Category: Witchcraft and Wicca

Positive Witchcraft and ethical Wicca based on the Wiccan Rede as a guideline : An Ye Harm None and Do What Ye Will which means to do what a person chooses to with own will power, with no harm to self or others and without interference or domination over oneself. Freedom from limiting belief systems that have created misunderstandings about witchcraft and magic so that the right teachings are given.

  • Initation and Guidelines for Initates

    Initation and Guidelines for Initates

    What is Initiation?

    Initiation is a way of accessing a part of our higher self, which is that part of us which is all powerful and connected to the divinity within us – the source of our magickal – our true spiritual self. Initiation can happen quite naturally to a person, through meditation, in dreams, through a master or guide (astral or physical). There can be several initiations.

    In this note I am talking of a Wiccan Initiation specifically pertaining to the Global Wicca Tradition. The way we work here can be quite different from other religious, spiritual groups or traditions and it is advised that you read through the pages of www.globalwicca.com to know more about Wicca, Global Wicca Tradition and then go through this note in detail in order to gain clarity on this important topic. You are most welcome to go through the photos and videos on the Global Wicca network pages to to get a clearer picture of our initiation ceremonies or better still attend an initiation rite as a guest member of the temple.

    Call us Tel 022-65250328 or email swati@swatiprakash.com for more information over and above what is mentioned on our sites and blogs)

    If you do not wish to be initatited as a Clergy of the Global Wicca Tradition’s temples you may simply choose to join one of our temples as a member of Global Wicca (presently there is free membership for Online temple and a small fees for the offline temple). More details on www.globalwicca.com

    You can also study our courses for the sake of knowledge without choosing to be initiated. Initiation is not mandatory but your choice.

    In Global Wicca Tradition, an initiation is an energy transfer that allows a member of a temple access to the inner circle of the Global Wicca Tradition. An initiate gets priviliged membership to the tradition’s Clergy as a recognised priest or priestess authorised to conduct ritual services in the name of / on behalf of the temple (presently Earth Healing Temple or Online Temple of the Global Wicca Traditon). This is an official entry into the priesthood of the tradition as you take up Global Wicca as a serious career for you.

    What Can You DO as an Initiate?

    The Services page of www.globalwicca.com will tell you what all rituals and services initiates are authorised to perform in the name of the Global Wicca Tradition and under the aegis of the Earth Healing Temple. Clergy may charge a reasonable fees for the ritual services they perform and make a small contribution to the temple fund out of the same. This is applicable to the rituals you conduct for the Earth Healing Temple and not for any other services you perfom. Please make a distinction between your personal services and the services you perform as a Clergy member of Global Wicca and Earth Healing Temple and of course accurately report the same.

    We can also offer group ritual service to those members of public who need our help and stronger group energy for healing or any 0ther ritual.

    Clergy is respected and rewarded for their energy and services as much as possible. There will always be a reasonable energy exchange that benefits us mutually if you should conduct any kind of service through us so that no clergy member is drained out. You will never be asked to conduct free rituals, mentor our students for free or to donate to us unless it benefits you and the tradition clearly except if it is a one-off promotional or educational work that you and the tradition agree to perform together.

    Initiation criteria:

    You will need to study directly under the Temple head Rev. Swati Prakash (Lady Astra Wishkap) or another authorised third degree Clergy member / temple head of the tradition and complete the course requirements as mentioned in the site http://www.globalwicca.com Join Us page.

    The first year’s temple joining fees is waived off at present for all initiates who have complete the full course applicable for first degree.

    Every tradition has their own way of teaching and first degree of Global Wicca includes a lot of higher level skills of Energy Work (Three degrees of Reiki, Past Life Therapy, Wand work and Thoughtforms being just the first few topics in course one of the first degree). This is why you may need to study our courses thoroughly if you want to be recognised as first degree in our tradition and doing a first degree Wicca course from another source may not be sufficient on its own. You also need to be tuned into the philosophy and spiritual orientation, beliefs and practices of our tradition which is why studying directly under us is highly recommended and will soon be mandatory.

