by Llewellyn
All You Need Is Love
In 1967, the BBC asked the Beatles to perform for the first live, global television broadcast ever. In response, John Lennon wrote and the Beatles performed “All You Need is Love.” It’s said that it was watched in thirty-one countries simultaneously, by 400 million people. Needless to say, this was an unfathomably powerful act of magic. Even now, more than forty years later, not a day goes by without this song playing on radio stations all over the world.
While few of us will appear on national television in our lifetime (let alone an international broadcast), like pebbles creating concentric ripples across a lake, we all have the capacity to project positive energy and etheric broadcasts on a similar scale. To do so, we must begin with ourselves. We must love ourselves dearly and forgive ourselves for our faults. Then, we must love and forgive those around us. Finally, we must do our best to love and forgive the entire world. Once we allow ourselves to do this, we create exponential positive change in the present and for the future, simply by dwelling in the world. Not only that, but we naturally want to engage in activities that help and heal, not out of a sense of obligation or martyrdom, but as a natural expression of our innermost essence.
I know I just made it all sound terribly simple and easy, and that’s because in truth it is. But of course, we all know it doesn’t always start out that way, and it definitely doesn’t always feel that way. Before we even begin, we’ve got to rise above our cultural training to loathe ourselves, to feel bitter toward or slighted by the world, and to complain about how unfair everything seems to be. Then, we’ve got to make an effort to maintain a positive outlook despite any seemingly horrific or generally undesirable conditions we may observe in our present lives and in the world around. Only by doing so can we help to manifest conditions that are more in alignment with love and less in alignment with fear. To do this, it’s imperative that we do our very best to keep our vibrations clean, clear, and protected through meditation, prayer, visualization, and energetic cleansing and protection.
We must establish new inner programming by reminding ourselves of the truth again and again: love is all, all is love, and love is all we need.
Additionally and simultaneously, we must establish new inner programming by reminding ourselves of the truth again and again: that love is all, all is love, and love is all we need. You might even post the profound words of Lennon’s “All You Need Is Love” near your workspace or altar and inwardly repeat them in the morning, before bed, and whenever else you feel it necessary.
Watering the Seeds of Genius
There is a seed of genius in your heart. It is a seed with the potential for bringing about more healing and creating more positive change than you can possibly imagine, and it is unlike any other seed in any other heart. In order to allow this seed to begin to sprout, you must quiet your mind, shut out the noise and illusions of the world, let your heart open, and listen to the wisdom deep within. Then, you must water the seed and seedling with patience, open-mindedness, and a commitment to following your inner nudges.
If the Beatles had devoted their lives to helping people with leprosy in Calcutta, “All You Need is Love” would never have worked its magic on the world. Similarly, if Mother Teresa had pursued a music career, countless lives would have suffered from her absence. While these are exceptionally famous examples, one need not be even the tiniest bit famous to set in motion potent waves of positivity and healing. All one needs is to be true to her heart and follow the path of her joy.
Whether we’re called to volunteer, to contribute, to engage in a traditional service-based career, or to engage in any other action that allows us to be of service to the world, being the change we wish to see is a necessary ingredient to living passionately, purposefully, and with deep and abiding joy.
Tapping Into the Divine
When it comes to “being the change,” what better way to start than by tapping into our divine guidance? As Pagans, our spirituality is by definition kaleidoscopic and inclusive, so we have a lot of potential inspiration to draw on. Connecting with one or more of the following deities might be an excellent jumping off point. When reading the descriptions below, if you feel an energetic boost, emotional charge, or immediate sense of excitement or joy, you’ve found the trailhead to your path! Spend some quality time with that divinity in meditation, ritual, and dreamtime, and then follow your intuition about how to “be the change” by staying positive, radiating acceptance and love, and/or taking action in the physical world. You might also place an image of your chosen deity or deities on your altar, or assemble an altar with the specific intention to align with your most ideal path of joyful service.
Archangel Michael
Michael is a powerful protector who removes negativity and negative influences while providing a swift energetic infusion of confidence and courage. He’s not only known for assisting those who put themselves in physical harm’s way for the sake of others, such as police officers and military personnel, but he also helps those of us who do healing and protection work in the subtle realms, such as energy workers, intuitive counselors, and therapists. His energy is blindingly bright and glowing, and he carries a sword of light that cuts through, purifies, and removes cords of ignorance, attachment, fear, and negativity in all forms. You can also ask him to protect you or others with an encompassing sphere of very bright white or indigo light.
Artemis
If you feel drawn to help adolescent girls embrace their maiden-ness and womanhood, to empower women, to protect animals and/or the environment, or to engage in midwifery, prenatal yoga, or any other practice that is concerned with birthing or the female reproductive system, Artemis just might be your girl. She challenges the meaning of the word feminine by embodying its fiercest aspects: protectiveness, independence, and strength.
The Faerie Realm
The realm of Faerie is a vast and multi-faceted place, and one can spend a lifetime exploring it. Tapping into its energy and getting to know the landscape and the beings who populate it can be very helpful, especially to those of us who are artists of any kind, work with and feel a connection to children, feel motivated to fight for human rights and sexual freedom, or are passionate about the welfare of animals and the environment.
