Connection, Devotion, Practice

[LC]

I feel like I’m not doing enough in the those 3 areas. I have a whole notebook of stuff but not sure where to start. I love being busy, as it keeps my mind calm, but I go to bed thinking I should be studying more and actively doing more.

Just like my TBR, it just grows and I’m stuck on what to do. It’s just like I’m surrounded by my TBR books but can’t decide what to read.

Any thoughts?

Thanks!

[SpiritTalker]

oh. My. Gosh. I've been there. 100 books & nothing to read! I wonder if it's like 100 outfits in the closet & nothing to wear? all my T-shirts look alike so I dunno.

Feeling like you're not doing enough is related to not getting results from what you a r e doing. So doing more of the same isn't attractive or inspiring.

So-o, rethink what actually works, has worked, for you. Connect to the tiny seed. The seed is that which holds you fascinated by your path. Devotion fluctuates with our sense of connection in a two-way flow. It's not likely to be constant. It's 5 parts discipline & 95 parts fascination. The phrase connecting the dots is another form of the word. Look deeper & farther afield to how that seed is a hologram being re-imaged through layers of meaning.

Practice is in pursuing the seed. Seeing the seed in our daily, routine activities ties it together.

Notebooks take time to kick into gear. They are place holders for thoughts & pieces of the puzzle. Sometimes we don't have a very clear idea of the picture the puzzle pieces are making.

Change your altar for every season, every spell-if any, every holiday & experiment to learn what your altar can do for you. It's a magical tool that is over looked. Work thru the spectrum of colors & watch how moods change.

If you've got snow build a snow man god-form. Make birdseed offerings as acts of devotion while he lasts.

Cast three circles a week for a month for the practice. Go barefoot. Dress up. Wear PJs. See what it teaches you.

Break the rules. Use the whole Superman serial TV opening monologue as if it were a summoning ritual. Ritual is meant to be a celebration, not a funereal dirge, well, y'know, unless it's a requiem.
Try using It for a circle.
Calling deity: Look! Up in the sky. It's a bird. It's a plane, it's Superman.
State his powers: He's able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive. He bends steel in his bare hands ...
His hidden nature: Disguised as Clark Kent, a mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet ...
Eh, I can't remember the whole thing but you can find it.

Stop reading. Start doing.

Make moon cakes. Actually find a recipe, make a batch & share with the birds. They have it tough in winter.

A lot of Wiccan & Spell books just repeat like parrots with limited references. If you haven't already gone down that rabbit hole try the Idiots Guide & For Dummies level intro to subjects that aren't cliff hanging riveting interests. Alchemy, physics & ceremonial magic are cousins.

Read something completely out side the Wiccan or magic field to restart the brain.

Build a fairy house from found natural materials, dedicate & hide it where only they can find it; then forget it because you have given it away with no expectations.

Got a Yule tree? Charlie Brown's bent branch? Make one ornament for it as an offering. After the season hang it outside someplace & forget it. It was an offering so it has to be let go of. Go for a walk with a pocket full of jingle bells. Tie them randomly with red ribbon as happy Yule gifts.

Last word: post-it-notes.

Find ways to use them to turn up the heat. We have to work at this stuff, not wait for it. Write chants to be repeated when looked at to-be memorized. Mark book passages you want to re-read later to give a text more thought, even if it's 2 years later. Mark that notebook with them. Copy out things that you want to know more about. Stick them on your computer & research in 6 months. Stick some short term notes on the bathroom mirror: today's topic is x-fill in the blank-x. Look for it. Have fun: Pick some deities & mythology, some what-I-like-about-the-Craft topics & some happy-to-be-me's & stick on the fridge, lamp shade, closet door, electric mixer, car's rearview mirror ... Etc.

[LC]

I don’t think I can thank you enough SpiritTalker. Your advice has helped me figure how to start with everything. I’ve been trying for minutes to put into words how much your post is what I needed but I can’t seem to find the words.

Thank you so much!

[SpiritTalker]

Blessings you just brightened my day.