    The study for first degree can be completed in a period of one year and one day during which you must attend at least three rituals conducted by the temples of Global Wicca (Online or Earth Healing). After this you can begin with second and consequently third degree studies.

    You can also complete any of our courses through online study (notes,chats, online rituals are made available to online students)

    For a short duration our temple is at present offering initations to those students of First Degree Wicca who have completed their studies through witchschool or other noteworthy source. You will in this case have to pay the temple joining fees and submit all certificates and documentation as well as a no objection letter or recommendation from your mentor or teacher. You may have to undergo an interview so that we can access your readiness as a professional who can conducts our rituals and services. You may be asked to complete certain topics or courses through us if required.You must for this have attanded and participated in at least three rituals onlne or offline conducted by our temples so that you are well versed with our rituals and are prepared on how to perform the same yourself.

    Forms, Certificates, ID cards:

    All candidates who wish to be initiated may please submit duly filled and signed forms, two recent passport sized photographs and a valid legally accepted ID card and address proof so that you can be given a certificate and membership card.

    Ritual decorum:

    All initates are presented embellished stoles with patches and must wear the same to every ritual. It is preferred that you wear a robe to the ceremonies (a simple black robe of a comfortable fabric with or without hood is the norm). You may get these stiched, made to order or purchased readymade (recommendations available).

    SOME DOS AND DON’TS

    Please Do:

     – Please do bring your own wands to the rituals, wear your robes and vestments, carry your IDs.

    – Please refer to your magickal name given during your initiation in our circle and rituals and address other members of Clergy with their magickal name.

    – Please do volunteer often to perform part or whole of the ritual ceremony as temple Clergy for your own practice and for the benefit of other members as well. Please do this under the aegis of our tradition and distinguish it from any other personal ritual or service. 

    – Please do volunteer to organise events, venues, causes, drives and take other leading roles in the temple under the temple’s name that you belong to.

    – Please do volunteer to raise awareness about our temples (Onlne Temple, Earth Healing Temple) and tradition and to bring more members into our circles.

    – Please do promote the tradition and temples actively as we need all your support so as to grow bigger and to be able to offer more services to the public as a recognised coherent group. We also wish to expalnd our physical location and to create a larger Wiccan temple for which we need space and support.

    – Please do wait till you go further in your course and gain third degree status so that you can begin and head a new temple and conduct courses, rituals etc in the name of our Tradition in your area or location or online.

    – Please do ask for help in your career in the Wiccan path. The Tradition head can guide you on how to set up your professional services and our businesses can agree to offer you bulk discounts on products, wholesale orders and offer you supplier opportunities if you wish to sell your own products or services through our stores. We can also offer you franchise opportunities (through our brand Magick) if you wish to set up store and many other resources to set up your career or business so that we can grow together.

    – Please do adhere to the ethics and norms of rituals, services, ceremonies as set by the tradition

    Please Do Not:

    – Please do not use this tradition, group or events as a platform to further your services, own groups, networks and products or by gaining access to and contact with our members. (If you wish to copromote or advertise here please send an official proposal)

    – Pleae do not attempt to use your degree or Clergy status to make false claims or to offer services or rituals that you are not yet competent to offer. (Any member of the public can always come to our website and find out the list of services you are allowed to offer as a first degree and so on.)

    – Please do not gossip, spread rumours or negative energy regarding any member, group, temple, person related to the tradition or otherwise. (Keep energy positive). If something needs to be highlighted or reported please do so officially to the authorised leaders so the same can be dealt with in a balanced way.

    – Please do not bring your own tools, crytsals, amulets etc. to the ritual to keep on our altar to energise them during our rituals. As a Clergy member you should be able to energise your own products. If you need additional energy for your crystals and tools from the temple head or ritual leader or someone else please perform an energy exchange and request for an energising service or else you will end up draining the ritual’s and circle’s energy which is never good.

