IDGAF and witchy/spiritual stuff
Hi everyone, I know it has been ages since I blogged on here. I still read everyone elses blogs and I participate in some of the communities, but I am just super slack with updating about my usual life stuff. I don't even post on my facebook page all that often anymore. I still look at the bloody thing daily, but I don't always post a status.
Anyway, the reason for this post is that I am somewhat changing the direction of my blog. Today I wrote a seeker email to a new witchcraft tradition called IDGAF which is based in Canada. If you're curious you can find their website at www.idgaf.ca
I am planning to blog about my spiritual studies and practice a bit more, since I am going to be making more of a commitment to this area of my life, and if I'm accepted into their dedicant program they can read my blog posts here. If this stuff is boring to you, don't worry, I will use tags and cuts so that you can skip over it if you like. Under the cut is the seeker email I sent:
Dear Amy, Drew, Heather and Renee,
Hi and Merry Meet, my name is Gemma and I am interested in becoming a part of the IDGAF tradition. A little bit about myself: I am a 29 year-old female practicing Pagan and witch living in Gladstone, Australia. I am happily married and have an 18 month-old son and I am currently unemployed. At the moment I am able to get a fair bit of reading done and can also fit in ritual and meditation etc. in the evenings when my husband is home and when my son is asleep or with a babysitter, so your set requirements for the dedicant process feel like they would be achievable for me right now. I already have an altar and sacred space that I maintain and I already own some of the books from your reading list and am able to acquire more.
The reasons why I am interested in your tradition: I also don't give a fuck about a lot of contemporary traditions and their ideas on what I "should" believe and how I "need" to practice. However, I would like to become a more disciplined and dedicated practitioner and I think it would help me a lot have a little bit of guidance and perhaps even some accountability in my efforts towards this goal. I recently started doing a little bit of practice with a casual local group of mostly inexperienced practitioners, and if this continues I would like to one day be able to guide others in doing their own thing as well.
I have been studying and practicing Neopagan witchcraft since I was 13 years old, but at various times due to life circumstances my practice has fallen off a bit. I've only practiced with other people a few times in my life and have never joined a formal group or had any serious contact with any other tradition, so for that reason I don't consider myself a very experienced practitioner. However, at the moment my life is quite stable and I'm in a loving relationship with someone who accepts my beliefs and supports me in having a regular practice, so now seems like the right time.
Anyway, I'll try to keep this brief so that you don't have to read an essay, but if you have any questions for me please feel free to ask!
Take care and I wish you love and blessings.
Sincerely, Gemma.
Last night I went to a four-hour animal totem seekers workshop run by a lady named Sunder Devi. I know, I know, you can't find your animal totem in four hours! It was a lot of fun and very enlightening. Sunder has been learning from various native people of both Australia and America and has a lot of knowledge, however she was very adamant about her way being "right" and other ways being "wrong", which I of course disagreed with and it made me want to explore my own spirituality more and find what feels right for me.
I joined the Gladstone spiritual network on facebook, and through that I have joined a meditation group that I attend most Monday nights, and I also have met a lot of great people, including some other witches that I have started practicing with. Well, we've only had one session so far, but you have to start somewhere!
This is all really great for me. I have come to realise that even though I'm a spiritual atheist, having a regular spiritual practice is really good for my well being. I think that having an increased level of discipline in this area will do me a lot of good.
Thanks for reading, take care and lots of love to you all. xx
Anyway, the reason for this post is that I am somewhat changing the direction of my blog. Today I wrote a seeker email to a new witchcraft tradition called IDGAF which is based in Canada. If you're curious you can find their website at www.idgaf.ca
I am planning to blog about my spiritual studies and practice a bit more, since I am going to be making more of a commitment to this area of my life, and if I'm accepted into their dedicant program they can read my blog posts here. If this stuff is boring to you, don't worry, I will use tags and cuts so that you can skip over it if you like. Under the cut is the seeker email I sent:
Dear Amy, Drew, Heather and Renee,
Hi and Merry Meet, my name is Gemma and I am interested in becoming a part of the IDGAF tradition. A little bit about myself: I am a 29 year-old female practicing Pagan and witch living in Gladstone, Australia. I am happily married and have an 18 month-old son and I am currently unemployed. At the moment I am able to get a fair bit of reading done and can also fit in ritual and meditation etc. in the evenings when my husband is home and when my son is asleep or with a babysitter, so your set requirements for the dedicant process feel like they would be achievable for me right now. I already have an altar and sacred space that I maintain and I already own some of the books from your reading list and am able to acquire more.
The reasons why I am interested in your tradition: I also don't give a fuck about a lot of contemporary traditions and their ideas on what I "should" believe and how I "need" to practice. However, I would like to become a more disciplined and dedicated practitioner and I think it would help me a lot have a little bit of guidance and perhaps even some accountability in my efforts towards this goal. I recently started doing a little bit of practice with a casual local group of mostly inexperienced practitioners, and if this continues I would like to one day be able to guide others in doing their own thing as well.
I have been studying and practicing Neopagan witchcraft since I was 13 years old, but at various times due to life circumstances my practice has fallen off a bit. I've only practiced with other people a few times in my life and have never joined a formal group or had any serious contact with any other tradition, so for that reason I don't consider myself a very experienced practitioner. However, at the moment my life is quite stable and I'm in a loving relationship with someone who accepts my beliefs and supports me in having a regular practice, so now seems like the right time.
Anyway, I'll try to keep this brief so that you don't have to read an essay, but if you have any questions for me please feel free to ask!
Take care and I wish you love and blessings.
Sincerely, Gemma.
Last night I went to a four-hour animal totem seekers workshop run by a lady named Sunder Devi. I know, I know, you can't find your animal totem in four hours! It was a lot of fun and very enlightening. Sunder has been learning from various native people of both Australia and America and has a lot of knowledge, however she was very adamant about her way being "right" and other ways being "wrong", which I of course disagreed with and it made me want to explore my own spirituality more and find what feels right for me.
I joined the Gladstone spiritual network on facebook, and through that I have joined a meditation group that I attend most Monday nights, and I also have met a lot of great people, including some other witches that I have started practicing with. Well, we've only had one session so far, but you have to start somewhere!
This is all really great for me. I have come to realise that even though I'm a spiritual atheist, having a regular spiritual practice is really good for my well being. I think that having an increased level of discipline in this area will do me a lot of good.
Thanks for reading, take care and lots of love to you all. xx