Article

by Erica Sittler

Currently, there are five or so active altars in my home. Four of them are permanent and one of them is temporary in honor of the time in place on the Wheel of the Year.

You may think that these altars are massive sprawling things that each take up multiple square feet, you might be surprised and miss them entirely if you came into my home.

My oldest altar that I have maintained for almost 30 years is more of what you’d expect in a traditional altar. It holds a prominent sacred place of honor in the center of my home: my kitchen. Visible to all who enter and all who entertain it is what started off as a purely Christian altar with icons and a stained glass hanging votive holder. It has slowly evolved into a truer reflection of our blended religious family of witch and Jesus folk. There a cauldron there stuffed full of found feathers and stalks, intermingled with holy palms and woven crosses, including a St Bridget cross from rushes from Bree’s holy well in Ireland. There are also wondrous things like a fossil, a tiny baby snake that frizzled instantly on the asphalt last week, random bones, some lovely crystals and flower pods and oddities that you might normally expect to find in a 10th grade science classroom.

And I supposed some of our none-the-wiser friends suppose that I am the eccentric wannabe science teacher. After all, I once carried a dead squirrel by its tail halfway through the neighborhood, in the middle of the day, just so my children could get a closer look at squirrels  and their lovely whiskers and tiny claws. The children were mortified. I left the squirrel by the base of a tall pine tree nearby and covered him gently with pine straw, undeterred in my wanderings, despite their dismay.

My home altar is simply a brass ashtray. Simple, lovely, compact. It rests on my mantle most of the week, but drops down to its hearthstone each Sunday as I bless it and the home it embodies.

I consider my Temple Treasure Vessel an altar. It connects me to the community at large and is simple a copper cup, the kind you’d serve mulled wine in. Yet out it comes and each time I pull it from its hidden niche and whisper to it, my heart is made all the happier because I am part of something bigger than myself.

There’s the festive altar, which is actually a fancy pewter salad plate shaped like a Celtic 4-leaf clover. It is just the right size for a tea light, a tiny vase for flowers, a ritual offering and a tiny dish for incense. This altar will disappear in a few days time… and is easily missed if you don’t know what you are looking for.

Another altar is in my bathroom and consists of only two things: a small statue of Hecate and some beads made with rattlesnake bones and such. I find I am more apt to say my mantra there than anywhere else in the house. No one sees that nor knows it is a sacred space.

Then there is Wart and Drake. These are simply plants on my front porch. To me though they are altars… their pots contain spirit links to the plant kingdom and they both have special things added to their containers to bless and honor them. Drake is of course a mandrake and he has been sleeping for quite some time now.

Ancestor altars on little trays come out on special days….

What is an altar? Elaborate or a simple stone or plant or spring, an altar is a place to focus devotion. A space set apart that rips the veil of time and space. A place to where mundane, magick and divine coexist.

Erica Sittler is a Witch practicing her craft in Mississippi where she is a local, active member of the Temple of Witchcraft. Her magick is in the mundane and in bringing honor and attention to those small things that build a sustainable and adventurous life. She is a Witchcraft I Mystery School student under the instruction of High Priestess Sellena Dear.

Within the Circle our hearts can rest
Under the light of the Goddess we’re blessed

Surrounded by magick we drink in the power
We draw in the sweet and banish the sour

Side by side we practice our craft
Always in peace and never in wrath

Hidden paths of Old are our way
In trust we walk not daring to stray

With honor and glory we serve the divine
Teaching and healing and sharing the signs

Dancing with spirits of ancestors passed
With respect commanding their memories to last

Together we gather with faith in each other
We hold dear our circle sisters and brothers

Throughout the year meeting hand in hand
Becoming one with the Spirit of the Land

The lessons we learn from each other eternal
Blessing to all those who walk in my circle.

— Arcane ShadowBane

Photo by Christopher Penczak,
Edited by Photo Mania

by Christopher Penczak, Edited by Tina Whittle

“Now that’s what I call magic—seein’ all that, dealin’ with all that, and still goin’ on. It’s sittin’ up all night with some poor old man who’s leavin’ the world, taking away such pain as you can, comfortin’ their terror, seein’ ‘em safely on their way…and then cleanin’ ‘em up, layin’ ‘em out, making ‘em neat for the funeral, and helpin’ the weeping widow strip the bed and wash the sheets—which is, let me tell you, no errand for the fainthearted—and stayin’ up the next night to watch over the coffin before the funeral, and then going home and sitting down for five minutes before some shouting angry man comes bangin’ on your door ‘cuz his wife’s havin’ difficulty givin’ birth to their first child and the midwife’s at her wits’ end and then getting up and fetching your bag and going out again…We all do that, in our own way, and she does it better’n me, if I was to put my hand on my heart. That is the root and heart and soul and center of witchcraft, that is. The soul and center!”—Granny Weatherwax in A Hat Full of Sky by Terry Pratchett.

