One thing that really keeps me grounded during times of change (and things have been changing a lot lately) is my daily spiritual practice. These little things that I do morning and night and throughout my day really help me to remember who I am and what’s important to me. It’s taken me a few years, however, to find the right balance of ‘staying connected’ vs. ‘getting bogged down in meaningless routines’. Because there comes a point where too much of a good thing just weighs you down, and I’ve had years where I started strong with new routines that eventually fell off as they started to become chores that I HAD to do, rather than uplifting things that I GET to do.

So what does my practice look like now?

Every morning I get up and pull a tarot card. Last year, I pulled from the Thoth Tarot because I was interested in learning that system. This year, I’m pulling from The Wildwood Tarot for the same reason. (Incidentally, I’m finding that the Thoth was a little negative, but still accurate, while the Wildwood is attuning me to a deeper spirituality.) If, for some reason, I’m unable to pull a card in the morning, I make sure to pull one in the evening when I get home and settled. Either way, it helps me to frame the day’s events into a message for my growth rather than just a collection of random happenings. I’ve been pulling a daily card off and on for several years, but I will probably continue to do it for years to come. It’s been really helpful for me.

During my day, I also wear a scent that makes me feel mystical. Scent was my first connection to my spirituality back in the day, and I remember ordering magickal oils through catalogs like Joan Teresa’s Power Products. The scents of amber, Fire of Passion oil, Black Cat oil, Satyr oil, and various others helped me feel witchy like nothing else. Now, I’m a Black Phoenix Alchemy Lab convert, and I wear a different BPAL every day, depending on my mood. It’s just another small thing that keeps me connected.

I also carry various stones with me to use as reminders of my spirituality. Right now I’m carrying an amethyst point for Hekate and a moss agate stone for Elen of the Ways. I also have a dendritic agate that goes everywhere with me for its grounding, earth-connection properties.

In the evenings, as I wind down for bed, I pray. I light a separate incense stick for each of my deities and thank them for my blessings. I then ask them for anything I may need from them, mostly protecting the feral cats in our neighborhood, and I go to sleep as the incense burns down.

Things I try to do but it’s hit or miss:

• Keep a dream journal. Sometimes I just don’t have time in the morning to write down my dreams. But I try to remember them for the evenings, and I usually forget. Oh well. At least I spend some time examining them in the shower or on the drive to work.
• An Art A Day. I had the best of intentions this year of doing an art a day, with the idea that I would work in my art journal every single day. I may start a new piece, I may finish a new piece, or I may just doodle something, but the idea was to work in it every day- even if I just drew a line. I wish I had the energy to keep up with this, I really do. But I’ve missed the past few days, and I think the art journal will be something I just work in when I have the time and energy now. I’m not going to beat myself up about it.

Monthly Routines:

• On the new moons, I set intentions. I write them in my journal and I’ll be honest. I usually forget about them. But when I go back on the full moons to examine my intentions again, I usually find out that I’ve kept up with them because that was just the direction that my life was going anyways.
• Also on the new moons, I keep the Deipnon for Hekate. I usually don’t offer food, instead offering candles and a small ritual including poetry I wrote and more incense. I give thanks for her presence in my life.
• Also also on the new moons, a friend and I have started a book club. It’s just the two of us so far, but it’s been fun reading together with someone else. The new moon is when we get together to talk about the books.
• On the full moons, I do something similar to my Deipnon practice, but for Elen of the Ways. I make offerings of candles, poetry, and lots of incense and thank her for her presence in my life.
• Also on the full moons, I examine my new moon intentions, and write about how they’ve gone in my journal.

So that’s mostly it. Those are the practices that I am able to keep up with, and the two that I wish I could keep up with. I strongly believe that a ritualized life is a meaningful life, and I find that these little rituals help to make me ME.

Do you have daily rituals that you follow? What do you do regularly to honor your spiritual practice? Let me know in the comments, and blessed be! <3