#PaganPerspective

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 28 (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 and work through them a bit at a time.

acorn

Today’s prompt is #28, and is about how I was raised and the path that it lead me to be on now.  This is a topic I’ve probably posted on before and definitely one that I’ve discussed with you… but I didn’t want to leave it out.

28. What belief system, if any, were you raised with? How has that impacted your personal practice?

I was raised in a Wiccan/Buddhist household.  My mother is Wiccan and was pretty much almost solely responsible for the spiritual upbringing of my sister and I.  We were raised to follow the wheel of the year and worship the god and goddess and their cycles.  We were taught spellcraft and ritual from a young age, and I do not have a memory of a time when we were not participants in my mother’s sabbat rituals and often participants in her spellcraft as well.

Much of my mother’s path in Wicca resonated… but much of it also did not.   When my sister and I were around nine years old, my mother introduced a pagan parenting mentor to our family unit.  This person helped in mentoring our mother on different ways to include us in her practice and guide us in her beliefs, bur in truth Z (that is the mentor) really ended up taking over a huge majority of our spiritual upbringing herself, as well as teaching us about independence, autonomy, and the development of ethics and a moral compass.

When I moved out on my own at 16, I took those beliefs I had been raised with along with me into my independent life, and Z encouraged me to adjust my practices to fit what felt right for me.   The first thing I dropped was deity, as the god and goddess part of things never really felt right to me.

From there my personal practice was born.  I already had a vast amount of experience and knowledge in spellcraft and rituals, and I took that forward with me into my path and practice, weeding out the things that didn’t work for me, and planting the seeds for those things that did fit.

For this reason, although sixteen years have passed since I’ve been under my parent’s roof, there are still traces of Wicca and Buddhism in my practice.   These lingering bits and pieces are those things that still “fit”.

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 7 (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 and work through them a bit at a time.

Otter

I can’t remember how many of these I’ve done so far, but I have a whole list still to go!  So here’s prompt #7.

Do you work with a specific animal spirit? If so, which animal and why? If not, is there one you would like to work with?

I actually don’t work with animal spirits outside of using animal decks in my divination practice.   I don’t feel comfortable working with them, because it feels like if i were to work with the Fae.  As if I’m using them.

My moral compass says that using them in this way is not okay.  At least, not for me.  Animal spirits, like the Fae, are my friends.  I don’t use my friends… so I wouldn’t use animal spirits.

That said, I might seek advice from them, and there are certain animal spirits / animal energies that I feel a close connection to such as the sea turtles and both river otters and sea otters.  This doesn’t negate the connection that I feel to a lot of other animal energies, but those are the ones I am drawn to the strongest.

I also like bears… although that isn’t really so much something that I connect with personally, as that they just make me happy.

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 12 & 13 (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 and work through them a bit at a time.

spellbook

12. Do you have a separate witchy name? Why, or why not?

My “witchy name” is the same as my online name.  It’s Twist the Leaf.

This name comes from a line in a ritual that my sister and I wrote together as children.

To be fair, when I first came online, I used just “Twist” and then “Twist the Leaf” for circles and pagan events and activities.  But over the years, the two have melded and I now use Twist the Leaf in most places, and “Twist” as the shortened version here and there.

As for why.  My mother used to take my sister and I to a lot of Wiccan functions, and having a “witchy name” was all the rage in those circles.  I chose my “witchy name” initially in order to finally get them to stop pestering me about choosing one, but over time it’s become… more than that.

I no longer go to those events and haven’t for… at least fifteen years or more. Other than my sister (and our mentor recently as she’s been living with us for a bit now), my practice is primarily solitary.  But the name has stuck, and these days it seems that I’m actually more comfortable being called Twist than I am called by my birth name.

13. Do you write your own spells, use pre-written one or do a mix of both?

I write my own spellwork, or at times work on it together with my sister.

This falls back on the way we were raised. To be honest?  I don’t spend a lot of time reading pagan/wiccan/witchcraft books.  This isn’t how I learned my craft.  Because of this? Although I knew that published books had spells in them, I didn’t realize these were actually spells people used.  Like, letter for letter and word for word, used like a recipe to bake pastry.  This realization that people actually do that was baffling to me.

My sister and I were taught to write our own rituals and our own spellwork.  We were taught that it is a part of the process of casting a spell to do the work behind the spell, which includes doing the research to know what elements to include in the spellwork, and constructing the spell and wordwork ourselves.   I guess that because of this, I assumed that the spellwork in published books was there as a “jumping off point”?  You know, providing ideas and examples… but not there to be used as-is.

#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.

