Article

by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle

Despite running a school, founding an organization, and otherwise doing a lot of seemingly structured and orderly things, I tend to be subversive and rebellious by nature. Like many Witches, as soon as you tell me I can’t do something, I want to do it, and sometimes I do. While I have great respect for tradition, I also realize we don’t live in the past. We need to find new ways to go with the old. I like to go my own way, and I think that by the very nature of our craft, if we claim the identity of Witch with all its baggage, we must possess a certain ability to live outside the rules. I wrote about it in a previous article, “I’m a Witch so I’m Exempt” but we must remember we still have to live with the consequences of our rule breaking. I modify my behaviors, despite my nature, based on what serves my Will and the greatest good for the moment. Sometimes it’s being rebellious, and sometimes it’s not. And if you want others to participate in whatever your intention is, you have to make a compelling case to them.

Not too long ago, a friend sent me an article. It was about Venus figurines from the Stone Age and all the academic and moral reasons why they shouldn’t be called Venuses, where the idea came from, and some rather lackluster suggestions on what we could call them now. This was a case of the author being right, yet not creating any change, even among the people who would be agreeable to those points.

Part of the magick in changing anything—including a tradition, practice, or even society—is that you have to change the story. You can’t just ask people to forget the previous story. Once something is out, you can’t put it away, make people forget it if they like it, or otherwise drop it, even if they agree with you intellectually. You have to paint a picture. You have to make that picture engaging and compelling. That is part of the work of the new Æon and the new societies we want to make. By all means dig deep into tradition and root your new idea within it, but then shift it into a new story that serves your vision and intention.

If we look to the past, we see how myths, customs, and traditions are hijacked, subverted to a new cause. While that might sound disrespectful, as a Witch, I propose if you want to change something, particularly something around Witchcraft, you have to subvert the dominant paradigm with something that not only builds upon it, but also turns it in a new direction. This is the crooked path, after all. If you can do it well, not only will you make a change, but people will enthusiastically help spread the word.

For example, one of the most subversive things done in advancing our craft is Doreen Valiente’s and Gerald Gardner’s transformation of the hedge crone into the priestess of the mysteries. In my mind, this change was a restoration of the ancient priestess, but many historians would argue the point. In the end, while historians are important in the halls of academia, we have transformed the modern consciousness around being a Witch by honoring truths that go beyond factual understanding. Those drawn to the strange and eldritch now have a wider, and arguably deeper, palette of colors to paint their life.

Working strictly on an academic or even social level is a Sisyphean task usually doomed to failure. You can be intellectually correct, but that doesn’t change the “momentum of the past” (a term from the teachings of the late Raven Grimassi advocating the use of established magickal techniques and images, which I’m using more widely here) unless you are making a persuasive argument. Most nuanced, culturally sensitive, well-researched arguments are too long and require too much from the listener/reader to make the change. Most people, I’m sorry to say, are lazy.

In the article I mentioned, the idea of a powerful feminine image previously named Venus has empowered women and Witches all over. We use such images in our art and upon our altars and shrines. The replacement term has to be just as engaging, even when we recognize that the Roman Venus, or even Greek Aphrodite, has nothing to do with these ancient works of art and iconography, that this was a name coming from a sexist man emphasizing bodily characteristics.

But while “Female Icon” might be more culturally sensitive, and even more accurate historically, it doesn’t have a hope of catching on, and on a very real level, it disempowers our magickal connection to the imagery. If I had a dream of the Venus of Malta, then it’s like I’m announcing a title of someone and something important when I say, “Venus of Malta.” Is it a Goddess? An ancestor? I don’t know, but it is something alive and real for me. If I had a dream of the Maltese Female Icon A, well, okay. Hmph. It’s not such a living thing to me. It has no vitality, even if it’s the same piece of art of the same associated entity.

I think in making powerful changes you have to hijack the story rather than try to change something established with nuanced argument. Use the logical reasons as the basis for your change, but realize that to get people to support your new idea, you need a symbol, a name, an image that resonates. Changing the name of something someone had a deeply personal relationship with feels like an attack. Unless you have an alternative that is alluring enough to distract from this feeling, the response you get will be anything from subtle resistance to out-and-out retaliation. Every modern Witch or priestess who loves describing their Venus of Willendorf statue to a new house guest is not going to start describing their treasure as the “Female Icon found in Willendorf which may or may not necessarily be a goddess because we don’t know if the creators believed in goddesses per se or saw her simply as a female spirit or the representation of a human woman with no spiritual overtones.” Hijack the concept of Venus as a name if you don’t like what you believe it stands for now. If you can’t, be prepared to offer something more enticing.

To me she is Venus Luciferia, Queen of the Venefica and Great Green Earth Mother. That is both true to my practice and would give an alternative view to those Witches who question if it should even be called Venus. These are all iconic expressions of her, so why not call them Venus? Calling them Female Icons keeps them rather sterile, while the Venus title can make them come alive, like the many forms of Tara or any other divinity. Were they all really Tara? Was Tara misapplied to some figures out of zeal? I don’t know, but there are many Taras now.

