Category Archives: Witch

It’s not osmosis

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9. The advice about hanging around successful people only works if you all have similar goals and you actually learn from the others. Hang out with billionaires all you want. Unless you stop buying lottery tickets or shit you don’t need, guess what?

It’s not Osmosis, people. However, it goes deeper than that.

You can buy all the statues you want. You can purchase all the cool clothing from local vendors that you wish. You can even buy all the oils, sprays, and ritual items that your heart desires. You can drop every dollar you have and get the really big tattoos of your gods, and faith. Guess what?

Artwork by Teemu Jahani

IT MEANS NOTHING UNLESS YOU ARE ACTUALLY FOLLOWING THE PATH.

Yeah you can get all those things. Unless you’re doing the homework, you’re gonna fail the whole dang course. Having the fully decked out Instagram-esque aesthetic altar is nice. It’ll get you lots of likes and lots of attention. Don’t actually *work* that altar? Ha ha ha. Cuz that’s what the gods and spirits are gonna do when you actually try to petition them for something.

However, it goes deeper than that.

You can buy all the books you want. You can listen to all the podcasts you want. You can watch all the videos you want. You can buy all the magazines you want. Unless you are taking notes and using the information? IT MEANS NOTHING. Sure you can parrot to your Wannbe Wednesday witches that you heard of or saw that using rosemary in any spellwork is totally acceptable (It’s not by the way.). That might make you look “cool” or whatever you think is cool. Ya’ll know what I’m gonna say, right? IT MEANS NOTHING. If you’re doing the homework, journaling your spellwork and following the instructions? You will have a long record of RESULTS to show what herbs are truly effective for you.

And that’s what I’ve been getting at. All the successful people you idolize? They are RESULTS driven. You want to see change happen in your life? You want to have all the things? This ain’t osmosis. You learn and put those lessons in to effect.

WERK.

 

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Make Mistakes

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Make Mistakes

Yes, this post is late on purpose. SMILE AND NOD.

6. You will make mistakes. Once you’re done beating yourself up, go back to the first entry.

So. Why would I send you ALLL the way back to unlearning the “Don’t hate the playa, hate the game” post? It’s simple…..and it’s not.

Here’s the thing. We live in a ridiculous world that’s made even more terrifying with the addition of social media.  Whether we want to admit it or not, we’re in a horrible loop of looking for approval and validation. We’re drawn to other people’s drama. We’re quick to judge the train wrecks happening in the lives of others with thumbs up or some other emoji. It’s a human thing.

When we post to social media and our own little “court” of followers, we are looking for approval and validation for ourselves. We are constantly trying to: course correct our social lives by asking the “hive mind” questions we can google on our own; get validation for our feelings and mindsets if there are few people locally who “grok” us; and sometimes we need that touch of assurance that we did the right thing when drama goes down in our own lives.

Did you catch it?

Here let me single it out for you:

.…”and sometimes we need that touch of assurance that we did the right thing when drama goes down in our own lives.”

Yeah, we’re constantly looking to be “right” in our lives, to always do things the “right” way, and to always get a pat on the head and a cookie when we “win.”

HOWEVER!

Humans don’t work that way. We make mistakes. We mess up. We don’t do things right all the time. And in the Kangaroo Court of Social media? One “misstep” can spiral our already low self esteem filled minds right to the depths of whatever hell we’ve made for ourselves.

It’s even worse when you’re living a Witch Life.

Most of us are studying alone. We don’t know exactly when the Gods and Spirits are talking to us. We don’t know all the pitfalls that are around us… AND, the last “elder” or mentor we had was stark raving mad… Ahem.

For the solitary practitioner, we’re obsessed with doing things “right” so we don’t accidentally curse ourselves or burn down our houses (remember the first two rules of Fire/Candle Magick).

Guess what? We’re not going to be 100% right all the time. That’s why you use your “book of shadows” / grimoire / journal to track your work. From there you can learn what works and what doesn’t – and what fails spectacularly. Remind me to tell you about the time I: 1. Almost burned down my house; and 2. Nearly cursed myself into oblivion.

Good times.

