Oh, Hello There! :)
These are my beliefs. They’re not yours – who knows, some of them might be – and I don’t want to convert you to my beliefs. I don’t want anyone to be something other than what they are. A person is defined by their beliefs, in a way – moral standards and whatnot. You don’t have to follow what I think to get along with me, and I don’t have to agree with you to be your friend. We all just have to agree to disagree.
If you come up with a question while reading this, please comment. I find it too pressure-filled and obnoxious to talk about my beliefs face-to-face, and I can get a bit more time to “stew” on something if you ask me on the journal instead of in real life. It’s just less stressful, and I can communicate my feelings a lot easier through writing than speaking.
I'm probably not going to go into detail about it - it's too personal - but, at the end of the day, I've almost literally walked a year in the shoes of the God. Birth, strengthening, maturing, love, peak, aging, weakening, death. So have a great deal of my relationships gone through this journey.
I've never noticed something like this in my life before, and it's taken me by surprise and left me a little breathless.
I've never been one for male dieties - I've always felt like I couldn't relate to them. Now, though, I've gotta say that I'm loving the God quite a bit; not any specific ones, just as a general whole. In the past, most of my attention has been turned on the Goddess. It's nice to think of them equally now, with equal respect and love for both. It's wonderful to know that from now on, I won't be ignoring him, and won't be thinking less of him, because I've (in a small way) walked a mile in his shoes.
I'm not saying "I AM GOD" or something like that. I'm just saying that my year has transformed in a way similar to his own traditional year. Maybe it's like this every year, for everyone, but they never notice? Maybe everyone goes through life in the same way as some diety from some random religion, or just a year of their life, and it's the religion they're connected to, whether they aknowledge or want that or not.
I certainly didn't go through the year with the mindset of the God, and my emotions and sensations weren't nearly as powerful. I was not at my strongest at any point.
But... when I look back, it fits together really well. Perfectly, in fact.
I wonder if any past years have connected me to other religions without my knowing it?
In this journal, I'll write more later... but for now, I really need to do some homework.
- Emotion:
contemplative
I realized that technically, I chose her. And not the other way around. Sure, I identify with her in some ways, and she speaks out to a lot of what I wish to be... but I don't know if this is really great basis for having her be my Matron. I'll always love 'er to Death, but I'm not sure if I should be so hasty to have a Matron and Patron when I only started studying two years ago. Besides, I haven't even found my Totem Animal yet.
It's just that... while we have some things in common, we're so different. She's confident and sexy, for one thing, and comfortable with her body and personality, and attractive to men, and she lives for luxury. None of that describes me. After all, I'm just an average 17 year old.
I think I'm too impatient -__- I think I need more Earth in me.
- Emotion: contemplative
- Emotion:
searching
As I said earlier, food is a big part of my spirituality. And I won’t lie: the first time I thought of “magic”, “food” and “spirituality” in the same sentence, I thought it was a crazy concept.
Then I realized: Herbs are food. Herbs were also used by Native medicine men, Witches, and Druids, to heal the sick. That’s magic in itself, the ability to use the Earth and your own personal logic and knowledge to help someone. So why can’t all plants have symbolic (or energetic) associations with different forms of healing or magic? A willow tree looks very romantic, so why shouldn’t it be associated with love, and it uses so much water that why couldn’t it be connected to that element? And I already think that everything has a soul, from my tree in the backyard to my stuffed animals to my desk. So why can’t food have a spirit, too?
The magical property of a plant (tree, bush, flower, herb, etc) usually has something to do with the taste / scent / texture of the plant, where it grows, and Mythology. Contrary to popular belief, not all Witches are flighty. There’s a lot of logic put behind the lore of a plant.
( The Apple )
It’s important that, when preparing food, you aren’t feeling negative. As I’ve written before, it’s fine to (say) chop onions to help you cry... but dispose of those onions. Please don’t ingest them.
Why?
Okay, have you ever walked into a house and felt a sense of comfort or a sense of danger, or just a unique vibe all together? Intuition, I mean. Everything picks up and absorbs the energies around it, including food (and your stuffed animals. That’s why you can sometimes feel negative and upset after cleaning). If you swallow the “energy” after expelling it through tears, what use does that do you?
So toss those onions out.
That’s why I don’t tend to do a lot of cooking – at least, not recently. I refuse to cook while I’m angry or sad or afraid, because I’m always scared that I’m going to end up hurting people that I care about by feeding them food that isn’t the best spiritually. I’d rather not poison those around me.
But catch me in a good mood, and I’ll cook in a second. I’ll bake. I do a lot of cooking and baking when I feel happy. And the food tastes better then (to me, at least) because I know that I’ve treated the food I’ve prepared with respect (because it’s from the Earth, after all) and that I’ve honoured it and blessed it as best I can, and that it’s fine to eat because my influence won’t hurt anyone. And yeah, the only reason I believe that at all is because I myself have noticed a difference in the taste of food (and the way I feel after) if it’s prepared by a positive person as opposed to a negative one.
It’s pretty much like if you multitask or are stressed or angry or upset while cooking you’re more likely to make mistakes, while if you focus on cooking alone you will do a better job of it. With spirituality thrown in.
My favourite thing to make and one of my favourite things to eat is bread. Yeah, I know – a little lame, seeing as bread can be so bland. But if you add herbs to it, some topping, or even fruit, it tastes amazing. And, yes, baking and cooking (to me) is a spell or ritual. If I want a bread to symbolize love, I’ll add in rosemary or thyme or cinnamon. If I want a bread to symbolize purification, I’ll add bay or even spread some honey on it. Basically, if you bake bread and visualize the energy of whatever you want it to symbolize running through it, you can’t go wrong. Make almond bread for protection, and visualize –light colour of your choosing- going from your heart, through your arms and into the dough as you kneed it. Bake a loaf for love (lol, loaf for love XD) with some rosemary in it, and give it to your single friend (it’s good to ask permission before you give anyone magicked food or cast any sort of spell, though) for her birthday or if she’s feeling particularly lonely and crestfallen.
Note: If you’re doing a spell for love, NEVER envision the single person with another person that you know. That’s manipulation. If you bake a general bread for love and ingest it imagining romance and passion entering your life, it’s a suggestion. The moment that you assign a real-life person to your thoughts on love, it becomes a seduction spell.
Also: If you feel like it, you’re free to say a prayer over the food. It couldn’t hurt, could it? My family’s personal prayer is: We thank the Lord for this our food, for life and health and every good, except our thanks for Jesus’ sake, Amen.
And just to be clear: I do not worship food. Yes, I worship it as a part of nature, but I don’t have, like, specific garlic cloves that can never be touched or moved because I feel that they are Gods. I HONOUR food, I bless it, and I thank it for being a reason to live.
Now, how did I get so involved in the idea of honouring food? Well, first off, the first Pagan / Witchcraft practice that I was drawn to was Kitchen Witchery (before I knew about Green Witchery), which is heavy on the magic and heavy on putting magic into food and feeding it to those who need / desire the help.
But for those of you who’ve known me for years, you’re probably pretty surprised that I’m so in to food now.
( Quick Personal Tale )
Still a bit doubtful? Still wondering how eating food could be a spiritual practice? As I said with making it, it’s the intent that counts. If you’re fully aware of the sensation of eating, and truly concentrate on how it makes you feel and what the food tastes and feels like, that in itself is a spiritual act much akin to meditation.
*Though, I truly do doubt I’d follow this path. I don’t think that being a baker is my ideal lifestyle. All that getting up early and such ;) Plus, who wants to sit around in a shop all day? Even if it smells wonderful! I’d rather be outside.
- Emotion:
cheerful
I disagree with a bit of this.
Yes, I adore esbats and the moon names. But I don't think for a moment that the Moon is for Earth, and the Sun is for Air.
Reasons:
Air is usually cold. Wind usually cools a day. So it could easily be ruled by the moon, which is cold.
Earth needs water and Sunlight to survive and thrive. SUNLIGHT, not moonlight -__-
Yeah, that's about it :P
- Emotion: cheerful
I know I talk a lot about the Goddess and God, and Aphrodite. I know I don't talk "enough" about the Christian / Muslim / Jewish God.
The reason for this is that I'm focusing more on Paganism at this point in my life. I know that I'll branch out again to Christianity at some point, but to be honest... I'd prefer to be a bit more ignorant to the Christian faith. With Christianity, it's more of a feeling than actual knowledge. It's more of a feeling of "I LOVE THIS!" than a "I LOVE THIS AND NEED TO LEARN AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE ABOUT IT!".
Now, do I believe in a Deity or more than one? Yes. You never know, there could be hundreds of deities, or one for each Element, or just one, or one that rules over a bunch of other Gods (like Zeus). You just never know.
