I thought I’d try something a little different this week. There won't be a recipe because I thought I'd cater a little more to those trying to learn about kitchen witchery and the metaphysical. I’m going to make this a series focusing on a specific concept with each post. Keeping this in mind if you have something you want me to cover please let me know. You can do this in the comments, on Instagram, on Facebook or in any of the private messages available through those.
I’d like to begin with a basic concept in all witchcraft: intention. It’s one of the terms I've been using and I realized that I have a lot of beginners reading and they may not fully grasp what I mean when I use the word. And with that even those that have an idea about what it means might not really get how it works. I know this because I was a little frustrated with it when I was starting out. I want you to keep in mind that this is from my own experiences and just because I don't talk about the way you do things doesn't mean you're doing anything wrong. Witchcraft of any sort is a very personal thing and you have to find what works for you; I’m just hoping to give you a place to start if you are feeling lost. I think it’s a hard concept to explain but I’m going to try my best.
What is it?
Intention-- Merriam-Webster defines it in two ways and they both serve as a good definition in the sense of witchcraft:
what one intends(a purpose or goal) to do or bring about
OR
the object for which a prayer, mass, or pious act is offered
Basically magickal intentions are the same as mundane ones. Intention is the energy you raise to bring about the outcome you are trying to manifest. I love that Merriam-Webster brings it up in the religious sense because a lot of people would argue that praying is a type of spellwork despite the fact that some Christians would absolutely hate to see that sentence. There are many Christian witches about though, so don't be fooled!
What the heck does “putting intention into it” mean?!
So, this was the confusing part for me. I understood the word itself but I didn’t really understand the act associated with intention. It seemed vague and none of the resources I was using did a particularly good job explaining it (through no fault of their own and I'm not sure I will do much better.) It's a hard thing to try to explain. Especially since it's not something I can watch you do and tell you if you're doing it right or wrong. It reminds me a bit of when yoga instructors tell you to breathe into your calves or some other body part that is not where your lungs are. And in a weird way it’s kind of the same thing.
At its core putting intention into something is focusing your energy. You focus your energy and channel it into an act or thought. There are many ways to do this and I’d like to look into some specifics in the next post. Think about how you focus your energy in a mundane sense and try to carry it over to your practice.
Okay, But How Do I Do it?
You can think about this is a super mundane way to begin. Any time you take a deep breath to calm your nerves. Any time you look in a mirror to psych yourself up. If you’re an athlete think about what you do before a game or before a specific action like a free throw or volleyball service. Do you bounce the ball three times? Do you say something to yourself? These are all acts of intention.
Quickly, let's circle back to that idea of yoga breath (hopefully this will resonate with at least some of you.) You can’t actually breathe into your calves but you can think about breathing into your calves. You can intend for this breath to reach your calves. It's the same with magickal intention. You can't actually breathe in white light, but you can intend to breathe it in, you can visualize it, you can feel its warmth and you can let it fill you and absorb your negative feelings. That breath you sent to your calves, did you feel it? Did your stretch suddenly get deeper? Did you just manifest a deeper stretch with a breath of intention? Maybe? Maybe that line between magick and mundane is blurrier than we think sometimes.
Here’s an example that more people will relate to: You’re about to walk into a big job interview. You’re waiting in the lobby of an office. You’re nervous. What do you do? You close your eyes and take a deep breath. You’re breathing to let go of the nerves. That focusing breath is a breath of intention. Nervousness isn't a physical thing we can rid ourselves of but it is an energy we can learn to manipulate; that’s what magick and intention are all about. To make this act more magick (although you can totally just do this as well talk about down the line) when you breathe in picture yourself breathing in a calming blue smoke and when you breath out picture a grey smoke leaving and taking your nervousness with it. Breath in the good; breath out the bad.
Okay but how do we do this in the kitchen? That’s a topic for another time but to get your creative juices flowing: stirring, breath work, visualization, affirmations, incantations and correspondences are all ways to add your intention.
And that’s where I will stop for today. I went a little crazy with how much I wrote and I didn’t want to overwhelm anyone so stay tuned for future installments. The next few are going to help me build to what I was planning on the main idea being for this one but there was just TOO MUCH information I wanted to give you! After that though I would love to hear about what you are interested in learning so please, please, please let me know! Manifestation? Intuition? Divination? The world is our oyster!
PS when the following posts are created I will link them! :)
No comments:
Post a Comment