Buddhists seemed to know how to take the story and work with what was there already. I think of the transition of Avalokiteśvara to Quan Yin or the welcoming in of the Tibetan deities and sorcery into the practice of traditional Buddhism that had shed deities in its philosophy when it took root in Tibet. I think of how Buddhism takes the form of Zen Buddhism in Japan and how Buddhism in general forms all these different cultural branches. Today we would look at the merging or transformation of Avalokiteśvara/Quan Yin as cultural appropriation, misgendering, and generally problematic, but it preserved and even made more popular a figure that could have otherwise been wiped out by one sect over the other.

I think the winner of the tale, as an entity, is the surviving Quan Yin, perhaps using their own agency to navigate human culture and stories and assume such a popular and beloved role all over the world. Are other entities responding to such things, and are their wishes independent of their creators or even their seeming benefactors? Can the entity disagree with their publicly recognized spokespeople, with a vested interest in controlling the imagery, icons, and ultimately the theology around themselves? Are the entities ultimately free to leave the culture of origin on their own accord? How would they do that, if not through the hands of others?

You can still love someone—even a culture, religion, or tradition—and want to grow beyond it. If we give ourselves the freedom to do that, do not our gods and spirits have the same rights? If we are Pagan, Witches, Polytheists, or Animists, we have to realize regardless of what we think is correct, the entities have their own agendas, needs, and motivations that are non-human, and anthropomorphizing them, assuming our motivations are theirs, our causes are theirs, and our methods are theirs, just creates another dogma. How many practitioners who are deeply devoted to a deity—say Hecate, the Morrighan, Odin, or even Jesus Christ—lose themselves in that devotion and start to assume their personal will, opinion, and direction are god-given? They go off the rails in the eyes of a more balanced practitioner.

In the end, I don’t care that much about the names of the Venus statues. If consensus offers us something better, so be it. Until it does, I think of them as various archaic Venuses. For now, with everything else going on in the world, it’s not a burning issue for me. But I think about this idea in a much wider range of societal change, both in the Craft and in the greater world. I can understand the perspective of how something smaller like this can contribute to the overall forces of patriarchy and colonial attitudes, but I also think we have to address what we are building while we are deconstructing. I fear the consequences of robbing language in general—and magickal language specifically—of its vocabulary in whatever worlds come next, in relegating certain words by certain people to taboo. Isn’t the role of the Witch to transgress and to embrace the taboo?

Societal Change—Challenges and Consequences

I think conversation is powerful and great, but often progressive change to the world, the ushering in of a new Aeon, is stymied by those trying to have long, subtle, nuanced conversations with people who don’t care or aren’t currently capable of having those nuanced conversations. When you try, it can come across like an attack. Then we get frustrated that we are perceived as attacking when we are not, and we shut down the dialogue all together. There is no clear suggested narrative.  But the people who don’t want to discuss social justice, inequality, climate change, COVID-19, gender studies, human rights, Black Lives Matter, or any of the many issues urgently needing change and beneficial action do like stories. They like to tell a story, and they’ll often listen to a story if it engages. They like media. They like movies. They like songs and television. So how do we change the story? What symbols can be used to engage them, to move them toward more subtle conversations? Many of the changes already underway have come about by learning the tragic stories of the people involved, speaking their names, and bringing awareness to a real and tangible level. That is part of the magick right there.

I think about how we learn about Christian conversion of the Pagans, in the adaptation of Pagan symbols and holidays to the Christian calendars. Some gods became saints and those that couldn’t be accepted were demonized. Greek Neoplatonic hierarchies of gods and spirits became Christian nine choirs of angels. Qabalah became a fusion of just about everything to preserve the mysteries in times and places hostile to all mysteries, whether they were Jewish, Christian, Islamic, or Pagan.

But when we become too purist, or break into too many opposing camps seemingly with the same goals, we can’t change the story in a meaningful enough way. Imagine if the Christian church had said they couldn’t change the birth of Christ to the Winter Solstice time, that it would have been problematic. Yes, true, but then would Christianity have been the story across the world that it has been? How necessary was Christmas and Easter to Christianity? As the things practiced by most Christians and celebrated (or at least acknowledged) but most non-Christians, they have become a necessary part of our supposedly secular but nonetheless Christian dominant society. Even the things that are not true, linearly and chronologically, have a bit of mythic truth to them. For good or ill, they created a bridge that changed the story in their favor, making the world the way they wanted it. While I might hate the results, I have to admit that was good magick.

We can argue that Christianity should not have risen, and that they shouldn’t have appropriated the holidays, but they changed the story from what they felt was genuinely harmful—pagan godlessness—to what they thought was truly helpful—salvation. What they did with the story as things progressed is another matter entirely. While we don’t want to emulate their results, or propose one belief system and theology for all, I can’t help but notice so many Witches today seeking to go “deeper” and diving into the folk mysticism and magick of Christianity and the practices it has merged with over time. When we look at those practices, they have changed some of the story, with heretical non-canonized saints like Expedite and Santa Muerte.

The Lure of Conspiracy

One of the great successes that the New Age movement (rooted in Theosophy and sharing far more than I’m comfortable with in Illuminati Conspiracy Theories) is that they have changed their story of humanity. They have told a worldwide story that is now inclusive of the globe, that stretches into pre-human times and beyond to the stars. And the conspiracy theories get so much credibility because people know there is something wrong with the mainstream narrative, that it no longer works, which creates a feeling of betrayal and a search for truth. When that is not coupled with introspective work and true mysticism, it leads to delusion and paranoia. It’s easy to believe in ancient and modern aliens running things or shadow conspiracy governments because the truth of random chaos seems too crazy, and the official story of continual upward progress seems ridiculous when we look at ourselves as a species. But the highest and lowest expressions of these global stories have engaged people looking to understand what is really happening in a way that includes everyone, for good or ill. The conspiracy theory does that well, though often the “them” is some unknown shadow, but that is still the story, competition.

For those without an esoteric bent to their worldview, the Tea Party and the MAGA hat narrative fills the void of understanding, explaining why the world is the way it is, and creating a divide between us versus them. Those we identify as TERFS recognize this on some level and don’t want the story to change because they feel their story hasn’t come to completion. The introduction of a new element to their story, trans women, feels like a return to an old story, where their needs and rights are put second, so they have resistance and attack. Those who identify as feminists and are not seen as transphobic have worked trans women into their narrative in a way that is inclusive and helpful to all, not frightening. Often the battle to define rights and womanhood doesn’t address the story, and the feelings attached to the story, that all sides have, which makes it hard to create a place where a new story can be created together.

Telling a New Story

While no story is completely correct, each serves a purpose. An initiate realizes all stories are unreal, but that doesn’t mean they are not true on some level. Storytelling, narrative, is a tool for our magickal world view. As initiates we have to reprogram our inner dialogue—the story we tell ourselves about our wounds, trauma and own actions—not to deny it, but to frame that story in the context of our great journey and not become so obsessed with our wounds that we never learn to heal. Likewise, as a society, we have to learn to change the internal collective dialogue and the external interaction between people that is an expression of it. The process is larger and more group-oriented, but essentially the same.

We use established myth and folklore as a tool to remember and to grow, and in the changes of the ages, we have to set the stage of the new myths and folklore. What will it be? I don’t know, but I’m looking at Aquarian imagery: cups pouring forth, holy grails, cauldrons, waves of information, ambrosia, lightning, light bearers, fire stealers, and phoenixes. Unlike the vertical axis of Pisces, Aquarius is more of a horizontal organization, like the twinned Aeon of Horus and Aeon of Maat, Will and Truth, male and female, divine twins acting together.

I am loving the stories of modern new media, but while inclusive, they can also alienate those who probably need to see them the most. Things like Kipo and the Age of Wonderbeasts, the new She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, Steven Universe, The Dragon Prince, and the two Avatar series are hopeful tellings of a story (can you tell I am a fan of cartoons?) While I love the mythos of Star Wars, it is of the last aeon. The essence of Star Trek is really pointing the way in story to the new age—betterment for the sake of betterment, no commerce, space travel, social ties across the world and across the galaxy with other races and people, and the continued urge to explore, to know and to grow in new and unexpected ways. While these are great examples for the overall arc, we could be better served on an individual level by thinking in terms of the story we tell ourselves and others and the world. You don’t have to have a TV show to think and act mythically.

What story do we want to tell ourselves and each other, and what is the purpose of it? If we want an equitable, just, balanced society, what story do we have to tell to get people moving there? What imagery? What rituals? And how do we get the “buy in” to engage enough people to participate in a meaningful way for real change?

I know that puts the burden on many people already doing a tremendous amount of work. If you can’t do it, don’t do it. But if you expect change and are working to create change, what are the most effective avenues to make that change happen? If we don’t want to change the stories in the way that others in the past have, how can we make a shift in ways that suits our ethics and culture? Many would argue that is not their job, but then spend hour upon hour arguing in the comment section of a post to get their point across, seeking intellectual satisfaction, a win, even though such discourse rarely yields an actual changed mind once things get heated.

How about we put some of that energy into the creative process and try to “out-create” as Tori Amos sings in her Night of Hunters album instead of out-debate? I’m fond of the teachings such as “It might not be your fault, but it is your responsibility.” If you can see the problem and the other cannot, it’s your job to move the situation towards healthy resolution. You might not want to, but your capability to be able to do it creates the imperative. Likewise is the teaching, “If not you, who? If not now, when?” As our own storytellers, bards, magicians, and Witches, we can’t expect someone to tell us the story where everything works out and then tuck us into bed, no work on our parts. We must participate in our storytelling, and within our own lives, follow up with the actions that match the story we are telling.

As we move toward the beginning of Fall with Mabon fast approaching it is a great time to start preparing some mulling spices to get in the spirit. Mulling spices can be used in wine or in cider to create delicious spiced drinks. They can even be used in a hot toddy.

This spiced “wassail” was used in southern England in medieval times during winter celebrations. They would sing and drink to the health of their apple trees to ensure a bountiful harvest the next year. At the end of their celebrations they would pour the last cup of mulled cider to the “Apple Tree Man” who lived in the oldest apple tree in the orchard.

With a little research and a bit of magic you can make a mulling spice that will help you to harvest your desires. Most basic recipes include the following ingredients. I have listed them here with their correspondences magically so you can brew up some magic.

