⛤ It's my 22nd Witchiversary! ⛤
I don't remember exactly when I started reading about, studying, and then practicing Witchcraft as a kid. I did journal, but not RIGHT at the start, or at least not about Witchcraft. I didn't start writing about my practice until I was setting up full altars and doing my self-dedication ritual, but that's another story.
In the very beginning, especially since I was so young, there is a lot of time spent in studying and reading, so it's hard to say when my practice actually began. I was trying out the things I was reading about, the things that I didn't already do before, anyway. But I was very concerned about making sure that I REALLY knew my shit (at least my first few years basics type of shit lol) before I even started calling myself a Pagan or Witch. Because I wanted to be able to represent it well and not perpetuate misinformation.
So I count how many years I've been practicing starting from the sabbat that I first celebrated with a group of other people -- Vernal Equinox 2003 (which I called Ostara then, as the Wiccan name of it), when I was 12. I know for sure that by then I felt comfortable enough sharing what I knew with other people, because I gave a little mini presentation about the history of the festival to a bunch of family friends... so it makes sense to me as an easy time to count from!
★ When I started out, I feel like the author bio in basically every book I was reading on Witchcraft said so-and-so "has been practicing the Craft for over twenty years." Well, I'm there! ★
I celebrated my 20th Witchiversary two years ago in a slightly bigger way, going out, doing a little celebration for myself and all my progress, and getting items that I could wear and add to things that will always be a reminder of that milestone. I have a two-pin set that are a small, gold Sun and Star, connected to each other by a chain. I bought some other things that I'm still playing with to decide where and how they will best serve me, but I have those pins on a jacket that I wear often. It's a nice, personal reminder. Plus it is nice when people notice them and compliment them, even if they don't know what they mean for me. I also got a tattoo that year. It was for a few reasons, but one reason was 20 years of Witchery.
What's your Witchiversary? Or Paganversary? Or Druidversary?
Do you know exactly when you would consider the start of your practice? Or do you, like me, have a sort of nebulous, general idea, and prefer to pick the closest major date like a sabbat or something else?Are there other anniversaries related to your practice that you celebrate?
I do! This autumn (I'm in the northern hemisphere, so several months away from now) will be ten years since my very first Reclaiming Witchcamp. That's nearly half of my entire practice at this point, and almost a third of my life. It took me about five years to take all of the Core Classes, and then I started teaching them. So half the time I've been in Reclaiming, I've been part of facilitating core classes. Considering what a huge part of my life the tradition has become... yeah, I celebrate that anniversary, too.⛤
So, okay. I pulled up this post to tell you about my Witchiversary. But if you follow my content online, you'll be aware that things are pretty quiet right now. I'm working on finishing up the edit for my 2024 Year in Review video a little at a time between meetings, classes, community discussions, and more. I was out of town for a week last month, and then got extremely sick for multiple weeks (worst sinus pain I've EVER had in my life -- I couldn't do much of anything for a while), and I'm trying to catch up with so, so many things on my plate. But video stuff is getting done slowly.
Aside from that stuff slowing me down, though, I'm also in a really difficult stage of my personal life. It's been a dark phase, a long period. I've also been working with Silence. So. Less writing, less vlogging. I didn't set out to do that; I've never really planned to take extended breaks from my content, it just happens because it needs to in that moment. So I didn't plan for it, but that's often what happens when you begin a new magical journey -- it moves through you in ways you don't expect. I didn't know that I would have so many moments of realizing that, you know, I actually don't want to share XYZ with the entire internet public. So I didn't. And it's taken me a long time to get to this point, where I'm beginning to feel more clarity around what, and how, and where, and why I want to share. Beginning to. It's definitely not done yet. I have a ways to go. But things are shifting a bit.
I mean, hell. I'm writing a blog post. Look at that.
Thanks for reading,
Blessings~
-C-
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