How can I best serve the world? How can I turn the tide of my consciousness from despair to hope and from fear to love?
We can visit the Faerie Realm in meditation and in the dream state, and because it’s parallel to our realm, we can learn to perceive it at certain times when we are outdoors—especially in (pesticide-free) gardens and natural settings. One way to begin to do this is by relaxing and tuning into a blossoming plant or a tree. Mentally ask questions of the plant spirit, such as “How can I best serve the world?” or “How can I turn the tide of my consciousness from despair to hope, and from fear to love?” Then, simply allow yourself to receive the answers as a feeling or deep inner knowing.
Forseti
Forseti, the Norse god of justice, is an excellent helper to those of us concerned with fairness, such as lawyers, judges, lobbyists, lawmakers, and activists. When you call on him, he can speedily infuse your cause with positive energy and (provided you are in the right) help tip the scales in your favor.
Hecate
Some people—such as doctors, nurses, funeral directors, grief counselors, mediums, spirit clearers, and clergy—are called to help ease and foster the transition between this realm and the next. The goddess Hecate can help support us in these efforts, as she rules the threshold and crossroads between life and the afterlife. She helps us to meet and greet our fears surrounding death so that we can approach it, and help others approach it, with grace and courage. So many people are crippled by a fear of death, and so much of the world’s violence and confusion is based upon this fear. With Hecate’s assistance, we can begin to alleviate this fear and help to bring about a deep
er level of universal peace and harmony.
Lakshmi
Lakshmi, the beautiful Hindu goddess of wealth, reminds us that in truth, this is an abundant universe with plenty for everyone. She can be a wonderful helper for people who want to bring greater wealth, affluence, and prosperity consciousness to those most in need of it. When tuning into Lakshmi’s energy, you might listen with your intuitive ear to the jingling coins that surround her and look with your intuitive sight at the flowing river of abundance at her feet.
St. Francis
Perhaps you are drawn to help protect the animals and to raise the awareness of humans to help change the way animals are treated on this planet. If so, St. Francis wants to assist you. Although St. Francis is a famous Catholic saint, if you spend any time with him, you’ll find that he’s actually a Pagan at heart. One of the amazing ways that St. Francis channeled divine wisdom during his lifetime was through his writings, which include the following proverb about animals:
Not to hurt our humble brethren
is our first duty to them, but to stop there is not enough.
We have a higher mission:
to be of service to them whenever they require it.
White Buffalo Calf Woman
When all humans can consciously align themselves with divine wisdom, we will be blessed with an unprecedented level of peace. White Buffalo Calf Woman is a beautiful Lakota deity with the mission of connecting our human consciousness with the infinite consciousness of the Great Spirit for the purpose of establishing true and lasting peace. We all want peace on Earth, but if you are strongly drawn to help establish it, especially through spiritual means, you might try calling on White Buffalo Calf Woman for help.
Resources:
St. Francis of Assisi. “Not to Hurt.” Environmental Ethics: An Anthology. Ed. Andrew Light and Holmes Rolston III. Oxford: Blackwell Publishers, Ltd, 2003. 66.
Kaltreider, Kurt. American Indian Prophecies. Carlsbad, CO: Hay House, 1998.
Virtue, Doreen. Archangels and Ascended. Carlsbad, CO: Hay House, 2004.
Tess Whitehurst is the author of Magical Housekeeping: Simple Charms and Practical Tips for Creating a Harmonious Home and The Good Energy Book: Creating Harmony & Balance for Yourself & Your Home. She’s also an intuitive counselor, feng shui consultant, and columnist for Witches and Pagans magazine. Her website (www
.tesswhitehurst.com) and e-newsletter (Good Energy) feature simple rituals, meditations, and musings for everyday magical living. Tess lives in Venice Beach, CA, with two magical cats, one musical boyfriend, and a constant stream of visiting hummingbirds.
Illustrator: Kathleen Edwards
Reclaiming the Wise Woman and Cunning Man
Paniteowl
The Craft is currently experiencing a rebirth, and the growing pains this entails can truly be uncomfortable. Trying to reconnect with the ways of our ancestors can be difficult given the scarcity of information in many cultures. It’s hard enough to remember things we observed in childhood, and then taking another look, try to put situations into context from our adult perspective. Sometimes, we lose things in the translation. Now extrapolate those difficulties remembering your own past to try to recall our cultural past from centuries ago. Reclaiming the nature of the Wise Woman and the Cunning Man of old takes a lot of research and development!
Anthropologists, archeologists, and geologists can all help re-create a situation in a specific locality. They can carbon date fossils, explain the layers of dirt and stone, and even tell us what kinds of tools were used by indigenous people. But they can’t tell us how those people lived, laughed, loved, worked, and survived without using imagination and the personal experiences of today’s world. Our own egos will overlay all of the opinions, no matter what the physical evidence indicates.
