The nature of changing practice

Hi y'all again. Today there are two things I want to discuss, the way our practice changes over time and the themes of an upcoming Witchvox essay, The green life versus the silver life.

The nature of changing practice
This is something I've been meaning to blog about for some time, but I think now is a most appropriate time in my life to write about it. As I mentioned in January, I enrolled on a beginner's course of Witchcraft in my local Pagan shop. Up until that point I had studied alone with books following an eclectic Wiccan path, which satisfied me, but towards the end of last year I realised my practice was beginning to become static and stale. Being plonked in a class of beginners made me realise how far I had come from being in that position myself. They say 'when the student is ready, the teacher will appear.' I was more than ready and was very much enjoying picking up on aspects of the Craft that I hadn't studied in any depth, and mentoring others. The others in the class came from many walks of life and had entered into the Craft from many different angles, which in itself blasted a breath of fresh air into my practice, if not other areas of my life as well. At the shop, outside of the class, people came and went of so many paths; Wiccans, Hedgewitches, Druids, neo-Pagans and make-it-up-as-you-go-along Witches stopped by for a chat and a cup of tea. I found that just talking to these people and listening to them talk about their practice to each other made me subconciously soak up their ideas and beliefs. These encounters, along with the class, had my practice undergo some rapid shifts for a few months. But that's not to say that I would abandon my roots; there are certain invocations, rituals and altar pieces I simply won't change or part with and have used since day dot.
More recently, over this summer, the two encounters with Spanish witches have taught me how Reclaiming and El Camino Rojo are practised in Spain, themselves two diverse American paths but there with an Iberian twist. There are some who say you should shop and eat locally from your land, worship the gods native to your country and use the practices and rituals of your ancestors. For example, modern Pagans in Japan worshipping Cerridwen and Athena wouldn't be connecting to their land or their heritage (indeed I've heard reports of something like this happening.) Seeing the Spanish invoke Iberian deities and learning about the local customs was as much refreshing as it was enjoyable.
With my discovery of Starhawk a couple of years ago my practice has since been learning towards the Wiccan Reclaiming tradition. For ages I've been trying to get into learning to read Tarot cards, for the sake of a more well-rounded education, but I never managed to get them to grab my interest. But of late I've been very much drawn to Runes, a similar form of divination. But Tarot is rooted in Middle-Eastern practices, and Runes in Norse practices - perhaps my Swedish heritage is calling me towards use of the Runes. Maybe my practice will veer next towards Odinism or Asatru. Who knows? There are hundreds of diverse and exciting Pagan paths to explore, and many books and teachers on hand to help you along the way.
But a word of warning my friends. Choose your teacher wisely. I'd like to thank my teacher for all she gave me and all the knowledge and fun times we shared together, even if she'd sooner jump off a cliff than accept my thanks. If there is anything about witchcraft that she doesn't know then its probably not worth knowing. But what is boundless knowledge worth if you cannot practice what you preach? Some teachers are devoted to sharing love and knowledge of the Craft with those willing to learn. Others are in it for a quick buck. I unfortunately ended up with the latter. During my recent visit to Avebury I met a hedgewitch who asked me how I had recieved my education of the Craft. With a sharp intake of breath I explained that I had mostly taught myself, but that at one point I'd had a teacher, but to put it simply....well, shit hit the fan. Granted everyone won't get on with everyone else forever - some relationships and friendships grow apart, some blow apart. But this is the sad case with my teacher; had she imparted her hard-earned knowledge and experience with the love and compassion that she preached, rather than with a pretty mask used to collect money, she would have been a wonderful teacher. But in time all appearances and false pretences will fade away and peoples' true colours will be revealed. Once again, excercise caution in seeking out teaching. But by all means don't steer completely clear of those willing to teach; I know that there are some gems of knowledgeable people out there, out to make the world a better place.

Thought of the day
'The Green life versus the Silver life' will be the title of my next Witchvox essay, a subject I've been meaning to explore for a while now. The ol' witch in the woods had a couple of beeswax candles and a knowledge of herbs to use in her practice. The modern witch has the world a their fingertips at the click of a mouse button. I've always been a bit of a sci-fi geek, fascinated by modern technology, and most of the fiction I've written involves futuristic colonies in Space, and I've also always been a sucker for post-apocalyptic and disaster movies, in which the Earth freezes over or burns to a crisp or explodes, etc. I've always had a thrill for travel to far-flung exotic places, and like any teenager, wouldn't be without my laptop, phone or ipod. Cue the snag - does the slow-paced, Earth-reverence lifestyle of Paganism not present the exact opposite sort of mentality? Pagans live in the here and now, grounded in the present, the majority of us focused mainly on protecting the environment, and enjoy nothing more than a walk through sylvan parks, forests and by tinkling streams rather than in the perfectly geometric stone and metal cities of my imagination. Air travel is of-course a big no-no, being the largest producer of Co2 as forms of transport go. All the silver shiny things that make us stay-indoorsy robots and distract us for hours and hours on end from our natural surroundings, those things that make our lives easier and more enjoyable on the surface, but in the long term cause fatigue, depression and stress due to our over-busy lives and lack of communication with Earth's energies - how do we fit it into a modern Pagan lifestyle? The answer is compromise, to combine the two. We can't progress without embracing modern technology. Without the wonders of the Internet this message wouldn't be reaching you. The term 'Techno-Pagan' is becoming more and more widespread, to describe those who would use the Internet to network with other Pagans and bring together people and ideas. Beside all this we can still make time to be with nature, if we can only pause our hectic lifestyles for a brief time and take in the serenity of the Earth. The balance is imperative to our wellbeing, and if we can reach for the silvery stars while keeping rooted in the green Earth, we will make great tracks in our lives and in the lives of others indeed.

