Your Magickal "Family"

Greetings My Witchy Readers,

So many people talk with me about their magickal path and the reaction of their families. It is many times not the warm and accepting reactions one would hope to receive from their relatives, even immediate families. Yes, sadly Pagans have to deal with the same ignorance, fear and in some cases hatred and rejection as those who are of an orientation that is not accepted in their families.

Nowadays, it can be a wide range of orientations (I use this term as the best I can find)to cover sexual, religious, cultural, race, occupation, political, even athletics (some do not like girls playing 'boys' sports!!)  We seem to be developing more intolerance and more things to dislike about one another than learning to accept each other with one another.

So yes, pagans, whether they be witches, Wiccan, or a host of other non Abrahamic religions. As I am a witch and Wiccan I will stick with these for my discussion.

Many times we find our families either confused, or they make fun of our path, "going to turn me into a toad" or asking us to put a spell on someone they don't like, or other stupid comments. I say stupid because they are always being smart asses and not just ignorant by this point. Then there are those who will pull us aside at a family function to try to do some quickie Christian conversion and perhaps salvation work if possible usually between turkey and cheesecake and their third glass of wine!

The inevitable yet sad truth I must impart to you, should any of this sound familiar is this and simply this, you will not change them nor will you educate them if they are not open and willing to learn. It is as plain as that. But that does not mean you cannot have family.

Your "family" is who you make it of. Who you surround yourself with. The loved ones, the supportive ones, the people who care for you and who understand you. They may be the magickal ones you find. And you will find them. Many times, a new witch on  the path, this is her or his first spell and request of the Goddess, to send like minded people to them. So they can have fellowship with others like them.

I caution you, strongly against trying for the large, huge gatherings and expecting all and everyone to be loving, accepting and just perfectly wonderful.  .  .  .  Honestly, we are talking about humans, still. Magickal or not. That is also one of the first surprises for many new on the magickal path. That magickal people like groups of people everywhere, are just like people everywhere.

What I mean is there are wonderful magickal people, and not so wonderful magickal people, some are kind and some not so much, just like any group. So a small group of magickal friends, that you love and trust and these are the people who will become your family.

Again, do not stress and go to extremes trying to get your birth family or even in laws to accept your path, if they do, they do and if not then you know. At least they are not faking it, like some family members will do. Those members are apparent because they initially seem as if they are cool with what you do and how you believe but then little comments pop out that will leave you a bit confused.

But it is really clear, if you listen carefully. For instance, I had one instance when someone I know said to me in a conversation amongst a larger family gathering as everyone was chatting and many conversations were happening, " Even though you don't believe in God blah, blah, blah" the tail end of the sentence really was irrelevant as the first part floored me. She obviously had never ever listened to a word I ever said, even while smiling inanely and nodding and saying how much she understood. Not prejudiced, totally accepting of all religions, yep. Completely clueless, as most pagans I know have God/Goddess in their lives daily, moment to moment more than most Christians I have ever met. By their own admissions, God is there in church when they go, where for us our creator is everywhere, in everything in every moment in the holy and in the obscene. It can't be separated because to us all things are God/dess. 

Then when having a very serious family issue dealing with a loved one and illness being told by a family member, who knows quite clearly what I am and who I am, "What does God want you to do?" again completely misses everything. I have set these people aside as they have demonstrated they care not for me and at all about what matters to me, but more about pushing their agenda. Some are obvious and I have greater respect for those, at least they are honest rather than covert and sneaky, but those who follow this path are smarter than most consider us. It is called the Craft of the Wise after all.

So carefully consider those in your life and do they support, love, encourage and bring you light or do they seek to bring you darkness? Only you can determine that.

I hope you only have light in your life.


Live, Laugh and Always Love, Ms. Faith






© 2010-2018 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to receive the link to the most current weekly blog post send me an e mail with your email address. You will receive a new blog post weekly. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

A "Hauntingly" Real Story of the Spirit of a Victorian House Coming to Life Again!

Greetings My Witchy Readers,

Well this discussion is sure to titillate and entice you as it is not only filled with the shadows of spirits from a Victorian age but it is true and it just happened in the last month and is still happening as I write this piece!

I opened Enchantments, A School for the Magickal Arts and Witch Shop, in 2004 in a small rented shop and two years later, moved to our present location and bought a building that had been built as a home in 1899-1900, which was at the very end of the Victorian age but as with any age it lingered.  A small family lived in this home and since we purchased this building and converted it to our small witch shop and school, and made very few changes save for improvements such as a new roof, new windows which retain the character of the original and we acknowledge the energies of the original occupants.

When I first took ownership and we were starting to clean and fix the place up in preparation to open for business, I met our spirit co-inhabitants one evening as I was cleaning up from a painting project in the center sales room. After I had turned off the radio, and while I was gathering the brushes and other painting materials I heard, very distinctly and clearly, a woman's voice say behind me "hello".  Just that. I stood still for a moment, then said "hello", as one would, if one were polite.

When we first bought the building we now call Enchantments and the changes the gardens have undergone.

2008-2010



Then I went off to wash up and wished it had not been at eleven o'clock at night when this had happened but I suppose there is never a bad time to be welcomed in!  Since then a number of people, all women,  have seen a spirit, who manifests and appears to wear period garb of the Victorian era, but of the middle class era.  She is always seen in the same outfit, but I won't say as everyone who comes to me tells me the same description and I keep it to myself to see if they are picking up the energies accurately. It is always possible they could be picking up someone else, so I do not believe in putting it out in print to 'color the waters' if you will.

We moved into Enchantment's current building in November 2006 and so have been here, at 349 East Center Street, Manchester, CT for 13 years and the bottom floor is the retail store and tarot room and we have a kitchen and bathroom, the second floor is a ritual area, classroom and office area.

A few years ago, I had a strong vision to change a back sales room into a tarot card reading room, but to decorate the room in such a way it would be like a Victorian seance room, without really considering where the idea came from? I draped the room with beautiful cloth from the fabric store and painted the ceiling black and with indirect lighting.  All of a sudden it took on an entirely new look.

Then just a month or so ago, I was again struck with another image one day, it flashed into my mind's eye that I take the upstairs office that had fallen into disuse and move every single item that had any 'office' function out and turn the room into what I had seen in my mind's vision, a magickal parlor or salon.  I could see the center coffee table and I am not really a coffee table kind of person. I could see the side tables, the small knick knacks I had collected over the years, and I started to bring things from home, my friend and Priestess I work with started to bring things from home and all of a sudden the magickal parlor was created! It was done! Right down to the chocolates in the pressed glass candy dish and the tarot deck and pendulum in a period dessert plate on the table!

I had such a feeling of compulsion, of feeling pushed until it was done and then my friend and I found ourselves sitting in the parlor, the store locked up and just relaxing and at peace and so happy as if we really needed to do this!!  Now, I suspect the house or maybe.  .  .  ? Maybe the woman spirit in the house wants a room for herself upstairs?  I find I do not spend much time myself up there now that it is completed but it is such a comfort to know it is done and when I walk by or into the parlor it feels so right. So perfect. As if I had done something really .  .  .  kind?  What a curious word, but it fits!

And now this week! Goodness, well again. Gardening time is upon us and we typically plant annuals and do a similar type of gardening every year, but this year again, I started to walk into the garden and found myself transfixed, just standing there for minutes which I found out were actually 20 or 30 minute stretches, looking at the garden, trying to figure out what I was going to do? It seemed so important and this year it is so different, I went with all perennials with just geraniums as annuals.

I found my choices at the nursery curious, but thought I was choosing for color and growing habit as I was familiar with all of the plants I purchased. I had just gone with entirely different plants in mind.  I found myself placing, and spacing and re-setting and moving here and even digging up and replanting from the day before other plants, and being as specific as if I was planting this garden for the very Queen of England herself!! But it seemed every bit as special, until I had every plant placed just perfectly.

The next day we spent placing an iron archway in the newly created rose garden, placed gazing balls, cast iron low garden fencing, whimsical garden decor.  That night I was doing research, as usual, and I thought to search 'typical Victorian garden plants and features' and even though I had studied Victorian gardens and the era years before I had not consciously thought about it when I was putting this garden together. Which I thought was really cool, as I went down the list of plants and I saw that every single plant, and I mean every single on was on the typical Victorian garden list. Now, many are that I do not have, considering my planting area is fairly small as gardens grow! (Cackle, I crack myself up!!)

The Victorian Friendship & Love Rose Arbor

But!!! And this is where it gets, cool and creepy and all sorts of spooky even for me!! It even mentioned the cast iron garden edging, that my husband found gathering webs in the garage corner at home, the gazing balls, the archway!!!! that my dad gave me 10 years earlier and we really did not need or want but I could not get rid of it, and now it is where it is supposed to be!! Picture follows:

Then, as Internet research goes these days the sites I was on took me to another site of Victorian decor in 'Painted Ladies' what one calls Victorian houses of the era that are colorfully painted. And the very cool thing is the magickal parlor that came to me and I recreated with all of the knick knacks and pieces I had from home and my friend and priestess had at her home and we brought all of them in and made the parlor, this apparently was what made a Victorian parlor.  Now I honestly did not know this! My research was pretty much restricted to Victorian gardens and societal etiquette as well as funerary practices. You know, the typical. I had no idea how one decorated in Victorian times, and the magickal parlor upstairs could have been in Victorian Home and Garden Magazine!

As I  was putting the roses in, and I simply could not settle for a few, I think I finally stopped at 8 rose bushes, ramblers, shrub and climbers and 10-12 lavender plants. After I finished planting the roses and placing the rose garden decor I stepped back and found myself saying under my breath "finally the rose garden is back!" and that startled me, besides the fact it was weird!  because there is no evidence anywhere on the property that there had ever been any gardens on the site, but gardens are easily erased in a mere few years after being seeded over with grass. But I know "someone" there is happier now.

The energy of the store, the upstairs school, the outside gardens, the entire space of Enchantments feels relaxed and more comfortable and peaceful. It is a place that is loved and the people who come there enjoy doing so and it can be felt.

I have even happily found people sitting in the lawn chairs enjoying the gardens while sitting under the shade trees. This year I have installed a special bench, a metal bench in front of the rose garden, which is dedicated to friendship and love. Hence the name of the garden. There is a spell on the bench that any two who sit there will be lifelong friends and anyone will always have love in their lives.  An enchanted bench? What did you expect in a witch's garden? A toad?

This is the story of the spirits of my Victorian Painted Lady and She is lovely indeed, please feel free to stop by and if we are not open have a sit in the garden if you would like. But do not pick any of the flowers, that is a no no in a witch's garden unless she is there to give permission. But you wouldn't do that, now would you? Hee hee

© 2010-2018 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited. 

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to receive the link to the most current weekly blog post send me an e mail with your email address. You will receive a new blog post weekly. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.