    – Please do not attempt to copy our original work, notes, ritual patterns, spells, products, store format, phish our members, etc to set up your own network or business ori ndulge in any other unethical or irresponsible behavior. You can always ask for co-promotional, franchise and other opportunities and be a partner if you wish to use our technology. Misusing anyone’s  copyrighted work or systems without permission can be seen as a punishable offence.

    Let us spread the Light together as One.

    Brightest Blessings

    (*)

    Rev. Swati Prakash (Lady Astra)

    Head – Global Wicca Traditon

    www.globalwicca.com

  • Ethics in the Magickal World

    Ethics in the Magickal World

    There is just one law in the uni-verse. We are all one and as we send so we receive. We are all interlinked in the fabric of life. In this matrix we call the world, every thought, emotion, action we project is automatically carried back to us. Sometimes we may feel the effects of our karma in the so-called future – truly the effect is already contained in the cause and is real right NOW…the future just being another illusion in this drama of life.

    “Bide within the Law you must, in perfect Love and perfect Trust.”

    Who do we think we are helping or harming? The is no-one but our-self. Each one in the world that we perceive to be as an-other is actually another part of our own self – waiting to be identified, loved and accepted as our-self.
    “Love is the Law, Love under Will” – said Aliester Crowley

    In my journey I have found friends and foes all helping me understand myself and gain clarity of who I am.

    There have been people who have tried to utilize my services for free in the guise of friendship – some of them still try to sneak in and take a reading or two when they can. I’ve had enough of these false friends and have chosen to move on. My own company is far more enjoyable to me, thank you!

    “With a fool no seasons spend, or be counted as his friend”

    At other times there were those who blatantly copied my ideas as their own, copied my event formats and venues, those who have been drawing many of the members of my groups and communities into their own groups, even trying to steal my customers and clients by promoting their own products and services, openly and in shadows, through online networking and in offline events, quite thanklessly. I know I am wiser than before thanks to you all.

    “Mind the Three-fold Laws you should, three times bad and three times good.”
    I have received a lot of good from the goddess and know that nothing of what I gave was ever lost and will only return my way multiple times. Those who did me wrong will automatically learn their lessons too for the harm they did will also return their way.  I am living in perfect Love and perfect Trust!

    “Live you must and let to live, fairly take and fairly give.”

    When we try to extract something from someone without a fair exchange we are being an Energy Vampire – sucking out the goodness from others, making them feel depleted, pretty much like a ‘dementor’ in Harry Potter would make someone feel. Being a vampire is nothing to be proud of – no matter what the Twilight series makes you believe.

    “When you have and hold a need, hearken not to others greed.”
    I have learned how to protect myself from greedy vampires and hope you do too.

    Why have so many people believed that magick is wrong, negative, a dark art, witches are bad, and so on?

    Because of the way witches have been hiding from the world – as if guilty – as if unsure of being revealed – ashamed of being called a witch. The world surely treats us the way we expect to be treated.

    Why have so many people who render spiritual service been offering it for free or at very low price?

    Perhaps their fear of not being truly effective or ready yet to be professionally competent. They may be still learning and an inner knowing that they are not that worthy is leading them to give free advice, readings, rituals, spells, healing, etc to others. Or perhaps they are not properly organized, don’t have a great set up, sell smuggled goods, don’t pay taxes…and so on…there are many reasons why you will obtain free and lowly priced goods and services. Their energy will be equally low however.

    It is necessary to know that unless there is a fair exchange no energy gets transferred at all and no help is ever given unless the giver receives something of equal worth in return.

    If you feel you don’t have enough, you are poor, you need charity – you are right – you have created this future for yourself through this very belief. If you feel rich and abundant right now you will create that reality, and then you will not feel stingy, pinch a penny and refuse to give a fair price for what you take.

    Why have so many people been resentful, envious, jealous and scornful of those in the spiritual field who are making money?

    Because they were so far not living in abundance. Each time someone gets mentioned in the media, starts a new enterprise, does something new and amazing, he or she also runs the risk of jealousies and the ‘evil-eye’ of those who are not as successful, those who are frustrated and insecure and are unable to see the success of another. If we seek abundance why do we forget that there is always enough for all and we do not have to be unhappy of the success and prosperity of another person. In-fact to rejoice in the success of others draws more success to us.

