Spiritual Practice
This page contains some notes and suggestions (and eventually I hope links) regarding regular spiritual practice for Contemporary Pagans of all sorts. Creating it was originally inspired by two sources. There was an excellent essay on Witches Voice by H. Byron Ballard on the topic of Daily Spiritual Practice. That fine piece of writing stirred me to add this page because my haphazard approach to regular spiritual practice is one piece of the puzzle of a lot of the messes I have landed into over the years!
I can honestly say that part of the reason I have had to renew my spiritual journey and relearn so much over the last couple of years is because I made the mistake of thinking that “I had already learned all that…” regarding some of the simplest aspects of being a Witch and then sort of lost my spiritual way for a few years there.
Also, I am aiming to make this page the sort of resource I wish I could have found as a Solitary Seeker years ago.
This page discusses (or will discuss as I edit and add to it) prayer, meditation, centering, grounding, shielding, the “cleansing” and blessing of objects, establishing sacred space, and offerings and sacrifices. All of these are preliminary and important parts of any sort of regular Pagan spiritual practice and form the framework upon which we Pagans may hang all of our prayer, ritual, and (for those that do it beyond theurgy) magick.
And remember, if we don’t practice how will we make it to Carnegie Hall?
Proper Breathing
Breath Inspiration
By Pax / Geoffrey Stewart © 2009
Breathe Inspiration, Exhale Connection,
Return to the Beginning,
In through the nose,
Out through the mouth.
Take a slow deep breath. Feel the air filling your lungs. Exhale, slowly. Repeat this process a few more times. How do you feel?
In through the nose, out through the mouth; or simply slow deep controlled conscious breaths. Breathing in and imagining it filling your body from the base of your spine to the top of your skull. Sending the air and energy you are inhaling through the energy centers of your body; breathing in the Breath of Life, breathing out your connection to the world and to all living things, to every blessed atom and cell in the universe.
Repeat as necessary.
Note: The poem above used to read “Breathe Inspiration, Exhale Doubt”, but lately I’ve come to some new understandings of how I can relate to the energies (and the matter and emotions) of the world around me. Why simply send my own energies, even if they are wrapped in fear and doubt, out into the universe when I have the capacity to change them into just energy? (Or even better into strength and life and love.)
From there I can just breathe in and breath out life energy and my own interconnectedness with the universe!
Meditation
Meditation is an important tool in any Pagans spiritual toolbox. Like a lot of spiritual and magickal tools you can use meditation for a number of different purposes or goals, depending upon your imagination and spiritual tradition and inclination.
With meditation we are sometimes simply trying to clear the mind, accepting thoughts as they come but releasing them and returning to a silence and focusing on our breathing. Sometimes we are seeking these thoughts and inspirations and will allow ourselves to pursue them, or at least notice them for a bit before returning to the silence and our breathing. Sometimes we are meditating upon an image or idea or an emotion to see what comes up within us about them. Sometimes meditation is a guided affair with someone leading us in a visualization or pathworking. For this page, I have focused on solitary and basic meditation technique.
One of the great definitions I’ve heard over the years was to the effect that prayer is a form of speaking to the Divine, and meditation is listening to Them.
All meditation begins with breathing…
Breath Awareness & Controlled Breathing
Breathe properly. Breathe slowly and deeply. Breathe in and out, savoring the act and the nourishment that the air provides. Focus your attention on your breath and focus only on that, emptying your mind of thoughts. Thoughts may come, but you will simply acknowledge them as thoughts and then let them go and return to your breathing.
This is meditation. You can do this anywhere anytime you need to center (more on centering below) or refocus yourself.
From an awareness of our breath we move on to controlled breathing. Breath control can be used to slow the heart rate down, to calm ones emotions, or as an aid to focus ones mind and emotions on a particular goal or the proper attitude for upcoming ritual.
As before, Breathe Properly. Now as you breath, and before your begin to focus on your breathing, establish a rhythm. So you Inhale 1-2-3, Hold 1-2-3, Exhale 1-2-3, Hold 1-2-3, Repeat.
I’ve heard of folks going as high as a 10 count… but for most things I’ve ever done it’s been 3,5, or 7; and until I wrote this out I never thought about how I prefer odd numbered counts for breath control exercise?!? I’ll have to contemplate that.
Most often I go with simple breath awareness and move into one of the other meditation forms.
Sitting in Stillness & Silence
I use a couple of variations of this type of meditation the “quiet time” and the “true silence”. In part because I am wrestling with myself in that I am VERY resistant to sitting in sillence and stillness for very long, despite the amazing benefits of doing so.
~Quiet Time ~
Is currently the most commonly used. Each morning as I get up I stake out somewhere where I can sit quietly. I sit there, sometimes sipping my coffee and sometimes awaiting it’s brewing, and breathe properly and try to empty my mind, but I do not worry if my mind wanders. Quiet Time is more about savoring silence and unfocusing oneself for a few moments.
