I used to speak of coincidences as if these things happened without a guiding hand. Now I refer most often to what I like to call synchronicity. What I'm talking about are all those little moments that seem like happenstance. Like finding someplace you were looking for when you don't really know how to get there, but somehow in your wanderings, you run across the very place... Or when you meet someone who turns out to become one of your dearest friends in a place neither of you have ever been before... Or when you find the very thing you're looking for when you've stopped looking all together.

It seems these days that this happens quite regularly in my life, more than it used to. It could be that it only seems that way though, because I recognize it better. I never truly recognized the guidance of the divine in my life before 3 years ago... Yet now to deny it now seems quite ludicrous. Looking back, I see that it's all these little moments that seemed like chance, that have led me to where I am.

All of the most important moments in my life are examples of synchronicity. From finding the one person who could truly understand me (who is also now my husband) in the last place in this country I'd ever want to live... to delving into a very rewarding spiritual journey because of an e-mail I wasn't supposed to get (or at least that wasn't the intention of the sender)... or meeting our dearest friends in a place we nor they had ever been before. And most recently, finding an exciting new witch store when we didn't know how to get there or even remember it's name.

While at the time, these things seemed like chance, looking back I see how much the divine had to work to get me to those moments and I am grateful all the more for that divine guidance. I will not refer to this as coincidence again, because it is really more accurate to call it synchronicity.

The seas, the sky, the dancing flame,
The earth beneath my feet...
The fish, the birds, the creeping snake
And all the lovely trees...

Magic lives in all these things
Each connected to the other.
Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring
All gifts from our Great Mother

By Amethist Flame

Being an empath can be a double edged sword at times. On one hand it can be a great tool of insight into what others are going through, but sometimes, their emotions can be overpowering, and it can be difficult to tell their emotions apart from my own.

All of my life, I've had times where I cried for hours for reasons unknown to me. Now that I've learned a bit more about what being an empath is, I'm more able to identify the causes of these emotional breakdowns. When global tragedies occur, although it still effects me, I'm more in control of myself and I can shield my self some what and lessen the effect.

Over all though, I view it as a gift. I don't want to shield myself too much because I value this connection I have to what others are dealing with. It gives me insight and allows me to be more supportive of those I care about and I wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.

Self-doubt has been a major stumbling block for me for most of my life. I struggle with it more at some times than at others, but it manages to rear its ugly head all to often still. I'm learning ways, more and more, to move past these times and they're duration is shrinking slowly but surely.

I find it helps in times like these to reach out to close friends. Getting positive feedback from them helps fuel my forward momentum. However, there are times when I must simply trudge forward on my own, even if at a little slower pace. It's continued forward movement that is important. Once I've pushed through, I usually start to see the results, and my confidence is renewed.

What I'm getting at is this, friends support and personal determination are the best tools I've found in moving past my own self-doubt. I hope this can help others move past theirs as well.

This last year, my family and I sat down and made a list of the values we each felt were most important. We took those individual lists, and compiled a single list of the values that we each shared and discussed what those values meant for each of us. I took that information and wrote a short explanation for each of these values. This was a great chance for us to all have some input in the foundations of our family coven and also a way for us to each learn to understand the other a little better. It took me quite a while to finish writing these, mostly because I was resisting the call to write that was growing ever stronger day by day. The gods don't let up just because you don't want to listen, they just find more ways to get their point across. I hope that these will inspire you, and give you some ideas for moving forward in your own spiritual path.

Blessed Be!


Acceptance

The ability to accept people for who they are can lead to many learning opportunities and a greater understanding of our universe. This is not a blind acceptance, but acceptance tempered with discernment.



Adaptability

The ability to adapt to the constant changes in our universe as well as adapting to the new things we learn as we grow is of great importance to our family as each individual learns more about themselves and their place in our world.



Balance

With all the things demanding our attention and a great deal of our time and energy, finding balance is more important then ever. When the many aspects of our lives are balanced, we are more able to make informed and timely decisions. When we are unbalanced in our lives, stress, sickness and discord prevail.



Creativity

The ability to find new and different ways to solve problems is very useful in our every day lives. However, creativity is much more than that. Creativity helps us find new ways to accomplish goals and even helps us invent new things. Without creativity there would be no art or poetry or even beautiful buildings for us to admire. Creativity benefits us in many aspects of our lives and enriches our spirituality.



Dependability

Family members must be able to depend on one another, this builds trust, which strengthens the family bonds. Strong, dependable families build strong, dependable communities.



Exploration

Exploring new places, ideas and different cultures teaches us about our world, helps us define who we are and helps find our place in the world. Exploration renews our spirits and strengthens our minds.



