The Magickal Pen

The Priestess

I work in an office setting and over the years I have tried to be creative in the ways I could enhance my learning, practice my craft and offer devotion while at work. Since setting up an overtly Wiccan altar on my desk is not an option, I‘ve devised discreet ways in which I could have the important components of my belief system visible yet indiscernible to any who are not on the same wave length.

I spend most of my day on the computer and at one point for many years my boss and I shared the same office space. She did not particularly care for music of any kind and I have music running through my veins. Additionally, there would often be (distracting) meetings and phone calls that I had no choice in listening to. My solution was a set of headphones and an arsenal of CD’s. Now these weren’t just any CD’s, but rather were a variety of pagan music artists, active meditations and pathworkings or instructional audio. Having had five children under five, I consider myself an adept at the art of multitasking and selective listening. This fulfilled my wanting to experience sound (vibration) that would be spiritually supportive and believe it or not, also is great practice for partitioned focus- something good magickal practice often requires.

My eldest daughter is an artist of spiritual and mystical paintings. So whenever I was able I had either a small picture or photo of her work on my desk. Notecards and greeting cards from a new age and wiccan store filled in at creating small pockets of visual focus on my desk. She gave a me a painting of an Egyptian Priestess (she had a vision that it had been me in a previous lifetime) for my birthday and it graces my wall as reminder of the pantheon I frequently work with.

A small book of Rumi’s poems is my daily morning read before I start work. It is small in size, large in inspiration and fits nicely in my desk drawer. Some years I have purchased “quote bank” desk calendars or something similar that I used as a quick meditation tool each morning to start my day and keep track of appointments and meetings.

I weave a bit of color magick into my day in the selection of the color of the clothes I am wearing or in the colors of the highlighters, pens or folders I use in my work. In honor of the elements, I have elemental related items placed on my desk or window in their appropriate corners. A feather (found on a lunchtime walk) sits in the East- a small Lava Lamp sits in the South- a Desk Fountain  sits in the West and a small pine cone (another lunch walk find) sits in the North.

To celebrate the seasons and the Sabbats, a small vase of flowers, pine cones picked up from a walk, seashells or dollar store snowmen sit on my desk tucked into the corner, but in eyesight. I use oils as my perfume of choice and the small roll on vials of Egyptian Musk, Dragon’s Blood, Frankincense, Nag Champa or Tunisian Myrrh fit in my desk drawer and offer brief excursions into the feelings of this ritual or that working as needed, in addition to their calming, purifying and balancing attributes.

Lunchtime offers opportunity to walk and get outdoors to commune with the Sun and nature. A 15 min. walk can rejuvenate and cleanse the buildup from closed off indoor spaces nicely and can become a meditation to center your breathing and your connection to earth and sky. I also find souvenirs along the way to bring back into my office space; remember the pine cones and feather on my desk! I usually use my lunch time to write, read or prep for workshops or ritual and doing so outside when weather permits enhancing the creative flow.

I work in an office setting and over the years I have tried to be creative in the ways I could enhance my learning, practice my craft and offer devotion while at work.  Since setting up an overtly Wiccan altar on my desk is not an option, I ‘ve devised discreet ways in which I could have the important components of my belief system visible yet indiscernible to any who are not on the same wave length.

I spend most of my day on the computer and at one point for many years my boss and I shared the same office space.  She did not particularly care for music of any kind and I have music running through my veins.  Additionally, there would often be (distracting) meetings and phone calls that I had no choice in listening to.  My solution was a set of headphones and an arsenal of CD’s.  Now these weren’t just any CD’s, but rather were a variety of pagan music artists, active meditations and pathworkings or instructional audio.  Having had five children under five, I consider myself an adept at the art of multitasking and selective listening.  This fulfilled my wanting to experience sound (vibration) that would be spiritually supportive and believe it or not, also is great practice for partitioned focus- something good magickal practice often requires.

My eldest daughter is an artist of spiritual and mystical paintings.  So whenever I was able I had either a small picture or photo of her work on my desk.  Notecards and greeting cards from a new age and wiccan store filled in at creating small pockets of visual focus on my desk.  She gave a me a painting of an Egyptian Priestess (she had a vision that it had been me in a previous lifetime) for my birthday and it graces my wall as reminder of the pantheon I frequently work with.

A small book of Rumi’s poems is my daily morning read before I start work.  It is small in size, large in inspiration and fits nicely in my desk drawer.  Some years I have purchased “quote bank” desk calendars or something similar that I used as a quick meditation tool each morning to start my day and keep track of appointments and meetings.

I weave a bit of color magick into my day in the selection of the color of the clothes I am wearing or in the colors of the highlighters, pens or folders I use in my work.  In honor of the elements, I have elemental related items placed on my desk or window in their appropriate corners.  A feather (found on a lunchtime walk) sits in the East- a small Lava Lamp sits in the South- a Sea Shell sits in the West and a small pinecone (another lunch walk find) sits in the North.

To celebrate the seasons and the Sabbats, a small vase of flowers, pinecones picked up from a walk, seashells or dollar store snowmen sit on my desk tucked into the corner, but in eyesight.  I use oils as my perfume of choice and the small roll on vials of Egyptian Musk, Dragon’s Blood, Frankincense, Nag Champa or Tunisian Myrrh fit in my desk drawer and offer brief excursions into the feelings of this ritual or that working as needed, in addition to their calming, purifying and balancing attributes.

Lunchtime offers opportunity to walk and get outdoors to commune with the Sun and nature.  A 15 min. walk can rejuvenate and cleanse the buildup from closed off indoor spaces nicely and can become a meditation to center your breathing and your connection to earth and sky.  I also find souvenirs along the way to bring back into my office space; remember the pinecones and feather on my desk! I usually use my lunch time to write, read or prep for workshops or ritual and doing so outside when weather permits enhancing the creative flow.

For several years, I was fortunate enough to offer a weekly lunchtime meditation for some co-workers and myself.  Everyone looked forward to it and I enjoyed the feeling of service, connection and the creative aspects of setting up visually beautiful settings to begin each meditation. You would be surprised at how many people might be on board with setting some time aside for this practice.

There have been special occasions when I was doing a specific working and I would bring in a small crystal to anchor the energy or a sigil drawn on a small index card discreetly placed under folders or my keyboard.  These largely went unnoticed or simply received the comment of “how beautiful”.

I think part of what makes our path so rich in diversity and style is the freedom to be creative. The sensibilities and responsiveness to be able to problem solve and work magick that is effective but can still remain within the confines of where you are able to perform it and what you have to work with.  The beauty is held in the ability to empower ordinary objects with the vision and responsiveness of the finest magickal tool. I think these are some of the things that make the pagan path flexible, sustainable and something that can truly be as interwoven into the 24/7 365 days mantra.

Here’s to the creativity of the God and Goddess that courses through all of us!

“The Priestess”

Artist: Caitlin Fennelly