Which is exactly why I don't worship deities: Because I don't know, and I find it to be pretty arrogant of me to believe something... when it means that believing that means that all the other people are wrong. I try to keep an open mind about Gods and Goddesses. While I'm not interested in all of them (I prefer Greek, Mayan... not Egyptian. Certainly not Egyptian.), I try to keep in mind that anyone could be right. Anyone.
When it comes to Aphrodite... yes, she's my Matron Goddess. I identify with her. Do I worship her? The simple answer is "No". Do I worship the God and Goddess? No, I think of them as symbols. Do I worship God? No, but I do love God.
Again, I'm one of the ones who worship what's tangible and understandable to her (Nature, the Circle of Life). I don't tend to dabble in deities.
- Emotion:
awake
To be perfectly honest, I often wonder if I really want to celebrate anything other than Christmas, Easter, Valentine's Day, New Years Day (January 1st for me!) and the four Solstices / Equinoxes (obviously, Samhain as well, to honour the past). Then I realize how much I love Beltane as a festival of romance. Even if I don't take it in the way of the God and Goddess, I like to think of it as the Witch's Valentine's day. So I keep it around out of respect for love <3 (Well, d'uh, of course I'd do that -__-)
Another thing, besides Sabbats, that (most) Pagans celebrate are Esbats.Those are the times when the moon is full, new, at its first or last quarter. Each Full Moon has a name and, while there are many out there, these are the ones that I usually use:
Wolf Moon - January
Storm Moon - February
Worm (Or Sap) - March
Pink Moon - April
Hare's Moon - May
Rose Moon - June
Buck Moon - July
Sturgeon Moon - August
Harvest Moon - September
Hunter's Moon - October
Beaver Moon - November
Cold Moon - December
The New Moon is best for beginnings, the Full Moon is best for general stuff, the waxing moon is best for love & prosperity & healing & wisdom, and the waning moon is best for sending negative energies away from your life (cleansing; it would be a good idea to, say, clean your room then). Or, you know - attempting to.
You don't need to go into a all-out ritual, some crazy thing, for the moon cycles. Simply sitting outside and enjoying it for an hour or so is perfectly fine, and often preferred.
-goes back into Seasons again-
The Equinoxes and Solstices aren't necissarily going to be when you "feel" the Earth change, and sometimes a season doesn't last long (in your mind, at least). Yes, it's a good idea to celebrate the official times. But sometimes, it just doesn't work. Do you ever notice that each season has a different feel to it? If you do, then you know what I'm talking about.
I, for one, felt that this year it was Winter until some time in early May... and then, only Spring for a couple of days. I feel it as more Summer-like now. (Which sucks, because Spring is my favourite season). And, yes, I know that you can't say "Oh, it's Spring now!" and expect the whole world to agree with you. It's just a personal thing.
Personal Holidays
It's a wonderful idea to have personal holidays (say, your birthday, or your pet's birthday). Ones that aren't mainstream and just mean something personal to you. My goal is to, by the end of my life, have at least one holiday about nature specifically that is outside the norm. It's a good idea mainly because it personalizes your practice, and makes it your own on a level that would otherwise be impossible. So celebrate the day you planted a tree (I want to plant a tree on my birthday next year!), or the day you found a stay cat who ended up living with you. Something.
I might end up doing more Holiday posts later. Right now I feel too lazy, and my throat is sore... the tea I made for it tastes really bitter, but at least it's working :P (Like Buckley's!)
- Emotion: awake
At the same time, I think it would be tres, tres difficult to celebrate every single religious holiday. You'd die. Gift giving would take over your life. You wouldn't have any money.
So you should choose a few that you do want to celebrate, whether they're your religion or not.
I don't know many holidays. I know the Pagan Wheel of the Year, Kwanza, Hannukah, and the Christian holidays. That's it. I intend to learn about more in the coming year or so.
I celebrate some of the Christian holidays (Easter, Christmas). I also celebrate 6 / 8 of the Pagan Wheel of the Year Sabbats.
Christmas is one of my favourite times of year (though recently, it's lost its lustre to me). I mean, seriously, it's hard not to love gingerbread, reindeer and lights. If I think of the word "Holiday", I think of a massive Christmas tree with gifts under it.
If I think of the word "Sabbat", I think of Samhain. I also think of the typical cauldrons over a fire, etc., even though that doesn't always happen at Samhain rituals.
