Offering Stones

I have been looking at a lot of videos by pagans on Youtube because I find it such an inspiration and their are so many fun and helpful things to find out about. One thing that I absolutely love but knew nothing about until today or yesterday (I'm not sure which) when I watched the "How to make offering stones" video by krazyboytx, are offering stones. It seems like such a nice thing to do and applicable in so many ways. Just by watching the video I get tons of ideas of how I can use these: Not just as offerings for when I go out to the woods and collect items that I need but also as an offering to my ancestors on Samhain, or to the fairies that help when I do an oracle reading or to the spirits that keep me and my loved ones and the places we live in safe or as a daily offering to God and Goddess and Spirit. And it looks like such a fun thing to do!

Here is a nice image I found at an Etsy shop that I think are a beautiful example as to what they can look like. If you click here you can go straight to the Etsy shop of Whitemagic who makes these by hand and sells these among many other great items.



One cool thing I just found out: When you purchase Whitemagic's offering stones you also get the recipe on how to make them yourself!

HAPPY SAMHAIN!

Meditation: Life Force

Yesterday was my Day 5 from the book "Wicca, A Year And A Day." The exercise was truly wonderful and I have up until now not felt such a surge of energy and bliss when doing a meditation. Once I got myself relaxed, which for once felt surprisingly easy (I usually have a very hard time doing so) everything happened so naturally.

     It is often hard, especially for beginners, to find meditations that work for them. I know, because in terms of meditation I definitely feel like a beginner. But yesterday was a leap for me. So, I thought it would be nice to share this exercise and the passage that went with it for those who do not have the book. But I would also recommend anybody to go out and buy the book, even if you're not Wiccan (I'm not sure whether I am!) because it has so many great exercises in it and it is also great for beginners who want/need more direction and guidance. I am currently also following the exercises in this book with a group formed by charliesaysgo (who also has some great videos) and there are quite a few who have been practicing for a while that are also in this group. So: A great book for long time practitioners and beginners alike. I will probably post a book review at some point but for now, here is the text from Day 5 (page 8 of the original book).

Day 5

Natural Sacred Energies

While mainstream religions look to a holy book, a central prophet, savior, or religious figure for their spiritual understanding, Wiccans look to life itself; they contemplate and study nature. The earth, the sea, animals, and the heavens are themselves among the many,  living, every-changing expressions of sacredness. Witches learn to pay close attention to the natural world in order to find inspiration and magical insight within each moment. 

     Since Wicca is a nature religion, one important goal of the path is to experience the life force of nature, the animating energy, as it flows within you. Witches believe that this force is, in essence, the divine. Through experiencing this natural energy, Witches come to know that (as author Barbara Ardinger says), “matter is clotted, lumpy spirit, and spirit is finely strained matter.” Once you  recognize this energy within yourself, it becomes easier to notice that this same natural energy shapes the substance of other people, stones, birds, trees, water, and everything else you can see. 

     These are not Witch beliefs; Witchcraft is not a spiritual system of beliefs, per se. It is an experiential practice. You don’t need to believe in the sacredness of the earth. You don’t need to believe that natural energy pervades all things. The practices of Wicca facilitate your immediate and personal understanding of these principles. No Witch worth her cauldron invests herself in beliefs. Beliefs spring forth from limits of the critical, thinking mind. Thinking can help you understand spirituality in theoretical terms, but it stops short when it comes to the experience of spirituality. The thinking mind does have its purposes, its uses. It knows how to do math, how to read a book, and how to make decisions. It knows how to drive a car, make dinner, and not step in front of a bus. However, thinking comes to a halt when faced with whatever cannot be rationalized.

     Critical thinking is limited because it relies on opinions and beliefs. It is locked in the head and does not know how to inhabit the entire body. Spirituality is a holistic experience. It includes not only the head but everything else as well. The full human potential, which is capable of multidirectional, simultaneous experience,  comes to the fore when we literally come to our senses—our sensations and experiences of life. Opening to your full experience of the world, of your body, and of the energies that flow within you are the first stages of awakening your spiritual power. Let’s begin the process.

