PBP - I'm a Word Witch

So - some witches classify themselves - Kitchen Witches, or Weather Witches, or Druids, or Shamans...I've tried to figure out, for a long time, what I am. Other than eclectic.

I'm a Word Witch. My favorite form of spellwork is to write out a prayer, or a poem, or a wish, and decorate the page and hang it on the wall. There are prayers sticky-tacked in odd places throughout my house. At one point, while Sascha was deployed, I had nine or ten prayers of protection and comfort posted around the walls of my bedroom!

Perhaps that's why I like this blog so much. I like words. I enjoy writing. In high school I dreamed about becoming a writer. That's not something I'm interested in now; it's hard enough finding inspiration for a blog entry every day! (And as you can tell, I do fail at that sometimes...)

Speaking doesn't do it for me either; it's the written word where I find magic. I get nervous and mispronounce my speech, but it's extremely rare that I misspell a word. The best way for me to remember something is to write it down once or twice.

I think the affinity for the written word has affected my choice in goddesses, too. Brigid has been my shield and open-armed, welcoming goddess since I began this journey; she's a goddess of poetry and inspiration, of hearth and home. Lately Cerridwen has been calling to me; she's another goddess of inspiration, but also of transformation. She can be vengeful and ferocious in getting what she wants - she chased her servant boy through several different forms when he accidentally took the potion meant for her son. (And eventually ate him, only to birth Taliesin nine months later!)

On one hand, I am eager to see where Cerridwen leads, but I am also a little afraid of the change she promises.

Cerridwen, Dark Lady, you stir your cauldron with such care. Please remember I can be burned too!

Tarot Tuesday

I've decided to start over again, slowly, with my old Friend, the Tarot of the Cat People. So I'm working through my "Tarot for Your Self" book, from the beginning, with this deck.

(You can see my first entry about this book here, and about this deck here.)

After recording my Tarot profile as seen in my first entry about this book, I moved on to a simple three-card spread. I know how to do the cross spread, but for now, we'll stay simple with the three-card. I've always read it as past-present-future, but this book suggests not only that, but also body-mind-spirit. An interesting twist.

Today my three cards are Nine of Pentacles-Ace of Pentacles-Two of Wands (inverted).

If I look at them as Body-Mind-Spirit, I see that I am incredibly wealthy in body (well, yes, I'd like to be a little less so!). My mind is at a peak of power right now, and my spirit is...torn. Torn between two things, distracted, dealing with a loss of faith. At a time when it really should be cementing its dominance.

Perhaps this is telling me I really need to work on letting go of the last bits of indoctrination left over from my conservative Christian upbringing. I still have a little trouble with rituals and overt spellwork; I feel silly calling out aloud to my gods or tracing figures in the air/on the ground. And this is something I need to get over.

I learned the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram from a friend over the weekend. There are parts of it I really like (And around me flames the pentagram, and within me the six-rayed star - I love that. It feels like a shield that doesn't feed solely off my own energy.) and parts that I feel really funny about. (Tracing the pentagram in the air, intoning certain words that have no real meaning to me.) I've already changed some of it; the gods I call upon being the most significant. (Rhiannon before me, behind me Mannanan, to my right Brigid, to my left Cernunnos.) I will probably continue changing it until it feels right to me.

Did any of you have issues with your magic? Did you ever feel silly performing a ritual? Any ideas for how to get over it?

Monday Madness

Normally I write these entries the day before, and schedule them to be posted. But it's 10 till 2 in the morning, and I've been searching for inspiration for this entry.

In the meantime, Sascha and I have been marathoning Sabrina the Teenage Witch. Yes, you heard me right. Sabrina. It's a show I never got to watch growing up because *gasp* witches! He mentioned the other day that he used to like that show, and when I said I never got to watch, his immediate reaction was to decide we were going to watch all of it.

We're about 10 or so episodes in to the first season, and I have to say, I'm impressed. Given that this aired in the mid-90s, I'm surprised it was as well accepted as it was. I was especially amused by the Halloween episode; Aunt Zelda informed Sabrina that she shouldn't buy into the commercialization of the holiday, and to remember the true meaning of Hallow's Eve - family. Given that that's what is usually said about the high Christian Holiday, I just thought it really neat.

It's just not often that you see witchcraft portrayed in such a positive, family-friendly light. I mean, what other movies/TV shows have featured witchcraft/wicca/paganism?

Charmed - not quite family friendly.
Bewitched - actually another good example of witchcraft being portrayed favorably.
Bedknobs and Broomsticks was good.
But The Coven, The Craft, The Blair Witch Project, The Witches of Eastwick, so many bad examples.

And of course, now, the Harry Potter series. I was just surprised to see a series about a family of witches aimed at a younger audience, fifteen years ago! It might just be my sheltered upbringing, I suppose.

Does anyone else know of positive portrayals of witchcraft in the media?

Sunday Photo

I love this picture. This is an EXTREMELY calm day on the Oregon coast - people who are only used to the east coast don't understand how rocky and unpredictable and dangerous the Pacific coast is. The floor of the ocean drops off VERY quickly, and there's undertow currents pretty much all the time. 

Combined with this memory of the Pacific are the people in this photo. In the foreground are my little brother and his fiancée. On the right are Sascha and our other best friend. These are three people I miss very much from back home in Oregon. And this memory of our beautiful day at the coast is something I will always treasure.

Love you guys.