How is life going for you? Are you feeling pressured with work, family, friends, and personal pursuits?
If so, I’m with you. It can be hard to prioritize what to do when obligations weigh heavily on your shoulders.
Then, I had an intuitive nudge. It’s embodied in this question: How would Goddess help me prioritize for my enjoying a fulfilling life?”
Goddess wants you to grow
Goddess wants all Her children to grow. This means learning our lessons and conquering our fears.
What kind of lessons? This varies by the individual. You set up your goals for your lessons before you were born. These lessons can be things like forgiveness, handling fear, or finding love for yourself.
Goddess encourages you to prioritize your health and safety
I realize that I have sometimes, faltered about my own health. Sometimes, I’ve hesitated to go to the Emergency Room when my asthma was overwhelming.
How about you? Are you prioritizing your health? Good sleep, good nutrition, time devoted to nurturing your relationships …
Let’s remember that Goddess wants us to care for ourselves. After all, our bodies are the temples of the Gods. Goddess wants us to be healthy and happy while we are on this earth.
Goddess wants a better connection with you
Sometimes, I get the impression that Goddess might say, “It’d be nice if you called once in a while.” How? We can do ritual and have meditation sessions to connect with the Goddess and God. Even a 5-minute meditation session is better than nothing.
Along these lines, my new book Goddess Has the Answers to Life’s Tough Problems just debuted on Amazon. CLICK HERE to “look inside” my 9th book. For many of us, “9” is a sacred number, and I feel great about this book! I know that many readers will find support to grow and pick up insights that we, Wiccans, have discovered over the decades.
“I know what to do, but I don’t do it to get close to the God and Goddess,” my friend, Jennifer, said.
This has been a conundrum that I have faced in my own life, and I’ve heard about it often from other Wiccans.
Why?
No time and no energy.
This seems ironic in that holding ritual is for generating energy. It’s supposed to uplift you.
It appears that many of us are plagued with some self-sabotaging habits.
Here, we’ll address the no time and no energy problem.
Do something
Light a candle and say thank you to the God and Goddess. Say a prayer. Read a page from a spiritual book. Set aside 5 minutes for a meditation. Simply talk to the Gods.
Invite a friend or family member to join you in a candle-lighting ritual for 3 minutes
This is something that can help you feel supported. If you have a supportive friend or family member, you could invite them to join with you—as you do a simple candle-lighting ritual. You can hold the loved one’s hands, and you could complete the process by saying a prayer. Then, give your loved one a hug.
May these methods empower you on your spiritual path.
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.
Here is some good news—some comforting news: Goddess is with you through your entire journey.
“I have been with thee from the beginning; and I am that which is attained at the end of desire.” – Doreen Valiente (speaking in the voice of the Goddess—from The Charge of the Goddess)
The last part of the above quote has a couple of meanings to me. “I am that which is attained at the end of desire” implies that the Goddess’s love is what you receive at the end of your life. I believe we go to the Summerlands at the end of this life. You get to rest and enjoy time with your family and friends. The Gods will be there to give you love and support.
Another meaning is that the “end of desire” is actually a revelation that it is Goddess’s love that we really want. By this I mean, that what we want, including inner peace, joy, fun and comfort, are all manifestations of Goddess’s love. One of my friends recently bought a high-end, new car. What did he want? Some form of fulfillment. A car or a hug is just an expression of the blessings from Goddess. We notice that the car or a hug opens the door to good feelings.
Here is a prayer for times when you’re feeling overwhelmed.
A Prayer
Lord and Lady Give me strength To be compassionate to myself. From that well may I draw The love of the Gods to Persevere on my path And be kind to others.
So Mote It Be.
May this prayer empower you to joy and fulfillment,
“I told her that I trust her with something that, in my local community, I have to keep confidential,” Julie began. “I made her promise me—but she told my secret to everybody. And now they shun me!”
“She told them you are Wiccan,” I said, realizing.
Have you had a similar situation in your life? Has someone betrayed you and now you just can’t get the painful thoughts and feelings out? Does it feel like you’re being ripped apart?
To heal after betrayal, we notice a process …
Stages:
Identify the betrayal
The point here is that you need to acknowledge to yourself that you have been wronged. This person made a decision that caused you harm. Before my divorce, I put up with bad actions of my then-husband. Part of gaining the strength to leave him was for me to put my foot down and declare in my own mind: “This is wrong. I will not endure this, anymore.”
Feel the pain
Acknowledge the pain. Feel it. Until you do, you can’t grow and move past it. Additionally, until you feel the pain you might not have the energy to push through and move on. My then-husband would drain our joint account of money to buy his video games and there would be no food in the apartment. He would feed himself with fast food and think nothing of me.
I had to feel the pain and gather my strength to get the hell away from him. (By the way, I’m so glad because after the divorce, I was free to find my soulmate. It’s so much better now.)
