D IS FOR DEFINITIONS

Another "D" article:

Recently I posted a Facebook status saying that I’m far more a Priestess than a Witch, and that I deal with the Spiritual rather than the Supernatural.  Here I would like to explore the definitions more closely.

It’s taken me a long time to understand the differences in these definitions.  It confused me.  Right from the start of my Pagan path, I adopted the term “Witch”, and ran with it.  Then after initiations, I added “Priestess” to that.  Were they different aspects of the same thing?  Were they the same?  No, they’re not the same, although they overlap, and it took me until just earlier this year to discover the difference.

When I do “witchy” things, as I did yesterday in blending all the different herbs and flower petals, it is with the focus of creating alchemical changes in engeries, for the specific purpose of achieving certain goals.  It’s working spells and magickal manifestations. Cooking is one of the greatest acts of Witchery I can think of, because it takes ingredients from different sources, and combines them in a way that creates a meal which delights all senses.  Witches are, for the most part, skilled in working with herbs and crystals, brewing of tinctures and oils, differentiating and working with the energy forces that are all around us, mostly for the purposes of healing.  Witchy stuff doesn’t need to have anything to do with the Divine.  Witchcraft is something that can be done and engaged in without bringing any element of worship and service into it.

As a Priestess, my main focus is in serving the Goddesses and Gods.  I am always conscious of my connection to the Divine.  In meditations, I open myself up to whatever They are wanting to tell me.  I research the pantheons from around the world, because I want to know  more of how the Goddess, in particular, manifests Herself globally.  I conduct rituals of honour and devotion.  Often, I get direct instructions as to how to conduct these rituals, and found that in doing so, the Gods bring about the greatest blessings to those who participate in these rituals with me. 

Witchy stuff plays a big part in my Priestess duties.  I am inspired to use herbs, crystals, stones and candles in different ways during rituals.  So the two go hand in hand, sometimes so seamlessly that the two aspects appear as to be one.  This is me – even when I do “witchy” stuff, it’s always with view of how it  can be incorporated into a ritual of worship.

And this is how I define “Witch” and “Priestess”.

Now to go on to Spiritual and Supernatural – my definition of “Spiritual” is simple:  My spirit is connected now and forever to the great universal Spirit of which we are all part.  I am acutely aware of this part of myself and it is through this means conduit that I am linked to the Godhead which contains all the Aspects we know as Gods and Goddesses.

I do not have the ability to see auras, or see ghosts and spirits.  I do not sense any kinds of spirits, good or bad, and I have never been bothered by things that go bump in the night.  I have no idea as to what all this means, because that’s not what I pay attention to.  These are external forces that may or may not exist, and in my life, I have no desire to know one way or another.  I am not someone who can read minds, exercise telepathy, or receive messages from those who have passed on.  And I absolutely have no interest to delve into any study of demons, minions of hell, the devil or Satan.  None of these have any place at all in my life, since I prefer to align myself with the light of the Gods.  This all belongs to the realm of the Supernatural, and is of no use to me.

And that in the simplest terms, is how I define what I am!