    “Merry Meet and Merry Part bright the cheeks and warm the heart.”

    Why have members of the Wiccan religion been a misunderstood minority so far?

    Perhaps due to the absolute lack of unity among those who are Wiccans as there are too many who just want to treat Wiccan rituals like a little party instead of with a seriousness that a religious ceremony carries. As soon as a person learns a bit of Wicca and ritual he or she starts drawing (or stealing) members of other Wiccan groups into their own circle and thereby not letting even one community totally integrate and flourish. The communities get scattered and so does the energy scatter too. If only we could have more focus and dedication towards our traditions and give love and support to our leaders, we could probably achieve much more as a united coherent community.

    Why do so many tarot readers, healers, witches, spiritual experts still have unhappy, unsuccessful lives, financial blocks, unhappy relationships, ill health…?

    We need to look within ourselves and heal ourselves first. Only by being ethical and truthful people an we ever draw goodness into our life. As long as a part of us feels, guilty, undeserving of good, unworthy, we will not be really successful folks, and there is always a part of us that knows our truth.

    “When misfortune is enow wear the star upon your brow.”

    Wisdom and learning, love and ethics are the only way to progress and the only way to banish bad luck and misfortune.

    How can we love another unless we love our-self? How can we receive love unless we give it truly and unconditionally? Without loyalty and faithfulness can there be any love at all?

    Loyalty and faithfulness are the base of any relationship – it is the root chakra – our ground that we stand on – the stability and security that all is well. If this is missing there can be nothing up in the air that will ever do.

    It is time to be loyal to our-self and everyone, to love ourselves and everyone.

    “True in love, this you must be, lest thy love be false to thee.”
    I know when I look into the mirror right now, I see a person who is true and loving to herself and others. And that is all that matters.

    When you stop hurting yourself you stop hurting others. When you stop hurting others you stop hurting yourself.
    When you start loving yourself you start loving others. When you start loving others you start loving yourself.
    This is a circle of infinite love and joy, beauty and peace.

    We only need to learn one lesson to be free of our burdens of guilt and shame and to live a wonderful life.
    Its a familiar statement to many of us:
    Eight word the Wiccan Rede fulfill:
    “An Ye Harm None, Do What Ye Will.”

    Blessed Be
    (*)
    Lady Astra Wishkap aka Rev. Swati Prakash
    Global Wicca Tradition

    www.globalwicca.com

  • Why be Part of a Wiccan Tradition and Temple

    Why be Part of a Wiccan Tradition and Temple

    Many of you are already familiar with Wicca: A modern nature based religion of magick.

    A Wiccan Tradition is a structure through which more focus is added to your Wiccan practice as a religion/ shared spiritual system.

    (Read more on Wicca on www.globalwicca.com and join us now)

    A lot of Wiccans especially those who are new into it practice solitary or as loosely gathered groups, often leading to more unfocused energy than an organized tradition or temple can provide. However Wiccan temples and traditions are not always accessible to the public.

    Even when these are not everyone prefers to learn in a structured way or to keep the energy chain flowing through an organized tradition. What we need to understand is the difference being a part of a tradition and temple can make to us if we choose to be a part of it. In a tradition there is a specific philosophy, leadership, code of ethics and a shared understanding of what and how we practice as a community of Wiccans.

    A tradition can have one or more temple. In a Wiccan temple there are rituals and rites conducted as service often within the initiated priesthood but also sometimes open to public especially on festive occasions such as sabbats and esbats. A temple is a finely run organization with priests and priestesses and headed by a high priest/ess who looks after the functioning of the temple.

    As the public is often allowed to be a part of the sacred ceremonies along with initiates a lot of energy is transferred to the member of public who is granted access to the temple. An energy exchange in the form of membership dues or ritual fees is often required to help facilitate the same so that the participant gets maximum benefit of the spiritual service consumed by him or her. Often the fees for such public ritual service is kept to a minimum as compared to a one-to-one and personalized ritual or spell-casting performed by an expert.

