A Witch's Book of Answers - II
©Cerelia and Eileen Holland, All Rights Reserved

This book is based on questions that have been asked on the OpenSesame e-list
over the years, and our responses to those many questions.
Here are some of the questions and answers from the book. This material come from our manuscript. It's pre-copy-edited (is that a word?), so there may be some differences between this and the published version. - Cerelia & Eileen

WHAT IS MEDITATION?
    We have to learn to look within ourselves, to learn to not always be looking outside for everything. That is what meditation is, looking within, and listening to the truths that lie buried within us. - Cerelia
    If you can hush your thoughts, find your way to a spiritual silence, and listen with your whole self, you can hear the Universe singing. You hear it with your mind, rather than your ears. I think of that music as the lullaby of the Goddess. It's as comforting as womb music. - Eileen
    Meditation comes in many different forms. If you do not do it the way an authority on the subject does it, but it works for you, it doesn't matter. Meditation is relaxing the body and mind. Because your thoughts seem to get in the way, it takes practice to calm them down. Alan Watts said, "You are your own Master. We all possess a higher self deep within us that's infinite, that's one with the All." - Cerelia

WHY DO WITCHES MEDITATE?
    Not only does meditation relax, it teaches the art of concentration and focus. It is a true way to "know yourself", your real self. Meditation is an art. It is a spiritual journey in itself, not just something to relax by... although if that is all you want out of it, that is fine. Meditation can, when done properly, alter your state of consciousness and bring about 'changing your consciousness', which is exactly what magic and being a Witch is all about. Meditation comes easily for some Witches, while others have to practice it faithfully. It just takes practice, and patience. - Cerelia
    One of the reasons that so many Witches meditate is because of the mental discipline that meditation teaches. Another reason is because we can get answers to our questions through meditation. Meditation is helpful with making decisions, such as choosing a new career path. Many Witches find meditation helpful when they face a crossed condition in their lives. Others prefer turning to the Goddess, or to take action and cast an uncrossing spell. You are the only one who can decide what action is best for you, in your situation. Adversity helps us to grow in our path, and learn what we are meant to learn in this lifetime. Meditation helps us to discover the meaning in our suffering. That sounds grim, but its actually a joyous process. Try meditation and divination when you seek an answer to a question. Remember that answers often seem to come when you stop consciously thinking about something, and allow your higher mind to handle it. - Eileen

HOW DOES ONE MEDITATE?
    Meditation can be quite simple. Many books have been written which can help you through the problems that may arise. There are different theories about meditation, and different ways to get to the same place. A lot of us meditate in our own ways all the time, and don't even realize it. The amount of books out there on the subject make many people feel that meditation is something that is very hard to attain, but it isn't. To become one completely within yourself isn't easy, but we don't have to be meditative gurus to have success with meditation. Meditation is called by many other names now. This is helping it to become more acceptable, or less intimidating to Westerners. We do not have to devote our whole lives to meditation, as some have. We can integrate meditation into our everyday lives.

Exercise #1
    Don't fight the thoughts that come when you try to meditate. Go with them, and see where they lead you. Learn to find your higher self, which will show itself with practice. Start simply, such as while taking a warm bath. Let your thoughts come and go. To be good at meditation takes practice, if it doesn't come naturally.
Exercise #2
    Find a quiet place that you are very comfortable in. Take deep breaths, clear your head, and relax as much as you can. Find a mantra or chant or phrase that hold special meaning to you... Anything, such as, "in perfect love and perfect trust". Whatever you feel connected to. Start breathing through your nose and repeat this phrase over and over. You don't have to shout it, just whisper it, or repeat it in your mind. Follow your breath as it goes through your nose and out. Being aware of your breath is a good way to distract your thoughts. You don't have to do this, but it is a good way to help calm the thoughts zipping through your head, because you are concentrating on your breathing.
    I suggest that after you become more into meditation, you learn some simple breathing techniques that are shared in many of the good books on meditation. Practice your breathing for about five minutes, each day. Notice how much calmer and more relaxed you feel. Of course you could spend years practicing meditation to perfection, but this is a simple way to accomplish something which most people think they cannot do. Get a couple of simple books to teach yourself about breath control. Meditation is not as hard and impossible as many are made to feel. It can be done quite simply. Those who feel a passion for meditation can go on, can study and perfect it for years. The choice is yours. - Cerelia
     I wouldn't say there is any one correct way to meditate, there's whatever works for you. Everyone meditates differently, in whatever way works best for them. Generally, meditation means getting comfortable in a quiet place where you will not be interrupted, and freeing your mind to go where it will. It's important to be relaxed and uninterrupted, so meditation is best done in solitude, wearing something comfortable. Some Witches like to use a candle, scent, music, an image or other focal point, to help them concentrate. Other Witches like to burn incense while they meditate, while others prefer soft music, or candlelight, or even to be outdoors surrounded by Mother Nature's sounds and scents. We're all different. Experiment until you find what works for you. The bathtub and your own bed, just before you sleep, are good starting places if you don't have a natural setting you can be alone in. - Eileen

HOW DO YOU LEARN TO ALTER YOUR CONSCIOUSNESS?
    Yoga is one way. So is a good Coven, if you are able to find one, as is a drumming group, if you have one to to work with. Read everything that you can get your hands on that opens your mind to all the possibilities. Otherwise, you can alter your consciousness the good old fashioned way, by working on your own. Discipline is very difficult when you work alone, but with the right attitude and endurance, you can learn to do it even if you are a solitary practitioner. - Cerelia

HOW DO WITCHES DEAL WITH PROBLEMS?
     We find strength within the Craft. A lot of Witches have very stressful lives, for one reason or another. Maybe this is the way it is supposed to be. Our lives are full of turmoil and problems so that we learn to deal with them, and change for the better. If we didn't have the challenges, perhaps we wouldn't have looked for a spiritual path. Witches look for ways to overcome our problems, and make whatever changes we need to make in our lives. We are being led back to the Craft. One way to look at it, though it is very hard to do this, is that some of our greatest problems and most devastating challenges in life, are blessings. They are gifts, without which we wouldn't learn all the many lessons we have yet to experience. - Cerelia
     There is great truth in these wise words. The Goddess tempers her priest/esses. She gives us challenges to make us strong enough for her service. How we react to the things we face is what determines who we are: how much backbone we've got, and how deep our spirituality runs. Witchcraft definitely isn't for wimps and whiners. Finding the blessing in a tragedy is a sacred task, as is finding meaning in difficult circumstances. - Eileen

I TRY TO BE POSITIVE, EVEN WHEN BAD THINGS HAPPEN, BUT I DONíT ALWAYS SUCCEED. CAN THIS CREATE BAD KARMA?
     We are only human. We don't always have perfect positive thoughts. We get depressed, angry, hurt, and sad, just as anyone else does. The trick is realizing when these thoughts invade, and quickly dismissing them for more positive ones. It then gets easier to think positively, rather than negatively.
 Usually, after much practice, as soon as that negative thought creeps in, a better solution or positive thought is quickly provided, as quickly as the negative thought came. I believe that thoughts, good or bad, affect us personally, as to what energies we attract or repel. Our thoughts are magic. As long as we acknowledge them, and do not act on the bad impulses, I don't believe our karma is affected. In fact, the realization that we are working through our darker side is very important to us as Witches. We don't deny our darker side. It is part of us, but we are learning to balance all thoughts and actions in our lives. That is very good karma. - Cerelia

HOW CAN I HELP MYSELF, WHEN I HAVE SO MANY PROBLEMS?
     There are many ways that any and all of us can help ourselves, by volunteering: teach someone to read, tutor kids after school, help out in a soup kitchen, visit elderly people who can't get out, and so on. If you live in an urban area with social problems, contact local hospitals and see what kind of help they need. Babies cannot develop properly without loving physical contact, so it's a wonderful thing when volunteers can donate regular time to hold sick, addicted, or abandoned babies in hospital nurseries. The people who hold the babies get even more out of the experience than the babies do. This can even be extremely therapeutic for people with mild to moderate depression. - Eileen

