The Wonder of Living in a Spirited World

Image by Andrew Milas from Pixabay

I went kayaking the other day for the first time in my life. That it was the first time is strange to me, but that may be another story for another time. There’s something else on my mind…

A Common Loon and I made eye contact. My soul was touched.

This isn’t an unusual thing for me. Soul-touching, I mean. My soul is actually touched regularly. Loon was simply the most recent Spirit to reach inside and give me a nudge (and a powerful one at that). I have been touched by Boulder and Stone, Mountain, Shark, Ocean, Clownfish, Crow and Raven, Sea Anemone, and Lichen. More recently Rhubarb and Horseradish have given me a tickle.

You see, I live in a Spirited, magical world.

I always have.

But I haven’t always been able to be fully alive in it. In fact, I’d say, like plenty of others that I’ve met over the years, at some point around the age of 13 or so, I was subtly and not so subtly encouraged to let that part of myself die. It was time to grow up and set aside childish things - like talking to clovers and bees, believing in magic, and listening to the wind. I didn’t. Let it die I mean. I just put it into a private, little box, and I got on with pretending to be what I thought I was supposed to be — rational, linear, driven, and professional.

There wasn’t a single BLARING SIGN that popped the lid on my private, little box. There was a series of events that, in hindsight, first cracked the lid, then oiled the hinges, and finally tore the lid off the box. 

First, I encountered a tiny rock shop somewhere in Wyoming when I was 18, and I fell in love with a simple piece of clear Quartz. I hung it on a chain, wore it next to my skin, and talked to it for years. Then, I learned to SCUBA dive, and I encountered God(dess) at 170 feet under the water (yes…I was below the recreational dive limit), and third, I studied anthropology and found myself in an anthropology of religion course learning about whole cultures that lived in the world the way I’d done when I was a kid.

And then, sitting in a bookstore in Honolulu, I read Scott Cunningham’s book, Wicca: A Guide for the Solitary Practitioner, and I knew that, even in my highly industrialized, disconnected, Western culture, I wasn’t entirely alone.

That bookstore moment was 30 years ago. Over the course of those 30 years, I’ve explored the vast wildflower meadow of neo-paganism including the religion of Wicca, studied Buddhism, and even returned to the Church once. More than anything, I’ve walked my way back to the magic I knew when I was a little person running after bumble bees on the high plains outside Laramie, Wyoming. I’ve walked my way back to magic and built open, loving relationships with the other Spirits that inhabit this planet.

I still work to make money, shop at a grocery store, and own a home. I have multiple degrees, and I can hold my own in professional settings if I have to. And…

My life is a magical fairy tale.

Because I chose (and continue choosing) to make it so. I decided to start living in a way that Little Me knew was authentic and real and necessary.

I reclaimed the word, Witch a long time ago when I was practicing the religion of Wicca, and I still call myself Witch today (though I’m as likely to use the word Völva, Spaewoman (in honor of my ancestry and because of specific practices that I engage in) or Edgewalker. I did not reclaim it because I’m a feminist, and it was a maligned word for a strong, rebellious, self-defined, and authentic woman (that IS a perk, though!). I reclaimed it because I started practicing witchcraft. Witch Craft. I reclaimed it and continue to claim it because it fits what I DO and how I move in this magical, spirited, interconnected world.

In the coming months, I’ll invite women to journey with me in various ways — workshops, immersions, and play dates are all on the list. None of these journeys require claiming the word Witch, leaving your religious home of choice, or engaging in any devilish dealings at all. All of them will be invitations to explore the wonder of living in a Spirited world.

Stay tuned. 

Xxoo,

Fálki