Same Sex Practice and Traditional Wicca

This has been an unfortunately heated topic of debate in Internet Land that has bled back into Meat Space. Given the fundamental idiocy of arguing about ‘proper conduct’ amongst self-billed autonomous groups, as well as some incredibly vicious and problematic figures, I have avoided comment. However, someone recently broached the topic with me. Providing a…

Does Spirituality Equal Immateriality?

I’ve been having some interesting conversations with some of my “magically-minded” friends around this idea that material wealth is somehow counter to spiritual ambitions. It’s an unfortunately prevalent assumption, something I’m assuming we inherited from the East and our subsequent Christian colonisation. The bizarre thing here is the unchallenged implication that refusing to engage something…

Thoughts, Ideas, and Stirrings

Has it really been a year? How the time slips away. There was a period there where I managed to post daily and maintain some sort of project. While I confess I did indeed complete the Roderick text, my desire and ability to post about it simply went away. The tasks seemed to grow more…

Day 262 – Raising Power: Breath Control

Correct breathing directly affects the Witch’s vitality and therefore, her magic. Breath work is an interesting component of magical practice which lost popularity for a time and appears to be returning to the fore. In my early twenties, while working with my first magical teacher, breath control was a core practice – which I was…

Day 258 – Magical Herbs

“Witches believe that herbs are living vibrational representations of specific magical influences.” I do think it’s interesting that herbs have been so greatly romanticised, especially in relation to the practice of witchcraft. The main reason I say this is because there isn’t much to point to the fact that witches, specifically, were particularly more inclined…

Day 257 – Magical Stones

Look… I know that the crystal industry is a popular thing in the new age and pagan world (especially on the internets) but it’s never really been my thing. My uncle (the man who failed to teach me Italian but piqued my interest in Tarot as a child) is a geologist, so I was fortunate…

Day 256 – Days of the Week and Magic

Continuing our exploration of correspondences, today we look at the days of the week. The major thing to keep in mind here is that each day is governed by one of the classical planets, which is the underpinning of most of the correspondences you’ll see attributed to a particular day. Roderick provides the following questions…

Day 255 – The Ingredients of Magic

“The key to success in magical operations,” Roderick claims, “Is in gathering together the symbols that subtly, vibrationally attract your desire.” With today’s material, Roderick begins to introduce and explore the principle of sympathy – where the likeness of two things creates a connection between them, allowing one to influence the other. I was hoping…

Day 213 – Day of Silence and Review

“Today, as you observe silence, focus your attention on your sense of touch.” Periodically bring your attention to what sensations you are experiencing and note them: what do your clothes feel like on your body? How does it feel to have someone touch you? Do you feel the wind on your face or in your…

Day 210 – Wand Harvest Ceremony

Our goal for today is to begin the process of making our wand. The instructions given by Roderick are as follows: What You’ll Need: – Air Oil-Pruning Shears of saw– Salt and water in separate bowls– 12 inch length of red ribbon– Dried White Sage – A thurible – A bundle of hyssop or lavender…

Day 170: Becoming Air

Today Roderick instructs us to “transform into the element”, stating this is deep and tricky magical work. In order for a transformation to be complete, he says, it is necessary to have the ability to focus your attention for an extended period of time. Should you feel any nerves around the idea of transformation –…

The Elements of Your Life

Take time to review the elemental chart from yesterday’s exercise. While you review the information, think about which of the elements seems most to represent you. Once you have determined the elements to which you closely align, see which of the elements represents the people who are closest to you. Take time to explore these…