Sunday 25 November 2012

My Great Epiphany by Autumn Moonchilde

This Blog comes from one of our wonderful Students Autumn Moonchilde, as she explains her journey to and along this well worn path and what led her to the Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchery. I know we're going to be seeing more from her and her wonderful journey's.  Pour a cup of Peppermint Tea my lovelies, rest your feet awhile and enjoy the read.

 
My Great Epiphany
By Autumn Moonchilde

When I was a child, people would often ask me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I suppose my answer probably varied with each person who asked the question, I don't remember, but the one thing I am quite sure of is that I never said "a witch". I grew up believing that witches were ugly old hags, who ate children and practiced evil magic. I wanted no part of it! So, you can imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning at the age of 46 and realized that I was a witch! I call it my great epiphany.

That really is what happened. I woke up one morning and was lying in bed thinking about the direction of my life, trying to avoid getting up, when this thought, this realization hit me like a ton of bricks! I was a witch! My heart began to race, and I told myself I was being overly dramatic, but this very insistent thought kept screaming out in my mind, " YOU ARE A WITCH". Then I began to think back over my life, and all of the things I had done to that point, and realized that I had been on the path to witchcraft my entire life, but never until that very moment did I even realize it. I really was a witch! But how could I be a witch? I knew nothing about being a witch! Don't you have to belong to a coven or have a high priestess do some kind of ritual and officially give you the title of witch or something? I mean, how can you just BE a witch? I was raised Christian, but I didn't consider myself to be a Christian, or anything else, for that matter. I have always been deeply spiritual, but in all honesty, not particularly religious. I knew a girl once who was Wiccan, but I had no idea what that really meant. So, I did the only thing I knew to do......I Googled it!

Being the obsessive-compulsive person that I can sometimes be, I quickly found myself immersed in information about The Craft, Wicca, Paganism, Druidry, and everything else even remotely related to the subject of witchcraft. The more I read, the more I realized I didn't know! The more I read, the more convinced I became that witchcraft really was my true calling. So,now what?

I live in a relatively small town in the Southern United States. It is directly in the middle of what is known as "The Bible Belt". My town is home to one of the largest Evangelical Universities in the US. The people here have certain opinions and ideas of how one should live. Everything revolves around Christianity. My family, my husband's family......all Christian. Being a witch was not going to be easy in this town, and for many reasons that I'm sure fellow witches can relate to, my new revelation had to be kept a secret. Now that I was aware of my newfound path, how in the world would I ever learn how to be a witch without everyone in town finding out and burning me at the stake?

I went to my Facebook account and began looking for "witchy" pages. I quickly realized that there are a lot of witches out there! I spent some time reading different pages and soaking up information like a sponge. I didn't want to belong to a coven, but how was I going to learn about witchcraft? Then I came across a page called The Kitchen Witch School of Natural Witchery. What? Witch School? Was it like Hogwarts online or something? I clicked the link and went to the school website and I immediately knew that this was my answer.

I couldn't sign up quickly enough! I began classes almost immediately! I guess I should interject here that although I knew nothing about witchcraft, energy work is a whole different ball game! I am a Reiki Master, and have been doing energy work for about 15 years. I have been doing paranormal work since I was a pre-teen....way before it was cool, I'm an ordained New Age minister, and I even created my own line of Reiki energized natural body products. I was already quite familiar with many of the aspects involved in witchcraft, which has made the learning process much easier for me.

I have especially enjoyed learning about the different deities, as well as exploring herbs and crystals. I am currently learning the proper way to cast a circle and perform a ritual, which is an area in which I have almost no experience! But The Kitchen Witch is always there to answer any questions I may have and to guide me down my path, and that gives me a certain comfort level that I would not have if I had chosen to try to learn on my own. I enjoy and very much need the guidance. I am in the Bear Clan and Tin is my advisor. She and Tansy have been incredibly helpful. Although I have not met either of them, they feel like a kind of family to me, and that is what makes a difference in my eyes. In my every day life, this part of me has to be kept secret, but with The Kitchen Witch, I can be who I am and not be judged, but instead encouraged to explore my passion. I personally need that.

I genuinely love learning about the old ways. I'm excited each time I check my email and see something new from The Kitchen Witch. It is truly a pleasure for me to do my homework. Since I knew very little about witchcraft, I opted to start with The Forest of Beginnings. If you are more than a novice, you can start with The Forest of Mystery. Either way, it's your choice. I am currently about halfway through The Forest of Beginnings and I have never felt more alive in my life! The decision to join The Kitchen Witch School was absolutely the right choice for me. I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to learn about witchcraft. I am looking forward to what the future holds for me, and very thankful to the school and its leadership team for their wisdom and guidance.

Everyone's path is different. Maybe you want to be a solitary witch like me, or maybe you want to join a coven. You may not even be sure how you want to proceed yet, and that's okay. If I could suggest anything to you at all, it would be to follow your heart and trust your intuition. I'm so thankful that mine led me to The Kitchen Witch! You never know what you can become until you try! And who knows? You may be the next Minerva McGonagall or Albus Dumbledore! Either way, hang on and enjoy the ride! I have a feeling it's going to be amazing!

1 comment:

  1. Great write up!
    Many blessings on your journey.

    Jamey

    ReplyDelete