A Witch's Sacred Journey

The Temple stands ready and
My mind and heart now readied
My sight finally awakened.

Love fills this space and
Energy moves in rhythm
With breath and blood.

The Gods surround as my
Spirit rises in joyous embrace.

The Great Work now begun
My reflection mirrored back in
Beauty’s Gate flung wide open.

We have talked a lot in this course about the power of your own physical state of being, and now that we have moved full cycle through a year and a day, hopefully that thought will take on a different cloak of meaning than when the course began.

Although, making connection with and attending gatherings with like-minded people serves many purposes towards your spiritual growth; there is also no need to look any further than yourself for what is needed for successful practice and engagement along the Path. Let’s take a look at some of those components that make for an enriched practice and see how this statement might apply.

The Temple or Sacred Space of the Craft:
Your Body

We hear often the statement that “we are spiritual beings, having a physical experience”. The essence of this statement gives clue to the great vessel we are and the importance of maintaining our physical Temples as we would any building or space that we considered for use of the sacred work. These physical Temples that are body are always with us for the duration of this lifetime’s experience. We may enact and create sacred space, ritual, intent and focus without having to put ourselves in any space other than that in which we currently reside.

With acceptance of this concept comes also the demand for keeping that Temple a fit dwelling for the Divine. Right diet, right exercise, proper rest, moderation and awareness of our state of health are no different than those efforts given towards keeping the geographic ritual space you have established clean, uncluttered and functioning at peak performance. An additional bonus towards efforts at keeping our bodies fit is the deeper connection it affords to make with the elements that surround us, the food and the animals we share this planet with and the environmental impact we make on our home.

The Knowledge Acquired:
Your Mind

The storehouse of memory and gathered knowledge resides like a vast library within the human mind. Most of the information we have available we rarely use. And most of what we eventually use during the course of a lifetime, remains hidden or veiled until something acts as key or stimulant to draw it up to the surface of our conscious self. We carry within all the knowledge and information that is needed to move us along any spiritual Path we choose to set our foot to. The lessons are encoded in our DNA and the holographic images and imprint of our lineage divine is stored within each cell.

The Spells and Workings:
The Physical Processes and Bodily Functions

The Laws of Nature are those of the Laws of the Cosmos. If we consider the amazing machinery that ensures that our manifest forms function, we are in fact looking at these laws in their physical state of expression. We are the manifest product or result of those Laws working in harmony – as in a state of health and well being- or disharmoniously- or in a state of dis-ease and discord. With each breath we take and with every beat of our heart we are setting into motion the great spell of “Life”. With each act of exertion and movement, we are setting into motion the spell of “Will and Intent”. And, with each seed of inspiration, desire and outcome we have set into motion the spell of “Manifestation” of human life, invention or creative product.

The Divine (Gods, Goddesses, Guides and Other Non-Corporeal Beings):
Our Higher Selves in collaboration with the Limitless All

When we open ourselves to being fully present in our current moment of space and time we are also fully present in accessing our higher nature. Even in the midst of our most mundane of activities, the act of fully engaging by default sets into motion the collaboration between Higher and Lower selves. We expect this to be true when we sit quietly in reflection and meditation and often these connections become more palpable and have potential for greater clarity because we have completely turned our focus towards awareness of them.

The Great Work:
Integration

Integration comes through lifting the voice in chant or invocation to the Gods. It is the opening of your heart to a place of greater compassion, and feeling the outpouring of love and compassion from those you meet. Integration comes as the gift from hours of sitting in quiet reflection and the many steps walked to and from our place of service. The Great Work is all of these things and more. It’s meaning will change in accord with who you ask the definition of. It is colored and configured by the diversity of each individual’s own place on the Path.

So, if I were asked what the Great Work is I would define it in this way….

The Great Work is the work of transforming yourself. The Work of aligning your parts of Self to move in reflection and accord with the Natural world that surrounds and resides within us. The Great Work is that of refining and raising the state of consciousness to a place of awareness and revelation of the subtleties of the Universe. And, in the cycle of return to bring those treasures to a place where they may be used for the highest good of all. And so, I will conclude this part of your journey with those words offered at it’s start.

As You Begin Your (New) Journey…

May the wisdom of the winds flow through your thoughts

May the passion of the eternal flame ignite curiosity
in your heart

May the waters of the Great Mother soothe and heal
the challenges you encounter in your seeking

May the strength of the gifts of nature and life’s energy
feed, comfort and sustain you and

May you always reside in the Brilliance of your Divine Self

~ Blessed Be ~

Foundations of Practice: 13

Painting: The Sorceress by John Waterhouse

Choosing to remain a solitary practitioner or joining a coven are very personal matters. Both offer benefits and detriments. Even if you consider yourself to be a solitary practitioner, there will be celebrations and stages in  your development that will generate a desire to share, commune and connect. Those who choose to join a coven will also have specific points in their path and or rituals that they may wish to celebrate or practice in private.

