My mom was the best cook, evah! She came from a long line of German-descended folk who knew not only how to grow vegetables and raise animals, but also how to blend the powers of fire, herbs, minerals, animals, and effort to turn those raw ingredients into a material form of pure love that created change in accordance with their will: namely, to nourish the bodies and the souls of the whole family, and the community beyond. They may have been good Lutherans, but tell me that isn’t some good magick?
Kettle Cooking – CC0 Public Domain – Pixabay
Like a good mama does, she taught me all the ways of the kitchen, and passed on her secrets for some seriously delicious potioneering, also known as SOUP! Whenever we were sick, she’d tuck us into a special “nest” on the couch, make hot tea, turn on the cartoons, and get to cooking. Now I’m the Mama Heron in the house and as tradition dictates, when one of my babies is home sick, I whip up a favorite family curative, chicken noodle soup. Since I’m a witch, I know which attributes to awaken within the ingredients so that it becomes an act of magick. I do things somewhat differently than my mother, but the end result is the same; the main ingredient is still LOVE.
Awakening the Ingredients
How does a witch “awaken” an ingredient to their powers? I’ve heard many techniques from many teachers, but this is what I do: I touch it, focus on it, and reach out with my consciousness to touch the divine spark of consciousness within the ingredient. Tap it three times, say “awake, awake, awaken to your powers of _________.” Sometimes I blow across it (but not when I’m sick…bleck…no bueno.)
Then I thank it and welcome it by name to the “team” as I stir it into the pot. To me, this part is like saying “namaste” to my allies in the plant, mineral or animal world. “The spirit within me, honors the spirit within you. Will you please help me with your skills of XYZ?” Wait for an answer. You’ll know. Consent is paramount to beneficial magick. Plus, if they say “no” its probably because that ingredient isn’t good for you in some way.
Now, go forth and do it whatever way works best for you.
Chicken Noodle “Elixir” Recipe
Spell Ingredients:
Onions ad Garlic are medicine – CC0 Public Domain – Pixabay
(optional) Boneless, skinless chicken thighs or breasts: Fresh is good; frozen is fine. I keep them on hand because you never know when someone is going to get sick. I aim for the free-range, organic meats as often as I am able…that is some beneficial, ethical mojo to throw into the pot. If you leave out the chicken, this recipe is Vegetarian.
A few tablespoons of organic, extra virgin olive oil (EVOO): Olive is used magickally for healing, peace and protection, makes a great base oil for all kind of preparations, but is among the more healthy of plant-based fats necessary to consume for good health. The higher quality the oil, the healthier for you it will be. Don’t skimp, trust me.
1 large, chopped yellow onion: MUCHO onion, don’t be shy. Besides, you are sick, quarantined, who cares if you stink? Just for interest, folk spells often call for leaving half an onion under the bed of a sick person to absorb their illness, then bury it later. I suggest eating the thing, and crapping it out later, but I’m just practical that way.
(at least) 2-3 tablespoons of minced fresh garlic: The more the merrier. There is no such thing as “too much” garlic in a restorative brew. The anti-microbial and immune system boosting benefits of both garlic and onions are basically WHY these sorts of soups are actually “medicinal.” Magickally, garlic and onions are both called upon for their powers of healing, protection and exorcism. Casting out all baneful threat from your body could be considered a kind of exorcism. Vampires (and mosquitoes) don’t like it either, which is always handy.
Celery: Here is the trick direct from my Mama: buy a whole celery, then chop off the bottom where the stalks are connected, and crack that baby open. The part you
want for soup is the very heart of the celery plant – the light green, tender little stalks with all the leaves. Chop the heart stalks, along with their leaves and then the leafy parts of the rest of the big stalks, too. You’ll want maybe 2 cups total. Magickally, Fire and Mercury are associated with celery, and while it is primarily used for psychic work, and clarity of thought…my brains are pretty muddled when I’m sick, so I’ll take a dose of that! Hail Mercury!
Carrots: dice up maybe 5-6 big carrots, because carrots are awesome. Magickally, they correspond to the element fire and mars, and both carrots and celery are said to promote fertility and lust…maybe that is why rabbits like them so much. While lust doesn’t do so much for curing the flu, I’ll always take more Mars/Fire when I’m in a battle, and they are delicious!
Celery with the heart leaves – CC0 Public Domain – Pixabay
White Button Mushrooms: I’m pretty lazy, so I buy the big package of pre-sliced and dump in the whole thing. Plus, its nice to welcome to the pot a player from the fungus family of the plant world…which are inherently witchy, and full of minerals and proteins. This is especially important if you’ve left out the chicken and are making a vegetarian version.
Egg noodles: 3 cups of dried noodles. I think the large, wide, egg noodles hold up the best in soups, but obviously, if you use noodles with no eggs in them, this recipe can become vegan. Consider welcoming to the pot the energies of Mother Earth and Grain Goddesses and Gods, as noodles are made of grains. To me, these are the mamas and papas that give of themselves so that we here in the middle world may thrive. Call on their strength when you need it the most.
1/4 cup Bragg’s raw, unfiltered Apple Cider Vinegar: this is medicine all by itself, other types of ACV are no substitute. Apples are associated with the goddess, and we know that fermentation is the holiest of holies to many a god of wine…welcome them to the party!
1 teaspoon of celery seed: This was a key ingredient in many of my mother’s recipes and soups just aren’t the same without it…totally tastes like motherly love to me now.
1 bundle of fresh thyme tied together with thread and added to the pot whole, fished out and discarded later. The oil found in thyme, called thymol, is known to have antiseptic and antibacterial properties. As you add the thyme to the pot, speak to it…asking it to bring to the work its restorative, strengthening and antiseptic powers.
