by Shadow
Let’s face it – there are simply not enough hours in the day to do all the things we want or need to get done. With work, classes for the younger people, families for the older, and all the little quirks and 
tasks of day-to-day life, we’re more often than not forced to put parts of our life on the backburner just to get the necessities accomplished. For the busy Pagan and the overworked-and-underpaid Witch, there are times when the religious and magical parts of our life have to come second to meeting the needs of life.
The pattern is generally the same. First we miss an esbat ritual because of extenuating circumstances interfering with that night. Then another passes by that you can’t attend. That Craft book you were reading gets shoved into the back of your bag, with paperwork or Bio 101 homework taking precedence. Then laziness kicks in, and you fail to meditate, divine, or even think about the spiritual. Next thing you know, the magic has disappeared from your life.
Now don’t get me wrong – I’m not about to suggest you abandon your secular needs for a wholly spiritual one. As walkers between the worlds, we recognize there is a time for both parts of your life, and each is as important as the other. However, our need to survive in this world is overpowering, and can lead us to neglect our spiritual lives to the point that we become separated from them.
So what can we do to keep ourselves in touch with the spirit world? Well, there are a few small steps you can take on a day-to-day basis to help you reconnect to your deities and bring the magic back into your life. Bear in mind though that you do not have to do everything I list here – one or two steps in most cases should be more than enough to get you back where you were.
Journaling: If you’ve stopped journaling, or if you’ve just fallen behind, start again. Even if nothing interesting happened that day, pick a topic that interests you and expand on it. In the process, write your daily thoughts of nature, magic, the gods, religion and the like. If your waking life turned out to be uneventful, record your dreams – little tip, you don’t need two journals to separate your everyday writings and your dreams. I like to write my dreams in my regular journal and log the date in my Book of Shadows as a quick reference when I’ve got to look back. There’s even journal magic, where you record a desire, prayer, and/or request to a deity in your journal. I’ve had times when I’ve written requests to the gods in my journals, and not too soon after, they’ve responded. In effect, this can be like a quickie spell, yet your thoughts are sorted out and provide a clearer picture of the situation. If you find that magic seems to be missing from other areas of your life, just remember that your journal can be one of the most powerful tools you’ve got.
Divination: Sometimes it’s just helpful to be one step ahead of the game. If you don’t have time to ponder over Tarot cards, or don’t drink enough tea to read the leaves, a simple pendulum can suffice. It doesn’t even have to be a fancy crystal. A washer or nut tied to the end of fishing line will work just as effectively and won’t cost you an arm and a leg. Simply as the pendulum to show you what is yes and what is no. After you’ve seen the different motions for both answers, you can now ask this pendulum any yes and no questions you wish. Even if you don’t have any major questions, you can ask it simple things like "Will today be alright?" and the like. After a little practice, which can amount to just one question a day if you see fit, the answers will become more reliable.
Prayer: Prayers have been a characteristic of nearly every religion in history. The Neopagan religions are no exceptions. In a sense, they can be seen as "mini-spells," asking the gods to grant you or the person you’re praying for protection, guidance, blessings etc. If you find it difficult to maintain a steady spiritual practice, then a few prayers to your gods every day can help you reaffirm your relationship with said gods. And being the poetic religions we are, there are a whole host of prayers and liturgies to choose from. You can choose from such texts like the Charge of Goddess, the Nine Virtues of Heathenry, the full version of the Wiccan Rede, and the Witches’ Rune – and this is just the tip of the iceberg. WitchVox has a huge poetry section where you can find prayers and inspiration. And if you can’t find anything to your liking, then make your own. Three prayers I recite every night are of my own creation, and they are no more or less powerful or personal than liturgies that have been around since Wicca’s inception.
Reading: The practical cornerstone of modern paganism. It is an urban legend that Neopagans are the most well-read people in America. Whether that’s true or not is beside the point. In this regard, find a particular book that covers one or more of your spiritual interests. At this point, just pick one book – don’t distract yourself by diverting your attention to multiple books. Also, you aren’t on any time clock for this – take as long or as quick as you need to finish reading it. Just make sure you’re understanding what you’re reading beyond reciting each word. Find a place where you won’t be easily distracted – the library, the park, that corner deli you eat lunch at – and just spend some time reading. It doesn’t even have to be a book aimed directly at Neopagans. There are countless works on ancient and contemporary mythology, and thousands more fictional and non-fictional works inspired by those mythologies. Whatever work calls out to you, pick it up.
Meditation: This has always been a problem with me, as it is with many who tend to get distracted. But meditation doesn’t necessarily have to be every single day (unless that’s a part of your practice, of course). Also, it doesn’t have to be for hours on end. A simple, five minute meditation at the beginning or end of the day can do wonders. You don’t even need a specific purpose in meditating. Just close your eyes and breathe. Whatever thoughts do or don’t flow through your mind, just let them go. If you’re aiming at a specific purpose through meditation, then follow the particular guidelines. But a simple five minutes of breathing can do wonders – it can help you find your center, relieve stress, and even clear your mind enough to realize a solution to that problem that’s been nagging you all week. To get started, all you got to do is just breathe.
Ritual: If you feel the need to fully reaffirm your relationship with the gods and/or your practice, then perhaps a small ritual is in order. A reaffirmation ritual, like most private rituals, is highly personal. In preparation, think about and possibly write down what you wish to reestablish with this ritual. Personalize your standard ritual practice however you see fit, bearing in mind that you want to reaffirm your spiritual bonds and to clear out any barriers that may be blocking them. During this ritual, you could write your desire down on paper and burn it ritually; you could meditate on your deities; you could recite prayers to your gods ad nauseam; you could even offer sacrifices of food, drinks, and/or plants sacred to your gods – the possibilities are practically endless. The only goal here is to strengthen the ties to your patrons.
As I’ve stated before, it’s nearly impossible for most of us to not have a time in our lives where we aren’t distracted from our practices. It’s a little thing called life, which has a nasty habit of throwing curveballs at us in the form of work, relationships, even tragedies. And in any event, as most Neopagan religions are "religions of life" – religions focusing on our lives in the here and now, with less focus on the afterlife – learning how to manage our lives efficiently and healthily can be a spiritual practice in and of itself. But of course, it is my hope that the options here can help you return to your core practices, and reawaken the magic that runs through your life.
thank you for this article!!!! I was having a rough time trying to do everything at once. School takes a lot of my time and I had been feeling bad for not having enough time for Wicca. Now i know better! So once again, thanks!
Posted by: Rosemary | October 28, 2007 at 01:32 PM