Hello dear reader,
To those that have read Earthlings and Dominion, an endless thank you for reading Peridot's tale. Land of Hope and Glory will be following shortly, but before we take a step into the final chapters of Peridot's journey- I wanted to share a little of the story behind the magickal aspects of Earthlings with you, and what prompted me to write the trilogy. I'm a firm believer in all things of a magickal nature, and the utmost important part of my craft is to share my knowledge with those that may benefit from it too.
Magick is real. And it exists for everyone.
Before I share my journey with you, I feel I should start by sharing that I am a Witch. That word can evoke many reactions from ridicule to disbelief, but for anyone reading that doesn't have that reaction to the 'W' word, I implore you to please read on. You may feel called to find your own magick after reading.
My belief in magick began in secret. At first, perhaps, as it felt personal, but if I'm being honest, mainly because I was embarrassed to speak freely about it. A grown woman declaring she believes in magick (yes magick with a 'K') is hard not to feel a little daft about, and I've always feared judgement - a fear that my practice has finally enabled me to be free from. Embracing my practice as an Eclectic Witch is something that has dramatically enhanced my life, for which I am eternally grateful, and no longer feel embarrassed about. And for that reason, along with many others, I feel it's important to share, even if, to some, magick may seem out of the ordinary.
In a patriarchal world, it is vital that we feel free and speak our truth, especially if it could benefit others.
I've always known I was spiritual, but I struggled with finding my path and true belief. When I was a child, I went to a Christian school, regularly attended church and would pray often when I was alone. Yet, I found when I prayed, I felt I wasn't being heard. I was sticking to a script I had been taught by others and not speaking freely, something I now understand was not in line with my true self, so of course I wasn't being heard. I wasn't speaking my truth.
As time went on, I stopped praying. I still believed in a higher power, but not as a god in the sky with power over life on earth as I had been taught at school, but as something so much more than that. Not masculine, not feminine, most certainly not human, something that our minds most likely couldn't even fathom, a Deity to be awed and respected, and thanked - for I was alive, and I understood that life was a blessing. I've always wanted to have a way to physically give thanks for my life but I didn't know how to do so. I researched a lot of religions and none resonated with my personal beliefs. Whilst I agreed partially with many religious systems, (Paganism, Wicca, Buddhism and Hinduism), I didn't agree with the entirety, so I couldn't align myself fully with any of them.
Then adolescence happened, and aligning with my true self was something I completely forgot about. I did as teenagers do, and I simply lived. I lived well. I am very lucky to have amazing friends and family, and if I could go back and relive those years again I would - and I wouldn't change a thing. I am forever grateful that I got to have what many children don't these days; a childhood. I laughed, I cried, I fell down, picked myself back up again, cuts and scrapes be dammed. I had tantrums, I thought life was so unfair and that the world was against me, then I forgot about it the next day and was carefree again. I loved, I dreamt, I learnt, I made mistakes and then somewhere along the mayhem that is life, I became an adult.
And then everything changed.
Not in a bad way, but in a sense that there were things I wanted from life that at the time I felt were important, and I wanted to go out and get them. I was very career-minded. I started my own business in my late teens and only recently closed it - which was a huge leap for me. It was once my pride and joy, but as I grew, it was no longer in line with who I was becoming as a person. It was quite simply something that paid the bills. Who I was in my twenties and who I am now, are two completely different people, and as I changed, my way of life needed to change in order to achieve my dreams and live the life I want to be living. And, as with all things in life, when you want something badly enough, you can make it happen, if you believe in yourself, and put the work in.
I didn't truly understand this concept until my late twenties. Some occurrences happened in my adult years that were tough. Oh the irony of being a teenager and thinking life is hard, nothing can quite prepare you for adulthood. Along the rollercoaster of life-affirming ups, and earth-shattering downs, I struggled. With life, with love, with loss .. and other things I'm not ready to share. And whilst I wish some of these things never happened, I wouldn't change them. They've made me who I am today, and thanks to that, I can honestly say; I am here. I am in alignment. I know who I am, who I want to become, and how to do what needs to be done. I just need to do it.
Sometimes you have to reach rock bottom in order to get back to the top. Whilst experiencing my own rock bottom was the worst time of my life, I'm grateful for it, as it made me think long and hard about my life and the changes I needed to make happen to be happy again. I realised I didn't like who I was, and came to grow excited to become who I wanted to be. I spent a lot of time on my own. Journaling. Researching. Reading. Doing the inner work to make the outer pattern shift.
*What did I believe and why did I believe it?
*Who was I spending my time with and why?
*What did I spend my money on and how did that better my life?
*Did it better my life? No? Then why was I buying it?
I learnt that we can't expect our lives to get better if we repeat the same bad habits over and over. We can't moan that someone makes us unhappy, yet choose to spend time with that person every day. We can't panic that we can't pay the bills, yet do nothing to change our financial status. We can't be unhappy at being a certain weight, but not change our lifestyle choices. We can't moan our job makes us miserable, if we don't try to make it better or update our cv and apply for a new one. Addiction can't be responsible for ruining our life if we don't at the least, try to quit.
If we want positive changes, then we as individuals are responsible for making them happen.
I could not blame anyone else for what was wrong in my life as the only person that could make it right - was me. Family, friends and partners can help along the way if we're blessed enough to have them, but ultimately the one person who is truly in charge of every aspect of your life - is yourself.
