Challenge Entry ā 
A Journey of Change
For this challenge, I decided to go ahead and sort of answer the prompt questions that were included in the original challenge. This is going to be more of a āstream of consciousnessā rather than a defined comment, so I hope it makes sense as I write it.
The first question asks how I came to believe in magic and what made me decide to really jump in and begin practicing magic. And honestly? Iām not sure how to answer this question. I found Wicca when I was in my early teens and the environmental aspect of it and the Divine Feminine aspect of Wicca really called to my heart, really pulled at my heartstrings. But the magic portion of it was more about regaining personal power, especially as someone who had gone through a lot of traumatic things in childhood. Regaining my personal power was something that was obviously very appealing to me as a teenager trying to find my place in the world. Over time, itās changed. I find myself right now in a lull of practice. I am doing less and less, and my personal life is taking on more and more that sometimes it will be weeks or even months between spells and different things that Iām doing.
I think thatās a real challenge that a lot of people, myself included, really have to contend with. At my core, this is who I am and itās completely acceptable for me to go through different times in my life where I am less magical and I am more mundane. Over the course of the last several years, I have had a huge waxing period in my practice. I quit my corporate job working for a hospital in 2019 to go freelance. I started doing transcription and I found myself with a lot more free time on my hands and a lot more time to explore my personal practices and beliefs. Here I am many years later and my personal life is packed full of things. My child has extracurricular activities. She is homeschooled. I am going back to school while also working freelance full-time and there is just not enough time in the day and I feel like that has to be okay. I have found personally that when I try to imbue every single aspect of my life with a little bit of magic or spirituality sprinkled in, it actually burns me out faster because Iām trying to view everything through a specific magic lens when thatās not really what I need right now. And I know that doesnāt really make a lot of sense because I have always been a big advocate for bringing magic into your daily life in whatever way you can, but for me personally right now, thatās not really working.
If I find myself focusing too much on the magic and too much on what I can be doing, or what I āshouldā be doing with my magical practice, I get really discouraged, actually, and I start to question myself and my beliefs. Do I really believe this? Should I be doing this right now? What the heck am I even doing? And I know I canāt be alone in that and thatās part of the reason why I feel like itās necessary for me to mention that here because it is a huge shift in the way that I view the world.
And this is something that has been happening over the last several months especially. I have fallen out of practice with deity work. I donāt have an altar. I donāt pray. I donāt give offerings. I donāt have a deity that I work closely with anymore. For a while there it was Brighid, but now I am honestlyā¦sometimes feeling kind of an aversion to deity work and working with the gods. And even sometimes the idea of sitting down to meditate or sitting down to cast a spell or perform a ritual? I just canāt do it. My heartās not in it right now. And that doesnāt make me any less of a witch. It doesnāt make me any less of a magical practitioner. If anything, it very clearly shows that I am human because Iām going with my own flow and my own cycle right now. My practice and my spiritual energy are waning like no tomorrow. Even answering this question and talking about all this right now, I can feel a heaviness in my chest because Iām hesitant to talk about it because itās not something that I have even particularly acknowledged myself. I can feel the waning-ness of my practice. I can feel the heaviness of spirituality just hanging over my head right now.
And if anything, answering this prompt for this particular challenge just affirms that itās okay and nothing is wrong with me. Itās okay to experience these fallow periods in your practice. Not everybody can practice all at once. Not every second of every day needs to be filled with magic. And thatās an okay thing right now. Iām going through a period of time where Iām questioning what I believe in. Thatās also an okay thing and, if anything, I guess that is my journey through change ā constantly changing, constantly shifting, constantly moving from one energy point to another and just trying to live the best way that I can.
Challenge Entry ā 
Lunisolar Calendar and Chinese New Year
Iāve only known off-hand what my Chinese zodiac is because my family loves Chinese food 
I started with Franciscoās post here about the Chinese Zodiac and discovered that not only am I a sheep, Iām a metal sheep 
ā the keywords given in that post includeā¦
I wanted to learn a little more about being a metal sheep, so I searched online and found this.
THE METAL SHEEP 1931 AND 1991
Sheep often display a tough exterior to protect the fragile interior they are notorious for. Close friends and family of the Metal Sheep understand this is simply a front for those sensitive emotions tucked inside. Sheep can sometimes treat others the way they feel instead of the way they wish to be treated which can lead to a tendency to be overprotective and vulnerable. Metal Sheep, more than other Sheep, are culturally stimulated and hold a deep passion for the arts.
ā Goat (Sheep) - Better Chinatown USA ē¾åē¹ę¦®čÆå ēø½ę
I think this sounds a lot like me 
anyone who knows me knows that Iām a big olā softy, even if I come across as intimidating. I also enjoy the arts, though I wouldnāt say I have a passion for them. Of course, zodiacs canāt cover everything, so Iām gonna call it good!
Challenge Entry ā 
Consecration
This is another challenge that I kind of struggled with, especially given my current low period in my practice.
Since consecration is the act of making something sacred, I find myself sitting here thinking about what I find sacred in my life right now. Time is sacred because I donāt have enough of it, and this goes for my spiritual life, my religious life, my educational life, and in my life as a partner and a mother. But how do you consecrate time? How do you make time sacred?
Does the simple act of setting time aside for something make it sacred?
Is the act of time blocking on my Google Calendar, separating my day into sections, and giving each section a specific purpose, sacred? ā Is it sacred because I say it is sacred?
How do you consecrate time?
I am reminded of a poem titled Dust If You Must by Rose Milligan.
Dust if you must, but wouldnāt it be better
To paint a picture, or write a letter,
Bake a cake, or plant a seed;
Ponder the difference between want and need?Dust if you must, but thereās not much time,
With rivers to swim, and mountains to climb;
Music to hear, and books to read;
Friends to cherish, and life to lead.Dust if you must, but the worldās out there
With the sun in your eyes, and the wind in your hair;
A flutter of snow, a shower of rain,
This day will not come around again.Dust if you must, but bear in mind,
Old age will come and itās not kind.
And when you go (and go you must)
You, yourself, will make more dust.