Any Witches Here ? Part 3

[speakout]

Or Wiccans. or Pagans? Or anyone who is interested in a magical path or feels some magical stirrings.

A place for support, learning, swapping ideas and magical inspiration

All welcome.

Gee that's good news about your cat.

Oh @Elphame I'm so glad you linked to that but at the same time I wish you hadn't 😂

Now I have the dilemma of justifying it, and another mentioned in a review 😂

Great news Gee really pleased to hear that

Hello again everyone.

Just catching up. I’ve been in a very insular, quiet place these past couple of weeks, hence my lack of contributions.

During the summer my energy felt expansive and as if it was exuding outwards, towards everything and everyone. I was very sociable and on the ball and thirsty for knowledge and experience and connection.

Now it feels like it has turned inwards, towards a more restive state. It takes a lot of energy for me to reach out.

It’s lovely to take a seat here at the aga and listen to you all though.

Warm wishes to you all.

FitzsFool

We all have times like that, good to hear from you .

@FitzsFool my yoga teacher told me that it's good to focus inwards this time of year and to focus on grounding over the coming months. You must be in tune with this idea.

Gee, good news about your cat.

FitzsFool, I know how you feel. I very much turn inward at this time of year. I think of it as my hibernation time.

speakout thank you. It’s good to be back.

sockportal that’s really interesting. I guess it reflects what is happening in nature this time of year.

The warmer months are a time of rapid growth. In Autumn nature turns inward. But there is still so much going on inside and underneath.

There is just as much energy in the Autumn as there is in the radiant, blazing endless days of Summer. But it is denser, deeper. The trill melodic high notes of Summer are muted now but the thrumming, resonant bass notes of the cooler months are all the more audible.

I find myself indulging in nostalgia. Looking over old letters and photos and listening to CDs from years ago. Clearing clutter whilst gathering resources. I think of food a lot this time of year. I sense this is the time for working with ancestors. Like the trees, I think we all draw back into our roots this time of year.

Like the trees, I think we all draw back into our roots at this time of year

Beautifully put! Yes, nostalgia is strong for me too. A desire to connect with family who have died. A need to visit the places my ancestors lived. I think the welsh word ‘Hiraeth’ fits very well for this time of year for me.
I wonder if it’s because the veil grows thinner and so we feel that pull of the Otherworld more strongly?

boldlygoing yes, I think you’re right. There is a sense of something ‘other’ at this time. Just hidden out of sight, but so close you could touch it.

The veil thins. It’s like when you’ve awoken from a dream and you can’t recall it but the feeling of it lingers long after you are awake. And you try to recall it through the day, trying to match that lingering feeling to some tangible narrative. Like trying to grasp vapour.

The year quietens and in the misty hush of autumn you can almost hear and see everything and everyone who formed you. And because the dark things in our lives make us who we are as much as the good I think our emotions undulate a lot at this time.

I like your Welsh word. Google assures me it refers to a ‘bittersweet memory’.

Hellooooo, everyone. My annual Hedingham Fair catalogue came today. Full of gorgeous Pagan cards, plaques, pottery, books, jewellery etc. Have a look at www.hedinghamfair.co.uk. No connection to me, just thought that some people might like some of the things.

Yes, I always feel that the dark half of the year is a turning inward, a time to concentrate on home and family, to work with the shadow too. A time for the ancestors and remembrance. For me in addition, Remembrancetide seems a natural following on from Samhain, the more personal turning to the national.

@Fitz...nice to have you back. I always love reading your posts.

@Gee....pleased to hear your good news

@"TooManyPaws... What does working with our Shadow mean/involve?

The shadow is the part of our personality that we don't acknowledge, that we don't like, and which we hide from. We shove it down into our unconscious but we can't actually escape it. Often what we dislike in others is actually a reflection of our own shadow. We need to take a good look at our shadow self and integrate it. We can't just think 'white light' and rainbows, but have to come to terms with the dark in both ourselves and the world. It was coined by Carl Jung and is an important part of Jungian psychology. It also fits very well into the witches' view of the universe, in which there is a balance between the dark and the light, including within ourselves. By concentrating only on the light parts, you are just hiding from the shadow, which will make itself manifest in more difficult ways than if you had acknowledged it and strive for balance.

Googling shadow work brings up a lot of links; this is just one of them but includes exercises etc.
scottjeffrey.com/shadow-work/

toomanypaws I’m interested in this too, so thank you for sharing.

Jungian psychology seems to come up a lot. Archetypes and the collective consciousness.

I’m going to have a look at that link. I’m being pulled very much into the direction of shadow work the moment. Unwillingly in some respects, because it can be painful to confront some of those dark corners.

But I do feel like my ‘I’m alright jack’ mentality is going to crash inwardly like a house of cards if I don’t.

I’m not progressing. I’m procrastinating. Constantly.

This group gives me the courage to step into the shadows. Thank you for that everyone.

@TooManyPaws... Thank you I didn't realise Jungian psychology featured in witchcraft. I read him eons ago when I was a student but it was so briefly touched on.

I've always struggled with accepting negativity. Always. In myself, others. Projection....yes, done that, still do but try really hard to recognise and stop it. Painful work but essential.

