Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Pagan
The Corner Crone: The Lenten Season—One Witch’s Perspective

The Corner Crone: The Lenten Season—One Witch’s Perspective

Last updated on: March 1, 2019 at 5:36 pm by Martha Kirby Capo

The Corner Crone: The Lenten Season—One Witch’s Perspective 2019-03-01T17:36:54+00:00 Martha Kirby Capo

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

I was steeped in Episcopalianism as a child. From St. David’s Preschool to St. Luke’s Episcopal and finally on to St. Mary’s Hall—originally organized by the Episcopal church to educate ranchers’ daughters—pretty much 5-6 days of the week, just about every week of the year for almost 20 years, most aspects of my life were grounded in the church.

Communion. Photo Credit: GerDukes, via Pixabay

You might assume that I tossed all of those experiences merrily aside (good riddance to bad garbage!) as the locus of my spiritual identity shifted away from Episcopalianism, and you’d be at least partially right. Paternalism, patriarchy—yeah, I had some problems with those, but overall I wouldn’t classify myself as one of the post-organized religion walking wounded. I’m very aware I’m one of the lucky ones. That’s not to say I haven’t had to reconcile psycho-sexual wounds dealt in childhood, but those didn’t occur in or through the church.

I loved—I still love—the “smells and bells” of the liturgy, the panoply of vestments and altar cloths, burses and polished silver pattens, chalices, and all of the fiddly bits that go into tricking out a really happenin’ altar. It’s great stuff, and when I’m working on one of my home altars I feel an almost tangible connection thrumming between my Faith of Origin (as it were) and my spiritual life as a Witch now.

Honoring the season of Lent is another way the faith of my childhood has found an authentic voice in my current spiritual practices. Traditionally (and vastly oversimplified here), Lent is a 40-day period of time preceding Easter during which Catholic, Protestant and some Eastern churches observe Christ’s time of temptation in the desert through penitence, abstinence and fasting.

Cactus, photo by author

Around this time of year you may have friends who decide to give up alcohol or chocolate or any number of indulgences for 40 days, and if they find that spiritually fulfilling then more power to them—I’m not here to harsh on their spiritual practices or judge them with an eye toward finding them lacking. I simply find more fulfillment in other aspects of Lent.

In the Christian mythology, after he was baptized by John, Christ removed himself to the desert not only to fast, but to meditate and pray. To be able to hear the deep whisperings of his innermost heart without the distractions of a social life. As a Wise Woman, this is a Lenten practice I can easily—eagerly—embrace.

As the Spring Equinox—Ostara—approaches I’ll start thinking about what spiritual practices I might explore. One year I decided to do a 3-card Tarot draw each morning and journalled my insights—this became the foundation of the 4-card daily draw I now perform—dare I say it?–religiously.

Animals. Photo Credit: Gellinger, via Pixabay

Study is another aspect of my Lenten practice. I’ve got a couple of books tucked away—Lisa Lister’s Witch and Benebell Wen’s masterwork, Holistic Tarot, which I’ve had for two years and am still learning from. I’m very hopeful that Cyndi Brannen’s Keeping Her Keys will show up on my doorstep in the next couple of weeks. I’ll learn some additional techniques to broaden my skills in Holistic Tarot, and I expect I’ll be enriched by what I learn from Lister and Brannen as well. I anticipate it will be time well spent in the desert, reading my books in place of the routine evening distractions of television or the internet.

Lent for me is a time when I intentionally try to Be Still and Know That I Am. The full quotation from Psalm 46:10 is “Be still, and know that I am God,” but again, just like many other pagans and witches, I’m snipping out pieces from the fabrics of a wide variety of spiritual practices and stitching together something that is uniquely my own, a patchwork (not patchy) quilt of meaningful practices that hopefully helps me to bring my most authentic self out into the world.

————

A short side note about one of my favorite parts of the Book of Common Prayer before I close. In the back of the book (p. 880) is found the “Tables and Rules for Finding the Date of Easter Day,” the first paragraph of which reads:

Easter Day is always the Sunday after the full moon that occurs on or after the spring equinox on March 21. This full moon may happen on any date between March 21 and April 18 inclusive. If the full moon falls on a Sunday, Easter Day is the Sunday following. But Easter Day cannot be earlier than March 22 or later than April 25.

There follow several paragraphs about how to calculate Easter Sunday for any year, which my geeky little liturgical heart adores, but the thing I’ve always loved best about this is the fact that all of these hidebound, authoritarian organized religions are essentially following the phases of the moon in figuring out when to celebrate one of their highest Holy Days.

I don’t mean this in a sniggering, supercilious way—I’m not all about saying my faith practice is the best way or the most authentic way. Rather, I find myself charmed that the Goddess is wherever you look if you have eyes to see Her. Even in those hidebound, authoritarian organized religions. Hail Hekate!

Previous Post

February 27, 2019

Of Light & Shadow: Messages & Signs from Anubis

Next Post

March 1, 2019 Book of Blackbirds: Faeries and Elves, Revisited

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Lakeside Hearth Adventures in Wortcunning Alone In Her Presence Arts, Crafts & Cooking Birthing Hereditary Witchcraft Book of Blackbirds Book Reviews Born-Again Witch Cauldron, Sword, Spear, & Stone Cermony and Liturgy Columns Community Dandelion Seeds Dear Jasmine Druid Thoughts Editor's Picks Everyday Pagan Family & Household Practice Family Traditions Full Frontal Magic Gateway Goddess Guest Articles Happily Heathen Health and Wellness Hearth of Hellenism Heathen Woman Hills of the Horizon History Holidays Horse Goddesses Interfaith Interviews Irish-American Witchcraft Jewish Witch Lamp & Labyrinth Letters from Midgard Literature, Media, Film, Music Loop of Brighid Love, Sex & Relationships Magic or Magick Making Light Naturalistic Traditions Nature News Outside The Circle Pantheisticon Politics Prayers, Poems, Blessings & Stories Queer Femme Mystic Queer of Swords Recipes Ritual and Practice Science and Research Seekers and Guides Seeking the Grail Socially Responsible Magic Spear of Athena Star Made Witch Syncretic Electric Technology The Blooming Staff The Busy Witch The Cartomancer The Crow's Nest The Dance of Pagan Recovery The Hearth of Hellenism The Lady's Quill The Other Side of the Hedge The Path of She The Rantin' Raven The Witches Next Door The Zen Pagan Theology, Ethics, Philosophy Tree City Witch Urban Earthwitch Wayfaring Woman Witch on Fire Wyrd Words

Select a Month January 2026 March 2025 December 2024 June 2024 April 2024 March 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 August 2023 July 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who is the apostle to deny Jesus?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Judas Andrew Phillip Peter