Crafty Conversations with Amy
So it's been awhile. With the closing and subsequent re-opening of The Mystic Eye, I've ceased to handle the newsletters and therefore have stopped writing my column. But I've missed all of you and I've had a lot of requests to resume my writing. So here we are.
Now what are we going to talk about?
It's been a tough year for a lot of us. Death has come to call, everyone I know seems to have lost someone important. The economy still sucks and the world seems to have gone insane right before our very eyes. I myself have had a few moments of lying in bed and wondering if life ever stops hurting. It's hard to have faith in anything anymore, much less a caring divine presence.
Sentiments like, "You can only enjoy the good after going through the bad" and "He's in a better place now" just don't cut it for me. I've never like empty platitudes much. So what do we do? Do we rage at our versions of the divine? Do we turn our hearts to stone? Do we pour ourselves a tall drink?
As magical people, you'd think it would be easier for us to sail these troubled waters but sometimes it's worse. When you know that god is not sitting up in his Heaven, laughing at you and messing with you on purpose, you have no one to blame. It makes being angry or sad or afraid, that much harder because you can't shake your fist at the sky and cry "Why? Oh why have you done this to me?"
We witchy people, know better than that. On top of the lack of a scapegoat, it seems like we fall prey to a disconnection scenario easier than non-magic folks. We get upset and our craft suffers for it. We can't focus, we can't quiet ourselves, we start losing the time or ability to work magic, which is such an integral part of most of us. Then the hardships seem all the harder.
I pulled the eight of swords the other day. No, that's not true exactly. You see, every morning I speak with my lwa, my guardian spirit in Voodoo, if you will. I let her know what I'll be doing that day and I ask for any advice she might like to give me. I speak to her using my tarot deck, just shuffling it while I speak and when she wants to say something, a card will fall out of the deck. Sometimes she doesn't say much, sometimes I practically get buried in cards, but it's always relevant and accurate.
So she actually threw the eight of swords at me. It was like a slap in the face. It made me realize that although there's nothing wrong with sorrow and lamenting your misfortunes, we are all responsible for our world and a big part of that world is perception.
The eight of swords is a woman blindfolded, gagged, and almost surrounded by swords. The lesson in this card is that the blindfold and gag represents fear and sorrow. The woman stands stock still, thinking that if she moves the slightest, she will be cut, when actually, all she has to do is let go of her fear and sorrow and she'd be able to see that she can walk right out of the danger.
I've been surrounded by swords and the pain of facing them has gotten so great that I've gagged myself with it. I've put on a blindfold of fear so that I wouldn't have to gaze at it anymore and then I just stood there, wishing I had someone to blame. Wondering if this was all my life was going to be.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't seek to place blame, don't let your heart harden, and put down that drink. What we need to do when misfortune hits, is take responsibility for our part in it, accept the hurt but don't harbor it, and remember who you are. Remember the feeling of happiness and know that you will have it again. Remember that although the world is full of hate and evil, it is also even more full of love and acceptance, it's just that hate tends to shout while love whispers. Listen to the whispers and meditate on drowning out the shouting. Re-focus, little witches, and cast a new circle for a new day. I'm back and I'd like to welcome all of you back to life with me.
Now what are we going to talk about?
It's been a tough year for a lot of us. Death has come to call, everyone I know seems to have lost someone important. The economy still sucks and the world seems to have gone insane right before our very eyes. I myself have had a few moments of lying in bed and wondering if life ever stops hurting. It's hard to have faith in anything anymore, much less a caring divine presence.
Sentiments like, "You can only enjoy the good after going through the bad" and "He's in a better place now" just don't cut it for me. I've never like empty platitudes much. So what do we do? Do we rage at our versions of the divine? Do we turn our hearts to stone? Do we pour ourselves a tall drink?
As magical people, you'd think it would be easier for us to sail these troubled waters but sometimes it's worse. When you know that god is not sitting up in his Heaven, laughing at you and messing with you on purpose, you have no one to blame. It makes being angry or sad or afraid, that much harder because you can't shake your fist at the sky and cry "Why? Oh why have you done this to me?"
We witchy people, know better than that. On top of the lack of a scapegoat, it seems like we fall prey to a disconnection scenario easier than non-magic folks. We get upset and our craft suffers for it. We can't focus, we can't quiet ourselves, we start losing the time or ability to work magic, which is such an integral part of most of us. Then the hardships seem all the harder.
I pulled the eight of swords the other day. No, that's not true exactly. You see, every morning I speak with my lwa, my guardian spirit in Voodoo, if you will. I let her know what I'll be doing that day and I ask for any advice she might like to give me. I speak to her using my tarot deck, just shuffling it while I speak and when she wants to say something, a card will fall out of the deck. Sometimes she doesn't say much, sometimes I practically get buried in cards, but it's always relevant and accurate.
So she actually threw the eight of swords at me. It was like a slap in the face. It made me realize that although there's nothing wrong with sorrow and lamenting your misfortunes, we are all responsible for our world and a big part of that world is perception.
The eight of swords is a woman blindfolded, gagged, and almost surrounded by swords. The lesson in this card is that the blindfold and gag represents fear and sorrow. The woman stands stock still, thinking that if she moves the slightest, she will be cut, when actually, all she has to do is let go of her fear and sorrow and she'd be able to see that she can walk right out of the danger.
I've been surrounded by swords and the pain of facing them has gotten so great that I've gagged myself with it. I've put on a blindfold of fear so that I wouldn't have to gaze at it anymore and then I just stood there, wishing I had someone to blame. Wondering if this was all my life was going to be.
So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't seek to place blame, don't let your heart harden, and put down that drink. What we need to do when misfortune hits, is take responsibility for our part in it, accept the hurt but don't harbor it, and remember who you are. Remember the feeling of happiness and know that you will have it again. Remember that although the world is full of hate and evil, it is also even more full of love and acceptance, it's just that hate tends to shout while love whispers. Listen to the whispers and meditate on drowning out the shouting. Re-focus, little witches, and cast a new circle for a new day. I'm back and I'd like to welcome all of you back to life with me.
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