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

Charged by the Goddess

Home
Pagan
Am I Living What I’m Leading?

Am I Living What I’m Leading?

Last updated on: July 1, 2022 at 11:32 am by Irisanya Moon

Am I Living What I’m Leading? 2022-07-01T11:32:15-07:00 Irisanya Moon

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.

This question has been rattling around in my head for a while: am I living what I’m leading?

I don’t ask this question of myself because I want to be perfect, nor do I expect to be perfect, but I ask because it’s important. Because I am often in leadership roles. Because I know people look to me. Because I know I have some sort of (weird) influence.

This is a question for self-reflection and self-examination. Not criticism or flagellation.

And it’s come up as being something even more ‘real’ in light of the overturn of Roe vs. Wade.

Do I support places that have had or will have an abortion ban in place? Do I teach in those areas? Do I support those economies?

I know that my actions and my monies are very small in the bigger scheme of things, but this is one way to live what I lead.

Image by Trang Pham from Pixabay

Inner Activism

Knowing who you are and what you stand for is magick. Following through with your personal standards and beliefs is power.

What do you feel is right?
What do you want to support?
Who do you want to lift up?
Where can you support groups and movements that are already in place?

As a cis white woman, I know I haven’t always named myself any sort of activist. I didn’t even take on the idea of being a feminist for a while. I could blame my Midwest upbringing, but it was there that I realized there was a bigger world than what I had been told.

It reminds me of the thing I tell people when teaching drumming and energy building. While you might be drumming or singing in the center of a circle, it might feel like everything is going perfectly. But you can’t hear or often see the people on the outer edges. And if you could pay more attention to what wasn’t right next to you, it would make for a more powerful energy raising.

Moving Forward into the Future

It’s easy to stay in the comfortable places, to stay in the places where you know what you’re doing and people like what you’re doing. It is harder to stand up and say, “No, I’m not going to do the thing I’ve done before.” But this discomfort (I’ve found) is so much shorter than the discomfort I feel when I don’t say anything or I don’t do a thing I could do.

It is FAR LESS DISCOMFORT to what oppressed folks face every single day/moment.

I invite you to think about the things you value. The things you believe in. The way you can protect human rights. (It’s probably wise to say I’m a pro-abortion, anti-racist, LGBTQIA+ supporting, ugh capitalism, and down with the patriarchy. These are not up for debate for me.)

What you do for others also saves you. What happens in this world will also impact you.

There are many more voices who have been saying this for years. Seek them out. Seek out the black, brown, and indigenous voices. See out the voices unlike your own. And listen.

And always ask yourself how you can do better. How you can align your actions with your beliefs.

***

Of course, there’s so much more to say, so much more nuance. I hope this inspired you to seek out other voices from people who don’t look like me.

About Irisanya Moon

I’m a Witch. I’m a writer. I’m a priestess, teacher, feminist, and initiate in the Reclaiming tradition, as well as deathcare worker. I serve the godds, my community, and the Earth. I’ve called myself a Witch for more than 20 years, and my life has been infused with magick. I am interested in shifting stories – the ones we tell ourselves and the ones that are told about us. I’m continuously inspired to engage as the storyteller and the story, the words and the spaces between. I am a devotee of Aphrodite, Hecate, the Norns, and Iris. I seek to find love and to inspire love by reminding us we are not alone, while also meeting myself at the crossroads, holding the threads of life, and bringing down messages from the godds. (I've also written some books. You can get them at my website.) You can read more about the author here.

Previous Post

June 16, 2022

Preparing for Magick and People (Again)

Next Post

July 8, 2022 The Magick of Rest and Self Devotion

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Activism ADHD Allies Altars Ancestors Aphrodite Artemis Beloved Dead Beltane Book Reviews Books Brigid Classes Community Daily Magick Daily Practice Deathwork Deity Desire Devotion Divination Dreams Eclipse Everyday Magick Fall Equinox Feri Full Moon Gaia Godds grief Grounding Heart Magick Hope Integration Iris Joy Love Spell Magick Mercury Retrograde Mighty Dead Moon Myth New Moon Norns Pandemic Poetry Practical Magick Priestess Reclaiming Relationships Resilience Resistance Resourcing review Rite of Passage ritual Samhain Self Care Self Devotion Service Shadow Spell Spiral Dance Spring Equinox Summer Solstice Teaching Trance Uncategorized Water Winter Solstice Witchcamp Witchcraft Writing

Select a Month April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 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 April 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 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

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz