Dealing with Intruders, Human and Otherwise

a request from a friend

An online friend asked me, in my capacity as a witch, to please get rid of the wasps, termites and mice in a country home she’s about to occupy, and also to put a curse on anyone breaking into the place.

It’s not quite how witchcraft works. Or anyway, not how I work.

First of all, I don’t do curses. (Some do; it’s a personal thing.) I believe, along with many others, that the energy you put out comes back to you multiplied – so I try to be careful what I put out. In any case, as I explained to my friend, I think it’s much better to prevent people from breaking in, if possible. Cursing someone after the event might seem like a fitting revenge, but won’t fix any damage done or goods stolen. Better if there were nothing to be revenged for. Setting up some magical protections would be a preferable idea! That's both easy and effective. Dealing with human intruders (without cursing) is the easiest of these requests to meet.

Witchcraft is earth-based, down-to-earth, practical. We like to work with, not against Nature. Also we prefer to be pretty specific in our goals. And if there’s a way to get something done without needing to use magical energy, we’ll try that first. (Telepathy’s wonderful, but phoning is easier.) Or we’ll use the mundane methods as well as the spells – on the theory that you try everything which might help.

So I’ve been trying some things, as requested, to clear the invaders out of a house I have never even seen a picture of, and which I don’t know the location of. (A banishing spell. Sending Reiki to the situation. Putting protection over the house.) They may or may not work. And I have some suggestions as to what my friend could do herself.

Because, unlike me, she does know what her house and its location look like, she would surely be better than me at doing some serious visualisation exercises: spending some time getting into a meditative state first and then seeing the place free of pests, clean and shining, structurally sound…. It would be most effective to visualise this in detail, repeatedly and with fervour.(Creative visualisation is a very well-known technique by now. It’s not regarded as specifically Pagan, more New Agey.)

If she wants take things further, in the spirit of working with Nature, she might use some kind of repellent for the wasps and mice – and maybe even for the termites. It could be a spray of some kind, but that’s rather anti-Nature. I’d be investigating the possibilities of repellent plants she could grow, which would keep working year after year. If there are any, that is.

There are ways to communicate telepathically with living things. (I assert without further justification. I know this is so, from experience; but I realise many people might find it hard to believe.) My friend could try this, or I could try it for her – but I’m not sure how effective it might be in this case. Mice, for instance, are usually quite uncooperative. They have trouble seeing any point of view except their own. It might be necessary to provide another place for them, if possible – depending where the house is (I am imagining it deep in the bush, but she only said ‘in the country’, which could mean practically anything). I haven’t worked with either wasps or termites before, so I have no idea how well they respond to requests or persuasion. I have in fact attempted this for her, but at this stage I have no idea if it was successful – nor, if so, how long it would last. I think it's best to try other methods as well.

While I’m not fond of killing things if it can be avoided, sometimes it’s the only or best option. I remind myself that Nature is not always kind and gentle. My friend might do well to invest in some mousetraps! (They could be the kind that catches the mice alive so they can be taken to a different place.) Wasp nests can be destroyed before the wasps hatch. And I am sure there are plenty of experts who could advise her how to get rid of termites.

The most alarming thought is that the termites could already have done irreparable damage. Maybe it’s prosperity magic she needs, to be able to afford to deal with that!

Spring Equinox (Ostara) Reading for Myself, September 2021

(using Everyday Witch Tarot)

What do I need to leave behind now?

1. Three of Wands.

(Wands is the suit of the spirit.)
Yes, I have had to let go of the plan to meet with my sisters in the Goddess circle, in joyous celebration. The Pandemic and consequent restrictions on our movements have prevented it in recent months – and just when we thought we'd finally manage it for Equinox, there was a sudden new lockdown in this area, which vetoed the crucial date. Ah, well.

2. Knight of Swords.
(Swords is the suit of the mind.)  
Perhaps it is my own combative thinking I need to leave behind? The Pandemic is very divisive; I strive to remain aware that even the conspiracy theorists are motivated by wanting the wellbeing of us all – they just have a different view of how to achieve that. And those who are losing wages because of lockdowns, and wondering how to keep feeding their families, may have an understandably different view of what our wellbeing even consists of.  Arguing and name-calling is not going to help; it only keeps people entrenched in their opinions.
Or might this card represent someone else who is trying to browbeat me? No-one comes to mind.
Sometimes – in other decks – I see Knight of Swords as a rescuer. Although the image in this deck doesn't suggest that so much, it is one possible meaning according to the accompanying book. But if, this time, he represents something I need to leave behind, perhaps it is time to take responsibility for my own thoughts? Or time to stop mentoring and counselling others, even if they ask for it?
The first interpretation seems to fit best: I must guard against being argumentative and righteous.