Now, that you’ve gotten through all that? Here come the warnings:

  1. RESIST THE URGE TO SHARE YOUR FAILURE. Are you’re talking to a trusted colleague who won’t talk down to you? With they help you fix it? If the answer is “no” just stop. You’re just setting yourself up for ridicule. AND! Yes, people who you think are your friends will definitely say some crap like “well you should have known, blah blah blah,” and you will get your feelings hurt. Also?
  2. RESIST THE URGE TO COMMENT NEGATIVELY ON THE FAILURES OF OTHERS. Lookit, we know that we messed up. If we’re talking about it? We are looking for that virtual hug while we clean up the mess. No need for “I told you so” or “I hope you’ve learned your lesson.” We get enough crap from our haters. We don’t need it from our friends. Why? Because:
  3. TRACK YOUR RESULTS: Good, bad or ugly, you need to know what happened so you can see where things went sideways or wrong. That journal of yours will be your lifesaver, cherry flavor, after time.
  4. Lastly, DON’T GIVE UP! The reason why we humans go through this horrible cycle of shame is so that we can evolve. When the first humans ate berries, no one knew which ones were poisonous… soooo you can see how that worked out. As a species, we look to the failures of others to make sure we don’t make the same mistake. And yet, taking those chances made us better human beings.

 

So take chances, get messy, and make mistakes. Learn from them. Forgive yourself, and get busy making more magic.

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Back to Basics

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It’s April. Spring is here. The sun is back. So are the flies.  Ready to get back to real world? Here we go:

  1. When things go wrong, go back to the. Basics. Remember one of the lines in the princess bride : when things go wrong go back to the beginning. This applies almost everywhere. Magic or mundane.

Now don’t get me wrong. No matter what? We’re always going to move forward like Luke Cage, rising from the destruction around us unscathed. Here’s the kicker. Luke went through some serious sh_t to get to that stage. No one is bullet proof overnight. NO ONE. Anyone who tells you different is lying.

So, for all the bluster and shame about being “basic” these days, the “basic” skills in magick and magickal mechanics apply.

  1. Ground
  2. Center
  3. Cleanse
  4. Shield

These are the reset buttons. You can recover and regroup from just about everything with these steps. Exactly HOW you do it is up to you. My favorite is the Waterfall Meditation by Andrieh Vitimus  As a person who has difficulty visualizing things (Thank you ADHD), the waterfall meditation is easy. No you’re not sitting there chanting “Ohm” for an hour. Take one of his classes, read his books. Make the damn magick.

If you can’t do any of these things, CORRECTION: if you’ve convinced yourself that you can’t do any of these things, the path to magick and change inyour life will be forever blocked. PLAIN AND SIMPLE.

Read that again. I’ll help.

If you can’t do any of these things, CORRECTION: if you’ve convinced yourself that you can’t do any of these things, the path to magick and change in your life will be forever blocked.

Lookit, we are all different yeah? Just because someone else can do hot yoga while chanting the 108 names of the goddess in Aramaic doesn’t mean THAT way is the only way to reach enlightenment. Just because someone else is a 14th circle Moonbeam Unicorn Princess in their super secret tradition or coven, doesn’t mean that’s the only path to magick.  As magickal people, we often set our sights a bit too high and curse the gods and spirits when we fall short.

I’ll give you some hints:

  1. Sigil magick – Your signature is a sigil embodying your very essence. The same goes for logos. It’s just as good as DNA or a fingerprint.
  2. Color correspondences: Keep it simple. Work with the colors of the rainbow, and try them out in your wardrobe for quick glamour magick.
  3. Numerology: all you need to really learn is the 0-9. The rest is too much to remember.
  4. Herb work: your kitchen counter spice rack can do a world of good or bring on a world of hurt.

 

Now, why do I give these hints? At the core, these are the basics. The magical mechanics work the same. We work with candles and poppets to see our own energy objectively. However, this isn’t always necessary. The schools of thought behind a lot of magical theory just explain what you can do instinctively. YOU CAN DO THIS, just maybe not the way that’s taught in books….

For many years, those four steps were done in the form of djembe drumming. I sat and played, as the drum beats rolled through my hands, I sent down all that I didn’t need. After a while, I got comfortable and adjusted my straps to play better. After a longer while I realized I was hot and sweaty. Had to take off some clothes and get a drink. Once drumming was done, once my mind was clear? I put my clothes back on, packed up my drum and was able to get back to making mojo. It was different. It was odd. It worked for me. Now your homework is to find a way that works for you.

 

RECAP:

If you have too many heavy boxes in your arms, you’ll set one down right? GROUNDING.

If you put on your underwear in a rush and something feels off, you, ahem, adjust right? CENTERING

If you’re dirty from someone else barfing on you, you change your clothes and get a shower right? CLEANSING

If it’s minus a million degrees outside, you’ll put on a coat and boots right? If it’s plus a million degrees and sunny, you’ll wear a hat and sunscreen right? SHIELDING.

Yes. It’s that simple. It’s the basics. It’s alllll the homework you need to do to make the dang magic.

Rev. Terrie

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TANSTAAFL

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TANSTAAFL ~ There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch

Here we are, back to the things I’ve learned while away from the blog.

  1. No one is under any obligation to help you out of any situation or teach you skills for free.

That’s right. There Ain’t No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.