This is one of my favorite quotes of all time, for Witchcraft and for life. I refer to it often. We can easily forget about the most fundamental work of the Witch, but this is it. I was reminded of it as a friend and fellow Witch crossed the veil and the physical distance was between us, but still we overcame. Though I have had more firsthand experiences with death than with birth, I’ve been involved in a number of struggles for folks trying to get pregnant and start a family. I’ve been there for the hospital visits, the vigils awaiting news of life or death, and more than once, occasions when the police needed to be called. It’s not the glamorous life people hold in their mind of a successful Witchcraft author. The writing is really only a tiny part of it. People often are envious of what they perceive the life is like, and while I love my life for many reasons, there is a whole side of it most give no thought to.

Yes, much of my aid falls in the area is seeing clients for readings and formal consultations. Yet much of it is in pastoral care, the points in-between the formal and informal moments where uncontrollable crisis tends to happen. It’s the emergency call on your one day off when all the memes about self-care and boundaries would tell you not to take it, yet the Witch heart knows it simply is what is happening and where you need to be in that moment and show up.

While I do find beauty is a magickal virtue, we can get caught up in the aesthetic of magick. We can get caught up in the stuff. We can get caught up in the history and theories. I certainly do. And we can get caught up in the unnecessary politics. This is not true politics—which is “of the polis,” of the community and people in need—but the Witch wars and now flame wars and tweet storms of who is wrong or right in social media, which Witch is legit or not. Yet that is missing the “root and heart and soul and center of witchcraft.”

While we have quick answers for the general public (who can easily misunderstand us) to the question “What is Witchcraft?” I don’t think we can ever answer it to my satisfaction, or all our satisfactions. It’s a mystery of experience. But I do know it has something to do with stewardship, with care, and with the well-being of individuals, communities, and the relations of them with the land and spirits. It’s consciously participating in the interconnection and interdependence and aiding the greatest good. I say it’s a science, art, and religion, but it’s more than the sum of the three. It’s also about stewardship and responsibility. It’s about the Fate of Fate, Ananke, Greek for “Necessity,” both the goddess and the concept, for fate is doing what is necessary.

I struggle with the pastoral nature of my work, but have embraced the priestly nature and consider myself one of the priesthood in the great cosmic sense. The act of creating and supporting public Pagan and Witchcraft institutions is a struggle for me, as I’m chaotic in my relationship to authority—even my own—and prefer to work outside of imposed structures. Yet it would also be nice for those who embody many layers in their community, particularly as clergy, to have similar safety nets as other clergy. My work in establishing an order, a steward of resources as a nonprofit, is to help prevent my successors from starting from scratch and having the same struggles I have had (even though this goal might not happen in my lifetime). Their struggles should be different and not the struggle to offer pastoral and magickal support and still pay the mortgage. Otherwise I wouldn’t be caught organizing very often. If we can do it without losing the Magick, it will be a worthy goal to fulfill.

If you are a Witch—and we all have a little bit of Witch in us—engage with people, the land, and the mysteries. Get your hands dirty. Make yourself available for being present at death. Or at birth. Or at crisis. That doesn’t mean you should do it with no idea how. Someone will always do it “better’n” you, so appreciate, train, and learn from wise ones, but realize the practice of the Craft is in the engagement of life, the alleviating of suffering, and the simple pleasures. It’s not just the big rituals and fancy spells, though I love them too. We handle all the complexity of big rituals and esoteric philosophy so when we have to sit in a hospital room, we come with such skill to keep many different processes and patterns going within us—the person in the bed, the energy, the family, the staff. Because if we have ritually called a horde of goblins before, then the hospital staff should be less challenging. And in the Egyptian traditions, Heka, or Magick, is a gift from the gods to help ward the cruel blows of fate. For many, you’ll be their gateway to Magick, at least at first.

