Any Witches here? Part 13

[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.

Energetic indeed speakout, yes thank you friends, I love what we generated. So good to channel anger and put it to good use. As you so beautifully said yesterday, it’s the energy of activism.

Me too BlankTimes , so glad you were there.

Elphame your camping certainly sounds wild! No way I would have been investigating outside the tent either!

I remember being told folklore stories of the moors when I was young, such a sensitive child my experience was haunted by the hairy hands, poor Jay of Jay’s grave and of course the hounds. I can see why moorland would generate dark and foreboding folklore but they always felt magic too, like connecting with something deep and primal. I’m fascinated with local folklore and love hearing stories of places I’m less familiar with. I think it’s really interesting to see common themes across different areas with their own unique slant on the archetypes and themes. The collective consciousness is a powerful thing.

I sat down to watch winterwatch later on in the evening and smiled at the synchronicity of their ‘mindfulness moment’ for the day

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p095dwls

Nice of them to add to our energy raising!

Luna I don’t know the song but love the sentiment of the lyric you quote.

hilarious great work gifting your future self with the food you have prepared, I agree it’s a magical act. There’s alchemy in cooking and I definitely think it can be used to manifest intent.

sweetkitty yes, finding kindred spirits can really restore faith in humanity can’t it. Definitely the energy I’m choosing to focus on. speakout I love the way you describe this and agree that we don’t need to resonate with the majority but the power of connecting with likeminded souls is immense.

Still wild here too, I’ll need to venture out for work a bit later and hope to make time to breathe in some wild water energy along the way.

Like speakout I’m missing the charity shops. I object to buying new clothes and ‘stuff’ that could be found in the treasure trove that is a good rummage through a charity shop.

I’ve been thinking about plants for spring too, it feels good to think ahead to new growth. I noticed a solitary daffodil and a crocus coming into bud in the garden yesterday.

Currently on the cusp of a life transition, the future seems uncertain but there’s certainly hope in the mix for a new phase ahead. My ice magic in the freezer is a reminder that change brings opportunities, even if they’re out of sight right now.

Wishing everyone a magical day

Good morning everyone
I'm afraid I'd be the first outside the tent to look, i'd want to know.

Everyone seems to have a lovely day planned.

I need to learn how to control my energy better. I always seem to get a surge of energy around midnight. The everyday suggestions have no effect on me.

We were talking about goddesses before. Looking at mythology, they all seem to have children. Is anyone aware of goddesses who did not? Thank you.

@LunaHeather I'm the same around midnight and have never really conquered it - so now I just go with it.

Today's word is definitely "gentle"!

I think tiredness goes in waves, I know if I don’t get myself to bed before I come through a wave of tiredness I’ll ping back to life and not be able to sleep. For me it can also be an anxiety thing but overall I don’t think I’m a night owl naturally. I hope you do have a gentle day hilarious

Luna, I’m no expert but when I read your post I thought of Diana/Armetis. I’m not sure but think that maybe Hunter goddess don’t have children?

luna
www.pinterest.co.uk/oliviareading/childless-and-childfree-goddesses

This may help?

Aerwyna The spirit of place is facinating isn't it.
Myths, stories and energies bound up with landscape, natural and man made.
It is faciniating to think who or what has walked on the same piece of earth that I occupy.
I know my house is built on land that occupied WW2 soldiers stationed in the town. I dug up an old Polish coin in my garden last year. Before that it was monastic land, used for growing vegetables and fruit to supply the Abbey.
Neolithic people walked here too, lots of stone spiral carvings, and even further back in carboniferous times dense rainforest would have been the home to dinosaurs, the evidence remains as huge coal seams running under this area. It has been a busy place- it's my turn now!

Absolutely fascinating speakout. I love your knowledge of the land you reside on, your connection with it. The stories those souls could tell! And we add our energy for those who come after us too. I’d really like to find out more about the place I live now, what was once on this spot. I only know that it was fields until the 1970’s but imagine with a bit more digging I would unearth more (perhaps literally like you and your coin!)

I always think there’s so many fascinating layers hidden in cities too. The land is ancient no matter how modern the buildings are now.

Aerwyna

Oh yes- in cities- the ancient main thoroughfare of Edinburgh is know as the Royal Mile. Habitation can be traced back to neolithic times, but mostly medieval buldings. The current street is built on generations of more ancient dwellings, and the old town basements are like a rabbit warren, leading 10 levels down. Some of it has been made safe and open to the public- I hear a cacophony of voices and ancient laughter and cries when I walk though the old cobbled tunnels and closes.

hilarious I would prefer to go with it but it doesn't fit daily life. I hope your day is going gently. Alas, mine is not!

Aerwyna thank you, Diana looks like one. I also have tiredness, or pehaps periods of being more alert/less alert going in waves. I would love consistency.

Re charity shops etc I don't have to buy much so I am not personally affected, but I am bothered by the constant updating of technology and planned obsolescence that means so much ends in junk and more expenditure. On a personal level, I want to reduce my use of tech for many reasons, but that is one of them.

I actually thought I didn't like camping having done the summer thing. It turns out I do like wild winter camping - as long as it's only one night mind! I'm not sure I'd like it any longer. When travelling for witchy work I've been known to book into a B&B for the night before so it's just one night under canvas and then home for a hot shower and home comforts.

It's just a shame there are so few areas in Britain that wild camping is legal. Campsites are OK but most have so many policies about campfires and noise that they are completely unsuitable for a group of witches with mischief in mind. I remember one time having to camp in one so we crept out after dark ( actually about 5pm as it was November) and then heading up the mountain to a secluded spot where we could have a fire and do what we had come to do. The campsite was very quiet so no one notices our nocturnal comings and goings. Covid of course has put a stop to that sort of fun but I have hopes for next winter!

Luna - current academic opinion has it that the term "virgin" originally just meant unmarried rather than the meaning we attribute to it today so just because some of the goddesses are described as virgin doesn't mean they are necessarily childfree so you may need to do a bit of additional research if you find a match

I too am really missing charity shops. I love the old jewellery and other odd bits and pieces you can find. I still envy speakout that nursing chair at that price. It would have been a lot more down here

Elphame Yes, I know what you mean re childfree

In reality, I am looking to and connecting with my own guides but
I was interested.

Elphame that's a sad situation about wild camping in England.
Here is Scotland wild camping is legal, and many other laws relating to rights of way, trespass etc give the roamer and camper huge freedoms.
The default position here is that everyone has a right to use wild spaces- unless there are specific court orders otherwise.
For instance I think the Loch Lomond National Park just north of Glasgow has stricter rules- it is very near the city and people were destroying the area, leaving cheap tents, litter, breaking footpaths etc.
But areas like that are rare in Scotland.

I love the idea of wild camping- I have camped in the Cairngorms in snowy March when I was much younger, I remember it being very cold. Perhaps if I was hot tenting I would be tempted. I like cosy and warm a bit too much!!

Wild camping sounds amazing.

I hope it's all right to draw attention to this query I posted on the yoga board but I'm not sure if it is used much.

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/yoga/4150167-Most-practical-book-for-yoga

Good evening, I don't post on here all that often but it is a lovely comforting thread to read.

Can I ask, do you know any likeminded people in real life? I've told myself I need to get out more once covid has eased but struggle to find people who I'm attune to and where I might meet them.

Daphnesmate04

It can be hard to find people in real life who think in a similar way.
I have friends who are spiritual in some way, and many are supportive. My Oh's family are very supportive too, although don't practice magic or witchcraft. My OH and ( adult) children support me, but my own family side would take a very dim view, so I have to be secretive.

I have found my yoga group a great place to meet open minded people, not specifically regarding witchcraft, but many who are interested in Reiki, Tarot, meditation, oils etc, generally a very open and accepting group of people.

@Daphnesmate04 I've found the more I've spoken about it, the more I've found like-minded humans - my closest witchy friends are four women (two groups of three including me, they don't yet know each other) who were already among my close friends and who responded in kind when I started talking about my own witchery and explorations :)

It can be hard though as some family members are a bit about it so I have to be subtle :(

hilarious that sounds great. I would love that scenario - to have a small group of likeminded women. I don't think the village I live in is the best for making such friends...I think I need to venture a bit further afield. I have a good friend who seems to be on a similar wave length, I would love to meet more like her. There again she does not live within walking distance.

Thanks also to speakout. Yes, it's finding friends who are spiritual in some way...I haven't really met any. I did know one lady but unfortunately she moved out of the area.

@Daphnesmate04

Good evening, I don't post on here all that often but it is a lovely comforting thread to read.

Can I ask, do you know any likeminded people in real life? I've told myself I need to get out more once covid has eased but struggle to find people who I'm attune to and where I might meet them.

Not really

I've only just realised I am on this path though

My best friend is all right with me doing greetings for pagan holidays and says "my spirituality is very personal to me". That's probably true for me as well.

I do know someone who is open about being a practicing witch but there is some personal awkwardness between us. I feel she is not someone who can bring anything good to my life, though I am sure she does for others.

I sense this will be a very solitary pagan path for me and I don't see that as a bad thing. Someone gave me some excellent advice upthread about transitions and what we get from different friends. It really resonated with me.