WHAT ARE THE ETHICS OF WITCHCRAFT?
     When you say, "An it harm none", that is exactly what it means in your work. It is important to say this, because you are therefore asking for an outcome that will not harm anyone. If you ask that no one gets harmed in the process, you are stating that your intention must be granted only under these terms. If it is not possible that no one gets harmed, then it will not be a fulfilled spell. With practice, you will get in the habit of saying "harm to none" readily. I think of my family especially, and do not want them to come to any harm because of a spell I might cast. This fact alone may make you very careful of always saying it. If you forget, just say it out loud afterwards and visualize harm coming to no one. - Cerelia
     A basic rule of Witchcraft, for me as a Wiccan, is that I cast spells for people and not on them. Unless there are very special circumstances, I never cast spells for anyone without their permission. Interfering with someone else's karma affects your karma too. This might be something you have to straighten out with that person in your next lifetime. Remember what you learned in Physics: for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. Magic is the manipulation of energy, so this definitely applies. - Eileen

WHY DO I HAVE TO SAY 'WITH HARM TO NONE'?
     For one thing, "with harm to none" protects anyone who may get in the path of one of your spells, even your own family members. This is very necessary, to me. - Cerelia

HOW DOES A WITCH KNOW IF THE GOOD THEY ARE DOING IS ACTUALLY GOOD FOR EVERYONE ELSE?
     Sometimes you don't. That is why magic should be taken very seriously and used sparingly. - Cerelia

WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE LAW OF THREE?
     The most important thing to know about the Law of Three is that it relates to everything we say and do (or do not do), not just casting spells. Just as what goes up must come down, what we put forth must come back to us. Witches and different magical traditions quibble about how many times the return is (threefold, tenfold, or samefold), but I don't think anyone can deny that what goes around, comes around. Put forth positivity, and you get back blessings. - Eileen

I FEEL THAT YOU CAN ONLY 'DO AS YOU WILL AND HARM NONE' UNTIL YOU GET PUSHED TOO FAR. DO YOU AGREE?
    How far is too far? What would have to be done to any of us to justify harming someone else? Is murder justified if someone you love is murdered? Will the law agree with you that you were just pushed too far? I doubt it. I know that I would do just about anything to protect my family or myself from physical harm, or from extreme mental harm. Yes, I would even kill someone if it were in self-defense, but your question relates to magic.
     We should always try first to get help from the proper authorities, before depending on spells to physically protect us from extreme danger and life-threatening situations. If we truly believe in the threefold law when it comes to our spells and such, we never ask for someone to be killed. Instead, we ask that they be bound, caught, arrested, and put away for a very long time. We also remember that in asking for someone else to be harmed, it can come back not only on us, but to on any member of our family, or on someone we love. If we truly believe in the threefold law, are we willing to take that risk?
     These are questions are tough ones that you have to answer for yourself. The Threefold Law sounds so simple, but no one ever said the threefold law was easy. It's a lot harder to abide by than one may think, especially if you think all your problems can be solved by magically harming someone. Save these kind of decisions for the big things in life. We shouldn't have too many of these kinds of decisions to make, if we reserve this kind of magic for life and death situations. - Cerelia

DO PEOPLE ALWAYS GET WHAT'S COMING TO THEM?
     Yes. This is physics as well as metaphysics, in my view. - Eileen

