Category: YouTube Pagan Challenge

ABC of Paganism: Z is for Zen

2/6/2019

Zen is defined in The Magician's Companion as: a system of mental stillness origination in India, where it was known as dhyana. The idea is to attain release from attachment to the objective world with the goal of permitting experience by direct perception or intuition. This idea holds a dominate role within my own spiritual practice. It is what I intend to achieve through meditation regardless of what style or type of meditation I am doing at the time. I perceive this mental state as being ideal for communing with the Spirit Realm in order to gain knowledge and wisdom from my Spiritual Court, which would include my Beloved Dead, The Ancestors, my familiar spirits, Spirit Guides, Spirit

ABC of Paganism: Y is for Yoni

1/23/2019

The yoni is an aniconic representation of the vagina and depicts the Goddess, divine feminine energy, or creative force including Shakti, within Hinduism. It is the gateway of all births, the entrance way to the womb and tomb. Depicted with the lingam together they symbolize the union of divine feminine and masculine that creates all of existence, the merging of the microcosmos and macrocosmos, the divine eternal process of creation and regeneration.

The divine feminine has a profound role in my spirituality as she has always has throughout my life. This energy first manifested as my

ABC of Paganism: X is for Xeni Nephidei

1/17/2019

I must admit as we get to the end of the alphabet for this YouTube Pagan challenge I struggled to find a word that began with the letter X that pertained to my personal pagan spirituality or Witchcraft. I considered skipping the letter, but then had an overwhelming sense of failure and I didn't like the feeling so I continued to search and I was pleased that I did. I decided to look through what books I still had on my bookshelf scouring the indexes of a few before I finally found something. The book I made my discovery in was titled; The Magician's Companion by Bill Whitcomb. It was a book I purchased years ago from a fellow YouTube Witch, Jacqueline DuBois. It's a wonderful reference book filled with a plethora of information that I find interesting though I must admit I haven't spent as much time in the book as I would like and will take time in the near future to spend more time immersed in what the pages have to offer me. I have the distinct feeling that it is what I would most benefit from at this time in my personal practice.

ABC of Paganism: W is for Words

1/8/2019

I love words. I am an author; I write and what I write is words. I love manipulating words and dissecting them. I use them to paint pictures in my mind and hopefully in the imaginations of other people who read my words. I like to write more than speak, but I enjoy speaking and listening to others as they express their ideas through words. I enjoy reading more than watching because it seems to me that what I imagine is more appealing to me than what other people create using the words of the author.

It is because I am so enamored with words that I know they hold power. All words possess a power that is uniquely their own,

ABC of Paganism: V is for Vortex

1/1/2019

When we lived in New Bedford, our family resided in a historical home located on Cottage Street, built in the year 1883 for a man named William P. Booth, who was employed by the House of Corrections as an Officer. He lived in the house until his death sixteen years later. The house remained vacant until Adeline M. Cornell, a dress maker, acquired it in 1907. She resided alone in the home for twenty years until her death at which time Fredrick and Agnes Dexter moved into the house, only to move out just a year later. In 1928 Charles and Sylvia Dunham acquired the home and lived there for nearly twenty-seven years and after which the house was occupied and vacated by a number of people until we occupied it in July of 2008.

During our time in the house we experienced

ABC of Paganism: U is for (The) Underworld

12/25/2018

When I was a little girl I was raised within a Roman Catholic household was taught that when someone died their spirit would either go to one of three places: Heaven, Purgatory, or Hell. If the person was good then they would go to Heaven, but if they were bad they would go to Hell, and if they didn’t know better, meaning they were never given the opportunity to know God or if they were never baptized, then they would go to Purgatory for purification and perhaps they would eventually go to Heaven. Each of these places had a reference point in my mind even though I could not see it with my physical eyes; Heaven was above the earth among the clouds and Hell was below the earth beneath the grass and dirt … very deep down. And Purgatory … well, I never really understood

ABC of Paganism: T is for Tarot

12/4/2018

Tarot is a large part of my spiritual path. I have had a relationships with the cards for many years even before I knew what they were and once I became aware of their purpose I consciously decided to utilize them within my spiritual path, gaining sight to situations and relationships when I felt lost. Tarot has become a beneficial tool for me not only for personal purposes, but within my business career as well.

I know that many individuals hold a fear of the Tarot similar to the fear they possess concerning Spirit Boards, but I've never held such a fear. I was always intrigued with the image of an old "gypsy" woman sitting at a small table with the Tarot spread out in front of her, flipping

ABC of Paganism: S is for Seasonal Tides

11/20/2018

Just as the Moon has different phases Witches use as a correspondence for their magicks, the Earth has phases, too that can be harnessed. From the mundane perspective we recognize these phases as Seasons and even if the location of where you live doesn't have recognizable seasons, there still is an energetic shifting that occurs at these times, which can be used as a correspondence when spell casting. Witches recognize these seasons or energetic phases and refer to them as Seasonal Tides.