Put your hand to your heart and silently serve life, and death, all things in between. Truly embody by your action the process of being a small part of something greater. Get to know others in the community you serve. Get your hands dirty and do what is necessary. There you will find the root, heart, center and soul of Witchcraft.

by Claire DuNord

Blessed Be, Broom Closet Witches, and Welcome Back! Mabon, the second harvest celebration on the Wheel of the Year, is upon us, and this time fruits and the “gift of the vine” take center stage. We also contemplate and celebrate the Fall Equinox. Claire du Nord here, a High Priestess in the Temple of Witchcraft tradition, with the twelfth article in our “For Broom Closet Witches” series.

At Harvest Time, the word “abundance” comes to mind. As I thought about abundance, I looked around my tiny apartment and saw that what I have an abundance of are altars and things that have found their place on them, for many reasons, each with its own significance. I sure do have a lot of little things! I also realized that I really love creating altars, or as may be a more fitting word in some instances – displays! For the Broom Closet Witch, if circumstances necessitate, a dining room table can function very nicely as an altar, and no one need be any the wiser.

I found most of my “little things” at thrift stores. They are my favorite shopping destinations, as you never know what you might find, and at awesome prices! For instance, I found the three matching tables that function as my Elemental/Ancestral altars for just a dollar each at a thrift store!

In Articles numbers 1, 2, and 3, we saw how the most mundane of objects could function as altar tools. I also spoke about some of the objects on my altar(s) in Article #6. For this article, I thought it might be more helpful, (and maybe more fun!) to show you. So, here are some photos of the various altars/displays I have in my little apartment. I hope you enjoy them and maybe get some ideas of some things you might incorporate into your own altars/displays/table settings.

Fire Altar

Elemental/Ancestral Altar

Romani Ancestral Altar

Saami/Sami Ancestral Bulletin Board Altar

I hope this article has been helpful, and until next time – Merry Meet, Merry Part, and Merry Meet again!

Mabon Blessings,
Claire du Nord

by Erica Sittler

We were sitting there, enjoying our midday meal together. Suddenly, my daughter pulls out a sheet of folded notebook paper and asks, “May I ask you seven questions?”

That is music to any parent’s ears: a teenager wanting to ask questions? Seven questions to be precise! We go through her thoughtful list, each geared about me and her from the perspective of memory.

Questions like: “What’s your favorite memory that has me in it and why?” (That time I took you and your brothers on that 5,000-mile road trip.) Each question went a little deeper than the one before it. We laughed and went down a few rabbit holes as I carefully tried to explain the nuances of my answer when she asked, “What would your greatest wish for me be?”

As a witch, and a level 1 student in the TOW Mystery School, I have to pause for a moment. Now I more fully realize ALL my words matter, not just the ones I think are spells. The cosmos and my child are listening to my response. Too trite, too restrictive… there are so many ways to flub up such an answer and then I’d be acting like a human flyswatter neutralizing what I had just glibly blurted out.

Awkward behavior best avoided.

Nanoseconds that felt like hours later, I replied in a halting manner, like someone reciting a secret pass phrase, “That you are allowed the grace to grow, in every way, into the good human you were put on this planet to be.” My daughter nods, affirming that was a good answer. Flyswatter averted. These questions are not for the faint of heart!

Finally, it is the last question and she warns me it’s a doozie, “What do you want me to remember about you when you die?” I stare at her a moment and say softly, “Remember that I love you, and remember that I will still be accessible to you.”

Tears are slowly making their way down my face. A glass of fragrant, cut basil becomes my focal point as I try to compose myself. “Why are you crying?” she asks to which I reply damp-faced, “Because the fragility of being a mortal is both its absolute best and despairingly worst quality!”

None of us wants to face death, yet face it we must. Prepare for it, as best we can. Death adds the sharp edge and zest to this present moment’s living. We are after all immortals housed in mortality. It is the divine gift of being of the Earth.”

Today, I was obliviously eating an ordinary lunch of almonds, cheese, and buttered toast smathered with orange marmalade. Somehow, a magickal space was created from which the shared gift of an engaging conversation came forward.

A rarity, yet complete with laughter, tears, family lore, shared memories, and a lesson on how to be remembered. My wish for you today is that you also experience some magickal conversations tucked in and hidden around in the most mundane of places. Kiddos not required.

