spiritual paths

#31DaysofWitchcraft Prompt 1-3 (non)VR to Heather Carter

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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 first installment!

pine-cone

1. Is your witchcraft secular, spiritual or religious? How does this influence your practice?

My witchcraft is a blend of secular and spiritual.  I revere the energies of the elements as well as those of creation, evolution, and balance.   I incorporate these into much of my ritual witchcraft. At the same time? Much of my spellcraft is based not on faith but upon the secular qualities of the ingredients incorporated into the spells.

A secular example, I might imbibe  a cup of mint tea with magical intent for healthy digestion before giving it to my sister when her stomach is upset.   The magic is there within my will and my intent, which are pushed into the brew when it is made for her…. but, it is boosted by using the right ingredient for the purpose, which leans the ingredient into the energy of my intention.

Which is different than say… as a spiritual example, where I might plan a ritual that involves inviting the elements and those energies I revere into my ritual and my spellcraft, pulling them in to include them for not just their blessings, but also their power to be lent into my intent.  This is a conscious act to include a spiritual aspect that is not present in the first example.

2. Do you work with any specific deities as part of your practice? Why, or why not?

Nope.   My sister and I were raised Wiccan, and in that practice we included the god and goddess into our faith and our witchcraft.   But once I moved out of my parent’s home, the deity aspect was the first to go for me in adjusting my practice to better fit me personally.

It’s simply not an aspect that has ever really connected for me.  I don’t deny the concept of deity, only that it’s not a part of my own practice.  I’d never say “there’s no such thing as Loki, or Diana, or…. any of them” because honestly?  I don’t think that’s true.   I just know that for me, it’s not what feels right.  For me, a much better fit are the energies of creation, evolution, balance, and the elements.

3. What area of your practice are you currently focusing on, if any?

At the moment I’m pretty much in a “comfort zone” of sorts.  I have my divination practice and clients.  I have my daily devotionals and day to day spellcrafting.   But honestly?  I’m not researching or digging at this time.  A huge majority of my witchcraft (and pagan path, for that matter) is instinct and intuition.

When something strikes my interest or curiosity, I delve in and sate that need to know, and may or may not incorporate something into my path if it resonates strongly with me.   But there’s very little “study” going on… and other than my studies in plants?  There never really has been.  I’m comfortable.  I’m happy.  And I’m not looking to really “fill in any gaps” or change my path to something else as I don’t feel any lack of satisfaction in relation to the path (spiritual or witchcraft related) that I’m currently on.

 

Paganism and Practice

/ Twist the Leaf / 2 Comments

I discovered a new channel on Youtube (new to me, not new on YouTube) called Pagan Perspective the other day, and I really liked some of their weekly discussion topics.  I’m a bit inspired to follow along here on the blog, and so here is my first post.

Spiritual development is a progress, so sometimes thoughts and opinions change along the way, and sometimes we don’t even realize this has happened.  I think this is a nice way to share a bit more of my path with you, but also a way of looking a little more in depth at different aspects of my own faith and getting in touch with where I am at this moment on that journey.

rainforest

Topic for the Week of 7/22:  How often do people practice? What do you think about NeoPagans who believe without practice? Is it still a spiritual path?

I think that I have a hard time with the word “practice” in this question.  To me, “practice” usually refers to spellcraft, where as Paganism is a spirituality/belief system.

So, with that in mind, I would say that you can absolutely be a Pagan without “practicing” anything.  Just because you’re not lighting candles or what not does not change your beliefs and as long as you have your beliefs, you are still walking the path.

That said… perhaps there are “belief system” practices, right?  Because there’s things like daily devotionals, or meditation on deities, etc.  Still, I stand by what I’ve said above.  If you have a belief system, then you are on a spiritual path, regardless of the amount of “practice”  you are instilling within it.    As long as you have that belief and are following its tenants, then you’re there.

For example (and lets beat this horse to death, shall we?) we’ll look at Christians. A Christian is a Christian because they believe in the Almighty God and the tenants outlined in the Holy Bible.  If they do not go to church or say their nightly prayers does that mean they aren’t a Christian anymore?  Of course not.  They still have their belief system and thus, are still on their spiritual path.

On to my personal practices…

For me, it’s hard to separate spellcraft from my pagan practices, because in my case they are very interwoven together in how I connect with the energies of the elements, balance, and creation.

Over about mid-2016 through the beginning of this year, I had taken a bit of a hiatus from a physical practice.  I still did my ‘forest bathing’ and I still had my faith, but other than on Samhain, I wasn’t really doing any sort of a physical, tangible practice.

Even in those times, though, I was connected to my beliefs.  I was aware and comfortable with my connection with the earth in all the things I did that brought me in contact with it, I was instilling intention in my time in the kitchen and in my time working on jewelry that was to be sent out to others.   It was simply not being structured or physically expressed in ritual.

Prior to that (and again since the spring) I have returned to doing a daily devotional when I get up in the morning, which includes a short meditation each day, and I have returned to ritual and spellcraft on holidays, new moons, and full moons.  Not that these are the only times I do so, but they are the structured times that are planned for.

Therefore… back to the question at hand because I’m rambling all over the place.  How often do I practice?  Every day.   And I suppose that was always the case, even when I stepped away from a more structured practice for a time.

And I suppose that in the end, “practice” can be anything that instills your beliefs in your life, even if that is just in the way of one being consciously aware of their beliefs rather than abandoning them entirely.   Which, in a way, ties right back into what I said at the beginning of this post.