    If the temple receives adequate donations or has a good source of funding the rituals can be made even more affordable for the masses but as Wicca is a fairly new religion this process may take some time. An energy exchange may be required to keep the temple functioning well, to reward the priesthood who conducts the services and to cover for the ritual supplies as well so that the temple can continue to provide continued service, expand itself and serve the society in a meaningful way.

    What is the Earth Healing Temple: A place where magick happens and rituals are held – this place is within our heart as we come together and cast our circle for any temple ritual. This is a Wiccan temple – our prayers are our spells and invocations. We worship the Earth goddess and all facets of divine from all sources across the globe – the Wiccan Way. We call upon the elements of nature and astral entities that are positive in every aspect to help us raise and purify our energies so that we release the negative blocks and bring in more positive situations in our life. We also perform rituals to heal the earth.

    I urge you all to also read the blog post on how to join the Earth Healing Temple on the Global Wicca Tradition’s ning network (Join Us) and lend us your support and participation so that we can keep up our good work. With all you support we will be able to unite more and more people and expand our tradition in every direction. Consider joining our tradition’s inner circle to have a more active role to play in it as a priest/ess. Any comments, feedback or discussions are welcome.

    Blessed Be

    (*)

    Rev. Swati Prakash

    Head Priestess – Earth Healing Temple

    Founder – Global Wicca Tradition

  • Birthday of a Witch!

    Birthday of a Witch!

    We have heard his stories, of all the miracles and wonders that he brought into the world, His healing powers, prophetic abilities and magical skills are well known.

    Jesus Christ seems to have been an extremely good witch, a magickal human who had tremendous wisdom and consciousness. If those tales are true it seems that he used his power of consciousness to create a change, to awaken the masses, to see the future,  and to show and lead by example. 

    Legend says that he was sacrificed…and it is also known that so many alleged witches have been framed and murdered through time for being courageous, self driven, focused…why… just because they chose their own beliefs and used their own inner spiritual powers instead of going as per the dictates of others?

    Following the path of Christ is about following the inner self. Instead of merely worshiping and remembering such great masters we must try to be like them, to learn the ways of the healers, to be enlightened, to work with the angels and unseen beings of nature, to prophecise and see the future, to perform divination and magick, to create a more positive state of being for ourselves, facilitating that for others, creating more beauty, peace and joy in this world, to be in balance, to maintain the balance of nature…Then we will truly be in the energy of God(dess).

    We may celebrate his birthday today in many ways but it will be incomplete if we did nothing to invoke our inner light as that is what God(ess) is truly all about. 

    Whether we attend a sacred ceremony, meditate, perform a spell, spend time in nature, or simply be in the energy of truth, we must know that the light of the world is being born within us in this very moment… as we spend some time with our-Self discovering the magick within us all.

    Blessed Be

    (*)

  • Nature = Science = Religion

    Nature = Science = Religion

    Humans consider themselves to be more intelligent, more evolved than other creatures of earth. I have come across certain spiritualists who believe that their being human is such a gift because ‘they are so much more spiritually evolved’. Many believers in reincarnation actually state that human life is the highest possible level of reincarnation on earth and it is through this that we attain the so called higher state of ‘liberation’.

    It is true that humans are biologically more evolved, being the most dense, physically and mentally more complex species on earth.

    Biological evolution and spiritual evolution however are two different things.

    Biological evolution can be termed as spiritual ‘involution’. All matter has evolved from its original spirit form. Spirit, energy, chi, prana, shakti is life and it is the essence and original state of everything that exists (both the living and so called ‘non living’). Energy has ‘condensed’ to become what we see as matter. This is a scientific fact and a peek into quantum physics will help us understand this.

    Becoming more and more complex from our original, simple, ‘unity’ state of existence – this is the process of involution.

    As nature becomes more and more complex, spiritual vibrations become denser and denser, more and more complex forms of life evolve as spirit gets ‘involved’ in the play of existence. We become physically more complicated, mentally more complicated, hence highly ‘intelligent’ humans.