Erica Sittler is a Witch practicing her craft in Mississippi where she is a local, active member of the Temple of Witchcraft. Her magick is in the mundane and in bringing honor and attention to those small things that build a sustainable and adventurous life. She is a Witchcraft I Mystery School student under the instruction of High Priestess Sellena Dear.

We are moving into a time with outer planets in retrograde and for some that can create a feeling of being stuck or that things are moving exceptionally slow. But, we still have friends in the personal planets that are free to help us. We just have to change perspective and perhaps work in a different way with our magick and how we work with our projects. So, let’s grab a cup of coffee or tea and see how we can connect and still get things done this period.

It’s not about size

I have a friend in the astral world that says: “Size doesn’t matter. It’s about dimension”. If we compare a human to the size of an ant, the human is a giant. But if we compare a human to the size of a mountain, the human is very small. A small elemental being can be small in our dimension, but a giant in another dimension.

On more than one occasion I have had clients in a reading talking about their difficulties talking with their spiritual guides. As we are having the conversation they usually look upwards, reaching out for contact. At the same time they have a elemental or forest being standing at the floor next to them waving with their whole body for contact. Saying, “Hallo, I’m right here!”

The contact and their helping ally is right there. All they have to do is to just look down instead of looking up.

Småfolk och Tomtar

In Sweden and the north we have little helpers called “småfolk” — translated it means “little people”. They help with various things in life and in the home. They like shiny and glittery things. Småfolk many times live in families and collectives. They can help you find things and bring harmony and order in your home.

Usually they are in a good mood, but if you offend them in any way or ignore them they can create chaos in the home and making you forget stuff and misplacing your things. My great-grandmother taught me and my sister that if we needed to pee in the woods we needed to warn the little people before we peed by saying to the ground: “move away, move away, move away”. Otherwise it could burn the little people and upset them.

Perhaps the most famous helper is “Hustomten” or just “Tomten”. He is a mythological being from Nordic folklore, most associated with the winter solstice and Christmas. At Julafton (Christmas Eve) it is Jultomten that enters the home and brings Christmas gifts to all children who have behaved well.

But actually Tomten is there the whole year, it’s just that we don’t see him the rest of the year. Tomten is generally described as being short and very strong, having a long beard and wearing a conical or knitted hat (swedish tomteluva) in grey or red and white. I believe that they look a lot like what others would call a garden gnome, but larger. The Swedish Tomten is much larger than Småfolk. In old times Tomten would help out with the farm and the animals. In modern times you find him easiest in the homes out in the country, or if you love animals or are a very creative or magickal person. In Swedish the word tomten can also mean “ a piece of land” , depending on how you pronounce the word.

Planets in Retrograde

Right now we have Mercury (communication), Jupiter (expansion), Saturn (manifestation), Uranus (change) Neptune (intuition) , Pluto (transformation), and Chiron (healing) in retrograde. When a planet goes retrograde their energy becomes more directed inwards, it becomes internalized. That means that a lot is happening on the inside, but not on the outside. This can be very frustrating and all the roads may feel blocked.

What you can do is to work with the faster energies of the personal planets like the Sun, the Moon, Mars, and Venus. You can also work with little helpers like småfok and tomten, gnomes and fairies, to help with everyday life and manifestations. When all the big planes and trains are being cancelled you can still turn to taxis, cars, mopeds, and bicycles. This could be most frustrating for “big people with big plans” and easiest for creative and flexible people.

Pan and the Green World

Pan is a god from ancient Greek religion and mythology. He is strongly connected to the forest, the wild, and the green world. Right now the asteroid Pan is at 22 degrees in Gemini (communication). He is making a good aspect to both Ceres (nourishment, earth goddess) and the South Node (karma, the past) in Libra (communication) Libra is also ruled by Venus (magick, love, passion). Pan also makes a sextile (positive aspect) to Chiron (healing) in Aries. Chiron is a centaur and can help mixing the wild nature inside ourselves and others with the more intellectual ones without loosing power in either of them.

This is a perfect time for connecting with the wild and green world. Work with the green world (Pan, Venus) to help you manifest what you need. Use stones, plants, flower essences, totems from the animal kingdom.

Wisdom from the Past

The goddess asteroid Ceres (nourishment, earth mother) is right next to the South node in Libra (mentioned above). They are making a good aspect (trine) to Vesta (fire, priest and priestess) in Gemini. This can bring wisdom from the past, especially concerning communication and relationships. It can be from the recent past, and it can be from pervious incarnations. It is good to stop for a moment and ask yourself:

• “What have I learned from my relationships lately?”
• “Is there a theme in my relationships that is repeating?”
• “Do I want to run another round in the same loop, or do I want to break the loop?” If yes, then what is my plan for making that change?”

Vesta is also making a good aspect to Saturn (manifestation) in Pisces. That is a good aspect for getting help in manifesting the change that you want.

On the 14th of September, Vesta moves into the sign of Cancer, on the 16th of September, Ceres moves into the sign of Scorpio. But they are still in a good aspect to each other, trine in water, until the 15th of October.

Vesta trines Saturn until the 19th of October.

Projecting Change Onto Your Partners

Right now Venus (love, relationships) has just turned direct again (hurray!) in the sign of Leo and is right next to Juno (marriage, relationships, partnerships). This creates a lot of energy and focus on relationships. They are also making a challenging aspect to Jupiter (expansion) in Taurus. Jupiter is in a retrograde movement making him slower, he is also in Taurus making Jupiter more bound to the earth than he is comfortable with.

There is a danger of people taking their personal frustration, irritation, and longing for change and projecting it on the people around them. This can manifest in the romantic part of life, but also on business partners and colleges.

If you find yourself pushing your partner to change job, make lifestyle changes, or becoming irritated in how slow people are at work or how they live their life, you may need to take a break for a moment and ask yourself what it is really about? Perhaps it is more about you than them?

There´s a fine line in being supportive an inspiring people or being pushy. Everyone has their own pace in making changes, and right now many of us needs to find new strategies to make things happen.

Saturn and Manifesting

Saturn is great at manifesting things. He sometimes has a bad reputation because Saturn is also involved in many life changes and tests. Right now Saturn is in Pisces (art, spirituality). That tells us that Saturn is manifesting psychic and artistic energy. But he is also testing people in that area. Saturn is also in opposition and challenging aspect to Lilith Black Moon in Leo (creativity, uniqueness). Lilith Black Moon makes everything it touches hard to see.

Right now it can be difficult to see how you are manifesting things in your life and if it is going in the right direction? Perhaps you are in the middle of a project and you have no idea how it is actually going to end? This is extra strong if the project is creative or spiritual in nature (Pisces). Many times when Lilith Black Moon is involved it can become something very good, but very different, if we can let go of our need to control things. There can be hidden blessings there in the dark.

Saturn, Lilith Black Moon, and Spells

As witches and magickal people we have the power to take things in our own hands. If we feel injustice has been done or if our projects aren’t working out as expected, we can send energy, do a spell or a ceremony. The tricky thing is that with the constellations mentioned above we can’t see what is really going on.

What first seems to be something bad manifesting in our lives, can actually be the beginning of a change for something better, but very unexpected. Therefore my advise is to be extra careful before you go to magickal action when unexpected things happen. Read the Tarot cards for extra perspective. If you decide to do a spell or send healing on the situation, remember to ask for the highest good outcome.

This is the classical situation when you get fired from the job that you like and a few weeks later you get hired on a job that you love and it pays you even better. Or your partner leaves you unexpected, but it makes you free to find the love of your life a few months later. Instead of focusing on getting your old job or partner back, focus on the best outcome. The Universe may be conspiring for something better in your life it´s just that we can´t read the signs at the moment.

Summary: Many things are going on, but much of it is hidden. With many planets in retrograde a lot of frustration is in the collective. Things takes time and bigger processes are slow. But, we can still do things by working with what is right in front of us. Connecting to the green world, plants, stones, little people and personal allies. A chain of small good things makes a big difference in the end.

Imagine a big greenhouse. Outside of the greenhouse there may be storms, heavy rain or even thunder. But on the inside there can still be activity with spirits and gnomes tending the plants, turning their small lights on and working on manifesting good things.

Retrogrades for the outer planets:

• Jupiter is in retrograde from the 4th of September until 31th of December
• Saturn is in retrograde from the 17th of June until 4th of November
• Uranus is in retrograde from the 29th of Augus until the 27th of January 2024
• Neptune is in retrograde from the 30th of June until the 6th of December 2023
• Pluto is in retrograde from May 1st until the 11th of October
• Chiron is in retrograde from the 23rd of July until the 27th of December

(Dates may differ slightly depending on your time zone)

Blessed Be!
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 an ordained high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program. Her work can be found on Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial and she can be reached at [email protected].