“Thyme was called thymos by the Greeks, which meant “fumigate” or “smoke”. They associated thyme with valor in battle, and the restoration of physical power. Roman soldiers were known to bathe in a decoction of thyme before going into combat, to boost strength and courage. The Sumerians used it as an antiseptic, and in Egypt, thyme was one of the herbs which was used in the mummification process. Herbalist Nicolas Culpepper recommends using thyme as a treatment for whooping cough.” source
Thyme – Public Domain – Pixabay
Copious black pepper: freshly ground is my preference. Magickally corresponds to the planet mars and the element of fire and is used for protection from evil, and summoning up courage to do what must be done, even when we dread the task….like suffering through illness, and taking our “medicine.” It is also an ingredient in curse-breaking and exorcism folk spells. You could awaken the pepper to help you “cast out” the sickness, and “break” the illness within you, and protect you from all harm while you recover.
8 cups of filtered water: Obviously…call on the powers of water to restore you to balanced health and “ease.”
2 tablespoons of Red Miso Paste: I used Eden brand organic Hacho Miso made from aged and fermented soy beans. I found it at Freshmarket, but I bet it can be found anywhere with a decent Asian foods section.
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley: Magickally corresponds to the planet Mercury and the element of air, and is often awoken to be used for purification and protection, strength, health and vitality.
4 Tablespoons of Bragg brand Liquid Amino Acids (in lieu of salt) can usually be found near the soy sauces, condiments and barbecue sauces in most grocery stores.
Secret Ingredients – Photo by Heron
The Praxis:
Start with a big, fat soup pot, preferably stainless steel or cast iron. You know, a modern day “cauldron.” If you haven’t already researched the detrimental health-effects of cooking in aluminum or non-stick cookware, go do that now. My mother taught me that, too.There really is no point trying to cook “medicine” in a pot that will cause long-term ill-health. Remember that metal magick is also very important to spellcrafting, and even on the metaphysical level, we can pay attention to what metals infuse our works. Iron will call MARS into the working. Red-blooded human beings need iron, especially when we are building up our immune systems to fight the good fight against invading germs.
Ok, pot on medium heat, add the olive oil and once heated, the chicken. If you are using frozen chicken, just add it frozen. I usually let this sizzle on medium to medium high heat, while I’m chopping the veg in this order, adding to the pot as I go and giving it a stir between each addition, so it takes a little while: onions, celery, carrots, mushrooms, garlic, celery seed, thyme, black pepper. Let everything saute for at least as long as it takes for the onions to become translucent, stir frequently.
Now, add the Apple Cider Vinegar, which will de-glaze the pot, and then the water, miso paste, and parsley. Cover, turn down to medium-low so that it will simmer, and set a timer for 30 minutes.
If you started with frozen chicken, you’ll need to fish them out, dice into bite-sized pieces (making sure they are completely cooked.) Goose the heat a bit so that the soup is boiling, add the noodles. Check the package directions and set another timer for however long the noodles need to boil.
CC BY-SA 2.0 , via Wikimedia CommonsCheck the doneness of the noodles and carrots, which should both be al dente. Add the chicken back in.
As the final step, add the Liquid Amino Acids and stir in. Taste it. Want it saltier? Add a bit more of the liquid aminos. I promise black pepper will kick it up a notch in fabulous ways. Needs more richness? Add a bit more Olive Oil.
Make sure to take time to bless and charge this concoction before you eat it. Call up the powers of earth mother and sky father, or Reiki, or however it is that you do the magick that you do, and infuse that into the soup; set the elixir to it’s work. I stir the pot by drawing in the soup a pentacle with my ladle…circling round deosil (clockwise) three times, then I declare SO MOTE IT BE! I tap the spoon on the edge of the pot three times.
It is good form to express gratitude to all the spirits of animal, plant and mineral who’ve given themselves to nourish your family and bring them good health. Someday it will be your turn, and your bodies will be given back, your minerals will enrich the earth, feed the worms, and push up the daisies, but with their help today is not that day!
The planet Mercury goes into a retrograde period three or four times a year. Much like a square dance where all the partners are swinging around in their orbits in the same direction, the retrograde is sort of like a do-si-do where one dancer appears to spin around backwards. You may notice that communications and travel issues may go a bit sideways when Mercury is retrograde. This will account for some of it.
Curious if Mercury could be in retrograde right now? This website has the answer: www.ismercuryretrograde.com
Merkury i Argus, By Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia CommonsWhile I am loathe to allow planetary movements to be used as an excuse for insensitive communication choices, I do understand it to be a reflection on the largest, most visible scale of how patterns play out among us. These things are correlative, not causative. But, we assuage our frustration by saying things like, “Mercury is in retrograde, so that explains it….” However, there is a very big difference between an excuse and an explanation, and in my opinion, any pagan worth their salt should know better, and act accordingly.
Ignorance is an Option
Which got me thinking about the often-ridiculed science of astrology in general. There are plenty of non-magickal folk in this world smugly declaring that they do not “believe in astrology.” That is usually followed by statements that show how little they understand what it is, let alone how it works.
For example:
Mercury is 48 million miles from Earth, and no mystical “energies” or gravitation can reach that far to affect me.
Me: Duh.
The ancients may have thought the planets were wandering Gods who ruled over them, but I know better; that hunk of space rock is not a God.
Me: Again, duh.
Fair enough. Perhaps it is better that some things remain a mystery to the masses, lest we suffer the drivel of (most) fashion magazine horoscopes. <shudder>
But when a pagan says that they do not “believe in astrology,” that there is nothing “occult” about their spirituality, that sounds as ass-backward to me as when a Christian tells me they do not believe in science. They might as well be a flat-earther, or tell me that Jesus rode to temple on his dinosaur; bless their hearts. Knowledge is power; willful ignorance is weakness, and in today’s world, both are options.
