![\"Phoenix](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/agora\/files\/2015\/04\/11057523_10206095410046922_2161465325238267947_n-220x300.jpg\")
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Through the magic of modern technology, Phoenix and I have been co-writing this piece on two separate continents. She\u2019s been writing it tomorrow and I\u2019ve been writing it yesterday, depending on which of us you ask! And, just as this installment ofThe Witches Next Door<\/em>\u00a0is landing in your news feed and on Patheos, Phoenix is arriving back from her two-week trip to Australia. We began writing this a week ago while she was in Brisbane during a particularly trying time.<\/p>\n Phoenix is in the Land Down Under (cue Men at Work ear worm). She is one of the Reclaiming teachers at this year\u2019s\u00a0CloudCatcher Witchcamp<\/a>. The site for the camp is in the shadow of the imposing Mount Warning volcanic caldera, or as it would be known to the Bundjalung people, Wollumbin. This is Phoenix\u2019s first trip to Australia and her first adventure out of the US by herself, and that brings up a whole set of fears and apprehensions for our intrepid Pagan Priestess.<\/p>\n Phoenix \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Originally Gwion and I were going to take on this adventure together. However, due to circumstances beyond either of our control, I am here on my own. It became apparent to me in the early stages of this trip that my personal work for this camp will be around facing my fears. And there are a lot of them: traveling this far all on me onsey, going into a new community environment, knowing just a few of the witches here, and, of course, being away from my partner and family for two weeks. Any one of these things would be hard for me, but put them all together and you might see\u00a0this introvert<\/a>\u00a0running for the hills.<\/p>\n Gwion<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0For the next two weeks my job is simple: Keep the household running smoothly, don\u2019t lose my car keys and be ready to talk to Phoenix whenever she calls.<\/em><\/p>\n Phoenix<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 I\u2019ve started writing this on my first day here and I have a long two weeks ahead of me. Somehow I know that today will be the hardest. Right this minute I feel lost and isolated. What\u2019s crazy is I feel oppressed by the distance. It\u2019s not like I can just go home. Like literally, I couldn\u2019t afford the plane ticket if I had to. When I start to think about the vast distance it kinda freaks me out a bit. I might just try and tell myself that I\u2019m just in Los Angeles and see if that helps. I don\u2019t really know where I am or how to get around. It\u2019s like being a kid and having to depend on everyone around me to help me out. This makes me feel extremely vulnerable. I am tired and confused and out of sorts. My body thinks its midnight, but the clock tells me that it is 5pm yesterday. After travelling half-way across the planet, I suppose that\u2019s normal.<\/p>\n Gwion<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0Phoenix\u2019s first call \u2013 She\u2019s naturally tired. Remind her that she\u2019s only had snippets of sleep in the last 40 hours. Of course she feels out of sorts. Encourage her to find a patch of ground outside and sit for a few minutes just breathing in the air. Everything will be better tomorrow. Drink water and remember I love you. Call me any time.<\/em><\/p>\n Phoenix<\/strong>\u00a0-Even though my host is amazing, wonderful, and generous, ties to my \u201cnormal\u201d life feel tenuous and stretched. My every day comforts aren\u2019t available \u2013 my bed, my shower, you know. Again, I feel vulnerable. I\u2019m really recognizing how much I depend on the simple day-to-day interactions with my family, friends, and Gwion, specifically. And that\u2019s a good, solid understanding for me to take to heart: how connected I am and what a source of power and comfort my local Pagan community is for me. And, I\u2019m supposed to be having fun, dammit! This is an amazing opportunity for adventure, and I have to keep reminding myself of that. Why can\u2019t I just shake off the \u201cblahs\u201d and enjoy the ride? What the heck is wrong with me?<\/p>\n Gwion \u2013\u00a0<\/strong>Phoenix\u2019s second call. It\u2019s only the second day. Give yourself the space to relax, nap, or go outside. I know it\u2019s hot and you aren\u2019t sure where you are, but that\u2019s okay. A trip to the back yard is just fine. I know how it is to find yourself on the other side of the planet with only a few links to the place and the people you are with. I\u2019m here. Call me any time. Remember to eat and drink and get outside if you can.<\/em><\/p>\n Phoenix<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 Today I traveled out to\u00a0a wild life preserve<\/a>\u00a0and saw kangaroos and koalas and platypuses (I know it\u2019s platypi but that just looks weird!). I\u2019ve ventured out a bit am getting more and more familiar with my surroundings. Soon, I\u2019ll be meeting with the rest of the\u00a0teaching team<\/a>\u00a0and we\u2019ll be getting down to the business of refining our rituals and path work for the camp to come. I\u2019m remembering to ground and reminding myself why I am here.<\/p>\n Gwion\u00a0<\/em><\/strong>\u2013 Phoenix\u2019s third call. Oh good! It seems like you are settling in and getting your travel legs underneath you. Tell me about your adventures so far. What have you seen of Australia? How\u2019s your daily practice?<\/em><\/p>\n Phoenix<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013I am a Priestess and I need to draw on that. I am here to do spiritual work, to teach about magic, and facilitate rituals. This is the work that I love to do. With each teaching opportunity, I also learn more about myself, about magic, about mystery.\u00a0 This is hard work. It is a delicate balancing act of holding the needs of the community where I am facilitating and holding my own needs and process. This brings me right back to missing my family. In the present I am homesick (even surrounded by kind, caring, and loving people), and yet I hold the work first and my needs second. Actually, It\u2019s more complex than that. Both are so intertwined, but it feels like if I sink \u00a0into the work and pour myself into why I am here and why I love teaching in this tradition, then that eases the homesickness. I am discovering that this trip is teaching me about what I value. What I really need. What I truly appreciate. And what it means to be vulnerable.<\/p>\n Today I\u2019ll be heading out the forest to teach magic and to learn magic. It seems so witchy and cool when I put it that way.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Through the magic of modern technology, Phoenix and I have been co-writing this piece on two separate continents. She\u2019s been writing it tomorrow and I\u2019ve been writing it yesterday, depending on which of us you ask! And, just as this installment ofThe Witches Next Door\u00a0is landing in your news feed and on Patheos, Phoenix is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2180,"featured_media":39,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,84],"tags":[20,19,10,18],"class_list":["post-37","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pagan-camps-and-festivals","category-pagan-relationships","tag-australian-witches","tag-cloud-catcher-witch-camp","tag-reclaiming","tag-witchcamp"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"Mount](\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/agora\/files\/2015\/04\/unnamed.jpg\")
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