Practice: Experiencing Life's Energy

You can try this exercise from where you are sitting right now.
Close your eyes and take several deep, slow breaths. With each
exhaled breath, feel your body relax and release all the tensions that it might store. Become internally quiet; try not to allow thinking to interfere with simple breathing and sensation.

     If thoughts come up, simply observe them with detached curiosity. Perhaps you might notice how thoughts are creating  muscle tensions or contractions in your body. Notice, too, how these tensions transform themselves into your emotions. Try not to get involved in the story line of your thoughts and subsequent tensions — that is a trap that can keep you from the experience of this exercise.

     Now, refocus your attention on your solar plexus region (around the lower stomach and navel area). Focus your attention on the feeling of the life force inside of your body within this  region. Most likely it will feel like a humming,  buzzing, or tingling sensation. Now, widen your awareness. Allow your focus to include your chest. Feel the inner body’s energies in the chest  and in the solar plexus regions. Now include your  hips and legs. Feel the sensation of energy buzzing within this region. Now add your feet into your focused awareness. Now add your arms and hands into the awareness. You should now be fully aware of your inner life energy from head to toe. 

     Stay with this feeling for a few minutes. When you sense that you are ready, open you eyes. How did it feel? If you felt “cut off” in any area of  experiencing your body, it is important that you  continue with this basic energy practice several times a day for 5-10 minutes at a time, until you are able to sense a unification of your body’s  energies. 

I hope you enjoy doing this exercise as much as I did.

Don't Want To Post Nothing

 I don't have much time today so I thought I would rhyme. I didn't plan this poem, just typed it up as it came. Sometimes the process is of more value than the final work. When I write poems I find it is such a nice way to let go and relax. Plus it's a nice way for me to do something extra about the path that I am following. Who said it that you're first very good at something when you've have spent 10,000 hours doing it? Let's see if I ever spend 10,000 hours writing poetry! Maybe someday. :-)

I sang a song of a golden night

Where my heart felt large and the stars shone bright

And I sang my song to the silver moon

Wishing she would not leave so soon

I sang to the willows and the birds in the branches

And watched as they danced their pretty dances

I sang as the sun rose slowly above

And put light in the shadow within my alcove

I sang my thanks out to all that is

There is nothing here that I would want to miss

I sing every day as I go beyond

This world and theirs as I sing my song

Coloring Books for Meditation and Creativity

Recently I ordered a magazine subscription and a wonderful thing about doing that is that you often get a nice welcoming present with your subscription. Now, this magazine gave me a few presents and one of those was a coloring book for grown-ups together with a set of 12 colored pencils. On the pages on the right handed side were always nice images that you can color in and on the left words of wisdom, often about coloring books. Some of the things that were written in these words of wisdom is that coloring between lines can put you in a meditative and relaxed state and help free your creative mind if you are having difficulties with getting new ideas or continuing with something you're working on. And in Japan they actually have a lot of coloring books for grown-ups. Since I really loved coloring in when I was a child and still secretly do I started coloring right away. I definitely felt quite relaxed pretty quickly and had so many ideas that I soon stopped coloring and got right to doing my work. Now I keep the coloring book and the pencils on my desk always at hand just in case I need to relax or am out of ideas and inspiration. It's definitely something I would recommend anybody to try, even if it means printing out a nice black and white picture online and giving that some color. Actually I might try that soon! 

A page from the coloring book.

Listening to Your Dreams and Girl Talk

So, I used to always get waxes. It started with my skin being too sensitive to shave as often as I wanted to and my hair being to light to actually laser away. So when I found out about waxing it was really fantastic. I even went as far as getting regular Brazilian waxes and sometimes my whole leg as well. Kind of expensive but I always felt great afterwards and was happy with how the results looked and felt. Then I recently had a dream where I was standing in the shower and pulling out all those hairs with ease. I was really amazed and it was so nice to not feel any pain but still getting the results I wanted. Now, I had been dreading for quite a while to get my next wax because we moved and now the waxing parlor I always went to was at least and hour travel away. Together with the cost of waxing, the combination with the trip felt too expensive and like too much of a hassle for something that in the end is just a superficial thing.

