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 Everyday Joys of Witchcraft

The Everyday Joys of Witchcraft

Last updated on: August 20, 2017 at 11:28 am by Jason Mankey

The Everyday Joys of Witchcraft 2017-08-20T11:28:18-06:00 Jason Mankey

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.

Wiccan-Witchcraft isn’t just a magickal art, it’s my spiritual path. It nourishes my soul, gives me hope on the bad days, and generally just keeps me going. Finding the joy in the day to day is often an uphill struggle. The world is full of assholes, very real problems, and lately seems to be going in the wrong direction.

But I still find happiness, solace, peace, and astonishment nearly every day. Much of that is because of the Craft I practice. I find joy from the Craft in my home, my backyard, the vistas just outside my front door, and in my gods. The best part is that they are all things I can, and generally do, experience everyday.

The joy this flower gives me cannot be put into words.

The Wonders of My Backyard

Due to living in the overly full Bay Area most of my rituals take place indoors. There’s just no privacy in our backyard, making it a bad place for ritual, but that doesn’t mean the space outside my backdoor is lacking in magick. My backyard is nearly a second ritual space and is full of things that inspire me and bring me closer to my Craft.

Watching life spring from a seed and then nurturing that seedling side by side with Mother Earth brings me a sense of joy I have trouble putting into words. I give them water, but She’s given them the Earth and Sky they need to thrive. I think of the pumpkins that have taken over my yard as my children and look in on them two or three times a day. (Four of them are actually pumpkin sized at this point, it’s going to be a good Halloween!)

My pumpkins are like weird silent children.

I’ve never been much of a meditator but my garden is a form of meditation unto its self. It relaxes and centers me, it also inspires me. When I’m having a rough day I spend a few minutes starting up at the multi-faced sunflower towering over everything in the garden.

The fey live in our backyard behind our lemon tree and watch over our little piece of green-space. Since we’ve begun honoring them with libations and gifts our backyard has blossomed as a magickal space. I’m grateful for their presence.

My backyard also connects me to the Wheel of the Year and brings the sabbats home for me. Lammas was the start of tomato season and by Yule the kumquats, grapefruit, and mandarin oranges should be ready to eat. I’m not a great gardner, but I’m a joyful one.

Shrine to Cernunnos.

The Gods Are Here

Why do I do what I do? Because I believe in the gods and magick. Both are fundamental to my Craft and it’s reassuring to know that my gods are close to me. When I need that little extra something all I have to do is visit our shrines to Brigit and Cernunnos or perhaps give Pan a chance to wink to me on the wall in our ritual space (our deities speak with Laura Tempest Zakroff).

I’m sure that those who don’t believe in the gods wonder just why I worship the gods and what they or I get out of it. I honor them because it brings me joy, and I get so many things from them. I get reassurances, energy, power, blessings, inspiration, and a sense of purpose. They make the writing easier, and one of them even helped to give my wife and I a place to live.

When someone enters my house I don’t think there’s any question about the gods being present here. They charge our home and help to shape our lives. And by honoring them I think I give them power and influence. Our relationship is reciprocal. As Gerald Gardner wrote of the gods of Witchcraft:

“. . . . while the gods wished them well, they were not all-powerful,that they needed man’s help; that by performing certain rites men gave them power; also that the gods wished men to be happy and that acts which gave men pleasure also gave the gods joy and power, which they could apply to their own uses as well as to the benefit of man.”

I was just 30 yards away from a humpback whale the other day.

The Natural World

I live in a valley nestled between two small mountain ranges with the San Francisco Bay just a few miles from my house and the Pacific Ocean just twenty-five miles away. Silicon Valley is often filled with smog and it’s loud and full of people, but it’s also magickal in a way that makes my heart soar. Looking at those hills is still awe inspiring and gods help me if I ever find myself jaded when they are in my field of vision.

There are soaring pine trees across the street from me that I know are there simply to hide the ground of defense contractor Northrop Grumman, but I still find myself appreciating their majesty. The trees outside my home scrape the sky with the arms and speak to the possibilities that lie within nature.

The sea and the hills will never get old . . . .

The natural world is a constant reminder of the power and beauty of the Great Rite, which many people erroneously think is only about heterosexual sex. To me the Great Rite has always been about joining in its many forms. The mountains I see daily were formed when two tectonic plates collided and a whole host of factors when into creating those trees (pollination, soil, sun, water). When things join worlds and universes (not to mention mountains and trees) are born.

My Chosen Family

My Witchcraft is responsible for many of the most important relationships in my life. The love I receive from my coven is beyond compare. Those people are my chosen family and I can’t imagine living my life without them. But the Craft has given me even more than that.

If success in life is measured by friendships I am a very rich man. When the stupid hits the fan it’s gratifying to know that I’m loved and cared about. No matter what is written or said about me I know that I’ll be all right because of the relationships I’ve cultivated through Witchcraft.

My Evie Monster is a friend in her own strange way.

Many of those friends are people I’ve never met fact to face, but the respect we have for one another is still a very real thing. Paganism today is full of squabbles, spats, and lots of other ignorance, but there’s far more good out there than bad. It can be tough to remember sometimes, but it’s the truth.

If you are reading this and have ever said a kind word or shared a post, thanks for being a part of that chosen family.

Previous Post

August 14, 2017

Racism in the Age of Trump

Next Post

August 20, 2017 Doing Paganism

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Editorializing Gateways to Paganism Guest Posts Holiday Histories Led Zeppelin News and Views Occult Pagan Pagan TV Club Paganism polytheism Ramble On Reviews Ritual Strange Days Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 November 2025 September 2025 August 2025 April 2025 August 2024 April 2024 February 2024 December 2023 October 2023 August 2023 June 2023 May 2023 January 2023 October 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 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 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 April 2012 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the name of the man who suffered great loss but remained faithful to God?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Job Noah Elijah Abraham