• Allspice: Success in love and money matters, banishing poverty consciousness, determination and healing
• Cinnamon Sticks: Good luck, attraction, money 
• Dried orange peel: Health, success, happiness
• Whole cloves: Protection, love, money, healing, and strength

From here you can add a whole bunch of different herbs and sweeteners to customize your blend. Some of the common additives are:

• Cardamom pods: Love and passion 
• Dried Ginger: Love, money, success and power
• Star Anise: Joy, blessings, luck, and psychic awareness
• Whole nutmeg: Luck, money, health, fidelity, and psychic ability
• Peppercorns: Protection
• Vanilla bean: Love, lust, and power
• Lemon peel: Cleansing, love, friendship
• Maple sugar: Love, longevity, money, healing, and sweetness
• Brown sugar: Friendship and sweetness
• And my favorite, candied ginger: all the same things about dried ginger only sweeter!

Adding another layer to any mulled brew you want to make, think about your medium.

Cider is made from apples, used to bring about love, Healing, immortality, revival of the garden, and speaking with the dead. So if you mull some cider you can drink in these qualities as well.

In wine you have the power of the resurrected gods like Dionysus to bring back health, fertility, healthy gardens, and wholeness. The transformation of fermentation brings about an initiatory power to wine, which is why it is sacred in places all over the world.

The herbs used to make mulling spices are usually whole or crushed into smaller size. They are not ground to a powder or you will get gritty mulled drinks. A good rule of thumb for your mulling spices is about two tablespoons of spices to about a half gallon of cider or wine simmered on low for about a half hour. Don’t go over medium heat for wine, keep it on low. Put the spices in a tea strainer or muslin bag so you can remove them from the brew more easily. You can make your own blend of mulling spices to go with your intention, magically charging the herbs as you go. Spice blends also make great gifts for people who love mulled cider and mulled wine, packaged up in cute airtight bottles.

Mo’ Money, Mo’ Mullin’ Spice Blend

When it is money and abundance that you need 
This mulling spice will help you succeed
Don’t be greedy, it is only fair 
When you have plenty there is more to share. 

1/2 cup cinnamon sticks, broken into chips
1/4 cup whole cloves
1/4 cup allspice
1/4 cup dried orange peel
1/2 cup candied ginger chopped into pea sized chips.
3 tbsp star anise

Charge each herb for abundant prosperity and to attract cold hard cash. Put the cinnamon sticks, allspice, and cloves in a sealable plastic bag, cover with a towel, and whack it with your rolling pin or a mallet to break them down into chips. Do not powder! Mix all ingredients together and put into cute airtight bottles and give some away to friends.

To mull, put two tablespoons of the blend in a muslin bag or tea strainer. Put this in a half gallon of cider or wine and simmer for a half an hour over low heat.

Have you been extra brave lately? Done and said things that you never thought you would do? Set boundaries and said goodbye to the old and hello to the new? If you have, then congratulations to you! If you are on the verge of making big changes on the inside, outside or both, then I wish you the best of luck on your path ahead. However, today we are going to look at some things that the planets might hint about right now. Things that are good to take into consideration when you are in these changes. Are you ready? Here we go…

The wrath of heaven in the Principles office

Right now the sun is in Virgo (cleverness, planning, sharpness) and in a grand  Earth trine to Uranus (rebellion, quick change) in Taurus and Jupiter (expansion)  in Capricorn. This gives us all more power to move things forward. Make earthly and tangible changes. Perhaps moving to a new home, start working on a healthier body, or manifesting who we truly are on the earth plane. All good and self- empowering. Nothing wrong with that. However even if a grand trine is considered to be a beneficial pattern, things may get a bit crazy, because both Uranus and Jupiter are more of heavenly nature, and when they get down to earth (Virgo, Capricorn, Taurus) they can get quite unstoppable once the energy is moving, and act out in a way that you did not intend or predict.

As natural witches and magickal people we probably have access to more energy than other people, as a trained  or experienced witch you most certainly do. And under these current planetary circumstances we may need to be aware about the power of the forces that we are able to tune into and take responsibility over how we use it.

Example: Let’s say that your kid in school is being treated bad by another kid and you go and talk to the Principle at the school, but you don’t get any response. With these astrological placements in heaven right now, you may find yourself getting really, really upset and start calling down the “wrath of heaven” upon the principle and the “stupid” kid and you unleash some very highly charged energies. When normally… a “spell for truth and understanding in the situation” would have done the job.

I would even stretch it so far to say that a lighter touch than usual with the wand will do the job at this moment. If you have the possibility of doing a reading before you cast your spell it is advisable. Practicing instant magick while being upset is never a good idea (because it can take an unexpected turn) , and lesser so now with Uranus and Jupiter flirting with us, ready to charge everything earthly up many levels with high voltage.

If there is an earthly (money, health, security etc) blockage that you have been working on removing for a long time, Now can be the time to give it a really good push with these intensified high voltage energies and break that barrier. Don’t  forget to consult an Oracle before, like we talked about!

The grand trine is at its peak right now and will end around the 10th of September. Jupiter will continue to trine the Sun until around the 16th of September. (Very good for success work and believing in yourself.) And Jupiter will trine Uranus all until the end of September.

My way, or another way?