Shortly after I had the dream my boyfriends mother, her husband and their dog came to visit. My boyfriend's mother is quite spiritual although I feel like she is going down quite a different path than I am. But she did read my cards before she came (unasked and without me present) and one of the things that came out was that I should listen to my dreams. Then she asked me if I had had any dreams lately. I said no, not really because I wasn't about to tell her about my bikini area!! But I took her advice literally and thought about my dream more closely. Now, the only thing I know about that makes hair fall out is hair-removal cream. I hadn't used it in ages, only when I was quite young and then I didn't like the result. Plus, there is always the thing with my sensitive skin. I searched a bit online and when I went home to visit my family I combined that with a visit to the drug store. I bought the cheapest cream they had but it was also the only one that said "Sensitive" on the packaging. I tried it out and my dream is actually coming true. I haven't gone all the way with it as I am still a little skeptical but the results are great and so far it seems to be an amazing alternative to the painful waxing.

This might seem like a trivial matter but the reason I wanted to share this is because in the big picture it actually has quite a strong message, especially to me and the point I am at right now. I kind of asked for a sign quite often, just something to show me that magic and witchcraft is really true and out there. To me this dream and the events that came with it is a small proof for me. I asked for something and here it is. Also, I gained more trust in my own abilities and the progress I am making. Like most humans I do sometimes get insecure and wonder if all this work is really leading to something but sometimes a small step forward can make all the difference in keeping you moving on. As I am writing this, the whole situation is becoming more real to me as well. I am first realizing that this is to some extent a big step. I have often had dreams that eventually came true and was always amazed when I found myself in the exact situation from my dream. But it was never a conscious thing of making things happen. I never actively tried to make the dreams come true. And I only realized that what I dreamed even could come true when the event was actually happening. This is really an affirmation that what you dream can come true and how the magic world and the mundane intertwine: You actually have to do something in the real world to make things you think, do and/or start in the other world come true.

What does Witchcraft mean to me?

I recently started writing down in a little booklet what exactly witchcraft means to me. I felt it was important to answer this question for myself and write it down. Writing things down often give me a different perspective on things and help me see connections that I cannot always see when I just think about things. And it helps me see my opinions and thoughts in a more objective light. Sometimes I repeat myself in my writing and that also shows me what aspects of my answer might be more present in my mind or thoughts. In a year or a few as my practice changes or stops (who knows what might happen in the future!) I will write another definition and see how it has changed and how I changed. I hope I wont forget once those years have passed! But for now, here is how I answered the question I asked myself: What does Witchcraft mean to me? (I wrote as the thoughts came to my head, so it is more stream of consciousness than it is a structured answer. But I feel it is more candid of me to share my original answer than polish it for this blog. It shows more about me and the way I think and will make for a better comparison once I write an answer in a few years.)