I do not celebrate Imbolc or Lammas. It's a personal preference. I just don't like those two holidays for some reason. I don't like what they symbolize or anything.
I do celebrate...
Yule, which is a few days before Christmas Day. It's the birth of the Great God. The time of Greatest Darkness, shortest day of the year. The time when the son is reborn from the ashes of darkness (as the God is symbolized by the sun).
Ostara. (This one is mine / my mom's birthday!). The Spring exquinox. The God matures. Light is overtaking Darkness. A time of beginnings.
Beltane. This one is one of my favourites. This one is a Fire Festival marking the time when the God and Goddess fall in love with one another, make love, and the Goddess is impregnated. It's also known as May Day.
Midsummer / Litha. Fire Festival. The time when the powers of Light reach their highest point.
Samhain is usually viewed as the final Harvest festival, but I simply see it as the day of the Dead - a time to reflect on the death of a new year and loved ones past (RIP Grandpa). The God dies. Fire festival. Samhain is generally viewed as the Pagan New Year (Though I still see January 1st as being the New Year!)
After Samhain comes Yule once more.
More on this later. Need to go somewhere now.
- Emotion:
bouncy
Yes, I believe in Magick... but to a certain extent. The stuff you see on TV can happen, but mainly because I figure that having powers such as telekenesis is one of those things that all of us could do with the 90% of brain we haven't unleashed at this point. But for the most part? Television = bullcrap. Harry Potter = bullcrap.
I view most Magick spells as a prayer. You're asking the Universe for something... but you still have to work to get it. A lot. Using Magick is no excuse for not living life.
Do I believe in Nymphs, Faeries, Mermaids? Yes. They could be on the "Astral Plane" or they could be under the sea waiting for discovery. Heck, Faeries could be the reason that our socks are stolen from the dryer (they're said to be very mischevious). Honestly, you never know. Just because you don't think you've seen something doesn't mean you haven't. And with the sea and Mermaids and Kelpies especially, they're under water... and most of the ocean isn't something that humanity can yet measure.
Dragons and Unicorns and Werewolves and Vampires are a bit of a different story. They're supposedly so massive, we'd notice them right? So where are they? My theory is that they're all pretty much extinct. They existed long ago, but we ended up killing them before we could prove it any way. Unicorns might exist - Peter S Beagle could have been on to something when he wrote that they could only be seen by humans who truly believed in them. You might as well keep an open mind.
Most of this stuff is witnessed by the innocent, the believers. Who am I talking about? Children. Try and tell me you didn't witness anything weird as a kid. And you all believed in Fairy Tales at one point or another.
I admit that I still do. Again, to a certain degree. I'm idealistic, but I'm practical about it. I wish that I could fly... on an airplane. I wish that I could move things with my mind... with the willpower it takes to get up and move it. Walking hand-in-hand with a boy on a beach at sunset could never replace walking hand-in-hand with the same boy while walking by a gas station on the way home from dinner.
Oh, and let's be clear: I'm not one of the Left-Handed path. I don't believe for a MOMENT that humans are at the same level as Gods, or that we should be working toward being Gods.
And I use my Magic pretty practically. I don't go around wearing robes and conjuring demons or spirits. I only use Magick as a prayer, a hope, and usually as a last resort. Sure, I do rituals on full moons... want to know what those rituals are? Sitting outside under the moonlight with a mug of jasmine tea and rose incense while reading a Pagan book, or something scientific about the moon. Sometimes, if I'm feeling really excited about it, I'll light a white or silver candle. What a shocker. What heathen ways.
Magick is something deeply personal, and it isn't always ceremonial or big. It's kind of a feeling. Intuition? That's Magick. Love? Magick. Basically everything is Magick. You don't really need the grand gestures and stuff if you don't want them. You don't need all the tools or the words that are right for someone else. You don't even have to believe that every spell given to you by a High Priestess or Priest will work.
It all comes from the heart and soul - your heart and soul. Make it what you will, play around with it, don't take it for granted and never forget it.
- Emotion:
annoyed - Song of the Day:Violin Concerto in A Minor - Vivaldi
Mind, not that there really IS such thing as good and evil. Not a true "Good" and "Evil" at least. Because what you think is negative, might be a positive to someone else. For example: Britt curses short-temperedness and impulsiveness, while I think that being either of those things is a wonderful thing because it means you have fire in your soul.
