Witchy Goodness

"Are you a Witch?"
"Why Yes, I am!"
"What does that mean?"

A huge thank you to award winning author, Cynthia Richards, for allowing me to guest post on her blog, "Deep Thoughts and Junk," for Witchy Week.

Check out my guest post "Witchy Goodness," where I share my personal thoughts about being a practicing Witch in today's world.

https://deepthoughtsandjunk.wordpress.com/…/witchy-week-na…/

Cinderella Pumpkins

It's that time of year. Ghosts, goblins, witches, monsters, zombies and all sorts of amazing horrors, designed to thrill and chill us make their appearance. It's Witch time.  If you've been in the broom closet you can safely come out, without fear of ridicule. If you're a closet Witch or Witch sympathizer, you can honor your Witch self and not feel bad about it.

In Colorado, this time of year can be funky. We're known to go straight from Summer into Winter, with only a few weeks of Fall in between. We always feel doubly blessed if Halloween night arrives and we don't have wear winter coats over our costumes.

For many years, I've attended Witches' Balls here in Denver and in New Orleans. For practicing Witches, this is our time of year. We don't consider what we're wearing costumes.  To us it's a chance to wear our real clothes! I've been adding to my Witch closet for years. Each year I get excited to see what I'll come up with, for Halloween/Samhain night.

Nothing thrills me more than to wear my gowns and cloaks. It's great to attend Witch Balls with people who really do believe in and practice the Craft. The Craft is our religion. It's not something we don for one night of the year. But this post isn't about our religion. It's about the magick of believing.

Some dear friends gifted us with a Cinderella pumpkin from their garden. We picked the one we wanted and brought it home. The pumpkin is the embodiment of believing in magick/magic. Who didn't love the story of the pumpkin that turns into a carriage? Everyone I know surely wishes they had a fairy godmother. Now is the time of year to grant yourself three wishes!

Kung Fu Priestess

I take my faith seriously.  I practice my Craft as a religion.  I follow the cycles of the Moon closely, honoring the Full Moons and celebrating the turn the of Seasons.  I follow the turn of the Wheel and take my cues from Her seasons.

Several years ago I followed a desire which had been with me for many years.  I had longed to study T'ai Ch'i.   I grew up being a martial arts enthusiast and a lover of Asian culture.  Along the way, as a young adult I developed asthma.  I had read somewhere or learned somewhere that T'ai Ch'i was an excellent remedy for asthma, as it helped to slow down your breathing and cultivate your Ch'i, the energy of life.

Years passed before I acted on my desire to study T'ai Ch'i.  It just seemed to be one of those things I never got to, yet the desire was always lurking around in my mind.  Then in 2009 I finally took the step and began to study T'ai Ch'i, which was being taught at a senior center.

As I began to study T'ai Ch'i, I shared my experience with one of my very best friends.  Little did I know that she had been a Shao-Lin student for many years.  I had been to her home several times, seen her weapons, but it was just a subject that never came up.  I truly believe it is one of things that you don't see or understand until you are ready.  In sharing my experience, she asked me to show her my T'ai Ch'i.  After showing her the tiny bit I had learned, she suggested I might enjoy coming to her school, The Chinese Shao-Lin Center.  This suggestion scared and un-nerved me.  I was comfortable in the senior center.  Going to a real school was more than I was prepared to consider.  However, I also ran the suggestion by a trusted co-worker, and he too having studied martial arts as a teen, thought I would enjoy the structure and discipline of martial arts as it is taught in a formal school.  Thankfully I listened to the advice of my friends and I joined the Chinese Shao-lin Center (CSC) in 2009.  But I only went to learn T'ai Ch'i.

The CSC has a marvelous program of offering free classes for a month.  For one month you can take all the classes you like, for free, in T'ai Ch'i and Kung Fu.  I used all my free T'ai Ch'i classes and was hooked.  However while taking my free classes I noticed all the different belt levels.  There were belts of white, yellow, blue, green, brown, and the all hallowed, Black.  Intrigued, I asked how one achieved the belt levels of advancement.  A senior student told me "you get those from studying Kung Fu".  Hmmm.  Study Kung Fu?  This was not what I had come to learn, but those belts and the training looked awesome.  I took one free class and decided to learn Kung Fu.

