Does the mundane world feel overwhelming at times?
Here is a prayer to help you reconnect with the spiritual reality that the Gods support you every day and every minute.
I am loved in this moment Prayer
Lord and Lady,
Give me the experience to know
That I am loved in this moment.
To know that I am cherished and
Held dear to You.
Let me know I am cradled in Your hearts,
And release me from fear.
Although the mundane world tears at my sense of worthiness,
Keep me close in Your love.
Guide me to always remember Your
Embracing love for me.
So Mote It Be
“Take a new job? Start my own business? I don’t know what to do,” my friend, Alicia, said.
My first thought was about how people often think that a choice is “binary” – this or that – yes or no.
We had a good conversation that stayed with me.
Here are some insights when you face choices involving risk:
1.Consult an Elder
When taking a risk, consider seeking the counsel of an elder.
In many cases, if you talk with an appropriate elder, you’ll find someone who has walked the path before you.
(I will make an important distinction here: If you want to do a particular thing in the mundane world, choose an elder who has personally done such tasks.)
An appropriate elder has seen the road and the dangers ahead, and they can guide you on the correct path.
Witches honor the sage counsel of our elders. We see them as representing the Crone aspect of the Goddess. The Crone has wisdom and can help on the path before us.
2.Consult the Tarot or another Divination Tool
If you have a big choice with a significant risk attached, it is good to consult your divination tool. I have consulted my Tarot cards when I needed guidance on the path for my own choices.
3.Consult the Gods
You can ask the Gods for help in choosing to take the risk. Meditation is a good way to invite a conversation with your chosen Deity.
I ask the Goddess for help often in meditation and in prayer.
You can ask: “If it’s best for me to choose ‘A’, let me see a _____.”
You can suggest a timetable like: “If the answer is ‘A,’ may I see three blue cars this afternoon.”
Here is a prayer for asking for the Gods’ guidance:
“Could I use witchcraft to fulfill my New Year’s Resolutions?” a friend, Sara, asked.
“Witches do have an advantage in fulfilling their resolutions,” I replied. This is good news because there are reports that 80% of people fail in their resolutions by February.
Did you make a New Year’s Resolution?
Witches have a better chance at accomplishing their resolutions because we have magick and the God and Goddess on our side.
Here is a simple spell to help you realize the accomplishment of your New Year’s Resolution.
What you will need:
Parchment or virgin paper
Tinted ink that matches your intention (an example is red to get things moving)
Bless and consecrate your items (paper, marker [or ink and quill])
Write your resolution on the paper. Hold the paper in your dominant hand and think of what you want to accomplish with the resolution. Pause and consider the experience and the benefits of manifesting your resolution. Imagine and feel the positive feelings.
Once you have your mind firmly on the outcome of your desire, ignite the paper on the working candle and drop the paper into the cauldron to burn completely and say:
Lord and Lady, Inspire and make manifest All the best That I desire Fuel the fire So I experience what I hope for, Blessings evermore
Was 2018 a tough time for you? Want to release 2018 in a healthy and powerful way?
I know several people who had a rough year. Car accidents, health problems, relationship troubles and more.
Now that the calendar New Year approaches, we, Wiccans, have a chance to manifest the New Year as positive.
Here is a Ritual to help you manifest what you desire in the New Year:
What you will need:
2 pieces of virgin paper
Black marker
Cauldron or fireproof container.
Drawing oil (or extra virgin olive oil)
Gold tapered candle. (You could use a yellow candle in its place.)
Candleholder
Pliers
Straight Pins
Large metal tray with sides
Altar
Tools
Cake
Wine or juice
What to do:
Read the instructions here thoroughly before you start.
On a waxing moon, Cast Circle in the usual manner.
Cleanse and consecrate all your items (the paper, marker, candle, and pins).
Dress your gold tapered candle by stroking the oil from tip to base. Place this candle in its holder, and then place both into the middle of the large metal tray.
Sit and meditate on what you want to bring into your life in the New Year. Think of each of those desires and wishes.
Pick a pin and assign a desire or wish to it. Using the pliers, hold that pin by the head, and heat it on the Working Candle.
