Tips for Living Wicca: Set It and Forget It

You're getting ready to cast a spell. You spend time preparing for it, finding the perfect astrological correspondences, components, etc.,. you even plan a good five channels to help your spell manifest. You ritually bathe yourself and start your ritual, and you cast your spell.

Even before you've opened the circle, you're already thinking, I hope this works. This better work. I need this to work. 

You spend the next few days thinking along those lines. every now and again, especially as you lay your head down on your pillow at night, your spell keeps popping into your mind. Will it work? I hope it works. 

Maybe you think you can trick yourself-- if you're going to think about it, you'll think about it positively, as if it's already manifested....  but in reality, all you're doing is limiting your own spell's effectiveness. 

It's really important to just not think about it after casting the spell-- not think about it, and more importantly, not TALK about it to other people (You know the Witches Pyramid, right?). Don't even talk about casting a spell until long after it's manifest.

Sometimes the most effective spells I cast were the ones I forgot about entirely. I cast them, forgot, then something I had needed/wanted came my way, and then I remember, "Oh yeah, I cast a spell for that!"

All thoughts are energy, and when you raise and send out energy for a spell, you want it to remain intact. You don't want other little bursts of energy coming in, mixing it up and stirring it around. 

My Tip for You Today: Learn to set it and forget it.

I know trying not to think about something is like trying not to think about George Washington's white horse. But that's where all that meditation, mindfulness and mental discipline come in handy... put it out of your mind and just go to your routine. 

Then when good things start coming, you won't be surprised. 

Can you remember to forget?

Tips for Living Wicca: Prepare to Have Your Mind Blown

Yes, I'm exaggerating; I always get a bit loopy in Summertime for some reason, I think the heat goes to my head. But then again, depending on what you know, maybe not. 

Here is today's lesson summed up in a nutshell:

I still see a lot of people, newbies and not-so-newbies alike, who extol the virtues of 'The Wiccan Rede', and go on to recite the long poem by Gwen Thompson (who then went on to claim it was written by her grandmother Adriana Porter, before Gardner founded Wicca-- but that's pretty much been debunked since the original version incorrectly uses archaic language throughout and many of the concepts came about post-Gardner).

So what's the problem with Thompson's version of the "Rede of the Wiccae" (the original title)? 

Well, nothing if you like it-- the problem is when everyone keeps perpetuating the misconception that all Wiccans adhere to it as if it were some sort of scripture.

It's not. In fact, you could point out a great deal of things that are not universal Wiccan beliefs:

- not all Wiccans cast a circle thrice
- not all consider the circle used to keep unwelcomed spirits out
- there are a whole host of philosophies as to why people would use deosil or widdershins
- many Wiccans do not consider the waning moon 'baleful'
- kissing the hand to the moon, let alone twice, is part of Thompson's trad, but not universally Wiccan
- burning 9 woods in a cauldron, again, is Thompson's trad, not universal
- not all wear stars on the brow for any reason

Some just outright makes no sense (can you burn wood fast and slow? And simultaneously? Why won't departed souls have rest when the wind blows from the west?) 

My Tip for You Today: Spread the word.

I can't tell you how many websites, blogs, articles, etc., from newbies to potential Wiccans, to Wiccans who've been Wiccan for years, to people who are not even Pagan just looking to explain  Wicca to others. I mean, sometimes I'm doing research or browsing blogs and message forums and I can see it like 10 times a day! 
I come across where people say "This is the Wiccan Rede, and all Wiccans follow it..." Ummm; nope. Not actually. 

Enjoy Thompson's poem if you want (frankly I myself have never been a fan, nor is it considered relevant in my trad). If it 'speaks' to you, it's certainly something you should embrace. There's nothing wrong with it... the only thing wrong is that it's misidentified, which leads to confusion.

Spread the word far and wide across cyberspace that it's not really the Wiccan Rede. You'll be amazed at how many people do not know this. 

Are you wise to the Wiccan Rede?

Tips for Living Wicca: Get Some Free Book of Shadow Pages

I love to create, and I really relax and have fun when I make something artistic.

So I created a bunch of blank decorative pages to be used for a Book of Shadows- either online or in print. Or to be used to make things to post to social media.

But they're free, and you're free to use them non-commercially.  All I ask is a link back to the page where you got them. 

My Tip for You Today: Go grab them. 

Share them - spread them around. My dream is to click on completely new message forums or blogs or Pintrest to find someone prominently displaying what creative thing they've done with my artwork. 

I told you, my sun sign is Leo... I love having things I do acknowledged. LOL. 

Unfortunately, my moon sign and ascending sign are Scorpio... so I like to do it under a pseudonym and just watch from a distance as other people make use of my work.

Free Decorative Blank Book of Shadows Pages

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