While I’m not an expert in the nuances of astrology (far from it) I consider it my business as a Witch to be knowledgeable about the occult sciences that form the foundation stones of my paradigm. Frankly, there is no avoiding astrology as that information intertwines with everything from elemental magick, sabbat and esbat ritual celebrations, herbal and crystal correspondences for spell work, mythology and lore of the old Gods, to Hermetic Qabalah path working and tarot cards, just to name a few. Without knowing the “why” behind these systems, you fall prey to superstition and empty religiosity.
Belief is not Required
Astrology does not require your belief; it is part of the IS-ness of the Universe. It simply IS. It is an esoteric theory, I’ll grant you, but it is also an ancient theory examined and codified by cultures all over the Earth for eons, and while each describes the patterns in their culturally unique way, they end up drawing profoundly similar conclusions. These refined and elegant systems can bear your experimentation, so that you can examine the results for yourself and draw your own conclusions. Much like the sun being the center of the solar system, or the theories of gravity, evolution or quantum mechanics, the effects still apply to you regardless of your awareness or acceptance. The first step in any mystery tradition is To Know. So why not empower yourself and seek this knowledge?
of or relating to supernatural (metaphysical) powers or practices
not revealed: secret
not easily apprehended or understood: abstruse, mysterious
hidden from view: concealed
~Miriam Webster Dictionary
As usual, Webster uses one of my least favorite words, supernatural. I don’t think anything is above nature, but I’ve written more on that, here. For me, the Occult is the poetry of the Universe, the metaphors between the physical, mental, emotional selves, and the passions that stir between them.
What is this hokey pokey all about?
Astrology: noun
The study of how the positions of the stars and movements of the planets have a supposed influence on events and on the lives and behavior of people.
The divination of the supposed influences of the stars and planets on human affairs and terrestrial events by their positions and aspects.
~Miriam Webster Dictionary
Again, I take issue with the bias shown through their use of the word “supposed;” that much is implied. Astrology is a science that seeks to describe the relationship between the patterns formed by the movements of the cosmos, and by the patterns repeating throughout the physical world, and their associated movements in consciousness. These patterns repeat from macrocosm to microcosm, described by mystics and physicists, alike. By reading the patterns we can understand our reality all the way from great shifts of society, to the minutia of relationships, to the inner workings of our personal evolution.
Astrology is a system that you can choose to employ for your benefit, like learning how to read a road map. You can then use that map to keep from getting lost, navigating the landscape of your life efficiently and safely, avoiding accidents and roadblocks, and understanding the uphill slogs. With this knowledge you can get from Point A to the Point B of your choosing, seeing the beautiful sites, avoiding the war zones, and basically being your own, sovereign navigator.
In my opinion, we are each born with an incredibly detailed road map of our current lives, called a natal chart. Sadly, some folks choose never to open that map. They may be paralyzed with fear of the unknown and never stray beyond the fences imposed upon them. Always stuck in traffic, hunted through hostile territory, stumbling down blind alleys, wasting energy on dead-ends, running out of gas like a fool and stranded on the side of the road. Astrology gives us the bird’s eye view and that is a powerful tool to be taken up by the Magus.
Retrograde Motion of Mars / Tunc Tezel / NASA Astronomy Picture of the Day – April 22, 2007
Perception: Its all in Your Head
The entire phenomenon of Mercury retrograde is about relative perception. We know that the planet Mercury is in orbit, moving in only one direction around the sun, (again, duh), but in our perception from Earth, there are three time periods during the year where Mercury APPEARS to run backwards in a little do-si-do, because we are viewing the orbit on it’s edge. This back and forth, round and round, movement is a repeating pattern throughout nature.
What do Holograms have to do with it?
Why does any of this matter? In moments like these, I think about holograms. Yes, holograms. I love me some holograms in science fiction, like the Doctor on Star Trek: Voyager, and Princess Leia in her impassioned plea to Obiwan Kenobe in Star Wars. This very cool bit of technology also has it’s place in this tree-hugger’s paradigm.
Holograms are three dimensional constructs of light created by a laser beam being split into two, bouncing off of an object and then intersecting with each other, creating an interference pattern that is recorded on a holographic image plate. It’s kind of like taking it’s picture, except that plate will now have 2D information on it’s surface that is a fractal — an infinitely repeating pattern. The image plate looks nothing like the original object, but when you project a laser beam through the plate, the object is replicated exactly as a 3D sculpture of light. VOILA!
Here is the cool part:
“What is striking about a hologram is that…light from every point on the object is captured at every point on the holographic plate. This means that the entire image of the object is contained at every point… In fact, when a holographic plate is broken into pieces, each fragment…will still contain an image of the whole object (as opposed to a photograph which only contains parts of the image when cut into pieces, like a jigsaw puzzle).” www.cosmometry.net
The Take Away:
All information needed to recreate the whole, is contained in all of it’s parts, much like all of your DNA information to create a whole YOU is contained within every cell of you. The pattern of information is infinite and everywhere. This is a truth repeated throughout the Universe and is described by cosmometry as “Fractal Scaling.”
The Second Hermetic Principle of Correspondence: “As above, so below; as below so above.”
Meaning that by observing the patterns in the manifest world below, we can understand the nature and mechanics of the unseen realms of Spirit above. This is what witches do so well–we Divine by noticing the patterns in the flight of birds, the repetition of numbers, by dreams and the drawing of cards.
