Days 1–30

Magical Items to Gather

Every 30 days, you will encounter a list of magical items I recommend that you procure for the following 30 days of spiritual practice. You will be able to find most items at your local metaphysical bookstore. See the Resource Guide in the back of the book to locate sources for the items listed in the “Magical Items to Gather” list.

You will need the following magical items during the next 30 days of training:

Day 3

• A 5–6 inch white taper candle

• A candle holder

Day 17

• A Farmer’s Almanac (generally available at your local bookstore or library)

Day 20

• A 5–6 inch orange taper candle

• A compass (also needed on Day 22, 25, 27, 30)

Day 22

• A 5–6 inch orange taper candle

• 1⁄4 ounce (or less) of myrrh resin or dried, powdered orris root

• Self-igniting charcoal (such as Three-Kings®)

Day 25

• A 5–6 inch green taper candle

Day 27

• A 5–6 inch green taper candle

• 1⁄4 ounce of an herbal blend consisting of dried meadowsweet and powdered oak bark

• A compass

Day 30

• A 5–6 inch indigo taper candle

[contents]

Day 1

Earth-Centered Spirituality

In Europe’s Neolithic past, long, long ago when human communities were mostly tribes, in the ancient days of our ancestors well before the introduction of any spiritual path we know—or could possibly imagine—earth-centered spiritual practices were customary. Long before religion became Religion, full of dogma, regulations, ceremonial figure-heads, theme parks, and teleministries, there was simply nature. The first spiritual impulses were born of a people who lived close to the land and who relied on it for survival. They knew the ways of the seasons: the annual promise of the warming days, the long period of growth that followed, the importance of harvest, and the seasons of frost and death. Women knew the ways of the moon, of healing and childbirth. Men knew the movement of the herd animals and the secret ways of the hunter and the hunted. There were no holy books or official spiritual doctrines. The divine did not exist in some inaccessible realm. It lived among and through the people. It sang in bird songs, it formed the ocean’s waves, it filled the human body, plants, and animals with life.

Spirituality had its birthplace right here—in the dirt, in the soil, in the struggles and triumphs of everyday life. It emerged from human laughter and fear. It was something that pervaded one’s eating, sleeping, eliminating, and reproducing. It governed family and community life, the coming of age, marriages, births, and deaths. Spirituality had little to do with lofty philosophical notions—the things that emerge from thinking—it centered on the hard facts of life. The soft facts of life must have played their part too. Love, tenderness, and compassion are universal human emotions that have long quickened the heart and informed the spirit.

These are the ancient, indigenous roots of the spiritual system that we today call Wicca or Witchcraft. In considering Wicca’s earthy spiritual roots, most likely it will come as no surprise that getting started in this path requires you to settle down into the metaphorical dirt—the experiences of the world itself—and get your hands and feet muddy. You’ll need to taste, touch, smell, hear, see, and experience life and the spiritual energy that infuses all.

Let’s get down and dirty, shall we? Go outside. Find a green patch of grass, a dark, rich, root-buckled swath of earth, a stone formation, or a tree, and touch it. Rub your hands across it. Sit down and feel the weight of your body on the land. Breathe deeply and allow the earth to hold you. This is where you belong. Welcome home.

A Word to the Wise: Are you troubled about traipsing through the chill of the night? Do you get singed in the sun or think an icy downpour is a downer? Wicca is a spiritual tradition that includes many practices that bring the practitioner into direct contact with nature. It seeks to harmonize the Witch with life as it is happening in this very moment. To be a person of magical power, one embraces the entire array of life’s experiences. When Witches routinely make space in their lives for nature, for life, in the right-here-and-now, it gradually strips away accumulated layers of social, emotional, and psychological conditioning. It frees up the mind, the heart, and spirit. It places the practitioner into direct accord with life, nature, and the direct current of spiritual power. Can you face each moment of life unflinchingly—despite rain, sleet, or hail? Not everyone can go outside no matter the weather conditions. There are always exceptions and accommodations to be made. If your health will be jeopardized by venturing out of doors into inclement weather, by all means try the following alternative exercise: Fill a tray or empty pot with potting soil and rub your hands through it. Bring a handful to your nose and inhale the earth’s rich perfume.

The earth is our birthplace, yet for millions of us, it feels strangely foreign. Most of us busily scurry through our lives taking little notice of the earth. There are several reasons for this. First, many Westerners live in cities, and by and large our societies are no longer based in agrarian culture. Agriculture naturally relies on human attunement to the seasonal cycles, and this is no longer a customary way of life for many people. In contemporary life, agriculture is a job, a career choice. Because we are, for the most part, removed from an immediate and visceral connection with nature, our awareness of how the earth sustains our lives has waned. In addition to this, our contemporary, mainstream religious paths promulgate a central doctrine that characterizes the natural world as inherently flawed, sinful, and wrong. We all grow up with these teachings that infuse everyday life and that consequently shape our worldviews. As a result, many of us presume nature has no value beyond our ability to exploit it.

Our first steps on the path of Wicca require us to connect to the earth and at least wonder about its inherent value. Could the earth, its seasons, and the natural realm really have value beyond material or monetary advantage? Could it be (as indigenous people across the globe say) “sacred?” What does sacred mean?

In Wicca, the term refers to something that is holy or that has a direct relationship with deity. In pagan spiritual paths like Wicca, practitioners come to a mystical, intuitive understanding that all things are manifestations of an underlying energy or spiritual force.

Each of us must unveil these mysteries for ourselves. The path of the Witch involves this slow process of unveiling the power of the earth, particularly as it manifests in our own lives. This process moves at the pace of the seasons themselves. Like the seasonal turnings, this process does not culminate in abrupt changes. Understanding of the truth of our existence and our connections to all is gradual, like standing in a cool mist that eventually soaks you to the bone.

Exercise: Connecting to Earth

Sit somewhere in a natural setting: on a beach, in a forest, a field, or even in your own backyard. Breathe deeply and close your eyes.

A Word to the Wise: If your health will be compromised by exposure to inclement weather, by all means practice this and other outdoor exercises in an indoor environment.

As you sit, imagine that you have roots that extend from the base of your spine. These roots reach not only down into the earth, but out to everything on it. Imagine that this vast network of roots connects you to humans, animals, plants, objects. Take a moment to feel the pulse of your connection to the great All. Notice where your connection to things and people might be weak and where it feels strong.

Spend ten minutes (or longer, if you can) simply feeling your connection. When you are finished, open your eyes. Consider the following questions:

• In what way was my connection strong?

• What do you suspect is the reason for any strong connections?

• In what way was my connection to things weak?

• What do I suspect is the reason for any weak connections?

• What actions can I take that may strengthen any weak connections?

Spend the rest of the day acting in accord with your heightened awareness to people and things around you.

Day 2

Those Upsetting Words

They cause discomfort and embarrassment. They’re difficult to explain to your friends and family. They can be downright hard to accept. No, I’m not talking about plantar’s warts. It’s all of those darn Witchy words! Wicca is a practice filled with terms that can enchant, amuse, and even bewilder.

Ironically, Wicca is not ultimately about words. Wiccan practices aim to take the practitioner far beyond the limiting worlds of language and terminology. The words of the Craft are meant to transport the practitioner into the heart of life itself, where words are ultimately limitations and qualifiers. More specifically, they can guide practitioners toward a direct mystical experience of deity, nature, and the individual spirit. Words obliterate and become meaningless when the practitioner achieves this experiential state of understanding. Wiccans therefore first come to accept that words are only valuable as signposts and guides that point toward mystic experience.

To Wiccans, a word is not reality itself. For example, the word “apple” is not itself an apple. You can hear the word and understand it intellectually. However, in order to know an apple you must hold it in your hands, smell it, and take a big juicy bite. Likewise, the word “god” is not deity itself. It is only a mental abstraction, a convenient symbol that we can all use to refer to something that goes beyond the word.

As you walk the Wiccan path, you will eventually have your own experiences of direct mystical contact with the divine. But before that happens, it is understandable and natural that you might struggle with the language of Wicca, which often flies in the face of convention and social norm. As a practice today, take a look at the list of words that follow:

Wicca	Ritual	Pagan
Witchcraft	Magic	Spell
Power	Occult	Earth-Religion

Regarding each of these words, explore the following questions:

• What is my comfort level in using each word?

• How do I understand each word?

• How do I imagine that each word impacts other people who are not involved with Wicca?

Take time to commit your feelings (whatever they may be) about each word to paper. You will use today’s writing in tomorrow’s exercise. So when you are finished, set the paper aside. After you have explored your own understanding and reaction to each word, take a look at how Wiccans generally define them.

Wicca

Wicca is both a religion of nature and a magical practice. It is a spiritual tradition centered in the earth-based, mystic practices of the people of Old Europe. Wicca is a shamanic spiritual path. The word “shaman” is an anthropological one that refers to a type of indigenous, natural-magic practitioner. A shaman is a person, usually in a tribal culture, who is a healer and an interpreter of the unseen world (which shamans refer to as the world of spirits). She or he conducts rites of passage, divines the future, and walks the path of magic. Although Wicca is not a path that can claim an unbroken lineage to the ancient past, many of the contemporary practices of Wicca are adapted from traditional sha-manic practices that link us back to our tribal ancestry. Wiccans understand the natural world, the sun, the moon, the seasons, male and female bodies and the earth itself as expressions of sacredness. Learning to live in conscious connection with all of nature (including human nature) within each moment helps Wiccans forge a deep bond with the divine.

