Journal of a Novice Witch - Part One
By Earthshine
Now forgive me for saying this but if it had been foretold, when I was
in my early twenties, that when I
reached my forties, my life-path would change and I would be living and
studying the life of a witch, I would have fallen off my chair laughing. Don’t be ridiculous, I would have thought,
witches belong to the world of fiction, films and children’s books like Meg & Mog. I was very narrow minded back then!!
But life events conspired to make me sit up and think about my life,
where I was going and what I wanted to do with it. I started to feel deep within that there was
something I was missing, some path or direction I needed to follow to feel
rooted and whole. I began interacting
more with the natural world; I’d always loved animals and nature so this felt
easy and right. I became interested in complementary therapies and read up on different
therapies and ways to enhance your health and wellbeing in a natural and
holistic way. I went on to train in
Reiki, Crystal Healing and Flower and Vibrational Essence Therapy, working with both people and animals. However, all the while I was studying I had
this feeling that this was leading me somewhere beyond simply being a holistic
therapist.
I felt this desire, or need, or ‘something’ pulling me towards something
as yet unidentified and I found myself buying a few books on paganism. Being a relatively solitary person I found Hedgewitchery
really interesting and bought some books on this too. Although I was drawn to
the naturalness of it, it all looked a bit daunting and the thought of spells, rituals,
athames, chalices and so forth scared me slightly, so the books ended up on my
bookshelf gathering dust, and I ended up joining a local Nichiren Daishonin
Buddhist group. However, despite the
beauty and gentleness of this Buddhist way of life I never felt rooted in it,
it was like I didn’t really belong, like it was spirituality for another
culture, and there was still this pull coming from deep within me, and I found
myself reading my pagan and Hedgewitch books again, and I definitely felt that
this was the right path for me.
And so I left my Buddhist practice and my life as a novice witch began. I started to study and research, drawing on
knowledge from books and the internet. But
there was so much to learn, so much to think about and new ways to think about
things. Where do you begin? How do you know you are doing it right?
Now there are many things involved in the path that are straightforward
and easy to incorporate into your daily life, such as respecting and working
with nature and the natural cycle of things, and I was doing a lot of this
anyway. But then there are Sabbats and
Esbats, and God and Goddesses, so many of them, and many with names I couldn’t
pronounce (and am still learning); there are spells and rituals and casting and
closing a circle, now that was scary, what if I cast a circle and let the wrong
energy in, or I didn’t close it properly?
What if I was opening up myself to some dark energy and didn’t know how to
handle it?
There were so many questions whirling
round in my head, which isn’t good news when you’re of an obsessive nature, so
what to do, do I go it alone and use trial and error and intuition, yes I could
do that, but I felt I needed a bit more guidance and knowledge from others to
help set me off and build my confidence.
But where do you begin? Do you
type in ‘Witches in Dorset’ (I live in Dorset) on Google? Well actually I did do this and it brought up
historical info, not the name of my local Witch group!! So this didn’t help.
I did however make connections through friends I’ve made through my
vibrational energy work and started to enhance my knowledge a little here. But
I was also looking for more practical experience to aid my confidence and my
knowledge, and also to meet like-minded people even though I am following a
solitary path.
This time I did an online search for ‘Pagans Dorset’ and the first
result was the Dorset Grove, result, a local Druid group that ran open rituals
to celebrate the wheel of the year.
Although it is a Druid group they welcome all Pagans whatever path you
follow, and they all looked very friendly in their photos on the web-site too!! So I duly emailed and received a prompt
welcoming email in return.
Now I have to admit that I didn’t attend the first ritual that came up, when push came to shove I bottled out, too self conscious and scared to go. Goddess knows why, and now I have to admit to feeling rather silly about feeling like this, as when I did attend my first ritual with the Dorset Grove, in the very spiritual setting of Knowlton Church, the experience was beautiful, the people were friendly, down to earth and welcoming. There were lot of smiles, laughter, vibrant energy, and a beautiful ritual, my very first ritual, to celebrate Beltane. I was gifted with a stunning staff and wand, and cake! Now I have a feeling that cake will feature quite a bit in my witch path, and I will talk more in this in a bit.
I came away from my first ritual feeling blessed, energized and happy, and also with the confidence to do my own simple rituals at home having experienced a proper official one. I was also raring for the next ritual which happened to be just as special, as it was at Stonehenge celebrating the Summer Solstice, and where I would meet, in person for the first time, some more lovely and special people who I am just about to talk about.
In addition to joining the Dorset Grove I also found the lovely Kitchen
Witch team and their online Kitchen Witch forum. This is full of information covering all
areas of witchery and a fantastic resource that is updated regularly, and is
ideal for making contact with others following the same path. Not long after I joined the forum they
started up their online School of Natural Witchery, and I was one of the first
pupils to join as it is perfect for the novice like me, or for anyone wanting
to study natural witchcraft.
Starting at the beginning they provide a structured programme to teach
you the path of Kitchen Witchery, but what I like about it is that it is not
learning by rote and reading alone, you are encouraged to research and
experiment and bring your own interpretation of each subject to the
course. And, you receive constructive
feedback on your lessons and positive encouragement at all times.
The added bonus is that you can also learn what are called branch
lessons which expand your knowledge and skills as you make your way through the
main course work, I am currently studying tarot, runes and magical herbs!! And….we have online rituals, chats and
constant contact with the leadership team and other students, so have become a
proper online witch community that you can join in with whenever you want to. Oh, and the other thing which I referred to
earlier, there is definitely a cake thing going on in the Kitchen Witch
School. I’ve come to think that the only
pre-requisite to joining the school is that you either like eating cake or
talking about it; seeing as I like both I think I fit in well.
The Kitchen Witch School has been perfect for me as like many, I am
working, running a home and walking three dogs three times a day, and time and
money is limited. Therefore I can study
at my own pace, in my own time and incorporate what I have learnt into my
everyday life.
Thus
far I have studied energy working, meditation, grounding and centring, which I
have to admit I already knew as part of my vibrational work, so I probably had
an easier time on these lessons than those that haven’t worked with them before,
as they can take some mastering – but don’t tell teacher!! I have written about Clear Quartz and I have
studied my first deity, Sulis, or Minerva as she is also known. And most importantly I have learnt that I was
already working with energy and tools that are very important to the life of a
witch. And the fact, as I mentioned
earlier, that I felt my holistic studies were leading me beyond that of just a
therapist seems to have been right, and in a way they were preparing me for my
life as a witch, giving me some essential skills that I would require, and this
has been very enlightening. That the course also requires the study of crystals
is great too as it makes me go back and research my crystals again, and this is
excellent for deepening my relationship with my crystals.
And so I feel my journey as a witch is truly now underway, and I look
forward to following and living this path.
For now I say farewell and if I don't post again before I wish you a happy Mabon.
Blessings
Earthshine
Earthshine Essences: www.earthshineessences.co.uk
Earthshine Essences Blog: www.quintessentialwellbeing.co.uk/blog
Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchery: www.kitchenwitchhearth.com
Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchery: www.kitchenwitchhearth.com
The Dorset Grove: www.dorsetgrove.co.uk