 

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 4&6 (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!  This is my Part 2 of answering her list of questions.

forest

4. What is your favourite element to work with? How do you work with it?

It’s probably not at all surprising to hear that my favorite element to work with is the earth and the green that grows from it.   This is very much based on the soil and the green and the cycles of life and decay that these go through together.  It is especially true of damp soil, such as that found here in the rainforests of the Pacific Northwest.

It is very common for me to incorporate soil and plant matter into my spellcraft.  Not just in the use of herbs as incense, but in the actual mixtures and crafting of my spells.  I connect very strongly with plants and their energies help to amplify my own in spellcraft, so this only makes sense.   Some plants I grow on my balcony for this purpose, others I forage from the forests and other natural places near where I live.

I also often use the act of planting, as well as established live plants in my rituals.

6. Do you incorporate environmental consciousness and sustainability into your craft?

Absolutely.  Especially because I incorporate the earth and those things that grow from it so heavily in my craft, it’s extremely important to me that I don’t cause harm in my actions.  As I have an education in botany and horticulture, I’m more than a little knowledgeable in plant care and how to forage what I need without harming the earth and environment in doing so, and how to provide offerings that both protect and assist the earth in staying healthy and thriving.

I do not use items in my craft that are endangered, and I grow many of the plants I use most heavily myself rather than buying from an outside source that may (or may not) have good foraging/growing/gathering practices.

I feel that, especially if someone is practicing an earth-based religion, it’s important to consider your effect upon the earth and do those things in your power to foster the health and well-being of the earth and environment you have influence over, rather than taking it for granted.

 

Is It Okay…?

/ Twist the Leaf / 1 Comment

This week’s question from the Pagan Perspective YouTube channel is about the questions people ask as they are becoming acclimated to a new belief system and/or faith.

Topic for the Week of 2/10:  from Jenni B – “Is It Okay…” in your path!
“The main questions I keep seeing in some of the groups I’m in are ‘is it ok…’ questions. ‘Is it ok to buy my own tarot deck?’ has been coming up a lot recently. ‘Is it ok to have a temporary altar?’ , ‘is it ok to keep my altar in a box/ cupboard /particular room?’. One that really boggled my brain recently was ‘is it ok to cut my own hair’ …??? It might be interesting to have the hosts answer the general question of ‘is it ok…?’ within their tradition. Most of the time people who ask these sort of questions in the groups will get the answers ‘yes if it works for you’ or ‘yes if it isn’t hurting anyone’. I don’t know if there is much difference between the answers people would get from the traditions represented on the channel but it seems to be a common anxiety out there for a lot of people. “

door

Is it okay to buy my own tarot deck?
Is it okay to not read reversals?
Is it okay to not cut the deck before pulling tarot cards?
Is it okay to not cleanse my cards?
 Is it okay to have a temporary altar?
Is it okay to keep my altar in a box/ cupboard /particular room?
Is it okay to not have an altar?
Is it okay to cut my own hair?
Is it okay that I don’t feel connected to deity?
Is it okay to include personal items in ritual?
Is it okay to not chant, sing, or rhyme in ritual?
Is it okay to cast spells without intricate, detailed rituals?
Is it okay to not use candles/incense/crystals/etc in ritual and/or spellwork?
Is it okay to use plastic/glass/etc in rituals and/or spellwork?

I’ve run into all of these questions and many more.   The thing is?   I don’t see faith as rigid.  That is whether that faith is in tarot, in religion, in spellwork, etc.  It’s not rigid.

Yes, certain rules of nature are rigid.  Certain ethics (for me) are rigid.

But none of the questions above fall into those categories.  In every single case?  In my belief system it would be completely up to the individual and what feels right for them.

There is a massive amount of autonomy in my faith.  It’s about what feels right to you. What fits you.  For me that includes a good deal of respect for the earth, the green, and nature’s creatures.  For me, this involves strict adherence to my the directives of both my moral compass and my intuition.   If my gut says no?  Then it’s no.  Period.  Whether I wish the answer was yes or not, whether I feel like it should be yes or not, whether other people insist it’s okay or not.  If my gut says no?  The answer is no.

This goes beyond how I practice, where I practice, or what I use in my practice.  It goes into everyday life and everyday choices, because if I can’t trust my intuition in ALL times and ALL things, it won’t speak as loudly when I need it to.

So my answer to “Is it’s okay… ?” is two fold.  Do you feel that it is a morally and ethically sound decision?   And does your gut say yes?  Or no?

If the answer is no?  Then maybe it’s time to examine things more closely and figure out why.  Or maybe just take it as “no” and look for a method/path/way of doing things that fits better for you.