Oh, yeah, that meme: will be posting the entries as they should appear while retroposting the ones I’ve missed.
So, the next one should be day 21. I’ll add the past ones as I write them.
It’s been crazy this month.
44 Days of Witchery, Day 20: A picture of a tarot or oracle card, and its meaning.
This card is from “The 5 Keys to Happiness” oracle deck, which is based loosely on Tibetan teachings. The deck is by Gordon Smith and Dronma.
The deck is divided up into 5 suites: Earth, Water, Fire, Air, and Space. Each element has 6 cards. 1 through 4 represent the 4 stages of life (embryo: potential, child: youthful qualities, adult: the direction of one’s life, elder: the shape of things to come), 5 is a ring of protection representing the subconscious mind, and 6 is a dragon of wisdom, representing the higher self in mythical form. There are also 4 Guardian King cards, which are not used within spreads. They’re used with mandala meditations (a mandala is provided with the deck) and sort of act as a “circle” for your spreads, much like one you might cast before doing a spell.
This card is number 4 (elder, or the shape of things to come) of the Air element. Here is what the book says about it:
“This is the inner voice of wisdom, the ability to trust the intuitive messages from within.”
A figure is flying in swirling currents of air, and a bird is supported on its own currents, symbolizing whispered words of wisdom. The figure is crowned with a headdress of feathers and wind energies, symbolizing spiritual flight.
Positive: your mind is able to flow effortlessly on your spiritual journey. Your resulting actions are spontaneous and appropriate in all situations. You’re true to your inner self, clean and pure. You give credit where it’s due and don’t sit in judgement of others. Rather, you rejoice in their successes.
Negative: You may be aware of anxiety growing within you. You could even face sleepless nights where you question your own mind and fill it with doubt. Do not fear loss of affection at this time, and try not to blow things out of proportion. In the clear light of day, everything may appear different.
I should probably also add here that I just drew this card in response to no question, and it’s pretty on par with where I am.
44 Days of Witchery, Day 19: Fire element
Fire was the beginning of the universe, and when it’s snuffed out completely is when things will end, growing dark and cold and compact.
Within fire is the ecstasy of creation and the devastation of destruction. It embodies the cycle of death and regeneration.
Fire is the source of light, and therefore — enlightenment. Light is knowledge, wisdom, and those who carry it, who gift it to humans are punished. (Lucifer. Prometheus.) This is because fire is volatile, and humans are considered ill-equipped to handle it.
It is meant to be something bequeathed on us — not something we can control. We are reminded of this periodically, but we seem not to learn our lesson. We’ve been taught for so long that we are the masters of nature, that fire is antithetical to nature, and must be controlled and damped down. We forget about fire ecology, that it is as natural as we are, and that nothing in nature is master over one another. We’re part of a web — all connected, without hierarchy. Our position of ‘masters of nature’ is delusional hubris. Nothing more.
Fire teaches us of hubris. It rips down our walls, our guardedness, and makes us naked and vulnerable, trembling before the might of the gods.
It also gives us light and life itself, and without fire — without the sun — we would all wither and die.
Without warmth in our homes, without the hearth, we freeze to death. But treat that hearth with disrespect, and we burn up.
Fire is not something you can ignore, take for granted, or treat like a slave. It must be respected, lest it leave you with nothing.
PS: Fire is also a really great film by Deepa Mehta.
44 Days of Witchery, Day 18: Have you had any paranormal experience?
I’ve communed with ghosts in theatres, I’ve seen UFOs, and I’ve fought off demons in graveyards.
Yep. Kind of part and parcel with the job, in my view.
44 Days of Witchery, Day 17: Picture of nature (fire element)
Granted, this isn’t literal fire, but trees in fall have always spoken of the fire element to me. Add in that it was a very sunny day and one spent on Granville Island — I was happy and in my element, which is, of course, fire.
(Picture taken October 23rd, 2011. I’m posting from the future.)
