Any Witches Here? Part 15

[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.

Cerridwen83 I love the sound of rain too. I had a facial at a local beauty salon today- the rain was thundering down. The room was so comforting, essential oils, low lighting, warm towels. Such a blessing.
HillsBesideTheSea caring for others is hard isn't it. I can't really get away either.
Part of my main mission is to carve out space while caring for others!

Welcome to the new followers of the thread

@fluffyatemycake I’d agree with the other posters here, there isn’t one doctrine and everyone finds their own paths. There are many forms of practice as there are practitioners - years and years ago someone said to me that if you put 6 pagans in a room you’ll have 9 different opinions! I would start by asking your relations if they are happy to tell you a little bit about their beliefs.

@VioletCharlotte Yes, the Chalice Well is one of my favourite places! It’s just so…peaceful and really does feel like a place in its own time and space.

Part of me is sad to see the Summer and warmer weather go, but there was something comforting in getting home this evening, changing out of damp got-soaked-just-dashing-from-the-car clothes, lighting the candles and cooking something autumnal.

@HillsBesideTheSea, I’m sorry your trip got cancelled. Hopefully you could rearrange soon?

@HillsBesideTheSea i'm so sorry you lost your respite trip. I do understand how a complete physical and mental break is sometimes the only way to truly decompress.
I have often thought of booking myself into a hotel on the coast 20 mins away simply to have a couple of days/nights alone!
I really hope you can re-arrange something soon.

I have cancelled pretty much everything here to keep my petrol for school runs. I had luckily filled up a day earlier than my usual routine and what a blessing that turned out to be. Today I have my youngest at home as he has the second cold so far this term - was awake on and off all night. What broke my heart was him panicking that he had caught Covid again.
At 3am when I was trying to comfort him I just felt overwhelmingly that I wanted to disconnect from 'society' and hide at home and away from all this negativity.

He is my little side-kick with regard to Spooky Season though so we're spending time together today planning decorating the house for October.

Welcome to the month of the witch! October has certainly come in with a roar, all of a sudden it feels rather autumnal with heavy rain and gusty wind. The leaves on the trees I can see from my bedroom window are starting to turn a rusty brown. I'm enjoying shutting the curtains as the light begins to dim, putting on the fire and lighting candles to make my home feel cosy. I'm on the lookout for another lamp for a dark corner.

October always feels like a special time to me. It's my birthday month, so as a child it was always an exciting time, also Halloween to look forward to. Now I love the energy shift and feeling the connection with my ancestors as the veil thins.

Last day of the working week. I'm thankful for having a day of no meetings (a rare occurrence) so I'm hoping to get some focused work done. Better fly and get my hair dry! Love to you all! Xx

@VioletCharlotte - yes, October is certainly making its' presence known! It's my birthday month, too, and I always use it as a time to reflect on what I've learned/gained in the previous seasons. It's so much colder and darker here, something I struggle with (S.A.D.), but I have plenty of fluffy blankets and candles. One think that has helped a little is himalayan salt lamps. I feel their gentle, warm light is a kinder alternative to some harsher lightbulbs.

Well, I am going to try and hang out some laundry as the wind is so intoxicating, but keep an eagle eye for rain, which is on the cards.
Speaking of cards, I quickly pulled the 10 of Cups, which is most welcome! I always smile when I see this one as it reminds me of rainbows and simple joys, and I hope we are all blessed with its' joyous rays this weekend!

I am grateful for the shift in the weather, but i really have settled into my winter hermiting. SAD is horrible and i am grateful to have been put onto a high regular dose of vit D to help combat it.

I finished my job earlier this week. I had no idea of the weight and stress it was placing on my shoulders and literally knowing i was not going back has left me much lighter. There is still the stress that i need to sort a new job, and everything else; but it really has been proven that this was the right decision to take a leap of faith into the unknown. Yesterday there were random tears - no idea what the cause other than a release.

This morning i have been up since 6 and hit a research worm hole. A lot has been related to my practice but some has been related to building the life i want moving forwards. And the concept of a sensory diet has come up a lot. It has helped tied a few things together - like why i try to break the laws of physics, why i prefer certain clothes, why when i got up for early morning training things just seemed to go a little better, and why i tend towards certain aspects of my practice.