ABC of Paganism: R is for Rest

11/7/2018

The seasonal tide is shifting and we're moving from the Harvest season to the Winter; from the energy of the element of air to the energy of the element of earth, which will be prominent with the coming Winter Solstice, but for now we are in the Tide of Planning and for me planning happens when I am resting.

With Samhain behind me I have time to rest and consider all that I experienced up to this point in my life. I contemplate the situations and relationships I released and the situations and relationships I have gained. I consider how these shifts have changed the direction of my life and what it is I still desire for myself in the days ahead.

ABC of Paganism: Q is for Quarters

10/17/2018

Being as my spirituality is based within Wicca I have established a relationship with the Quarters or the natural forces of the cardinal points (North, South, East, and West) and during Ritual I will call or summon them within my cast Circle. Each of these Quarters hold a specific energy that I merge with in order to work my magicks, whatever it may be at that time, but my relationship reaches beyond casting a Circle for Ritual or casting a spell for manifestation. As I live my life here in the physical realm I work to balance the energies of the Quarters within me and continuously work with the natural forces of the Cardinal Points to live a life I desire for myself. Some days this practice is more challenging and difficult than others as I am aware of the

ABC of Paganism: P is for Pendulum

9/26/2018

Pendulums are simple tools that can be used numerous ways in any Witch’s Craft. The most common use for a pendulum is divination. When my children were younger I had them chose a pendulum at the local metaphysical shop, purchased them, and taught them how to use it to ask simple “yes” or “no” questions. It was their first experience with divination.

In my own Witchcraft practice I’ve used a few different pendulums over the years; metal, rose quartz, and the clear quartz I currently use most often. I have a strong bond with this particular pendulum and don’t see myself exchanging it for a different one any time soon. I encourage anyone interested in trying pendulum work to find one that really calls to them or draws them, just as when choose other tools of the Craft.

ABC of Paganism: O is for Oils

9/5/2018

Essential Oils have been a part of my Craft since the beginning. I have an emotional and psychological association with the sensation and scent of oils. I was raised within a Roman Catholic home and have been anointed with the Oil of Catechumens to strengthen me to turn away from evil, temptation, and sin when I received the Sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, and Matrimony. The act of anointing someone or something with oil always made the occasion feel sacred and important and was something I was eager to continue when I transitioned to my Wiccan practice.

Within sympathetic magick it was a common practice to anoint with the fat of sacrificial animals as it was perceived to be a powerful charm second only to the blood of the animal. The practice of anointing with oil is believed to be rooted in this ancient practice, which makes sense to this Witch.

ABC of Paganism: N is for Names

8/22/2018

The beginning of wisdom is to call things by their right names.

–Chinese Proverb

Names hold power. All one must do to find evidence of such a fact is to refer to the Egyptian god Ptah whose thoughts as words became real, that which he named was created or the Abrahamic god in the Old Testament of the Bible, existence in the book of Genesis starts with the power of the word and naming of the animals in the Garden of Eden.

ABC of Paganism: M is for (The) Morrigan

8/8/2018

She appeared to me first in a dream. I was confused as to who she was as it was unclear so I reached out to others who I knew had an active relationship with her only to be informed that if it was indeed The Morrigan that I had encountered I would know. So I dismissed the vision as a simple dream and continued my practice without a second thought. I felt the same way about The Morrigan as I did Isis; she seemed trendy. Everyone was working with or they were priestesses of The Morrigan and I didn’t want to be like everyone else so I resisted. But she persisted. She continued to appear to me in dreams and would make her presence known during my meditations. I witnessed murders of crows in the backyard of my home. I found black feathers while on walks in the neighborhood. I couldn’t ignore her so I conceded and acknowledged her.

It was clear that I required her aid. My family was going through a

ABC of Paganism: L is for Learning

7/19/2018

The concept is simple; as mystics, occultists, magicians, sorcerers, wizards, witches, or whatever label you prefer for yourself ... we are always seeking. We are always searching for the greater knowledge or the hidden knowledge. It is the foundation for all magickal practice and is the first axiom of The Witch's Pyramid; "To Know" and in order to know anything the individual must find it, comprehend it, and learn it. There is so much for the Witch to learn about ourselves and our personal realities without even considering the shared reality of all humanity and any other realities that might exist beyond.

For me, this idea, the idea that I will never stop being a student,