Right now we have the asteroid Juno in the sign of Libra (justice, relationships, balance) and there she is working both very hard and very intense. Juno influences many things, relationships, starts and endings of different phases in our lives. Many times when we feel “I’ve had enough of this!” Juno is involved in one way or another. Also when we feel “I have changed so much that it’s no way that I can go back to what was before” she is also usually involved.

Juno is right now in opposition (challenging aspect) to Mars (willpower, anger) in Aries (more power and fire) This makes Juno more pushing and becoming somewhat aggressive. This means that we have a tendency to end things and relationships in an aggressive way. And to add some mysteries to it all, Lillith Black Moon is right next to mars, making it very hard for us to see what is going on.

The good news in this is that there could be another way of solving things, that might even have a hidden blessing in it.

Example: Tony owns an Italian Restaurant that is going very well and he has many regular customers. The last two years he has fallen in love with raw food, and he loves it. But the regular customers in the restaurant are not equally enthusiastic. The problem is that Tony does not want to work with meat anymore, it kills his soul he describes, and if the customer can’t follow his new path, then so be it. They can eat somewhere else, right? The situation seems blocked. But , instead of being angry and throwing away all the work and good reputation that he and his family has worked so hard for,  what about opening another restaurant with only raw food instead? Have two restaurants and double the sales?

If you find yourself being blocked right now, pressured between the old you and the new you, take a deep breath and think about it a bit before cutting everything from the old away. Perhaps there is another way? If you are tired of your old Instagram account, you could create another one  and see how that feels, before killing off the old account. You could end up with two different kinds of followers and accounts, both very loyal though being different from each other.

If for example you are an established writer you could write under a pseudonym and explore a new way of writing without the danger of loosing your old readers. The theme is to be careful with what you cut away, because you might be cutting away a very potent and rewarding branch of your tree, and you can´t see it because Lillith black moon is covering the vision, and mars is too fast and too aggressive.

Things that can not be undone

Juno, Mars and Lillith Black Moon are also in a T- Square to Saturn (manifestation) in Capricorn (long time) and that makes things more permanent. That means that the changes that you do become more permanent and if you don´t like the results, you may not be able to make it undone. If you are planning on doing permanent physical changes like a tattoo or plastic surgery, I would recommend being extra cautious right now and to do really good research before the procedure.

Juno is in opposition to Mars and Lillith Black Moon until the beginning of October. Lillith Black moon is in a square to Saturn until the beginning of November.

If you are making big changes right now or planning to do so, I would really recommend to have someone do a Tarot or Psychic reading for you. Or have an astrologer look at how these planets influence your natal chart. In either case, proceed carefully and don’t make your decisions too fast. In Sweden we say “Sov på saken” / Sleep on it. That could save you a lot of Money and regrets, and help you to reach the highest potential in harvesting the fruits of your labour.

Blessings! / Karin Spirit Talker Turtle Red

Karin Ugander (Spirit Talker Turtle Red) is a spiritual channeler living in the south of Sweden. In Scandinavia she is known for the AstroNumerology and psychic readings she’s been doing for over 20 years. Together with her husband Niklas, she runs KaniSkolan, a school of astrology, numerology, tarot, StarCode Healing, and natural medicine. They are also the founders of Alven Inner Ring tradition, a Scandinavian mystery school with roots in shamanism and magick. Karin loves to create magickal oils, flower essences and sigils she combines in her “Karin Victoria” sigil candles and flower sprays. In her spare time she likes to travel, walk in the forest with her dog, and spend time by the ocean. Karin is a high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program.

You can find Karin Ugander at Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial

Our volunteer spotlight for the month of Virgo ministry is David Erwin. David is a Witchcraft Five graduate and runs the ministry’s Healing Case Study Group. He took over the running of the group from its founder, Stevie Grant, a year ago. David had big shoes to fill, but that did not stop him. We in the Virgo ministry are intensely proud of him. The amount of work it takes to gather prospects for healing case studies, manage members of the group, and keep it on a time schedule from moon to moon is a lot. Aside from his work in the Temple, David owns his own business, Annam Cara, and works in the medical field. His work ethic, diplomacy, and sarcastic humor are so very much appreciated!

by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle

I’ve been giving some thought to the different tracks or stages in our spiritual exploration and development. We often think of this process as searching for and finding “it”—whatever “it” is—but after reading two different and completely unrelated posts, my mind in spinning in new directions.

One Twitter post by @LiminalEarth was on cryptids as spiritual entities, which led me to ponder how differences in such phenomena are perhaps simply different stages in certain creature evolutions. Who would guess the butterfly would come from the caterpillar unless you saw it or knew it? The other inspiration came from observing a post from a passing acquaintance vehemently doing what folks are calling “spiritual gatekeeping” these days.

While I don’t think it’s a linear spiritual evolution with one universal end goal in mind that fits everyone—as we each start in different places and end, due to the shortness of life, in different places—there do seem to be common themes many people go through. Some seem to go in the reverse order of others, but the themes persist.

We go through periods of philosophizing about things, and then actually putting them into action with some sort of practice. We go through various stages of optimism, pessimism, and even nihilism, as we explore concepts of dualism, holism, and multiplicity.

Experiences can form the hard rules of Dogma or the soft rules of custom and tradition, and for many, the non-rules of the mystical experience and a level of spiritual anarchism.