~Sitting in Stillness and Silence~
I focus on my breathing for a bit and having established a rhythm, I empty my mind. If thoughts come I acknowledge them as thoughts and let them go, releasing them out into the universe upon my exhaled breath and return to breath and silence. I remain still; should my arm or feet or neck become uncomfortable I take a moment to consciously reposition myself slightly and then return to my breathing, and silence and stillness.
True silence meditation is more about focus and receptivity.
Mantra’s
The word and concept of the mantra originally comes from India. Within various spiritual traditions a mantra is a sound or word or phrase capable of creating spiritual transformation. The idea is that the sound of the mantra, or that sounds vibration, causes a reaction in the individual and in the universe. A mantra may be chanted or sung or simply thought about, often in repetition, during meditation or prayer in order to focus the mind towards a particular spiritual idea.
I am just beginning to explore the use of Manta’s myself, and will chant my Daily Prayer (below) in meditation sometimes.
Candle Gazing
Candle gazing is also about focus. You sit before a lit candle, and (I’m sure you can see this coming…) breathe, properly… I hope your getting the theme here? Anyway, you sit before your lit candle, breathing properly and focusing yourself on the candle’s flame. There is only your breath and the candle flame, thoughts may come and you may breathe them out into the universe or send them into the candle’s flame and return to silence; or perhaps you need or desire to contemplate what images or ideas come from the dance of the fires of creation and creativity.
Whichever species of candle gazing you chose it begins with your breath and the candles flame.
Moving Meditation
Now perhaps you are thinking I am about to go on about Yoga or Tai Chi or some other formal discipline/exercises; and while I would like to explore some of them in the future, but the most experience I have had with moving meditation is taking a nice long walk. Nature walks are good but walking in the city is also just as fabulous for this exercise!
You establish proper breath awareness and you try to calm your thoughts so that you are open and aware of things, and go for your walk! You will see things that may spark thoughts or ideas in your mind, and this is ok. Tell yourself you will think about them later, and just let yourself walk and be in awareness.
Centering and Grounding and Shielding
Centering, grounding, and shielding, are conscious techniques of taking charge of our energies and emotions.
Centering
Centering is taking a moment to find your innermost calm, your most stable, and truest self; the “center” of your energies, your own personal eye in the daily storm of life, your wisdom, your spiritual strength, your connection to the divine in all of creation. Some writers and traditions will suggest you direct your breath and energy to your center of gravity, or into each of your chakra’s in turn, or into your heart, or… well there are a lot of variations I’ve found and you should use whichever book/energetic system/technique you are most familiar with.
Let your own current practice and tradition lead you. I tend to start simple breath awareness, taking a moment to focus on my breathing and how I am doing it, I just focus on breathing in through my nose, and out through my mouth. Lately I have been directing the breath and life energy I am inhaling into my center of gravity between my stomach and my pelvis.
Centering is also an integral part of what we do when we are meditating!
Grounding
Having found an inner balance, we now need somewhere to stand. (metaphorically speaking) Grounding is seeking and establishing a strong and stable connection to the world around us.
Some folks will do this my simply imagining two lines extending from their body, a blue one up into the sky connecting them to the Universe or the Divine, and the other a green line going down into the ground and connecting them to the Earth; with the two lines intertwining within them.
One of the most common visualizations for both centering and grounding I have run into is The Tree Meditation, as outlined in Starhawk’s book Spiral Dance. My own version of this widely used exercise follows.
The Tree Meditation (Pax’s version)
Breathe deeply. Establish an even rhythm and focus on your breathing. Feel the air entering your lungs. Know that you are taking in life-giving air, life energy, with each inhalation. Feel the life energy of these breaths flowing into your body as you breathe. Feel the energy and oxygen flowing through every part of your body.
Let your air, your energy, and your awareness fill you with each inhalation. Feel them flowing throughout your body, breathing in, feel them rising up into your shoulder’s, your neck, and into your head.
Breathe in the same life giving air that nourishes and transforms all life on earth, breath out your connection to all living things.
Follow your air, energy, and awareness as it flows out from your lungs and your chest out into your shoulders again and throughout your upper torso, and flows down. Follow it flowing down, down into your arms, your elbows, down into your wrists and fingertips. Down into your belly and hips and groin. Feel it flowing down into your legs, your knees, your ankles, heels and the tips of your toes.
Take a few moments to simple be, to experience and enjoy and remember this awareness of your body and your personal energies.
Now imagine extending some of your energies down into the earth below you, reaching down and outward like the roots of some great tree. If you are standing send these roots out through the soul of your feet, and if sitting then out through the base of your spine and those parts of your legs that touch the earth. Feel these roots shifting their way through the soils and sands of the earth bellow you down deep into the earth. Feel yourself connecting, more directly with the energies of the earth bellow you.
