Reminiscing Thoughts and Musings on Time.

Photo by Susanne Jutzeler, suju-foto on Pexels.com

Welcome to the month of March, aka the Springtime month! Or for some people, the allergy season. But hopefully, it will be more of a month of welcoming spring. That is what we hope for though the weather in some areas might have different ideas. We also just had a time change. We sprang forward last Sunday. And of course, no one likes the loss of one hour. Some might prefer the extra daylight, but the struggle is real for the early mornings where sunrise is delayed by an hour. But this got me thinking a lot about the concept of time. And it also had me reminiscing and nostalgic in many ways. So, this post is going to be a mix of personal and foxy witch style thoughts. Hope you enjoy it! Let’s get into it.

A year ago, I had been struggling to get my life back in order after my major back issue in 2023. Though the experience had been humbling, it was difficult to do things as I had done before. I knew patience was important as recovery can be a lengthy process. For me, true recovery has taken a full year and a half to get back the flexibility I lost and the strength. I can walk and run again like I did pre-injury, though I’m more aware of how I move now. In some ways, the flare-up feels like it happened so long ago that I see sepia tone when I think of it, and yet, I remember on a visceral level what that experience was like. Oddly enough, as terrible as it was to go through it, I realize now that I’m grateful for it. Looking back, I see that it taught me to appreciate what my body is capable of in terms of healing and how it communicates with me when it needs rest. It made me connect with my body and spirit in a unique way that still shapes how I do things today and will continue to do.

This leads me to think of how time moves in such a way that we can’t qualify it with the right words. What is “time”? Is it a tangible concept that we can attribute to meaningful experiences in our lives or is time itself a concept that has been condensed into something from what it actually is? From a purely scientific perspective, time is defined as something measured, like mass, for example. Einstein introduced the concept of space and time. No doubt we’ve discovered that time is quite complex to explain. We’ve asked ourselves the age-old question: can we go backwards and forwards in time? We know just from living on this planet that time zones differ from hemispheres. From a spiritual standpoint, one wonders if we can “see into the future” or “re-write our past”. And from a different perspective, do these things truly matter or are we neglecting the present by doing so?

These are not unique questions nor are they questions that get asked infrequently. I’m sure many of us wish we could change events in our past or guarantee a particular outcome in the future. Neither possibility is currently existent. The reason I’m focusing on time for this particular post is because I’ve caught myself doing this too. I long for a specific result in the future, and I find myself reminiscing and nostalgic of some things while simultaneously “re-writing” in my head how some things should have unfolded instead. And it does take away from the present. Yet it’s something that persists. I’ve been nostalgic for remnants of my teenage years that seemed a limited time of carefree enjoyment. There are moments we often feel more keenly than others. I think the loss of that time is one I do feel. Things that went by in a blur before I could blink have an irony of feeling so far away and yet like it just happened. Our sense of memory is inexplicably linked with time.

Outside of the personal things that have to do with time, we consider time with regard to rituals and how we conduct them. Timing is then considered auspicious. I always used to wonder: why do we care about what planetary alignments are in place or what phase the moon is in for certain rituals? I did a little bit of research on this that leads me to believe this dates back to pre-history, more specifically pre-agricultural revolution. Think about how we measured the length of a day and year. We learned by observing. We know how the tides work through observations. And we’ve seen the effects of the tides on living beings. These observations are what I believe led to the assignation of auspicious time in activities. This makes sense on a broader scale as to farming and what types of weather are conducive to it. The same applies to ritual workings.

Some ritual workings are meaningful for winter and on a full moon. When we work in tandem with the cycles of nature, we create an inner harmony within ourselves. Thus, time plays an important role beyond measurement. Time is a factor that reminds us to stay in the present. It is something I am trying to be more conscientious of because the present moment can be precious and easily overlooked if not.

That’s it for now! I have much more planned for future posts, but I did want to share my thoughts about time for this blog post.

If you read this far, I appreciate it! And finally, I’ll be posting another Tarot blog post soon, in time for April! We will talk about being in the year of the Hermit, Key #9 of the Major Arcana, that Revolution Number 9 I mentioned at the end of the last blog post. I will also be posting about the lunar new year, Lupercalia, and galactic astrology as I’ve said, even though Lupercalia has already passed. It might be a “holidays and festivals” post. These are snippets of what posts I plan to make. Again, thank you all for your support.

Disclaimer: None of what I’m stating in this, or previous blog posts should ever be used in lieu of financial decision-making, medical and/or psychological treatment, and life-changing alterations.

Thank you for reading so far and for being patient with me as I know this post was long overdue! If you are interested in my Tarot readings and creative writing Tarot courses, head over to my site:

https://www.thetarotstories.com

Until next time, have a blessed rest of the month. Namaste. With love, the Foxy Witch.

Written words, spoken spells

As promised, this blog post is about my upcoming projects. So here it goes. I began writing an introduction on Kali a few years back for pagan audiences. A lot of people in the witch community asked me about worshiping Kali and whether or not it was culturally appropriate. I took the opportunity to answer questions in a book format, covering Kali as a Hindu goddess, how she is worshiped in India, and symbolism in Hinduism. However as time went on, I felt I was doing the book a great disservice. It was littered with academic jargon, the research everywhere, and it felt dry and dense. I struggled writing it because translating certain things culturally posed a challenge as well. I knew what I understood intrinsically from the Hindu standpoint because I was born and raised as such and to not write it from that standpoint felt like sacrilege. I followed my own path which led me down many roads in witchcraft, but at my core remained Hindu. The confusion and identity crisis made it seem easier to merely write an academic discourse/textbook style version of the book. I didn’t need to personalize it. Yet…that was what the book needed.

