So on Saturday, I started meeting with a group of amazing people to do a course called Priestess Path. It's run by a lovely lady called Emily at Wise Woman Witchery (easily found online if you wanted to check out what she does).
I've been wanting to do this course for the last year and was so excited when Emily confirmed that I would be joining the Summer 2021 Cohort!! It's a 12 month, 13 moon cycles-long course that dives into the basic foundations of witchcraft and building on these as the course goes on. There are 13 sections altogether, with one covered every 4-5 weeks (one lesson and one ritual per topic).
There was a lot of information covered in the first lesson which was all about "Clearing and Grounding". I found it very educational and Emily was able to answer any questions I had with ease and clarity (Emily really is an amazing lady!!).
It brought to light that I don't really clear my energy field as much as I probably should (I will be working on this going forward in my life) but I do ground myself every day. My method of grounding is just that - my way. Because everyone is different, it's not a "one method fits all" kind of thing. It's personal to each one of us so what works for me may not work for anyone else. I smoke cigarettes and use the energy of the plant to ground myself (and sort of clear myself at the same time but not what I'd call "properly" clearing my energy) by inhaling the plant's energy and exhaling whatever emotion/situation I'm dealing with at that moment. I'm not saying everyone should take up smoking - just that it's what works for me.
It also helped me to understand the ideas of grounding and clearing much better as a result of the resources Emily provided on the course's membership site as well as the Zoom meeting for the lesson.
Clearing is all about letting go of energies that have come into our own energetic field or within a particular place (like your home). Clearing can be done in a variety of ways like sounds (clapping, bells, singing bowls etc), visualisations, through the chakras, using smoke (from incense or dried herbs) or through baths. When clearing a place, smoke clearings or room sprays (made from particular herbs or oils) can be helpful - using incense is how I want to clear my energy and space moving forwards from this.
Grounding on the other hand is all about being in the present moment. Typically, this can be done through visualisation meditations or by physically getting outside and sending the energy out through your feet into the earth/ground (I wonder where it got its name from haha). You can also use breathwork to ground yourself in the present moment.
Without clearing your energy and grounding yourself, the "bad" or uninvited energy can fill your body and create a different inner vibration to the one you want to be at. It is most likely to manifest as headaches, feelings of restlessness, a lack of sleep or even anxiety.
Clearing and grounding can be done at the same time if you want to do that and this is most likely what I'll be doing moving forwards from this month's lesson.
But before learning about clearing and grounding, we did an exercise as a group to release our inner critics and then lock them up in a visualised chest. It made me realise that I (most likely) have a ton of Shadow Work to do (this is a topic within the course and I'm actually looking forward to it. It was quite empowering to know that each of us were hearing similar things from our inner critics and reduced the feeling of being alone in this.
After the teaching part of the lesson, we did a clearing and grounding meditation. It was very interesting and something I am wanting to do again to make notes on my experience but for this first time of doing it, when it came time to pull energy from the earth, I felt called to ask for permission from Mother Earth. It was slightly disconcerting but definitely not something I had intended to do when the meditation started. Obviously, I asked for permission and was granted it while at the same time feeling like a child who had been blessed with this new "toy" before being sent on my way with what felt like a kiss to the top of my head. It was a very new experience but I hope to deepen my own gifts, be more in tune with the earth and grow my own herb garden on my balcony (I don't really have much of a green thumb at the moment but I know that can change).
An extra resource provided by Emily was a document about building up practices we may already have or to start new ones if we don't do any currently. The first one asks about cleansing the self and choosing some practices for cleansing to try out over the new few weeks to a month - so I'm going to dust off my lovely little silver bell that I received in one of last year's Witch Caskets to clear my self but also my home (particularly my magickal area) as this is the second of the tasks (they are optional tasks but I figured I might as well do them if I want to get the most out of this course).
I have used incense to clear my space but without actually clearing the space. What I mean is that I light my preferred incense (Dragon's Blood normally) and just let it burn without wafting the smoke through my entire space (again, something I want to build on).
I haven't consciously used any crystals to clear me or my space but I'm always willing to give something a try before saying it doesn't work. This is something that I can turn into a night-time ritual before I attempt to sleep as sleeplessness is something I am always trying to do battle with. I've got plenty of selenite (including a new piece shaped like an obelisk that could work really well for this purpose).
I don't like to use essential oils or salt water as I have two cats that I love dearly and both of these things can make pets ill. I don't have a full sized broom that I could use in my home so that method is also out the window although I do have a miniature broom that I might try using on my self instead.
There is a cleansing wash that I'd like to make using basil and an amethyst crystal - a project for the weekend once I've gotten a supply of basil, although I might add some sage into it as well to help cleanse.
Another idea that was given was deliberately going outside, looking for the moon and noticing it as it goes through its cycle. I love to watch the moon (and the stars) and during the night, I can see it from my living room window as travels through the sky. This is definitely something I want to work on and will spend time consciously deepening my connection with the moon.
While this is only the start of this path, I already know it’s going to be such a journey and I feel so invigorated and excited to learn more!
Let’s see where this new path takes me over the next year!!
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