I’m shamelessly stealing this idea from Jenett as a way to actually, you know. Blog.
I’ve been so silent on here for so long and it’s not because I’m doing nothing; it’s just because I used to write these big, lengthy posts on one topic and that hasn’t been attainable for some time. But a round-up post about a lot of little things? I think I can do that.
So here’s what I’m doing in ongoing magical practice. Jenett calls hers “Witch in Practice”; I call mine Practice Makes Progress because that’s been my mantra for a while now.
What I’ve Been Doing Recently:
Reading. Lots of reading. I recently finished Arin Murphy-Hiscock’s The Witch’s Book of Self-Care, which I will likely write a full post raving about at some point. I just need to get my hands on my own copy; I borrowed the one I read from the library.
I also read Ivy’s Agile Magic Manifesto, which I found super useful in a lot of ways. It’s sparked me towards more ancestor work, and helped me realize what was missing from that area of my practice.
Lighting an uncrossing candle (whenever possible). When mom was down a few months ago we went by the local witch shop and she bought me an uncrossing candle. I’ve been lighting it and working on untangling whatever’s crossing me right now as and when I’m able to or I remember. Which is not often enough, but. The candle works. I can feel it working. Hopefully once I’ve burned it all down I will be rid of some of the energetic brambles tangling me up.
Car magic. I can’t do a lot in this house, which I’m working on getting us out of. But I do feel more at home and safer in my car, so I started enchanting her in small ways. Before this past week I’d drawn sigils on her steering wheel, set up a Ganesh shrine in the cup holder (which I need to redo soon), and put a sprig of yarrow in the glove compartment. This past week I shielded the back window with an application of RainX; going to do the rest of the windows as soon as I can.
Cleaning and packing. I’m trying like hell to get out of this place and into a better spot, and part of that is downsizing everything we own so that it’s more manageable while we’re here. That doesn’t mean getting rid of stuff, necessarily, though I have gotten rid of some things. It mostly means packing up my books and putting them into storage. Mom’s been coming down to help me, because between working full-time and my back injury/chronic pain, it’s a nearly impossible task alone. Or even with Mr. Morag, who does help as much as he can. He is not the cleaning tornado my mom is, however.
What I’m starting to do/planning on doing soon:
Ancestor work. Briefly mentioned above, I read a bit in the manifesto about how you don’t pray to your ancestors, you pray for them. This sparked off a lightbulb and now I’m teaching myself how to say the Lord’s Prayer in Dutch, because I really feel my Oma would appreciate that. I’m also going to be moving my ancestor altar to a better spot in the house (which is part of cleaning and packing).
This is made difficult by the fact that I burst into giggles almost every time I say the Dutch word for heaven because it sounds hilarious to me, but I soldier on.
More reading! I’m now working on Murphy-Hiscock’s The House Witch and HausMagick by Erica Feldmann. I’ve flipped through the second and I don’t have the best feeling about it, but I’ll still read it all. Even bad books can hide gems.
Seasonal kitchen witchery. Fall is always the time I feel inspired to do seasonal cooking/baking, so I’m going to lean into that impulse and make some sugar free apple crisp this week. I’m also going to make some sugar-free pumpkin pie in preparation for Thanksgiving, which is coming up fast here in Canada.
Daily prayers. I’ve realized I can say these in my car before I drive to work if I manage to leave the house on time, so I’m going to try that. I’ll be writing the prayer down in the car so I don’t have to try to memorize something and thus stumble over it.
That’s it in broad strokes for this past week and upcoming plans. Hopefully I’m starting a pattern of posting regularly, even if it’s just bullet points on my current practice.
~Morag