Contemporary linguists debate the origins of the word “Wicca.” Some say that it originated from the Indo-European root weik; it is a term that links the concepts of religion and magic. Other linguists assert that the word is of Middle-English origin, derived from the Anglo-Saxon root word wic, which means “to bend or to shape.” An alternative meaning of the root word is wise. From this root, it is believed that the word “Wicca” means both “the craft of the wise” and “the craft of bending and shaping.” Both meanings are applicable to contemporary Wiccans. Their simple spiritual practices such as meditation and mindfulness in daily activity help them acquire mental, emotional, and spiritual flexibility. Wiccans practice bending and shaping their consciousness so that they live in accord with each moment of life.

Wicca is not an “ancient” religion. It has practices that contemporary practitioners have derived from (and interpreted from) the ancient past, but it is a religion of recent development. The contemporary Craft traces much of its known lineage to approximately the 1950s in England. Gerald Gardner, a retired civil servant, is generally cited among Witchcraft historians and many practitioners as the founder of contemporary Wicca. Gardner claimed to have been initiated by a woman named Dorothy Clutterbuck into what he called the Old Religion in the New Forest area in 1939. He further claimed that the coven into which he was initiated was one of a cluster founded some forty years earlier by a man named George Pickingill. According to Gardner, Pickingill asserted that his “lineage” was founded on a succession of initiations that stretched back some eight centuries. Some Witchcraft history enthusiasts believe that Gardner pieced together his version of Wicca from elements of obscure occult literature and contributions from Aleister Crowley, a famous early-twentieth-century occultist, a contemporary of Gardner and founder of the Golden Dawn. Whether or not Gardner’s assertions or his claims of lineage are factual, we do not know for certain. However, he was the first of a succession of individuals to step forward and publish what was then considered authentic Witchcraft material.1

Witchcraft

Throughout the Middle Ages and particularly during the Renaissance period, the word “Witchcraft” was liberally applied by the Christian church and its authorities to the native religious practices and customs that existed for thousands of years before Christianity. Many people with indigenous European spiritual roots met their fates on the gallows or in the fire simply because of their religious expression. Aside from practitioners of native spiritual beliefs, there were other groups of people that the church targeted, tortured, and burned for the crime of “Witchcraft.” One might be accused of Witchcraft simply because of a bad dream, or because one was left-handed or had bodily imperfections (believed to be “devil’s marks”). Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, unwed women, midwives, herbal healers, social outcasts, people who were too rich or too poor, the disabled, and the infirm were also convicted for the crime of “Witchcraft.” Some scholars claim that over 250,000 people were put to death for the crime of Witchcraft during the “burning times” in Europe, while others say the number reached as high as nine million. The contemporary spiritual practice of Witchcraft is based on many of the old customs and folk wisdom of old Europe. Because of this, practitioners have reclaimed the word “Witch.” Contemporary practitioners view the word as one of power and they reclaim it in an effort to be mindful of the cost of religious intolerance, to release negative associations and to forge a new future.

Power

For Wiccans, power has little to do with control over people and things. Power is a natural state of being that comes from uniting with the vast flow of nature and operating from an experience of accord with that flow. In the Wiccan view, power is a shared, subtle energy that flows through all things.

Ritual

Ritual is the enactment of a myth. In this definition, the word myth refers to a system of spiritual symbols. Rituals in Wicca usually involve symbolic words, sounds, colors, and gestures. Wiccans understand that each element of a ritual speaks the language of the deep mind (the unconscious mind), and thus awakens the movement of psychological and spiritual energy. The symbols in Wiccan ritual emerge from both time-honored, shared mythological correspondences (for example, traditional associations that orient the practitioner to time, place, color, sound, and movement) and personal associations that can emerge from dreams, meditations, and personal insights.

Magic

Magic is a term that sometimes causes confusion and fear. Many people recall scenes from movies, television shows, or fairy tales when they first think of magic. In the popular imagination, magic is about getting things that you want through forbidden, dark, or dangerous forces. Wiccans understand magic as a natural process. It is the ability to change one’s consciousness—one’s frame of mind. It is the ability to arrive at substantial realizations and broadening insights that change one’s relationship as a human being to the world. Out of one’s change of consciousness comes change in the world. The processes of magic reveal our internal patterns that can help us to live in close contact with our full human power. The methods of magic are simple. Lighting candles, chanting, or focusing one’s intention with drumming or dancing are all methods that Wiccans use to create magic and change.

Occult

The word “occult,” derived from the Latin occultusanum, literally means “secret.” Few Wiccans today use this term when referring to their contemporary magical or spiritual practices. However, the word refers to hidden teachings that are available to adepts of any magical or metaphysical path.

Pagan

Pagan comes from the Latin paganus, a peasant or country dweller. Formerly people used the word in reference to a non-Christian. The word then expanded over time to pejoratively mean anyone who was not “of The Book,” namely a person who was not a Christian, Jew, or Muslim. It gained negative connotations over time and came to mean someone who was an uncivilized “idolater.” In contemporary practice, a pagan is someone who follows a polytheistic/pantheistic spiritual system. Typically, a pagan is someone who believes that the universe, the earth, and all of its inhabitants contain divinity.

Spell

A symbolic act through which anyone can channel nonphysical energies to attain some particular goal.

Earth-Religion

A pagan spiritual path that reveres the earth, the seasons, and all creatures.

Day 3

Melting Beliefs

Yesterday you wrote down your initial reactions toward the following words:

Wicca	Ritual	Pagan
Witchcraft	Magic	Spell
Power	Occult	Earth-Religion

The questions I asked to prompt your exploration of these words were:

1. What is my comfort level in using each word?

2. How do I understand each word?

3. How do I imagine each word impacts other people who are not involved with Wicca?

Today you can perform your first ritual act that will make use of your answers to these questions.

Practice: Melting Beliefs

What You’ll Need:

• Your answers from yesterday’s exercise

• A 5–6 inch white taper candle

• A candle holder

Take out the paper on which your thoughts are written. If you haven’t taken the time yet to consider your reactions to these words, look at your answers now, and pay special attention to words that are laden with emotions such as fear, anger, anxiety, hope, hopelessness, sadness, etc. Perhaps you’ve also expressed some positive associations with these words, but if you are like most readers, a common emotional reaction to these words is fear and the entire spectrum of related emotions: anger, anxiety, and sadness.

Take time to review your answers to the questions and try to identify a common emotional theme or “tone” that may thread through your written reactions. Certainly you might encounter fear as a common theme, but what about curiosity, wonder, mistrust? The deeper you plunge into your thematic exploration, the more you may uncover. Once you have identified a common theme, write the theme in a single word. Take out your white taper candle and, using a pin, etch this single word lengthwise into the candle’s shaft.

In this next part of the exercise, you will explore the origins of your feelings and themes. From where do they arise? Are these feelings based in fact? Are they “inherited” beliefs?

Find a comfortable sitting position and close your eyes. Take a few breaths and allow the dominant feeling, the main theme of your emotional reactions, to emerge in your awareness right now. Whatever the emotional state you’ve noted, try to feel it fully within your body. Allow this feeling to transport you back in time to a scene from your life that can explain your feelings. The scene can be just about anything: a frightening bedtime story about Witches, a film, an illustration. Do not deny whatever scene emerges. Once you have an image that makes some sense, open your eyes.

Light the candle. As it burns, vow to remain aware of your feelings during your learning process over the course of this year and a day. As the candle melts your emotionally charged word away, changing its form into something else, imagine that your concepts formed from the past also melt and transform. When the candle finishes burning, take the wax and bury it someplace far from your home.

Note: A taper candle is a slender (usually slightly conical) candle, sometimes referred to as a dinner candle. I recommend 5- to 6-inch taper candles simply because you can find them almost anywhere, and they don’t take nearly as long to burn as the average 10-inch taper.

Now think over, discuss, and journal about these questions:

• What was it like to take part in this small ritual?

• What emotions did the ritual bring up in me?

• Did I “let go” of anything with this ritual?

Day 4

Questioning Your Path

The greatest source of power for Wiccans is, above all else, spiritual truth. Wiccans leave blind faith to the practitioners of other spiritual paths. Wicca should help you to face life candidly. Through persistent spiritual inquiry you can maintain a heightened perspective about your path and your growth. The ability to make honest, powerful life choices comes with clear perspective.

Be honest with yourself now. Explore the following questions listed below and commit your feelings to paper. You might facilitate your writing process by first discussing your responses to these questions with a friend.

• Why am I exploring the Wiccan path?

• What were my previous spiritual practices?

• Did any of these past practices lead me to investigate Wicca? How?

• What are my hopes in engaging in this path?

• What are my fears in engaging in this path?

• How will I handle friends and family members who might not approve of my spiritual search?

• Aside from transitioning to a new spiritual path, are there other major events that impact my life at this time (for example, deaths, births, divorce, job loss, etc.)?

• If I have major life events happening right now, is this the best time to explore a new spiritual path? Why/why not?

After you have completed your responses on paper, spend time in quiet contemplation of them.

Day 5

Natural Sacred Energies

While mainstream religions look to a holy book, a central prophet, savior, or religious figure for their spiritual understanding, Witches look to life itself; they contemplate and study nature. The earth, the sea, animals, and the heavens are themselves among the many, living, ever-changing expressions of sacredness. Witches learn to pay close attention to the natural world in order to find inspiration and magical insight within each moment.