Perhaps, you’re like me, and you’d like a break from feeling so much pain. In fact, I had a recent meditation session in which I asked the God and Goddess, “Why do I have to be in such pain?”
Their answer made me pause. They said, “Pain is to grow.”
So, feeling the pain is where growth happens. I know it sucks. But pain is the fuel that creates growth.
Protect yourself from more trouble
This is where you need to cut all contact with the person. You can do the ritual below for this.
Here are the steps of True Separation:
Verbally end the relationship
Stay away from the person.
Ground yourself.
Cast circle.
Do the Separation Ritual (see below).
Do the Cakes and Wine ritual.
Close the circle.
Finally continue to have no contact with the toxic person.
You will need your usual ritual items to cast circle and your altar. As I mentioned you will also have a length of yarn or piece of red string. The yarn/string must be long enough to encircle your own waist and to encircle the object (that represents the toxic person).
The Separation Ritual
Take the object. First, your will asperge it. Asperge means to sprinkle the holy water with your fingers onto the object.
With the holy water, asperge and say:
I cleanse and consecrate you by water and earth.
Next you will cense the object. Cense means to waft incense smoke over the object.
With the incense smoke, cense and say:
I bless and charge you with air and fire.
Then take the string/yarn and cense and asperge it as well and say:
I cleanse and consecrate you by water and earth.
I bless and charge you with air and fire.
Take the red string/yarn in your hands saying:
Tiny bundle of String/yarn
You are now the same as the bonds between me and Name of person.
Tie one end of the string/yarn to the object and then encircle your waist with the other end of the string/yarn, while you say:
You are the bonds that connect us now.
From me to Name of person and from Name of person to me.
Our connection is by thee.
Sit and concentrate on the bond between you both and see it as the string/yarn that now connects you and the object. Once you have a firm connection with that thought, take the boline and cut the string/yarn, seeing in your mind’s eye the astral bonds being cut along with the string/yarn.
Once you complete the cut, say:
I am now free of the ties of Name of person as he/she is of me.
May my happiness expand, and may Name of person’s happiness expand.
Blessed be.
Finish up with the Cakes and Wine part of the ritual and then close the Circle.
Call upon the God and Goddess to assist with your healing
Meditate and pray to the Gods for strength. Here is a prayer you can use.
Heal my heart and mind, Free me of violence that binds Keep me safe and sane from [his/her] madness, Let me stay centered and stay strong as my own badass. So mote it be!
Circle the Wagons with Friends
Keep your true friends close to you. Confide in them and let them build you back up.
Move into Inner Peace
Now that you are centered and have had your friends strengthen you, you can now move into peace. You now know that you have separated yourself from the betrayer, and you have surrounded yourself with the love of your true friends and the God and Goddess.
Keep in mind there is a difference between acceptance and approval. You do not approve of the betrayer’s actions. Eventually, you might get to the point of acceptance. What would you be accepting? You would accept that the person was caught up in their own crap, and you weren’t even a fly on their windshield. We notice that people can be seriously self-centered and cruel.
But acceptance is not approval. Acceptance is realizing that you went through an event, and today you are not ruled by it.
May this material support you and bring you peace.
On the astral plane, I breathed easily, talking with the God and Goddess. In the midst of my meditation, I knew that standing in the Stone Circle was safe.
Just as I took some steps to leave the Stone Circle, the God moved like a flash and barred my exit.
Then I heard a gut-wrenching fight between Jerry (my protective animal spirit) and some thing—outside the protective Circle.
Apparently, Jerry won. He came back to my side and guided me safely back to the earthly realm.
Soon, I opened my eyes. My meditation was complete.
The next day I talked to a friend, and she told me that “All religions have prophesies foretelling this.”
This what? The Veil between the earth and the astral plane is currently quite thin. Around the time of Samhain, The Veil usually does become thinner. However, at this moment, The Veil appears thinner still.
What can we do?
Put up extra wards and protections around your home and your life.
Employ Witch’s Bottles.
I begin with revamping my witches’ bottles. Learn to make you own Witch’s Bottle here.
Bless Salt or Stones for Protection
You can bless salt or stones (particularly hematite) and pour or place them around doors and windows. Wiccans pour blessed salt across thresholds, doors and windows. Wiccans place blessed stones next to such areas, too.
Here is a prayer to instill protection on your chosen substance (salt or stone):
By Sun and Moon, by stream and sea may protection come unto me. I ask the Lord of Death and the Lady of Reincarnation to take any negative or rough entity back to where they belong. May this salt [or stones] protect me and my home. So Mote It Be.
“So much doesn’t make sense now,” my friend, Jacob, said.
“I can guess some of what you’re referring to,” I replied. “Is there something specific that really bothers you?”
“I … I guess. I don’t know why things have to be so screwed up. I feel really bad,” he said.
This began an extended conversation that left me thinking deeply.
So much of what bothers us comes down to asking “Why?”