Our educational mode can move through stages of learning and reading everything, to regurgitating everything we have read and heard, often with little understanding and great authority. We can know nothing and not know it, or no nothing and know we know nothing. Or we can think we know everything, and all evidence to the contrary does not penetrate. Our teacup is too full. Nothing new can go into it.

Some put books down, for a while or for good, and pursue direct experiences. Eventually we must synthesize all this knowledge into our own path, regardless of the groups and traditions we already belong to.

We go through various phases of spiritual control, at times seeking to control others and control situations, at others learning to control ourselves and our reactions. We work alone. We work in groups. We lead groups. We leave groups and work alone again.

The stages of control teach us about power, exerting power, and inherent power, and how those who exert the most strongly are often the least in touch with inner power. We learn when to surrender and went to act. Some only learn to express power against, in rebellion, a flip side to the “power over” dynamic. Some learn power with, and others only learn power alone.

We explore wounding, and we often unconsciously, though sometimes consciously, end up wounding others in trying to understand our own wounds. We recognize our wounds and hopefully go through stages of healing those wounds and healing again.

We do all this doing, and end up in a place of being, where we are still doing, but with a better recognition of the being doing the doing.

by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle

As part of my journey, I got deeply involved with the lightworker paradigm as found in the modern New Age movement. While a crossroads for many esoteric paths—including holistic health, flower essences, yoga, crystals, channeling, and angels—its deeper underpinnings are rooted in Theosophy.

One of the hallmarks of the work is the emphasis on light and love as not just virtues but tangible energies sent by the practitioner. They were ultimately the solution to all problems. Sick—send light and love. World crisis—send light and love. Dangerous conflict—surround yourself in light and love. Send them light and love, and all will be well. And it will. Eventually. Depending on your definition of “well.”

One teacher emphasized a shift in our wards and protection shields. I was taught never to return malicious harm for harm (something I still agree with) and to instead send love back to the sender of the harm, with the idea that true unconditional love would ultimately change the bad behavior. I found it effective, felt good about it, and taught others.

Then, as I grew more well known, I encountered some truly toxic personalities. You don’t have to be famous to have this happen, but since I had been blessed with a relatively healthy family and circle of friends, I had been mostly unexposed to such noxious people. What I noticed was that my pre-programmed and then conscious efforts of sending love and light seemed to only encourage them:

• Do something horribly wrong.
• Receive a blast of love.
• This must be my reward.
• I feel good about what I’ve done.
• I’m justified by feeling so good.
• It’s affirming.

I was reinforcing their bad behavior with loving energy while trying to maintain what I thought were compassionate boundaries. I was exhausted and ineffective.

Occultists have the four primal “L-words” for the elements. Light and Love are half. They stand for fire and water. There are also Life for air and Law for Earth, though the teachings of Aleister Crowley often replace Law with Liberty. I use Liberty for spirit, having five L-words. Light and love alone can be imbalanced.

In the Temple of Witchcraft, we pay the virtue of love with will and wisdom. Wisdom balances the sentiment of love and the action of will, which is more than simple willful desire; it is also true soul purpose. Love is not sentimental love alone, but also unconditional love. Wisdom is not just knowledge, but the understanding of how to apply knowledge in true will and unconditional love. They are fundamental forces to us.

Now when I charge my shield, I reflect love, will, and wisdom to the source of the harm. Rather than offering a feel-good move, I send out awareness of the soul’s purpose and the harm they are doing. May the recipient grow and choose wiser actions in the future.

Since then I have noticed a shift, at least in me. I feel I can more effectively hold compassionate boundaries for myself and others, energetically, verbally, and physically.

by Christopher Penczak

The Temple of Witchcraft is not a coven-based tradition, yet we identify as Witches, a concept that mystifies many people. We teach through an academic model, but encourage personal exploration of magickal partnerships, working groups, and covens, but not for teaching, where the social and spiritual roles can get messy and boundaries blurred.

A wonderful friend and mentor, Deborah Bourbon, taught me that magick is like music and you start in your bedroom alone jamming to the classics. You might join a band, a coven, and think it’s for life. You might do it several times and then you gain enough experience to be akin to a session musician, skilled enough for jamming with other peers on their projects and inviting others to help you with yours. Experience and peer-ship gives you freedom and latitude.

Today it’s both easier and harder to find and form circles, covens, and magickal working groups. Since a lot of folks form them with no previous experience it can be hard to pass on methods that work, but sometime those who do pass on methods calcify in thinking their methods are the only ones that work.

One of the methods of group dynamic education we offer is a class embodying a working group for the turn of a year. People commit to specific roles in the group for the year and the magic is of a visionary and interpersonal nature, for the good of the community or greater world, not spells for individual needs and desires. The work evolves the individual and the group and reverberates in the community.

Dawn speaks of these changes: “The most profound thing for me is that it changes your magick and your energy. When you are holding a role for the Pilgrimage it permeates your life in ways that you are not expecting…it helps you to love more deeply, it helps you to hone your magickal focus more clearly, it tests the truth of your will. When you are working the group magick it helps you to see beyond your own life and into a big picture and the big picture comes into your life in a myriad of ways. For example, I have a tendency to be very fast and sometimes loose with my words. When I was the Keeper of Air, I realized how much power is in words. I learned to control my spoken words and I had deeper thoughts than I did before. I have learned so much from the experience and I hope I will be able to work group magick like it again soon.”

