There has been quite some talk on the forums about 'Daily Practice', lately. It's a hard topic for me, because while I do through and through consider myself a witch at all times, I rarely have a reason for spell work (I'm a big fan of just doing what I need to do instead of using a spell) and often don't celebrate Sabbats that I have trouble connecting to. Heck, I'm often tired and have trouble pushing myself to do ritual.

The thing is, I love ritual. I feel good afterwards, and it's always a good experience. Why don't I do it more often? Sure, I give prayer on a regular enough basis. That was the biggest suggestion by members of WF as a way of observing their path on a daily basis. Part of me really feels that prayer isn't good enough - it's too passive.  The profound experiences we have in ritual can only continue and become all the greater by doing [i]regular[/i] rituals.

In his article 'The Importance of Daily Magical Practice', Taylor Ellwood reminds us that magic is a process, not the end result. Diane Sylvan, in her blog, has written that it is our regular practice that allows us to truly appreciate and move forward, instead of just thinking "Wow!", being on a high for a few days, and then degenerating back to our usual habits.

Lately, I've been likening magic to exercise, both require practice. Since the early/mid summer I actually [i]have[/i] been exercising, I'm actually proud to say. My goal was to find a way to actually enjoy myself while doing it, and find a way to make it a regular part of my life. I'm in a situation where yes, it's hard to drag my butt to the gym after work for Tae Box, but punching and kicking is just [b]so satisfying[/b] after my lousy customer service job. It's also good for me! Yay!

And so, while daily prayer is nice, I do think it's important for me to do ritual more often than just the Sabbats. I mean ritual without spellwork - I think most will agree. Ritual to commune with our guides, with the land, with ancestors, with the Lord and Lady. It is important for us to nurture our relationship with them.

For the future, I'm giving my two week's notice for work. I'd like to have more time for my schoolwork and some volunteer opportunities that will be beneficial for my CV. I think I will resume meditating - it has been a long time - in a short ritual. I've been working on some ideas for 'motivation and focus' rituals. We'll see how it goes.



Elwood, Taylor. [i]The Importance of Magical Practice.[/i] Witchvox. 15 April 2007.
http://www.witchvox.com/va/dt_va.html?a=usor&c=words&id=11687

[u]Dancing Down the Moon[/u]. Diane Sylvan.
http://diannesylvan.typepad.com/dancing_down_the_moon/