The internet, books from the library, shared skills – none of it is free.  Google gets money from ads.  Facebook is reading your posts and using the information for their marketing engines. The library is subsidized by the province.  You pay taxes to the province. See where we’re going? Even if you share your skills, there should be something you are getting out it. If there isn’t? You’re headed for burnout and feeling unappreciated. All the Reiki people will tell you that when you give a service, there should be an energetic exchange of some kind. The easiest “exchange” is money.

This isn’t spiritual. This is human economics. Don’t believe me? This is from 

3. Production has costs

There is no such thing as a free lunch. Getting something apparently gratis only means that some other person pays for it. Behind every welfare check and each research grant lies the tax money of real people. While the taxpayers see that government confiscates part of one’s personal income, they do not know to whom this money goes; and while the recipients of government expenditures see the government handing the money to them, they do not know from whom the government has taken away this money.

What does this mean when it comes to the spiritual workers? Don’t get mad when your “I just want to ask you a question” is met with “You can book an appointment or consultation for $25.” Before ya’ll get your knickers in a twist, here’s the reason why:

Spiritual workers spend YEARS honing their crafts. In money terms, that means tens of thousands of dollars spent on research, supplies, courses, books and the like. Most spiritual workers still have “day jobs.” So all the money they could be putting towards retirement? They spent studying.

Spiritual workers are usually in the throes of “shaman sickness” because they are giving too much of their work away for free. So that “one question” you have ( that turns into a dissertation) means they now can’t afford to feed themselves right, take time off or get their own medications.

(For those who are wondering, if you’re feeling ashamed, that’s not my intent. That’s a perk of the information. You’re welcome.)

So let’s say that some Spiritual Worker is generous and gives you their time and information. GET THEM SOMETHING IN RETURN. Buy them coffee or lunch. Brag about them to your friends. Post a good review. Carry their bags. Help them set up or break down at events.

Hey, I hear the cheap white light people in the back saying “It’s a gods given gift! You should do it for free!” Hey, guess what? No service in any Christian service I’ve seen is free. It’s paid for by parishioners and congregations. Not even Jesus did things for free. He (apparently) paid for everything with his LIFE.

Now to be fair, I know some of ya’ll are broke or just making ends meet. Still, no free lunch. Do the homework known as the energy exercises I keep asking after. For myself, if I know you’re doing the work, I’ll see results. This is a form a payment. You are learning the skills taught and using them to make your life better. I’ll take it. But ya gotta do the dang work!

So you don’t want to do the energy work? Fine. Everything else is going to be infinitely harder and the magic costs will be greater. No money? STILL NO FREE LUNCH. Get to working for your spiritual worker. Run errands, share their posts, and do all you can in lieu of money to show your worker that you value what they do.

And if you don’t want to do any of those things? Wellll. don’t be surprised when…..

PS.

DON”T ASK FOR COUPONS. To do so means you don’t value the actual product, you’re just cheap.

 

The Blog Is Back

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The Blog Is Back

After a year and a half, I’m back. Things got bad. Then things got real bad. Then things got weird.

That’s when I got angry and sh-t got real.

 The rest of the backstory is boring. Let’s skip it for now. Let’s focus on when I got mad and things started happening. Since summer 2016, I learned a lot of things. There’s no divisive line of good or bad in those things. Just the truth I found for myself.  Funny thing is? When I spoke those truths, when I acted on those truths… Life changed for me.  Here are a few things I learned. I’ll go into depth in future posts.
1. Unlearn the modern hip maxim “don’t hate the playa, hate the game.”  Don’t bother hating unless you’re going to use that energy to get things done.
2. No one is under any obligation to help you out of any situation or teach you skills for free. #NotSorry
3. Humans are ultimately self serving. Each and every time, they will choose themselves over you. Deal with it.
4. When things go wrong, go back to the basics. Remember one of the lines in the Princess Bride: when things go wrong go back to the beginning.
5. There are no shortcuts to success or enlightenment.  #StillNotSorry
6. You will make mistakes. Once you’re done beating yourself up, go back to the number 4 entry.
7. It’s not your job to fix anyone else. Give them all the tools and encouragement… And walk away.
8. Your job is to fix you. If others learn from your example, great. If not? Move along.
9. The advice about hanging around successful people only works if you all have similar goals and you actually learn from the others and do the work.
10. You can’t be a spiritual leader in a vacuum. No tribe? No flock? No f-cks given by the gods.
11.  Whatever title you choose, unless your prayers or magick gets reliable results? You are wasting your time.
12. Drama will always go down. Mind your business and let it go down.
 Oh yeah, y’all. It’s gonna be like that. Happy New Year
Rev. Terrie