Photo by Engin Akyurt via Pexels

by Christopher Penczak, Edited by Tina Whittle

“My draw to the occult is darker than most,” was recently said to me by someone trying to explain their plan to seek magickal vengeance on someone they believed had wronged them. They had sought me out either to confirm their righteousness or perhaps be talked out of it, as they seemed to really need someone to listen and help them process it. I don’t know if they went through with it, but those words stuck with me.

Many years ago the magickal community went through a response to the perceived “love and light” of public Wicca and conjured what my friends and I affectionately referred to as the Dark Scary Motherfuckers. It started with devotion to the Dark Goddess without the light and then progressed to fascinations with Luciferian gnosis; Trad Craft; compelling, controlling, and cursing forms of American Folk Magick; and a healthy dose of Goetia and the Qlippoth. Often the enchantment was with the outer aesthetic rather than the inner meanings, but at first, more seemed pointed towards those inner meanings. Deeper ideas and less known authors and artists grew in popularity.

Like anything else, the balance tipped, and just as the perception of love and light alone distorted the mysteries of Wicca, the new trends turned to Dark Fluff, with transgression and dark replacing love and light as buzzwords without deeper understanding. And like all things, the community will continue to shift with new trends, progressing through patterns of hard polytheism, bio-regionality, and social justice as well as repeated trends and redefinitions of “shadow work.” Each will bring new wisdoms, and after a time, each will become distorted before there is a new pattern.

Darkness and light, NOX and LVX, are eternal hallmarks to the spiritual path and specifically to the Craft, yet we each understand them differently. My vengeful acquaintance saw darkness as giving voice and action to destructive impulses, justified or not. In our conversation, he was unwilling to really look at the root of what the feeling was, why he was feeling it, when and how the pattern started, or if he was really justified in taking magickal action against someone who wouldn’t know why bad things were happening to them and had simply made the decision to end what wasn’t even an established relationship with any commitments.

To me, being willing to dig into that is true darkness, and bringing the darkness to light. Sitting with those who are in crisis, ill, or dying is facing darkness. Being present to yourself when in crisis, ill, or dying likewise is facing darkness. Darkness is also winter, rest, stillness, and silence alone. Darkness is the realization of something hidden or the absence of something that could be necessary.

The aesthetic of darkness is not really darkness. Flexing power to salve personal wounding is a kind of darkness, but more about perpetuating darkness on others as further harm in the world than truly being conscious of it.

Those who embrace darkness as a spiritual value should really contemplate what darkness is for them currently and notice how it has changed over the years, just as our community changes. When and how are we in good relationship with the dark? When in our darkness have we lost sight of Nox, the deep spirit of darkness on a magickal level?

by Erica Sittler

Storms are rolling through our neck of the woods these days. Full of mighty strength unleashed.

It was during such a storm that our neurotic, elderly dog escaped while my husband slept and while I slowly, yet doggedly, made my way home via delayed flight after delayed flight. When I finally arrived at my doorstep at 1 am, the other pets cheerily came to greet me. No Molly dog. A slight alarm bell in my head, so I cast a shield around her, thinking she was close by and perhaps simply sulking.

4:44 am. Sirens blaring. Strong storms. Winds up to 80 mph expected. Checked on pets. All tucked in safe, except Molly. Now, I was concerned, so began a more thorough search before another storm wracked my town once again. I threw a quick protective shield around my house, a broader one around the neighborhood and a little one, more protective, around Molly. But let’s get really honest here: there was not much energy in me to spare, so it was more the equivalent of glittering gossamer “non stick” surface to help diffuse the situation rather than stop from happening what was about to happen.

I didn’t even have the presence of mind to post on our local community page to ask for help. My first post was to work, letting them know that I wouldn’t be coming in and that my dog was missing. They know Molly, as she has come up to the office multiple times. The next place was the neighbor community page with pictures. The local shelter.

If you’ve ever lost a pet, you know this gut wrenching checking-off of every box while trying to maintain calm versus panic. Molly is tied to my middle son who is 18 years-old and just starting college. I let him know what was transpiring, as the bond that boy and dog share is profound. “We must, above all else, son, maintain the focus that Molly is fine.” I told him, “She is a very smart dog. I am certain she has found an old woman to take her in and now it is just a matter of reconnecting. Focus on that. Or, she is with another young child: a child that needs her comfort now also. Concentrate on that. Know that she too has a job as comforter and she is exactly where she needs to be at this specific moment in time.”

