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PaganSquare is a community blog space where Pagans can discuss topics relevant to the life and spiritual practice of all Pagans.

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Subscribe to this list via RSS Blog posts tagged in daily practice

Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Gather to you
what is most precious.
Open your hands
and let the rest go.
A threshold time approaches,
but there is no deadline truly here.
There is only a cycle
of unfurling,
a cycle of descent and renewal,
of deepening and discovering,
of contemplation and transformation.
May you settle inward.
May you deepen into trust.
May you pause often
and may you laugh often.
May you reach out in connection
and may you sink into solitude.
May you savor and celebrate
the rich and warm texture
of your own life.
May you come back home to center.
May you trust yourself to choose
with wisdom and with love.
 

As we approach a new year, I've been evaluating and considering what I want to carry with me across the threshold into the new year. This can be both challenging and liberating! I've decided to close my classrooms in 2024 and also to retire my podcast. And, I've decided
to "retire" from making posts on this blog. I've enjoyed my time writing here, contributing 245 posts since I started in 2013.
 
Here is where you can find me:
 
If the site becomes more active again, I might return, but for now, this is Happy New Year and goodbye! Thank you for your time and presence over the last ten years.
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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Sometimes we need to step away,
to soften inward,
to pull back,
to become still and quiet,
closed in and listening.
We need to draw close
to the beating heart
of our own knowing,
the pulse of longing that chimes,
the whisper of desire that tugs,
the silent truths that surface only
when given safe and sacred
space to speak.
Sometimes,
we need to reach out,
to lay aside our work,
set down our lists and connect,
extending our hands
to those we love,
faces tipped back
beneath singing stars
and a curving slice
of new orange moon.
The antidote to depletion
is restoration
and this can come through
shared stories and night walks,
through stuffed owls
stitched together
as darkness falls,
amid laughter and conversation.
We discover that when we take time,
make time,
to either step away
or to step in,
we reconnect with what
replenishes our souls,
rebuilds connections,
and restores peace.
 
The idea of restoration as the antidote to depletion comes from David Lapin. I have a past article exploring the subject here: Restoration.
 
I will be taking a break from posts here until January as I take some time for restoration.
 

 

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

Being in the world to see it,
is the best way to learn
its secrets and stories.
Walking with a poet’s eyes,
a dreamer’s mind,
and a witch’s heart,
is the best way to
fully inhabit
the story of your own life
as it is being written
right now.
Choosing to see
the magic
that is at work,
right now
exactly where you are,
is a radical and revolutionary act
of re-enchanting the world.

b2ap3_thumbnail_purple-and-teal-muse-on-mossy-stones.jpg

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs

Today, I sought the pines
and stones
once more.
Descending into the steep gully
to look for sweet water
easing its way
from the depths to trickle
across ancient stones.
I found both comfort and delight
in sitting by a tiny pool,
looking into the water,
allowing myself to be held
and restored.
I anointed my forehead,
face,
and shoulders with cool drops
from this smallest
of possible waterways,
both unnamed and essential,
and then opened my palms
to the sky
to invite the rain.
I sat with swaying
sycamore, elm, and ash trees
listening to the music they made
with leaf and wind.
I found a turkey feather
in the leaves
beside the water,
soft and fluffy and tipped
with an iridescent greenish shine
I listened to my heart.
I offered up both hope
and dreams
upon this altar of stone and sky.

b2ap3_thumbnail_ooak-orange-muse-with-turkey-feather.jpg

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Posted by on in SageWoman Blogs
Sometimes we sink back
and root deep,b2ap3_thumbnail_IMG_6160.PNG
drawing up nourishment
from cool, dark places
and eternal mysteries.
Sometimes we send out
tender shoots
of possibility
tasting the air cautiously,
checking to see
if it is safe to grow.
Sometimes we crack open
with abandon,
casting off our limits
and our caution
and pushing forward with intention,
determined and strong.
Sometimes we rise up
riotous and wild
aching with the fullness to bloom.
Always we are held
on solid ground,
even when we feel lost
and uncertain,
or ferocious and powerful.
Always we are cradled
on a rich and whirling Earth,
the sky above our
bright and bounteous forms.

 

Last modified on

Posted by on in Studies Blogs
Fire Focus

 

The primary source of heat in our home is our wood stove, and is an important part of my spiritual practice during the cold months of the year. This winter about half of the wood that we are using comes from our land and the rest has been purchased from someone in our county. The fuel we use is local and from the soil of our bioregion. I have a good sense of how long it took for the trees to grow, and the weather and water that fed their growth.  Relying upon the wood stove focuses my awareness, gratitude, and mindfulness in many ways. We do have a modern heating system as a backup plan, but its biggest purpose is to keep the house warm when we are all away on a trip.

...
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Posted by on in Paths Blogs
One Minute at the Altar

Last week I realized that yet again I'd set my standards for my daily practice too high. I couldn't sit at my altar without lighting the candles; I couldn't light the candles if the candles were burned out; I couldn't buy paraffin candles, I had to make my own out of beeswax; I couldn't make my own candles because the kitchen was a mess. This is what happens when you have high hopes and two small children. You sit around wishing you were doing spiritual work while they empty every drawer in the house for the fun of it.

I'm proud to say that I did end up making my own candles, but the compromise was that I did it in the filthy kitchen. If I'd taken the time to clean the kitchen beforehand, you see, then that would have taken up all my candlemaking time, and the next time I went to make candles, it would be filthy again. When I took my new candles to the altar, I thought, "But I can't light them without cleaning the altar off first. And cleansing the space! And refreshing the offerings! And performing invocations!" No, I told myself. I found that I had to give myself permission to do things imperfectly. I let myself cleanse the space. Then I lit the candles and annointed my Cernunnos statue. And that was it.

...
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Recent Comments - Show all comments
  • Dragon Dancer
    Dragon Dancer says #
    I get email notifications for W&P blog posts, and been holding onto this one until I "had a minute" to really read and not just sk
  • Molly
    Molly says #
    Thanks for this! I appreciated it today, while feeling overwhelmed by a chain of to-dos.

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