However, beyond those serendipitous moments, another truth lie hidden.  In my study of The Craft I had come across a beautiful used copy, of Ed Fitch's "Grimore of Shadows".  Ed Fitch is a pioneer of the Old Ways, having been around during the days of Scott Cunningham, the beginnings of Wicca and Raymond Buckland.  In studying Ed Fitch's grimore, I came across a passage that read:

"Study of Defensive and Martial Combative Arts"
"The world is not a peaceful or tranquil place, and it is seldom prudent to fully trust outsiders - even those appointed by the Law - with the safety of oneself, one's family or those of one's coven.  All should be encouraged to take some training in Karate, Hapkido, Judo, Ninjitsu, Aikido, Tai Chi, Kung Fu, or other such martial arts which have a strong (if subtle) metaphysical and Magical philosophy behind them."

There it was in Black and White.  Ed Fitch extoling the virtues of martial arts and the benefits of training for a practicing Witch.  I knew then and there I had to continue with my studies.  I needed to see the course through to develop as a person, a human being, a Priestess and a Witch.  And so I committed to learn and study Kung Fu, honoring the commitment I had made to myself and to the Goddess.

My study and training in Shao-Lin Kung Fu has only really just begun.  On Sunday, August 26, 2012, I was thrilled to achieve my First degree Black Belt in Shao-Lin Kung Fu:

I have no idea where this journey will take me now.  I remain open and committed to the Craft and to Shao-Lin Kung Fu.   I am grateful to Ed Fitch for publishing his knowledge and to my school, The Chinese Shao-Lin Center, where I study under the wonderful guidance and training of Masters Sharon and David Soard.

Blessed Be, So Mote It Be,
Priestess Najah

To Be A Witch In This Age

This morning I was giddy.  I woke up earlier than usual, which for me means 4:30 a.m.  I just couldn't sleep.  I was hoping to catch the New Moon Crescent in the sky, but alas She wasn't there.  However I was rewarded with peace and quiet, the dark of the morning, and beautiful stars overhead.

Then I sat down to begin reading my latest gift, The Witches Tarot Deck by Ellen Dugan.  My deck had arrived by mail yesterday and I could hardly wait to delve into it.

After reading a couple of chapters, I posted on my Priestess Najah Facebook Page:

"Blessed Be Ellen Dugan! I received my Witches Tarot yesterday and it is absolutely magickal and fantastic! I am as giddy as a schoolgirl Witch! And the full size book, what a treat. Ah, to be a Witch in this age. Thank you, thank you!"

As I thought about what I written, what stood out for me was "Ah, to be a Witch in this age".  What did I mean by that and where did that statement come from? 

It was if some other self had written the post.  A Witch in this age.  It had been a very magickal morning.  I was in my Witchy Mood Mind Self. 

I know I have lived before.  I know I have practiced the arts before. I know I've been a healer, a scribe, a Witch.  In a few weeks I will travel to London, England.  Besides all the obvious tourist sites, I will definitely be visiting sites and places of an occult nature.  I can hardly wait to see what transpires and manifests.  My soul has longed to visit London for aeons.  It is as if a homecoming is awaiting me.

To be a Witch in this time.  We have the internet.  People and institutions are up and out.  I can write about Witchcraft.  I can have a Facebook page, a Blog and  a Website.  I can go to Pagan Community gatherings and have a good time without fear of reprisal.  I know I am blessed to live in a state and community where I can be who I am and live a good life.  I know for many others it is not the case and yet still, the Wheel has turned and more and more of us are up and out.  I pray everyday for all Witches, Pagans and Believers everywhere.

So yes, it is good to be a Witch in this time.

Blessed Be,

Priestess Najah

"Oh, To Be In Salem"

Today Laurie Cabot of the Cabot Hermetic Temple in Salem, MA, posted a photo on Facebook, of their new High Priestesses:

This photo made me happy and it also made me sad. 
I am happy to see The Craft is strong and practiced and celebrated and revered by such wonderful people. Sad because that type of ceremony and guidance was what I thought I would find when I set out on the path many years ago. Sad that what I see in the picture seems not to be the norm of the experience of a modern day Witch. These Witches and High Priestesses are thrice blessed to have Laurie Cabot and her training as part of their path.

