Let’s talk about gratitude magic, you probably haven’t heard of it before. That’s because it is a practice I started to help me through some of the most challenging times of my life.
We have all had those times, it really is part of the human condition to feel alone and like we have veered off of our spiritual path. We know our guides are there, it’s just that we are processing big things and cannot still our mind long enough to hear them.
During what I have re-named “My Phoenix Fire” I could not hear or feel my spirit guides around me, I was exhausted from the day to day battles I was facing in my life.
My guides had not abandoned me …
it was that my fear was so thick I could not see through it
I was having what poets call a Dark night of the Soul
At times when the very human emotions we have get in the way, we can feel disconnected from our spirituality, misunderstood by our friends and like the odds are stacked against us. Sorrow and fear wrapped around me like a storm, I could not see past it.
I had a regular spiritual practice, during my Phoenix Fire I didn’t have the energy to do it. And I missed my practice. I love reading tarot, connecting with spirit, channelling messages. My practice was a big part of my identity and my life. I wanted ritual in my life again. I needed it to be easy and supportive, something that would fill my cup.
I had learned from traditional therapy (because I have gone many times in my life, including during the Phoenix Fire) that a gratitude journal is a great tool in times of sorrow, it can help re-focus our minds on the helpful and nurturing parts of our lives.
So, I created a ritual out of idea of a gratitude journal.
It to be 2 things
- Simple – because I was often exhausted
- Easy – so that I didn’t talk my self into skipping it
I decided to do a small burning ceremony once a week.
I would put my blend of burning herbs in a shell and give the smoke as an offering to all my spirit helpers. Who I knew in my heart of hearts were helping me.
I would go into my back porch every Sunday, get as grounded as I could and thank my spirit helpers, my ancestors, and my patron Goddesses. I would offer the smoke to them as an offering.
It was simple and took only about 10 minutes.
I do feel like my Gratitude Ritual helped me heal and stay grounded in the truth that I was surviving the Phoenix Fire and that I would be ok. I wasn’t sure when I would be ok, but I started to believe I could survive it all.
These weekly Gratitude Rituals were the starting point of how I started self care routines with spell craft. Ritual baths crafted to support my healing journey became a thing. These small practices were the start of my soap company “Sprite Made Soaps” where I incorporated spell work into soap and bath salts.
I love combining the modern self care practises from my therapy sessions with ritual practices.
I think of it as Soul Care.
It has shaped my practice into what it is today. Small easy intentional work that makes big impacts on my well being. I share this all with you in today’s episode with the hope of helping you on your healing path. Things don’t have to big big and complicated to be effective.
Now that I am more resourced and have rebuilt my life post Phoenix Fire, I will do elaborate rituals. Because I enjoy them, I have the emotional resources to concentrate and focus on a large spell working.
I am sharing this all with you today on the Podcast and here in the show notes because I want you to know that your practice belongs to you …. and can be shaped to fit into your life as it is today.
Our lives flow like the seasons, in and out of times that are sweet and lush as well as those that are cold and and stormy. Our spiritual practice can and should change with the seasons of our lives.
You can work with what you have, from where you are right now.
The year I started my Gratitude Rituals, I found the energy to do small wheel-of-the-year celebrations. The 1st of was a Beltane ritual. Shrunk down in scale to fit in my 650 sq foot apartment. Using candles instead of a bonfire. I’ve decided to include this mini ritual in this months Love Letter.
If your not signed up yet you can do that here Love Letter
Jodi Anne 
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