Category: YouTube Pagan Challenge

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,

ABC of Paganism: K is for Keys

7/4/2018

I have had a love for keys since I was a child and would collect any that I found abandoned or that no longer had a valid use for its intended purpose. Car keys, house keys, padlock keys ... old rusty keys, newer keys ... any sort of key was a treasure for me. I would eagerly place the key on a silver key ring or chain and keep them in a safe place. I would pretend to use my found keys to open locked doors whether physical or imagined believing that whatever it was secured behind those doors was important and valuable and available to only me since I held the key.

ABC of Paganism: J is for Judgment

6/20/2018

When I consider the concept of judgment within my Witchcraft I first consider the Tarot card of Judgement XX and what lessons it brings forth when it appears in a spread; making a judgment on a situation or experience, judging others or oneself, facing the reckoning of the gods … when I do so I realize that there are often times when judgment is not only useful and helpful, but necessary. Within my own practice I recognize that judgment forces me to create boundaries where there previously were none or forces me to contemplate my own desires and needs instead of always yielding to others (especially when dealing with a coven or group of other practitioners). While it is certainly true that compromises must be made when I am a member of a larger group there are things that we all should refuse to compromise on, especially if we are uncomfortable with whatever it is being presented to us, though I would also concede that sometimes our own discomfort may indicate that there is a shadow within ourselves that we may want to address.

ABC of Paganism: I is for Invocation

6/6/2018

Invocation is an important part of a Witch's practice because it is one way in which he or she is able to commune with those entities that align with the Spirit Realm. The practice of invocation provides a channel through which communication between planes of existence is achieved. Through invocation a Witch draws a spirit, Spirit force, deity or other non-physical being into her or his body in order to commune with that entity or to be the mouthpiece for that particular entity so that others may have the opportunity to speak and listen to the messages that entity brings to the physical realm. When a successful invocation has taken place the Witch’s personality has been replaced by that of the spiritual being that has been invoked much like a possession.

ABC of Paganism: H is for High Priestess

5/23/2018

The role of the High Priestess is greatly misunderstand by many self-taught Wiccans and Witches. The title and role of the High Priestess was one that I assumed during the years I lead Lunar Wisdom Coven, but I no longer assume the position nor the title as the coven dissolved a few years ago and I did not birth another. At the present time I am solitary in my own practice and due to the transition I am experiencing I wouldn’t even suggest that I am a Priestess; I do not work or associate with any one particular personified goddess, god, or pantheon. I am Witch – that is a label that describes me, but beyond that I am uncertain.

ABC of Paganism: G is for Gnosis

5/9/2018

Gnosis is defined as esoteric knowledge of spiritual truth that is essential to the liberation of the individual from illusion or ignorance. The spiritual seeker searches for gnosis through numerous practices, striving to gain insight into the nature of the Universe as well as his or herself through these practices. For me these practices include; meditation, contemplation, fasting, Ritual, and any other means I find to communion with the Spirit Realm, but for others it may manifest in a different way. Perhaps the individual perceives deity as the personified god Ganesh and while in meditation that practitioner has a profound interaction with this deity or the Witch works only with the primordial forces of nature and while holding ritual outside in her backyard she witnessed a natural event that uncovered some truth for her. It is these moments when the individual is aligned with deity and the moment when gnosis can be gained if we are opened to the experience. Many times gnosis comes to me in a way I am unprepared for, which places even greater value on the experience for me.

ABC of Paganism: F is for Familiar

4/25/2018

Many new Witches misunderstand the concept of familiars. In discussing the concept with them it is clear to see that they believe that their familiar spirit is their animal companion whether it is their pet cat or dog or bird and that particular animal aids them with their magick or ritual, but the Witch's familiar is much more than a pet and typically their pet is not their familiar. While having an animal companion is pleasant and there are wonderful benefits for the Witch in owning a pet, to believe that your pet cat or dog is your familiar is misinformed and misguided. A Witch's familiar is not owned by the Witch. A familiar is a spiritual entity in its own right possessing freewill and a unique personality. They are spiritual entities with agendas that may or may not align with the Witch at any given time. The familiar chooses the Witch as much as the Witch chooses the familiar; the two cultivate a magickal relationship that is mutually beneficial to both parties involved in the bond.

ABC of Paganism: E is for Energy

4/11/2018

Everything is made of energy and is connected by the very nature of what it is. While some things appear to be solid material, it is still made of energy just vibrating at a low frequency. Nothing is permanent; everything deteriorates. Life is a vast web of energetic interconnections and human beings experience these connections physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. We are connected to our relatives, our friends, our ancestors, the land we live, and situations we experience. We are connected to our possessions, our careers, hobbies, the people with whom we

ABC of Paganism: D is for Danu

3/28/2018

Prior to 2015 my matron goddess was Isis and my patron god was Thoth. I worked within my personal practice exclusively with these two gods of the Egyptian pantheon and they taught me much about magick and witchcraft. With their guidance I developed a strong personal practice and successful ritual spell casting, but it was in the summer of 2015 that I was called by a different goddess and I gladly accepted the invitation to work with the Great Mother, Danu.

Danu made herself known to me years prior to her formal call on the day that my husband and I were legally handfasted in 2008. The High Priestess who officiated our ceremony placed a turquoise colored statue of Danu on the altar, but I was unfamiliar with the image and so I asked her about it. While she spoke to me, I felt a flickering within my psyche and knew that I would work with Danu sometime in the future, but I had taken a vow to serve Isis and my time with her

ABC of Paganism: C is for Cauldron

3/14/2018

I have always associated the cauldron with witchcraft. As a child when I closed my eyes and imagined mysterious witches outside at night casting spells under the full moon they were always in the woods surrounding a cauldron that was bubbling over a fire. I’m aware that this is a stereotypical image, but for me there is a thread of truth to be found there within the exaggeration. Since I’ve lived in New England my entire life I often visited living museums such as Plimouth Plantation and Old Sturbridge Village; both museums present what life would have been like for people living during the 1600’s and 1800’s respectively and every home you visit within the museum centers around the hearth, which always has a cauldron