“Fractal scaling is clearly present throughout the cosmos and has been extensively explored…as a means to describe the repeating patterns of plant parts, coastal and mountain contours, river branching, lightning, clouds, wave patterns, etc.” www.Cosmometry.net
Physicists describe the entire cosmos as being holographic. Now, I could attempt to discuss the holographic principle of string theory within quantum mechanics…but I am a poetess, and who am I kidding? So here is how physicist Andrew Zimmerman Jones describes the Holographic Principle:
Definition: The holographic principle is a mathematical principle that the total information contained in a volume of space corresponds to an equal amount of information contained on the boundary of that space…
“In Brian Greene’s 2011 book The Hidden Reality, he suggests a tightly-interlocked Holographic Multiverse: the holographic principle envisions that all we experience may be fully and equivalently described as the comings and goings that take place at a thin and remote locus. It says that if we could understand the laws that govern physics on that distant surface, and the way phenomena there link to experience here, we would grasp all there is to know about reality.” http://physics.about.com
As an occultist, I would suggest that the “laws that govern physics on that distant surface” might be more metaphysical in nature, as they describe the interaction between the physical and non-physical realms, and that by learning to read the information in the largest patterns, like astrology, we CAN begin to grasp all there is to know about reality.
I like to imagine this universe like a spiraling, fractal pattern quilt that flows from the Great Mother’s fingers. Or perhaps like a tapestry of super strings woven by the Dream Weaver, that encircle us, much like that “thin and remote locus” that “boundary” of space; that as the love of the two who move as one shine through the pattern on that quilt, that tapestry, our cosmos is formed.
You may be asking, what does Mercury have to do with it? The planet Mercury is named for a Roman god. In Greece, he is called Hermes, for whom the Hermetic principles are named. Hermes has a dear place on my altar, and in my thealogy. He is known as a trickster god, quick and cunning, eloquent messenger and poet; a god of commerce, communication, and mediumship; he is the messenger between the worlds and the psychopomp that guides the dearly departed to the underworld. He is also the God of transitions, boundaries and thieves. The word “mercurial” is used to mean that someone is erratic, or volatile. When the planet is perceived as orbiting forward through the skies, those attributes flow freely, when it is perceived to be moving backwards, those attributes suddenly become very challenging.
The Fifth Hermetic Principle of Rhythm: “Everything flows, out and in; everything has it’s tides…”
So the tide is flowing out, and Mercury is showing us his ass…I mean, his tricksy side. Cue the onslaught of communication gaffs, techno-gremlins and travel mishap.
Cue also the excavation of old dramas that will resurface to finally be resolved, and the inner dialogues you’ve been meaning to hold with yourself, finally getting their due. Old friends and adversaries tend to seek me out at these times to bury hatchets, and finally clear the air…sometimes decades later. Mysteries are solved, too, old divinations finally make sense. For that, I am grateful.
It isn’t all bad. “Bad” is only a perception, anyway. I certainly do not fear these parts of the pattern, nor attempt to deny them. Ultimately, I think retrogrades just drag the truth out of the shadows and force us to look at them in a new, weird light. That is usually beneficial, even when it sucks. However, careful diplomacy is always a virtue. I prefer to utilize the earthy power of “being silent” and just pay attention and listen carefully for a while, then we can communicate more effectively when Mercury goes direct once more. You see, I read the map, and I know what lies just around this bend in the road. Astrology is mighty handy like that.
A Charm for Mercurial Mercy…
Hail Mercury, of dark cosmic humor,
log me in, accept my password.
Find the WiFi, connect me soon,
hear my prayer and grant this boon:
Run the payroll, transmit the taxes,
upload the work, grant me access.
Trickster Mercury, why the confusion?
Cease the problems, grant a solution!
Take heed of these wishes bade,
even while in retrograde!
Lots of folks enter into Witchcraft through the door marked “spell work.” Need is both a universally human thing and a highly motivational thing. Necessity is the mother of invention, as they say, and when you hold a dire need that seems impossible, average folks become willing to venture into the unknown for what they think of as supernatural assistance. Superstition becomes a problematic part of this equation.
Just about anyone can “do a spell” and follow the directions in a technical manual to relative success. That tends to be the hook; you do the thing, it works crazy fast, JUST LIKE MAGIC, and suddenly you don’t think this Witchcraft thing sounds so farfetched anymore. Hello line, hello sinker.
Newcomers to the Craft may be approaching spell workings from a superstitious perspective; unfortunately, some folks never grow beyond that phase. They don’t yet know WHY these things are done, just “that’s just how granny always did it,” or “that’s what the spell book told me to do.” If they stop there and never pursue the academic understanding part, the occult lore behind the spell can be lost, and it is reduced to dogma.
Everyone works magick on some level when they make a wish and blow out the birthday candles, or pray for some change in their lives and it comes to pass. However, a magus knows WHY these techniques work; they have both the knowledge of what to do and a relationship with the ingredients. Magi can back up their magick to write their OWN technical manual, improve it, engineer an even more kick-ass Spell 2.0. They are artists who climb out of the traditional box, and enhance both their life and the Craft effectively.
By HarshLight [CC BY 2.0] via Wikimedia Commons
Superstition versus Empowerment
You should know, dear reader, I make no room in my witchcraft for superstition and I hope you won’t either. Either know why it works, what quality the ingredient can and should bring to the work, or don’t do it. Much of spell work is a kind of theater of poetry, but if you don’t know what the metaphors mean, you cannot enact them accurately. Not that we can’t hold some “faith” in what is currently ineffable, but the difference between “magick” and “superstition” is fear and ignorance, both binding of our power. Consider this definition from Merriam-Webster Dictionary:
Superstition: noun
• a belief or way of behaving that is based on fear of the unknown and faith in magic or luck.