Scott found, “The path of this magick was an opportunity to take what I do as a witch to another level. I found myself challenged to be vulnerable and open in new ways, in a new online format. I was transformed as I was guided by the Spirit of the office that was divined for me. The Pilgrim’s path was a work challenge, and I sometimes struggled, but always revealed at the result as each participant created with me, a ritual of the season. “

Named The Pilgrimage of the Sun and Stars, giving a nod to the visionary Pilgrim’s Progress and the idea of pilgrimage as traveling to some sacred place difficult to reach, we use the astrological models of the Wheel of the Year, the movements of the Sun and Stars in relationship with the Earth, to guide us.

The team of the working group is traditionally twelve members with one or two more taking the role of Magister as teacher, guide, and master of ceremonies. Roles include:

• Bearer of Earth
• Bearer of Fire
• Bearer of Air
• Bearer of Water
• Priest of the Lord of Animals
• Priest of the Lord of the Land
• Priestess of the Lady of White
• Priestess of the Lady of Red
• Priestess of the Lady of Black
• Sovereign
• Seer
• Sorcerer

Some roles are gendered and some are neutral and sometimes the priests and priestesses roles are reversed, with Priestesses of the Lords and Priests of the Ladies.

“I served as the Lord of Animals,” Scott says. “I watched the shift of dark to light. I embodied the Horned God on the Wheel. I stood in the shadow of changes. After I got over my initial hesitation and worked deeper with that Spirits, the creativity opened. Seeing how I can contribute to the Wheel, to the Soul of the work, was heart-opening, and humbling. With our collective vision, through my intention and the operating office, we each wove a thread into the tapestry of the year-long magickal vision.”

Steve shares his experience in the practice of the group: “There are certain practices in life where you, like me, may experience resistance. Take exercise, for example. I often approach the notion of exercising by having to coddle the child-like “Ugh…I don’t wanna!” of my lower-self but, almost invariably, I feel better after the experience, know I’ve done something positive for myself, and am glad I overcame my own resistance. I find this even easier to do when I have a workout buddy to help encourage me. That’s also often my experience with the practice of ritual: I sigh, I procrastinate, but when called upon to step up and be responsible to a circle of fellow Witches, I do what needs doing … and then magick happens, and I always find myself grateful for the path, the practice, and those sharing the journey with me. Being a Pilgrim of the Sun and Stars has allowed me to give the gift of this practice to myself, and to my fellow Witches, and to receive it from them in return.”

Embodying the shift from the personal to the interpersonal, Chris describes this process for himself. “I’ve had the pleasure of holding multiple roles in the Pilgrimage, and there’s plenty which could be said about how they have developed me as a witch and participant of the Wheel. The greater value of each, though, has been both simpler and harder to describe: what happens when magick stops being about your self and the focus instead turns to what you’re bringing out for others, and ultimately the world. And understanding that that is the true heart of what we do.”

Jason, who has also held multiple roles, shared with us: “This is a very profound experience to be a part of. When you take on the roles, you begin to see and feel them in your everyday life. Having been involved in this group for three years and seeing the world through the eyes of the roles, each year, my experience and daily life revolved differently around each of the roles.”

We have sought to expand the work of the Pilgrims from the first year experiment in-person to an online group that gathers via the astral and guided journey together, preparing the “script” recording together. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, both the in-person and online groups have been gathering online to continue this work.

Speaking on the alchemy of a group of relative strangers getting together for such intense work, online no less, Marian shares her experience. “My first thoughts after the initial online meeting was ‘how the hell are we going to pull this off?’ It seemed an impossible task and I have to admit I was anxious about being a part of it. As the fire keeper, my job was to inspire this group of people I barely knew. I had so many questions, like how do I convey inspiration online?  The idea was so foreign to me. But as the year progressed it became crystal clear what our mission was as a group, and how imperative our job was for the future of witches crossing this earthly plane. Soon my thoughts steered away from my own fears and focused on my community. I am forever grateful for being a part of  this pilgrimage.”

These Witches gather first impressions in the meeting and then deepen the experiences on their own. Together they create an intricate web of relationship between each other and the entities and powers they are mediating for the group.

My hope is that as more of our teachers experience this dynamic, eventually, more in-person groups will be offered once it is safe to do so, to show new ways of groups working together in magick and community. Alfred sums it up well for us all, “The Pilgrimage made the mysteries of the Goddess and God come alive, again, for me. Turning the Wheel and being intimately connected with their dance through the seasons rekindled magick I thought dormant or disconnected. If one does the work, one knows and is blessed for it.”

Interested Temple initiates and graduates of Witchcraft II or higher should visit the Pilgrims of the Sun and Stars page for additional information and the application for the currently-forming new working group.

During the month of Leo, we would like to thank Nikki Valliere for her service in the New England Temple of Witchcraft community. In 2016, Nikki joined our wonderful group of musicians and has provided drumming, percussion, and vocals for our sabbats and workshops ever since.

