A Witch in need of Guidance.

[ShadyoFayx]

Merry Meet everyone. I am having a bit of a problem in my spiritual path. I feel as though I am out of sync with nature, and out of touch my path. I feel like I am floating and never actually feeling anything. I haven't felt any Magic for a while, and it's starting to bother me. My depression and anxiety has gone way up these past couple of weeks and, I think that is what is making me feel this way. I am also still quite new to Paganism. No, I have not studied for a year and a day, mostly because I still need to set aside time during my day to study. I also have questions that bother me. How do you get attuned to the forces of Nature again? Do you absolutely have to study for a year and a day if you are a solitary Eclectic? If you do any kind of Magical working, do you need to cast a circle? How should I go about starting a Book of Shadows? I know all these questions make me seem like I don't know anything, but these questions haven't been answered for me before. It would help a lot of I could get them answered now. Thank you. Blessed Be )0( -ShadyoFayx-

[Oden_son]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

i had alot of these problems when i first found paganism. now i'm not wiccan but i'll try to help anyway. eclectic means you take what makes sense to you and kind of craft your own belief system. so the studying for a year and a day or casting a circle is all about what feels right to you. what i did when i first started writing my book of shadows was i just wrote in some basic stuff to start with and went from there. first was the associations of directions, the basic altar set up and a little bit about each tool. then i wrote a few pages for each holiday, listing the herbs, stones, deities, etc. associated with each day.

when i need to feel nature, the best thing for me is to go out into the woods for no reason than to just be in the woods. just sit and watch, but don't look for anything. hear all the different sounds that come from the forest. when i sit there i start to feel the gods voices in the songs i hear. it always helps if i get far enough into the woods that i can't hear anything man made, but i know that's not possible for alot of people. don't know if any of this will help, but trying can't hurt

[ShadyoFayx]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

Thank you Oden_son. That did help!

[Gardenia]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

How do you get attuned to the forces of Nature again?

When you say again, does that mean you feel you were more in tune in the past? If so, what did you do then?

Actually getting out into nature is a big part of it. Look around, really see what's going on where you live. What's the weather like? What animals do you see? What plants are around? When spring comes, what starts to grow? How do things change? Etc... Celebrating the cycles can also help, moon phases, the wheel of the year or other seasonal holiday systems... Doesn't have to be big rituals, and you can (and should) tailor it to your needs, your location.

Do you absolutely have to study for a year and a day if you are a solitary Eclectic?

Being eclectic is nice in that you get to tailor your path to fit you exactly. Of course, being an eclectic is hard because you have to tailor your path to fit. What you include, and why, is totally up to you. It's helpful to look at the history behind a concept, how others used it then, and how some use it now. When you include something, always think about why you're doing it. Because others do it, or it's a common thing to do, are not good reasons in themselves.

Within some forms of traditional, coven-based Wicca, people studied for a year and a day for multiple reasons. It gave the person time to learn the basics of how the coven did things, some of what they believed, it allowed the person to experience a full year of the holidays/festivals, it gave the person plenty of time to see if they actually wanted to follow Wicca, if they got along the with coven, and it allowed the people of the coven to see if they got along with the person learning as well.

Some solitary Wiccans study and do some basic rituals and the like, for the year and a day, before they decided to do a dedication ritual, since many do not see dedication as something to do lightly.

If you are an eclectic, it's up to you. Do you want to do a somewhat more formal year and a day? Why? What will it mean after your year and a day is complete? Some just study and practice whatever they feel ready to do. Some take more than a year to dedicate. Some never bother with a formal dedication. It is not a part of every pagan path. So it's something you'll have to think about, and decide what to do for your own path.

If you do any kind of Magical working, do you need to cast a circle?

Again, since you are eclectic, this is really up to you... Circle casting is an important part of many Wiccan rituals, but it is not found in all pagan traditions, and not all witches find them necessary at all, while others may only use them on occasion. You will have to study circle casting, perhaps practice it a few times, and decide if it is something you feel you want to do, and when you feel it should be done.

How should I go about starting a Book of Shadows?