Poke the heated pin into the gold tapered candle.
Repeat until you have all your desires and wishes for the New Year (as the pins) inserted in the candle.
Write “2018” on one of the pieces of paper.
On the other piece of paper, inscribe your name or signature. Then place the “your name-paper” under the Candle.
Light the candle and say:
Golden candle your flame’s now alight Give me what I desire tonight.
Ignite the piece of paper with the old year written on it. Place the lit paper in the cauldron to burn away completely, and say:
Bad luck of this year I command, fly away. Good luck of the coming year is here to stay. With each pin that sings, a wish comes true. Hopes of the future now bloom anew. As I so will, So Mote it Be.
You notice that as the gold tapered candle burns down, the pins fall into the tray. With the pins that fall, your desires will manifest in the coming year.
If so, I’m with you. Why? Because every day I deal with asthma, dyslexia and clinical depression.
Here’s More Trouble: Beware of Those Who Shame People with Mental Illness in the Pagan Community
What do I mean by “shame people”? I’ve encountered people who told me that I do not need medication. Instead, they claim that “a certain herbal tea” will “Fix you right up.” No. That is a delusion. But what really bothered me is their self-righteous attitude that I was not “believing enough.” Now that’s what I call shaming!
I do meditate. And I take medication. I have medical doctors who help me.
I have depression and asthma—serious diseases. And it is B.S. to tell me to drink a tea or think or wish my asthma attack or depressive episode away. This is life or death!
I do magick rituals, and they help. Still, if someone says that I don’t need medication, they are deluded. Instead, we must be our own advocates as we deal with invisible illnesses.
Why do the God and Goddess let these things happen?
I believe that before this incarnation the God and Goddess helped us plan the lessons we wanted for this incarnation.
Learning lessons on this plane is about taking the direct route. Sometimes, the direct route involves trauma or mental illness. And we know this before we are incarnated.
The God and Goddess don’t want us to suffer. They want us to be happy.
They send help to us when we need it most. My husband—that is, boyfriend at the time—came into my life and encouraged me to get help in the form of therapy and medical assistance. I am so grateful to him for taking my hand and leading me to the help I desperately needed.
Why would we choose an incarnation with trauma?
I’ll share an idea: Do you really learn what touching a hot stovetop is by someone describing it to you? Or do you learn faster and understand more completely by experiencing the pain?
The same is true with the lessons of our life. We need to experience the situation to truly learn our lesson.
Then, there is the experience of real compassion. Recently, I went through a “bottom-time” (crying and feeling hopeless). My husband sat with me. He didn’t try to “cheer me up.” He rubbed my feet. I felt better the next day—Thank, Goddess!
Still, my husband knows that there is no “happy button” on me. Sometimes, we just need to sit with the pain. I deeply appreciate my husband’s real compassion and love.
I realize that we do not ask for pain today. Still, God and Goddess often help us have the experience of support when we’re suffering. Perhaps, you’ll want to do a candle ritual to remind yourself of God and Goddess’s presence in your life.
“Why is it getting worse?” my friend, Stephanie, said.
“I know there’s a lot happening. Anything in particular?” I replied.
“More violence in this country!” Stephanie said. And, this began a significant conversation.
What if Goddess Serves as Your Source of Certainty?
Is it possible to be certain of anything, anymore? Some people complain, “Unbelievable. I could not even imagine that people in leadership positions would be so … disgusting.”
I’ve learned that there is value in seeing ourselves as “spiritual beings having a human experience.”
As many of you know, I believe in the Summerlands, a place of love and peace in between the times we incarnate. We return and incarnate into a new body, and the lessons begin. We use our bodies as a user-interface for our spiritual being to learn lessons on this physical plane.
I realize that it can be tough to see this spiritual level when we’re in the midst of suffering and confusion. It’s as if we’re wearing “human-tinted glasses.” I suggest that we pause and consider looking at our lives from Goddess’s perspective. Goddess knows.
A Source of Comfort
Sometimes, I return to The Charge of the Goddess for inspiration and comfort.