    Animals (read other animals as humans are a part of the animal world scientifically speaking), are less biologically evolved and less mentally complicated. They are closer to the spiritual self.

    Plants are even closer to the spiritual self. Minerals, crystals, rocks are close too as they have fewer complexities.

    Earth (solid matter), Water, Fire, Air, are all closer to Spirit in that order.

    Spiritual evolution refers to the process of us (complex human forms) becoming more and more attuned to our original essence of spirit, this means to simplify ourselves, be more natural, more scientifc, which means more spiritual.This is also ‘Shedding our Huge Human Ego’. Humans need to meditate to get rid of mental chatter and to be in touch with their simple self. Other beings of nature need this much lesser than humans do.

    In the quest for achieving spiritual liberation humans have created religion. Religion is another name for shared spiritual belief system…. and there are so many variations of these belief systems… each eager to prove its superiority and establish its dominance. All these religions are untimately based on stories, books, myths and mythologies. Science and common sense urge us to understand that these myths, stories, books and mythlogies contain just lessons for us to learn, rather than facts. There is truth within them, even though they may not be exactly factual.

    The fact is that all myths, customs, rites have evolved from nature. In the beginning humans observed nature and its phenomena. Sun, moon, tides, storms, lightning, rain and so on. These were all honoured as deities and as they started responding to the wishes and thoughts of humans they began to understand what magick is really all about. Every aspect of nature began to assume a deity form, animals, birds and even human. We prayed to the gods of rains for rainfall, sun for warmth, and so on.

    As religion evolved into more complex forms in line with the biological and mental evolution of man, we went out of step with spirituality and nature. We forgot that all modern myths and mythologies in all modern religions have originally evolved from nature worship.

    For example – what we celebrate as Christmas or birth of Jesus Christ in December was originally celebrated as Winter solistice. Around this time each year we witness the longest night and the shortest day of the year, after which days begin to grow longer and longer. This is the peak of winter and the Sun god is at its weakest dying stage, and soon as the solstice ends, Sun is born again and slowly gains power as the wheel of the year turns. This is also called Yule and originally being a nature festival that symbolised the rebirth of sun was celebrated with evergreen trees, holly and mistletoe being symbols of the cycle of death and rebirth, popcorn garlands and decorations were warpped around trees to keep the ‘tree spirits’ warm. Such a beautiul way to celebrate the magick and mystery of nature – and most of us who celebrate Christmas don’t even know that.

    Gods and goddesses that are visualised as having human form are actually all originally just aspects of nature. Thunder and lightning (Zeus, Indra), male god (sun, Lugh, Mithra, Aditya, Vishnu, all versions of male ‘God’ deity in modern religions such as Christianity), female goddess (moon, Astarte, Diana, Hecate, Artemis, most female deities that are conspicous by their absence in modern patriarchial religions). The lists of gods and goddesses may be endless but they are all forms of nature and should ideally help us be more and more aligned with our natural self.

    Air, Fire, Water, Earth, Plants, Animals and all other beings of nature are more in tune with their essence, their spirituality than humans who falsely believe themselves to be superior. They are all far more at ease with themselves, their intuition, their ablity to ‘be’, their basic needs and desires than most humans who have created way too much stress and complication in their lives and are seeking a way to escape this through one of two extremes:

    First extreme – the path of asceticism, meditation to the extent of losing their basic ‘grounding’ or practicality, celibacy, to a less extent vegetarianism, Jainism, veganism and fasting to a greater extent denial of food and water, relenquishing pleasure while being misfits in society and deeply unhappy within.

    The second extreme – Overindulgence in the life process, drugs, addictions, poly-amourism (multiple partners – no committment), maximising pleasure, numbing themselves to pain while being deeply unhappy within.

    A lot of so called spiritualists I have observed acually fall in one of the above two categories. I have actually found them to be broken, sorry people who are in real need of healing but their spiritual egos keep them far from accepting their natural truth.

    Thankfully to help us achieve this we have Science.