Feel these energies flowing into the roots you’ve extended, up into your feet, and ankles, and knees, and legs, and the base of your spine. Feel these energies flowing up into your belly, and torso, and chest. Feel the earth energy flowing into your shoulders and out into your arms. Follow it as it climbs up into your neck and your head to the top of your skull.
Feel it flow up further out the top of you and branching your like the sheltering branches of some great tree. Know that these ‘limbs’ connect out into the sky and the energies of the universe around you. Feel some of the light and air and energy of the universe around you flowing into the leaves and limbs you have extended upwards.
Feel the balancing of the energies of earth and sky, feel your own energies overflowing and interconnected to the world around you.
This is a more complex meditation/visualization for grounding. Sometimes it can be as simple as taking a deep and proper breath and either sending your excess energy into the earth, or reaching out to both the earth and the sky for the energy you need.
For some wonderful readings and musings on the theme of grounding, go check out what ( Writer, Witch, & Gardener, not the Greek Goddess) Hecate has to say about it!
Sheilding
Shielding is a technique that we can use to insulate ourselves from the outside influence of others emotions, and from the unwanted influence of various types of spirits.
When we are in a disagreement that is becoming an argument, when we are dealing with wildly angry or mentally imbalanced people, these are some of the times when we can use shielding to help us keep our own emotional and energetic equilibrium. When we are in an empty parking lot late at night and feeling frightened, centering and grounding and shielding can help us to not only be more aware of the environment around us, but to also walk with greater confidence. When we are performing our rites, or walking somewhere and getting a sense of hostility or unwanted interest/mischief from the spirits/nymphs/wights/fey/what-have-you we can sheild ourselves.
How you visualize shields is up to you. I know that for myself it has changed over the years. For a long time I would picture a sort of amber colored ‘egg’ of light surrounding me. Other times I have played off of the Tree imagery above and imagined the limbs of the Tree bowing down to the ground and touching the Earth and interweaving with one another into thick thorny brambles all around me. I’ve even known folks to visualize a suit of medieval armor, or a sci-fi style force-field.
Breathe properly, visualize you shielding as you will, and Will some of your energy into the form you have chosen for your shield. Pour your breath, and energy, and though into your shields. Practice raising and keeping them up during your meditation and practice time. When you need them use them.
Opening your Awareness / Shifting your Consciousness
It’s something that is kind of tricky to describe but easy to do, especially if you’ve been doing your meditation and grounding and centering.
Breathe, deeply and evenly for a moment, center and ground, placing yourself into your quiet, calm, and receptive frame of mind. As you are breathing and drawing in air and energy cup your hands and hold them apart so that the fingers are not quite touching and picture the air and energy your are breathing in and raising pooling or balling in your hands. Create these balls of energy and practice drawing them back into yourself. This is one way to start building an awareness of the energies all around us.
Prayer
Prayer is the relatively simple act of taking a moment to speak with, and open oneself up to and listening to, the Divine.
You can pray to one or several Gods at once, although in most cases we end up praying to one Deity or to a small select circle of Deities. Prayer is, by its nature, relatively informal; you can pray silently, or aloud, anytime and anywhere. The nature of your prayers to the Deities can be as formal or as spontaneous as you desire, with an eye towards Whom you are praying to/with, of course!
Prayer is one of the simplest and most personal ways of opening up a relationship with a God or Goddess, strangely enough it is also one of the least written about in either books or online. I think that there are two reasons for this.
First, prayers are a particularly personal way of relating to the Divine, and I think that a lot of times folks have trouble discussing such an intimate part of their relationship with the Divine. Secondly, a lot of folks who’ve come to Paganism from other faiths associate the idea of prayer with those other faiths and have yet to sort out some of their feelings about prayer and relating to the Divine.
Ceisiwr Serith’s excellent A Book of Pagan Prayer, is an excellent resource for those looking to learn more about a Pagan perspective on Prayer. I can also heartily recommend Deborah Lipp’s book The Elements of Ritual, which is one of the best in-depth looks at the who, how, why, and what of a (Wiccan style) Witches Circle I have encountered in my years in the Craft.
Both books are listed on the ‘Suggested Reading!’ page.
(As I am a Witch, a lot of my reference points are rather Witchcraft focused, if you can recommend some good books or websites or essays for well written ritual guides for other Pagan paths, please drop me a line!)
I will often use the Orens position while praying, as was done throughout the ancient world. I stand, raising my arms so that the upper arm is roughly parallel to the ground and my forearms are upright, my hands are open and palms upward – roughly parallel to my upper arms and the ground.
