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

with these spirits can learn about the plants from the source and become amazingly adept gardeners, farmers, or foresters. A modern example of this relationship between humanity and the plant kingdom is the Findhorn community, where the founders created lush gardens on a salty beach in northeastern Scotland. Though we certainly have no monopoly on this art, many Witches work closely with the devas in their own gardens.

Spirit in Motion

Never assume that spiritual practice has to be passive or still. Sure, you can sit and meditate—but you can also move, and isn’t that almost the very definition of being alive? Go for a walk, and just be with nature; dance, and play with mudras. Mudras?

Mudras are sacred body postures, or arm and hand positions, associated with yogic practice. However, lots of religious traditions have something similar. Christians assume a particular position to pray, Muslims bow toward Mecca and touch the earth with their foreheads, and so on.

Are there particular postures associated with Witchcraft? Yes. Most of them don’t involve kneeling or bowing, though. (Witches are generally not good at humility.) Instead, we stand in a circle. A priestess may stand with her arms out and up to her sides, forming a human chalice, in the “Drawing Down the Moon” position (see illustration, next page). Then she fills herself with the energy of the Goddess. The male equivalent is standing with feet together and arms crossed over the chest and is known as the Osiris position; it honors the god of death and resurrection.

You can also create your own special mudras to honor the spirit or deity of your choice. You can even do elements with your body: sway like a tree in the wind (air), let your hands flicker and dance like flames (fire), make hula-like side-to-side gestures like waves (water), or stand strong, feet apart, like a mountain (earth). If you have a power animal or ally, honor it by moving as it moves, or dancing its spirit: ramble like Bear, soar like Eagle, leap like Salmon.

And now we have moved into dance, one of the most ancient forms of celebration and worship. Your dance can be spontaneous and creative or elaborately choreographed and stylized. You can learn the folk dances of your ancestors or just swirl around in circles or hop up and down in one place.

No matter what the rest of your daily practice looks like, make sure your body gets in on the action.

Ritual

In a sense, any daily practice can be a ritual, a planned and purposeful activity. One thing that distinguishes a formal ritual from, say, a simple spell or a daily walk is that rituals are normally done in sacred space, intentionally created. Which is to say, you will “cast a circle,” or define sacred space, as explained in chapter 8. Many Witches like to do their daily practice within a circle, even if it’s cast in a quick and simple way.

Others feel that there is always a circle protecting their temple or altar space simply because they have created one there so often. They do not feel the need to make it official every morning or evening.

If you wish, you can do a more formal ritual each day, complete with cleansing the space, casting, calling the quarters, and invoking Deity. Of course, this takes time, and it may extend the period you need to set aside each day. There is also a risk that doing the process every day will result in mindless repetition instead of a spiritual experience. You are the only one who can decide whether formal ritual should be part of your practice—daily, occasionally, or rarely. As always, trust your intuition, your instincts, your inner bell.

Designing a daily practice can be daunting; there are so many different ways to do it, and there is no single right way. Your daily Witch thing must be tailored to what you need at this time in your life. Now, part of what you need might be stability and continuity, in which case you may pick a practice that feels right and do the same thing for weeks or years. (To avoid getting stale, you might do that thing and occasionally add something very different.)

The “Drawing Down the Moon” position

You might want to experiment with all the things we’ve discussed here, one at a time, to see how they affect the quality of your life. Perhaps you could try meditation for a week or longer, then try music and chanting for a while, and just go through the list. Write your experiences in your Book of Shadows. Favorites will emerge.

It’s fun to try to design “the perfect daily practice,” which we think would involve all the elements of you: physical movement, mental challenge, emotional exploration, energy work, and connection with spirit—and, of course, it should be doable in less than eight hours! Brainstorm a list. Read the myths and legends of Deity in all its forms. Write poems and invocations, sing and chant, dance, perform mystery plays in ritual, wear colors or jewelry that have significant meaning, learn about the gods and goddesses, redecorate your altar, do a quick divination.

Then ask yourself, “What else could I do?” Get creative, even wacky. Remember, “An ye harm none,” you can try anything. Walk outside and focus on a different element each time. Meditate on a mind-expanding question like “Who am I?” or “What function do I serve as one tiny part of Gaia?” Try a new sensual experience each day, to honor your body. Massage your own feet. Explore the contours of your ears. Taste a food you’ve never tried before. Smear raspberry jam on your tummy and lick it off—good luck. (Is this a religious practice? That depends on your frame of mind and your approach to it.)

The keys are to be consistent, creative, and fully present. Consistent in doing something in a spiritual context every day, even if not the same thing. Creative in trying