Which is exactly why humanity will never be able to truly get along. I'm always going on about how I wish everyone would live and let live, and agree to disagree... but honestly, truly, people are idiots. There's always the people who shove their beliefs in everyone else's face, who figure that their way is the only way, and those who are too broken to ever be fixed.
It's not that I'm cynical, it's just that I've seen some pretty messed up people who are far beyond repair, or too ignorant and / or closed-minded to ever change.
I, for one, AM judgemental. I go around every day snarking about people: their actions, how they present themselves, what they look like, how much I want to punch them in the face, all the while knowing that I'm not much better. But I figure that this is a pretty normal, healthy thing. I'm obviously not like this all the time, but I can be. So can you.
People have to tear others down to bring themselves up. It's just how things are. If you're Obama and became the President, you obviously had to do that by beating out McCain and Palin. Heroins eat snakes. Life = Death. It's just how things function. You need both the good and the bad. You can't flinch at the thought of *insertcharacterflawhere* and say that it's the worst thing to be, because there's definitely something wrong with you that someone else deems to be truly evil and horrid.
I say this because I've been living in a sheltered, fluffy world where I've tried to be empathetic and gentle to every living thing, and it's gotten me no where that I want to be.
As usual: not that I look down on empathy, kindness, compassion, etc. I just think it should be taken in moderate amounts.
Did you know that some people think that you're reborn with every breath you take? That means that with each new life, comes a death. You cannot ignore the negatives.
Stuff just happens.
- Emotion: aggravated
Aphrodite was foam-born from the sea, and essentially fell madly in love with Adonis (though she slept around with other Gods and married Hephaestus). I also believe that one of her children was Eros (correct me if I'm wrong)? As was Ares and Phobos (who, ironically, was born of an incestual relationship. What I like about the Greeks is that they seemed to think it was possible for the Gods to have flaws, too!) Myrtle, rose, swans, doves, sparrow, dolphins, the sea, apple, lime and pomagranates are all associated with her. She was jealous (Note: Telling Eros to make Psyche fall in love with the ugliest man on earth because she herself was so beautiful). She was vain. But by being the Goddess of Love, she was also probably the most caring, compassionate and passionate woman in existance (yeah, that says a lot about mortal women, doesn't it? ;)
Yeah, yeah, I know it's obvious: Amanda + Goddess of Love = Unsurprising. I'll admit that what initially drew me to her was that she was the Goddess of Love and Beauty and Fertility, perhaps the most femine Goddess, and that I really looked up to her at first because I respect Love and Beauty so much. Yes, those are still very strong reasons :P
But I also like how she's full-out balanced. I may see her as caring, strong-willed and kind, but I can also see the Aphrodite that is most common in myths: The one that would use her powers to enthrall men (Divine and mortal) to do her will, to show great displays of love for her by doing destructive things. I know she's a slut and a boyfriend stealer. To be honest, she probably isn't the best rolemodel, what with her manipulation... but I definitely see some of those qualities in myself. The vanity, the kindness and passion, manipulation and love of romance and beauty. That's why I feel so drawn to her - because we're kind of similar, as weird as it sounds. I identify with her.
Again, not that I'm always proud of it. Sometimes I wish that I identified with a more independant deity like Artemis (and, yes, I love her!) or Athena (not so hot on her). But what I like about Aphrodite the most is that she can't seem to keep herself bottled in like that. She has to share herself with people (*ahem* in every way...). She has to let the cosmos know who she is. And she has so much love and passion inside her that she can't possibly choose only one man to be with (well, actually, if Adonis had lived) because she loves them all!
I just kind of wish she could display some self-control once in a while. That would be nice -___-
- Emotion:
loved
Mainly, though, I just haven't read anything about Dark Paganism. I haven't gone out of my way to read up on it (mainly because, if I did, my parents would slay me). I'm completely ignorant to Dark Paganism and, while I may not be that way forever, I suspect I will be for a long time. Sure, that stuff interests me... but only because it's something that I haven't touched upon, and know nothing about. So I'll definitely end up trying to learn more about it. I just doubt that I'll find too much of it that I agree with. For example: Hecate is pretty rad, and I doubt that Lillith was really a demon (just a more independant woman than Eve). But that's about all I know, and all I really go with.
I'd prefer to not work with negative energies, simply because I'm a bit of an emotional wreck as it is... I don't want to screw myself over even more, especially if I ignorantly tamper with something I don't understand (I'm impatient; I don't always read everything through all the way)!