When our priestess later that morning posted a check-in on our local Mississippi Temple page, I posted about our missing dog.

Energy shifted.

Dots began to get connected. Whether it was words of hope or emojis of care, all around me people’s intentions, pagan or otherwise, shifted into a caring and hopeful mode for that little lost dog. Some people were praying. Some were asking their favorite saints or animal guides. Some folks were “merely” sending good vibes and good intentions. One friend, who is rather prone to gloominess, contained himself to telling the dog via the universe, “Dog, please do not be dead.”

And suddenly, the pattern locked into placed and I talked to the woman who had given our dog shelter and I knew beyond a doubt that our dog had been loved and well cared for in our stead.

As a society, we sometimes discount the power of thought in the form of good intentions. Those half wisps of spells or prayers or vibes sent on behalf of another or for another. We might be told sometimes (or tell ourselves sometimes), that good intentions or thoughts is “not enough to matter.” That it is wasted energy.

The truth rather is: it is far from wasteful.

Instead, think of those simplest of thoughts, intentions, and wishes rather like nascent clouds, those wisps of energy that build into an activating force far more powerful than what that singular wisp of energy (thought) was when floating in solitude. Now, it is able to gather with other similar intentions, guided on the winds of focus and now that collective energy is more fully energized and can cover time and space far more quickly than our feet, our cars, and even the internet.

As we are taught in our classes, we are more powerful than we realize and far more powerful as a unit. This applies even when combined with other non-pagan groups who are also joining in that focused intention. This truth was demonstrated to me today. And to my son. And to those in my communities, both neighborhood and Temple.

It’s an old dog. Not a being of deep importance to the world at large. And yet, so much of our life is simply these little moments that pass out of memory both as an individual and a collective, like the wisps of a cloud. We tend to forget these small workings of magick when “what could have been” does not have a tragic ending.

Recognizing and crediting and being grateful to the power of these simple, daily, random acts of mundane magick gives it strength. Adds that simple working to the colllection of stories we can share with each other and build upon as a community. These minor workings help remind us that magick not only is real, but also that it works: here is another example of how. We come to treasure these small acts. When we have our doubts, as happens from time to time, we can look at these collected personal experiences (UPG), and also to the ones, like this one, where we’ve worked our magick as a community as well. And it helps keep us connected to our magick: wisps and all.

Blessed be!

Erica Sittler is a Witch practicing her craft in Mississippi where she is a local, active member of the Temple of Witchcraft. Her magick is in the mundane and in bringing honor and attention to those small things that build a sustainable and adventurous life. She is a Witchcraft I Mystery School student under the instruction of High Priestess Sellena Dear.

Photo by Tom Swinnen from Pexels

by Christopher Penczak, Edited by Tina Whittle

Should Witchcraft, magick, and in fact, any spiritual pursuit be challenging, or should it be easy and accepting? Yes. I think the answer to that depends on where you are and what you are interfacing with in terms of a teaching, a tradition, and a community.

Like all relationships, we can go through a phase of first excitement and intrigue—a courtship! We can also go through a honeymoon phase where everything seems great. But as in any long-term relationship, we find there are bumps in the road of communication and understanding, and also times when we have to both dig deep into ourselves and truly listen to our partner as they reveal more of the depths of themselves to us. And like relationships, some people go from relationship to relationship, tradition or path to tradition or path, and never hit those phases. Some haven’t found the right match yet. That’s fine. Exploration is a part of life, and not everyone should be in a long-term relationship of this kind all the time. But sometimes we have to look and see if the problem we are experiencing in finding the right thing is with us not committing to the process due to our own fears or simply not really knowing how to go deeper into relationship because that was never modeled for us. Most of us come from families without deep spiritual practices by our elders. Those who do are quite lucky, but what they practice might not be what you practice.

I was corresponding with someone interested in taking classes in the Temple of Witchcraft Mystery School, but who wanted to be reassured that he would enjoy it, and listed those authors and classes he enjoyed. His concern was sparked by a friend in the school who said that the classes can be “challenging” and if you take them, you might end up questioning what you already know about spirituality, magick, Witchcraft, and other religions. She said sometimes the teachers might come off a little tough if they don’t like the way something was done. They may question you or not agree with you.