• a belief or practice resulting from ignorance, fear of the unknown, trust in magic or chance, or a false conception of causation.
• an irrational abject attitude of mind toward the supernatural, nature, or God resulting from superstition.
• a notion maintained despite evidence to the contrary.
I know full well that there are whole systems of magick designed to draw on fear and utilize coercion of the “supernatural,” but this definition doesn’t describe my practice at all. I understand the causation at play, I am not afraid, I know things, and I hold no concept of the Supernatural, because nothing can be outside of nature when you are a panentheist. Moreover, I have a lifetime of evidence in my support.
My magick might involve the unseen dimensions and a non-incarnate being or two, but these are places I’ve been, beings I know, and I have a damned good idea why it works. If the spell I’m doing isn’t empowering me, and freeing me from fear, ignorance and an “irrational abject attitude,” why would I bother to do it? Mama Heron don’t mess about.
The Sweet Spot
The thing I LOVE about exploring old folk magick techniques, like the Southern Conjure Money Pot Spell I just posted, is that even though this recipe Granny taught us has been done for generations in a quaint way, we can put it under any occult microscope today, and the spell still makes sense from any angle. Egregores of cultural power and faith aside, I think this is mostly why they work; they utilize the universal mechanics that transcend any one particular culture. That is the sweet spot where I like to anchor my practice.
It is my personal belief that “real” witchcraft, that is effective and beneficial for the future, will teach the caster that *they* are the conduit of power that is affecting change in alignment with nature–NOT some “supernatural” force outside of themselves, and NOT because they followed someone elses instructions like a robot. They aren’t merely adrift in a chaotic universe, tossed about with no say in their fate, and need a savior.
A magus becomes the organizing force, and within the spell working, serves as a “coach” who is the expert, has experience, and comes in like a boss to kick some ass. The coach has a strategy–an overarching plan to play the long-game and win–and collects “players” of spell ingredients and spiritual allies based on a sure knowledge of what strengths they bring to the team, then they engender a mutual respect between them.
You see, I don’t endorse the forms of magick that are like a drill-sergeant you hate, or the asshole coach that just command-mode orders everyone around like a tyrant through manipulation and an overriding of free-will; that magus may be powerful, but at what cost? They should have plenty to be afraid of, which sounds exhausting to me.
Venus and Anchises by William Blake Richmond [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons
Love versus Fear of a Lack of Love
A Witch is a kind of magus who inspires and unifies the individual spirits within a spell-working to a common purpose like a well-oiled machine that is fueled by love. That spell-caster is the beloved coach who has nothing to fear because their team would go to any length, any risk, and tackle any obstacle, to win the battle before them. Their leadership through loyalty makes them the scariest thing on the field, bar none. They lead through service, and serve through leadership, and like any good leader, the sacrifices they offer are given from love. Love is the most powerful force in the ‘verse, my friends.
Mind you, Aphrodite is my Goddess, so I will declare that bias up front. The path of witchcraft I’m walking teaches that Love is everything, so the polar opposite of Love is the Void, and the fear-of-a-lack-of-love that emerges from that void. What I consider to be “Modern Witchcraft” is founded on a paradigm of Love vs. Fear, with the entire point of the praxis being to conquer our fears and become agents of that Divine Love in co-creative partnership; not superstitious, fear-bound automatons, nor asshole tyrants.
This theme of victorious love over the forces of fear is played out in all the best stories, whether it be historical facts or works of fiction; Harry Potter, Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, World War 2, the American Revolution. You name the story, the bottom line is that loyalty within a team of simple players, whose love for their friends, sovereignty and their home, is so great it can take down any army of darkness, regardless of what terrors it wields.
THAT is the Witchcraft I endorse; THAT is the magick I practice and teach so that it is cultivated for the future; THAT is the story in which I’d like to play the hero.
Metaphysical shops offer treasures that go well beyond commerce, and the material provisions that are needed to practice our various pagan paths. There are many intangible benefits that are far more valuable to us as a community. They may not be as glittery, and there isn’t an obvious place to hang a price tag, but they are just as worthy of our financial support. Our shops are a light that stands against the shadows of a fearful society, and that is better than gold. Here are eight services that shops like mine offer our pagan communities:
Photo by Johnson Davis, used with permission
1. We are a Community Center
We are privileged to host celebrations and social events of all kinds. Friends stop by to visit; impromptu gatherings happen; children come to play and we dance at our drum circles; love connections are made at “singles mixers”; Knit-witch crafting clubs have met here; we meditate and heal together; we belly laugh as much as we cry in the safety of each others company. We also vend at the pagan festivals where we camp out together, and throw parties like our Witches’ Costumed Ball and a tacky-sweater Yule Party. We once held summer camps for kids based on the magical world of Harry Potter. We’ve hosted everything from poetry readings and book signings, to private concerts with world renown musicians like Lipbone Redding.
I say that the whole damned point to all of this Witchery is to enjoy life; so we create various opportunities to come together to “drink the good wine to the Old Gods, and dance and make love in their praise. (1)”
2. We are the School House
We have a dedicated space in the back of the shop we call “The Vault” because this was once a jewelry store and it has no windows, just low light, dead quiet, with comfortable seating, an altar, and equipment for classes, rituals, divination and healing sessions. This room only seats 13, but we’ve taught meditation techniques, Reiki healing, incense making, spell-casting workshops, my whole “Year and A Day” training program in Modern Witchcraft, and countless more subjects. Many fine teachers rent that room and we found them eager students, who excel, and eventually start seeing their own clients in that room.
Because the shop has the infrastructure of equipment and supplies needed, communication channels in place, and the man-power to organize things, our community can pool their resources and hold larger events, like festivals and conferences. We create partnerships with our brightest luminaries, writers, and teachers in paganism, so they have the venue through which to offer their talents and wisdom to those who need it, where they live.