I will read those references and more on this subject. So glad you mentioned it as I might never have made the connection.

I think Jung had a very magical way of looking at the world. Synchronicity is also very interesting. Incidentally, Vivianne Crowley, a well-known writer and Wiccan high priestess is a Jungian psychologist.

It's about the balance. You can't have the light without the dark. The outward lighter part of the year and the psyche and the inner darker part. The full of the moon and the dark of moon are both powerful for magic. Darkness and light, life and death are parts of the whole. We go from light into darkness and back to the light; from life through death into life again. Even magic cannot be all light or all dark as there is always a balance, and a choice to be made. To make a beautiful garden, we must remove and kill the weeds.

Remember the adage, that a witch who cannot hex, cannot heal. It's a balance and a mixture, like the yin-yang ☯ sign.

@TooManyPaws I downloaded Vivianne Crowleys' Your Dark Side. Read the 1st chapter and did the first exercise while on the train. Very illuminating... I've been coming to terms with my own dark side recently, but it hasn't been easy. For years and years just didn't know it was there. When it surfaced I was usually horrified, filled with shame, guilt and so on. But, I agree we can't live in an echo chamber and grow, neither can we hide from what we don't like about ourselves indefinitely. It always comes out in some way.

Regarding Jung's collective unconscious, have always been aware of a version/my own take on that. I don't write well enough to be able to express what I mean, so I won't attempt a full version. But living in different countries over the years I picked up on collective way of being, of thinking, of doing that was different in each country and I saw its influence in many unconscious ways in other people and myself. Plus, I am from two different cultures too so am aware of how I tap into those.

Sorry for rambling.... very grateful you pointed me in this direction.

Interesting talk about introspection, thinning of the veil, nostalgia and the shadow self.

I find all the external, the every day stuff, incredibly difficult to deal with in October. I find that the outside world irritates me deeply. It's not really that I want to hibernate but that it disrupts me getting as close to the veil as I would like.
I want to live these days immersed in my magic and find it very hard to be pulled away from it by shopping, and school run and homework.

I am home alone today and have lit lots of candles, incense burning and enjoying the silence. Or rather the sounds of my home and the nature outside.

Some lovely Autumn chat here.

Yes I am feeling that introspective vibe to- and big yes to Jung- have helped me with my understanding of witchcraft for decades.

Re the shadow work- yes, but it needn't all be painful or unpleasant.

Many parts of my childhood and teenage years were unpleasant and sad. I had no support and often felt afraid and isolated.

As my DD has just gone though some of the years that I found tough that allowed me to revisit some of those times in my life.
Nurturing her (and she looks like my identical twin!) has actually nurture me too.

I mentioned a week or two ago some shadow work I do which is very comforting and nurturing. Often when I am falling asleep I find my 8 year old self, or my 14 year old self and nurture them in my mind's eye. I tell them of their value, I hug and caress, hold them close to me until I feel them safe and warm.

It heals some old wounds and nurtures my big grown up self too.

And as much as I would like to have the house to myself today my mother has a bible study group over here this afternoon..

I have put the heating on in the conservatory for them, my mother is flapping about making sandwiches.

Inspired by @physica I thought I'd have a go at some rosehip oil.

Good gloves recommended when harvesting...

I've washed and dried them then chopped roughly. The oil is an organic jojoba and I plan to add some vitamin E both to help preserve it and also because it's good for the skin in it's own right. I'll also be adding some frankincense essential oil for its own anti ageing properties.

I don't want it to overheat so I have it in a waterbath in the slow cooker. Even on low mine gets a bit too hot when cooking small quantities. It's OK if I'm doing a full crock full. I'll leave it cooking now until late tonight when I get home.

You inspire me Elphame in many ways, but particularly with your kitchen work.

@speakout... Smiled when I read that last post. Must be difficult at times for you I imagine. It shows your gracious nature that you let it happen

Love those rose hip pics Elphame I’m going to see if mine are ready...

Another fan of Jungian thought/psychology here. It very much connects with my path too. It’s been a recurring theme throughout the years. It’s lovely to read others’ thoughts around this here.

I’ve also been very introspective recently. In fact I think it’s the time of year that suits my natural disposition the most. Outside of the necessities of work and life I have to remind myself to connect with others and watch I don’t disappear too far into myself at this time of year!

At work I’ve been treated to these lovely autumn colours outside my office window. I also seem to have gained a new friend (who didn’t wish to be photographed) in the form of a beautiful smoky grey cat. He’s always outside the building when I arrive for work and sitting in the garden when I go out for a break. He has the most beautiful blue eyes and gives me a wise knowing look when he sees me. He has a strong and calming energy

I have a question that I hope isn't going to be offensive to anyone.

Is there similar restriction on a witch making money from her craft to the one that clairvoyants and similar have?

I remember hearing that a true clairvoyant shouldn't profit from it. But obviously we all have to live, and those of us who read tarot or sell potions and spells spend a lot of time and energy creating things for people and need recompense for that.

It's a genuine question, and something that I've been thinking about because I'd love to learn tarot and do readings for people one day, if I have any aptitude.

I've just read that back and it sounds very arrogant. I didn't mean it to.

Oh dear.