Witch Weariness
Lately it seems that some of the witches I know are growing weary, myself included. For those of us who have been working with Christopher Penczak, we recently completed an intense period of study. Then there are Sabbat rituals to attend; Moon cycles to acknowledge. We try to maintain constant diligence to a daily practice. After a while it seems to be too much. We need a break, we say.
But this is when I realize that if this my true spiritual path, then there is no break. If I'm not just dabbling in shamanic journeys and spells, then my practice of witchcraft is not something I can set aside when life gets too busy or the dedication required seems overwhelming. Either I'm a witch, or I'm not. There must be moments when people of other faiths feel the way I do. They get too busy to go to church or they begin to skip that daily prayer because their belief is shaken. What, then, do they do to find their way back to their path?
Much of my Wiccan blogging over the past several months (besides tinkering with site design) has focused on the practical aspect of the craft, describing techniques I've been learning and delving deeper into better spellcrafting. While I believe those issues deserve attention, I greatly admire those bloggers who address the philosophical side of Pagan and Wiccan faith. Perhaps for a while what I need to do is take a more theoretical approach to my spirituality. I've always thrived in academic life, loving the intellectual stimulation that classwork provided. Since I've decided to stop taking classes - psychology turned out not to be my cup of tea after all - I'll create my own "class" and devote my intellectual self to exploring and writing about ideas that interest and intrigue me. Exploring spiritual life from a slightly different point of view. We'll see where this takes me.
Posted by Angela-Eloise at 8:57 AM
Comments
Daily practice is incredibly rewarding, but it takes a while to "get used" to it. I use what I call "the 8:30 rule." At 8:30, I try to make myself turn off the computer, the tv, the phone, etc. and give myself an hour or two to focus on my spiritual practice. I'm not always able to do it, but it's my goal.
I do find that some Wiccans, especially, but not always at the beginning of their interest in the Craft, tend to "overcommit." It's simply reality, a part of the spiritual discipline of living embodied in this world, that there's a limit to the number of groups to which anyone can effectively belong. This is especially true given that most Pagans celebrate the same basic holidays. Working magic through our bodies has an effect on our bodies and you can definitely overdo it. My circle has struggled with this and have come down on the side of saying: You have to make our circle your primary spiritual commitment. It's not easy, but we've found it necessary. If your energies are too scattered to "be there" almost all the time for our circle, then we love you and wish you well, but you can't be part of our circle. Some people find that doesn't work for them; they want to be involved in lots of different groups and that's fine. I guess it's mostly just a matter of what your spiritial goals may be.
Posted by: Hecate Demetersdatter | February 27, 2007 1:13 PM
I tried to start a circle (stopping short of calling it a coven in case that might scare some people away) that included a few people from my witchcraft class and a few interested friends of classmates. Unfortunately, there were only a couple of us who were really dedicated and most of those who had committed to participating always made excuses for not attending meetings. As you said, the circle doesn't work if everyone isn't committed.
Classwork definitely requires a lot of energy and time. I find the work I'm doing with Christopher rewarding but demanding. When a particular class is completed (I've done 3 of the 5) I definitely need a breather. This last one on shamanic witchcraft, with the soul and shadow work, was particularly challenging and took a lot out of all of us.
Without the structure of classes though, I sometimes struggle to make my spiritual life a natural and automatic part of my daily life. Working alone isn't terribly inspiring for me, so I'm disappointed that my attempt at building a group did not work. So, I go on in my own way. It's interesting how much support and inspiration can come from other bloggers.
Posted by: Angela-Eloise | February 27, 2007 1:43 PM
Funny -- I was just having a similar conversation last night. My morning practice has been maintained consistently for about 4 years now -- but the actual actions of it I vary as need be.
There are mornings that I can barely get the words out, but I make myself do it -- because I know that if it is part of the core of who I am and want to be. The same goes for my weekly Shabbat practice.
But I guess that's what practice is about. It's not always fun, but it's something you need to do to get better at the game.
Posted by: Carly | March 2, 2007 2:12 PM