And then the big question: “Why am I here?”
I have often looked on the earth as a classroom.
So, then the question might take on a new tint, “What am I here to learn?”
The next thought is: “To find out what you must learn, think of… What triggers you? What makes you sad, scared or angry?”
Deep meditation holds the key to the mystery.
Triggers Meditation
Find a quiet somewhere you know you will not be disturbed. Turn off your phone and choose a place to sit comfortably. Keep your back straight.
The Meditation
[Consider recording the following words on your smartphone, and then you can play the recording back. In this way, you would be guided through the process by your own voice.]
First, close your eyes. Notice that the light begins to fade around you. Slowly at first, then it gets darker and darker. Until you are in total darkness, where you feel safe and secure.
(Pause)
Then, just as the darkness came, it leaves. The light returns, slowly at first. Gradually, it gets brighter and brighter. Notice you are in a new place—standing inside a great temple. In front, you find a large stone altar, and you step up to it.
On the altar’s right, you see a large cauldron. Within it, fire burns brightly. It is warm and soothing.
Turning back to the altar, you view three objects resting on the smooth surface. Each of these objects represents a trigger in you. They can represent any belief that keeps you sad, scared or angry.
Picking up the first object, you examine it closely. It is round and light.
(Pause)
You aim the object at the cauldron and continue to feel the warmth of the fire. Toss the object into the fire, and watch as it is consumed by the flames.
Smoke rises from the burning ball. You marvel as you see something in the smoke. Realize that this object in the smoke represents an unknown trigger inside you. Perhaps, it is the source of your sadness or fear—or anger.
(Pause)
Go to the altar. Pick up the second object. Examine it and notice it is round and light.
(Pause)
You aim the object at the cauldron and continue to feel the warmth of the fire. Toss the object into the fire, and watch as it is consumed by the flames.
Smoke rises from the burning ball. You marvel as you see something in the smoke. Realize that this object in the smoke represents an unknown trigger inside you. Perhaps, it is the source of your sadness or fear—or anger.
(Pause)
Turn to the final object on the altar. Pick up this last object and examine it, finding it to be round and light.
(Pause)
You aim the object at the cauldron and continue to feel the warmth of the fire. Toss the object into the fire, and watch as it is consumed by the flames.
Smoke rises from the burning ball. You marvel as you see something in the smoke. Realize that this object in the smoke represents an unknown trigger inside you. Perhaps, it is the source of your sadness or fear—or anger.
(Pause)
Step back from the cauldron. Notice something that you didn’t perceive before. Now resting on the left side of the altar, you find a small silver chest—about the size of a shoebox.
Feel something in your pocket. Pull out the object—the key of knowledge and truth. You find the place to insert the key into the chest. Upon using the key, you hear a quiet click, and the chest opens.
Inside, you see three new and different objects. Pick them up and then find a comfortable place to sit down. Realize that these objects represent three positive truths. These objects are the keys to learning how to grow beyond your old triggers.
(Pause)
Your time here is done. Place these new objects safely into your pocket.
Breathe deeply. One … Two … Three. Notice the light begins to fade around you. Slowly at first, it gets darker and darker. Until you are in total darkness, where you feel safe and secure.
(Pause)
Then, just as the darkness came, it leaves. The light returns, slowly at first. Gradually, it gets brighter and brighter. The light is back. Now open your eyes and see you are back from your meditation. You are safe, feeling refreshed.
May this meditation empower you to find your personal purpose.
“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.
I opened the large box that contained my holiday gift. Inside, I found a brewing kit. “Perfect!”
When I was in my mid-20s, I brewed mead. However, I lost my equipment in the move from my childhood home.
It had been a long time since I brewed anything, so I needed a refresher. So, I purchased a book about mead-brewing.
I eagerly read the book—and that takes some doing since I’m dyslexic. Learning about Vikings and how they brewed mead had my attention.
Today, I am once again excited to try my hand at brewing mead. However, this time I am trying an open-air brewing technique I found in the book. It’s brewing done old school—like our ancestors did long ago. Along this line, Wiccans like brewing mead.
Instead of using commercial yeast, I will be harvesting wild yeast. This is something our ancestors did at the beginning of their brewing exploits.
So, I gathered up all the equipment and ingredients that I needed, including a rod to mix my brew. I would dedicate my mead-brewing efforts to the God and Goddess. I wanted to make the mixing rod a sacred tool. Therefore, I wrote a blessing to imbue my new mixing rod with the powers of the God and Goddess.
Mixing Rod Blessing
Blessed Be this Sacred Rod May it Bestow with Healing Energies of the Gods Let my Rod mix my brew With Health, Wealth, Peace, and Joy anew All who taste the brew mixed with this Rod May Find Everlasting Blessedness from the Gods As I will, So Mote It Be
In the next days, I’ll see how my renewed interest in mead-brewing goes.
Are you considering adding something new to your daily activities?
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