I've been to Salem twice.  It's what I thought it would be, cobblestone streets in the old part, Witch Stores, Craft stores, cemeteries, and history.  I'm sure most of us know the history of Salem and the Witch Trials.  And being a modern day Witch, I know that Salem also has its unfortunate share of Witch Wars.  But none of this matters to me.  To me Salem is my pilgrimage for all things Witchy and what I love about practicing the Craft.

When I set out on my path many years ago, I thought I would find what is captured in the picture above.  I thought I'd find a teacher, a coven, a group to hold me, guide me, direct me.  What I found was lies and deceit.  I had a teacher for while, and for reasons only the Goddess knows our relationship came to an abrupt end.  I was forced to dig deep into my own soul, to know in my heart my path and continue on.  And Blessed Be I did.

But being solitary is sometimes a lonely path, especially for a social person like me.  I have come to know the value of a good mentor in one's life.  I have come to deeply appreciate teachers of integrity.  I have been blessed to find a wonderful community with whom to celebrate the Seasons and Full Moons.  But when it comes to a deep teacher relationship in regards to the Craft, I'm on my own. Perhaps this is part of my mystery, my journey.  I can honestly say the burn I received many years ago, still stings at my heart, especially when I see pictures like the one above.  Perhaps too, it's similar to the burn a lot of practicing Witches feel when they seek to come out and practice their faith in the open.  It's not too far back in history where we were persecuted for our beliefs and in some parts of the country and the world, we still are.

I seek to take the hope I see in the photo, the happiness in their faces and carry it into my own life and practice.  May we all be thrice blessed.

Blessed Be,
Priestess Najah 

Hoodoo, Voodoo, Conjure, Witchcraft. What is it?!

I can get bogged down in terms.  Sometimes if can't name something I can't seem to move forward.  Perhaps you've experienced the same issue.

I shun from using the word "Hoodoo" from the simple fact people confuse the word "Hoodoo" with "Voodoo" and I get tired of explaining the difference.  Short and simple - "Voodoo/Voudoun" is a religion with its own set of deities and ancient, time-honored practices.  It is a religion of the African Diaspora.  I respect the tradition and practices of Voudoun, and while there may be cross-over of certain techniques, I am a Pagan Priestess of the Goddess and it is not my practice to work within the African Traditional Religions.

Hoodoo/Conjure - think New Orleans.  Think of the South and slaves, American Indians and European immigrants.  Think of the Applachian Mountains.  Think of the Mountain people, gathering herbs and roots and pieces of leather.  Think of candles lighting in the dark and walks to the graveyard.  Think of washing yourself  down to rid yourself of something negative, or washing yourself up to bring in something positive.  Short and sweet you done got yourself some Conjure.  I love the word "Conjure".  It brings to mind images of stirring a pot, speaking a mysterious incantation and something wonderful arising from the cauldron.  Sounds similar to "Witchcraft" doesn't it?

Not all Witches perform spellwork.  Witches are just as varied as any other group of people, and the performing of spells is not required to call oneself a Witch.  However for me, spellwork is one of the things I love to do and what keeps my Craft strong.  Get it? Is it beginning to make sense why the word "craft" is included in the term "Witchcraft"?  To keep your craft strong you must practice it, just like any other art.  Part of keeping my Craft strong includes honoring the Full Moons, because I practice my WitchCraft as a Goddess religion.  That is my choice and it works for me. 
There are many similarites between Hoodoo/Conjure and the Craft.  The use of candles, the crafting of talismans or mojos.  The use of herbs and roots.  However traditional Hoodoo workers are usually of a Christian background and the Bible is used heavily in their work.  Normally you would find a Hoodoo worker within the community of a Christian church. 
A Witch would normally be found in the peasant community, gathering herbs, helping to heal the sick, bless homes, the farm, the cattle, and also helping with childbirth. Sounds like a Priest or Priestess, doesn't it.  I don't shy away from the word "Witch". I love it.  I reclaim it.  It has been misused and abused and it's about time it was returned to it's rightful position in our society.  I really dislike it when women are referred to as "Witches" in a derogatory manner.  Call them what you mean, say "Bitch" not "Witch"!

In this age of the internet, there are a plethora of sites one can go to find deeper meanings and explanations of the above.  I'm not going to list them here, for that is part of the journey of the Mystery.  If you wish to know more, have fun on the journey.

As always I wish you Bright Blessings on your Journey!