This Peace vigil space was available for 2 weeks after the Orlando shooting. Many people spent time and made contributions here.
3. We are a Temple
I live where there is a church on almost every corner, and their congregations are lucky enough to have full-time clergy with office hours, or at least a listed phone number. Churches with open doors let their members come in to pray, light vigil candles, and receive counsel when they need it most. If you are a follower of a mainstream religion, no matter where you wander, there is a safe, sacred place to welcome you.
In paganism, not so much. So the local shop must double as our Temple, sacred ground where you can seek solace and help from local clergy. The good shops will provide space for use by various pagan groups to meet, hold classes, ceremonies, and offer services specific to their path.
We’ve offered classes in Modern Witchcraft for long enough now, that a separate spiritual entity we call The Sojo Circle Coven emerged, organized and operates out of the shop. Members have a commitment to continue teaching, mentoring and organizing the community. We hold two grand sabbat camp-outs a year, now. Here is my article about last Beltane.
The Sojourner’s GLBTQ-Love Rainbow Arbor, in opposition to HB2, the Transgender discriminating “Bathroom Bill.”
4. We are a Lighthouse: A light from the shadows shall spring
Advertising for a business in a commercial location so that it is easily found is tantamount to lighting the beacon in a lighthouse. We stand on the rockiest shores of this ravaged society, illuminating the darkness, helping folks navigate their way into whatever harbor they need most. Even if they never come inside, just knowing we stand there shining brightly helps people feel a little less lost.
The magickal wards I erected over our location are charged to shield us from anyone who would do us harm, but also to draw to us all those folks who need us. At the end of every rite I close in our temple, as a closing prayer, we send the energy of our circle to charge the beacon in the Lighthouse thoughtform. Folks find us when the time is right, just like magick!
5. We Offer Safe Haven
Between these four walls, your weird is our run-of-the-mill. Let your little light shine, and no harm will come to you, no matter who you are. That sense of acceptance cannot be packaged or “sold” but is the most valuable treasure in here. Here you will find meaningful conversations with people like yourself, so ask the burning questions that sound “crazy” anywhere else and you will receive responsible answers. She Who is Without Oddness, Cast the First Stone, is my article about how we welcome our community with a different approach to “judgement.”
I’m not just talking about safety for religious expression, either. We make a huge point to serve and welcome our GLBTQ community, being especially vocal about that since the HB2 “Bathroom Bill” which discriminates against Transgender people was introduced. There’s a Safe Pot to Piss in at the End of the Rainbow, is my story about how we are speaking up for our trans friends.
This sign was posted by our front door in response to HB2, and will stay there until it is overturned. Photo by Heron
6. We Propagate Awareness
Because I am so relentlessly “out and proud” and willing to talk about these previously verboten topics across the counter, word spreads of who we are, and how to find us. I’m regularly sought out to come speak in university religion classes, participate in interfaith services, and do news interviews. College students getting religion degrees are rarely pagan, but they come to us for help with immersion projects so they can understand our principles and practices academically.
By doing this outreach work in the community, many hundreds of regular, non-pagan people are given a few moments of exposure to who we are – just nice, beneficial people – that goes a long way to alleviating fears and incorrect information about us. Then THEY go about their lives, organically spreading what good things they know about their pagan neighbors. Give it some time, and soon far more of us will be able to safely “come out” of our broom closets.
7. We Establish Legitimacy
Shopkeepers help to normalize our minority interests by rallying them under a single banner, and then forming a legal entity. By navigating the business landscape we are proudly interacting with the adjacent industries and government agencies for countless permits and services. By playing the system as legitimate tax-payers, we cannot long be marginalized. By simply conducting business without shame like we belong here, we spread awareness and put a responsible face on our movement.
Over the years, our lawyer, accountant, bankers, and agents of all kinds have taken an honest moment off the clock, and asked me what this “witchcraft” thing is all about. They listened to my (carefully-crafted) answers, and were awesome about it, very curious and reasonable. Now they have a great story to share around the water-cooler, or on the golf-course, about that “Wiccan client” they have. <snicker>
Hey, I have no problem playing that exciting role, because the moral of the story is that I am surprisingly normal; just your average mini-van-driving, mortgage-paying parent who faces the same day-to-day struggles as they do, and is dead-freaking serious about her religion, without being pushy about it…and paid their invoices in a timely manner. Our money is just as green as anyone else and that is the only thing that should even matter to our business affiliates.
Photo By Heron Michelle
8. We Empower Pagans to “Save the World”
What matters to me about this “shopkeeper” gig is that we nurture our colorful, and diverse community of pagans so that they have the power, opportunities, confidence, and supplies they need to do THEIR work. Then they go forth into the world and engage in conservation, social justice, advocacy, and leadership in their own myriad ways.
I’ll not try to imply that I solely opened this shop as a selfless way to serve others at the behest of my Gods, as if I’m some sacrificial lamb, because that isn’t Witchcraft. In Witchcraft, personal sovereignty and self-care are paramount. I’m trying to make a living here; however, I also want a meaningful life for myself just like anyone else. I’m here to build a happier society that I get to live in, and to pass that legacy on to my kids.
Mainly, I want to have fun with people who are weird like me. I want to have sabbat picnics and eat BBQ and drink beer with people who share the same values, and watch our kids playing together. We can do all this while we are “saving mother earth,” starting with our little patch.
There are far more intangible treasures that our Metaphysical shops offer their communities than mere commerce, though that is important, too. At the end of the day, its these less-glittery golden benefits to our whole community that we shopkeepers so daringly defend. Won’t you help us?