Since Wicca is a nature religion, one important goal of the path is to experience the life force of nature, the animating energy, as it flows within you. Witches believe that this force is, in essence, the divine. Through experiencing this natural energy, Witches come to know that (as author Barbara Ardinger says), “matter is clotted, lumpy spirit, and spirit is finely strained matter.”2 Once you recognize this energy within yourself, it becomes easier to notice that this same natural energy shapes the substance of other people, stones, birds, trees, water, and everything else you can see.

These are not Witch beliefs; Witchcraft is not a spiritual system of beliefs, per se. It is an experiential practice. You don’t need to believe in the sacredness of the earth. You don’t need to believe that natural energy pervades all things. The practices of Wicca facilitate your immediate and personal understanding of these principles.

No Witch worth her cauldron invests herself in beliefs. Beliefs spring forth from the limits of the critical, thinking mind. Thinking can help you understand spirituality in theoretical terms, but it stops short when it comes to the experience of spirituality. The thinking mind does have its purposes, its uses. It knows how to do math, how to read a book, and how to make decisions. It knows how to drive a car, make dinner, and not step in front of a bus. However, thinking comes to a halt when faced with whatever cannot be rationalized.

Critical thinking is limited because it relies on opinions and beliefs. It is locked in the head and does not know how to inhabit the entire body. Spirituality is a holistic experience. It includes not only the head but everything else as well. The full human potential, which is capable of multidirectional, simultaneous experience, comes to the fore when we literally come to our senses—our sensations and experiences of life. Opening to your full experience of the world, of your body, and of the energies that flow within you are the first stages of awakening your spiritual power. Let’s begin the process.

Practice: Experiencing Life’s Energy

You can try this exercise from where you are sitting right now. Close your eyes and take several deep, slow breaths. With each exhaled breath, feel your body relax and release all the tensions that it might store. Become internally quiet; try not to allow thinking to interfere with simple breathing and sensation.

Breathing is not a concept. It isn’t a thought or an activity that you can think your way through. If you find yourself thinking your way through this exercise, break it down into segments. Begin by just breathing and paying attention to where the breath begins and ends in your body. Then try adding on the other parts of the exercise.

If thoughts come up, simply observe them with detached curiosity. Perhaps you might notice how thoughts are creating muscle tensions or contractions in your body. Notice, too, how these tensions transform themselves into your emotions. Try not to get involved in the story line of your thoughts and subsequent tensions—that is a trap that can keep you from the experience of this exercise.

Now, refocus your attention on your solar plexus region (around the lower stomach and navel area). Focus your attention on the feeling of the life force inside of your body within this region. Most likely it will feel like a humming, buzzing, or tingling sensation. Now, widen your awareness. Allow your focus to include your chest. Feel the inner body’s energies in the chest and in the solar plexus regions. Now include your hips and legs. Feel the sensation of energy buzzing within this region. Now add your feet into your focused awareness. Now add your arms and hands into the awareness. Finally, add your neck, head, and face into your awareness. You should now be fully aware of your inner life energy from head to toe.

Stay with this feeling for a few minutes. When you sense that you are ready, open your eyes. How did it feel? If you felt “cut off” in any area of experiencing your body, it is important that you continue with this basic energy practice several times a day for 5–10 minutes at a time, until you are able to sense a unification of your body’s energies.

Day 6

Wicca and Shamanism

Wicca is a shamanic spiritual path. More than one religious historian has suggested that the ancient archaeological evidence found throughout the excavation sites of Old Europe points to shamanic activity. While the entirety of the religious systems of the Europeans who lived in the Paleolithic and Mesolithic periods may not have been shamanic, it is likely that the shaman played an important role in ancient tribal life. Additionally, it is likely that substrate of beliefs and religious traditions spring forth from shamanic practices. 3

A shaman is a spiritual leader who serves many important functions, usually within a tribal society. The shaman may be a priest, a mystic (someone who has an immediate, direct connection to the divine force), a counselor, an interpreter of spirits, a healer, and a magician. A shaman presides over the rites of passage from birth to death and foretells the future.

The gods of the shaman are not generally known by the rest of the community, since the way of the shaman is a secret way. The shaman’s gods are totemic; they take many forms such as stone, plant, animal, human, and spirit. The powers of the shaman are those of the earth, the wind, the waters, and the fire. Shamans also gather secret, magical knowledge from the hidden worlds of their familiar spirits.

The shaman’s power comes from ecstatic rites and practices that transport him or her to the magical otherworlds, where the energies of powerful spiritual forces are encountered and harnesses. The word “ecstasy” comes from the Greek ekstasis, which means “to be placed outside” or “to be placed.” The shamanic magical state of ecstasy is an altered frame of awareness during which a person may feel as though he or she transcends him- or herself. The core experience of the shaman in the ecstatic state is the realization, as psychoanalyst Carl Jung states, that “he is of the same essence as the universe, and his own mid-point is its center.” 4

One does not choose to become a shaman. Likewise, one does not actively choose the path of the Witch. Rather, the path chooses the individual. The consensus of anthropological literature confirms that the “call” to the magical path often emerges from an individual’s deeply transformative experiences of consciousness. Typically these experiences emerge spontaneously and often follow events such as near-death experiences, high fevers, falling from great heights, life-threatening illnesses, lucid dreams, strong visions, or “near-psychotic breaks” (which are mental or perceptual deviations from shared reality).

Hallmarks of the shamanic experience include:

• A traumatic incident (such as the near-death experiences, lucid dreams, visions, or near-psychotic breaks mentioned previously), which typically occurs in childhood

• A close relationship with nature

• Demonstration of natural psychic, magical, or healing abilities

• The ability to spontaneously “move between the worlds” of physical and nonphysical reality; this usually entails extended periods of disorientation induced either by trance, drumming, dancing, or psychoactive herbs

• The ability to understand the underlying spiritual or energetic nature of all things (both animate and inanimate)

• The ability to receive intuitive messages (wheth-er in the form of words, images, or sensations) from both seen and unseen sources

• The ability to harness spiritual power

• The ability to cause change through unseen or magical means

The Madman

There is a difference between a shaman and a madman. The shaman is someone who experiences a degree of control over his or her otherworld experiences. The shaman can move between the worlds and can function effectively within both a mundane and a spiritual context. Not only can the shaman converse with spirits, but he or she can function concretely and practically within the framework of a society.

The madman goes off into the otherworld and is never heard from again. A madman cannot maintain balance, nor can he or she perceive a difference between physical and spiritual realities. The madman cannot come back to everyday reality and function effectively within the community. When mad, an individual lacks stability in work, in relationships with other people, and in states of mind.

A Word to the Wise: In many ways, the contemporary practices of Wicca link directly to the tribal rites and beliefs of our ancient shamanic predecessors. Those who practice these mystic arts today have at the basis of their work over 30,000 years of history to support them. From the caves of Lascaux in Dordogne to the ancient civilizations of Catal Huyuk of ancient Anatolia, history supports the fact that the rites and practices of shamanism have occurred globally much longer than any other known spiritual path.

• Describe in writing your own “calling” to the Witch’s path. Take note of which of the shamanic hallmarks describe your own experience.

• We all have characteristics of both the shaman and the madman. In what ways are you a shaman? In what ways are you a madman or madwoman?

Day 7

Witches and Sacred Symbols

Mythologist Joseph Campbell once stated, “anything that can be named and that can be regarded as a form . . . is also a symbol.”5 A symbol is a form that represents something else. In spiritual practices, a symbol typically represents an abstract principle, a philosophical point, or a religious concept. In Wicca, symbols are the distillation of spiritual insights and magical wisdom. Symbols are the essence of divine principles that are neatly summed up by images, artifacts, sounds, words, colors, movements, or even smells.

Anthropologist Adolf Bastian was first to recognize that certain basic principles reoccur as symbols through the world’s mythologies and religious systems. He called these reoccurring principles “elementary ideas.”6 If we were to translate the images of the symbol world into words, some of those most repeated symbolic motifs might be, for example, “life must feed on life,” or “life does not end with death.” Bastian went on to point out that although the elementary ideas are the same across religious systems, the basic axioms generated various costumes, expressions, applications, and interpretations from one culture to the next. He called the specific cultural expressions of elementary ideas “folk ideas” or “ethnic ideas.” Ethnic ideas can change from one setting to another, but elementary ideas always remain intact. Wicca taps into these elementary ideas through symbols and ideas common to all cultures. The sunrise, a circle, the change of season, and fire are examples of Wiccan symbols that transcend culture, time, and place. We all experience them as part of living in this world.

To understand symbols more clearly, let’s look at one familiar example. A dove can be more than a bird. In some cultures and religious systems it can represent peace. In Wicca, a seasonal tide, such as the Winter Solstice, is not only a celestial (and terrestrial) event. The days become shorter and darker until the Solstice. Then the tide changes and the light of the sun begins to grow from that point on in the year. It is a tide in which the seasonal darkness releases itself to the growth of solar light. This seasonal event can also represent the release of old, unwanted life patterns; it is a symbol of hope and promise. Another example can be the earth itself. If you consider the earth symbolically, it can be a universal representation of “mother” energy. After all, the earth gives birth to forms and nurtures those forms, just as a mother gives birth and nurtures her young.

Why are symbols important? In all spiritual paths, symbols represent truths that go beyond mere words. Symbols speak a poetic language of inference. That is because the extraordinary experiences to which they refer cannot be adequately, or directly, expressed in ordinary, linear words. For example, the term “god” is an ordinary word, but it refers to something extraordinary that would be difficult to capture through the limited venue of verbal expression. Deity is something that transcends the limits of words and ideas. When you interpret them correctly, the symbols of any spiritual path should be like a road map directing you to some immediate, personal experience.