Empathy

The ability to read and understand others emotions and even experience to some degree what others may be going through, gives us a better understanding of those we come in contact with. This helps us understand events from different perspectives and also helps us connect with others in very personal ways.



Gratitude

When we show gratitude, we encourage others to be generous to each other by making them feel appreciated. However, feeling grateful for something someone else has done for us is important too. Gratitude is a two way street, we must experience both sides of it to understand it fully.



Integrity

Integrity is a necessity in building trust with in the family coven as well as between the family coven and the greater Pagan community. We must have integrity of word as well as deed at all times in order to maintain that trust.



Loyalty

There are many forms of loyalty. Loyalty to our friends and family and loyalty to our beliefs are some of the most important forms. In our family coven, loyalty between the members helps to bind us closer together.



Open-mindedness

Closing our minds, limits the possibilities in our lives. Keeping our minds open, while maintaining some caution allows us to remain open to opportunities that we may not otherwise have noticed.



Strength

There are many forms of strength and all are important in different ways. Most important in our family coven is our inner strength, that which we draw on when all else has failed. This of course comes from our connection with the divine which is in us all.



Team-work

A family works in much the same way as a team. While each member has a specific job, they must each work with the other to fulfill the goals of the family(team) as a whole. Within the family coven there is another benefit to teamwork, we can work together to help the individual members reach their own goals as well, both magical and mundane.



Wisdom

There are many definitions of wisdom and many more descriptions of how to attain it. What the many definitions agree on is that wisdom is knowledge of what is right or just, combined with the judgment to determine the best way to achieve it. Wisdom is not only attained by the very old, but is often found among the very young as well. It can take lifetimes to achieve or only moments. It is something we should always work toward, for one can never be too wise.

It seems this past year, I have been looking at the natural world around me through new eyes. A couple of months ago, I was walking through the forest with my husband and as far as I could see, there was evidence of the death and decay that seems to surround us in the winter and fall. I looked around me and felt some sadness at the loss of these once magnificent trees that lay decaying at my feet. But I looked closer and saw, in the clearing where the trees had once stood, a group of saplings that had already sprung up to take their place there in the sun. The fallen trees began to decay, yet they still had a purpose to serve. They are the shelter for so many living things. Small lizards and snakes take shelter beneath them and more bugs than I could count live within. As these trees continue to decay, they break down to become part of the soil that the new trees grow in, the very foundation of their roots and the nutrients that feed them.

As spring arrives now, I see so much renewal. The sun shines, the birds sing and most everything is blossoming and growing. It's so much easier now to feel hopeful, but even in winter and fall there is hope. Each season is in some way important. In fall we harvest the bounty that has grown from spring and summer, then we make preparations for the winter. Winter is a time of rest. The earth rests and so do we all, saving our energies for the vigor of spring. Spring and summer, we see most clearly the vitality of the earth, which would not be possible without the dormancy of winter. And WE would not be able to survive winter without the harvest and preparations of fall.

I see these same cycles on a larger scale in the seasons of our lives. As children and young adults, we are vigorous and vital. We learn and grow and become what we are meant to become. As we age, we move through the seasons gradually. Often not noticing the exact moments of the transitions, but we realize them long after we have moved through the different phases. As adults, we raise our families and save what we can in preparation for the "winter" of our own lives. In our elder years, we spend a lot of time remembering, and also grooming the next generation to lead. When our loved ones pass from this life, our memories of them strengthen us and help us to continue to grow. They become our foundations and give us what we need to become the new leaders, and take OUR place in the sun.

We move through these seasons year after year, lifetime after lifetime, and generation after generation. Each one building upon the foundation of the ones that came before.

Seeing these cycles anew, after losing my own father over a year ago, brings me renewed hope and helps me appreciate more, the foundations on which I build my own life and the importance of the cycles and seasons of life in all that I see.

We have all heard the phrase “thou art goddess, thou art god”, but how much have we really thought about it? What exactly does that mean?

To me, it means more than the divine being a part of me, it’s more that I am an extension of the divine. In seeking a connection to the divine, I need not search any farther than within myself.

I find it empowering and sort of humbling at the same time. By realizing that I am an extension of the divine, I have found a bond that nothing can sever. The gods are always with me because I am a part of THEM. The humbling part comes when I think about how big the world is, and how much is in it, and I realize that all of it, and everyone in it, is ALSO a part of the divine.

The divine connects everything and everyone, not only to each other, but also back to the divine itself. We are all parts of the greater whole.

I think a better phrase might be… we are all goddess, we are all god.