“Let my worship be within the heart that rejoiceth, for behold: all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals. And therefore, let there be beauty and strength, power and compassion, honor and humility, mirth and reverence within you.” – Doreen Valiente (speaking in the voice of the Goddess—from The Charge of the Goddess)
A couple of meanings rise up for me with the above quote.
Notice the phrase “all acts of love and pleasure are my rituals,” and see that the Goddess gives us the answer. We can derive comfort in honoring Her with our compassion, reverence, humility and more. Acts of kindness and beauty honor the Goddess and make us feel good.
A Prayer
Dear Goddess Release me from my stale, limited beliefs And give me compassion and mirth in heaps. Acts of love and Acts of pleasure. I honor You in this way forever.
May the ideas expressed here comfort you and invite you to listen to your heart. May compassion for others flourish in your heart.
“This is so disturbing. All the rich and powerful men who gang together to protect themselves when we see evidence of their sexual abuse of women,” my friend, Jessica, said.
“Yes. And I realize that this is a crucial moment in history,” I replied. Jessica and I continued with a significant conversation. From this conversation and others like it, I have thought a lot about what is going on.
Use Anger as a Stepping Stone for Positive Change
When I was a child, I felt like I did not matter. My brother was given preferential treatment. He tormented me, and my parents’ neglect gave me a clear message that he was worth more to my parents than I was. My brother even went so far as to hold me down underwater (at a neighbor’s pool), terrifying me because I needed air! His friends, all boys his age, did nothing, to help an eight-year-old little girl. They just watched me being assaulted.
With the #metoo movement and with a woman testifying Thursday about the sexual assault she endured, we, women, are now taking our place as worthwhile people who will not stand by while such abuse continues in our society.
Perhaps, like me, you were taught to just swallow your anger.
Now is the moment for a new approach.
Use anger as a stepping stone for positive change.
We, Wiccans, know that there are times when we must stand our ground and even actively defend ourselves. During one of my meditations, I used my astral-sword to defend myself.
Methods of Defense and More …
Here are some suggested actions you can take.
Meditate and keep yourself strong – Keeping your spirit whole and healthy is the foundation for everything.
Call Upon the Goddess – In meditation and prayer, ask the Goddess to strengthen you.
Volunteer in the community with an organization that helps women in need.
“Sometimes, it feels like there’s so much going on and friendships can get hurt along the way. I mean—we all get stressed out,” my friend, Joyce, said. “I’m wondering if there is a magickal way to strengthen a friendship.”
I gave this a lot of thought, and here is a True Friends Spell.
What you will need:
One pink candle
Candle-holder
Rose Incense
Rose oil
Two rings
Ritual tools
Cast Circle in the usual manner.
Dress your candle by rubbing your oil from tip to base. Cleanse and consecrate your candle and rings. Place the pink candle on your altar in its holder. Place the rings by the candle. Take your friend’s hands and both of you say over the rings together:
I swear upon my soul,
Honesty, love, and kindness I shall show.
I State my true name (_each state your name_),
That I am a true friend to you through and through.
That I will be most honest with you,
As I so will, so mote it be!!
Each person places a ring on the other person’s hand other and says:
True friends, true as can be.
Together now so mote it be!
Do the Cakes and Wine Ceremony
Close your Circle
May this True Friends Spell strengthen your bond with your close friend.
Do you feel comfortable to wear a pentacle openly?
A reader asked me a question recently: How do you get a girl to like you if you’re a witch?
I had a thought: Why does it have to be a big deal about being a witch? Why is this question phrased in this way?
My second thought was: The question arrives with “if you’re a witch” because many cultures around the world oppress Wiccans.
The word oppression relates to “prolonged cruel or unjust treatment or control.”
Let’s look at that detail control. A horrible form of control is related to when other people seem to get into your mind and make you doubt your feelings and worth.
Before we go further, here is my answer to that person’s question:
How do you get a girl to like you if you’re a witch?
“Your question brings up a number of subtopics.
I’ll work with a couple of ideas.
a) How do you get anyone to like you if they might be repelled by a false idea?
