Natural Witchery (20 page)

The words “Witch” and “Witchcraft” were in several spots on the back cover copy, as well as the author bio that says
Ellen Dugan, a practicing Witch for twenty years …

She handed it back to me and suggested a good place to have the cover framed, and then I slipped it back in the box and set it aside. My boss gave me a list of things she needed accomplished that day, gave me her cell phone number in case I needed to reach her, and went about her business like nothing unusual had happened.

I let out a semi-relieved breath and figured she was probably freaking out downstairs with the other employees. But an hour later, she went to run her errands, and everything continued with no fuss at all. Hmm, maybe she didn't get it. After all, this is the same person who made up flyers to mail out for the shop and misspelled the word “huge” in the phrase “huge sale.” All our flyers said “HUGH SALE”—and she mailed them out that way. I figured it might take a day or two to sink in. Feeling giggly and nervous, I picked up my cell phone and called one of my circle mates while they were at work.

As I heard her cheerful voice come across the line, by way of greeting I said seriously, “Operation Pink Elephant is a go.”

Her answer was a loud snort of laughter, followed by a demand to tell her everything. She, too, was wondering if perhaps my boss either didn't pick up on it or if she was just pretending that it hadn't happened. Our best guess was that time would tell. We'd see how she reacted the next time I came to work.

And here's the interesting part: nothing was ever said. No rude or disparaging comments, no religious interventions, no cut hours; everything continued at work just as it always had. I worked at the store as seasonal help for several months and parted with my boss and fellow employees on very friendly terms. They even asked me if I'd be willing to come back and to lend a hand during their busiest time of the year.

So I had to ask myself, when all was said and done, just who the Goddess was giving a lesson to here. Perhaps I shouldn't be so defensive about my magickal faith and so quick to assume that just because someone was conservative, they would be intolerant of a faith different from their own. Who would have ever thought it? Certainly not me.

So there was a spiritual lesson to be learned from this job, after all. However, the one who needed to be taught religious tolerance the most was me.

A Prayer for Religious Tolerance

Lord and Lady, help me to set a good example as a Witch today.

Bless my body so that I may walk a path of wisdom.

Bless my heart; may it remain compassionate and loving.

Bless my mind so it can stay open and nonjudgmental.

For your magickal lessons are many, and kind and tolerant people

Do come from all backgrounds and religions.

[contents]

Chapter 8

Personal example carries more weight than preaching.

Chinese Proverb

Spirituality and
Personal Advancement

As we've seen, natural witchery is a magickal method that encourages you to trust in your intuition, embrace your personal power, and rejoice in your connection to nature. It also supports the idea of then combining all of the above and showing you how to live the magick in a practical way, each and every day.

How you as an individual draw strength from all of these aspects of your life—the intuitive, personal, and practical sides of magick—is a crucial part of your earth religion. Throughout this book, I have given you dozens of ways and shown you fresh ideas so you can put these methods to good use. We've worked our way through chapters on
intuition
and psychic development, personal growth and personal power, and we've studied the practical and psychic dynamics of group work. We've also taken a realistic look at another important part of your life in the Craft by discussing our living environments and the things that affect them, such as your family and your job. So to finish up this book, I thought it would be a good idea to discuss and explore a topic that we have yet to touch on, and that topic is spirituality.

Honestly, spirituality isn't a flowery concept to be tucked aside until it is convenient for you to consider. Your spirituality needs to be integrated into your daily life if it is to be a meaningful expression of who you are as a Witch. By continuing your search for information and knowledge, and by working on your personal improvement, you in turn become an adept or advanced magickal practitioner. When you take the time to look within and to see who you really are, you begin to grow and to change; in essence, you begin to blossom into a more spiritual person.

Let us be grateful to the people who make us happy;

They are the charming gardeners
who make our souls blossom.

Marcel Proust

Tending to Our Spirituality

Tending to your own inner spirituality is like caring for a garden, and gardening is not for wimps. It always makes me smile to talk to a new gardener who is simply amazed at the sheer amount of work and hours they have to put in to keep a garden maintained, happy, and healthy. The same type of maintenance, hard work, and attention also applies to keeping our spirituality on track.

When it comes to spirituality, here the newer magickal practitioner has an edge on the more experienced one. Why? Because they still have boundless energy and enthusiasm for the magickal life. It's all new, exciting, and fresh to their eyes. Everything is magickal, and even ordinary, daily experiences take on an enchanting quality when seen through the eyes of a new Witch.

So, using this “nurturing your spirituality is like tending to a garden” analogy, let's explore this idea a little further. As is often the case, the longer you've been practicing the Craft, the easier it is to become a lazy spiritual gardener. You only take care of that divine garden when things go wrong and you have to fix them. As time goes by, you become so used to the magickal life that you often ignore the charming things that once were precious to you—which is not unlike ignoring the flowers until they are drooping with thirst, then quickly watering them so they pop back up, only to ignore them again until things start to look ragged. Think how much healthier those plants in our spiritual garden would be if they received regular attention and care. With regular maintenance, those pesky weeds or dilemmas would be at a minimum, and our plants or lives would grow stronger and be more resistant to troubles.

