My Masters Project on Wicca

This week has been all about research.  My next major project is for my Masters in Metaphysics.  I attended the University of Metaphysical Sciences about 4 years ago and the only thing missing was my thesis, which I am finally completing.  Because it is a spiritual program outside of mainstream religion, its practices are more flexible and appropriate for a metaphysician.  I was allowed to co-create my thesis project in a way that satisfies the requirements of the degree but also reflects my unique patterns and gifts.

I am creating a book on the Wiccan wheel of the year.  The book will be based upon a series of paintings I am creating that will illustrate the essence of each holiday (Sabbat) and contain an explanation of each one.  It will also have a section on my personal experience with this spiritual practice, tips for rituals, and my bio.  I will be turning the paintings into prints which will illustrate the written portion.  If I feel it is worthy, I may even make it available on Amazon.  The project is slightly overwhelming for me since I have never attempted something like this before but I am also really excited about it.  I am nervous about the outcome, but I trust that the process itself will expand my consciousness in many unforeseen ways.

So, although I have no sketches to show yet, I will share below some of the images I have found that have inspired me.  As my usual practice, I rarely base my paintings on any one photograph.  Rather, I like to look at a bunch of references then come up with an image that captures the essence of everything I have looked at.  The images all have something to do with the Wiccan calendar, either directly or indirectly.

Wicca is a nature-based spiritual practiced centered around the rhythms of nature.  It celebrates the complementary gifts of the Male and the Female as reflections of the God and Goddess.  Nevertheless,  It has gotten a bad name due to the biases of the book-based religions, but witchcraft is not evil or even superstitious.  The rituals are not believed to have power in and of themselves, they are merely visual anchors and reminders to facilitate the internal energy shifts necessary to make changes in one’s life experience. 

it is essentially a female-empowering spiritual discipline that elevates the Goddess, the Earth, and Intuition.

I hope to explain more about this as I progress in the project.  For now, please enjoy these beautiful images derived from various sources on the internet.

May you have a beautiful, heart-centered week dedicated to service in whatever sphere you currently find yourself in.  And don’t forget to follow your bliss!  Peace and blessings.

Where Spirit Leads, I Will Follow

Life is interesting right now as my artistic life gets off the ground.  Although I have always been a long-range planner, my decisions evolve as I gain more information.  Sometimes my plans change so radically, they bear no resemblance to what I started out with.  However, the process of planning is still important.

The problem with planning is that whenever you project into the future, you are dealing with a set of unknowns.  In algebra you have to narrow a problem down to one unknown and then solve for it.  In life there are many unknowns.

When I began to get close to graduating from El Camino I would imagine my life as an artist.  I figured I would get some sort of a day job, hopefully in the art field, but I didn’t really care what field it was in.  I figured I would continue to take evening classes and do my art at night and on weekends.  I didn’t know when or if any of that was going to happen.  But I trusted Spirit to guide and provide and just did the things I knew to do.  Well, a little over six weeks from the end of my final semester, and my life looks exactly as I hoped it would.  I have a full time day job and I do my art at night and on the weekends.  I plan to take painting classes at Otis and West L.A. College this fall.

Although I took classes in sculpture, ceramics, drawing, and painting, I have decided that my primary focus is painting.  I find myself expanding my mediums and have been working more with acrylics and gouache.  I am also exploring my literary past.  I graduated the first time with an English degree and did not do much writing after that except for the occasional poem and a TV pilot I wrote in a film class.  But lately I am feeling that old flame being rekindled.  I have always loved literature but never felt that confident about my writing.  Finally, I am ready to explore this avenue with a class or two this fall and see what comes of it. 

This rekindled love for literature, after studying art for two years, came as a surprise to me.  But life is exciting and never boring when you pay attention to your intuition and follow the leading of Spirit.  In looking at past journals, I see a recurring theme of wanting to write, of feeling an urge to create stories, but things happen when the timing is right.

So, if I were to give some tips on how to live an intuitive life filled with exciting twists and turns, I would say the following:

1)      Spend a good deal of time alone so that you can shut out the chatter, opinions, and agendas of other people (including the media) and get in touch with your authentic Self.

2)      Develop a meditation practice that encourages mental and spiritual strength, depth, and wisdom.  Meditation teaches you how to see things from an expanded perspective rather than getting sucked into the minutiae of the day-to-day.

3)      Read.   Read lots of different types of things – magazine, books, newspapers, blogs, etc.

