Any Witches Here?- Part 18

[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..
This is the 17th thread- anyone looking for a deep dive into juicy magical topics may like to browse previous threads.....
It is a long list!!
Part 1 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3241689-Any-witches-here?pg=1
Part 2
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3338025-Any-Witches-Here-Part-2?pg=1
Part 3
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3366411-Any-Witches-Here-Part-3?pg=1
Part 4
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3404406-Any-Witches-Here-Part-4-Edited-by-MNHQ?pg=1
Part5
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3437092-Any-Witches-Here-Part-5?pg=1
Part 6 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3482023-Any-Witches-Here-Part-6?pg=1
Part 7 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3520269-Any-Witches-Here-Part-7?pg=1
Part 8 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/a3568622-Any-Witches-Here-Part-8?pg=1
Part 9 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3637696-Any-Witches-Here-Part-9?pg=1
Part 10
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3726266-Any-Witches-Here-Part-10
Part 11
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3850635-Any-Witches-Here-Part-11
Part 12
//www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/3997761-Any-Witches-Here-Part-12
Part 13 //www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4116107-Any-Witches-here-Part-13
Part 14www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4213962-Any-Witches-Here-Part-14
www.mumsnet.com/Talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4328830-Any-Witches-Here-Part-15?msgid=113505801
www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4435233-Any-Witches-Here-Part-16?page=40&reply=118807589

www.mumsnet.com/talk/philosophy_religion_spirituality/4598225-any-witches-here-part-17?page=40&reply=122990208

I would also mention that ideas of malevolent demons/satan/devil are christian constructs- essential for the dogma and ideas of salvation.

Pagan religions don't have the same dichotomy. Satan is a twisted version of Cernunnos, the forest god, which holds energy of the forest, animals, hunting- another presentation of Cernunnos is Father Christmas.
Fearing wicked spirits is a creation of the church, fear is one of the main tools the church uses to control thinking.

You may find answers within your church, but find bigger truths outside of the church paradigm.

speakout fearing bad spirits and curses is part of every culture though isn't it - very human. The sort of thing my relatives abroad - with no knowledge of Christianity or associated religions - would talk about - one even wrote a book, it wasn't exactly about spirits but it included spirits.

EmmaEmerald yes of course, I was talking about UK culture.
The idea of demons in Abrahamic faiths are widespread, negative forces in the pagan pantheon are more complex- deities are not perfect, all good or all bad.

Just back from my yoga class after hearing about cuts to local government. I attend council run gyms, my local one is very busy and runs lots of classes.
Proposals to close all leisure centres, swimming pools, public libraries, school crossing patrols, elderly transport. It's so sad.

Just to add it is the primary dicotomy of extreme of good vs evil, god vs devil that is key to abrahamic religions. entirely good or entirely evil.

Reality is never purely black and white like that, there is grey too.

If you look at other traditions the god(s) in question are not 100% good/pure, they also have qualities that are less pure but very much human qualities. Mischievous, jealousy, etc etc. But there is a noticeable lack of strict dicotomy seen elsewhere. There are lots of shades of grey.

Sorry Speakout i see you said the same thing. I need to get coffee before posting I think, my brain is no worky first thing atm.

HillsBesideTheSea I completely agree.

When we move outside of the Abrahamic dichotomy things become much more interesting.
Few deities are all goodness and light, or "perfect".
With the maternal protection that Kali brings that also means she can fight with tooth and claw.
I am interested in how deity is perceived particulary in pantheistic faiths.
Like many of us I have held an interest in ancient Greek deity, shrines and altars in many homes, deity were considered part of everyday life, archetypes and patterns informing daily lives.
These gods and godesses were much more "human" than the god of abrahamic faiths. They had the capacity to fuck up, lose their temper and serve as a way for everyday people.
Our modern christian god is aloof, perfect, creator and judge, one who must be obeyed and worshipped.
Which is why I tell people I am an atheist if asked. Because most people here in the UK see god through an abrahamic faith.
Calling myself an atheist is the closest description of my ( lack of) faith.
Although I do with with deity.

HillsBesideTheSea sorry- I seem to have said the same thing in your last post- I need coffee too! So we agree !

Sorry, I put that badly

I should have said, there's the same in UK culture and I don't think Christianity is to blame

just there's ingrained instinct about feeling cursed, in all countries as well as England, not to do with any organised religion.

Hello loves! I've been hiding for a while dealing with grief and just general life blah - then remembered the chat here about everyday magic and making housework part of our magical practice, and thought maybe I could make use of that to tackle the otherwise overwhelming chaos that is my home currently!

@Hedjwitch I'm so glad you enjoyed your swim! I do sometimes wild swim but have come to the conclusion that despite the mermaiding, I am very much a warm water/weather mer 😂 cold water is exhilarating but too cold for me!

@WeeFreeLass thank you so much for the serenity prayer - I'd not seen that before and I love it. And I also have a book hoarding problem - used to be a librarian and now have them all beautifully scanned in to LibraryThing, but then it tells me my total and that's a bit scary for a very small house..I think I'm nearly at the stage of needing to make furniture out of piles of books again, as I did in my first flat I shared with my best friend (though that was lack of money more than too many books!).

Balls, landline is ringing, back with more replies later!!

Warm winter wishes to you all, and sorry to see a few folk are going through hard times.

I’m feeling that January has just vanished in a blink and am rather startled that Imbolc is just around the corner. Have a day to slow things down a bit today. Meeting a friend for coffee and a natter and catching up with myself - always good for slowing the pace of life down a bit.

I have created my first sigil today. Crafting it is the next step.