IS IT ETHICAL TO DO SPELLS FOR YOURSELF?
     I think the hardest thing to change in our minds when coming to the Craft is feeling that we are greedy when we ask for what we or our family need. This is really what the Craft means to me, making a better life for my family, myself, and anyone else I can help along the way.
     I believe this feeling goes back to our upbringing, because we were told that we were not worthy unless a god tells us we are. We dare not ask for anything, only he will give it to us when he deems us worthy. This is a hard idea to get rid of, when most Witches have heard it all their lives.
 Don't be afraid to ask for what you think is good and wonderful for you and your family. You are just as entitled as anyone else. Working through your spells and rituals, in a responsible and loving way, is how you draw all the good things in life to yourself and those you love. There is not a thing wrong with that, but if you start wanting everything in sight, and don't care if anyone gets harmed in the process, that's when you start running into problems. - Cerelia

ISN'T IT WRONG FOR WICCANS TO USE MAGIC FOR PERSONAL GAIN, OR TO BANISH SOMEONE?
     There is nothing wrong with personal gain, so long as it isn't our sole focus, and we don't seek to harm anyone else in our efforts to help ourselves. There are situations in which it is very necessary to banish certain people from our lives. You can banish someone without harming them. - Eileen

WHAT CAN HAPPEN IF YOU FORGET TO SAY 'WITH HARM TO NONE'?
     A good example would be casting a prosperity spell, then having a loved one die and leave you money in their Will. You may or may not have caused the death with your spell, but if you had added 'with harm to none' it wouldn't be something you'd have to wonder about. - Eileen

CAN YOU EXPERIENCE THE MOTHER PHASE WITHOUT HAVING CHILDREN, OR DO YOU SKIP IT, AND GO STRAIGHT FROM MAIDEN TO CRONE?
     I think the Mother phase can be experienced without having a child personally. It may be as a teacher and her class, or with neighborhood children, or with your sister's or brother's kids. It could also be experienced by working for different causes that affect children.
 There are lots of different ways of looking at this, as far as how the mothering phase might be experienced. So, just because you may not have children, it does not mean you will not still learn many of the lessons of the Mother phase. Don't be in a hurry to just get to the Crone. Getting there is half the fun, whether you have children or not. - Cerelia
     Lives are so much longer now. Someone (not me) has wisely suggested a new ordering of life stages for women: Maiden, Nomad, Mother, Crone. Other Witches would replace Nomad or Mother with Warrior, but I like the addition of a Nomad phase because that mirrors my own life experience.
 The Mother phase can be about more than parenting, nurturing, or mentoring. You can give birth to a book, or a business, or a Coven ... to many things. - Eileen

DO YOU HAVE TO BE OUTDOORS TO WORK WITH THE MOON?
     I love working with the Moon, and can't imagine working without it. This doesn't mean that I have to work outside, though. I know when the Moon is Full or New by being consciously aware of it all the time; and of course I have my calendar. - Cerelia

CAN YOU WORK WITH THE MOON IF YOU CANNOT SEE IT?
     I'm an urban Witch, and can't see the Moon from my windows either. I use a calendar to follow its stages, and that works just fine for me. - Eileen
     I have the advantage of seeing the Moon most of the time, but some Witches do not. Don't feel you have to physically see the Moon to work with it. Your calendar should have the Full Moon and New Moon on it. Just follow that, and know that it is correct on the calendar. The Moon is still there, whether you can see it or not... and its powers are always there. - Cerelia

WHAT IS A BLUE MOON?
     A Blue Moon is the second Full Moon in one calendar month. Many Witches consider it an especially magical night. - Eileen
     Since this Moon-month has not survived in the solar calendar which we now use, there is no corresponding name. However, all cultures which used a lunar calendar had a Blue Moon, or thirteenth month. Some considered this time to be only a few days long. For others, it covered an entire twenty nine days. Some cultures gave this month a name, but others considered it a dread or especially holy time that was too sacred to name. The second of two Full Moons in one month is also called a Blue Moon. - Cerelia

WHAT KIND OF SPELLS SHOULD WE CAST WHEN THERE IS A BLUE MOON?
     Blue moons are great for wish spells, but remember to be careful about what you wish for. It's a  good idea to think a wish through before making it, to follow all the threads of its possible consequences, and to word it very carefully.  - Eileen