As far as I know, they don't condone human or animal sacrifices. Sure, there are blood rituals. But those are usually taken from menstral blood. They don't sacrifice like that.
I actually kind of respect Dark Pagans. Yes, you may stop gaping, I do. Not because they're "evil" - which they aren't - but because they dare to delve into a "scarier" place than I could right now. Because they go to a place that is completely "taboo" in our (rather) conservative world.
Oh, before I forget: They aren't fluff-bunnies (obviously). They understand that Paganism worships a balance between light and dark, and that you can't have one without the other. Nature is both creative and destructive. This is something that I strongly agree with. You can't worship light deities and not aknowledge that you and everyone else has a dark side - a very dark side. So it's probably a good idea to choose at least one deity to represent the fact that, yeah, you have bad qualities, and parts of you may be evil. Deal with it and move on.
And really, it's not like I would never be friends with a Satanist or Dark Pagan or anything. I would - I'm sure that they're really cool people, some of them. Actually, I am friends with a Satanist, come to think of it XD Oh well. It's just not my cup of tea right now.
- Emotion: enthralled
A lot of Pagans view the seasons with elemental assocations, and correspondences to the Wheel of Life. Spring = Air and Birth, Summer = Fire and Youth, Autumn = Water and Maturity, Winter = Earth and Old Age. Summer is fire because it is the place of greatest heat, Winter is earth because it's the place of greatest darkness, Autumn is water because it's when rain covers the earth and Spring is air because spring (like the element) consists of change.
I've got to say: I disagree with this.
I can certainly see where everyone is coming from, but I don't view a year as a "lifetime" like that. I see the seasons as seperate, but bound to one another at the same time. I associate them with elements, depending on what I see in that season. There's no organization to it.
Spring is earth, because it's a time when everything is budding, a time for planting and such. Spring has undertones of water.
Summer is fire, because it's so hot all the time (obviously).
Autumn is air, because autumn is most famous for blustery days (think Winnie the Pooh). Has undertones of earth, as it's a time of harvest.
Winter is water, because it's the time when water covers the earth. Undertones of air.
... And that's it, really. For now.
- Emotion: awake
All Information Below is from The Way of the Green Witch by Arin Murphy Hiscock.
A Green Witch is essentially an herbalist and naturalist. Her focus is on nature: humanity, animals, plants. It's usually a very solitary practice, and free-form. However, Green Witches used to be the “Wise Woman” of nearby villages... the healers. They were the ones to come to when you had a bad cough or were pregnant. Green Witches seek harmony between humanity and nature.
Green Witchcraft is not Wicca. It is non-structured without set holidays or rituals. A Green Witch's practice is highly personalized to her own strengths and talents and the supplies available to her.
There are no ethics or morals to the Green Witch path, other than your own personal ones (and, yes, you're expected to be a decent person to follow this path). A Green Witch's goal is to become in tuned with her surroundings to a high point where ethical structures are unnecessary. This is because it's difficult to act unethically when you know how everyone and everything is affected by negative actions. Essentially, if you love and respect the world around you it's impossible to abuse it. The More Empathy And Sympathy You Have For Living Things, The Better You Treat Them. Although Green Witches work mostly with plants, they strive to respect animals, humans and such as well.
The mundane is considered to be magical. “Spells” are considered to be a simple part of life, much like a prayer. The word “Magic” is more or less irrelevant. Marian Green states that “Magic is the art of learning to recognize these elements of change: the natural patterns of flow and ebb, the times of progress, of standing still and of retreating... Magic teaches us to determine which way the tides of Nature are flowing, to set on which level they run and what they can offer each of us at this moment” (Green, Wild Witchcraft, pp. Xiii). To most Green Witches, magic is when you learn to harmonize yourself with Nature and understanding how it flows through your life.
Spellcraft is a natural occurance to a Green Witch. Brewing a cup of rosemary tea for a headache is a spell, as is natural medicine. But it doesn't matter. What matters is how we use the healing properties of a plant to cure a temporary imbalance.
Green Witchcraft, like Kitchen Witchcraft, is among the more practical paths of Paganism. It emphasizes daily activities. No special words, unique prayers, uniforms, tools or holidays are necissary... unless you create them for yourself. EVERY LIVING MOMENT IS CONSIDERED TO BE SACRED.
Green Witches do not have a Book of Shadows (a book with all of your information of Sabbats, Esbets, spells, etc). They do have a journal, in which they record things about Nature, observations, facts about their personal cycles and moments in life, recepies, and plant lore. YES, NING, THIS MEANS I HAVE A JOURNAL OUTSIDE OF MY MILLIONS OF BLOGS ;D
Most Green Witches live a part from urban society (unless they have no other choice), and most have gardens. Green Witches usually worship woodland deities (Pan, Flora, Artemis, The Green Man etc). If they worship a deity at all, I mean. Often, Green Witches find a deity that they identify with, but it doesn't lead to worship.
Now that I've actually read up on Green Witchcraft, I think that it's more “the right” path for me than Kitchen Witchery is. That doesn't mean that I'll be a practicing Green Witch, nor a Kitchen Witch, or even a Hedge Witch, or whatever other Pagan tradition I think is interesting (the more I read about it). I'm going to be spiritual, with my beliefs stemming from all sorts of religions.
But, seriously, Green Witchcraft is the reason I wanted to be a Witch growing up, and a Pagan now. I feel deeply attached to it, whether I “am” it or not.
- Emotion: chipper
I don't have a job (but I'll get one this summer, I swear). I don't have a lot of money, and neither do my parents. I feel uncomfortable at the thought of asking them to buy me an athame or wand, because they can be exspensive and I know that my parents don't have the moolah for something that we can't share as a family. That's why I mostly like to go book or candle or incense shopping - it's something we can all enjoy, all learn from and share together.
Thing of it is, I still need some appliances in order to do spells... and, even more importantly, to cook. I refuse to use plastic appliances while cooking - it doesn't come from the Earth and it makes me feel nervous. Because of this, I don't end up cooking too frequently.
When it comes to directing energy during a spell, you'd think that you would need an athame or wand. Wrong. Your finger is probably much more powerful, as it actually comes from the Earth. I do have a broom, because I've had it since childhood... my cauldron is the pots that we have. I don't have a pentacle simply because I've never really liked wearing religious symbols.
I've chosen to base most of my beliefs on Kitchen Witchcraft because, quite frankly, it is by far the most practical. You don't have to buy a bunch of fancy items if you don't want to, because all the stuff you own already can be used in place of it. Plus, I think that spinning positive energy into food and sharing it with the people you love is far more rewarding and likely to work than casting a spell for them. I do spells, just not often. As I've said, I prefer the homeopathic aspect of Paganism... and the bonding with nature, of course :)
( Appliance Associations )
- Emotion:
good
Borrowed from: http://www.members.shaw.ca/kitchenwitch/k
For those emotional, weepy days: Chop a lot of onions. Let the tears flow. Make exaggerated crying noises.
For excess anger and aggression: Try a karate method of peeling garlic cloves. Place the clove on a chop board. With a hefty kitchen knife in your hand, focus your anger on the clove (it won’t mind), take a deep breath, place the handle flat on the garlic, and whap it hard with your fist, yelling Hi-yah, if desired. For serious anger, buy plates for a nickle at the thrift shop and throw them in the sink. The sound of breaking crockery is very releasing.
When you’re in the process of shedding old, outgrown stuff in your life: Peel some root vegetables with a peeler (this is a good idea if your produce is not organic). As the curls of skin come peeling off, enjoy the freshness of the surface underneath. Imagine your own life beginning fresh and new.
( Honour What You're Feeling Today )
- Emotion: good
- Song of the Day:Imagine - John Lennon
Magic is everywhere. Not necessarily the Faeries and Goblins variety... not all the time (though that can happen, too. Miracles are everywhere). I mean things like Science, a tree withstanding a storm, a completed project. That is Magic, true Magic: Finding inspiration in the mundane. That’s the first thing that people need to understand, so they don’t think that Pagans are “quacks”.
The thing that drew me to Paganism most, though... wasn’t Magic. I know most people would think that’s why, what with my over-active imagination ;) In fact, it was everything to do with herbs, trees, flowers, and the element of Earth (which has always been my favourite). Not to mention the big focus on the other elements (Which, again, I believe in above everything else. More than Love. Heck, more than my cat!). I liked the homeopathic aspect of it, and how each herb had a magical purpose, and how each tree and leaf and blade of grass was said to have a spirit and a name. (This is also why I love Disney’s Pocahontas so much :P). I loved how incredibly, deeply spiritual it was, without restrictions... I mean, sure, there are some, but you can basically think however you want to think as long as it doesn’t belittle someone else’s thoughts and practice, or emotionally, physically or mentally disrupt someone.