It is a little scary to do something so new. But it felt right. Thank you @speakout for the video link. It was just right.

hilariousnamehere I am glad you are treating yourself gently, grief comes in many ways, but always needs time and some self compassion.
Craftycorvid your afternoon with friends sounds perfect, I hope that has adjusted your pace to a more comfortable level.
I am glad you enjoyed making your sigil ISaySteadyOn, it took me a while to find confidence with sigil making, but there are no "rules" - if something feels right to you then it is right. I found the video helpful too. I love to sit and doodle sigils, I have a special sigil book, a lovely way to spend an hour with some tea.
I had an enjoyable night this week - dinner and theatre, with DD, DDs friend and her mother. It's so special having a good relationship with an adult child, something I haven't experienced with my own mother. DDs friend is such a sweetheart, I have known her for 10 years since she became friends with my DD, and loves hearing about my craft.
Anxiety has been riding roughshod over me this week too, so that has been a struggle. It often appears when I am short of sleep, so I went to bed super early last night and feel much calmer this morning.
My early morning yoga was cancelled too, a class I love, but I have to wake at 5.30am to get ready in time. The cancellation allowed me another couple of hours to sleep, these type of happy coincidences happen a lot in my life, it often feels the universe is looking out for my best interests.
At that point I needed sleep rather than yoga, but would have pushed myself if the class hadn't been cancelled.
I will pick up a yoga practice on youtube and have a session this afternoon.
It is a frosty start here today, the dawn chorus is in full swing. I notice birdsong has really intensified in the past week or two,the seasons are moving forward.
I hope everyone finds a little enchantment in their day.

I dont know anything about sigils, must investigate. Feeling a bit low as having trouble with a particularly truculent member of staff. Also missing my dear friend who passed beyond the veil nearly 2 years ago only 58. I feel her near today.
Have bought two bunches of daffodils to cheer myself up and the garden suggested rosehip tea,so made some out of last years dried hips.

Sorry you are feeling low today. Bunch of daffodils sounds a lovely thing. I need to get into the garden to see if our snowdrops are out yet.

I had to run some errands and decided to bring forwards something i planned for next week to today to save an extra trip to that town. It was just what i needed to help shift the stress that has been overhanging. I means I will have to work over the weekend but I am actually ok. I also had a book voucher to spend and picked up a rather lovely gardening book from the RHS with it. I have 3 in the series and very much looking forwards to when my studies are concluded and i can focus on different complicated things. I have so much information i want to stuff into my brain but i can only do so much at a time. And because i have compacted my studies i need to focus on that really.

I have to admit i also picked up some delightfully Easter-y gnomes from the works. I may have an issue with collecting gonks. But they will look lovely with the painted wooden eggs I want to do.

So much i want to do, and learn and experience. So little time. I am starting to feel the hopefulness of spring.

I hope those with low moods and energy feel lifted today.
I am beginning to see a change in day length, afternoons seem lighter for longer, it's a gentle shift but perceptable.
I need a visit to my Wolf wood, it is usually carpeted in thousands of snowdrops at this time, and I need to pay my respects to the mother tree and she wolf, I will bring offerings.
But some attention for me first.
A mini facial today then a Body Balance class. My skin always feels so dry in the winter months, my hands and lips too, I am rarely without a lip salve in my pocket. I am not sure if it is cold or central heating that causes that- my lips are fine in the summer months.
Off for a spa shower- and some tea.

I'm finding it very difficult to find any calm today.

I managed a little gardening today. Just tidying up and sowing some seeds but it was loveky to smell the earth and see green shoots in the soil. And I had some company

Hello little robin friend!

@Hedjwitch, do you think he was hoping for worms?

Also, what were you sowing? Because if I can start sowing seeds, I am going to feel so much better.

I am also keen to start sewing seeds. I think I need to wait until the light levels are better, I suspect that if I press ahead now I'll be disappointed.

I buy seeds from a chap called Higgeldy Gardener. You can find him on FB. He suggested doing the first sowing before Christmas which seemed odd,but I did. The Calendula and Corncockle have produced very strong seedlings, ready to go out when the weather warms up a bit. Nigella,Godetia and Cornflower didnt do anything so have sown more of these.
My main interest is herbs so will be sowing ( or planting) chamomile,thyme, echinacea,hyssop in due course. Already have established rosemary,sage,fennel,yarrow,dogrose, nettle,mints,lemon balm.
Want to plant a physick or maybe a poison garden. Have bittersweet and foxglove already

Hi new to this thread.

I need a visit to my Wolf wood, it is usually carpeted in thousands of snowdrops at this time, and I need to pay my respects to the mother tree and she wolf, I will bring offerings

This caught my attention. Love trees! Can't get over how old they are! Have looked up all the uk virgin forest and love how it merges with major cities! And wolves - fascinating animals! What do the offerings mean to you? I am interested in how you interact with these beings.

Sorry quoted @speakout there.

In order to satisfy my need to plant stuff i have gone for the micro green approach which has helped.

Hello all.

We've managed to get through the first week. In the meantime, DH's follow-up appointment has been cancelled; no replacement as yet. I've worked hard on trying to shift my negative thinking patterns, and am doing okay with that, although the wait is still very frightening.

I'm finding calm in nature, my special tree in the garden, and walks by the river. Yesterday a female marsh harrier flew up from the reedbed right in front of us, carrying prey which it then took into a field to eat. It was an amazing sight. We were also surrounded by curlew, lapwing and the odd grey heron. DH was having a rough moment before we went, and returned feeling very much better. I'm also enjoying seeing the nights gradually drawing out.

My dear friend is visiting her father from the south coast this week. She's of a similar belief system to mine, so we are visiting the local sacred well tomorrow. I shall take some crystals to cleanse there, and an offering to Brighid in anticipation of Imbolc.

Lovely image of the robin! They are special birds.