Recent history is very dependent upon written articles that give us glimpses into the thoughts, hopes, and fears of those who have gone before us. Whether it is an old newspaper or a letter found wrapped in ribbons in an old abandoned attic, our interest is piqued by the insights we get about a real person. Historical facts are necessary to write our history as a people, but personal knowledge of someone who lived long before will always grab our interest and make the dry facts of history much more appealing.
When attempting to reclaim our history of the Craft, we should be looking at the biographies of our predecessors. However, once we go beyond the last few hundred years, we run into a blank wall of propaganda and fear mongering. We are left with a hunger for the true knowledge of the Old Ways, with no real assurance that our impressions and suppositions are valid.
What we can surmise from our own experience is simply that real people, living real lives, survived and accomplished many wonders that seem beyond natural human capabilities. I would love to reclaim their strength and perseverance in what must have been an environment of great adversity, but, to be truthful, I don’t want to return to the “Olde Days.” I don’t want to go back to a time of hardship. I’m a modern witch—I like indoor plumbing, central heat, public transportation, and grocery stores stocked with food. I like cell phones, computers, digital music, and public libraries. So why am I fascinated with the ways of the Wise Women and Cunning Men? Because they were the “experts” of their day in knowing how to live well within their environments. We are the ones who need to understand the whys and hows of their Craft so we can emulate their example by living within our own experiences. We can become the Wise Woman or the Cunning Man by being knowledgeable and aware of our environment and being willing to become a mentor in our community.
A Cunning Man would have been consulted as to where the herds may be before going on a hunt to provide food. He’d also be an authority on weaponry and supplies needed to make the journey. He would encourage people to practice their skills before setting off on the hunt and would help to train the young by example and through the telling of stories of previous hunts. He would encourage the concepts of achievement and self-awareness. He would be the coach, the trainer, and the father figure to those who would someday lead the tribe or clan. He would give his knowledge and experience to those who would take his place as the Elder, or Cunning Man. He would ensure the survival of his species. In today’s world, the Cunning Man would be a mentor, helping the young find jobs, get an education, and look forward to raising a family with pride and self-assurance.
The Wise Woman would be consulted on almost every level of everyday life. From healing herbs to preparing skins for clothing, all tribe members would seek her advice. Her skills were necessary for the health and welfare of her people. Could she also offer sympathetic magic spells to aid people? Of course, just as the Cunning Man would use symbols of the animals they needed to hunt for survival.
The Wise Woman may have been someone who knew how to prepare the foods taken on the hunt. She may have been the one who taught the children to chew the skins in order to make them pliable so that they could be made into clothing. She may have been the one who healed the sick with her recipes and potions. She may have been the one to give advice to the lovelorn. Today you would find her among the caregivers, the teachers, and the mentors. The Wise Woman most definitely would be the mid-wife who was consulted on all aspects of pregnancy. A woman who needed help because she was unable to get pregnant or had many miscarriages would have sought her advice as to what to eat, how to act, and what not to do. The woman with too many children or the girl who was too young to carry a child would consult with her on ways to prevent a pregnancy.
The Cunning Man and the Wise Woman positions in the tribes were absolutely necessary for survival. Those who could read the signs and work with Earth were respected guides within the framework of the Clan or Tribe. From their input and their ability to give good advice came the modern world we now inhabit. We are the descendants of survivors.
However, we still need those mentors and advisors. Today we have
many more opportunities to seek out and receive advice about the vast complexities of our world. Today it is even more important that we emulate the Wise Women and Cunning Men of the past, who used their knowledge of their own environment to enhance life and support their community.
Do we need a Wise Woman to find out when the buses run? Nope, we simply need to pick up a schedule. Do we need a Cunning Man to tell us where to go for sushi? Nah, we simply check the phone book or use an Internet search engine. However, given human nature, we often ask a friend rather than doing our own research. The age-old habit of asking for advice from people we know and trust will always be part of how we “survive” in the world today. We need mentoring more than ever before. We need the “expert” to give advice in any number of situations.
If we are ill, we do need to see a medical practitioner. We may go to our family doctor or walk into a clinic. We allow them to examine us, and then we decide whether to take their advice or not. We may decide to get another opinion or seek an alternative method of healing. Healthy people have access to a great deal of knowledge as to what we should eat, how we should exercise, and how we should take care of ourselves. Do we always heed this advice? No, but we do have access to it. It is our responsibility to get smart about our own bodies.
In the past, it was the responsibility of the individual to contribute to the tribe. Planting a field, tending a herd, tanning a skin, and blacksmithing were all sought-after skills. Today we depend on the grocery store, the clothing store, or the local hardware store. But we have to use our skills to make the money in order to get the things we need. So we need education to get a job! Our public education system offers a wide variety of disciplines where we can find our niche and build a life’s work that fulfills us. Teachers are the mentors who give us the opportunities for learning. We can see that these professions have taken over much of the teaching duties of the Wise Woman/Cunning Man, just as the modern medical profession has taken on the tasks of healing. The skills of the Wise Woman and Cunning Man are still being practiced today as a necessity in the larger societies of the modern world.