4)      Watch.  Watch lots of different types of things – movies, plays, YouTube clips, live events, channels you don’t normally watch, etc.

5)      When you get an intuitive hit, do not argue with it, reason with it, or ignore it.  Spirit speaks softly whereas Ego shouts.  Spirit shows up where it is welcome, although it is always present.  Ego forces itself on you and commands attention.  You have to lean forward and incline your ear to hear Spirit, but it speaks clearly.  Ego manipulates your emotions and exploits your fears.  Spirit says things that feel right to the soul.  Ego says things that stir up the passions and cause anxiety and confusion. 

You don’t have to be “spiritual” to live intuitively.  Spirit, as I said, manifests where It is made welcome.  It is the “still small voice” within that wants only your highest good.  It is full of love and grace, not only for you, but for everyone. It uplifts, motivates, and is the energy behind the creative spirit.

May we all make Spirit welcome this week and follow Its Dear Voice to the path towards our highest good.  Peace and blessings.  Now go follow your bliss…

The Search For Love in a Patriarchal Society

There has been a persistent theme in my life over the last few weeks of analyzing romantic relationships and how I feel about them.  I just finished a wonderful book on the subject entitled Communion: The Female Search For Love by bell hooks.  Hooks is a feminist writer whom I had heard of but had never read any of her books.  The book was an excellent analysis of how patriarchy impacts romantic relationships.

Hooks’ basic premise is that enlightened women, especially feminists, who have been largely successful in fighting patriarchy in so many other areas, want romantic relationships that are deeply intimate and fulfilling.  At odds with this goal is the patriarchal tenet that says that real men are unemotional, closed, and unwilling to talk about their feelings.  This is a learned social behavior, not something innate in male babies.  Male babies cry for the same reasons female babies cry.  But, over time we learn our roles within the patriarchy; and these roles provide built-in conflict when it comes to relationships.

Happily, more and more men are embracing feminism, knowing that equality and decency towards one another is not merely a “woman’s issue”.  Every living human being has had a mother at some point, so women’s issues affect everyone.  In addition, the happiness and success of our daughters, sisters, friends, and coworkers affects the society as a whole, not just those individual women.

While hooks’ book title implies that the topic is romantic love, that is only part of it.  Love is love, and it shows up in many different forms.  Strong platonic friendships in addition to healthy family relationships, where they exist, are key to a sense of community and to one’s overall happiness and security.
What I took away from the book for myself is a confirmation of what I see going on in many romantic relationships and a rational explanation for why I have resisted them.  Within patriarchy, women are taught to find their fulfillment within the boundaries of a romantic relationship.  Men are taught that marriage is a trap and a burden that should be postponed for as long as possible.  Women are taught that being loved by a man is the highest form of validation and the key to a happy and successful life.  Men are taught to find their validation through work, that women are an accessory to their lives, and that a wife’s goals and aspirations should be secondary to the man’s career goals and to the happiness of the family.  Men are also taught that they should be superior to all women in all relevant aspects of life and that a woman’s beauty is a reflection upon his worth as a man.  This is why many men, especially those whose financial success makes them feel entitled, leave their marriages in pursuit of younger women once they reach a certain age.  A woman’s worth, under patriarchy, expires once her youthful good looks and innocence give way to wisdom and maturity.

Given this sad state of affairs between men and women, many women understandably try to navigate their happiness as best they can without directly challenging the system.  To challenge the system is to risk “being alone” – which is patriarchy’s ultimate punishment for lack of conformity.  Society has always taught women that the worst thing that could happen to them is to end up a “spinster” or “old maid” (notice that there are no male equivalents for these derogatory labels).  So women try to find love anyway, within the system, and often tolerate a lifetime of disrespect, uncertainty, and a lack of love.  Those who are luckier either find loving enlightened men or “benevolent patriarchs” with whom they are able to forge reasonably happy unions.

The whole topic is fascinating to me, but I am happy to be a spectator for now.  My goal is to fill my life with love of all kinds.  I love my children, my friends, my career in art, my God, and myself.  I find a great deal of fulfillment in just Being.  Ironically, self-love is the first step and represents the only real shot any of us has in finding romantic love.  But a general sense of happiness and fulfillment is what’s important and is what we are put on this earth to experience.

May this week be one of deep, profound love and connection with Reality and with each other.  Peace and blessings and, as always, please continue to follow your Bliss…