I have a lovely friend in the north - I am in London - who has a wonderful vibe and I wouldn't be at all surprised if she turned out to be pagan or a witch, but at the moment she describes herself as very spiritual.

Yes, it has been a recent discovery for me too and quite a revelation when it feels it is something I should have known but was unattuned to all along. Mid forties now and only just discovering who I am. I will search the thread regarding transitions.

@Daphnesmate04

Yes, it has been a recent discovery for me too and quite a revelation when it feels it is something I should have known but was unattuned to all along. Mid forties now and only just discovering who I am. I will search the thread regarding transitions.

Actually, this is complicated

I have been on the path before but I mostly saw it as a way to maybe get something I desperately wanted.

After I got it, I had no way of knowing if it was connected or just luck...and then it was complicated because it was almost too scary to think perhaps I had more influence than I knew.

Then ordinary life took over and I wasn't tuned back in till recently.

@speakout we stayed overnight in Edinburgh in August the Royal Mile is one of my favourite places, visited the castle (the youngest two had never been inside), walked through a few graveyards too, I find the whole place just tingly and electric. The same when I’m on the City of London it’s like you can feel the history the thousands of lives gone before. Oh to visit Edinburgh for the day again (we are only 40 miles or so away) seems so far right now.

Got to see the beautiful moon tonight which really lifted my spirits. Going to plan some lovely self care things for this weekend too finally order my tarot cards and a new book or two (ten).

The full moon sang me to sleep last night too- I had my curtains fully open and moonbathed while I fell asleep.
The moon's light was so soporofic I fell asleep very early,
Si I will make use of this early morning to make a head start on the day.
Just having some blessed coffee as I fire upi the engines!
I did some tidying yesterday, which felt good, I tidied and hoovered my bedroom, my sea grass baskets arrived, and I have reduced all the visible clutter, which feels very calming. I sorted out all my jewellery and set up a small altar on a table too.
Does anyone have a permanent altar? Do you mind people seeing your altar?
I see lots of altar pictures on the internet, I know many people are keen to share, how private or public are you?

Good morning,
speakout I have an altar, of sorts in my bedroom too. I quite like it that it’s in my own space, not in a shared area of the house. What I’ve noticed though with it being a permanent fixture, is that if I want to do any workings there I will end up either clearing it and using items specifically chosen for the task in hand or creating a smaller temporary altar for the work in doing. So I guess my permanent altar is less of a working space and more a collection of magical items and things that have meaning to me

Aerwyna

That seems exactly what I do.
I set up a "working altar" for a specific task, as a temporary setting.

It is a very cold morning here so far- a hard ice has formed under clear skies last night. The birds are in full chorus this morning, I have just been out to fill my bird feeders and scatter oatmeal.
I am stil in a slow easy pace right now, although working today and an enjoyable pace.

Magical blessings to everyone.

I have two 'altars', one in my bedroom, one in my lounge. Like you Speakout and Aerwyna these are collections of magical things which I had bits to and remove to reflect the changing seasons. Just looking at the downstairs one now, I've got photos of my late grandparents, a bronze hair, selection of crystals and candles, some shells and a vase of daffodils. If I'm doing a ceremony or a specific working, I'll set up an altar especially for the purpose.

Speakout it's interesting that you sleep so well during the full moon. I'm the exact opposite, the energy can make me feel almost wired and I'm restless at night and experience lots of strange dreams! It's funny how energy effects us all in different ways. I sleep much better on a new moon. I'm pleased you had a restful night.

SweetKitty I love the Royal Mile too. I've only been to Edinburgh once (a couple of years ago for a weekend break), I totally fell in love with it and felt so at home. I've always felt a real pull to Scotland, even when I was a child.

Daphnesmate04 I've got quite a few like minded friends and acquaintances, I'm not sure if any call themselves witches, but lots of friends who love nature, follow the moon cycles, collect crystals, tarot readers, psychic mediums, sounds healers, yoga practitioners, etc. Mostly people I have met though the yoga community or spiritualist groups, workshops, circles, etc.

It's a rather grey day here today with heavy rain forecast. I was up and out early for a walk with my dog, it felt good to be outside amongst the elements. So long as I have the right clothes on, I like to be outside and to feel the wind and rain on my face. I've just finished an exercise video and relaxing for a bit now with a coffee. Need to pop out later and do some shopping.

I'm also planning on making some changes to my bedroom, it's looking a little tired so I've ordered some new yellow curtains and some pretty bedding with a colourful, woodland pattern and I'm on the look out for some nice accessories.