Today is full of mundane tasks and chores, with a side of garden and white beam berry charm creations.

But i hope that you are all able to find a little hope today, and that you are able to take a moment to search for its opportunities. This new month feels so hopeful to me after the dark few months that have past.

queenrollo I hope your little one is feeling better, so hard when our children are unwell- I hope you are taking care of yourself too.
VioletCharlotte "The Month of the Witch"- I love that!! Absolutely how I see October. The month when the shadows come, spiders are out in full force and all the spooky happenings at Halloween- I love it too.

@HillsBesideTheSea, your post is so evocative of the period of endings and new beginnings we are in. Would you mind sharing more about your wormhole findings? It sounds fascinating and has tickled a part of my brain that feels familiar

Hello sisters
Just to say have a blessed day and enjoy the weekend.
I'm going to go pumpkin shopping tomorrow and write some new intentions in my Book of Shadows for the new moon.
Almost Samhein

Blessings magical sisters, finally managed to sit sheltered in the rain and have a proper catch up, bow time to get warm by our hearth. Like many of you my apple cart has been somewhat upset the last couple of weeks. Work has gone from none existent to snowballing at quite a rate. Mr Cat still in and out of hospital and the kittens tired from school and nursery. My eldest is year 1 and was barely in last year and finds the full weeks it so tiring.

Hoping you all find the respite and inspiration that you need

SusyCat I actually found that this was normal through most of the yearly years til about yr 5 or 6. The first term was an adjustment and you could always judge when half term or summer was coming by how tired the kids were. We building in calmer weeks the last two weeks of the term to help. Number of little people on the way to/from school that last 2 weeks of the year that are just so tired is huge. Teenagers are just grateful to go nocturnal and have fewer interruptions to gaming.

AnotherCrazybirdlady i am just trying to process the random all over the place thoughts into something coherant I can explain. Will be back later with more details for you.

I am buying plants and harvesting stuffs in the rain. A nice gentle soul activity

Thank you @HillsBesideTheSea that's so good to know. I like hunkering down and getting cosy and not being too busy but there's so many baity activities tempting us after so long of nothing for them last year.

Been enjoying mulling over @ALittleBitConfused1's question about starting out on a budget and my own practise. Honestly the internet is a great resource for starting out and learning about different areas. If you are interested in different deities for example, or herbs, crystals or tarot. I would research more broadly before spending. My practise isn't deity based for example, I use a lot of herbs and celebrate the seasons and cycles. I recall being frustrated by a lot of books stipulating which colour candle to use and thinking I'd rather use a nice beeswax candle. (Though I do buy the odd special little coloured purposeful candles too) and not knocking anyone else's practice. Your alter, should you choose to have one, can be adorned with things you find outside to do with the seasons or any little things of significance to you. Herbs too. There are definitely no must haves though I wouldn't be without my little incense pot to put charcoal discs and usually frankincense or dragons blood in, my little herb garden (my dad has a most impressive one just on window sills), my second hand lapis lazuli pendant and a nice note book. Good luck on your journey

Ooh and a luna calendar of course!

Wishing everyone a cosy evening.

Morning all, just flying in to say hello. Life is busy for me at the moment, but I've remembered to make a moment for self care. I'm sitting on my bed enjoying a autumn sun beam warming my feet, this air has a nice crisp feel to it. I feel instantly relaxed.

Next task is to fold some magic into the mountain of laundry I have piled up.

Thinking of you all this morning.

Good morning sisters.
I am still trying to keep my applecart stable here! Family upset is causing me challenges, and my daughter has covid. She was so distressed and upset last night, facing 10 days of isolation. My heart is breaking for her.

I am sending healing, light energy to your DD, @speakout, and you too xxx

AnotherCrazyBirdLady

Thank you dear sister.

