Sabbath for Intentions

This is the eleventh day of the twelve-day festal tide - we have two days of Christmas left! I celebrate these last days in Sabbath mode, doing as little work as possible, resting, reflecting, and finding peace within.

I spent all of advent reviewing and brainstorming my principles and new priorities, and today I will begin to set some intentions for the New Year.

Agenda:

1. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft"

2. Prepare for initiation

3. Ongo journal

4. Set intentions

5. Create an intentions ritual

1. Read "Revolutionary Witchcraft":

I'm just starting this sweet little book by Sarah Lyons (2019)  that I got from my daughter for Christmas. The subtitle is A Guide to Magical Activism.

"Being an activist means, in part, being actively engaged with the world around you. It's like making a pact between yourself and the spirit of the earth, that you're going to continue fighting for it, and looking at the bad parts of it, even when that is uncomfortable."

Chapter 1 is A Witch's Place is in the Struggle. She begins by defining magic, politics, and witchcraft: Magic is the art and science of causing change in the world, through the mastery of our inner world - leveraging the power of belief.

Your mind has power, but it's only one power among many. Just like magic, politics is a system for feeling the flow of power, and combining yours with other people's to make something happen.  "Finding out who has the power to do what, how much power it will take for things to change, and how to raise the power of a group of people is something both magical people and activists do every day."

She goes on to describe witchcraft as a witch plus her craft - it embraces both the spiritual and physical, and for most of history it has contested with political power.

And she goes on to a section on history.

2. Prepare for initiation:

I'm also reading a section on initiation. She compares it to Wokeness, when you have a moment that shakes you up so you see things in a different perspective, and are never the same again. I've certainly had some of those moments. She mentions the 2016 election as an initiation, "a night that will live in infamy."

I've been preparing for a rite of initiation for the New Year, culminating on my birthday this week. I cut strips of paper in my sketchbook and have been writing on them each day, all the things that oppress and limit me - all the negative forces in my life that keep me chained down. (I thought the page would be hard to fill but the negative is rolling out of me!)

The last two part I need are symbols:

1. A symbol that represents all the negative forces in my life - a dollar bill, or photo or drawing, or a word written on paper.
2. A symbol of my liberation - something I can wear or display as a reminder of my power.

3. Ongo journal:

I'm going back through this book by Catherine Madden and Jesse Weiss Chu (2022), focussing on the solo practices. The solo practices are meant to be done 5 days a week - 3 practices alternating with 2 "Rememberings", to allow you to go deep. Today is my Day One.

Day 1 is A Place to Start, and it is about literally making a space. Today I will dust and tidy my writing room, and post my Ongo intention on the wall:

I intend to become the Zen Grandma I want to be, with patience, peace, courage and wisdom; to open my perspective, listen patiently and seek the truth in other people’s opinions, and the needs under the emotion; to practice the art of calm.

 

3. Set intentions:

One part of getting my ducks in a row is to know my priorities - those activities, responsibilities, people, disciplines, and whatever else seems most important and feels most meaningful, day in and day out.

Priorities are more fluid than values. They change over time and with the seasons, and expand or decrease with my energy, so I keep a close eye on them. My priorities give my day focus: I only have so much time each day, and so knowing my current priorities gives me self-confidence and peace of mind, and makes it so much easier to say, "No - that is not a priority for me right now."

Here are some of my intentions for the New Year:

I intend to celebrate the seasons and the circle; practice awareness and prayer and listen for advice from God; root myself in this land and community, so that my service has stability and power; add back to my days some witchy rituals, to build power and creative perspective shifts and write a new narrative for myself; define and practice the spiritual order habits of self-regulation and creative energy; simplify and hone my personal sacral calendar, and connect it to the phenology of my neighborhood.

I intend to love and serve my family and community, learning greater equanimity and compassion; work to deepen my friendships and develop an ever wider community; practice the art of calm and become the Zen Grandma I want to be, with patience, peace, courage and wisdom; open my perspective, listen patiently and seek the truth in other people’s opinions, and the needs under the emotion; learn how to witness from love. Continue to nurture my deepest friendships with monthly moon gatherings, and walks.

I am a creative force in the world, expressing myself with writing, art and actions; specifically, write a book about how to shift the paradigm towards Nature-Culture, and then spread the message widely; begin to share my Nature-Culture book with some people, to help me understand where I need to stretch; blog my daily ideas for how to shift the perspective, for Nature-culture and the Wheel of my year; find simple ways to raise my monthly income.  

5. Create an intentions ritual:

Now that I am through Soyal, I want to regroup and settle into a daily routine that reminds me of my top priorities for the day, 

 my deepest reasons why, and also my emotions, energy, challenges, etc. 

My preference is to review my intentions in the morning; that's when my head is clear and I am most creative. I make it into a little ceremony that is a soothing routine:

• Get my morning coffee and sit in my favorite chair. Light a candle. 
• Visualize my day ahead with a wide-angle view - the people I will see and the situations that might arise.
• Review and fill in my Priorities Grid for the day, choosing tasks and activities from each of my priorities. 
• Look through my schedule and picture each of today's priority tasks. Make adjustments, and note any preparations or challenges I need to consider - do I have supplies to gather? calls to make? do I need to schedule alone time or a walk?
• Next, choose the top 3 most important tasks, that will lead me in the direction I want to go. List each and picture the moment I will start it and how I will feel when I complete it. Ask, "Is this truly leading me in the right path? And is it do-able?" If yes, then commit to act on it with vigor today!
• Blow out the candle.