So, I began anew. The book is still in the writing stages, but I am making headway. I detail my relationship to the divine feminine, the difficulties I faced then and now, plus growing up Hindu–as well as my journey to a path forged in magick. This book also talks about Devi in all her forms–including Kali. I discuss my own personal views on deities and the Source or All-Pervading-Reality (the all powerful capital S makes its appearance gaspah) and what I am continuing to learn. So when can we expect this book? Well, whenever it gets published. First, I need to finish it. Tall order, I know. My deadline? Another tall order….by this summer at the LATEST. Why did I give myself that deadline? I already have 1/2 of the book completed from before. While we are all under self and government imposed quarantines, what better time than now to finish projects that have been pushed to the wayside? This is the time to really focus–to go inward and ask your soul what it truly needs–check to see how connected you feel to the Source–and to nature and magick. What does my soul need? The answer is clear: to express myself in written words, spoken spells, and art.

The apothecary is another special project of mine. I have been working with alternative modalities of healing and energy to help cope with stress and chronic ailments for some time now. Before I go further though, major disclaimer here, I do NOT recommend abandoning medical treatments! On the contrary, I believe that holistic health can be used in conjunction with Western medicine. Again, I highly recommend that people always check with their physicians and pharmacists for any medical and herb/drug interactions before beginning any holistic therapy. That being said, the reason I am working on an apothecary project is because I’m extremely passionate about helping people feel better. I have seen way too much suffering. I’ve seen it in my loved ones, and in friends, and in the world in general. So what can I do? Thus far, I love making oil blends, sound baths, and using Reiki daily. I also want to focus on multiple disciplines within holistic healing modes–my main focus at the moment is in mental well-being (though sports injuries and chronic pain are also areas I’m working with). Having suffered from severe stress, I can attest to Reiki, Ayurveda, and holistic therapies having helped me in addition to Western medicine. When do I plan to launch this apothecary? At the moment, I don’t have a time frame yet. The book is the first project, and I am studying more with this one. I will regularly update though.

If you have made it this far, thank you! My next post will be on facing rising global challenges, shadow work in the spring, and a recipe for self-healing. Namaste.

The Lotus Reopened

Finally waking up and getting out of that broom closet once and for all!

“This above all; to your own self be true.” —William Shakespeare

It’s been a long road for me to say the word witch comfortably without wincing. Why? The connotation of the word witch has long suffered a curiously difficult journey. For me personally, I was well oriented with the negative connotations of that word. First, let me define the actual word and its origins. Merriam Webster gives us this standard explanation: a witch is someone who possesses supernatural powers, generally speaking, used for evil, and of course, female. However, to call someone bewitching has a more positive effect. Spell binding is another word with positive implications. Yet the word witch is associated with malevolence and fear. In researching Old English, simply put, a witch is someone who practices magic.

There are many indigenous cultures around the world where animism, shamanic practices, and rituals are commonplace. I’m familiar with this within my own background. In our modern day over the years, we have seen a rise in spirituality steeped in witchcraft. I myself took the first step at the age of eleven. Actually, let’s rewind. I knew I wanted to claim the title of the witch long before that–I felt it on a cellular level. I remember as a child that I could wander off somewhere and know exactly where I was going without ever feeling lost. I felt connected to those women who made concoctions, poultices, to those women who used mantras and fire rituals, and I knew I was one of them immediately.

I lived in India and America on and off for the first ten years of my life and was raised Hindu. There is certainly a lot of ritual within Hinduism. To me, it is a magical religion. But the term witch we grew up with was fraught with images of those who use their craft to harm others. The fear of the witch was real. Naturally, I didn’t use that term for myself. I just assumed that I was different, a freak of some kind. I didn’t feel like I belonged anywhere. When I moved to the US, the problem was further exacerbated by bullying. Ah, but then–I found a book at a local bookstore called Charms, Spells, and Formulas. It got my attention right away. The effect of that moment was instantaneous. It was as if it validated everything I was feeling. However, I still feared the word–and so I waited until I was a teenager to truly explore that side of myself.

I struggled with an identity crisis for a long time even after my initial awakening. I felt I was somehow betraying my culture because I was drawn to witchcraft. So I chose a culture outside but shunned my own in the process. The struggle only got worse when I encountered some trouble in a witch circle I was involved with; I really lost myself for a while and succumbed to the negativity around me. As a result, I began to fear the witch even more. I even shunned the witch part of me in favor of my own culture. But denying any part of myself meant I continued to keep one foot in the broom closet and the other one out. I know now that the fear lies in the potential stigmatization from friends and the community. However, as I learn more about my own religion, about the mystical sects within it, and from my own experiences in witchcraft, I have come to realize that practicing magick does not interfere with my ethnic or religious background. I slowly started to open up again like a lotus, bit by bit. I am finally free to put both feet out of the broom closet!

Stay tuned! My next post will be about my work in progress: a book and a plan for an apothecary. Thank you for joining me on my journey!