft-flying-with-my-feet-on-the-ground","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/tempest\/2017\/08\/immediate-witchcraft-flying-with-my-feet-on-the-ground.html","title":{"rendered":"Immediate Witchcraft: Flying With My Feet On the Ground"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

\"just
just a few books in my library\u2026<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/p>

There\u2019s something inspiring and breathtaking about the art and mythology surrounding Witches flying to the Sabbat. \u00a0I have long been fascinated with the lore, history, plants, ointment techniques, and rituals involved. \u00a0I enjoy reading and hearing about others\u2019 otherworldly travels, spiritflights, hedge-riding* and visions. \u00a0It seems to be a very popular and integral part of what I\u2019m seeing discussed concerning traditional witchcraft.<\/p>\n

Yet much of my actual practice happens\u00a0during normal waking hours, with the only herbal infusion involved being ye old regular earl grey or chai tea. Early-on I discovered that my reality is bizarre enough as it is, without the aid of altering substances. (I suppose you could argue tea and cookies are altering substances, \u00a0but you know that\u2019s not what I mean.)<\/em><\/p>\n

What I mean is most of the time, I\u2019m just going about my day \u2013 and I\u2019m receiving\/sorting\/sifting\/sending information in a very mundane (to me) sort of way. \u00a0I don\u2019t need to travel anywhere special (with or without my body) to talk to gods or spirits. \u00a0I\u2019m not casting circles or \u00a0invoking deities. \u00a0Instead I\u2019m just making artwork, or designing, or writing \u2013 and I get the spiritual equivalent of a text message \u2013 that I can either engage with or ignore depending on my schedule.<\/p>\n

(Funnily enough,\u00a0I get more communication this way than I do with my actual cell phone\/living human beings.)<\/em><\/p>\n

In comparing notes with a few other long-practicing Witches who are also artists, this fully-present mode of working seems to be typical. Upon reflection, it\u2019s not a haphazard thing. \u00a0Rather, if you have been making art for most of your life, you have trained yourself to enter a kind of receptive yet controlled and very present trance state. \u00a0Sitting down to make work, the body and brain recognize the task at hand, and switch into \u201cart mode.\u201d \u00a0Circumstances allowing, the artist taps into various levels of the conscious and unconscious selves. \u00a0My guide through these places is myself, the self-divine: that which is the thread that interconnects me with everything. \u00a0Yet, I\u2019m still very much contained within my body, processing the rest of the world around me.<\/p>\n

\"Vision Flight\" - painting by the author
\u201cVision Flight\u201d \u2013 painting by the author<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

It\u2019s hard to call that state sabbatic <\/em><\/strong>in terms of recent definitions\/trends, nor is it quite ecstatic<\/em><\/strong> either. \u00a0At least to me. For\u00a0me, the\u00a0ecstatic state involves\u00a0body, mind, and spirit working together outside of the normal experience.<\/p>\n

Now there are times where I use music and dance<\/a> to reach an ecstatic or active physical trance state. \u00a0However I feel it\u2019s important to note that I don\u2019t enter a trance state in dance just by dancing. \u00a0And it takes a LOT to get me to a state of pure ecstatic abandonment \u2013 which is a good thing considering I need to be fully conscious and reactive in my environment when performing or leading ritual. \u00a0I need to be the one not only watching out for my physical self, but I have the responsibility of other people: the band, the audience, attendees if it\u2019s a ritual. \u00a0I have to unlock certain permissions to allow myself\u00a0to go completely under, but that\u2019s not to say I don\u2019t have incredible experiences in the liminal trance state.<\/p>\n

I recently related this experience to a friend with the following metaphor when it comes to full on ecstatic trance in rituals: It\u2019s just like sex and orgasms. \u00a0For some people, it takes just the barest touch or suggestion for them to get off. \u00a0For others, they require extensive foreplay under just the right conditions. \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Photo
Photo of Tempest by Carrie Meyer, The Dancer\u2019s Eye<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I\u2019m talking about\u00a0all of this here, because I want to share with others that there\u2019s more than one way to \u201cfly.\u201d That your practice doesn\u2019t have to require you to leave your body to get work done or experiment with poisonous plants (as fun as that is!). \u00a0Really, in the end, it doesn\u2019t matter which method works best for you, as long as you get the work you need to do done. \u00a0Similarly, it\u2019s great to have visions while traveling out of your body, but what are you doing with them when you get back \u201chome\u201d?<\/p>\n

I have been considering what is the best name for this kind of Witchcraft. I like the words\u00a0incarnate<\/em>, and inhabited<\/em>. \u00a0But they both seem more connected by definition to a spirit\/deity being present in the body. \u00a0Which technically is true \u2013 our own spirits inhabit our bodies, and I do believe that spirit is divine. \u00a0But I feel that folks may get too hung up on other<\/em> spirits being present, versus focusing on their own. \u00a0Embodied<\/em> is another word that\u2019s almost there. \u00a0I use it a lot in describing ritual dance experiences, because these are the times where our spirit truly becomes both present and aware of being contained within flesh and blood \u2013 and transcending it as well. \u00a0That seems to be a very special relationship that happens under those circumstances.<\/p>\n

So for now, I think the best word to describe it is Immediate Witchcraft<\/em><\/strong>. The definition of immediate is \u201coccurring or done at once; instant.\u201d \u00a0This seems to fit very well for my creative endeavors, as well as the state\u00a0I tend to be in mentally\/physically\/spiritually for dance. \u00a0It also perfectly describes much of the non-physical spellcraft that I do. \u00a0There are little to no outside needs, tools, or aids required. But there is a catch!\u00a0\u00a0Immediate Witchcraft is achieved mainly through years of nonspecific training that builds trust with yourself \u2013 so your immediate work is also instinctual and intuitive, nature and nurtured.<\/p>\n

But perhaps the most beautiful thing about Immediate Witchcraft \u2013 and about being a Witch \u2013 is that it\u2019s not about reaching a pinnacle or some level of expert. \u00a0It is a lifelong journey of growth, learning, and exploring. \u00a0It is being conscious of time and what is right before you \u2013 and behind you. Everything that is immediate is also a momentary conjunction of the past, present, and future. \u00a0True power comes in waves of grace, in the embrace of the darkness, illuminated.<\/p>\n

*It\u2019s really interesting to see how the meaning of hedgewitchery has changed over the last 2 decades. \u00a0When I was starting out, to be a hedgewitch more commonly referred to be a solitary traditional Witch \u2013 ye old village witch, out past the hedges. \u00a0That you were on the borders of traditions\/communities\/standard practices. \u00a0Now people use the term more specifically to referring to \u201criding the hedge\/edge\u201d in reference to spiritflight\/visionquests\/sabbatic craft. \u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

But perhaps the most beautiful thing about Immediate Witchcraft – and about being a Witch – is that it’s not about reaching a pinnacle or some level of expert. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2676,"featured_media":776,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15,12,13,14],"tags":[329,330,328,331,205,332,7,4,94],"class_list":["post-772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-metaphysics","category-modernpractice","category-myth-and-folklore","category-tradition","tag-ecstatic-witchcraft","tag-flying","tag-immediate-witchcraft","tag-spiritflight","tag-traditional-witch","tag-visionquest","tag-witch","tag-witchcraft","tag-witches"],"yoast_head":"\nImmediate Witchcraft: Flying With My Feet On the Ground<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There's something inspiring and breathtaking about the art and mythology surrounding 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