Letter 4: October, A brief history of magick, Co-creation, 6 of cups energy, Grounding

Happy October! 

October is officially the season of the witch!  I hope you are all preparing yourself for the months ahead, and remembering to invite much light into your magickal lives while the days get shorter and darker, yet more quiet, peaceful and insightful. Before we jump into the basis of this newsletter, I want to share a short story about the history of witchcraft to help you get into the October spirit!

I also want to mention that I decided not to include a body part with a corresponding emotion this week, but more how we can utilize the noticing of our emotions.

“Long before recorded history, humans looked to the skies and the earth, seeking answers to the unexplainable. They marveled at the cycles of the moon, the changing of the seasons, and the forces that governed life and death. In this primordial world, the first whispers of witchcraft began to take shape. Many ancient civilizations practiced their own forms of potion making, herbal infusions & medicines, and ways of communicating to spirit and the psyche. As time passed and societies evolved, the concept of witchcraft took on various forms. In medieval Europe, the church played a significant role in shaping the perception of witchcraft. The Church viewed witches as practitioners of the dark arts, consorting with demons and endangering the souls of the faithful. This perception led to the infamous witch hunts and trials, particularly during the late 16th and 17th centuries. 

However, amidst this darkness, there were those who quietly practiced healing arts, herbal medicine, and divination, often in secret. These wise women and men, known as cunning folk, provided valuable services to their communities, even though they walked a dangerous path. By the 19th century, witchcraft began to transform again, evolving into various modern witchcraft traditions such as Wicca, which emerged in the mid-20th century. These new movements emphasized a reverence for nature, a connection to ancient pagan beliefs, and a celebration of the divine feminine. Today, witchcraft exists in many forms worldwide. Some practice it as a spiritual or religious belief system, while others view it as a form of self-expression or empowerment. Witchcraft has come a long way from its origins as a misunderstood and persecuted practice, evolving into a diverse and thriving aspect of modern culture. In the end, the history of witchcraft is a testament to the human drive to understand the mysteries of the world and to find connection, empowerment, and meaning in the midst of the unknown. It is a story of resilience, adaptation, and the enduring human quest for knowledge and spirituality.” 

(Story compiled of multiple resources)

Alright, now that we’re warmed up and feeling witchy, let’s get right into it.

This week, as I have been struggling with reaffirming the importance of my life and the things that happen in it. I have had a very negative outlook on most of my situations. I was stung by a wasp, ran my car mirror into the side of the garage, started a footzone class and decided it wasn’t really my thing, and found myself speaking to my mom and telling her that life is just harder for me than it is for others. (LOL). While learning to look at things in a more compassionate way, within myself and without myself, I finally found my reassurance from spirit during an unnecessary negative situation at a grocery store. This event has helped me to realize that the way we react to our world is the way our world shows up for us. This is something I have already known as logic and have heard it repeated throughout my spiritual part of my life. But, as I was sitting down to write this newsletter and debating what it was I should speak on, this was the topic that kept buzzing around in my head as an angry thought. By not only switching this thought from angry, and disappointed in society like I have found myself feeling all week, but also noticing that I only feel this way because of how I am reacting to the situations around me. Reacting by overreacting to my own traumas. We as a human whole can agree that this is something we all do. We let our traumas run us, and act as a scapegoat for the way we are reacting to small inconveniences that can be rewired in the brain by simply reacting with a lighter outlook. It is easier said than done and I definitely can confirm that. 

“As above, so below. As within, So without. As the universe, so the soul.”

There is a concept known as Co-Creation. This concept is essentially you acting the way you think you would act if you had the life your higher self intended for you, and then taking small steps to make your life align to your reactions. But, it goes in circles, where you take the steps, and life naturally falls into alignment, so you keep taking more steps and life follows suit. It’s a really fun process to play with! If you thought to yourself every morning, how grateful you were and how awesome life can be, you would wake up just knowing that this was your truth, and then your life would meet you at the same frequency and actually give you reason to believe that this was true. It all starts with your actions to make this happen!

This to me was perfect for the month of October, because this month corresponds to healing, stability, and memory. If we can keep our focus on the life we wish to create for ourselves, we can then start reacting in a more stable alignment to our higher selves and to Spirit in a way that leads us to our healing. The way we react is only part of how we can co-create our lives alongside our guides and the universe herself, but there are so many other ways. Connecting to nature, practicing grounding (which I will mention more in depth later), body movements like yoga or any other practice you love, using our intelligent minds with reading, writing, creating in some way, self care, meditation, using crystals, drinking plenty of water, and even eliminating or adding things to our diets. 

But how should you start this? The way that is best to start for me, is to slowly but surely catch myself when I notice I am reacting or thinking negatively. Checking in on my emotions and how I am feeling when I notice a change in my body. This for me shows up as, I suddenly can notice how short my breath is, or how tight my stomach is. Other times, I notice how my throat gets tense. For others, it can be as intense as seeing red and blowing up on people or on objects, or in some cases, people deal with apathy, where every emotion that wants to be felt, is met with indifference or judgment, which can lead to an underlying feeling of sadness or a lurking depression. I have even seen myself in the past, overexplaining and overtalking, or even shutting down. These are all our nervous systems' reactions to a trauma, and by catching ourselves when we feel these changes or notice that we have been feeling a specific way, will help us to get to the next step of finding where that is coming from. 

If you are able to see this and know exactly where it comes from, then great, you are ready to start reacting and living how you think the best you would be reacting and living. If you don’t know where it comes from then that is also a great opportunity to start getting into it and really learning about yourself! Ask yourself important questions like, is it inherited? Is it tied to a person or an event? What age did I really start feeling this way? Etc.

Once you start knowing where you are and who you are, you will be able to meet yourself with compassion and really be able to catch it when a negative thought slips in, or leaks out into your physical life. Also, you will be able to meet others that you encounter with that same compassion.

So, now that I have mentioned that and gotten that out there, I think it is time to move on to the next natural topic. The 6 of Cups Tarot Card. This card in tarot is one I get often as I struggle to let go of my past. Six of cups represents nostalgia, memories, and giving and receiving. This to me goes really well with co-creation, since it also means what we give we get, or as within so without, as mentioned earlier. If you have ever gotten 6 of cups in a tarot reading or when you do, here is what your guides are trying to tell you. 

1. Heal the past

2. Let go of your past

3. You are learning proper energy exchange, or need to.

4. Representing the inner child.

The 6 of cups always helps remind me that I may be giving too much away without refilling my cup. Through the practice of grounding you are able to replenish yourself so that before you give too much away on accident, as most of us do on accident daily, you can rebuild boundaries with yourself and not have to face burnout or dis-ease. Grounding is the practice of reconnecting to the frequency of the earth, realigning to your truth, and connecting to spirit. There are many ways people enjoy grounding. Through mini meditations, certain crystals, cleansing, standing in the grass, or going in nature. With whatever you choose, imagine the earth taking away any negative energy that is stuck within you, and replacing it with light healing energies.

Grounding in any way makes you feel rebalanced to your natural state of calm and composure, and can really help you to establish firmer boundaries when you are in an energy exchange. This beautifully ties in to what we discussed earlier, where you or other people are reacting to traumas and expending a lot of energy during that moment. Now if that were to happen again, you would have a larger reserve of energy, which would help you to stay calm and understanding. By utilizing the practices of noticing how you react you will have a more stable way of co-creating! 

I really hope that this helps open your eyes to some concepts that you may have not heard of before, or at least articulates in a way that you can find reaffirming to your own path.