In Witchcraft, symbols are the primary means for reaching and transforming the deep mind, known in psychoanalytic terms as the unconscious mind. It is from this deep mind that the arts of magic begin. Freud, Jung, and other pioneers of psychoanalysis discovered that the unconscious can only be reached and expressed in symbols—through art, myth, dream, and fantasy. In reaching the unconscious mind through symbols, the Witch’s practices result in psychological integration and spiritual empowerment.7

Unfortunately our Western spiritual traditions are heavily influenced by Aristotelian philosophy with its emphasis on “facts” and rational cogitation.8 When the rational mind apprehends the fluidity and poetic eloquence of spiritual symbols, it renders them dull and lifeless. They become concrete. The critical mind erroneously interprets symbolic information as fact, as history and geography. Once we lose touch with the message behind symbols we start to cling to beliefs—sometimes irrational ones. For example, one might insist that Jesus was born of a virgin, or that he did ascend physically into heaven. From this concrete perspective, there is an insistence on unlikely historical events when all along the messages that underlie spiritual symbols always refer to processes that should be going on inside of us right now.

This deceptive Western style of handling symbols touches all of us, no matter what our spiritual path. Without diligent awareness, you can transplant this habit into the fertile soil of your new spiritual practice. Witches make use of hundreds of symbolic correspondences. It would be easy to become lost in these external forms and rob yourself of internal content. Under those circumstances, spirituality becomes a straightjacket of dogma, obsession, and compulsion. In order for symbols to transform your mind and spirit, in order for them to shine with the radiance of the divine, they must be transparent to immediate, internal, and highly personal experience.

Practice: Sunrise, Sunset, Symbols

Take time today to witness either the sunrise or the sunset. It is important that you don’t substitute an “imagined” sunrise or sunset—really go outside and engage in nature. As you experience either the sunrise or sunset, take note of your feelings and your state of mind. After this, take time to commit your thoughts to paper regarding these questions:

• What did you experience internally as you witnessed this event?

• From this experience, what do you imagine this sunrise or sunset could symbolize?

• Now think about a symbol from a spiritual path from your past. Spend time contemplating this symbol’s meaning. What could this symbol mean for you today?

Day 8

Meditation

Meditation is a word that most of us have heard in reference to spiritual practices. The trouble is that most of us think it applies to someone else. When we first hear the word, many of us imagine bald-headed monks, the wearing of scarlet and saffron robes, or the chanting of mantras high in the mountains of Tibet to the sound of gongs. BONG! Is that what you think? Then you’re wrong.

Witches worth their broom-bristles know how to meditate. If you are new to the Craft or to mystical practices in general, you have probably never learned this skill. It’s time you hunkered down to the zafu (a meditation cushion, see Day 10 for method) and learned how to do it. It is an important mystic art as well as a basic staple of magical doings. Aside from the fact that regular meditation can lead to profound insights and life-changing understanding, it also has its more mundane uses. It helps you to relax; it promotes good sleep, better concentration, and improved overall health. It almost sounds too good to be true!

There are probably as many ways to meditate as there are words written on this page. Each style of meditation has common elements yet each requires a unique approach. Some common elements of all meditation techniques are that they all can lead to both personal and universal insight, and each requires focused attention. Here are some of the ways that meditation techniques are distinctive and unique.

Eastern Methods

Meditation techniques that come to us from the East—in particular from China, Japan, and India—lead the practitioner toward physical and mental stillness. Once you learn to intentionally still the associative, rational, and cognitive churnings of the mind, you begin to experience multidirectional consciousness. In other words, you align your internal world of perceptions with the external world, and form a single unifying reality. The result is that one is able to perceive the unity of life and the imminence of deity.

Eastern styles of meditation do not require that you create mental stillness by blocking out your thoughts. Instead, they suggest that you observe your thought processes in a detached way. In other words, you should allow your thoughts to exist naturally, but try not to engage in any of them. Some specific techniques include recitation of mantras, focusing attention on the breath, or focusing one’s vision on an object like a candle flame. Although this type of meditative practice can be difficult for some Westerners, its devotees refer to it as “the quick path” to spiritual empowerment.

Western Methods

In the West we have television timing. We like action—and lots of it. Westerners also like to think of the world in terms of scientific truths and objective reality. We tend toward thinking in straight, logical lines rather than in endless Eastern loops. We feel comforted whenever we can understand the logic behind point A leading directly to point B. We believe that time is valuable and that it can be wasted. Of course, none of our ideas about the world are truth-in-fact, but since they are part of the culture in which we live, they do influence our meditative style.

Like our Eastern counterpart’s, the goal of the Western style of meditation is that of bypassing the critical thinking mind and its processes. But instead of doing so with stillness, it accomplishes the same task with activity and imagery. We like to see and hear things in our meditations, so Western styles of meditation often include what is known as guided imagery. A guided imagery meditation is something like a controlled, planned dream through which someone else leads you. Guided imagery meditations work to evoke some response from you at a deep mind level. Examples of guided imagery include using your imagination to envision world peace or imagining a healing golden glow that surrounds and nurtures you.

Exercise: Meditation Temperaments

To assess which style suits you best, consider the following questions:

• Do you like your life to be perfectly organized or do you not mind a bit of chaos?

• Do you respond to most queries with action or with contemplation?

• Are you active and mobile, or are you laid back and sedate?

• Do you believe that every question has a definite, logical answer, or do you think that questions can sometimes beget more questions?

• Are you naturally internally focused or externally focused?

• Are you naturally patient or not?

• Are you strong willed, decisive, and direct? Or are you easy going and more indirect in your approach to people and tasks?

Consider your answers and decide which style might be best suited to your temperament before you begin with the meditation exercises tomorrow. Individuals who consider themselves to be organized, action-oriented, mobile, and logical might try the Western types of meditations techniques. Those of you who see yourselves as laid back, contemplative, less active, and nonlinear might try the Eastern meditation methods.

Day 9

Meditational Breathing

Take a deep breath. Don’t hold back. Go ahead; fill your lungs and feel them expand. Once you’ve done this, you’ve already begun your most basic lesson in spiritual empowerment. Breathing is essential for life. It is also essential for magic.

Does it seem a little mundane? Great. Breathing is not only grounding, but it is the basis of many spiritual disciplines that focus on acquiring and directing magical power. The practitioners of hatha yoga rely on the effects of breathing to stimulate prana, the life energy. Once the life energy is flowing it leads to the rising of the kundalini—the force that awakens and brings strong magical force to you. Success in many martial arts, such as akido, tai chi and qui gong, depends on the practitioner tapping into his or her spiritual energy, also known as chi or ki, through specialized breath control techniques. In Hawaii, the master of magical power, the kahuna, relies on ritualized breathing methods that help control the flow of both physical and psychic energy.

Good, deep breathing also has healthful benefits. It helps you to relax. A good breath contributes to sustaining the body by nourishing the blood supply and the cells with oxygen. In essence, human life needs air.

Impressive, isn’t it? A little breathing goes a long way in magical practices. And if you’re planning to live your life energetically, healthfully, and magically you’d better get used to doing it well. Speaking of breathing: have you begun to notice your own breath yet? If not, take a moment and sense how you’re breathing right now. Do not alter the quality of your breathing. Simply follow it. Is it short and shallow? Is it deep? Is it regular and rhythmic? Where does the breath feel as though it reaches? Your stomach? Your chest? Your throat?

The magical ceremonies of Wicca typically begin and end in the direction of the east, which symbolically corresponds to the element of air. It is fitting that your journey along the mystic path of Wicca begins with air and with breathing. Mastering breath control is your first act of empowerment.

Exercise: Powerful Breathing

Take a slow, deep breath. As you do notice what happens. Does your rib cage hike up and cause your shoulders to wrap around your ears? Does it feel as though it stops short in your throat? That’s improper breathing. Don’t worry, most of us who lead stressful, fast-paced lives do that. Let’s jump right in and learn the secret of a powerful, magical breath.

As you take your next slow, deep breath, focus your attention on drawing the air in and down. You want to create the sensation that your belly fills with air as your back expands in the process. As you exhale, allow the breath to go naturally. Now that’s good breathing.

Next, let’s focus on the exhalation. Practice releasing your breath just as slowly as you’ve inhaled it. Feels pretty good, doesn’t it? Notice how your tension just seems to melt away? The next time you face a stressful situation, take time to breathe deeply and slowly and you’ll quickly regain your composure. Just get cut off on the freeway? Breathe. Is your boss on your case? Breathe. It will soon pass and you’ll be all the more relaxed in the meantime.

Practice powerful breathing at least once daily, for three to five minutes at a time. A deeply relaxed state of mind and powerful energy raised by proper breathing is what Wiccans need to successfully employ their craft. Powerful breathing is the first step toward a thriving magical practice.

Day 10

Meditational Sitting

Sitting meditations are based in a very old sha-manic technique. The technique attempts to immobilize the body so that the mind can begin to clarify. The magical, multidirectional human consciousness begins to deepen in the process and this, in turn, creates spiritual empowerment.

There are two basic variations of sitting meditation. One variation is sitting on a specialized floor cushion (sometimes called a zafu), and the other method is to meditate while sitting in a chair.