    As we learn to observe nature (which is the essence of science) we try to discover facts and move away from myths. We learn the language of nature and its laws. We learn how all matter is composed of vibrations that are altered through the power of consciousness. Through scientific experimentation we have discovered that there is ‘Magick’ and what we really focus on condenses from spirit to matter, from imagination to reality, E=mc square etc… – a fact that witches and mystics have known all along and ‘new age’ gurus have finally ‘exposed’ as the Secret.

    We finally learn that all we really need to be is our simple, humble, natural self. This means our intuitive, spiritual, scientific, magickal self.

    Imagine if we all were in tune with this part of us, with our essence.

    Imagine a world where we are in perfect harmony and sync with nature, its bounty, its beauty.

    A world in which we use our common sense and scientific understanding of the world to discover its facts and our natural intuition to discover their underlying truth, instead of being brainwashed by modern religious leaders into following what they claim to be the ultimate concept of ‘God’.

    A world where we realise that we are biologically well evolved as humans but need to spiritually evolve – which means to go back to our natural simple, intuitive, magickal state of being.

    A world in which we are truly happy, abundant, enlightened and peaceful because whatever we want and desire is manifesting each moment by the way of natural Magick and it is scientific – and real – and good. We use it only for good and never to harm, because we know that we do not want to harm anyone if we truly wish to achieve peace, joy and happiness – purity of intent – Satva-yuga!

    Welcome to the magickal world of Wicca – a nature oriented spiritual system – a scientific, rational religion – a path of Love and Light!

    You can read more on this on the blog and if you’d like to learn more, register for the courses.

    Join us for the Yule ritual this 21 Dec 2009 (more on the page Magick on Facebook – link on this blog)

    Merry Yule, Happy Winter Solstice and Blessed Be
    (*)

    Swati Prakash
    Head Priestess – Earth Healing Temple

    Founder – Global Wicca Tradition

  • Freedom…a Wiccan’s point of view

    Freedom…a Wiccan’s point of view

    I have been hearing so much about freedom lately (Independence day discussions on 15th August) that I decided last night to ask the universe to expand my awareness of what this word could really mean.

    I asked myself…. if you were to be totally on your own, away from the responsibilities of the world would that be freedom? If you switched off your phone and cut off fromt the world, then would you be a ‘free bird’? If you went on a vacation or drank and dozed off for the night…will that be freedom. If you ended a relationship that is difficult to handle, then would you be truly independent and free…. Perhaps not!

    True freedom lies in being free from within. We have all heard of this I am sure… but its just like saying something out of a book. What does this actually mean to me and you? Free from what…and free of what?

    If you are free from everything else but not from your own self limiting beliefs and patterns… that state of being can hardly be called freedom.

    If you are free of temporary cares and troubles but not truly peaceful and in touch with you inner power to heal and tranform these troubles… that can hardly be called freedom.

    True freedom is in knowing ourselves and being true to ourselves.  The truth is that we are constantly creating what we call our destiny. We are always free to choose what we create. That’s why we say freedom is within and this choice is always within you and me.

    How can we be true to ourselves? And just WHO are we after-all?

    As for me, I am a Witch. The typical image of a witch flying on a broomstick is often taken offensively by a lot of Wiccans but to me it has always been a symbol of being liberated and free. Especially the ones with an old crone flying on the handle. Within each of us is this old and wise soul who knows everything and is waiting to be recognised. It is this wise one within us that has the keys to true freedom and liberation.

    To me this came through the Wiccan path so let me elaborate upon the concept of freedom as a Wiccan.

    As per Wiccan, as well as Vedic and most of the ancient philosophical belief system, the universe is composed of five key elements – Air, Fire, Water, Earth and Spirit. Much of what we know and experience can be explained through this elemental system. Simplification according to some…maybe…and why not ….after all Truth is always simple…misconstructions of truth are rather complicated.