Did she have it before Speakout? It must be so distressing for her to be facing this. I hope she is not too unwell with it physically but obviously mentally I think many of us are low on reserves after the last year or so, so I can understand this must be hard.
I will keep a candle burning for you and your DD today to send you some healing and nurturing energy.

queenrollo

Thankyou. Yesmy DD had covid 4 months ago- plus she has been double vaccinated, so would have thought fairly immune.
She has been nursing patients with covid last week in her new job in intensive care unit, so must have picked it up there.

I just want to go and scoop her up, but I can't even visit- will be dropping off one of my cats to keep her company though.

Goodness Speakout I'm sorry to hear that. Didn't she have it not that long ago? It just be so hard when she's not living with you. I will send some healing energy for her and sending my love to you. I know that you will feel her distress in a way only mothers do.

Sorry to hear about the family upset too. Things seem to have calmed down here thankfully, but I'm certainly feeling the Mercury Retrograde energy. Does anyone else find themselves randomly remembering people and places from the past? I keep finding myself googling images of things that I've started thinking about out of the blue, and lots of odd dreams about past situations. I really should journal it all and try and make some sense of it. I'm sure it's no coincidence that this petrol situation has occurred during this period, it's still chaos in the south east, although I understand others areas are faring better. I'm staying at home and walking everywhere as much as I can as the energy on the roads feels so aggressive. I feel very grateful that I'm able to work from home.

HillsBesideTheSea this diary popped up on my Facebook feed earlier. I thought you might like it so sharing the link www.theflickeringcauldron.com/moonDiary2022.php

I thought she had, oh what terribly bad luck for her to get it again.
So much love and appreciation for her (and all nursing staff!) to expose herself to it by caring for the patients though.
I found out yesterday that my elderly uncle was admitted to a Covid ward on Tuesday and is very unwell. I have so much gratitude and respect for the staff who are caring for him.

Sorry to hear your daughter's got it again Speakout hopefully it will be milder this time. I'm sure the cat will love and excel in its new role of nurturer by proxy

Family upsets often have a way of resolving themselves without our intervention, fingers crossed.

Just a quick caution for all our new people using the internet as a resource, it can be good, but there's a whole load of rubbish intermingled with the genuine that needs to be sifted through first.
e.g. someone upthread mentioned Reiki Stones. Never heard of them, I had to google those and found tumbled stones with Usui symbols laser? cut into them then a smear of gold coloured paint added to the symbols. One of hundreds if not thousands of polished pebbles with Reiki symbols carved into them in a factory is not going to have any Reiki energy in it. If you want a stone with Reiki energy in it, choose a stone, then do it yourself if you can or find a Reiki practitioner at level 2 or over and ask them to charge it for you and offer payment or a gift of their choice in return.
The internet is great for offering what looks like instant fixes, but there's no substitute for discernment and choosing personal study and development no matter which Path you choose.

For newcomers, we always recommend reading our previous threads because the advice is from genuine people, not anyone looking to make money from you. That and naturally being asked the same questions by new starters would make the threads too repetitive.
I cannot stress enough that being given the information you want on demand is really no substitute for going and searching for it yourself. Self-reliance is necessary and it brings discernment and independence, if you make a mistake, look on it as a lesson you've learned and try something else that suits you better.

Over the last 2 or 3 weeks I've written a post but it's evaporated into the ether each time. Let's see if this one does the same.

@speakout

Good morning sisters. I am still trying to keep my applecart stable here! Family upset is causing me challenges, and my daughter has covid. She was so distressed and upset last night, facing 10 days of isolation. My heart is breaking for her.

Sending love. I have it too, mild thankfully. I hope she gets through isolation ok.

Hello everyone,

Sending love and light to those who are poorly at the moment. Snug down by the fire with a warm honey drink and a blanket, and be kind to yourself.

I need some help interpreting a dream last night. I was in rough sea riding the most gigantic swells, and I could see our hotel on the shore. I was back at the hotel and the swell broke through the walls and flooded the entire hotel. I was clinging on to a pillar for dear life.

Then, all of a sudden it was calm. The most purest, brightest day with calm sea like nothing had ever happened.

We collected our luggage and left.

I have been going through some of the toughest times of my life over the past 2 months. Feeling and thinking things that I never thought possible, I fear that my dream tells me that it’s far from over.

Sending love,
x