I use my craft in all things. I knead gratitude into the bread dough I make for my family, talk to the herbs growing outside that I will pick for medicine later. I give the night sky appreciation each evening on the deck, not just the moon and it's phases but the actual sky. Dark nights, starry nights, misty nights, rainy nights. The early mornings especially in spring and summer when the magic light creeps through the trees and the morning mist clings to the mountains, rising with the heat. The season constantly moves forward with tiny minute little changes each day that I can mark such as each small sprig of green growth, the egg production of the chickens, the movement of water rivulets in the yard, the temperature and moisture of the breeze first thing in the morning, the smell of the dirt as the sun warms it up. The Wheel turns quickly.

#witchcraft #witches #Pagan #paganism #TurnTheWheel #OldGods

I keep reading how so many feel a “disconnect” in their Paganism. They feel the Sabbats don't fully match the seasons, that they are going through the motions without deep sense, that the Gods are not listening or were never really there, that so many young ones coming up are fluffy or only attached to their phones.

Here's a thought. BE what you want Paganism to be. Set an example. Show them. Reconnect. Get your hands dirty, in actual dirt. Feel cold, wet, hot, shivery, feel UNCOMFORTABLE during the Sabbats. Be outside when it's cold, be sweaty when it's hot, pull that snow away from the first shoots in spring with your bare hands. Swim in the lake when it makes you gasp to get in that water. Sit among the fall leaves with your morning coffee. Dig in the garden in the heat of summer until you are running sweat and can't wait to strip off your clothes and shower naked outside. Build a bonfire in the snow and cook your food. Stand outside in the pouring rain after a month of drought and let the rain beat down on your face, run down the back of your neck and get your clothes soaked.

Roll around in nature with your old Gods and then tell me they aren't there. They ARE there. They are with you, all around you. They are waiting for you to get down and get real. They might want the stuff you make with your own hands, food you have grown, spirits you have brewed. Even if your stuff isn't pretty or perfect. Even if your outdoor shrines are rustic and weedy. Even if your garden is a jumble. Real isn't glitter in a bottle, or overpriced crystals, or a lofty bookshelf. It's doing, and feeling and thinking and living.

Get down, get dirty and keep at it for years and years. Some day in the future, you won't even care that others have problems Paganism. You'll have been doing it all along.

#witchcraft #witches #Pagan #paganism #TurnTheWheel #OldGods

Life is endlessly hard but over the years I've discovered a few things. Living everyday within my pagan beliefs is a comfort. Following my interpretation of old rituals and creating new ones, celebration of the Turn of the Wheel as it relates to my area and environment, identifying qualities of old gods and incorporating them into my daily life, and following my personal code has helped me move through a lot of chaotic and bad shit over the years. Everyone has to find their own way but mindfulness of the world, and how it relates to my immediate environment and using that to conduct myself has given me peace of mind. And everyday, I learn something new.

#pagan #witchcraft #turnthewheel #ritual #celebration #mindfulness