Now, I know that some of you are probably thinking: But you can think all that while being a Christian! And I agree. The thing about me is that I prefer to worship Nature. I think God would be okay with that. It’s not that I hate Christianity, or disagree with it. I still feel a pull toward it, and I’ll probably be writing about my Christian beliefs in here eventually as well. Heck, half the time if you ask me my religion I’ll say: “Which day?”. I'll admit it: I still feel strong in my Christian faith as well, because I was so spiritually pulled to it as a child. However, the pull to Paganism is stronger most of the time. This is because my reverence for Nature is bigger and more passionate than my reverence for a higher being.
That doesn’t mean I don’t believe in a higher being. It just means that I don’t understand this being, won’t ever know Him / Her / It in this life. It’s because I believe that this being is far beyond any of our mortal understanding and should really just be left alone to do what He will. I don’t think that any of us could ever comprehend the vastness that is this Deity(s), at least not in this life and time. So I figure that I might as well worship something that I do genuinely understand, something that’s been with me since the moment I took my first breath: Nature. Plants, trees, soil, flame, stars, bodily functions. I put all of my faith in the Circle of Life, and the world which the Goddess has created for us. It's worship not only of the moon and sun and elements, but of the animals and plants... it's a reverence for everything natural. I've always been drawn to "natural" above technological, etc. It's the fact that you can choose to be totally connected to the earth, in a hoop, and not have to worry about the God and Goddess caring if you don't think about them that often. Because frankly (though I will say that I worship a God and Goddess / God if you ask me what I worship, depending on the day), I really don't think about the higher deities that much. My spirituality, my heart and essence and being, comes from looking up to and being one with the Earth, each rock, tree and creature. I don't think of the cosmos that often. I think of what's in front of my face, from the largest tornado to the tiniest ant. And I'm quite passionate about it - more passionate than I ever was about God, because I've adored nature as long as I've lived (though I hated walking on grass as a kid. I think I thought it was too sharp). I try to respect every individual being, every person and "inanimate object". To me, they're not inanimate. To me, they're all sentient beings. Maybe not scientifically, but spiritually. I really do believe that everything has an energy and a soul. Everything, even your desk. You just don't get that all the time in Christianity. Most of the guys at my Youth Group don't even think that animals have a soul, or sea sponges, and I strongly disagree with that. I can't really explain why... it's just a very strong feeling that I've had since childhood. It's just the way that I see the world. Everything is pulsing with life.
It’s as simple as that.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TkV-of_eN
- Emotion: cheerful
- Song of the Day:Steady as the Beating Drum - Pocahontas
I believe in the elements more than I believe in a God or Goddess. It's something that's in my core, that I've been fascinated with since before I can even remember. My "personal" element has changed quite a bit over the years; to be honest, like most people, I've had each of them dominating my soul at different points in my life. Fire in Childhood, Earth and Air together when I was a pre and early teen, Water for the past two or three years... now, I know I’m in a time of change, and I could become anything.
Everyone has at least one element that “dominates” them, and it changes as they grow. At least, that’s what I think.
I believe solely in the four classical elements: Fir, Water, Earth and Air, but I also think that these can easily be split into other elements (the ones that I can think of are: Light, Dark, Ice, Metal, Stone, Wood, Thunder / Lightning, Soil, Temperature). I think that the element of Aether consists of two balancing elements called Life and Death.
There are millions of ways to explain the elements.
( Ellen Dugan thinks... )
Or even:
http://duchatnoirpub.deviantart.com/art/W
http://duchatnoirpub.deviantart.com/art/W
http://duchatnoirpub.deviantart.com/art/W
http://duchatnoirpub.deviantart.com/art/W
http://duchatnoirpub.deviantart.com/art/W
EVERYONE has a different interpretation. My personal ones are:
( I think... )
- Emotion: contemplative
Edit: I wish I could live in words. I mean really LIVE IN them. Like make them my house. I know that sounds weird - rally weird - but there it is. I wish I could scultp (Sculpt) them and make them my own, and use them the way that I really want to. That is:
I want to writwe in a way that really is me, that the way I arrange the words and the ones I choose and describe things really are me. They are how I orchestrate (Truly meant in the music sense , because words are music as much as meanings) the letters on the page.
I love words in paper - their shape, their patterns, their everything.
Writing: I live for words, I want to live THROUGH them, and I live FOR them.
Writing is as essential to me as Nature is.
- Emotion: contemplative
- Emotion: contemplative
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