Bright blessings,
~Heron
In this Shopkeeper Saga series I’m working through this riddle in The Fellowship of the Ring, by JRR Tolkien. Its inspiring me to think about how we pagans approach our own destinies, our journeys to fulfill them, our relationships with material treasures, our heritage, and reclaiming our sovereignty.
My favorite part of the witching work I do is past life retrievals. Its some wyrd work, to be sure, and while I have no idea how other retrievalists discover their talents, what training they’ve had, or techniques they employ, I can tell you that I got here via a winding road that began when I was a small child, remembering my previous life as a WW1 soldier in France.
Throughout my formal education, I bounced between colleges and majors, studying creative writing, religion, philosophy and psychology, anthropology and history, and for something completely different: historical costume design. I finished with a Bachelors of Science in Interior Design, so I know a fair amount about the history of art, architecture and furnishings, too. Ultimately, I had something like 60 random extra liberal arts credits that you might think were a waste of time and tuition. Au contraire! Spirit guided me along the circuitous path, even when I knew not why. Why is any of that important? You’ll see…
Reiki Inscribed Candle Photo by Johnson Davis, Used with Permission
What truly kicked off this journey for me was my Reiki II energy training. Quite by accident, I discovered that I have a knack for healing through time and space. Moreover, while I’m channeling Reiki, I can “distance view.” Learning that praxis was like getting the keys to a time machine! Then in 2012, I made a pilgrimage to Sirius Rising Festival in Sherman, New York, where I took an hour-long workshop on how to do retrievals led by Donata Ahern, who was delightfully stern. She came in, told us all in no uncertain terms that we were capable of doing this miraculous thing, laid out a script we’d follow, said YOU SEE THIS THING NOW, and so I did–in shocking, full visionary detail.
Now, thanks to Donata, I both teach other witches how to do this work, and help my clients to tackle their current life issues by rediscovering lessons learned in previous lives. While we are there, I send Reiki to aid in healing and understanding old “karmic” issues when they occurred. I call these past-life retrieval sessions, going down the rabbit hole. Down there in the between, I’ve met amazing people, felt all their triumphs and downfalls, fallen in love, had my heart broken, seen life-affirming, consciousness-expanding, mind-blowing things! I only wish there was a way to video what I see and feel for you, or take you with me…but wait…I can write their stories.
Care to take a trip with me to medieval Scotland? It all begins with the deep breath in…take in the air that connects us to all life, through all times, passed from all peoples…in and out, deeper and deeper…we are connected…
CC0 Public Domain ~ Pixabay
The Past Life Retrieval Process
I sit across the table from my client with incense burning, candle alight and a psychic blend oil on the third eye and each palm. She is an academic professional, most likely of European descent, just for interest. It is noteworthy that at least 50% of the time the previous life I retrieve is a different gender expression, and of an entirely different race, heritage or sexual orientation. It is my understanding that soul groups do travel through lives together, but are not at all bound by genetic lineage, culture, religion or anything else. They also trade relationship roles; mother in one life, husband in the next; taking turns as incarnated and spirit guide for each other.
I begin the flow of Reiki healing energy down through my crown chakra, to my heart, and flowing out through my hands. I attune a small quartz crystal to be an open conduit of healing for my client, and awaken it to amplify and record the session. My client’s arms rest on the table, palms up. I place the quartz in her right palm, and my attuned amethyst crystal in her left palm. I rest my hands on top. This forms the physical bridge over which I send my consciousness to link with hers, connecting us as I follow the flow of Reiki moving through my hands.
“I begin this session with an intention and a prayer, calling to all our guides, gods, angels and ancestors to guard and inspire us. Show us the way! Keep us safe and healthy as we journey together. We seek to retrieve the past life that holds a lesson needed in her current life. We ask that the lessons be revealed in a way that is gentle and correct for her at this time. I offer myself as the conduit, guide my words so that they are most meaningful, and of most benefit, harming none. Blessed be.”
I push Reiki healing energy through my hands, breathing deeply, willing my descent into a meditative state. This is how I unfold the journey in my minds eye: I see myself crossing the bridge of our hands to meet her spirit within her body or energy field. I approach her on those banks, and we take hands like school children might to skip off to play.
“Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, we connect.”
As we turn, I visualize the thread of her spirit’s journey like a river, and we board a boat together.
“Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, we go back.” (I see the symbol.)
I see us flowing back through time, descending into a deeper trance state.
“Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, we go back to the beginning.”
I visualize my client at the moment of her birth and look into her tiny face.
“Hon Sha Ze Sho Nen, we go back before the beginning.”
I move backwards with her into the void, the betwixt and between, to before she merged with the flesh in this current incarnation. It is usually around this point that I am no longer aware of my own body, except that it is the heavy anchor to which my floating consciousness is tethered; it is a state of ecstasy to be so unbound.
Click continue to read on as we meet the Spirit Guides.
This month at Patheos there is an ongoing discussion on the “Future of Faith in America” asking each of us to answer this question: Why I am still a ________ (insert name of your religion here.) Why do I still embrace this wyrdly wandering, beautiful and horrifying, rapturous and humbling path? Goooood question! Why, oh why, do I do this, particular, thing?
Photo By Heron Michelle
Insanity not withstanding, the first answer that pops to mind is that This Thing is just who I have always been. Whether I’m *doing* the praxis, the mechanics of religion, or not, is beside the point. Frankly, I am not a person of “faith;” either I know, and I know why, or it gets none of my power. Despite what any naysayer may think, my brand of Witchcraft has no time for “superstition” but all kinds of room for mystery, wonder and poetic, mythic truth. I can hold the space for the unknown, without succumbing to irrational fears.