Solitary

Many witch’s choose to walk a Solitary path. In former years this could be a very lonely, albeit fulfilling one. We are fortunate to be on the Path at this particular time as there are many festivals and open events that both solitary and coven members can attend.  Meet-up Groups that have a pagan flavor are in abundance throughout the United States. There are also many opportunities to take classes, workshops and attend conferences. Our coven offers many open rituals, workshop series and other events that allow solitary witches to interact and learn.

For some, group work and the structure needed to have things run smoothly is too restricting and limiting. For others, jobs, lifestyles or family obligations prevent the individual from attending coven functions (there is usually a minimum requirement of events throughout the year that a coven member should be expected to attend, unless there are emergencies), and this creates stress for both the coven and the member. If ritual at 2am is all you can easily fit into your schedule, most covens will not be accommodating to that.

Solitary witches often have a very creative bend. Because everything they do ritually or spell wise is generally self-generated and created, they become quite adept at improvising.

Coven (Group Work)

Depending on the coven and Tradition  you are interested in joining there will generally be a specific length of time and protocol specified to facilitate the dedication process. Within our coven we require at minimum a six-month “getting to know you” period where the prospective dedicant (newly dedicated member) attends open events and interacts with the other members of the coven.

For more information about the process we use in Oak and Willow:

Click here:   Joining Our Coven

Some considerations you should have as you decide on what coven is the best fit:

The coven you select to petition for membership should offer a stable and fair structure with  resources to further and enhance your personal growth. Working within the coven should feel like a spiritual family and these should people that you trust to see you at your best and your worst. The energetic connection that you weave with this group of people will strengthen and build as you continue to work together. It is a very intimate process, that requires respect between all of membership. The High Priest and Priestess of the coven should be people who live by example those teachings that they have been entrusted to pass along. There should be a comfortable exchange between leadership (HP and HPs) and membership such that any discord, or misunderstandings can be discussed and resolved in an ethical, intelligent and mature manner.

There should be encouragement of all members within the group to excel and progress in their magickal studies. And, although healthy and constructive criticism are great motivators there should never be an  ill-intended push or encouragement towards unhealthy competition for recognition, roles or initiations among members.

It has been my experience, that frequently the people who are meant to become members of our group, find their way to us, either through a synchronistic moment. They happen to be in the right place at the right time, find our website and decide to come to an open event or become interested through a friend who is already a member. Don’t be afraid to be selective. Take the time that you need to make an informed decision and never allow yourself to be pressured into joining a group. If a group is that desperate for new members, there are most likely other areas in which they will exert or force their will on the existing members- the number one “no-no” in wiccan philosophy.

The bottom line is that if the group is a viable and healthy one, they will want to take their time in getting to know more about the potential members who come knocking on their door, and if the fit is right there is no need to hurry matters, neither your nor their interest in having you join them will diminish or lessen. If it does, perhaps it was not the place for you after all. The commitment to a group should be entered with the thought that this will be a place of working and growing for several years. There is no short track to magickal mastery and those who frequently leave and join groups, as well as covens who have a fast moving revolving door usually do not stand the test of time and longevity.

It doesn’t really matter whether you choose to join a coven or remain a solitary practitioner. The important thing is that you continue your practice. That you seek out the resources you are guided to when and where you are led. And, when the time is right, you gather with like minded individuals as one in celebration of the Wiccan Path.

Next Week
A Journey of No Steps

The new journey you are about to embark upon follows a Path which has been traveled by many before you and will be traveled by many who follow you. Perhaps, you may even serve as example and lead for someone who is new to the Craft and looking to find their way.  Each has left their individual and unique imprint and markers that have helped them along the way.  Tracking those footprints can often lead to revealing more information about the nature of the particular inroad you’ve chosen.

You will find that many times your interests will take you to the streams that follow along this Path.  These contain the wisdom that runs fluidly and in conjunction with the philosophies and practices of WICCA, as well as those that move in a course and direction of their own, but for a time share the common waters. These may include Ceremonial Magick, Shamanism, Buddhism, Druidry, Heathenism and others.  All drinking from the same waters of common knowledge at one time or another and then finding their own patterns and creating their own paths of movement.

One of these common threads is the call to service and devotion to the work at hand. Take a look back at:

Lesson 8: The Path of Devotion

Read and re-read what was written and then take these words and craft them into your own experience and current understanding.  The choosing of this particular way will be fraught at times with doubt, uncertainty and challenges. At times it may seem an uphill climb that sets you back with each step you feel you have taken forward. But, with persistence and dedication you will reach that summit and the true nature of our magickal world will stretch out before you.