Shortly thereafter, she began volunteering for the Cancer Ministry. What began with the creation of crafting projects for the children’s sabbats evolved into the longer term work of guiding the next generation of witches through ritual, lessons, and seasonally-based crafting. Over the years, our little witchlings have created talismans, beaded window crystals, simple percussive instruments, and herb-infused oils. Nikki also supports the Shawl Ministry, weaving shawls for community members in times of celebration, grief, and healing.

For the past three years, Nikki has coordinated children’s activities for TempleFest. She develops crafting projects for Family Day based on the ages of children in attendance, ensuring that everyone has fun, engaging, and age-appropriate projects. She also assists in the arduous work of pre-event set up and post-event take down. With TempleFest being held virtually this year, Nikki has come up with projects that can be done with basic supplies at home. She’s also providing printable templates for these virtual projects.

We’re so grateful for all of Nikki’s creative work, as she inspires both children and adults to embrace the art and craft of witchcraft.

by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle

Do you think more magick is being done now than in any other time in history? While our modern society can be considered secular, the growth of the population as a whole and the availability of resources—including popular books and now the internet combined with many magickal techniques being reframed as self-help and personal transformation—could result in an increase in magick. Or perhaps I’m low-balling ancient populations steeped in daily folk magick or even the ubiquitousness of magick in more recent Christian times. I don’t honestly know. But I think about it a lot.

My family had divination and Italian Catholic folk magick, but their usage wasn’t an everyday thing. It was either for “fun” or in emergencies. My relatives had a divinely inspired worldview, one of God and saints being directly involved in life, but it wasn’t a particularly magickal one. Nothing was rooted in the land, or even the ancestors.

Perhaps there is an illusion on social media of more people doing magick when really there are simply more people talking about magick and posting pretty photos. Perhaps it’s all flash and very little bang.

But I do think there has been a huge upswing in magick from, say, the 1940s to now, at least in the US. I would normally think that is great—a sign of the Aquarian Age with each individual stepping into their power and creating their life, making magick accessible to all—but last night’s 3 a.m. deep thoughts had me wondering about that assessment. What is our collective psychic landscape looking like with all that magick flying around? What is it doing to the collective consciousness?

There’s more magick, yes, but less training. Combine that with a tendency to take off the ethical training wheels before learning the consequences of our actions and you get more magick, yes, but also more curses. And while some are for justice, many are for petty reasons cast in anger or jealousy. And while our collective landscape has always had anger, jealousy, malice, and injustice, magick ritual carries more voltage than the average person’s daily thoughts.

Perhaps there are also more collective prayer requests focused on specific actions and times; these are most often Christian, due to “prayer warriors” being coordinated online, but also include group healing via Reiki and the like, which operate on a similar framework. Are they not also a form of magick as they cause change? Are they of the same voltage as a small prayer circle gathered in a church with a prayer list? I don’t know. But they do contribute to the churning energies.

While I think magick comes from your enchanted worldview and how you live your life, and I believe in magick permeating the everyday, bigger acts of magick have a true voltage. It’s hard to carry. In times past, our insulation was temple living, oriented to the sacred technologies and supported by community, protected by the solitude of the forest hedge or mountain cave. When we don’t take breaks from big magick, we burn out, imbalance our endocrine system, and short-circuit our energy networks. We can literally go mad as our magickal wires fry and our vessel cracks.

I look to our collective world and wonder if the level of bigger and more globally connected magick—often created in haphazard and selfish ways unrooted in egregore, tradition, or the ancestors—is doing good or causing harm?

Collectively there is a lot of talk about self-care (for many reasons in our modern society), but self-care is also a key to healing from magickal overload and burnout. On a personal level, I wonder about the intense attention and energy directed at individuals via social media. I think a point of success and failure with many modern film, TV, and musical stars (as well as politicians) is the intense energy, both good and bad, directed at them. Love, adoration, obsession, jealousy, and anger have a real voltage, even from ordinary people. That mechanic is now repeated on multiple small scales via social media, both for influencers and ordinary people who unwittingly go “viral.”

Now we have a generation of magickal social media stars, the next crop of what was once referred to as the Big Name Pagans, or BNP. The difference today with all of us is the continual stream of daily and weekly status updates instead of the occasional event, interview, or new book release from the relatively small group of BNP. Couple that with a magickal community with access to more technique, often less training and ethics, and a greater willingness to curse for smaller reasons, and you have a dangerous mix. When I see many social-media-savvy influencers and big names post some accomplishments or a controversial opinion and then post how they are repeatedly sick, it’s easy to think there is some malefica going on against them, be it a conscious curse or unconscious lashing out. Previous generations of Witches would never announce they were sick or traveling publicly until they were better or had arrived. Keeping such information close was a commonsense magickal precaution. No wonder experienced magickal practitioners are often aghast to see the new generation announce everything and then seem bewildered by their obstacles. Their past “fights” were in the slow-print pagan publications, the letter columns, and the community responses. The constant personal content whips up people, including the magickally inclined audience, filling the ethers more than ever before. Newer public figures deal with more of a public energetic response, good and bad, than ever before. Some may make you stronger, but not always.

While my future hopeful vision is a secular Aquarian world with freedom and support for all spiritual paths, I see magick being a huge part of that, at least for me. I think whatever our collective path, for survival and/or self-development, we will be using magick. Perhaps a time of more chaotic and random magick being thrown around now is part of that future’s growing pains.