I would say that is very true. To quote a mentor and friend, Raven Grimassi, “A teaching that leaves you unchanged or unchallenged is not worthy.” Often we take classes to affirm what we know, and this degree program isn’t such a program. It’s specifically designed to give the graduate of the five degrees a broad base of occultism/metaphysics, by both exposing and asking you to do a variety of things, and depending on your nature, some of those things will be outside of your comfort zone. The degrees shift between inner and outer work, with the two being joined in the fifth degree. One year will be deeply emotional, but you’ll still have lots of things to learn. The next is deeply intellectual, but with the previous base, you will undergo deep emotional shifts. The ideal is a school of the soul, of initiation.

I liken it to studying anything at a very serious level. I was a musician and song writer, and music school challenged me to listen to different types of music, try different forms of music, learn history I didn’t know, and understand the deeper structure of music theory. I had a hard time with that and often rebelled. Am I a musician without knowing those things? Yes. But learning those things took me to a deeper level of mastery. It’s the same with art, dance, photography—learning the whole body of tradition to then inform where you take it. The ups and downs of it are part of the process.

Anyone who makes a sincere effort and reports clearly on that effort passes the class. We generally don’t evaluate your experience, but we want to get a sense of how it was done and what you experienced. When someone says, “I’ve done it. It was good.” and gives little else, we question them for details. When someone says I’ve done it a million times before and this is what always happens, we will ask, “How did it go this month? What specifically happened this time, and what do you think it means?”

When someone changes all the directions without trying it as written, we ask them to go back and experience the baseline. After the course is over, if you change and adapt it, that is fine, but many people don’t know what the baseline is to then measure their success. If you have never baked, and you decide you don’t like baking soda and take it out of the recipe, and replace the same proportion with chocolate chips, the result won’t be close at all. Try it once or more the way it was suggested, and depending on the exercise or ritual, you’ll then have some experience should you wish to successfully change it.

In the higher levels, we tend to ask a lot of deeper questions in the “what do you think that means?” category. You are not required to answer or share personally on a deep level, but those students who are more engaged are more likely to be accepted to upper levels, and those who do not are less likely, as we can’t give helpful feedback without understanding your experience. At that point we trust you more to follow the directions, since the process is about the engagement, not being perfect. Some students tell us what we want to hear, and in the upper levels, it’s easier to spot that, so we then urge people to go deeper and share more. In the earlier years, a lot of the feedback is simply affirming that the work was done in the proper manner and issuing corrections if it wasn’t or answering technical questions, just like a music teacher might say you used the wrong fingering on playing a piano scale. You might reply, “What does it matter? I played it right,” but when you learn something ten lessons later, the right fingering will make that easier, and the wrong fingering could make it very hard, hence why the material evolved in a certain way, be it music or magick. When you get into serious pieces, your feedback will be more about connection and flow and depth of experience.

Nothing is really hidden, though in the classes you get a lot more detail. So if you like my books, the classes follow the general principles outlined in them. Those have stayed consistent in my 25 years of teaching. The books are more technical (at least the earlier ones are) and the classes are sharing what I would share with my private students before the days of the internet and social media. As a tradition and community, we have specific images, myths, spirits, and forms we work with, while still maintaining an openness. No specific gods or cultures are required, and we encourage people to make their own connections in our framework. While my heart tends towards a Pan-Celtic pantheon, my partner is decidedly more Greek. In public work, we tend to work with the roots of deities—Horned God, Earth Mother, Goddess of Fate, Child of Light—so people can have their own connections.

Some take a class, use the material as they will, and we may or may not see them again after they graduate. Some find a deeper connection in the tradition and community, and that is also welcome, but a student is free to pursue it to the level they wish to with no expectation on our part. Some really commit to the community aspect of things, and others are only interested in education. Some are deeply involved in other communities and come to us to supplement their knowledge and experience. Some are looking for a catalyst to their intuition, to their spiritual growth.

I think of it again like relationships, as our home relationships are different from our work relationships and different from our friendships. We have different needs in different places. We make different commitments. All that is fine if everyone knows the bounds of the relationship. But I’ve found even the most simple relationships can end up being challenging, bringing about opportunities for growth and development.