The layout of such a book, as well as the content, will be different from person to person (if one is even kept)... Some use it as a spiritual journal of sorts. Some separate information into categories. Some include almost everything and anything of interest, others are more picky about what goes into theirs. Again, as an eclectic, it's up to you. What do you think is important enough to save? How will you save it? Many people re-organize a few times before they find what's right for them.

[ShadyoFayx]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

Thank you for the answers Gardenia. That gave me reassurance. And helped out a lot, and I feel like I am finally getting back on track

[Gardenia]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

And helped out a lot, and I feel like I am finally getting back on track

One good way to help yourself stay on track is to start to find little ways to blend the day-to-day sort of things with spiritual things. A little prayer over your meals or while cooking, a cleansing visualization with your bath/shower, that sort of thing. Finding a little time to get out into nature daily, to do a daily devotion, to journal, can all also be helpful. Not necessarily setting huge chunks of time aside all at once, but instead a few minutes here and there through the day.

[unrealraven]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

How do you get attuned to the forces of Nature again?
I would say first looking to whats making you fill anxiety and depressed and take steeps to get rid of or fix it. ( I know its will not be easy or all at once but by working toward it that will help lessen the impacts that those emotions have on you.) witch will allow you to bring yourself back into balance.

Do you absolutely have to study for a year and a day if you are a solitary Eclectic?
That question is completely up to you as a solitary. If you think you have to than you did. If you think you don't have to than you don't.

If you do any kind of Magical working, do you need to cast a circle?
On some paths they say you have to cast a circle every time to keep evil spirits and such out. On other paths casting the circle is used for building energy so only needed when you cannot build the amount of energy you need within yourself. On some paths the circle is ceremonial only. So it's solely up to you.

How should I go about starting a Book of Shadows?
Do you want one? (Yes or no) do you think you need one? (Yes or no) if you answered no to both those. Then forget it. If you answered yes to 1 or both of those my suggestion is to use a binder one you can open and add pages too and reorganize. Start off by adding stuff you look up a lot, things you have a lot of interest in, and anything you don't trust you yourself to remember.

[Willow]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

Staying "attuned" (for me) really comes down to how much time I can allocate to just going outside and spending time doing nothing but noticing the details present in the natural world. I don't even have to leave the suburbs to do it, the way the wind acts upon certain natural or man-made structures, plants, insects, birds, rain, clouds, what have you. The sky is a huge part of my path, and it's not metaphoric to say I worship it. Sky is an ever-present link to nature, you look upwards and the city disappears from around you.

Even on those days where I've worked a double shift and face another in 5 hours and really don't have the luxury of going outside or even near a window, I invested in some photography (some self-made, some professional) that is put up on the walls throughout my home. If nothing else, that helps a bit. Even if it's just to remind me that these days are passing and one day I'll have the time and resources.

That nature connection will come in time, it comes faster the more you just relax and enjoy it. So don't stress about it too much.

As far as a book of shadows, you could equate the title with "personal reference book." Because that's basically what it is. As you study, as you learn things, as you come across new ideas or information that you feel may be important or that you want to implement, or things that you use often enough to where you would like it to be in a handy location, that is what the BoS is for. A place for you to gather and organize the concepts and details that are specifically important to you. A couple of mine actually look more like the laboratory notebooks I kept in Uni... You know, visual aids, bullet-points, phrases...

I'm pretty sure there's a thread on this forum somewhere regarding how to put a BoS together and what people generally like to include in it, as well as different methods of organization and visual appearance.

For the record, I'm not Wiccan. Never have been. Never will be. But I still keep a couple journals/BoS's around that hold virtually everything I've ever recorded, observed, learned, or read that I've felt is important. Granted... they're cryptic, because they're for my eyes only, but they're still virtually the same idea as what you're talking about.

[Gardenia]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

I'm pretty sure there's a thread on this forum somewhere regarding how to put a BoS together and what people generally like to include in it, as well as different methods of organization and visual appearance.

Yep, there are several floating around actually...

Here's one of the bigger ones.

[Willow]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

Yep, there are several floating around actually...

Here's one of the bigger ones.

Perfect. I was a little too preoccupied to hunt down the links.. >.>

[ShadyoFayx]

Re: A Witch in need of Guidance.

Thank you all! I am very excited for my journey on my Path