Witchcraft to me is something mystical. It reaches back to my childhood, to all those magical times I had. I want to still believe, just like I did back then, that magic exists. And I think it does. By living witchcraft I hope to be able to experience this first hand. I also want to give my life extra meaning in the way that only belief can. I want to be part of a tradition and to me witchcraft can offer that. Witchcraft also means being in control. Experiencing things outside of the mundane. Getting to know worlds and beings that are beyond what most people see in their lives. Witchcraft means to be able to communicate with these beings. Witchcraft means to be able to do magic. To be able to interact with the worlds and beings that I mentioned above. Witchcraft means to have secrets that are truly wonderful. It means to be always working on trying to improve yourself and who you are. It means constant study and research and always learning something new. It means interacting and appreciating the wonders of nature. It means doing what needs to be done. Practicing witchcraft means to believe that there is more out there than meets the eye. It means to truly believe in magic and practice it. It means to dare having no doubt. It means to not just accept situations but to feel empowered by the feeling that anything is possible. To feel empowered by the belief that you can actively change everything for the better. It means to craft your life and the person that you are. It means to believe in the mysteries of life and the mysteries of the universe. Witchcraft means to enjoy life to its fullest and making a quest out of experiencing it to its fullest. It means to never be satisfied: To know that there is always more you can do and something to improve and to be happy with this being so. It means to be watchful and open and to make use of all your senses, even those you do not yet know of. It means to have trust in life and trust in the person you are. It means to accept yourself and yet always strive to improve yourself if you feel that is for the better. It means to love diversity and not discriminate. It means to keep the child in you active and alive. It means to treat Earth with love, care and thankfulness, as Earth treats you. It means to accept instinct. It means to accept love and pleasure. It means to be part of a community. It means accepting that there is not one truth and that truth depends on who you are, what you believe and how you see the world. It means accepting that different people have different truths and to live and let live. By knowing this and living by this knowledge you are building peace both in yourself and the world around you. Witchcraft is the golden middle between this world and other worlds and realms. It means finding your own path and being true to it not matter what it might be. Witchcraft means peace with yourself and the world. It means discussion and analysis and questioning and through that always adapting to changing surroundings and conditions and vice versa. In witchcraft truth is a personal thing i.e. the truth that you might have faery friends. It means to accept that somebody else really has faery friends and to believe that so long as the truth harms none and no thing. It means to know when and what to give and when and what to take. Witchcraft means to always learn not only from other people but also from things, animals, nature and the cosmos. It means to accept everything and every being as your teacher. It means to take nothing for granted and to always be thankful. It means to cultivate an open mind. Witchcraft means to create your own tradition, mysteries and magic.

A Year And A Day

This is a poem I wrote about a week ago on the day that I started doing the lessons from Timothy Roderick's book "Wicca, A Year And A Day," which was the 15th of October.

The blanket of night falls over my eyes
The world puts on a new disguise
The moon shines bright high in the sky

I seek the mysteries, the unknown
I seek what is not readily shown
Over which the leaves of time have blown

Alone, content, my mind travels far
Deep in the earth, beyond the stars
With my mind I see light and the dark

A now I begin my Year and a Day
I'll stick to it, come what may
With perfect love and perfect trust
I'm here to stay

One Moment

Under the moon in the dark of night
I searched for the shadows but I found the light
I looked for the moon but I saw the sun
It was the break of a bright new dawn

Moment of Doubt

As I was walking my dog outside, a song came into my head. Sometimes you just have these moments where you doubt and wonder and this was one of mine. I cannot sing but in my mind it sounded wonderful. I hope you like this song and can hear a melody in your mind when you read it. If you have any comments, opinions or suggestions I'd be happy to read them.

God and Goddess hear my plea
Is spirituality right for me?

God and Goddess am I wrong
To even be singing this song?

God and Goddess I want to believe
Is this true now, is this real?

God and Goddess what should I do?
To myself I want to be true.

Doubt is in me everywhere
My feelings I have got to share.

God and Goddess open my heart
That you and I may never part.

I'm still searching, I must find
A truth that is so right, so kind.

Give me a sign so I can know
If you are there to help me grow.

Until that day I search faithfully
'Til my eyes are open and I can see.

Sick on Vacation

Today I have just come back from my vacation. I was sick almost the entire time. Just before I got sick I started doing a year and a day study by following the lessons in Timothy Roderick's book, "Wicca, A Year and a Day." I am doing this year study together with more than a hundred other people. Charlie from the Charliesaysgo Youtube channel started this study group. Due to my illness, which is luckily almost entirely out of my system (it just stayed for the duration of my vacation) I am about a week behind. Today I will be picking up from where I left off, which was the Day 3 Exercise. Hopefully I wont miss any more days and if so, not as many at once!