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Dear Diary: Events, squeeees, altars and how it all began

This past week has been a whirlwind of chaos, but all in a good way. I met some lovely people online from the College of Psychic Studies for my spell casting workshop and then spent a fabulous day in Kent at Crystal Wicca running an introduction to Witchcraft workshop. It is fascinating to meet people just beginning their witchcraft journeys, in some ways I am a bit envious, all those discoveries awaiting them. A big thank you to hubby for driving me to Kent and back, particularly having gotten in from a gig late the night before ♥

Events

I am honoured to have been invited to several events as a speaker for next year, most of the invites came in this week, I must have put something out there into the universe! I have had to change the way I deal with being a speaker at events. Some of the most amazing festivals and conferences are a very long way from me, which involves hours of driving and then hotel stays. It has become incredibly costly for me and for the most part I can no longer cover the outlay. So, I have had to adapt as I still want to get out and about and meet all you lovely people. It has meant having to turn down the odd invitation, particularly ones that involve camping, until I am better set up – there are plans afoot for a Kitchen Witch tent/stall/pitch for such events, once that is in place it may well change things. For other events I am looking at doing lots of driving, it means early starts and late finishes, but it will cut out the cost of hotel stays. It is a shift about and involves adapting, but it means I already have a nice list of events to attend next year without it costing me a fortune. (Note: Some lovely events do offer me expenses and fee coverage, but sometimes it just works out so expensive I am embarrassed to ask!)


Squeeeeeeeeeeee!

One of the happenings this week is still under wraps, but I can tell you it is so exciting I am struggling to contain it. It is a huge opportunity for me and at the moment is just in the ‘planning, researching, how do we set this up to be the best thing we can’ stage at the moment. As soon as I am able to, you will hear about it, apologies for the vagueness but my excitement is just too much to bear!


Taking responsibility

Thought for the week has been focused on ethics and responsibility within Witchcraft, particularly on spell working. Questions about it came up in both the workshops I ran so I put the question out there on my regular Wednesday chat, you will find the replay on YouTube and on my author fb page. It was an interesting discussion with lots of varying viewpoints, definitely one to ponder on for sure.


My altar

For the online workshop I ran, I needed access to some of my herbal stash for spell making. All my herbs, candles and apothecary supplies are kept upstairs so it involved tracking tons of boxes and jars downstairs. I cleared the dresser in our kitchen/diner and put all the herbs out on the shelves. After the workshop I cleared it all away again, but realised I didn’t want to put the crockery back on the dresser. What was calling to me for the most part was the voice of The Cailleach. She had a small shelf in my office, but she wanted more. The dresser is now a full-on altar, three tiers of it. The Cailleach features heavily, but Sulis, Belenus and my wild boar are also present. It felt right to change it all about, it feels right now it is all in place. Always listen to your intuition. No idea where I am going to put all the crockery though.


How it all began

At the weekend I was asked about how I became a witch, and here is what I said: I was born on Halloween/Samhain so it was probably fate from the start. My dad was a big influence, he loves nature, wildlife and gardening and that played a big part in our childhood. Not forgetting my mum’s influence, she is why I love cooking. My dad also loves history, so we were often taken out to picnics on historic sites such as Stonehenge. Parking the car on the grass verge and wandering into the centre of the stones to sit on the fallen one and eat our sarnies. This was in the 70s when it wasn’t fenced off. As a child I loved books (and still do) most of them focused on fairy tales, witches, wizards and dragons. I have ornaments and jewellery from my childhood that I collected, all of which focus on those themes including the moon. In my mid-teens I started going to Girl’s Brigade which was based at our local Baptist church. I fell right into it straight away, even joining the band, starting with the trumpet (which I was rubbish at) and ending up with the drum (as if that wasn’t a sign of things to come). I began taking the bible study classes and attending church every Sunday. I did this for five or six years. I had faith and belief, but not in everything. I knew there was a power, I knew there was something I believed in, but what I could not accept was the idea that there was a ‘being’ of total evil, yep, I am talking about the Devil. I could not wrap my head around the concept. Ultimately, I think this was what drove me away from Christianity, that and discovering boys…

Roll forward and I was in a charity shop and picked up a book on the history of Witchcraft, not written by a Pagan, but by a historian. I was drawn to purchase it and once I had read it, I felt like I had come home. So many things made sense, and everything fell into place. This was in the days before homes had computers or the internet, I know it is a shock but there was such a time. I had to rely on any books I could find on the subject. In those days it was really limited to a few Wiccan books, but I managed to make a start on my journey. Since then, I have worked through the Wiccan degrees, gained my High Priestess title, studied Druidry, shamanic practices, Hedge Witchery, Kitchen Witchery and any number of other areas that have peaked my interest. I still continue to learn and discover new things every day, even now, over thirty years later I am still learning. It has been and continues to be a wonderful journey of exploration and growth.

(Photo 2011)


Stuff

Join me on my Wednesday morning chats if you are free, replays are on my author fb page and my YT channel.


You can also find me on this blog and on social media. If you think I can help with anything please do reach out. We are all part of a community and it is an honour to be here with you and to support each other.


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