To do the cushion-on-the-floor method, you must first locate and purchase a zafu. Zafus are sold at most well-stocked mind-body-spirit shops. Zafus are typically round, approximately 15 to 20 inches in diameter, and about four inches thick. Firmly packed cotton, buckwheat hulls, or beans are typical zafu fillers. Try sitting on several types before you commit to buying a cushion, remembering that you two will be spending many magical hours together.

Successfully arranging the body on a zafu takes a little practice. The meditator sits on the front third of the cushion, so that the pelvis tilts slightly forward. Both knees should touch the ground and the legs should be arranged in a loose “Indian style,” so that one leg is folded in front of the other. Finally, there should be equal weight distribution on your rear end and both knees, so that there is a tripod effect. But wait, that’s not all. Here is how you should arrange your other body parts while doing sitting meditation:

• Spine: elongated

• Head: straight, level; not tilted forward or back.

• Teeth: together, lightly

• Tongue: tip pressed lightly to the roof of the mouth behind front teeth (to avoid excess saliva buildup while sitting)

• Shoulders: down, relaxed

• Arms: relaxed and arranged so that wrists rest in the lap

• Hands: resting one on top of the other, palms up, thumbs touching slightly

The only difference between chair and cushion sitting is that your legs should be bent at the knees comfortably and your feet should be placed flat on the floor. Allow your back to rest on the chair’s backrest, keeping the spine aligned and straight.

Practice: Wall Gazing

To begin, sit on either your cushion or chair while facing a blank wall. Sit so that you are at least two feet from the wall’s surface. Assume your usual sitting posture. Look downward at about a 45-degree angle. Soften your focus until the wall feels insubstantial, almost as though it has lost its solidity.

Allow your attention to settle on your breathing. Try not to breathe deeply or erratically—simply breathe as you normally do. Begin to count each exhalation, from one up to ten. If you notice that your attention drifts from the counting and you become caught up in memories, future planning, emotions, or situations outside of your direct experience, start counting over. Practice this meditation technique today and for the next several days until you feel as though your mind is settling on simply counting.

Day 11

Meditational Walking

Walking in meditation is another effective method for opening the magical senses and empowering the spirit. In walking meditation, you aim your practice toward a specific end, such as raising magical energy to achieve some specific goal, opening the sixth sense so that you increase psychic ability, or gaining spiritual insight on some matter in your life. You would normally conduct walking mediation during a Wiccan ritual; however the ritual context is not necessary for this meditation technique to be effective. In a ritual context, walking meditations might take place, for example, within a spiral design you map out on the ground, within a labyrinth, or at specific symbolic times of the year.

A Word to the Wise: Labyrinths are a form of Mandala (a Sanskrit word that roughly means “a circle that contains essence, or spirit”). A labyrinth is a design usually marked upon the ground that conveys spiritual and numerological symbolism. Labyrinths are usually created to have a single winding pathway within a circular design. The pathway is traditionally composed of either 7, 11, or 12 circuits that spiral inward to a center. The labyrinth is a universal symbol of transformation that spiritual practitioners can use to represent an individual’s pilgrimage to his or her own center point, which is the heart of divinity.9

The focal point of walking meditation can be one of several options that depend on the purpose of the meditation. For instance you might focus on the sensations of your body, such as the feelings you experience as your weight shifts from one leg to another. You might focus on counting your breaths. Or you might count your steps, counting in rounds from one to ten.

Not every type of walking meditation is suited to every personality. There are two specific styles of walking meditation for you to consider: sunwalking and moonwalking. Sunwalking is a brisk, gentle forward movement. The sunwalking stride is quick and long, and it is best suited to folks who usually have a directed, logical, linear mental focus. In moonwalking, each step is half the length of the foot. There is a pause between steps that lasts approximately three breaths to allow you to integrate the energy of each step you take. Moonwalking is best suited to folks who have a contemplative, creative, nonlinear mental energy.

Exercise: Moon or Sun?

Determining whether you are naturally a Sun or Moon walker is a simple process. Below is a list of some solar and lunar qualities. Circle the qualities that best describe you.

Solar	Lunar
Fiery: Expressive	Mellow: Contemplative
Fast paced: Active	Serene: Sluggish
Impatient: Moving	Forgiving: Tranquil
Overt: Frenetic	Discrete: Secretive
Sexual: Passionate	Sensual: Emotional
Cerebral: Analytical	Empathic: Compassionate
Logical: Reasonable	Intuitive: Introverted

Whichever category holds the most markings represents your natural type, either solar or lunar. If your markings are evenly distributed, you have integrated energy and can use either method with success.

Day 12

Moonwalking and Sunwalking

Whether you naturally align with solar or lunar energy, today take some time to experience both the solar and lunar method of walking meditation.

Moonwalking

For this exercise, find a place where you can be undisturbed for up to twenty minutes. You can practice moonwalking either indoors or outdoors in some natural setting. The best time to practice moonwalking is at night, under the energetic influences of the moon.

To begin, stand straight, feet together. While holding your head straight, squarely above your shoulders, lower your gaze so that you are looking down at about a 45-degree angle. Place your left hand on your abdomen, just above the navel. Place the right hand over the left so that your knuckles overlap and align. This hand posture is one that represents (and evokes) containment and protection.

Allow your breathing to be natural and rhythmic. Turn your attention to the weight of your body. Feel the pull of gravity and where your body supports itself. Wherever you sense tension, release it by taking a deep breath and imagining the muscles relaxing as you exhale.

Step forward with your left foot about half the length of your right foot. Feel the weight of your body shift as you step forward. Breathe naturally, but wait for at least three exhalations before you step forward with your right foot. Focus your attention now on your steps. Count each step as you moonwalk forward, counting from one to ten. If you catch yourself thinking, start counting again from the number one. Try not to allow counting to disrupt your stepping forward.

Sunwalking

To begin, find a place where you can be undisturbed for up to twenty minutes. As with moonwalking, you can practice sunwalking either indoors or in some natural setting. Try this exercise during the day, under the influence of the sun.

Because you will cover more ground in twenty minutes of meditation, it is important to find either a long, level stretch of walking area, or to mark out a meditational walking circle. If you choose to practice sunwalking in a circle, mark out a nine-foot diameter space, using a four-and-a-half-foot length of cord to demarcate the circumference. Indicate your circular path with stones, candles, seashells or some other aesthetically pleasing and spiritually awakening items.

As in your moonwalking exercise, begin by standing straight, with your feet together. Hold your head erect and lower your gaze so that you are looking down at about a 45-degree angle. Place your right hand over your left so that your knuckles overlap and align as they rest on your abdomen.

Allow your breathing to be natural and rhythmic. Turn your attention to the weight of your body. Feel the pull of gravity and where your body supports itself. Wherever you sense tension, release it by taking a deep breath and imagining the muscles relaxing as you exhale.

Begin to walk forward, stepping first with your right foot. Establish a brisk but relaxed pace. Once you have set your pace, try not to change it. Focus your attention now on your steps. Count each step as you move forward, counting from one to ten. If you catch yourself thinking, start the count again from the number one. Once you reach the tenth count, return to one and continue the count in rounds of ten. Do not disrupt your stepping forward when you renew the count.

Day 13

Guided Imagery Meditations

Guided imagery is the last magical meditation method that you will use in your year and a day study. Guided imagery is like a dream that someone else creates for you. Typically, the meditator begins by closing the eyes. A guide invites the meditator to visualize or imagine a series of images that channel the meditator toward a particular experience.

A skillful guided imagery meditation is one that will draw you near to a goal such as healing, evoking magical power, insight, or releasing old, limited ways of thinking.

Exercise: Finding Your Power Place

The guided imagery meditation that follows is the foundation for many other meditations presented later in this book. You can either try this guided imagery meditation by having a friend read it to you, or by recording it on a tape player for later use.

Reader:

Find a comfortable sitting position, or lie flat on your back on the ground. Close your eyes. Take several deep breaths. Mentally scan your body for tension, starting at your feet and working your way up to your head. With each exhalation, imagine that you release any tension that you have sensed in your body.

Once you have released any noticed tension, shift your attention back to your breathing. Begin to take deep, slow breaths. Inhale and exhale slowly. Imagine now that a bright white mist begins to form at your feet. With each inhalation, the mist is drawn up around your body and begins to spiral. As you draw the mist upward you feel warm and comforted. Continue to see the mist climbing your body with each inhalation until it envelops you completely.

Once you are cloaked in this magical mist, you begin to feel weightless. Your usual sense of time and place slips away from you. All that is left is a feeling of floating inside this soft, glowing, white mist.

Soon you recognize that you are moving. You cannot sense the direction, whether forward or back, up or down, but you feel movement as the mist transports you across time and space. It is taking you to your place of power. Allow the mist to move you and it will stop when you have arrived at your power place.

(Reader: pause for a moment.)

When movement has stopped, the mist begins to clear to reveal a landscape. Where are you? Are you on a desert mesa? Are you stationed by a shady mountain stream? Are you on the beach near a sparking sea? Whatever your surroundings, note them in detail now. As you explore this place you will find a particular spot in the landscape that draws your attention. Go to that spot and sit there.

This is your power place. As you sit here, you are able regenerate your energy; you are able to relax and cultivate a sense of peace. You are safe here. You gather magical power here. This is your spiritual home.

Stay here for as long as you need. When you are ready to return, imagine that you gesture with one of your hands in a spiral motion near your feet. As you do this, the white spiraling mist will appear again and will climb your body. As the mist covers you, you lose the sense of time and place again. The feeling of motion returns, and the mist transports you rapidly back to the place where you began.

(Reader: pause for a moment.)

