KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

September 11 through September 17, 2023

There's lots of positive energy in the air this week, starting with a glowing Leo Moon on Monday and Tuesday. Our generous natures will be on display and relationships are highlighted as a source of joy under this influence. We'll also be challenged to take a closer look a what's truly important to us and make sure we are living our true and authentic selves. We can get most of our work done on Wednesday under the Virgo Moon, which casts some extra energy our way to get paperwork and detailed projects cleared away once and for all. And once we do, the Virgo new Moon on Thursday will pave the way to inspired new projects or goals we are ready to pursue. Mercury will resume forward motion on Friday, ending its 3-week cycle of backward movement and those annoying communication and electronic anomalies it's so famous for! It could take a week or two before it clears completely, but we'll notice right away that our interactions with others are taking on a more positive note! The Moon cruises through Libra Friday through Sunday, promising a weekend full of joy, relaxation, and heartfelt interactions with all those around us.

The Everyday Witch’s Coven, by Deborah Blake

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

When someone mentions the word "coven," you might envision thirteen black-clad, pointy hat-wearing witches dancing around a fire or cackling around a cauldron. I'm not sure that was ever the norm, but even if it was, times have changed. And covens have changed with them.

During the years when Wicca was the most common form of group Witchcraft practice (or at least the one you were the most likely to find if you went looking), covens usually followed specific outlines. They were led by a high priest and a high priestess, members progressed through levels like first degree and second degree, and there were formal initiations. Rituals were complicated affairs full of ceremony, and everyone wore robes or some other form of garb.

None of this was a bad thing. I've been to a number of wonderful Wiccan rituals, and my first teacher/high priestess had come from a Wiccan coven and that's how she taught those of us who were in her own group (with some variations). We didn't do degrees or initiations, and when I got to the point where I was ready for my own training as a high priestess, she merely set me a number of tasks to perform in my "year and a day" of preparation, but there is no doubt that my witchy origins were firmly rooted in the Wiccan world.

On the other hand, over the last couple of decades, modern Witchcraft practices have changed and shifted. It is, after all, a vibrant and blossoming spiritual practice—the fastest growing religion in North America. As more and more people find their way to a Witchcraft path, the variety of approaches to working within a group structure has changed and shifted, too.

While there are still many traditional Wiccan covens, the desire for diverse forms of group work, along with the need for more flexible alternatives and the changes in Witchcraft itself, have led to a shift in what constitutes a coven, and a group of witches may look very different today than it did twenty or thirty years ago. Certainly my own practice, and my group's practice, have undergone a number of changes from where we started out in 2004. Here are some ways in which covens may vary.

The Modern Witch's Coven—Variations on a Theme

• Size: While covens didn't have to number thirteen, they were often more likely to be larger groups. These days, a coven can literally be as small as two people, if they practice together on a regular basis. My own group started with three, and has been as large as twelve. These days it is usually five with the occasional guest, but not all of the members can attend every single ritual due to distance and scheduling, so it's not unusual for there to be three or four of us at any given ritual.
• How Often They Meet: The first coven I belonged to was a little unusual in that it started out as a study group, so it met every Thursday night, and we simply celebrated whatever occasion was closest to that night, if there was one. Otherwise our high priestess just taught us some aspect of Witchcraft. My own group, Blue Moon Circle, started out by meeting twice a month. We met for every full moon, and for the eight sabbats, and did new moons in the four months without a sabbat in them. But as our lives got busier and more complicated, we ended up just meeting on the sabbats, and observing the full moons on our own. I know covens that only meet on full moons, and others that gather on any and every lunar and seasonal occasion. This can vary from group to group, and will probably be based on what people want and can manage.
• Who Is In Charge: Some covens still have the traditional high priest and high priestess, but it is just as likely to only have one, or to have the person or people who lead the group use no titles at all. (I no longer do, for the most part. I might lead the rituals, but we're all equal.) Some covens don't even have a leader, and people take turns being in charge of ritual.
• How People Dress: Some covens still wear witchy garb (robes or some other clothing specifically reserved for ritual use), while others don't. Blue Moon Circle used to dress up for full moons and sabbats, but we've gotten more relaxed over the years (or lazier, depending on how you look at it) and mostly just show up in our everyday clothes. The only exception is our yearly Yule dinner party, where we get kind of fancy, but nothing particularly witchy. Again, this is something that the people within a coven can discuss and agree on.
• The Rituals: The formality of the rituals themselves will vary a great deal, too. Some covens still do a long, ornate ritual, including walking in a procession into the circle, casting a formal circle, lighting candles and calling quarters, invoking the gods, and so on. Others, especially groups that meet on a more sporadic basis and have a more casual approach, may just skip that part and just do whatever ritual they have planned. My group used to be more formal before Covid hit, but we were all so tired and frazzled, we shifted to a more laid-back way of doing things and most of the time that's what we've stuck with. It really depends on what mood we're in and what we're doing.

