Monday, September 8, 2008

Let it be



During my wiccan years, I conjured like crazy. I mean, that's the point of being a wiccan - to bend your will and shape energy so as to bring into being whatever it is you wish for.

There are lots of wiccans who do this very well, and don't suffer a bit from the practice. I found the constant shaping of energy burdensome and binding, and addictive, too, which is why conjuring never brought out the best in me.

At the disastrous end of my witchhood, leaving behind my habit of conjuring was like going cold turkey with a serious addiction. I would find myself absentmindedly spellcasting just because that's what I was used to doing. I didn't want to do it, but I kept doing it anyway. Eventually, the habit dropped away, freeing up my time and energy, opening my heart and nourishing my curiosity. Once I could believe that the world didn't need me to control every damn thing, I became a much nicer person. These days I hardly even think of conjuring. I'm free.

Except now, eight weeks before the presidential election, here I am, sitting on my hands to keep myself from trying to create a certain result. (As if it's up to me, as if! For heaven's sake!)

Abundant trust and good humor are signs of spiritual wisdom, says Thomas Moore. Can I trust that whatever is unfolding on the U.S. political front is something that can manifest on its own without my meddling? Can I hold in my mind the truth that the final days of empires are always like this? That the political situation is more complicated than one person can possibly understand?

Am I capable of remembering that political magic tends to only strengthen the patterns already in place, if indeed it works at all? Can I let go of my urge to conjure and instead do something practical, like help register voters in N. Virginia?

Well, can I? ......... One day at a time, Reya, one day at a time.

9 comments:

dennis said...

Dennis thinks a lot of people saying McCain will probably win when they want Obama to win is sort of casting a negative vibe into the breeze of what might be.

Steve Reed said...

If it's any consolation, I think many of us are conjuring in our own way!

hele said...

"Eventually, the habit dropped away, freeing up my time and energy, opening my heart and nourishing my curiosity." This sentence felt just right for right now in my life.

My curiosity is nourished and my heart opened by your words and images.

And the rain sure feels good.

lacochran said...

It's tempting to apply every tool at our disposal but if it's not helping you, personally, then there's no point.

You can plant seeds of hope by registering voters and sharing your message and influence where you can. That's a form of positive, guilt-free casting, in my opinion.

Deborah said...

Yes We Can

with all my love,

Reya Mellicker said...

Dennis I totally agree with you! And you, Steve, and you, Hele, lacochran, and yes you too Deborah!

Squirrel said...

I like the rainy shots--I like taking pics in the rain or in intermittent rain. everything looks so hopeful after a rain, washed and refreshed.

Chimera said...

Again those photos! Wow!
I really curious about that side of wiccan work..do/did the wiccan world believe in a form of kharma? Do wiccans believe in a form of fate or is energy and life completely malleable ('scuse spelling..!) and subject to anothers will? Can you help register AND conjour or is that cheating/
Hey thanks so much for my blog comment. Green bikes? Now that would make me spin every day!
Tanvi
tanvir_ambush@yahoo.com (if easier)

Reya Mellicker said...

I'll email you, too, but briefly - the wiccan group I was involved with, the Reclaiming tradition, was a bunch of unruly anarchists who basically didn't agree about anything. Mostly we were happy to disagree since the anarchy was part of our core values. So I can only speak for myself, but in general I would say that for wiccans, doing magic is as much a part of life as breathing and eating and sleeping.

Some might even believe that conjuring is one way in which we interact with the divine, by putting our will out into the world.

Conjuring tied my hands and my mind because once I cast a spell I couldn't conceive of any other possibility other than the intention behind the working. All options except the intended result evaporated. This was true for me. I am not speaking for all wiccans.

I'll send you an email, too.