Once you have arrived back in the place where you began, open your eyes. Take a few moments to recount your experience.

Day 14

Re-Thinking God

There is a monotheistic philosophy of deity that operates behind the scenes in most of our mainstream religious thinking. It not only permeates religion, but popular culture as well. Monotheistic religions propose that if you are a reasonable person, it should be clear to you that there is an intelligence behind the design of the universe. After all, “Figs do not grow on thistles. Grapes do not grow on thorns.”

At this point, an unwarranted leap in logic takes place. Monotheistic religious paths usually jump to the conclusion that the intelligence behind the scenes is, in fact, a specific, singular god—the Biblical Yahweh, for instance. Along with this assertion comes the belief that this god governs all affairs, much like a monarchy, and he has some definite opinions and regulations about how things “should be.” Mono-theistic religions (which are usually those of “the book”10) therefore conclude that human beings should be vigilant lest they violate the fundamental grain of the universe, as established by this watchful (and often vengeful) god.

Does this mythology shape your worldview? You bet it does. Joseph Campbell says, “What if the Lord’s Prayer began with ‘Our Mother’ instead of ‘Our Father’?” The gender of deity, its location, presumed purpose, and its number are all features that shape how we live and act in the world. Now let’s pull the rug out from beneath ourselves and wonder about a “god” that is nothing like what we might suppose.

There is an old joke about the person who has a near-death experience and who comes back to tell the tale. When asked if he saw god, he says, “yes.” When asked for a description, he says, “she’s black.” This story amuses us because, in the back of our minds, many of us hold onto the image of god as an old white man with a long beard. This is an institutionalized, well-disseminated cultural image that many of us take for granted. It rarely occurs to us that god may be something else entirely. Perhaps god is not something that we can understand through rationalization or through philosophical inquiry.

A Word to the Wise: In Wicca, the divine is not a person, nor is the divine something that is “greater than” each of us. Wiccans view the divine as an energy that manifests through us at all times. It is who and what we are. In addition to that, it is a good practice to begin deconstructing and closely observing cultural customs that incite emotional or mechanical reactions.

Take time today to contemplate and commit to paper your thoughts about the following questions:

• What images of god did you hold as a child?

• How have these childhood images influenced your understanding of the divine today?

• Are the images of god that you know actually representative of god’s fundamental nature?

• Are images of god important? Why?

• What is the purpose of believing in deity?

• Do we cheat ourselves at any level by characterizing god through image? Why? Why not?

• Does it bother you to see the word “god” not capitalized in this book? Why?

• Does the word “god” need capitalization?

• What automatic, conditioned responses do you have in relation to words, letters, and grammatical formalities?

Day 15

Divine Polarity

The universe is a singular “great energy,” in the Witches’ world view. People across the globe have tried to give this unifying energy names. They’ve tried “god,” “Tao,” “Tathata,” and “Great Spirit,” to name only a few, but no words adequately describe this spiritual energy, which binds together the entire phenomenal world.

The very nature of spiritual energy is dichotomous. Just like electrical current, spiritual energy manifests in a natural balance of waves and troughs. It reveals itself as hot and cold, on and off, light and dark, life and death. As the Chinese say, the single energy of the universe is both Yin and Yang.11 Witches symbolize their understanding of this divine energy in male and female terms—as both god and goddess.

That is not to say that Witches believe deity literally has either male or female genitalia. Rather, god and goddess are symbolic representations of how nature expresses this divine energy. “As above, so below,” is one of the most basic magical axioms, and Witches understand that nature is a direct reflection of spiritual energy. In other words, Witches view nature in all of its manifestations as an expression of the divine.

A Word to the Wise: The noted psychoanalyst Carl Jung wrote that each of us carries gender traits that are the opposite of our physical gender characteristics. For example, if you are male, you have an anima or internalized feminine nature—if you are female, you contain the animus, or internalized male nature. In order to have appropriately balanced mental health, the external physical gender of the individual should be balanced by his or her internal polar counterpart.

A Witch’s Brief Guide to Polarity

god	goddess
Male	Female
Sun	Moon
Expanding	Contracting
Light	Dark
Yang	Yin
Active	Passive
External	Internal
Conscious Mind	Unconscious Mind
Thinking	Dreaming
Hard	Soft
Warm	Cool
Linear	Nonlinear
Direct	Indirect
Life	Death
Day	Night
Positive	Negative
Square/angled	Round
Speaking	Listening
Doing	Being

Exercise: Exploring Polarity

As with all Wiccan symbols, the energies and the polarity of god and goddess represent aspects that reside within all of us. It does not matter if you have male or female physical characteristics; every hu-man being has qualities and energies that express both the god and goddess. Let’s find out now how you express them.

• Look at the brief guide to polarity above. As you consider the very short list of god and goddess energy attributes, what other words might you add to both sides of the list? Take time now to develop a more comprehensive list for yourself.

• Take out paper and pen and make a list of qualities that represent your “god” energy. Then make a list of qualities that represent your “goddess” energy.

• Review both lists to determine if you seem to express one side of the divine polarity more than the other. Which aspect do you most express in your daily life? Which energy gets least expressed in your daily life?

Day 16

Sun and Moon:
Divine Polarity in the Sky

For Witches, the sun and the moon are two basic and yet spiritually fundamental phenomena in nature that symbolize the mystical polarity of god and goddess energies. The sun and moon’s interplay maintains life upon our planet, but it also symbolizes the basic truth that all of life exists in a state of interdependence. The sun radiates energy and vitality. Without the sun there would be no light, and subsequently no life, on this planet. The light of the sun gives life to the plant world, and in turn the plants give life to the animal world. Likewise, the moon reflects the sun’s light and caresses the earth with a reflective glow that allows time for life on the planet to rest and rejuvenate itself. Without the regular rhythm of night punctuated by the appearance of the moon, life would soon wither and die.

In Wicca, the sun represents masculine, active, or god energy. The moon represents feminine, receptive, goddess energy. The natural interplay of sun and moon gives rise to the Wiccan mythology suggesting that god and goddess not only maintain all life, but infuse it. In reality, the mythology is true. When you eat something, you eat the light of sun and moon (as well as all other natural phenomena that come together to form your food, such as rain, wind, soil, etc.). You cannot survive without these heavenly luminaries, and, in fact, they form and nurture your very body and mind.

Exercise: Solar and Lunar

Use the list you developed in yesterday’s exercise to help you think of your life in four basic categories: your thoughts, your activity, your feelings, and your body. Consider whether the sun or the moon best represents your energy in each of the four categories. For example, someone whose thoughts are solar would have linear, analytical thinking much of the time. Someone whose thoughts were lunar would have more intuitive and circular thinking processes. Below is a list of words that can help you discover your own symbolic representational energies of both moon and sun in your four categories.

Sun: Active, lively, vigorous, dynamic, direct, orderly, energetic, bold, assertive, proactive, confident, assured, logical, rational, careful, sequential, cheery, high-spirited, joyful, vain, haughty, pompous, hot-headed, muscular, angular, thin, firm.

Moon: Receptive, indirect, passive, reflexive, reactive, subtle, fine, understated, circular, inclusive, intuitive, spontaneous, holistic, reflective, moderate, introspective, moody, disorganized, insecure, timid, apprehensive, emotional, touchy, round, soft, plump.

Day 17

Tracking the Sun and Moon

How attuned are you to the cycling of the Sun and Moon? What season is it outside—right now? Do you know the dates of when one season passes and when the next begins? Do you know the moon’s phase? If you are like most people, you rarely take notice of the passage of the moon through her monthly cycles, or the sun as it moves through its annual progression of solstices and equinoxes. Most of us take note of the season and details such as the patterns of weather, heat or cold, only when it affects our health or recreational possibilities. But in the world of Witchcraft, the stage and location in the heavens of the sun and moon signify magical and spiritual energy tides.

Because of this, Witches place great attention to the cycling of these two magical luminaries. In Wicca, there are eight seasonal festivals, or Sabbats, that occur as the sun progresses through the seasons of the year. Likewise, as the moon gains and sheds light throughout its 28-day cycle, Witches plan their Esbats, their magical lunar celebrations.

Keeping track of the sun and moon are basic to Wiccan practice and folks new to the path would be wise to attend to these cycles. To begin, check your local newspaper to find out the moon’s current phase. The waxing moon is from the first phase to the end of the second phase. The full moon rises during the end of the second phase. The waning moon occurs during the third and the fourth moon phases.

The four lunar phases.

The seasons occur as the sun progresses through the solstices and equinoxes. The Winter Solstice occurs when the sun enters the astrological sign of Capricorn (usually between December 20–23). Spring Equinox occurs when the sun enters the sign of Aries (between March 20–23). Summer Solstice happens as the sun enters the sign of Cancer (between June 20–23), and the Fall Equinox happens when the sun enters Libra (somewhere between September 20–23).

Exercise: Sun and Moon Cycles

The Farmer’s Almanac (available at most bookstores and through online services) can tell you when the seasons change. You can also check with an astrological ephemeris, which charts the passage of the sun and the planets of the solar system as they progress through the twelve constellations.

In later days you will discover the importance of knowing these luminaries and their rhythms, but for now, develop a habit of knowing the cycles of the sun and moon on a regular basis. This alone will begin the process of attuning you to the energies of the goddess and god.

