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There’s a difference between doing something and being something. For many people, witchcraft is a matter of doing – performing spells, ceremonies, sabbats, making candles, herbal mixtures or rattling off incantations in foreign languages. The intent for doing such things is that the Witch will acquire power or influence over her environment through this process. This train of thought, that DOING begets BEING, is perpetuated by our society. We are constantly told that you must DO certain things in order to BE something. Drink this cola in order to be sexy. Do this exercise in order to be healthy. Pray these prayers and abstain from these certain activities and you’ll be saved. The problem in this train of thinking is that the search for external solutions to one’s inherent state of being can never be found. No band-aids found outside of one’s self can ever repair the wounds or problems that we create from within our selves. The search for all wisdom, all solutions, all answers to your problems, begins and ends within yourself.
In this way, the DCW differs from many other Witchcraft traditions. We hold the tenet that first you must BE something before you can actually perform actions (DO) that such a person would do. For example, if you want to lead your coven as a priestess, then you must first BE one. Embody the qualities of a leader. Learn to change your thinking so that you THINK as a leader. Learn to glow with compassion, understanding, and confidence. BE a priestess, and the universe will notice, and actually put you in the position to do so. But how can you apply this in a practical way toward bettering your life?
Most of us want the same things in life. We want love, peace, stability, prosperity, happiness and good health. Well you can’t “do” peace, you can only “be” peaceful. No amount of exercises, mantras, chanting, initiations or spells are going to make you a peaceful person. It is only when you look at the way you think, the mental patterns you carry and how they express themselves in your life, and then change them to align with peaceful thinking, that you’ll finally, naturally, be at peace. Change your thinking, and your world will change around you.
Similarly, if you want to experience love in your life, no amount of affirmations posted around the house, nor an entire warehouse full of pink candles are going to give you love until you change your thinking to be a loving person – then love will manifest in your life. It will have no option but to appear.
If you seek to truly LIVE the Craft, then you need to start first with your self. Work through your negative thought patterns. Learn to be wise. Ask yourself “what would a wise person do?” or even better “what would LOVE do?” with any given situation. Your modicum of thought will change, your perceptions of the world will change, and your relationship with everything around you will change. Living the Craft isn’t about what ceremonies you perform, nor about how much you know about herbs or astrology, it is about your relationship to the world around you and to the divine, and seeing that you are all, and that all is one. It is only through BEING one with everything including the divine, that you can finally DO the things that a wise one CAN do, through your understanding of how things are, and who you truly are.
Start being the Craft instead of doing the Craft. Embody the qualities of a wise person. Make all choices from the ethical center of what you think wisdom/love would do. Get out of your armchair and live the Craft amongst others, letting them see how you embody compassion, love, wisdom, kindness, and powerful humility. When you truly start to be the craft, you quickly realize your role in this world: assisting others with their problems, serving your fellow brethren and helping the others who slumber in unawareness to awaken to the wisdom that surrounds them. It is then, that you will be truly living the Craft.
Gratitude is a very practical and important spiritual practice that can assist us in easing our challenges in life as well as perpetuate the incoming blessings of life. Gratitude is the practice of consciously calling to mind, or listing out, the things you are thankful for. Whenever we express our thanks for something we have received, we are letting the universe know that we appreciate something – it is universal feedback. And the more we give thanks for something, the more likely we will continue to receive more of that very thing.
To put it into perspective, imagine two children asking their grandma for some candy. Both children are tugging at her sleeves and pleading for some sweets. Finally grandma reaches into her purse and hands each child a caramel. The first child says, “Thank you so much grandma, you’re the best! I love you!” and runs away to enjoy his treat. The second sneers at the item in his hand and says, “That’s it? I wanted a lollipop.” and walks away. Which one do you think grandma is going to be more willing to give candy to the next time around?
When we ask things of the Universe, either through prayer or magic or wishful thinking, we are requesting for our will to be made manifest. Once it is, if we show gratitude for the things we have received, they will continue to manifest in our lives – perpetuating the blessings, where if we sit idly by and don’t express gratitude it will be far more difficult to manifest something next time around. Gratitude assures our success in things.
Additionally, when a difficult thing happens in life we are most likely to complain about it. Difficulty is never enjoyed, and yet, if we simply show gratitude for the lessons we are learning about ourselves and the opportunities that difficulty is providing us for growth, the difficulty diminishes. Gratitude acts like spiritual grease allowing us to slide past the difficulties in life. Gratitude can ease the pain of trials and tribulations. And it can lift the heart reminding us that things really aren’t so bad.
Spiritual Exercise
Try listing out your gratitudes every day – especially when you find yourself in a difficult situation. Give gratitude prior to working magic to boost your morale and support the fact that you are a powerful creator and have the ability to manifest your desires now, as you have in the past. Give gratitude at your holiday dinner, for those present in your life (especially the person who cooked the meal) and serve as a role model of gratitude for those present.
On December 22, we will be celebrating our holiday called Yule. Falling on the winter solstice, it marks the beginning of winter, the longest night of the year and the point when the sun is at its lowest point in the sky (from our perspective in the Northern Hemisphere.) Yule, therefore, represents the birth of the sun, for his light and strength will continually grow from this day onward until the summer solstice. Often, the Sun was identified with the masculine divine – with God. Therefore, for us, Yule represents the birth of the God.
Celebration of Yule centers around family, life and growth in a time of cold and darkness, and around hope and gratitude for the important things in life. Traditionally, families would gather and share food, exchange gifts, sing songs, decorate the Yule tree, light the Yule log and put up protections around the home, keeping death and disease at bay through the coming cold months of winter. Most of the traditions of Yule were “borrowed” by incoming Christians who were attempting to convert local pagans to their religion. They moved the date of their God’s birth to the same date as a Pagan festival, they used the same decorating traditions and colors and as such it was a logical transition for the Pagans to simply celebrate another God’s birth at this time – Christmas.
But the true spirit of Yule lies not in the decorations, the gifts or the trappings, but in family and togetherness. At the darkest time of the year, we draw together to give gratitude for the most important gift we have in life – each other. Whether your biological family, or the one you chose to surround yourself with, the people in your life are what really matter. The laughter shared, the tears shed, the reconciliation, support and happiness are all priceless, irreplaceable gifts. At Yule we are reminded to give thanks for the people that we love and who support us in life.
Like the baby God being born as a light to the world, the people in our lives give us meaning, purpose and happiness. The gifts shared aren’t what really matters, the connection, love and support are. Therefore, in this time of hustle and bustle where we desperately run around from party to party or from shop to shop trying to find the right gift for someone, consciously slow down and connect with the people you love. Give them a call, spend time with them and let them know how imporant to you they are. And while it is easy enough to pick up the phone and call your loved ones, it is far more difficult, yet more imporant, to reach out to your fellow citizens whom you may not know and treat them with respect, love and kindness. At this frantically paced time, a little happiness, kindness and compassion go a long way toward making our society a better place.
We are reminded at Yule, that at our darkest times, it is the people in our lives that help us to get through the winter. Reach out to one another with love and compassion and share the gift of the heart.
