Wiccan Friend

Just your friendly neighborhood Witch. Thoughts on Wicca, Witchcraft, Tarot, and Paganism today.

Tag Archives: Ritual

Dedication to the Craft of the Wise

Greetings to all.  While I am pounding out the final post in the Knowledge, Wisdom, and Intelligence series I thought I would give a short update of what is going on and talk briefly about dedicating to the path.

You will notice new additions to the Book of Shadows.  I added a Magickal Arts section and have updated the Circle of the Year for Litha.  Overtime I will continue adding to both of those areas to keep them up to date and fresh.

I must say that I am really excited.  Last Saturday my wife and I dedicated into the Rose Hollow Coven.  After going through some classes and learning about the people in the coven we decided that it would be a great place for us to learn and call home.  That being said I feel now that I am going to have to be careful of what I share with this blog.  I want to protect my coven mates their privacy, as well as the secrets of our tradition.  I will however still be sharing ideas that I find helpful and think you might get something out of.  That being said, the dedication was beautiful and meaningful.  It brought me back to my first dedication.  You see I took this most recent dedication as a dedication to be in and a part of Rose Hollow.  I wanted to reaffirm with the God and Goddess that this is my chosen path and that I want to walk that path specifically with these people.

My first dedication was a self-dedication.  I had been studying Wicca and Witchcraft for several months.  Secretly of course because I was living in my parents house at the time.  I was 18 but going to college and working nearby and staying home on the farm made all of that easier and more affordable.  I think it must of been “Uncle Bucky’s” Big blue book that pushed me over the edge.  I realized that if I was going to live a Pagan life that I needed to make it official.  I needed to shed off my old skin, put it behind me, and let the Gods know that I was serious and wanting to affirm myself as Pagan.  I don’t remember exactly when it was, maybe late summer or fall.  I remember I took my athame and headed outside.  I cast a quick circle and remember becoming overwhelmed with feelings.  It had felt so right and everything over the last several months of studying and reading had built up to this moment.  Quietly but with purpose and intensity I addressed my Gods.  “Watch over me Lord and Lady.  I start a new path under your care with joy and humility.  Its me Keagen.”  It was the first time that I had really felt my Craft name and it felt important to introduce myself to the God and Goddess even though I knew that they recognized me.  I cried.  In doing so I was shaking off those ideas and old beliefs that were binding me and holding me back.  I felt lifted and clean.  I hadn’t perform any magickal work before this because I felt that if I were going to follow a religious magickal path that I needed to pay homage to the Lord and Lady before doing so.  And so it was.

I feel this introduction into The Craft is just as valid as any.  I connected with the God and Goddess that night and know one can tell me otherwise.  However when it comes to Wicca I do feel that you should be taught this from a Priest or Priestess of the religion.  That would require induction into a coven or other similar group.  Wicca is a specific religion, with its own mysteries and ways.  It would be foolish to think that you could reveal those to yourself without knowing their source, but that is only my opinion.  What do you think about self-dedication?  What was your first like, or what would you like it to be like?  Do you believe that it is possible to be Wiccan without being brought into the path by another Wiccan?  Answer in the comments below.

Sneezes, New Tarot Spread, Lamb, and the Kitchen Sink

I generally like to keep my postings short, and to the point but this one might be very different.  There is so much I need to catch up on and that I need to get off my chest.  I might come back later and add a Table of contents to help the reader wade through the fluff. I bet if you read my last post you are wondering a couple of things.  Well the answer is yes, or 42.

Actually last weekend was pretty awesome.  I went to an Imbolc ritual held by Rose Hollow coven and it was breathtaking.  It was just so overwhelming to meet so many nice people.  They were all very down to earth and genuine.  We were able to sit down with the members, and seekers before hand and talk about life.  There was laughter and merriment, and a tiny bit of drinking.  It felt comforting to just be myself around other people.  It is a feeling that I am really not use to.  We held ritual which was a first for me.  Not that it was my first ritual, but certainly my first with a coven or group of people.  I wont reveal what was said or even the outline but I will say a couple of things about it.  I went into this very open.  I had all day to prepare and it was constantly on my mind, which I think helped get some nerves out of the way.  For the item I had to bring I decided to take along a Tarot Card.  I choose the Ace of Wands.  It seemed like the best choice since I really wanted to find a symbol that had something to do with my business and creativity.

I still was getting over “first meeting jitters”.  Usually it takes me an awfully long time to open up to people. Sometimes years, which I believe leads to this misunderstanding that I am pretentious or snobbish.  Honestly I am just shy and lack social grace.  I find it hard within a large group to really let go.  It is second nature to me that when I go out into public to really close off psychically, probably for self defense.  I also tend to be a pretty even tempered person.  Meaning I don’t get over excited or under excited, I always try and keep my emotions intact to avoid unraveling when things don’t go my way.  This is a problem during ritual.  I should be happy and let loose.  I  hope that this is something I will be able to overcome as I spend more time with Rose Hollow.  It is ok to laugh and be merry and dance and act super goofy.

I feel good about the night as a whole though.  I know because my body told me so.  Something weird always happens to me when I am raising power.  I has been an indicator to me of when I am raising really large amounts of power.  I have to sneeze.  When I am raising power I have to sneeze.  During the ritual last Sat. I was trying very hard not to sneeze so I am happy that I was able to, even though I was a little uncomfortable, raise a decent amount of energy.  What about the readers?  Do any of you have weird things that happen when you raise energy for spell-work?

I have discovered that I have a sensitivity to Lamb.  The HP had prepared an awesome lamb dish for afterritual.  It was simply stunning but did not set well with me.  It is a problem that I thought I might have so I ate very little, but honestly I have never been in the situation to test.  I have had lamb in the past, and felt bad.  Each time however, I was eating a food that I have never had before so I couldn’t be sure it was the lamb or the other ingredients and preparation of that lamb.  My sincere compliments to the Chef.

So I got a request for a Tarot Reading from someone very close to me.  I wont say much about the reading but you can check it out here.  The reading did bring up a very interesting situation when reading for someone you know well.  Usually I don’t do readings for people who are really close friends or people I know well.  I find it hard if not in the right frame of mind to separate intuition from personal bias.  There are things about the person that you know that may cloud your interpretation.  Although part of me believes that knowing more may lend itself to a better interpretation of the cards.  What do the readers think?  Is knowing someone very well a reason to stay away from reading tarot for them?  What are possible pitfalls to this process?

Check out the Book of Shadows Section which has been updated recently.  I hope to add some more music soon, so stay tuned.

Finally, please send your kind thoughts for me and my wife.  She found out today the she is being laid off.  Her employer, my brother, is not sure that he can afford her anymore so he might have to let her go.  This did not come as good news, although me being the eternal optimist is hoping for the best.  Sweetheart if you are reading this, I love you and will always be here for you.

Blessed Be