Adventures of a Kitchen Witch

Moving Forward

My husband and I decided today that we are moving on to adoption. I can’t even begin to describe the peace that washed over me. While it still hurts to know that I will never experience pregnancy or holding a baby that has my green eyes and my husband’s brown curls, I’m happy to know that we will have a child. The constant emotional roller coaster over what my body is doing is over. I will still be a mother, and while my child might not grow in my womb, it will grow in my heart. So, now my husband and I are going to begin looking into an adoption attorney, a home study, and a mom who is kind enough to let us raise her child.

Anyone know a mama who is looking to give her baby to a loving home and is okay with the adoptive parents being Pagan?

Tagged: infertilityadoptionmotherhoodfamilylovePagan

I’ve been seeing a lot of people lately who have been asking about specific steps and directions for various things.

I feel this should be addressed, and I want to begin by saying I’m not trying to bash anyone, I’m simply trying to help.

While I do think it can be helpful to know what colour, herb, or day works best for a specific need, I don’t think it is always mandatory. This is something I struggled with a lot when I began following this path. I think part of the mindset is because many of us come from faiths with rigid rules. You MUST do this, this and this, or else the world will end. Here’s the thing, though, the beauty of Paganism is that nothing is written in stone.

Maybe it’s because I see myself as a kitchen witch, and tend to do things on the spot with whatever I have. Either way, I have found that on this path we use what we have to do what we need. If you need to do a working for protection and all you have is a green candle and a book that has always brought you comfort, that’s fine! Granted, those things might not symbolize protection, per se, but they don’t have to! In the end, what matters is your intent. If you intend for that candle to draw energies of protection, focus on that intent, and it will work. I’ve had several cases where I’ve had to work with the random things I had on hand. I’ve used glitter instead of candles (glitter comes in different colours and sparkles, seems like a good substitution to me!), a red bouncy ball instead of a typical representation of fire, a book instead of a stone, and red candles instead of pink. As for the requests for what to say, once again, this is in your court! Say what comes from the heart. You don’t have to be a master poet to whip out a chant that works for you. Hell, it doesn’t even have to rhyme! What matters is that it means something to you and you charge it with your intent!

Paganism and witchcraft is a very personal thing, and you don’t have to do exactly what anyone says. Every person is different, and as such every person’s craft will be different. What works for me might not work for you. What works for one author or blogger or priest/ess might not work for you. And vice versa!

Now, I’m not saying you should never use items that are linked with specific needs. By all means, if you have the exact herbs and candles on the perfect day, use it and do it! It just doesn’t always work out that way. If you don’t feel comfortable just using whatever you have, white candles and rosemary are great substitutions for anything. As for a substitution stone, my husband and I will usually turn to clear quartz if we feel like we should be using a specific stone that we happen not to have. I don’t have a resource for that, it’s just what we always seem to turn to. If you aren’t comfortable writing your own chant or spell, Google one, and if it doesn’t quite fit you or your need, tweak it.

In the end, you have to think about it like this: we follow the Old Path. Not everyone had access to herbs or stones located on the other side of the planet. Not everyone could afford the dyes to make specific candle colours. People had to use what they had access to, and so do we. This is much longer than I intended! My point is that while it is okay to follow everything to the exact letter, it isn’t mandatory. So, don’t beat yourself up if you don’t connect with someone’s instructions or you don’t have every ingredient you are told you need. This path is about being an individual and having freedom, so do it! <3

Thoughts?

Tagged: PaganismWiccaWitchcraftMagickCandlesStonesHerbsIndividualityKitchen WitchDo your own thing