Mindful Witchcraft on a Budget — Say No to Dollar Stores

I will admit it, when I was younger, I loved the dollar store as much as anyone. I could buy all manner of home decor that I never would have been able to afford elsewhere. These days, they have whole aisles dedicated to candles, incense, offering dishes, jars, herbs, just about anything a thrifty witch (or a broke witch, we’ve all been there) would need.

But with the rise of climate change, and our consciousness that the earth really is in trouble, has come the idea of zero waste or low waste and just generally being more mindful of how we live our lives. Thus, is the dollar store really the best place to source your spell materials and tools anymore? Was it ever?

Under

Under is one of my little one’s favourite words at the moment.  When thinking of topics for the letter ‘U’ for the PBP, all I could think of was her little voice chanting “Unda!  Unda!”

When we’re small, under is pretty cool.  We play Hide-and-Seek, trying to squeeze ourselves into the smallest places we can find.  Later on, we build forts with blanket ceilings and tree houses under a canopy of green.

These small under places are our own.  Our first understanding of separate and private space are in these little caves and duns.

Perspicacity and Pagan Art

Perspicacity as defined by Merriam-Webster is:

acute mental vision or discernment

More specifically, it’s the ability to understand or gain insight. As much fun as it is to say, perspicacity strikes me as a unifying core goal of many, if not most, Pagan paths.  We seek to understand; to grow our vision to see all that the world(s)/universe is and has to offer.

At the End of the Day …

There’s been a lot of talk floating around the Pagan Blogsphere about ethics, interfaith work, lore, living your beliefs and whatnot.  I’ve also seen posts from those who have spent years seeking and seem to found nothing but a soul deep weariness that turns them from a spiritual path all together.

I have had my own moments of ‘What’s the point?’  I think that we all have.  It’s nothing to be ashamed of.  You’re not a failure as a Pagan/Witch/etc if you find yourself wondering why it is that you’re doing all of this.  Why do you spend so much time, energy and money on your path?  What do you get out of it?

Judgement & Justification

I have had an idea of what I wanted to write about for a while, but how to frame it into a ‘J’ post was proving a little challenging.  Then it came to me in a line from a very old movie that I happened to watch again a few weeks ago: “I don’t have to justify myself to you!”*

There is an attitude of righteousness in this phrase; of not being willing to be pushed around.  You may be different, but you stand firm behind your beliefs.  You don’t water it down for public consumption.  You don’t side-step so that you might go unnoticed by the tyranny of an intolerant majority.

At first glance this might seem like a call for Pagans to rush out of the broomcloset (after all, Pagan Coming Out Day was only a week or so ago).  It’s not.  This post is about self-justification within the Pagan Community.

The Limitations of Labels and Pagan Identity Crises

The letter ‘I’ kind of snuck up on me this week.  I’m going to blame the fact that I actually wrote two entries for ‘H’, and not the abundance of other blog prompts I seem to have piled on my plate recently 😉

I mentioned in a previous article that the concept of word ownership is something that really bothers me.  For the most part, I find it a sort of blasphemy.  I believe that the voicing of thought is inherently magical, and those who think that they can own magic like they own their car are just begging for a lightening bolt in the butt.

It may sound superstitious, but if you take a look at the traditions within many Pagan religions, you will find similar beliefs.  Words have power, that’s why they need to be chosen carefully when writing a spell or invocation.  Names also have power, thus the secretiveness of many traditional Wiccan covens with the true names of their god and goddess.

Adventures in Irrelevancy – Z’s at it Again

In these rare moments when the baby is napping her father’s lap instead of mine, I really ought to be working on my assorted Beltane posts or making plans for the Sabbat as it is sneaking up on us and I am very not ready yet.  But I’m not.

In the mornings I like to read the news.  This morning, I happened across the Wild Hunt‘s coverage of Pagan Community news, and along with the opening of DC’s first public Pagan library is Z jumping up and down and shouting like a 5-year-old pitching a fit.  Again.

Tomorrow is the Day: Don’t Forget!

Donate a Pagan Book Day is tomorrow!  For those unfamiliar with this program:

National Donate a Pagan Book Day was established in January 2012 to encourage those who love books to directly donate a Pagan or Pagan friendly book to their local public library or Pagan community center.

(from the NDPBD website)

This is a fantastic way to give back to your local Pagan community, and help those who are just starting out on their path.  It occurs to me, tho, that some libraries may not be open Easter Monday.

If you’re out and about today, you may want to check that out.  Happy donating!