We have to make our own magick.
So, that's what I did.
I began making the changes to incorporate my belief into my daily lifestyle. I stopped being a hypocrite and rid myself of what was needed in order to be free and who I wanted to be. I cut the negative influences out, I stopped worrying about what other people thought, I embraced nature and veganism, and in the process, I found myself. I appreciate now that life is a blessing, we owe it to our life force to be compassionate and embrace the life we've been given. And that includes being compassionate towards ourselves and all other living creatures, not just our loved ones.
Real change became noticeable when I allowed gratitude to become an integral part of my daily routine. No matter what your situation, there is always a little good there, even if its something small, focus on that and if you put the work in, in time that something small, will become something big.
The more we focus on being grateful, the more the world will provide us to be grateful for.
I learnt to make time for myself and fall in love with the natural world around us. I embraced nature and welcomed it into my lifestyle with open arms. I brought symbolic trinkets from the outside world into my life, my work, my home. I gave thanks to the elements daily; the matter that makes life. Earth. Air. Fire. Water. And most importantly. Spirit. Aligning with your spirit, learning who you really are as a person, and being brave enough to rid the illusion we portray of ourselves that ego puts in the way is one of the most important aspects of learning to live authentically. Once you've done that, the path to becoming your true self opens up in so many directions.
For me, this did not happen overnight - far from it. It's been a process I have adapted into my life over the past many years and it's been truly life-changing. Traumatic and terrific all at once. An Eton Mess of manifestations, realisations and adaptations. But after many years I now know who I am, what I want to achieve and my purpose here on this beautiful planet called Earth. We all have the ability to do this. To find our own magick and be good, kind, life-affirming people. When I finally found my true calling, it was a gold medal-winning feeling. But I had to put the work in.
Your outer world will not change if you don't make the inner changes first.
We are our own thought patterns. If we think our life is awful and unfair - guess what? It always will be. We have to learn to love ourselves and then in turn, love the world again. Self-love is something many find self-indulgent but it helps everyone, not just yourself. Look deep into yourself and find what you like about yourself as a person.
*Are you a good friend, a good brother/sister, son/daughter, or mother/father?
*What do you believe and why? How do you incorporate that into your life?
*Do you dislike the patriarchal system yet not speak out when you feel something is wrong?
*Do you love animals, yet eat their body parts for breakfast/lunch/dinner or buy animal products?
*Do you think something bad is happening to someone you care about yet do nothing to help them?
*Who are you?
*Do you like yourself?
*If you don't like yourself - please, I implore you. Make the changes.
Go back to your roots. What do you enjoy doing?
Reading? Writing? Sports? Singing? Dancing? Spending time with your friends and family?
Make time, and do it. Don't make excuses that you don't have time, because you can make time.
This is something I personally struggled with when I was in my own inner turmoil. How could I make time to write a book and free my mind when my world was falling apart? Yet, I rose to the challenge and I did. I breathed. I relaxed. I smiled. I felt good. The next day was better. So I did it again. I kept making time for myself and as a result, I was less scattered and frantic and my thought pattern changed. I stopped thinking about how awful everything was and instead focused on ways I could help try to make the things I felt so passionately about better.
What could I do to make a difference? And why wasn't I doing it?
A book that helped me to change my thought process was The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. If you haven't read it - it's a book about The Law of Attraction - or as I prefer to call it. Magick. And I believe in magick with every fibre of my being. Magick helps me to see how each and every one of us is capable of living an amazingly abundant life, filled with everything we've ever dreamed of - we simply have to make it happen. No dream too big or too small. It really is that simple. Whilst at the same time not simple at all.
Claiming that we can make our wildest dreams come true, we just have to believe it will happen - is like a quote from a Disney movie. What most people miss from this, is that in order to achieve the dream or goal, we first need to conquer our arch nemesis - our thought process. The hardest hurdle to jump over!
How many times have you been given encouragement only to immediately shut it down?
"You look beautiful" = No I don't.
"You Can do it!" = No I can't.
Self-doubt is that big old baddy that steps in the way of our dreams, our happiness, and our alignment with our true selves. Train yourself to pack it in. Stop it. Believe in yourself.
Deep down, we are all good people. I truly believe that. As much as I believe in magick. Whoever you may be at this moment, reading this blog post, you are a good person. You are loved. Cherished. Mesmerising. There is only one of you in this entire universe. You may only be here once (a blog post for another time). Make this time count.
Be all you can be. Help make this world a better place.
Love yourself, embrace your life and encourage others to do the same. Try and make this planet better for your being here, whether that's via parenthood, charitable donations, being a good friend, a great partner, sharing knowledge, cleaning up your neighbourhood, starting an eco-friendly business, writing a book, rescuing animals, fostering children, growing plants, peaceful activism, caring for others, the list is endless.
No matter what it is you want to do, as long as it harms none. Do it.
And do it well. Find your calling, your inner beauty, your outer dreams, your belief system and live by it.
I wish each and every one of you every success in finding your calling, creating your own magick and making your dreams come true. Earthlings is one of many things I needed to create in my own magickal process, to share my truth and I can't wait to see what beautiful moments you create in yours.
Just like Peridot, we are born of the stars, magick is within us all. Embrace it. Envision it. The rest will come.
If it harms none - So mote it be.