Perhaps that is the first reason I continue to embrace occult sciences and Witchcraft in lieu of other forms of religion; I do not need “faith” when I have the rational, observable universe that I can taste, see, *perceive,* touch, hear, feel in all her delicious, visceral glory, both “above” and “below.” How does one turn down a date to co-create with the gods?
“…and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in Her praise. For Hers is the ecstasy of the spirit, and Hers also is joy on earth; for Her law is love unto all beings.(3)”
I remain in service to Spirit because when I call upon their guidance and power, when I “pray,” they show up, they answer…in words, feels, and full-color visionary detail. Not only do we co-create; we can argue with each other. Moreover, Their thealogy, as revealed directly, and through study, challenges me to evolve into personal sovereignty; to live ethically, lovingly, while taking responsibility for myself. I am encouraged to face my fears, to be strong, to question everything, and to seek answers both intellectually and through wild experience. I grow, make love and fully engage in the delight and challenge of the world.
“Let Her worship be within the heart that rejoiceth; for behold, all acts of love and pleasure are Her rituals. And therefore let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you. (3)”
Photo by Heron Michelle
The other option:
Mind you, there are two separate considerations here: Witchcraft is a praxis, mechanics with an underlying science, that can be learned by just about anyone and applied with varying levels of success. These folks come into my metaphysical store and refer to how they “used to dabble in Witchcraft” but then they wandered on to other things.
But then there are those who *are witches.* I agree with author Margot Adler, that Witchcraft, is a “religion without converts, (2)” By my experience, it is like a predisposition, an orientation, which has never felt much like an option. The deeper into this “rabbit hole” of witchery I go, the more clear the patterns and flow of the Universe become, and that compels me onward, despite the sacrifices.
I have tried a few times to give it up, to lay down the tools, hang up the pointy hat and attempt a pleasant, comfy muggle life. But the witchyness screams up from the depths of the soul and will not be quieted. You *see* things that cannot be unseen. You *know* things that will not be unknown. There is no flavor in the mundane, no succor enough to quench the drive and hunger of the Witch’s spiritual cravings, or so I’ve found.
I’ve chosen to call this path I walk Modern Witchcraft, as have others before me.
Photo by Heron MIchelle
What is Modern Witchcraft?
Here is the marketing blurb of what I do and teach:
Modern Witchcraft, as I teach it through The Sojourner Whole Earth Provisions, is a path of wisdom, reason, empowerment and responsibility that stands proudly on the historical and religious foundations of our ancestors. Yet, we look to the future and strive to create a healthy way of life in a modern world. We blend scientific knowledge with ancient mysticism to evolve beyond “religion” and superstition into a spirituality that brings healing, peace, and balance to the seeker. The path of the Witch is a dance to the rhythm of nature. This dance transforms and strengthens us, while giving us a framework for processing the lessons of this life with grace. To seek the path of the Witch is to seek enlightenment. All that we do here is for the highest good of all involved, harming none. We strive for a state of “perfect” or unconditional love and trust, at one with the Divine Spirit of the Universe.
What’s in a Name?
“What’s in a name? That which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet.” (1)
Lovely sentiment, and on the surface I agree, why does it matter what we call this thing? But then, there is the occult meaning–the deeper, hidden-just-below-the-surface meaning. I now serve Aphrodite, and so I know a thing or two about roses. During my first year of dedication to Her, I wrote this here:
Divine Love is a many splendored thing, as they say. The roses smell lovely, in their delicate unfolding of brightly colored petals into the sunlight, but they are nurtured in the dark, dank shadow of the earth, fed by the decay of last season’s death, shat out by worms. Between the earth and the blossom, there are the thorns.
I have found that the “rose” of witchcraft is also the thorny path, and has the whole range of “smells” from shit-tastic to enchanting. We could say it doesn’t really matter what we call it, yet, language is tied to thought and thoughts create reality. The witch, the magickian, uses language in spells, chants, mantras, affirmations and incantations, meant to create changes in that reality. So, our choice of language is important. In part, we create ourselves, this path, this religion, this community, by the words with which we define them.
As always, the heated debate continues over how we label all these little boxes and pigeon-holes we’ve obliged ourselves to fill. The fallacy trap so many fall into in the beginning of their journey is to name the box first, climb in, then endeavor to fill it up with trappings, rituals, costumes and catch-phrases…trying to live up to preconceived ideas of what it means to be Witch, Wiccan or Priest/ess (or any other title.) For the sovereign being, if we continue to define our own “box” or religion by parameters defined and maintained by others, we’ve already lost.
Two of Disks, the Book of Thoth painted by Lady Frieda Harris according to instructions from Aleister Crowley / Photo by Heron Michelle
For the last two weeks I’ve held the space on this question of what I am and why, allowing it to ramble around in my thoughts. I found more questions popping up than answers; more need to define the language; more need to release judgement of other’s paths; to mind my own business and just Do The Work. I accept that nothing remains constant–everything changes.
There is nothing “still” about me or my practice. Spiritually, I’ve been on a long winding road of every -ism, making many stops along the way. Witchcraft itself is an ever-evolving spiritual jewel of practice with as many facets as there are people perceiving it. Trying to pin down this ephemera just might cause more frustration than it is worth.
“And thou who thinkest to seek Her, know thy seeking and yearning shall avail thee not unless thou knowest the mystery; that if that which thou seekest thou findest not within thee, then thou wilt never find it without thee. For behold, She has been with thee from the beginning; and She is that which is attained at the end of desire.” (3)
![Merkury i Argus, By Rubens [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3AMercury-i_argus.jpg)
![Venus and Anchises by William Blake Richmond [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/3c/William_Blake_Richmond_-_Venus_and_Anchises_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg)
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