    Air: This is the element that rules over or represents our thoughts. We are always free to choose our thoughts. That sounds fairly easy, but there is a small catch…We may not always be aware of what we are thinking at all times.  Many of our conscious and subconscious daydreams and fantasies are taken too lightly by us inspite of the fact that over time they collect energy and manifest into real events and situations. Every thought that ever springs into our mind has the potential to manifest into reality to some extent or another. While focused thoughts can turn into manifest reality sooner and much more prominently, unfocused ones may take more time.  That’s not all. Sometimes we consciously think pleasant thoughts but somewhere inside we feel negative, skeptical or fearful about the same issue and this cancels out and dilutes the manifestation of the positive thought we had sent out. Therefore in order to be totally free in mind we need to be aware of our outer and inner mind both. Each time a negative thought presents itself to me I try to be aware of ‘what am I thinking’ and try to heal and replace it with a positive one instead. I have my dark moments too…but the good thing is you will eventually come out of it sooner or later – this is my Freedom of Thought

    Fire: This is the element of our desires and wants. Some spiritualists may opine that true freedom is a total freedom from desires.  ‘Desires when not fulfilled lead to sadness and this is the cause of all suffering,’ they say. This is almost like escaping reality and being listless boring people. In my view true freedom is not about negating desires completely but by choosing to focus on those desires that are beneficial and useful withharm to none (another excellent topic to ponder about). Desires are different from thought. There is more energy in them because we feel it running in every cell and tissue of our body. Whatever we are more passionate about has a greater chance of manifesting than something we don’t really care for.  For instance, many of us imagine magic to be some way in which we can make objects fly in air but for most of the witches such a skill is hardly something they would really care too much to develop. They would rather focus on real needs, issues and wants of their life, and where they need healing is where their fire will be – Freedom of Desire

    Water: This is the element of emotions and most of us are so full of it. Our bodies are composed of plenty of water therefore it is only natural for us to be emotional beings. We may ignore, hide or repress our emotions but that does not mean we do not have them. True emotional freedom is not about blocking emotions but about expressing them and enjoying them. Some of you would say, can we enjoy dark emotions too…the sorrowful, pitiful, hateful ones…? Your choice! But then do not complain if sorrowful and pitiful situaitons keep on developing in your life. Each emotion is tremendously powerful and manifests into reality sooner than we think. If we become sensitive to our emotions, and intuition is a very good way to begin, we will find that it will be a lot easier for us to identify negative or blocked emotions and therefore heal them and replace them with positive and loving ones. We can choose to be in a loving vibrational state.  True emotional freedom is about being in love and allowing it to flow freely through you. This Love is a choice we can make at any moment, and this Love is what we are Free to Feel.

    Earth: This is the element of practical, sensible wisdom. This is the way we organise and integrate our experiences, thoughts, desires and emotions into meaningful patterns. Spells are all about this. A methodical approach that combines the air of clear thoughts and intentions with fire, water and earth works best – you may choose symbolic representations of your intention – crystals, images, oils, anything you can sense and percieve with your senses that can make your intentions turn into somethng more real and believable to yourself. This way you will make manifestation much more effective than through simple visualisations or affirmations or mere positive thinking. Wisdom is an important ingredients and the more of it in your spells the better. This usually takes study, training and practice to develop.  After all being a witch or wiz is all about being wise and that is the real Freedom to Be.

    Spirit: This is the element that is the source of all that is. Usually the imperceivable part of us that is unconscious of itself, but can be made conscious through the right practices. Afterall there is a spell for everything, even spiritual growth. The higher our spiritual vibrations the better our thought, desire, feeling or spell will manifest. We must constantly work on our spiritual growht and awareness if we are to be truly wise beings and really free people. Freedom of spirit is the most important of all. This is our basic essence made manifest in full bloom. We must be aware that we are not just our present body, mind and experiences but much beyond that…souls with several lifetimes of experiences, soul groups with a continnum of souls within it and the divine itself with all the patterns and possibilities that exist in the entire universe – all this is our true nature and reality. This is our Freedom and true liberation. Know thyself!

    So that was my higher self talking to me. I hope you enjoyed our conversation. More later…

    Blessed Be

    (*)