Llewellyn's 2012 Witches' Companion by Llewellyn (chrome ebook reader TXT) 📗

and it was incredible to celebrate the Cycle of the Year surrounded by the arms of their changing branches. We left a small ceramic bowl in a niche formed by their wonderfully gnarled roots; each month we would offer the grove the contents of the bowl as thanks for their support in our work.

It was beautiful to see what the elements would offer up: rainwater, most months, sometimes festooned with delicate white and pink blossoms; other times a brown leaf or two would float on its surface. In the drier summer months, the bowl became hidden in the overgrowth of the forest floor, and in the fall, we often had to clear the fallen apples away in order to even find the bowl. It was lovely to pass the bowl around and bless its contents, adding our energy to what nature had already provided. Although we brought libations of wine and cider to share with the area each month, there was something especially fitting in reflecting the blessings of nature back upon itself.

Harnessing the Blessings of Air

I love the sound of chimes playing in the wind, and (much to my neighbors’ chagrin at times) I have a small orchestra’s worth pealing their song into the night. These chimes make more than beautiful music, however. There is an ancient Celtic tradition of tying prayer ribbons to trees in sacred groves or around holy wells. People would infuse the scraps of cloth with their hopes and needs, and leave them for the wind to carry their intentions to the gods and Spirits of the Land.

Inspired by this, I charge my wind chimes twice a year—at the portal times of Calan Gaeaf/Samhain and Calan Mai/Beltane—with the vision of what I hope to manifest during the Dark and Light Halves of the year. The tubular metal bells of the chimes hold the energy nicely, and when they ring I feel the vibration of each note sending out my intentions into the Universe. Also, their music serves as a constant reminder of my work, and each time I hear them I am reminded of the sacred nature of the daily journey and the ways in which creation conspires to help us.

These energies of transformation call us to rise to the challenge of our personal unfolding and release our intentions for change into the world. As we look within our souls seeking self-understanding during the Dark Half, so now we must initiate action to achieve self-fulfillment during the Light Half of the cycle. Setting up our personal space in support of these changes serves to remind us daily that every time we act, the Universe responds in kind. Every ripple we initiate in the pond of our lives expands ever-outward, challenging the boundaries of who we are and opening new spaces for who we can become.

Sanctifying the Temple of the Body

Of all the spaces that surround us, of all the blessings we send out into the world, of all the things we honor and consider sacred, it is often our own bodies that are most in need of honor and celebration. Considered by many to be the vehicle through which our soul experiences the physical world, our bodies are indeed worthy of recognition as the spiritual temples they are. Too frequently we focus on our perceived physical imperfections, forget the miracle of the body’s ability to heal itself when we are ailing, or take for granted the fragile balance our bodies need to sustain us, instead choosing to abuse ourselves with excess, deprive ourselves of adequate sleep or nourishing food, and engage in other physically and psychologically damaging behaviors.

For women especially, how we carry ourselves and think about our body is incredibly emotionally charged. We are constantly being bombarded with messages telling us how we are supposed to look and what we are supposed to wear. Women’s bodies have been objectified by a culture that has also programmed us to believe they are objects of sin and shame. Reclaiming the sacred nature of our physical form is a service both to our selves and to our sisters—it is a rejection of the old paradigm and a reframing of how women think about themselves on their own terms.

There is a Hermetic Axiom that states: “As above, so below. As within, so without.” Our treatment and reverence for our body both reflects upon, and is a reflection of, the spirit that dwells within. How can you bring a sense of the sacred to your physical self? Perhaps you can incorporate a daily routine of self-anointing with oils you have blessed for this purpose and choose to consciously eat wholesome foods to power your body-temple. Indulge in sacred spa days and pamper yourself with a luxurious bath scented with herbs and flowers that stimulate the essence of the Divine within. Wear colors and styles that reflect your personality and make you feel beautiful, rather than feeling like a slave to the trends of fashion. Adorn yourself with stones and symbolic jewelry that serve as reminders of your holy nature. And, perhaps most importantly, support other women in cultivating a sense of the self as sacred: discourage self-deprecating remarks, do not engage in disempowering body behaviors, and praise your sisters and brothers as the beautiful and perfect beings they are.

While it’s useful and beneficial to create a physical sacred space, such as a hearth or garden, creating sacred space within yourself may be the best thing you can do for your spirit.

Jhenah Telyndru has been blessed to walk a Goddess path for more than two decades. She is the founder and Morgen of the Sisterhood of Avalon and serves as Director of the Avalonian Thealogical Seminary. Jhenah is the author of Avalon Within: A Sacred Journey of Myth, Mystery, and Inner Wisdom (Llewellyn) and creator of a unique Avalonian Posture System, demonstrated on the instructional DVD Trancing the Inner Landscape: Avalonian Landscape Postures. She presents Avalonian intensives and workshops across the United States and facilitates pilgrimages to sacred