Deborah Blake - The Goddess is in the Details: Wisdom for the Everyday Witch

John Mazarak

About the Author

Deborah Blake is a Wiccan high priestess who has been leading an Eclectic group, Blue Moon Circle, since Beltane 2004. She is the author of Circle, Coven & Grove: A Year of Magickal Practice (Llewellyn, 2007) and Everyday Witch A to Z (Llewellyn, 2008), and she has written a number of articles for Pagan publications, including Llewellyns 2008 Witches Companion .

Deborah was also a finalist in the Pagan Fiction Award Contest, and her short story, Dead and (Mostly) Gone, is included in The Pagan Anthology of Short Fiction : 13 Prize Winning Tales (Llewellyn, 2008). She is currently working on her fourth book for Llewellyn, as well as a novel featuring, naturally, a Witch.

When not writing, Deborah manages the Artisans Guild, a cooperative shop she founded with a friend in 1999, and works as a jewelry maker, tarot reader, ordained minister, and intuitive energy healer. She lives in a 100-year-old farmhouse in rural upstate New York with five cats who supervise all her activities, both magickal and mundane.

Llewellyn Publications

Woodbury, Minnesota

Copyright Information

The Goddess is in the Details: Wisdom for the Everyday Witc h 2009 by Deborah Blake.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any matter whatsoever, including Internet usage, without written permission from Llewellyn Publications, except in the form of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

As the purchaser of this e-book, you are granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on screen. The text may not be otherwise reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, or recorded on any other storage device in any form or by any means.

Any unauthorized usage of the text without express written permission of the publisher is a violation of the authors copyright and is illegal and punishable by law.

First e-book edition 2012

E-book ISBN: 9780738722597

Book design by Rebecca Zins

Cover design by Ellen R. Dahl

Cover and part page illustration by Fiona King

Llewellyn Publications is an imprint of Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

Llewellyn Publications does not participate in, endorse, or have any authority or responsibility concerning private business arrangements between our authors and the public.

Any Internet references contained in this work are current at publication time, but the publisher cannot guarantee that a specific reference will continue or be maintained. Please refer to the publishers website for links to current author websites.

Llewellyn Publications

Llewellyn Worldwide Ltd.

2143 Wooddale Drive

Woodbury, MN 55125

www.llewellyn.com

Manufactured in the United States of America

Contents

part one:
The Everyday Witch

: So Youre a WitchNow What? Going Beyond the Basics

: The Seven Beliefs at the Heart of Being a Witch

: The Power of Words and BeliefHow to Bring About Positive Change

part two:
The Inner Witch

Integrating Your Spiritual Beliefs
into Your Everyday Life

: The Healthy Witch

: Mindful Eating

: Dealing with CrisisHow Does Being a Witch Help When Things Go Wrong?

part three:
The Outer Witch

The Pagan Household

: Altars, Circles, and Other Places of Worship

: Sharing Your Space with Non-Pagans

: Housecleaning and Spiritual Cleansing

: When Youre Still in the Broom ClosetSetting Up Undercover Pagan Space

part four:
The Social Witch

Where Do We Come From
and Where Are We Going?

: Sex and the Single Witch

: The Witch and Marriage

: Raising Pagan Children

: Interacting with Others at Work and at PlayIssues of Prejudice and Tolerance

: Out of the Broom ClosetWhom to Tell and When

: Representing Pagans in the Outside World

part five:
The Practicing Witch

The Essence of Being a Witch 1

: The Solitary Witch

: The Group WitchCircle, Coven, or Grove?

: Celebrating the Journey of Life Through RitualDaily, Monthly & Yearly

: Rites of PassageBirth, Coming of Age, Marriage, Eldering, and Passing Over

: FamiliarsWhen a Pet Is Not Just a Pet

part six:
The Natural Witch

The Importance of Maintaining
a Connection to Mother Earth

: The Witchs Garden

: Country Witch/City Witch

: Sacred Space Everywhere

Resources and
Recommended Reading

Dedication

As always, to the women of Blue Moon Circle: you are the earth that supports me, the air that I breathe, the water that sustains me, and the fire that lights my way. Without you, my life would be a poorer place (and these books would be much shorter).

And many thanks to my borrowed husbands for all the assists with fences, lamps, garden beds, and the rest. I hope that someday I will find a guy of my own who is as great as all of you. In the meantime, if you could just come over for an hour next Saturday

To my family, who accept me as I am no matter how strange a road I walk. And especially the two who have chosen to walk the path a little ways with meJenn and Addy. I could think of no one with whom I would rather share the journey.

To the worlds best editors: Elysia Gallo and Rebecca Zins. Thanks for always making me look good and for being such a pleasure to work with. You are truly a gift from the gods.

And most of all, to my readers. There is no greater satisfaction for a writer than to have someone say, I read your book and I really loved it. Thanks to all those who have reached out to tell me how much my work has touched their lives, to those who have recommended my books to others, and to all those Witches who kindly said, I cant wait to read the next one.

Here it is. Many bright blessings to you all.

Introduction

There are many books out there for the Witch who is just starting out. Lovingly (or not so lovingly) referred to by many of us as Wicca 101 books, they instruct those who are new to the Craft in the basics of magickal practice, which tools to use, and how to cast spells.

This is not one of those books.

Sorry.

That is not to say that this book wont be of some use to you if you are a beginning Witch. It is my hope that the topics I cover within these pages will help all those who follow the Old Ways, whether they have been practicing for a month or for twenty years.

But in truth, this book was written primarily with more experienced Witches in mind. There are a few places where I cover the basics, of course, primarily as a refresher or to make sure that we are all on the same page. But if you need to know how to pronounce athame or perform a simple quarter call, you need a different book.

So, you might ask, who is this book for?

It is for any Witch who has mastered the fundamentals and longs to go deeper. It is for the Pagan who has been on his or her path for a while and feels like something is missingbut doesnt quite know what. And it is for anyone who believes that being a Witch is less about what color candle you light than about how you live your life every day.

Some of us may reach this point after a few weeks of practice; for others, it may take years. But if you are searching for ways to integrate your spiritual beliefs as a Pagan with your everyday life, then this book is for you.