learning witchcraft

What is Centering and Grounding?

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Although a lot of people look upon the terms “grounding” and “centering” as one in the same, in truth they are two very different things that are often used in conjunction together.

Centering, which is usually done first (although not always), is about drawing in your chaotic energy. Imagine your energy as a sphere that surrounds you. When you are feeling chaotic, distracted, scattered, etc, the particles of energy in this sphere are agitated and disorganized.

In centering, you are taking these particles of your energy and drawing them from the sphere and in closer to yourself, even into yourself. Drawing these energies in, they condense and calm, ceasing their agitation and disorganized behavior. This is called Centering. It is bringing your energy “to center” in order to “piece yourself together” and calm your energy into a state of solid stability.

Grounding is usually done after centering, although some people do them simultaneously (or only do one or another depending on what works for them). Grounding is taking that stability within you and connecting it to “an anchor”. There are lots of things you can use as an anchor, but in my case it is always very literally… the ground.

Grounding helps preserve the centering that has been done, giving the stability found in the centering a more solid and long-lasting quality. It can also be used to help release excess energy that can build up when one is dealing with things like nervousness or anxiety, or otherwise balance out one’s energies.

My go-to way of grounding is through rooting. This is when you allow yourself to connect through your feet (or other part of your body touching the ground) and imagine your energy creating roots that dig down into the earth and spread beneath you. These energy roots create an anchor that helps cement stability in place, and allows a give-and-take of energy with the earth to level out any excess or depletion taking place.

I center and ground many, many times a day. It is a habit that takes a few second at a time, or can take a few minutes if done consciously and with intention for a stronger effect.

In spellcraft, these techniques are especially important as they are used to help condense and prepare your energy for use and direction. Casting a spell without centering and grounding would be like shooting an arrow out of a bow with the feathers loose. The energy (arrow) may get where its going, but it sheds a good deal of energy along the way (the feathers) making the spell less effective,

By centering and grounding first, you are essentially securing those feathers to the arrow (creating fletching) so that when the arrow flies, there is no loss of energy along the way and the arrow’s accuracy is greatly increased. Thus, your intention and energy in the spell is not wasted and flies true as well.

This is why you will find in the large majority of witchcrafting communities, when people ask why a spell didn’t work or why it went awry, the first question usually posed by those with experience is “Did you center and ground first?”

An Emotive Ramble on “Coolness”

/ Twist the Leaf / 2 Comments

So recently, on one of the Discord servers that I’m a member of, there was a question asked about if people are familiar with the Theban alphabet, and if we use it.

I got into a bit of a debate with someone on the server about whether the Theban alphabet is a language or not. I continue to insist that it is not, but rather in this instance is a tool used to conceal language, and not a language in and of itself. They insisted that it is a language, because it can be used to communicate between two people.

A Frustrating Encounter - Theban Alphabet
"A Frustrating Encounter" - Theban Alphabet

The thing is, during this debate, they insisted that the Theban alphabet has no true use, and that people learn it just because they think it’s “cool”. And the way that this was presented sounded very snide, especially in the context that they were insisting a better method of concealing one’s writings from others would be to learn an entirely different language, and use that instead of a cypher (which is what the Theban alphabet is).

Now, while I agree that learning another language would be beneficial to anyone and everyone, I disagree that the Theban alphabet has no place in today’s witchcraft. I also strongly disagree with there being anything to look down upon in learning something…. anything, for that matter, because you find it “cool”.

In fact, I would say that aside from outside influences (economic, parental, educational requirements, etc) that the “cool” factor is humanity’s key motivator in any learning or exploration process. It is what sparks our inspiration and curiosity, and thus from there we dive in and explore, learn, and eventually develop and then hone our skills.

I don’t understand why anyone would look down on people for thinking something is “cool” and thus deciding to learn about it, no matter what it is that has caught their attention.

In the end, this person’s dismissive invalidating and degrading tone really put me off (and pissed me off), and combined with the tension between myself and her as we tried to discuss… I ended up having to excuse myself from the conversation.

Which… is so fucking frustrating. And irritating. And damnit, I hate when people look down on others like that and it pisses me the FUCK off and, in this instance? There’s just nothing more I can do about it other than the posts I already placed in there to reassure anyone that read the discussion that it’s okay to explore and learn something because you find it cool. Why the hell wouldn’t it be?

Side note… The answer to the original question of if I am familiar with and/or use the Theban alphabet is that my sister and I were taught this alphabet by our mother when we were children, and were required to write our rituals and spell notes in it in order to become fluent in reading and writing with it. I no longer use the Theban alphabet, and haven’t since leaving my parent’s house at the age of sixteen. That does not change my opinion that it has it’s places and uses in today’s witchcraft, just not in mine specifically as I am very much “out of the broom closet” and not planning on spending any time in there.

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 5 & 8 (non)VR to Heather Carter

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

Heather Carter on YouTube put together a series of prompts titled #31DaysofWitchcraft that she’s been working her way through since the beginning of May.

I really like this idea, but I can’t handle the responsibility of any more daily posts, so I thought that for the next few weeks, I would do one (or a few at a time) for the end of week “My Pagan Perspective” posts. This is the third installment!

Coffee

5. Have you had a teacher in the craft? Have you ever taken a course or classes to help you learn witchcraft? What were your experiences? If you haven’t, how are your thoughts and feelings on such courses?

I have had a teacher in my craft.  In fact, I’ve had a couple. The first was my mother, who raised my twin sister and I in the Wiccan path, while my father provided influences from his Buddhist beliefs.

When we were around the age of nine, my mother reached out into the pagan community and welcomed a pagan parenting mentor into our lives to help with better teaching us the Wiccan path and incorporating us into the rituals and celebrations of that path.

What really ended up happening is that the mentor (Z) ended up being our main teacher and guide concerning not just our spiritual path, but also our moral compasses, learning self worth and independence, and many other things.  She cared for us a lot, and we spent a great deal of time at her house and attending different rituals and celebrations with her throughout our youth.

When I emancipated from my parents, she was there to help encourage me to find my own path.  A path that would fit me and feel right to me.   Even now, she is a part of my life and I consult with her often.   In fact she’s currently living with my sister and I because she’s stuck abroad while things are closed down and restricted due to the pandemic.

I have never taken a class about witchcraft.  I actually wasn’t even aware that there are classes available for witchcraft.  Apparently there are, but I’ve never seen them or heard of them before.  This is probably because I am primarily solitary, though.

I don’t really have a lot of thoughts and feelings concerning the idea of classes and/or courses on witchcraft.  Primarily, because I haven’t taken one and have no idea what they cover or if they would encourage individualization… or require conformity.  I lean in the direction of individualization… obviously.

8. Do you refer to yourself as a witch? If not, why not? If so, what does the word mean to you?

Okay so, yes.  I refer to myself as a witch.

In my opinion, the term “witch” is just another label for “person that does spellcraft/magic”. So therefore, whether you call yourself a witch or not is pretty irrelevant. A duck is a duck is a duck… call it a mallard (witch)? It’s still a duck.

As I do not live in a place where calling myself by what I am puts me in any real danger, nor am I in the closet or trying to hide myself in some way, I see no reason not to use the term.

I do understand choosing to not adopt a label tho. Labels can be problematic if taken the wrong way by family, society, etc and can even create personal safety issues. I think it’s okay to not use the label… but important to acknowledge that you are a part of the underlying group that includes that label, even if only to oneself.