How to Become a Witch, Amber K. [new books to read .txt] 📗

quite natural, since Spain (and Central and South America) were very Pagan places before the Catholic Church became dominant there. To repeat: we judge a person by their character and accomplishments, not by their race or cultural heritage.

We could explore a hundred more social issues, but in most of them the conclusion would be the same: Witches are free to choose the position they hold under the guidance of the Rede: harm no one, and follow your true will.

Alara lives in a restored Victorian mansion covered with gingerbread woodwork and runs her own veterinary practice, where she uses reiki healing and crystals as well as modern drugs. She loves Japanese manga (comics) and is dating a Druid physicist.

Wolfy lives in a small town outside Seattle and works in a bakery. In his spare time, he raises exotic tropical plants and designs Internet games that boost the players’ psychic skills. He socializes with Luanne, a retired long-haul truck driver who paints giant Goddess murals.

Rita and Vixen run a bed-and-breakfast in the mountains, and have been partners for twenty-seven years. They also make wands to sell to Witches worldwide, and they have three dogs and a large snake as companions.

Torrin, Murf, and Petal are transforming some overgrazed grassland into an organic truck farm and selling their produce to fancy restaurants in three states. Murf is developing new mushroom hybrids, Petal likes to rebuild muscle cars from the sixties, and Torrin works online part-time as a financial analyst. They have been in a polyamorous relationship for seven years.

Joan and Marty are married with three children and have converted an old barn into their model energy-efficient home. Joan is a magistrate judge, Marty writes science fiction novels, and the whole family takes care of the hamster colony together.

Terra lives in a high-rise in the center of a large city and works for the Animal Control division of the police department. She wonders when the owners of her apartment building will notice the raised-bed herb gardens on the roof.

They’re all Witches.

Every Witch’s lifestyle is unique and personal, but the foundation for all is the Wiccan Rede, a great love of the earth, and the ability to see Goddess and God in all things.

As a Witch, you will represent the gods and the Craft to the other inhabitants of this planet. Your life will express one more facet of the infinite and sacred diversity of all things. So be yourself, and live the way that only you can live while seeking wisdom, love, and power within.

And yet, we haven’t really covered how Witches live until we look at one more thing. Most Witches have certain things they do each day to help them along their spiritual and magickal path—a daily spiritual practice. We’ll explore that in the next chapter.

Deepening Your Practice

Exercises Toward a Wiccan Way of Life

On separate sheets of paper, list the various aspects of life we have discussed:

Sustainable living • Food • Housing

Health care • Relationships • Sexuality

Children • Animals • Work/Career

Money/Wealth • Consumerism • Transportation

Clothing • Social involvement

Now think about your life in each of these areas. Which feel as though they are genuinely witchy in style already? In which areas do you feel like you have a very muggle lifestyle? Rank them from “most witchy” (magickal, spiritual, natural) to “least witchy” in your life.

List three priorities for improving your life in each area, and write down a plan or series of steps to achieve them.

Brainstorm a list of the people you most admire and respect. What is it about them and their lifestyles that you would like to be and do yourself? Write your observations in your Book of Shadows.

Chapter 6

Spiraling Into the Center

Your Daily Practice

At your altar, seek the way,

Touching magick, wielding power,

With Spirit start and end each day,

I am a Witch at every hour.

To become superb at anything, be it tennis or art or starship design, you must practice. To become a great Witch, you must practice. Many Witches do, in fact, have a daily practice in order to grow magickally and spiritually—but because we are so incredibly individualistic, what we do to hone our skills and nourish our spirit varies dramatically.

Here are some examples:

Rosewood meditates on positive questions each evening and spins fire poi.

Aventurine lights incense on her altar, thanks the gods for the new day, and selects one tarot card to study.

Cybele visualizes a great pentagram and then mentally moves from point to point, checking the energy of each element within her life.

Twig walks in a forest grove by his house and greets the trees and wild things.

Lyonesse works to clear and balance her chakras, then chants to the Goddess.

Blade does breathing exercises, then practices his martial art, dedicating his bo staff work to Scathach, his patron goddess.

Amethyst chooses a stone that intuitively feels like the energy she needs that day from her large collection of gemstones and crystals; she greets it, thanks it, and places it in her pocket.

Catnip visits her garden during the warm months, shares energy with each plant, and talks with the deva of that species. In the winter, she converses with a different plant deva each morning before her altar.

Some have done essentially the same thing for years, at least outwardly, deepening the experience as they mature spiritually. Most of the others have changed their practice as they felt the need.

Choose a personal daily practice that serves your needs. You may want to energize yourself each morning for the day’s tasks. Perhaps you want to get some quick guidance for the challenges you are going to face each day. You might feel the need to express thanks each evening for all the blessings in your life. Your sessions could be designed to keep your magickal skills honed and ready for action. Your practice could help you balance the elements in your life. Maybe you just need to ground, center, and gather your resources.

We will discuss some of the infinite options for your daily practice