Any Witches Here? Part 14.

[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.

I have worked without deity for years. I am very much a garden/kitchen/hedgerow witch and just felt connected to a general feminine earth energy.
A few times I have felt very frustrated that maybe I should have deity or spirit as a focus but had just never connected to one.
Recently I have been working with Freya, but this has been a long time coming and my connection is growing slowly.

Trenzalor

An interesting question. Like queenrollo I do feel connected to feminine earth energy.
I don't alwasy work with deity- just wjen it seems relevant or a particular energy strong.
And thinking about how we work with deity too is important.
I don't worship in fact I call myself an atheist. Not strictly correct, but closer than the label deist or theist.
I guess we will all have different ideas or relate in our own way.

@Trenzalor

Can I ask a witchy question? Do any of you work the craft without deities/spirits?

Yes, I consider myself an atheist. Like others if I need a focus it's more likely to be a feminine earth energy. But largely I do without.

@speakout there is so much Pagan imagery in Christian spaces.

I have a soft spot for all places of worship and love wandering around any ancient site, church or stones.

I find there is often a power of place that speaks to almost anyone. As a history buff it's impossible to ignore the importance of Christianity. There is so much hidden female energy stitched into the fabric of the patriarchal religions.

I used to be quite an angry witch that rejected all things Christian but I can see the peace and beauty inside a church.

I often see elder tress growing outside that may have been the remnants of older Pagan worship. All layered on top of each other with more layers to come like a book.

I find a lot of comfort in just feeling and observing, not judging, when I'm walking through these spaces if that makes any sense?

Speakout what a creative day . Your food looks so fresh and nourishing. Do you find there are cycles in creativity?

I often feel guilty about not creating enough , reading enough , studying . I run a business from home and I have RA , I can't decide if I'm lazy or always tired .There is something about this time of year however marching toward the autumn equinox that really inspires my spiritual practice .

I was inspired by Ibelieveinghosts posts , so many of your areas of interest are fascinating . Yes I love Foolish Fish on YT.
To answer your previous posts I've was drawn to the esoteric as a child , before I had the language to describe to describe it. I grew up in an unhappy home and was happier living in my head if you know what I mean . I could filter things out.
I knew instinctively everything had an energy . I was good at visualising the location of lost items. I would meditate not knowing what mediation was and get a lot of symbolic imagery. Life got in the way for a few decades and now in my fifties I'm embracing cronedome
Happily those skills didn't die from neglect . I journal now , I keep a track of all the signs and synchronicities .
How did you realise this was your path ?
Do you find it hard to incorporate it with day to day life?

I caught a very interesting film on Prime yesterday , Close Encounters of the 5th Kind. If anyone has seen it I'd love to hear your thoughts.

Thank you all. I feel very uncomfortable in the use of deities as this doesn’t fit with my belief in the world. Feminine earth energy sounds absolutely right.

If it doesn't feel right don't worry about doing it.
I got head slapped by a deity for attention. It was an experience. I would not say that i am working with them because that would suggest a level of engagement that is not present. But i am mindful of their presence and working to understand them more. I am still reluctant to do deity work simply because i am trying to get to grips with my practice and that has taken some massive evolutionary jobs in the last 12 months so it is easy to feel overwhelmed by it all. That said i would not be surprised if deity work does become part of my practice in the future.

I am still feeling off today. But a chat with the pharmacist has helped clear a few things from my worry. There is still some odd energy about though. like everything kinda holding its breathe waiting to see what is going to happen... So the combination of the two is leaving residual discombobulation. Hope you are feeling better energy today trenzalor

Jumps not jobs.

@speakout your food looks absolutely delicious and what a beautiful mental picture of your homey day with your DD and her friend. Lovely.

@Trenzalor like others I too, am drawn to the earthy, feminine energy. I'm still very much a novice and haven't worked with deities but I'm not drawn to them at all really (though I'd never rule it out).

Hi @FilledSoda so interesting to read about your instinctive knowledge and how not using it didn't affect its power. So happy that you're embracing cronedom and finally following your own path. I would just do as much as you're able around your RA... I imagine it's a lot to deal with when it flares up. I just watched the trailer for the Close Encounters movie... sounds very interesting.