You may have heard of the idea “be yourself.” Which self are we talking about? The self that has bad breath and a hangover on a Saturday morning? Or the self that you’re proud of. The one that is a good listener. Someone who is respectful, kind and compassionate. The self that is open to learning new ideas and approaches—with each day as a fresh opportunity to grow, learn and be kind.
I’m suggesting that you first express your best self. Be a good listener. Be kind, compassionate and friendly. Show a genuine smile at certain moments. These elements are attractive.
I have a friend who asked this question: “If you deal with clinical depression symptoms, do you tell someone that on the first date?” His answer is no. Because the person hasn’t experienced your good points, and they have no investment in your friendship yet.
When you feel it is appropriate, you might share some part of your spiritual path. Still, be careful because there is a lot of false information about witches in popular culture.
b) How does one use magick to make oneself attractive?
First, my Wiccan elders have emphasized that using magick on anyone without their consent is Wrong—do NOT do it.
However, you can use magick on yourself to remove blocks. You might have endured parental neglect or maybe you suffered heartrending rejection. Therefore, you could do a spell to enhance your personal strength. To be a good friend, you need to have the strength to be a good listener and to share your heart. That’s right—friendship requires us to be strong enough to be vulnerable with the right person.
Prayer for Strength
Lord of the Sun grant me your strength and wisdom to hear what is not said,
and to see what is not shown for my heart is alone. May I feel your strength from above
so I grow and attract life giving love.
May this prayer empower you.”
* * * * * *
As we close this conversation here, I want to emphasize that oppression happens when people are afraid of something or don’t understand something.
Yes—plenty of people retain false ideas about Wicca due to popular culture and to some religious leaders actively spreading false information.
However, we can get to know people one at a time. When they know us as a warm, kind, friendly person, they may be more open to learning who we, Wiccans, are.
Most importantly, stay vigilant about what’s in your own mind.
This reminds me of a quote:
All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident. – Arthur Schopenhauer
“I’m stuck. I keep ruminating on how that person betrayed me,” my friend, Leena, said. “If I could just get past this—get beyond this.”
I listened with concern for my friend.
Becoming a High Priestess, I worked for years to learn oath-bound rituals to transcend my earthly concerns. It took a lot of work, but with private rituals, I have discovered how to deeply connect with the Goddess.
Wicca is a path of transcendence, which refers to “existence or experience beyond the normal or physical level.”
Beyond the normal … are we referring to positive or negative experiences?
Perhaps, like me, you’ve experienced some downright horrible events in your life. The good news is that, through Wicca, we can move beyond darkness to that which includes love and light. We have the power to use magick, and we can invite the God and Goddess to help us rise above the darkness of our negative past experiences.
Maybe, you’ve heard the term transformation a number of times. To transform however is to change in character or condition.
I have looked upon transformation as something that requires a lot of effort.
Remember, transcendence is something different. As we noted, it is beyond the normal or physical level. Think of it like this: Transcendence can happen in an instant. For example, some time ago, in the middle of one of my meditation sessions, the God and Goddess appeared to me. This was not something I “forced” or “transformed.” Instead, it was an experience that just manifested. I flowed into beyond the normal or physical.
So, what does this all boil down to?
Transcendence is something you invite, and you do not force.
Here is a prayer that you can use to create transcendence in your life by changing bad experiences into good emotions.
Transcendence Prayer
By love and light, By Old Ones’ might! I ask for Transcendence of my (name of difficulty) in Your Name. May You take it and make it tame. That You turn it into love and light, So I will be all right! Let there be a shift in me, from darkness into light. Let transcendence lift me and take flight. By all the powers of the Sun, Moon and in Old Ones’ Name, Keep me safe and keep me sane. Keep me above the dark waters that I tread within my mind. Let me leave my heartache and sorrow behind. Create growth for me and my life with no end. Through every hill and bend. Pain and fear from (name of difficulty) abate, So I have only a good fate. This (name of difficulty) does not define me! It does not hinder or take me! The love of the Lord and Lady ever fills me, As I so will, So Mote It Be!
May this prayer carry you forward and help you transcend that which held you back.
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