The Path to the Heart of the Goddess
is trod upon by those who
take up the mantle of devotion
and strive towards the 
retelling of Her Mysteries

As you do more reading, research and engage in the larger community, those luminaries who have walked and helped to create this road will move to the foreground. People and their body of works such as Dolores Ashcroft-Nowicki, Ivo Dominguez, Jr., T. Thorn Coyle, Starhawk, Dion Fortune, Herbie Brennan, Israel Regardie and W. Butler to name a few will light the way. Their experience and credibility of ethics and teaching are cornerstones of the Craft today.  Most importantly, the thing to remember is that they too walked this very same Path with similar beginnings, questions and the burning desire to serve the Old Ones, pave the way for the future of the New Ones and live by example the teachings of the Divine.   

Ethics of the Craft

TheseEight words the Rede fulfill:

“An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will” 

Full Version, click here

I refer you back to the Wiccan Rede. These words should take on new meaning for you now. As we do the work necessary to make ourselves effective magic workers we also become more aware. This increased awareness comes with a certain amount of vulnerability as our core essence is stripped naked in the process of spiritual growth.  Greater responsibility is borne by those who choose this Path whether it be for our planet, ourselves or others.  Trust and ethical working become paramount at this point. Placing trust in the teachers you work with and being mindful of how you use those teachings looms large in the outcomes and effectiveness of your own work.

Paying large sums of money to any teacher who offers the promise of initiation is a common lure that is cast out by those who at best truly no nothing of the Craft and at worst are charlatans preying upon those trusting souls who come with “open hearts and open minds”. There is definitely truth in the adage that “when the time is right the teacher will present themselves”.  This follows in keeping with the many synchronicities that flow through the Craft and seem to direct you to the exact place at the exact time to meet, purchase or receive exactly what is needed at that time.

Ego is a strong force, and power tends to fuel that flame.  A little bit of knowledge can also lead one into thinking that they have cracked the code, accessed great power and are ready to teach others. The very act of teaching in the Craft is not one driven by ego, but rather by Service, which is guided by a deeper connection to the Divine. So choose your teachers wisely and with patience and great care.

As you become more knowledgeable and able to raise energy and set your mind intently on goals, the reminder is that these skills should never be used to manipulate or persuade others towards your will. Freedom of choice and free will are precious gifts that are ours and ours alone. Spells to make someone fall in love with you, give you a job or similar types of manipulative actions are not in accord with the basic tenets of a Witch’s path. Even with the best intentions, such as workings of healing to relieve someone of their burden’s, interfering with and skewing another’s free will can alter their life’s lessons and the valuable opportunities they require for their own personal growth. We will explore more about Ethics in the second installment of this course.

These Eight words the Rede fulfill:

“An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will” 
and be mindful that what we give out will return.  If we show respect and love, we will attract respect and love. If we strive ever to walk in positive light, the light of truth shall find us. If we teach others, the greatest lessons will be those they teach us and when we stand naked, stripped of our lower ego and will, it is in our vulnerability that we will find our Higher Selves….

An excellent resource:

When, Why…If by Robin Wood

Next Week
Solitary vs. Coven?

Take, take your time.
Smell the roses, but steal the vines.
Don’t wait for the hands of time
To second guess and change your mind.
And shine.
Here’s your moment to shine.
Shine.
… Lyrics from “There And Back Again” by Roger Daughtry

These final lessons mark a full year’s (and a day) commitment to exploring the beauty and joy of following the ways of nature, The Gods and your inner Divinity. If you choose to continue in these practices you will be starting a new journey on a newly defined path. Choices such as whether to work as a solitary or join a coven, the ethics of how and who you interact with and learn from, and how you move in this world from here forward are some of those that will be presented.

The simple fact of the matter is that you have changed. The moment you began this course and this journey, things changed within you. And, even if you determine that this is not the Path for you, you can rest assured that this decision has been informed by the teachings you have explored. Please check back periodically, as new material will be added to the BOS.

Reading and Resources:
This final listing highlights some reading to set you on your new course and a pdf of Oak and Willow’s comprehensive recommended reading list.

I encourage you to share your thoughts about this course in the comment section. What we offer is only as good as the suggestions, input and feedback from those such as yourself. Several of you asked if there would be a continuation of this course. The answer is yes! Look for a second installment this Summer; and a special announcement of another complimentary project coming soon.

So let’s begin our final walk together…..

The circle is complete
Time has etched out the way
God and Goddess have graced
Us as we offered devotion each day.

The elements have gathered
In balance deep within
And, the alchemy of energy
Was carried on fire’s breathy wind.

The time for return, to review
And reflect is now close at hand
In the circle of the Old Ones
In the space of service
Hence forth, we shall stand……

Looking Back to Move Ahead