No Wrong Way
The most important thing to realize is that there is no one right way to practice with other witches. Whether you call yourselves a coven or not, whether you meet up regularly or just when people have time, whether you are formal or casual, what really matters in that you treat each other with respect, enter into a ritual circle prepared to do serious magical work, and follow whatever your path is with reverence and mirth.

Witchcraft is, at its best, an accepting and welcoming religion, with something to offer to all those who come to it with an open mind and a willing spirit. If you can find people to share it with, that's just a bonus.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2023. All rights reserved.

Given the law of attraction, I know that it's foolish to talk about what we don't want in our lives. What I'm not clear on is when talking about what we're going through in life turns into complaining. I have friends with whom I share the daily ups and downs of life, and some of them sound and feel like complainers while others don't. I'm trying to live a complaint-free life, but I'm not sure where to draw the line in terms of what I share with others because there are some things that it does seem to help to talk about, such as not being able to get an insurance company to listen to you, and how to handle that. Your insights are appreciated!

Jo

Astrea:

In Yiddish, there is a wonderful word for a certain type of complaining: kvetch. Kvetching has been honed over thousands of years into a fine art form. It's not just complaining about personal problems and the lack of understanding others give us - the kvetcher even complains about complaining, and about how OTHERS complain too!

If the Rolling Stones' I Can't Get No Satisfaction had been written in Yiddish, it would have been called I Love to Keep Telling You That I Can't Get No Satisfaction, Because Telling You That I'm Not Satisfied is the Only Thing That Can Satisfy Me.

Trying to get help with an insurance company might require the aid of a professional, and in that situation, you're certainly NOT complaining. There is a time and a place to discuss your material problems and the events of your business life with people who can assist you in doing something about whatever is wrong.

Legal situations require lawyers. Health situations require doctors. A psychotherapist can help with emotional pain. Telling someone who can actually assist you in solving a practical problem doesn't qualify as complaining. As long as the person receiving the information may be of assistance, that's a fair conversation; you are using the Law of Attraction by calling on someone who can help.

Destructive whining and complaining occur when a person tells another person something the other person can do absolutely nothing about. One of the best examples of this is the person who constantly whines, I'm tired. What can anyone do about that?

The other person can't rest for the complainer, and can't give them the time they need to get rejuvenated. There is absolutely nothing that someone else can do to control another's fatigue. When we complain about things just to complain, nothing constructive comes of it.

It sounds to me like you and your friends fall somewhere in between valid communicating and kvetching. If friends who qualify as complainers are draining your energy, simply limit the amount of time you spend listening.

You know when YOU are going on and on about something no one can do anything about but you. When you catch yourself doing this, start problem-solving instead of feeding negative situations by repeating your complaints again and again.

We all whine and complain at times, but we can all use the Law of Attraction wisely to draw what we desire into our lives too. If you spend your time in gratitude, before long you won't have anything to complain about at all.

*****

Susyn:

It can be confusing to determine the difference between simply venting and falling into a pattern of negative thinking or complaining. We all need someone we can discuss our struggles with, whether it's to identify them and see if we can come up with a solution or discover a way to accept what's happening.

It's also a vital part of our spiritual path to learn to look at these instances from a higher perspective, and to identify if there is some part of ourselves that may need to change its habits of word, thought or action.

Some people love to report all their troubles or difficulties to anyone within earshot. The problem here is that whatever we dwell on becomes bigger, so if we are focused on negativity or upsets, we begin to see more things to complain about everywhere.

It's important to choose the right person to share our problems with. We all have friends who tend to agree with us, back up our positions, or confirm that we are indeed in the midst of a hard time. While they may validate what we are experiencing, they could cause more harm than good if they encourage us to feel sorry for ourselves, or worse yet, powerless.

We all must choose how we'll confront difficult situations in our lives, but sharing them with a friend or spiritual advisor we can trust to be honest with us is the best way to transform our problems into gifts. Wise helpers will offer ideas, shift our perceptions, or suggest options for change we may not have considered.

Take, for example, the insurance company you mentioned. Your struggles with them aren't personal, and it's likely most people who call them have similar experiences. If you take an incident like this to heart, the situation will throw you off your spiritual center, and could grow worse if you keep focusing on the person or situation causing the problem.

Often when these things happen, it's simply our inner knowing urging us to change in some way. For example, if you can't get someone to listen to you, it's time to stop talking and take action. Whether that means addressing your problems with a different agent, changing insurance companies, or standing back to let things resolve on their own, the bottom line is that you'll have to find another way to solve the trouble. This will empower you and instantly turn things around.

Raising our awareness, avoiding negative thinking and looking beyond the immediate situation to realize the deeper purpose behind our troubles are all positive ways of dealing with the frustrations life tends to toss our way.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.