Viaje a Avalon (aka, a bunch of Spaniards have a Pagan-themed jolly to England)

Merry meet all,
Today I want to share the experiences of my past week, touring around the sacred sites of the West country with a very excited group of Spanish Pagans.

Viaje a Avalon
I saw on Facebook only about a week before they were due to come to England that there were two places left on their 'trip to England.'  Having visited Glastonbury and Avebury last Beltane and having not wanted to leave, I was grateful to snap up the opportunity to go again, while practising Spanish on my own turf. I made a slightly hair-raising coach journey to Bristol airport (due to horrendous traffic in central London giving me about 5 minutes to change at Victoria Station). The group of 7 turned up in Arrivals bundled up in winter coats - "Welcome to the English Summer!" I proclaimed in Spanish, much to their amusement. A minibus took us to our first destination, the EarthSpirit centre in Somerset, about half an hour from Glastonbury. As the Spaniards spilled out of the minibus they looked around in awe at the foggy moon and the light it cast on the farmhouse and the garden. Their faces looked as though they'd landed on Mars (so I'm told, 'The West Country has that effect').
On our first day we went to Glastonbury, to visit the abbey (we held a beautiful mini ritual under a chestnut tree in the grounds), followed by a visit to the fabulous Goddess Temple and a shopping trip along the High Street. One of the women wanted to buy a drum and wanted to know how it was made but didn't understand a word of what the shopkeeper said to her. Indeed these people spoke about 3 words of English between them, cue my first attempt at being a makeshift translator. Despite my somewhat shaky translation, she seemed pleased with it and ended up buying the drum. We then made our way up a hill, at the top of which was a small tree surrounded by a metal support; on every inch of space there hung ribbons of all shapes, sizes and colours, with blessings and prayers scribbled on them in many languages. From there we had a fantastic view of the whole town, and of the Tor, and chose this place for our next group meditation.
The next day we found an enormous and beautiful Yew tree in a cemetary under which to meditate, then collected some yarrow, the 'women's plant', for them to take home. We took the minibus back to Glastonbury, where we were unleashed into Morrisons and told we were to buy lunch and dinner for the next 2 days. Cue a mad frenzy of grabbing anything that was on offer, and we landed up with bags and bags of....well, crap. It sufficed though, and we spent the afternoon climbing the Tor, which has wonderful views over 3 counties, and visiting Chalice Well, whose beauty grabbed my interest and never let go during my first visit last May. On the way to Avebury we stopped by at Stonehenge, which I got some very good pictures of when the herds of Japanese tourists had cleared a sufficient gap between me and the stones. We arrived at the Aveburylife B&B in the evening and chowed down on our Feast of Abundance. The B&B owner then showed us pictures of the orbs of light that surround people in photos next to the stones, and of the nearby crop circles which made them jump up and down with excitement. The following morning we visited 2 crop circles, and had a ritual and a sing-song in one of them which was a truly magical experience. We then followed a trail through the woods towards Silbury Hill and did a meditation inside the West Kennet Long Barrow, an underground set of chambers. We then made our way around Silbury Hill and towards the main stone circles. We had private meditations with each of the stones and then a group meditation; we shared what we had learned from the stones and what had sprung to mind during our walk around the site. This exercise always fills me with dread because unlike going around a circle in a language oral lesson, in which you can fill 2 minutes with any old crap and it'll do, here I feel the need to come up with something personal, meaningful, revelant to the question and for goodness sake not in Spanglish. But I managed it, even if my verb endings were all over the shop and I was able to make myself understood. In the evening we chowed down in the famous Red Lion pub, and on the way back in the dusk, we took pictures of each other around the stones, and they squealed and leapt with excitement as dozens of white orbs appeared in the photos around their bodies. "Tell them to look at the sky," the B&B owner said to me. "There are no street lights here so there is no light pollution." This was followed by more 'ooh's and 'ah's. Bless 'em.
On the last day we made a circle and selected a 'moon card' as we had done in Spain - round cards with an image of different deities or circumstances printed on them. I was surprised to select Kali but I was told this is relevant for me because I'm learning to stand on my own feet; as Morgaine noted, I travel alone, I'm preparing for University far from home and I jump in at the deep end learning another language. Very well said. We said our fond farewells to Avebury and travelled to Stanton Drew, a small out-of-the-way village where there's a stone circle in a farmer's field that hasn't yet been pounced upon by English Heritage. Cows meandered between the ancient stones, indifferent to anyone who walked past, and the sheer peacefulness and lack of swarms of tourists made it something I'd recommend for anybody. Ritual inside this circle was moving and refreshing, and the weather pretty much held out the whole trip (despite one of the women asking me if this was normal temperature for the summer, and then informing me with slight disdain that this is October weather in Madrid.)

There was a somewhat emotional farewell on return to Bristol airport, to those who had been a really great group. My translation skills, if somewhat shoddy, were very much needed and it was great to be so useful while learning more of their language at the same time. We realised that this was the start of a long and fascinating journey of international networking which made me very glad I took the leap and went to the witchcamp in Spain in the first place. I'll be watching the Friends' Events on Facebook very closely from now on! Every journey begins with the first step....