Day 18

Meeting the Goddess: Maiden

In Wiccan mythology, goddess energy manifests itself in three symbolic forms: the maiden, the mother, and the crone. These three aspects are also the common stages through which all women pass in their lifetime. But more than this, they are symbols that represent the internal stages of consciousness that are common to all human beings, regardless of gender. Each of these aspects has its own internal polarity—a light and a dark side, if you will. Over the next several days you will learn about each of these symbols and uncover their expression in your own life.

The first of the goddess’ aspects is the maiden. The goddess in this aspect represents youth, newness, beginnings, brilliance, and simplicity. The maiden aligns with several symbolic correspondences such as springtime, the compass direction of east, and sunrise. The maiden represents potential. She is not partial to the direction that potential manifests itself. All potential is the maiden. She is the future, creativity, and fecundity. She represents the seed, newly planted into the soil, full of potential but not yet sprouted. The maiden is that part in each of us that is our innocence, purity, and raw energy.

The maiden also has a dark, shadowy side. In her dark aspect, the maiden cannot realize potential. Stuck in her own youth, the maiden in her shadow aspect can be a dilettante, lacking in depth. This dark maiden energy, residing within each of us, can represent our inability to mature with time. In this darker aspect she can represent a perpetual unworldliness, childishness, internalized fear, and overdependence upon other people.

Some maiden goddesses in mythology include: Pandora, Persephone, Arachne, Venus/Aphrodite, Kore, Tana, Ariadne, Flora, Electra, Athena, Brigid, Branwen, and Gaia.

Table of Correspondences: The Maiden

The practices of Wicca rely principally on the workings of the deep unconscious mind and the channeling of subtle energies that reside therein. The unconscious mind speaks in symbol and image and therefore the best way to access this realm is through symbolic means. Because of this, symbolic correspondences are key spiritual points in Witchcraft practice. Each set of symbols in the Craft connects us to specific spiritual, energetic tides or fields. They also connect us to aspects of our own lives, our personalities and experiences. Symbolic correspondences bridge your own experience of the world and physical reality.

Take time today to commit to memory the following magical correspondences that evoke Maiden energies.

Lunar Phase: New

Seasonal Phase: Late winter/early spring

Color: Orange

Pagan Celebration: Imbolc, February 2

Direction: Northeast

Time: The darkness that precedes the dawn

Incense: Myrrh, orris root

Essential Oils: Heather and basil

Magical Number: 2

Vocalization: ¯u (as in you)

Herbs: Angelica, bay laurel

Planet: Moon

Body Part: Sexual organs

Chakra: 2nd—Genitals/womb

Exercise: Knowing Your Maiden

Think about your own maiden traits. On a single piece of paper, draw a line down the center. On one side write down your personality traits (no matter if you are physically male or female) that reflect positive maiden qualities. On the other side of the page, write down any shadowy maiden qualities you might recognize in yourself. If you do not note any of the maiden’s qualities in your life, this is an archetypal energy that might require balancing and integration in order for you to claim your full potential and power as a Witch. Over the next few days, you will learn how to evoke these qualities into your life.

The Chakras

Chakras are seven wheel-like energy centers that reside within the body. Anodea Judith, author of Wheels of Life, describes chakras as “Swirling intersections of vital force [life-energy].”12 Each of the chakras governs aspects of our consciousness.

The Chakras or energy centers of the body.

Locations of the Chakras

• The point between anus and genitals—the root or 1st chakra

• Just above genitals—2nd or genital chakra

• Just below navel—3rd or solar plexus chakra

• Center of chest—4th or heart chakra

• Hollow or base of throat—5th or throat chakra

• Center of brow, between eyes—6th chakra, pineal or third-eye chakra

• Top of head—7th or crown chakra

What Each Chakra Governs

1st—root, grounding, connection to earth

2nd—sexual activity

3rd—anger, mastery, control

4th—love, compassion

5th—communication

6th—conscious awareness, psychic activity

7th—connection with deity

Day 19

Exercise: Calling on the Maiden

Pick or buy fresh flowers today. Place them in front of you. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Smell the sweet scent of the flowers in front of you. Relax your body from head to toe with each exhalation. Once you are relaxed fully, imagine that you stand in a vast, grassy field facing the east. It is dawn. With your spirit-voice, internally chant the name of one maiden goddess. Watch for her to appear on the horizon, holding flowers.

She will approach you and hand you several flowers, one at a time. With each flower she gives you, she will name a trait that is important for you to develop in order to access her power. Once she finishes handing you flowers, bid her farewell. Return to the place where you began your journey and open your eyes.

For the remainder of the day embrace the traits or qualities the maiden has given to you.

The “cosmic Yoni” is a term that refers to the vulva of the goddess. It is the personification of the female principle in nature.

Day 20

The Maiden: Intonation

In magical parlance, intonation means to vocalize. Vocalization for magical purposes usually involves resonating or vibrating a particular sound so that it feels as though it originates from deep within. When you intone a sound or word, it may feel as though the sound emerges from your diaphragm, which is an area just below your navel and just above the pelvis. Today’s working will involve intoning a sound that will invoke the maiden’s energies.

What You’ll Need:

• An orange candle

• A compass

To begin, look in a local newspaper or in an almanac to find the exact time of dawn today. Set your alarm clock so that you are awakened one hour prior to dawn. Use your compass to locate the northeast and find a comfortable sitting position while facing that direction. Be sure you are sitting in such a way that your spine is aligned and balanced—perpendicular to the floor. Set the orange candle before you, light it and cast your gaze upon the flame. Take a deep breath that expands the lungs and fills the belly as well. As you exhale, begin to vocalize the sound “u” (which should sound like “you”). Sustain the sound until all air vacates your lungs. Then allow the inhalation to arise from this emptiness, and again fill your lungs to capacity. Repeat the intonation a second time. When you finish the second intonation, sit in silence for 15 or 20 minutes to allow the essence of this intonation to realign your consciousness. Extinguish the candle when finished.

Day 21

The Maiden: Magical Pass

A magical pass is a hand gesture that a Witch uses to symbolize and therefore invoke specific spiritual energies. Here is the magical pass for the maiden. Begin by facing the northeast. Stand with your arms at your side, palms flat, facing behind you. Your thumbs should both be touching your outer thighs.

Bend the elbows so that only your forearms move. Open the thumbs so that they are at a 90-degree angle with the forefinger. Bring the hands together so that the tips of both thumbs and forefingers touch. The hands should meet in front of the body at the genital area. The opening that the two hands create represent the cosmic yoni, a term that refers to the vulva of the goddess. It is the personification of the female principle in nature.

Take time today to practice this magical pass and sense what energies it invokes for you.

The Maiden Gesture.

Day 22

The Maiden: Invocation Prayer

In the world of Witches an invocation is a type of summoning. Witches can summon entities, energy forces, or aspects of the god and goddess to achieve particular purposes. Witches usually invoke the gods within a formal sacred space, the magic circle, since the presence of the gods has a powerful, spiritually electrical effect. Witches usually invoke the Old Ones using a combination of gesture, sound, and symbol. The invocation you will learn today (and those you will find over the next weeks) are only part of a full ritual invocation process. The entire process involves creating sacred space, using specialized magical tools, gestures, sounds, and symbols. Over the course of the year and a day, you will learn the full process. For now, take time to practice the invocation words and gestures. In reciting these words, you may notice a change in your personal energy, or the energy of the room.

What You’ll Need:

• An orange candle

• Myrrh or orris root to burn as an incense

Stand facing the northeast. Light the candle and set it on a table before you. Ignite self-lighting charcoal (such as Three-Kings), then sprinkle loose incense on the hot coals. Practice the magical pass of the maiden, and hold your arms in this position while you say:

By Persephone and Pandora,
By Ariadne and Athena,
By Brigid and Branwen,
And the countless names of power,
By the crescent moon and horn,
Come ye Maiden goddess,
Thy Holy Rites reborn!

When you are finished sit where you are, close your eyes, and sense the maiden goddess’ presence.

Day 23

Meeting the Goddess: Mother

The mother is the second of the goddess’ three aspects. In her mother aspect, the goddess represents birth and nurturing. She is the archetype of actualized potential. The seed that was planted in the maiden phase of energy has come to fruition. She is no longer the bud of potential, but the full, fragrant bloom, the ripened orchards, and the full sway of summertime. The mother aligns with the compass directions of south and west. She aligns with energy and the full power of growth and adult maturity. The goddess in this aspect also represents compassion and understanding. She is the earth-mother in all of us—caring, forgiving, receptive, and open to change. She is the actualization of creativity and of fecundity.

The mother also has a dark side. When we hold internally to our own mothering archetype, rather than allowing the free flow of energies in our life, she can represent our potential to smother and to encourage dependence in other people. The dark side of the mother is a belief in one’s own compassion, but expressed in a self-serving way. It may not be overt, and certainly when we have this aspect in our personality, we entertain ourselves with kind intentions. However, it is important to know that the dark aspect of the mother does not allow people around us to live independently and to their fullest potential.

Some mother goddesses in mythology include: Demeter, Io, Cerridwen, Nut, Melusine, Arianrhod, Isis, Aradia, Ceres, Dana, Hecket, Ishtar, Artemis, Boann, and Astarte.

Table of Correspondences: The Mother

Take time today to commit to memory these magical correspondences that evoke mother energies.