How many of you have ever tried to pull out a weed from the garden? It's so much easier to rip out the weed's roots if you hunker down and get closer to the earth. And here is another divine gardening lesson for you to consider: you can't pull those weeds (magickal or otherwise) while standing on the outside edge of the spiritual garden. You have to get in there and get those hands dirty! Feel the ground beneath you—it offers support and strength—and tug out those occasional weeds of negativity. Clip back that old, spent foliage of self-doubt. Come on, you can do it! Reconnect to the natural world, honor your intuition, and remember what it's like to experience the divine around you in simple and profound ways.

Care for your witchy self in the same way you would care for garden plants: with nourishment, time, and attention every single day. This makes for a happy and healthy spiritual garden and a strong, confident, and wise Witch. Cultivate both your spirituality and sense of enchantment by rediscovering the simple things that once delighted you, for when you nurture the magickal self, your spirituality blossoms.

True simplicity as a conscious choice
illuminates our lives from within.

Sarah Ban Breathnach

Living the Magick Every Day

Living the magick on a daily basis can be somewhat of a challenge when you are surrounded by the demands and stress of day-to-day life. There are bills to pay, kids to haul to sports practice, dirty laundry, house cleaning, and the ever-popular teenage melodramas. I know that, for myself, after twenty years in the Craft there have been times when I began to feel a little disconnected. It usually sneaks up on me. I get so busy with the family, my writing, my job, and studying the magickal arts and taking them apart piece by piece so I can write about them and teach them that I forget to take a moment or two every day to celebrate the sacred.

So, how
do
you find the magickal in the mundane and uncover the sacred in the ordinary? Why, I thought you'd never ask. You simplify. The truth is, you already have inner wisdom and all the creativity you'll ever need to make magick in your life; you just may be too busy to notice it. Well, here is your big chance. Quiet your mind, listen to your heart, and look within.

The trick is to set some time aside for yourself to nurture your own spirituality. Remember the spiritual garden we discussed before? This is the where the maintenance comes in. Begin by keeping things basic and simple. It's an interesting truth that the longer you've been practicing the Craft, the more uncomplicated your magick becomes. That's because you have learned what works the best for you.

So before you start to think that only a lengthy, complicated ritual process is the mark of an experienced Witch, be realistic. Simplicity for the veteran Witch is like a breath of fresh air. Now that we have your intuition humming along, get back to the basics and remember what it was like to rejoice in the most practical and essential of magickal techniques.

A Little Natural Witchery Elemental Homework

Here are a few simple suggestions for you to consider; these will help you sense the magick that swirls around you in your environment, as well as remind you to keep those elemental personality qualities that we worked on earlier nicely in balance. Go outside on a pleasant day, and feel the breeze as it blows past you. Now take a moment and acknowledge it as the element of air sending positive change on the winds. Work with that energy so you can communicate your thoughts clearly and so you are inspired and knowledgeable.

Watch the sun rise, and notice carefully the colors that paint themselves across the sky. The sun is a natural representation for the element of fire, so start paying attention to the colors and the force of the sun and the power of light that illuminates your days. Tap into this luminous energy and become inspired, passionate, and strong.

Take a quick trip to the nearest natural body of water, whether it is a creek, lake, river, or ocean. Stand safely along the banks or shoreline, and see what different energies you personally notice there. Whenever I am stressed out, I head to a local riverfront park and find a nice park bench, take some personal time, and just silently watch the Missouri River go by. It never fails to clear my head, and it also gives me a chance to get rid of any anger or frustration that I am holding on to. The natural energies of the water element can help you to wash away stress and discontent. While you are there enjoying the view, take advantage of the soothing and healing qualities of water, soak up a little positive atmosphere, and clear your heart and mind.

Go to a park on your lunch break, and sit beneath the shade of a tree. Or just take a seat on the grass in your own backyard. Feel the ground beneath you, and take some time to really ground and center. You could wrap your arms around a tree trunk and experience the life force within. Use this experience to connect to the solid and steady magick that is a blessing from the earth. Call on this earthy magick for protection and security, and to keep your personal prosperity flowing.

Finally, watch the moon rise some night on your own porch, and feel the gentle illumination of the Goddess as she sends her blessings down to you. Tip up your face to the moon's silver light and improvise a quick prayer of thanks for all the wonderful things that you have in your life. Dare to take some personal time just for yourself to celebrate your spirituality and to enjoy your earth religion!

More things are wrought by prayer
than this world dreams of.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson