When You Don’t Have Time for Witchery

Ever have one of those days? Where the day is so jam-packed that you are on the go from morning until night, and you collapse into bed, gazing forlornly at your books, tarot decks and altars? There doesn’t seem to be enough hours in the day sometimes. How can a person squeeze in some witchery?

I sprained my ankle yesterday. As with the usual spirals in my life, I had just mentioned earlier that day how I hadn’t ridden a bike since I was a kid because I have “balance problems”.  Two hours later, I literally sprained my ankle walking across a room on a carpeted floor. No obstacles, nothing. I looked up the remedies (after all, I had done this before. I’m a Pisces, weak ankles, foot trouble, that’s my thing, apparently). There was a New York Times article on how people who sprain their ankles quite a bit have balance problems. Helpfully, there were exercises listed that I will now be doing.  This morning, as I hobbled around, I felt a strong need to light candles: one for healing, and one for bringing a desired result into my life, as well as creativity as I had to write this blog (orange, come to me, etc.) It soothes me, and focuses my intention. Ah, I could breathe again. Time for some spellwork, too.

One of the many things I pondered yesterday before the Ankle Incident is how sometimes there seems to be no time for witchery. You know how it is: your days are filled with work, errands, family, projects and all the many things that life throws at you. I have had plenty of those days myself. How to add time for witchery? Is that even possible? I think it is.

First, and most importantly:  Go easy on yourself. You are doing the best you can, so take a deep breath and give yourself some credit for your life. You’ve made it this far, kudos. Now, cross that threshold into wanting more time for witchery in your life.

Schedule time:  Yes, that is what calendars are for, on your phone, the paper kind, the wall kind, whatever you find useful. Schedule a time for witchery like you would a doctor appointment, check the moon cycle for what works best for your intentions (have fun with the research). Get one of those spell-a-day almanacs and randomly open the book to a spell, see if it appeals to you, and schedule a time to do it. Schedule some time outdoors for a nature walk when you have a day off. Being around water or trees, communing with nature can be very soothing, and can inspire your next spellwork. I came up with a ritual while walking in a park, made mental notes to look up what foods feed my moon (a friend suggested this, very useful!) and started thinking about the next Sabbat and how I wanted to wind up the last celebratory period (I am celebrating the weeks between again, a practice I find useful).

Kitchen Witchery: All of us spend time in the kitchen, even if we don’t cook much. Make your daily routine into a ritual, from making the coffee, to blending your smoothie, to growing some herbs on your windowsill.  Get a book on kitchen witchery if you feel like you need guidance. Make a loaf of bread, cook a special meal for friends or family, incorporating love and spellwork into it. Schedule that as well, if your time is limited during work days. Set up a wee kitchen altar to your favorite deity. Buy a besom as a reminder and useful kitchen item.

Create a mojo bag to wear on your person: Decide what you want to manifest into your life, research what’s needed, create it and wear one daily. It can be incorporated into your daily routine, and is spellwork you can do daily. I created a mojo bag that I wore daily to bring love into my life, and it worked beautifully. Another bonus? You feel empowered doing it.

Clear energy:  This is the easiest thing to do as well. Light incense, sprinkle Florida water, sprinkle protection salt on your entries and exits, draw pentacles in the air in front of all your windows. Sweep with your besom, clearing not only dirt and debris, but moving the energy out of a stagnant place. Create your own protection salt, or a bath salt recipe that will help move some energy.

Work your divination:  Cards, pendulums, scrying, whatever your form of divination is, do it daily for a while. Commit to a week to start, pull a card, gaze into a scyring mirror or a candle, work with your pendulum. Record what you see, take some time away, then take a look back and see what you’ve learned.

Witchery while driving:  Oh yes, indeed. You can do so much while driving! Listening to audio books on witchery, or whatever subject you’d like to learn more about, sing along with your favorite pagan or witchy tunes, chant the goddess chant, talk to your deities, and more. You know what to do. I have long conversations with the parking gods while I drive, and it usually works to my benefit.

To sleep, perchance to dream:  Do your witchery while you sleep. Put some mugwort in your pillow, light a dream candle, drink some dreamtime tea. Listen to some of your favorite witchery music as you go to sleep, and see what appears in your dream. Start a dream journal. Or if you don’t dream, read up about what enhances dreaming and experiment.

Go to a festival: If none of this works because you are just too, too busy, commit to a pagan festival, witch camp or classes. Look into online classes if you can’t travel. Start an online witchy group so you can chat with other people all over the world about what interests you. Look at your local Meetup groups to see if you there is a local gathering.

Find a magical word: Mine is widdershins. I love saying it, and it can immediately put me into a magical frame of mind. Make it a mantra.

I write these suggestions as much for myself as for you, so I hope some of this helps with adding more witchery to your life and days. The world keeps throwing craziness at us, so add some magic back into your world to help offset that. If we all did, what a different, magical place this would be instead.