When I stand in this ancient posture or prayer there is a part of me that thrills to the knowledge that I am trying to speak with and honor my Deities in the same way that They were honored in the ancient world. On the mental level, I know that repeating this position will help signal to the Universe and the Gods, of my intention. On the physical level I can almost feel the atoms and cells of my body tingle; the subtle parts of me that are also part of the Divine recognizing that I am trying to reach out and up and within to Them.
My own daily prayer…
Pax’s Daily Prayer
Mother Celestial and Father Divine,
Let me walk in Beauty and Strength,
Let me exercise both Power and Compassion,
With both Honor and Humility,
Let me always remember Mirth, as well as Reverence,
That I may be worthy of Thy Perfect Love and Perfect Trust,
And that of those in whose hearts you dwell,
Blessed Be,
So Mote It Be.
This prayer serves to remind me of the 8 Virtues listed in Doreen Valiente’s Charge of the Goddess. It also helps me as a daily grounding and centering.
Offerings: The Gift of Giving
I regularly make an offering of incense, and pour libations, to the Divinities.
Offering water or wine, or burning some incense as a gift to the Gods is a simple way to build your relationship with the Goddesses and Gods of your heart. It is a way of remembering Them, and thanking Them for the blessings They have given you and for Their love and presence in your life. It also has the benefit of letting Them know just how welcome They are in your life and heart!
They respond to this welcoming, this loving, and courteous act; and that is what I mean when I talk about The Gifts of Giving to the Gods…
Offerings of incense to the Gods…
I regularly make an offering of incense… I have a special dish where I will place my cone or stick of incense, I will also keep a special lighter nearby.
First, I breathe. In through my nose, and out through my mouth. A moment spent concentrating on my breath, on the rhythm of it, focusing inward. Centering myself, and then shifting my position so I am in the Oren’s position, thus telling myself and the universe, that I am doing something special. When that subtle shift in …something… lets me know that I have gotten Their attention, I speak.
“I make an offering of incense to the Gods,
and the Guardian Spirits, of this Home.
Blessed Be, So Mote It Be.”
Then I bring my hands down and together, to my face, where I kiss them at the point where my thumbs meet my palms; sort of a physical ‘blessed be’ and a small gesture of my love for the Divinities, and our Guardian Spirits. Then I bring them to touch my chest above my heart; this is sort of a physical ’so mote it be’ and ‘thank you’, and a physical reminder that They are a part of me. Then I lower my hands, pick up the lighter, and light the incense.
…This basic offering is one that I adjust if I am making an offering to a specific Goddess or God.
I will usually take a moment to stand there soaking in a small moment of peacefulness and Presence. Then I will go about my day.
(I prefer to use Lavender incense, as it relates to remembrance, but for everyday use any sweet smelling incense I can find at the store works for me ~ I figure if the Gods want something specific then they will lead me to it… They are Gods after all! On the Esbats and Sabbats, then I will find something special)
Libations
A libation is a liquid offering to a God or Gods. It is often poured out onto the ground or into a libation bowl to be poured into the earth or a fire at a later point.
Depending on your spiritual tradition there are a number of different ways to pour a libation or to make offerings unto the Gods. (here, here, here and there…)
For myself I will use a libation mug on my altar, or I will be pouring at a couple of appropriate places in the yard; it depends when and to whom I am pouring my Libation.
Whatever I am pouring (most often filtered water and wine/alcohol) I will take a moment to bless the container and the liquid. I will center myself, and ground. I will take the cup or chalice or pitcher and raise it high in offering to the Gods. I will say something along the lines of…
“I pour this libation of _____,
for the Gods and Guardian Spirits of this home,
Blessed be, so mote it be.”
…What I say depends on what and to whom I am pouring.
Blessing
Even though the blessing of items is often done before prayer and offerings, I have placed it last here because it provides a nice wrap up for this essay and because it is through meditation, and awareness, and our connection to the world around us and our open and loving relationship with the divine, that blessings and our ability to bless things flows.
You can bless altar cloths, statues, candles for meditation, liquids for libating, the water you drink and the food you eat.
I’m sure you know what I’m going to say first…
Breathe, deeply, slowly, in and out. Feel your energy and your interconnectedness with the earth and the universe and the divine. Breathe in these connections and energies. Take the object to be blessed up in your hands and say the words appropriate to your present work and spiritual path…
In working a rite of Witchcraft I might say…
“I bless thee, and consecrate thee,
Oh, creature of water,
And cast out of thee all impurities,
That with thee I might work wonders,
Of Love and magick and healing,
In the name of the Lady and Lord,
Blessed be, so mote it me!”
And as I spoke I would be breathing out, not only into my connection with All that Is, but also I would be breathing out some of my own energies and the energies of the earth and the Divine that I had called upon a moment before. Breathing these energies out and into that which I am blessing.
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I hope that these words and ideas will be as useful to my fellow Pagans as they follow the paths of their own spiritual journeys, as they have been to me.
~Like some of the other pages, this one is a work in progress~