Just catching up after a busy day.
Went down to investigate a local church who has has an outside burial chamber cracked open revealing lots of human remains- some 600 years old.
I arrived just as the caretaker was leaving after securing the church, but I ended up speaking to him for ages. In his 80s, he has worked there since his teens, opened up the church again for me, and let me in to take some photographs. Then told me all the sightings of ghosts, skulls under the organ and strange goings on in a fairy garden construced by the sunday schooll children. It was quite an hour!

My goodness that sounds absolutely intriguing!

@speakout do you mind sharing what the caretaker told you? I am especially interested in the fairy garden. I made one for fun with mini toto and we are planning to take it with us when we move.

TotoAnnihiliation - I would be happy to share.

Within the grounds of the very old church ( some parts dating back to 12th century) there is a garden/allotment contained within the old walls and cloisters, used by a group of adults with impaired learning. So that group and the sunday school children have been decorating the public areas and pathways around the church with fairy houses. Not the actual graveyard, but entrance ways etc. The kindly old caretaker has been helping everyone, doing bits of DIY, helping turn ideas into reality supplying some materials, glue, fixings etc.
Some of the parishioners are not happy at all about the fae being welcome into the church grounds and have taken it upon themselves to obstruct the work- planting holly bushes and trees in front of fairy houses to obstruct and conceal. The caretaker is not happy at all.
Church politics huh!
Since the tussle fairy things are on the move.
He says he could understand people on either side of the dispute moving things to make a point, but things are turning up in very strange locations. A fairy turned up high in the arched ceiling inside the church- too high for normal ladders. The minister ( vicar) found a pair of fairy shoes inside the locked safe- only he has keys. Lots of other movements- many that could be accounted for but others he can’t explain. He could be spinning me a yarn of course, could be part of some game to spook the parishioners who are objecting, so I am not swallowing the whole tale. He seems genuine, but does have a big twinkle in his eye- despite being in his late 80s!
The caretaker tells me he is there every Tuesday morning to wind some clocks, take out rubbish etc, and anytime I would like to chat or have a root around I am welcome. I plan to get some chalk rubbings of a monument to a notorious witchhunter- a minister from that church during the burning times- so perfect to have access – may cost me a packet of biscuits !
*TotoAnnihiliation I will be down near the church again today, if you like I can pop into the gardens and take some photos of the fairy dwellings and post them here if you like?

Wow Speakout that sounds like a fascinating afternoon! I'd love to see some photos of the fairy dwellings if you get a chance to pop down there again. I've always been interested in churches and church yards. When I used to stay with my Grandma as a child, we used to go walking in the church yard and look at the names on all the old gravestones. I remember finding it very peaceful. There's a 'buried' church near where I live. It was used as a church until the 12th century when another church was built on top of it and it became a burial chamber. When the church was pulled down, the crypt church was lost until the 1920's when it was rediscovered. A service is held there once a year. I've been in a few times to look around, so much energy held in those ancient walls.

Trenzalor interesting discussion about Deities. I love to work with the feminine goddess energy through yoga practice. I've had my eye on some Goddess Oracle cards that have been calling me ...can I really justify buying more cards though...?!

@speakout how fascinating? Why did the grave crack open in the first place?! Natural shifting of the earth? I like the sound of the caretaker

My witchy books have vanished! Can't find them for the life of me... they were under my bed for a long time with my notebook and pen but now have vanished? I thought I may have packed them away but not where I would normally pack stuff. I'll google a spell to retrieve lost items.

Just catching up on the messages, so much warmth in this group

@speakout that food looks lovely -where did you get the recipe? I love your story about visiting the church,so often people lie the caretaker cross our path for a reason.

@HillsBesideTheSea I’ve been loving the talk of welldressings - I grew upon Derbyshire and loved going round all the welldressings, traditions like that represent the timelessness of our existence reminding up of our continual connection to past present and future.

@FilledSoda you must be very busy running your own business esp with the added pressure of your arthritis.

I’m glad you have been able to retain a connection with your intuition-I’m a big believer in not ever losing or gaining anything , just concealing or revealing what was there all the time.

Like you I spent most of my childhood in books or in my head to escape some unpleasant things, and I think this was v much my foundation for magick. At a time when others started becoming removed from their childhood imagination, I retained a strong link to mine, and I think active imagination is very important on the path of magick.

It’s been along a winding road to get here, through convent school, atheism,materialism,church of England, ptsd, Aleister Crowley, William Blake,psychology,love of history and more. All I now see as sign posts to here.

But I really became interested when I stumbled across the Rosicrucian manefestos which led to the golden dawn. All of a sudden it was like all the out there views I had about, life the universe and everything collapsed into one and found a home. I like you eloquently but it, esoteric had always been there I just didn’t have the vocabulary to express it.

I’m trying to fit in a little each day by riding early. I think to start with it’s enough just to be considering or reading for a few minutes each day or applying the goal of chipping away at ego, to carry out rituals in your mind, when the time is right you will find the opportunity to do more. Committing to something small you can manage is better than promising something huge which is only ever met with guilt.

Wow sorry for all the typos hopefully it still makes sense

VioletCharlotte
Your old church sounds fascinating too there must be hundreds of churches like that all over the UK- what a wealth of history!
BlurpBlorp I dion;t know how the grave cracked open- did make the Sun newspaper.
It is being attributed to theives stealing lead, but the caretaker said there were no witnesses, no lead stolen, just a big hole in the ground one morning last week! So the cause of the opened tomb is unknown.
www.thesun.co.uk/news/15747721/dalkeith-church-thieves-smash-tomb-skeletons-graveyard/

This is a church I have been wanting to gain access to for a year in connection with my work on the witch burnings- and facing those responsible, so I am quite glad I have access without having to go in when a service is running! Has worked in my favour.

I will pop in this afternoon and take photos of the fairy dwellings.

@speakout , I would love to see any pics you have. Isn't that interesting there has been some hostility toward anything Fae. The logical conclusion must be they believe then ?
Or is it considered blasphemous?

Absolutely fascinating. The ancient places and your connection with a guardian/secret keeper speakout. I’m delighted you have access, and am sending supportive energy for the important work you are doing.
Looking forward to pictures too!

@speakout the church history is very interesting indeed. I'm following for any updates :)

Hello hope you don’t mind me joining ! I’m going to be reading through all the posts will take me ages ! I’m a very lazy witch as you can tell by my name and need to become more active and I feel I need to put more effort into my research and ensuring it’s the best source. Could anyone please recommend their favourite books/websites? I’m really getting the urge to really get more into my research lately so should probably listen !

Thank you

Hi and welcome Witchesbelazy grab a beanbag and our magic kettle will pour you whichever tea at whichever temperature you desire it to be.

The third post down in this thread has links to all of our previous threads where our favourite books, websites and more are all discussed in detail. Do dip in, it's amazing what's there.

Speakout looking forward to seeing the fae manifestations, reclaiming the site for the original inhabitants - love it!

Is the fairy still up in the arch? I do hope so.

Pedantic note, churches are not ancient, they are just a few hundred years old. The land upon which they are sited is often a former genuine ancient site, taken over by organised religion who tried to stamp out and literally demonise the old ways and impose their own. The earliest stone buildings were erected around well into the 12th century onwards.
Many of the Yew trees in their grounds are older than the buildings.
Same goes for "holy" wells, do you really think St Someone just struck the earth with their staff and the water appeared, or isn't it more likely an existing spring was just named after them?

Truly ancient places they couldn't usurp are often over 5,000 years old and retain their original functions, most of which baffle archaeologists. Only now are solar and lunar alignments of the ancient places in general being acknowledged by some mainstream archaeologists, even they can't ignore Newgrange, Loughcrew etc.

The function of the ancient places, open air, orientation to solar lunar and sometimes planetary influences (and loads more, many amateur investigations ongoing) can not be more different to the same piece of land, where having destroyed the ancient stones, then constructed enclosed spaces where people are summoned to be indoctrinated and the imposed brainwashing "religion" is proclaimed to be the only way to live, whilst even now encouraging its followers to persecute anyone who prefers a natural life.
It takes place on the same piece of land, but what's practised there couldn't be more different.

Just a quick reply to say, yes @speakout, I would love to see photos. I too like the sound of the caretaker. Just hopping on my broom to zoom off, today is a busy day for me!

oh the synchronicity. As I have been reading these posts the last couple of days I have been prompted to search through my husband's book shelves for his copy of Religion and The Decline of Magic by Keith Thomas - it's weighty and I've never really made any headway with it.

On my other social media two entirely separate people, both strangers to me and each other, have also posted about this book today!

I'm going to put it somewhere that I can dip into it a few pages at a time.