Lunar Phase: Fall

Seasonal Phase: Late summer/early fall

Color: Green

Pagan Celebration: Lughnassadh, August 2

Direction: Southwest

Time: Late afternoon

Incense: Meadowsweet and oak

Essential Oils: Lotus, cucumber

Magical Number: 4

Vocalization: a¯ (as in say)

Herbs: Hollyhock, frankincense

Planet: Venus

Body Part: Heart, lungs, hands

Chakra: 4th—heart, center of chest

Exercise: Knowing Your Mother

Consider your own motherly traits. On a single piece of paper, draw a line down the center. On one side write down your personality traits (no matter if you are physically male or female) that reflect positive mother qualities. On the other side of the page, write down any shadowy mother qualities you might recognize in yourself. If you do not note any of the mother’s qualities in your life, this is an archetypal energy that might require balancing and integration in order for you to claim your full potential and power as a Witch. Over the next few days, you will learn how to evoke her qualities into your life.

The archetypal energy of the mother can present unique challenges and opportunities, especially for those who’ve had difficulty developing a strong or productive relationship with their own mothers. Explore this archetype—the mother as a goddess—and take time to question your own feelings about mothers and your relationships with mothers. How clear a connection to this energy can you establish? Do you sense emotional blockages in your way, or internal neediness or clinging when thinking of “mother”? What practical steps might you take to achieve balanced accord with the energy of mothers in your life?

Day 24

Exercise: Calling on the Mother

Indulge in comfort foods today regardless of any diet you may be on. Eat familiar foods that nourish your soul. Macaroni and cheese, apple pie, and ice cream are all comfort foods that many folks associate with the principle, the symbol, of “mom.” While you eat this food, maintain a sense of attention on how this food might bring forward your own maternal instincts. Perhaps it simply reminds you of home or makes you want to be loved and nurtured. Maybe it reminds you of something you’ve lacked in childhood. Try to honor and observe with reverence whatever it is that comes up for you while eating this food.

When you have finished eating, close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Relax your body from head to toe with each exhalation. Once you are relaxed fully, imagine that you stand near a beautiful waterfall that faces the southwest. It is late afternoon. With your spirit-voice, internally intone the name of a mother goddess. Watch as the waterfall parts and she walks through it toward you.

She will take your hand and place another of her hands on your heart. Feel your heart soften and fill with love and compassion. Once she finishes touching your heart, bid this holy mother farewell. She will disappear again into the waterfall. Once she has vanished, return to the place where you began your journey and open your eyes.

For the remainder of the day, embrace the compassion and love you felt from the mother goddess and allow that compassion to inform your actions.

Day 25

The Mother: Intonation

Today’s working will involve intoning sound that will invoke the energies of the mother.

What You’ll Need:

• A 5–6 inch green taper candle

• A compass

Set your alarm clock so that you know to begin this exercise in the late afternoon today, at approximately 3:00 or 4:00 pm. Using your compass, locate the southwest and sit in a comfortable position facing this direction. Set the green candle before you and light it. Set your gaze upon the candle flame. Take a deep breath, expanding both the lungs and the belly. As you exhale, begin to vocalize the sound “¯¯a” (as in “say”). Sustain the sound until all breath vacates your lungs. Allow the inhalation to arise from this emptiness you create from the vacated lungs, and then again fill your lungs to capacity. Repeat the intonation three more times, which will make a total of four intonations. After you complete the fourth intonation, sit in silence for 15 or 20 minutes and allow the essence of this intonation to reverberate your consciousness.

Day 26

The Mother: Magical Pass

Begin this practice by facing the southwest. Stand with your hands placed on your chest. Set the right hand on the right breast and the left hand on the left breast. The tips of the middle fingers of the right and left hands should be touching lightly. Elbows should be raised from the sides and your forearms should be straight lines perpendicular to the floor. Open the arms now so that the palms of the hands face front and are at the level of the hips. The arms should be at 45-degree angles to the trunk of your body.

Steps 1 and 2 of the Magical Pass of the Mother.

Practice this magical pass with a heightened sense of inner attention and discover what energies it invokes for you.

Day 27

The Mother: Invocation Prayer

Today you will practice the mother’s invocation words and gestures. As you recite this invocation, you may notice a change in either your own energy or the energy of your immediate environment.

What You’ll Need:

• A green candle

• A blend of dried meadowsweet and oak bark to burn as an incense

• A compass

Use the compass to find the southwest. Face that direction. Light the candle and set it on a table before you. Ignite a self-lighting charcoal and then sprinkle the loose incense on the hot coal.

Practice the magical pass of the mother, and hold your arms in this position while you say:

By Demeter and Dana,
By Aradia and Astarte,
By Cerridwen and Ceres,
And the countless names of power,
By the full moon and branched horn,
Come ye Mother goddess,
Thy Holy Rites reborn!

When you are finished with this invocational prayer, sit where you are, close your eyes, and sense the mother goddess’ presence.

Day 28

Meeting the Goddess: The Crone

The crone is the goddess’ third aspect. In her crone aspect, the goddess represents repose, wisdom and decline. Beyond her childbearing years, the crone is the archetype of female power turned inward. She is no longer the fragrant, full bloom, but she’s brimming with the seeds of wisdom. She’s ready to teach others the mysteries of what lies beyond death and the inner secrets of magic, if only we would listen. You can’t pull the wool over those old, weathered eyes; she has been around the block a few times already and she is the personification of common sense and seasoned practicality.

The goddess in this aspect also represents justice and the reaping of whatever harvest we have planted. Sometimes what we reap is not exactly the thing for which we hoped. But the crone does not rely on hope. At the end of her life cycle, what need has she of hopes and dreams? The crone represents life lived beyond the crutch of hoping, wishing, and dreaming. She is an all-or-nothing lady. She is the old woman in all of us, she who sits by the hearth and who can foretell the future. Maybe she’s just telling us things we don’t really want to know, but that we need to know in order to grow and change. She is the manifestation of internal movement and mystic insight. She is there whenever you act in a level-headed, rational, responsible way.

The crone also has a dark side. When we cling to our own internal crone energy, without allowing a natural flow of energies of all kinds, she can represent bitterness, and self-sufficiency to the point of isolation. When we have dark crone energies in our personality, we might believe that we need to “set the record straight,” set endless boundaries with other people, and criticize without noting much of anything positive. In her dark aspect, the crone can be our potential to cut ourselves off from other people, to judge harshly, or simply to carp.

Some crone goddesses in mythology include: Hecate, Spider Woman, Sophia, Kali, Circe, Hera, Fea, Hel, Sekhmet, Inanna, Discordia, Lilith, Minerva, Rhiannon, and Fortuna.

Table of Correspondences: The Crone

Commit to memory the following magical correspondences that evoke crone’s energies.

Lunar Phase: Waning/dark

Seasonal Phase: Late fall/ winter

Color: Indigo

Pagan Celebration: Samhain, October 31

Direction: West

Time: Dusk

Incense: Mugwort and star anise

Essential Oils: sage, cedar

Magical Number: 6

Vocalization: Mmm

Herbs: Nightshade, fly agaric

Planet: Saturn, Jupiter

Body Part: Eyes

Chakra: 6th—pineal, at the center of the brow

Exercise: Knowing Your Crone

Consider your own crone traits. On a single piece of paper, draw a line down the center. On one side write down your personality traits (no matter if you are physically male or female) that reflect positive crone qualities. On the other side of the page, write down any shadowy crone qualities you might recognize in yourself. If you do not note any of the crone’s qualities in your life, this is an archetypal energy that might require balancing and integration in order for you to claim your full potential and power as a Witch. Over the next few days, you will learn how to evoke these qualities into your life.

Day 29

Exercise: Calling on the Crone

Sit by the hearth at night and build a cheery fire. Don’t worry if it is the middle of summer—make the fire anyway. If you live in a home without a fireplace, sit in a corner of your home during the night and light several candles. Watch the flicker and dance of the flames until you feel your eyes becoming heavy. Close your eyes and take several deep breaths. Relax your body from head to toe with each exhalation. Once you are relaxed fully, imagine that you are standing in the dark outside of a rickety wooden cottage in the middle of a dense forest. It is midnight. With your spirit-voice, internally intone the name of a crone goddess. Watch as the door of the cottage opens and an old woman walks toward you.

In her hands she holds a magic mirror. This is the mirror that reveals your wisest self. She silently holds up the mirror to your eyes and an image appears. It is the image of you acting throughout your day from a center of wisdom. She then whispers a word that represents a trait you must accrue to become your wisest self. Listen. After she speaks, she turns silently away and disappears into her cottage. Once she has, you will return to the place where you began your journey, seated in the chair before the fire (or candles), and open your eyes.

For the next twenty-four hours, try to live by the wise rule of the crone, guided by her magical word.

A Word to the Wise: After you light a self-igniting charcoal, you will notice that it sputters and sparks for a few minutes. Once this initial activity is over the coal will continue to heat up. It is usually best to wait for a few more minutes until the coal is at least white on its edges before it is hot enough to burn your incense.

Day 30

The Crone: Intonation

What You’ll Need

• A 5–6 inch indigo taper candle

• A compass

Set your alarm clock so that you know to begin this exercise at dusk. Take out your compass, locate the west, and place a cushion on the floor or set a chair so that when you sit you will face this direction. Set the indigo candle before you, light it and set your gaze upon the candle flame. Take a deep breath, expanding the lungs and the belly. As you exhale, begin to vocalize the sound “mmmm.” Sustain the sound until all breath vacates your lungs. Allow the inhalation to arise from this emptiness you create from the vacated lungs, and then again fill your lungs to capacity. Repeat the intonation five more times, making a total of six intonations. When you complete the sixth intonation, sit in silence for 15 or 20 minutes and allow the essence of this intonation to change your consciousness.