That 'Thing' You Do

My personal 'overcoming obstacles ' altar

A couple of weeks ago I posted one of those poll question thingies on Facebook asking what tools people used in their personal devotional practice.
I wanted to see how the paradigm of liturgical practice had or was shifting in the Pagan community, and I knew that since I have a widely varied readership I could get a pretty accurate picture. Twenty-five responded to most of the questions, with 115 responses in all. It was a mixed bag and pretty hit or miss. It told me very little about who we are in concrete terms, but it did help me to get a feel for the community in general.



Here's the breakdown:

• Five said they practiced daily.
• 25 used meditation in some form in their practice.
• 23 of you meditate using Buddhist based principles.
• 21 used a combination of meditation and visualization
• 15 uses visualization alone at a different time.
• 17 chant, using God/dess names;4 chanted the Om
• 13 of you used drums while chanting,2 used other percussion instruments
• 7 of you used brass singing bowls, I used finger symbols
• 2 used an unspecified type of glossolalia.
• 12 used some for of singing.
• Candle magick was the most popular form of spell casting among all the respondents.
• 3 used astral projection
• 3 used reiki
• 3 used scrying
• 9 said they had formal Grimories.
• 5 said they kept a journal which was not specifically considered a grimorie.
• 17 had ritual blades
• 22 had altars, dedicated altars or shrines in their homes. 

 Not surprising, although I do wonder if this means that tools aren't used in daily devotion, or if they were reserved for more formal occasions... or tools aren't being used at all. Difficult to tell and this might require another question/poll in depth specifically targeted to that subject.

Some surprises: No one checked the box for using incense, no one said they used tarot cards or other means of divination; no one used dance. Personally, I love incense because it helps set the mood for me, I realize many have allergies or live in places where the practice is forbidden. Truthfully, I can't imagine none of the above using tarot cards or some sort of symbol system for divination, because I happen to know at least three who specifically do use cards in their practice. Absolutely no one admitted that they used dance, and again, I know of a couple who have incorporated movement into their practice, so I think the subject needs exploration

No one admitted to using bi-location, which is not surprising. Only two said they drew upon Universal Energy ( Little  wonder we are tired and so many have been  sick!) Four said they got positive results from what they did well, but didn't specify if that was a specific act of worship or ritual. Four said they helped others, two said they did it for free, which I take to mean not accepting money or barter for services.

So out of this what I got was that the overview was of a group which was generally, yet non-specifically spiritual, who chanted and drummed and used  candle magick ( or folk magick) along with occasionally using specific methods.  We seem to be a group of hedge witches, witches or shaman. Some of us are initiated in at least one formal tradition, although we prefer not to label ourselves. Even thought none of us seem to believe in 'anything goes', I still suspect this means we like to keep our options open...I know I do.

I'm still interested in what we do and gravitate to,what or whom resonate within our souls, what touches us and inspires us; what we use as tools, how we dress, what we do in ritual- because all of that helps to define us as a faith tradition and as a community.

I'd like to see how diverse we are as a group: so far there are a few who practice Wicca, a Chaos magician,a Native American, a Hoodoo practitioner, a couple Buddhists and a Celtic re-constructionist or two, a Warlock, and at least two necromancers- and a dark faery.  I believe we're eclectic, but that our worship has form, and I'm interested in knowing more about you...so if you're inclined, write a little something in the comments section...I'm not asking you to give away any secrets, just to make general comments.

Everyone can participate and no judgments will be made, I'm just collecting background material that will help me write better  blog articles...and yeah, I'm finally getting serious about working on the book I've been writing for the last few years.( Thank you, Christian, for the encouragement!) Knowing more about you will help me keep the manuscript in sync with readership.I actually have it about half finished, and it will include the two copyrighted sections I posted back in December as a section of the book The working title of the book is  A Year And A Day.