3. Four of Pentacles.

(Pentacles is the suit of money and the physical/material world.)

On the face of it, time to stop hoarding money. Except I've never done that. I've seldom had enough to hoard, and in any case am no good at saving. But hoarding treasure, that might fit – my material wealth in the form of things. I am certainly going through a massive decluttering exercise right now.
'Keep at it,' the card seems to say; 'Don't weaken. Don't revert to old ways. Cherish your memories, and stop hanging on to the things which remind you of them but are not them.' Also it could well be saying, 'What good are all those boxes of stuff filling up the garage? Give the contents to those who could use them now.' 
The cat in the card reminds me that although I haven't stopped loving the cats I used to have, it's been a great blessing to move on to a dear new companion. I mustn't get stuck in the past but enjoy life now.

What am I bringing in?

1. Eight of Cups.

(Cups is the suit of the emotions.) 

Although I have an abundance of emotionally fulfilling things in my life, the card shows me turning away from them to begin a journey towards something new (not abandoning what I have so much as seeking something additional to bring back to my store). And indeed, I have very recently committed to some new work that excites me.
The message of this card is that one should go on the new quest. It's nice to have this confirmation.

2. THE TOWER.

(A Major Arcana card, a messenger of Fate.)

This card says that there will be an apparent disaster, a catastrophe – but it will be a blessing in disguise, breaking down rigid structures and bringing in good new energy. I think and hope this is already coming in; that it refers to the mould problem in my unit which seriously compromised my health and could have killed me, but has been addressed. Already my respiratory problems have abated significantly. The addressing did involve breaking down some rigid structures, including removing old flooring which was much harder to dislodge than the workmen expected.

Now I am in the process of restoring my home to order, Spring-cleaning and decluttering as I go. Some furniture and curtains etc. have been replaced, my big crystal collection has been washed and recharged, and altogether the place is looking very different, to the extent that it is acquiring a whole new energy.

3. THE STAR

(Another Major Arcana card.)

I love this card. It means hope, optimism, the light at the end of the tunnel.... It is about getting rid of old, worn energy and bringing in the new and healing, namely the energy of Unconditional Love.
I look at the image on this card,  and am reminded of The Magician: 'As Above, so Below' – seeming to suggest that I am going to be even more actively magical in the time ahead. 
Above all, I look at it and see clearly the Light Worker I am more and more becoming. A pretty good way, I reckon, to spend my Senior years!

There might be more answers to each of these questions, but I set my intention at the outset to pull three cards for each, so these will be the most relevant and important answers. (And they do seem to cover the ground pretty thoroughly.)

We Shall Not Meet

Spring Equinox 2021

In this Southern Hemisphere, Spring has arrived: the time of renewal. In my garden, two irises bloom, abundant with colour and light. 

With joy after many months apart, we Goddesses of Shining Light prepare to meet for Equinox. After months of staying COVID-safe, we plan for glorious reunion. We’ve missed gathering – to dance in circle to honour the Goddess; to sing and meditate; to send out our light, drawn from the heavens, to our community here and to the wider world. To feel our hearts revive. And to lunch together afterwards in friendship, reconnecting with each other’s individual selves and lives.

Then comes a sudden new lockdown for our area. The gathering cannot happen.

A facebook friend reminds me, inner reality is paramount and I can celebrate very well alone. I can … but he fails to understand the power of the communal. We women are aligned in our purpose, our understanding, and in the mystical joy and peace we share, uniting for this service. 

It is above all our own renewal, an energy source. There are many things we do for others. This coming together is also a time for us — for each in her inner core, and collectively. Here we renew our strength. Here we renew our hearts. Here we renew our deep inner truth ... our spirit.

We want to look into each other’s smiling eyes, and hear again each other’s voices.  

We are not all Pagan, though several of us are. We include Christians, Krishna devotees, Buddhists, Indigenous people on their own timeless spiritual paths, New Agey types, and one avowed unbeliever — who nevertheless has an excellent understanding of energy flow and subscribes to our ideals.

What ideals are they? 

We seek to embody the qualities of the Divine Feminine, both privately and collectively. ‘Light workers’ is surely the most accurate term for us.

But can this summary convey how much we’ve been longing to meet? How our gatherings nurture and restore us? How they carry us through the months to the next time?

‘I see you,’ we say to each other without needing words. ‘I see you,  I know you. You are precious and distinct … and we are one.’ 

We relinquish our plans. We shall meet etherically instead. 

At Poets and Storytellers United, in Weekly Scribblings #88: Equinox, Magaly invites us to write on one or all of three phrases. I chose, 'I see you.' What I wrote seems to belong best in this, my 'witchy' blog.