Rose, what is your sober date? My sober date is 27th November 2002. I was taken to my first AA meeting by my cousin Brendan, recently deceased, to whom I am very grateful. Do you have sober daily routines- rituals that are your non-negotiables? If so, what are they? (Prayer-Meetings- Exercise) I got sober in the rooms of AA and through the 12-step programme, and have not had a drink since my first meeting. My ritual on waking is to ask for another sober day and for my Higher Power to guide me through the day. I attend regular AA meetings and go for a walk on the Prom by the Irish Sea at least once a day. What made you even think of becoming a witch? I was at my hairdresser’s and there was a poster on a show for the course. Even though it was one week past the start date I rang up and they said “yes.” My motivation was one of curiosity and that looks interesting, and so it was! Can you tell me a little about your course? A group of women and 1 man (about 10 of us) met on a weekly basis for a couple of hours, for 6 weeks, in the common room of an artist’s studio. The Chief Witch, Becca led us expertly through the course aided by her assistant. There was a strong practical element where I made: a witch’s wand, a spell jar, and a spell and learned about the theory of witching. This included learning about:
Hermetic Principles ·The wheel of the year ·The witches' Rune
At the end of the course which had been disrupted by Covid and family illnesses, 3 of us went through an initiation ceremony in Becca’s living room where we made a dedication to serve our Goddess and chose a witch name. My Witch name is Crow and my Goddess is the Celtic Warrior Queen Maeve. Part of the ritual was unnervingly like a Catholic Mass, to which Becca said, “They pinched it from us in the first place.” What do you hope to use your 'witch qualification' for? We have 13 goals of a witch which align with my sobriety, these being: know yourself; know your craft; learn and grow; apply knowledge with wisdom; achieve balance; keep your words in good order; keep your thoughts in good order; celebrate life; attune to the cycles of the earth; breath and eat correctly; exercise the body; meditate; honour the God and Goddess. Have you found meditation, podcasts, or books helpful in recovery? I have finally settled on my friend John Siddique’s style of meditation. He introduced me to Yoga Nidra and silent meditation. I attended his weekly meditation class and found that my energy was replenished after an hour with him. I have attended meditation retreats in Devon and Scotland and found the complete silence scary to start with. We had to do “jobs.” I was cleaning windows mindfully and then I started to cry as through the act of cleaning a window I saw how I was living my life. The sheer beauty of SamyeLing took my breath away and deepened by the appreciation of nature. I am not a Podcast collector, but the same cannot be said of my bulging bookcases. I like the comfort of books. I am very attracted to the Buddhist philosophy so was very disappointed when Noah Levine’s recovery programme fell into disrepute because of his sexual harassment (sometimes called 13th stepping in AA). My go-to books are the Big Book of AA and the 12 Steps and 12 Traditions.
·Goddesses ·Phases of the moon ·Divination ·Scrying ·Using a pendulum ·Pentacles ·Looking for signs in nature ·Types of spells ·Magical symbols ·
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