The Magickal Pen

Step out through the archway
Come out boldly into the light
The world of the living awaits you
Let its beauty fill your sight.

You’ve poured over great
Books and practiced all alone
Now time is approaching to
Share what has been shown.

To make noise and create joy
To dance freely and deeply feel
To cry and rant and rave as you
Strive to keep it authentic and real.

The truth is that Spirit and matter
Are fed each by the other one
And the deeper you reach into
All aspects of being human
Your Spirit will soar in exaltation
Having resolved this life’s lesson of
Living Divinely and Human as one.

The poem last week was a reflection of my own recent work at finding the balance between the life of the Hermit I am most comfortable with and the need to process through living experience those things I am akin to found in books and writings. Now, let me clarify before I go further that the life of the Hermit I refer to is that of my natural spiritual tendency, not the reality of living the life of a Hermit apart from the world. Nonetheless, the questions I posed last week hold particular relevance for me…

What beautifully crafted spaces have you built to keep you at arms length from the world?

For me, the detachment from the mundane has arisen in my approach to how I choose to experience all of the world and its messiness. In fact, for most of my life I have been fully and responsibly present in the physical state and happily retreating as often as I could to the more solitary musings and surroundings. Having five children, a husband, a full-time job, a coven and an avocation of service, teaching and writing tends to throw you head first into those deep waters of mundane responsibility and interaction. Yet, despite all of this, the Will is a crafty and powerful ally in allowing you to remain submerged in the waters of study, magickal practice and spiritual pursuit.

My inner library and working space of magick is vast and silent save for my own musings. This is the place of my power and retreat from what I consider trivial and non-productive in the mundane world. The urgency to know as much as possible, be as skilled as possible and align all aspects of myself as soon as possible has helped me craft this Hermit’s refuge with singular and sole purpose. The problem is that imbalance begins to occur. Although perceived great strides are being made in the spiritual work, the mundane polarity of that work suffers from lack of attention. The stores of experience that nurture, heal and support the needs of the human aspect within you become depleted. And, without those stores to be drawn upon when times become challenging and the call to spiritual support drains that reserve there is no healing possible.

How has it effected your Magick?

I have come to realize that I am not alone in this way of thinking and approach to spiritual work. We get caught up in the pursuit of growth and goals of practice and forget the primary tool that allows us to pursue what we seek. We neglect the “fun” aspect in deference to the academia. And are not always as mindful as we should be of the human factor in the energy work we do and how euphoric the simple acts of dancing, loving, listening and engaging in tactile creativity can be.

So, for now I will leave the Hermit behind; knowing that the road back to that place of contemplative and solitary spirituality is always available to and welcoming of me. For now, I will try a new road that leads back into the heart of humanity and all that being human means. This will be the scaffolding that will sure up my physical form, nurturing what needs replenishing of simple or challenging pursuits that are purely in the joy or pain of the moment.

I end where I began with the posing of two questions:

What beautifully crafted spaces have you built within the world to be fully present?

And, how has this effected your Magick?