44 Days of Witchery, Day 16: Favourite witchy website
Normally I would say The Cauldron, but it’s not a witchy website. It’s an interfaith forum with a pagan focus. It is my favourite forum and one I spend a lot of time at.
As I get more and more interested in rootwork, herbalism, and real earth magic (down and dirty, baby), I find The Witch of Forest Grove has become my favourite witchy website. Sarah is local to me, and really knows her stuff.
I recommend checking her out if you’re interested in the “lower” magics.
44 Days of Witchery, Day 15: Thoughts on the afterlife?
Nope.
Which is to say, I don’t really think about it that often. I have some theories, some comforting thoughts in the event of the death of a loved one, but quite honestly — how a religion handles the afterlife is one of the least important things to me when it comes to faith.
There are some religions that focus exclusively on the afterlife, on what happens after we die, and I find that the worst sort of head-in-sand syndrome. What good is it what happens in the afterlife if I’m living in the world now? Moreso, what good is it to believe in an afterlife that punishes you for mistakes in your real life?
I believe in reincarnation. I believe that we learn lessons in each life. I also believe that consciousness is like an ocean, and each soul a cup of water from that vast ocean. When we die, our cup is emptied into the vast sea, and when we are reborn, a new cup is scooped out of the sea. So while I may contain molecules of consciousness from my past lives, I am not the same person, and never will be again.
I also believe in an afterlife. A place where we can go to rest and see loved ones again. There is no entrance exam. This is where I’ll see Blue and Major and Oma and Ariel again, where we’ll have time to spend with each other, because time means nothing in the afterlife.
I haven’t reconciled these two beliefs, and I don’t feel the need to. I’ll die someday, far away from now, godswilling, but right now that doesn’t concern me. What concerns me is living and dealing with the here and now. As Ram Dass says, be here now. It’s the only time there is.
44 Days of Witchery, Day 14: A favourite pagan holiday that you celebrate.
I wish I had an uncomplicated answer for this.
My favourite holiday has long been Halloween, from before becoming a Witch, because it was the one holiday that people couldn’t ruin for me. I hated Christmas with a passion.
Now that I’m older, I find I don’t actually celebrate Halloween in a pagan fashion. The last ritual I went to for Samhain was horrible, ending with me having a migraine and some serious issues with the temple. This year I may not celebrate at all (as much because I’m moving at the end of October as any other reason).
I’m starting to like Yule more as time goes on. Beltane is also a favourite.
But I think the most important one to me, and the one I want to answer this question with, is Imbolc. It’s the day dedicated to my Lady Brighid, the day I dedicated myself to her. The day Her light heals my broken soul, reforging me into something useful.
It’s quickly become the most important holiday of the year for me, and one I celebrate without fail. The others, not so much.
44 Days of Witchery, Day 13: What are some of the witchy books that influenced you?
I need to divide this list into two sections: good influences, and bad influences. It’s not fair to group some books together.
First, though, I have to mention the first witchy book I ever read, when I decided I wanted to curse the assholes at school who bullied me: The Crone’s Book of Words, by Valerie Worth. I can’t really group that book into either category below, but it’s important nonetheless.
Bad influences
- Teen Witch by Silly Feathered Puppy
- To Something a Something Something by Silly Feathered Puppy (the entire series)
- and that’s pretty much it. After $RW, I suddenly got a bullshit detector.
Good influences
- Starhawk’s Dreaming the Dark. Not strictly a witchy book, but a good influence nonetheless.
- Terry Pratchett’s Witches of Discworld books. Scrap all magical theory books and read Pratchett; he’s got it down.
- Book of Lies: The Disinformation Guide to Magick and the Occult.
44 Days of Witchery, Day 12: Picture of nature (air element)
This is dawn on December 22nd, 2010. My camera doesn’t like liminal spaces like dawn or twilight, but I think it’s a pretty good picture regardless.