šŸ‘£ Weekly Witchy CHALLENGE - Your Magickal Roots

Hi :raising_hand_woman:
I too was listening to Round the Cauldron Iā€™m pretty sure it was her that said it helps to figure out where and who your ancestors were. I just took a DNA sample and figured what my DNA says about me. I would really like to dive inn a little deeper by figuring out who exactly they were. (Like specific people) Anyway, It helped a lot. It gave me more of a identity as appose to where I am from.Knowing where I came from! I wondered if that was why I was drawn to the Celtic practice because it was the first book I found on the subject of Witchcraft. Most of my descendants are Celtic Vikings & the Germanic Anglo Saxon. But still I am still working with different possibilities and want to keep my practice open. I heard itā€™s good to start with the Wiccan cause Gerrrald Gardner used a lot of different practices and I can appreciate that! Canā€™t wait to hear about everyone! This is important and glad we are working on this challenge.
Thanks so much
Jeannie
Blessed be

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:sweat_smile: I donā€™t remember what episode that was, but that sounds like something I would say if someone doesnā€™t know where to start!

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Iā€™m looking forward to seeing what your creative mind comes up with, @Christina4! Enjoy! :blush:

That is so cool- Iā€™ve always wanted to try the DNA sample test, @Jeannie1! :star_struck: It sounds like you were able to unearth your heritage and trace back your family to certain regions. That is so exciting! Congrats to you on your discovery :heart:

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A post was split to a new topic: My Magickal Journey - Witchy Roots Challenge :sparkles:

Good morning! I have done my DNA through Ancestry and through My Heritage. They pretty much came out the same but I traced my roots back to the Black Forest Germany & back to the Romania area of ā€œgypsyā€. I have a lot of people in my tree from there and they settled in the USA anywhere from PA to VA on my motherā€™s side. My fatherā€™s side is from Italy & Ireland mostly. If I can get a screenshot of my DNA origins I will post that in a little bit from my phone. It just looks cool how they break it down for you.

I was introduced to paganism/wicca by my stepmother. She brought it up & I was very interested & curious. My friend that lived the next town over used to practice, so I would practice with her & we got along great. Once I moved and had children of my own, I put that part of me on hold for over 20 years while I was their mother full time. I am still a full time mother but my boys are adults now. My daughter has some interest in what Iā€™m doing & likes to try it with me sometimes.

Last July I found Spells8 by accident doing a general search for witchcraft after another friend sparked the interest in me & I had started working with crystals again. Since then my practice has grown & expanded in ways that I never imagined. Without the help & support of Spells8, I donā€™t think I would have come as far as I have.

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That has always been my view! Iā€™m glad you mentioned it. For this challenge I made a video that ends with Gerald Gardner and Wicca: From Aleister Crowley to Wicca: 4 Types of Paganism

I decided not to go the DNA route because there is so much there to uncover that it feels a bit overwhelming!!

@Susurrus Thatā€™s very interesting. Have you been to Italy? I just wish international travel was safer right now so I could visit! :it:

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@Francisco I have never been overseas. I would love to visit Italy & Ireland! One day Iā€™ll get there!

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I think I knew there was always something, at the time I wasnā€™t sure what to actually call it but I just felt called to the less traveled path of things, believing in things many could not fathom or would not admit. Iā€™m an empath and been aware of this for a few years now. Until then, I was always labeled ā€œemotionalā€ or ā€œhaving anger issuesā€ā€¦lol. Being Irish and German of course I have a temper but when I realized how to ground myself and tune into what was really going on I can now manage my emotions, which back then I didnā€™t realize it wasnā€™t all my own emotions but rather my reactions to the emotions I was picking up on. Iā€™ve always been intuitive, uncanny at times in the past the things I would sense.
It was after the fake floor of my first marriage went out from under me that one day driving home from work, I stopped into a book store by my house and bought my first deck of Tarot, Raider Waite to be exact. Those cards became like a security blanket for me, I carried them with me and was just in awe of the connection I felt when using them. At a time in my life when everything I thought I knew was false, they were like a companion, my guide to the new road ahead of me. I never thought about how or why I decided to go to the book store and buy that deck that day, I donā€™t remember planning it or even speaking about wanting to learn Tarot. Itā€™s as if they called on me to find them.
Then I was a single mom to a 6 year old little boy and focused all my energy on being everything he needed me to be for him. Then a short while later we met a great guy who became everything we both needed, and with that a bit later our family of three became a family of five with the addition of two baby girls 10 months apartā€¦ :face_with_hand_over_mouth:
Another thing that put me on the path of magic was the encounters with spirits that I have had in my life, some just leaving me in amazed wonder and others making me run for my coversā€¦ :joy:
That taught me protection of not only myself and loved ones but of my home and space.
Then I moved to South Carolina, jumping completely on a leap of faith and a feeling of I had to live here, I discovered manifestation and meditation. A thought becomes a thing became my household bulletin announcement. I honestly believe that this move to South Carolina was manifested into reality after our family vacation here almost two years prior to moving. Then I began learning more and more about negative energy and vibrations, candle magic and minting doors, salt in the corners and bells on the knobs.
And Alas, I stumbled upon Spells 8 after being in another group for a year that just was not the right fit. Spells 8 has a belonging vibe for me, a kinship separated by distance but not in heart.
This is a bit of my magickal roots, I still have a lot to learn, a lot to try, and Iā€™m grateful to go through it all with each of you on my side. Ha! Iā€™m a Poet and didnā€™t know it!!!

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Francisco,
Thatā€™s Awsome, I can appreciate this opportunity to learn and put all the pieces together. I had no idea that Alestair Crowley was friends with Gerald Gardner. How his work was the exact opposite of the new testament. He was a polytheistic facet and loved the Egyptian Gods. But was fascinating that

I really resonate with being an eclectic multicultural religion because it has the blend of the eastern and western mysticism. Also interesting that in that time The Hermetic Order of The Golden Dawn was in the world. I have that book and just goes to show how much I appreciate knowledge. I love how know I can understand what was happening at that time. You think he got some ideas from The Golden Dawn in Wicca?
Jeannie
Blessed be

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Krissie,
My DNA


Thank you for sharing it looks like we both have Scottish In us. Germanic, England & Northwestern! We should see if weā€™re related! Lol :laughing:
I am so glad that you were introduced to paganism and Wicca by your stepmom she sounds like a really cool person to know. Itā€™s sad that you had to put away what you love for so long to be a full-time mom. Youā€™re a great person to be a sacrifice for the kiddos! I too feel like I had to put a lot of things on hold for my children. And by the way I donā€™t think that it was an accident that you found us.

Tamera,

Blockquote I have alot to say, you could not have worded that any better. I didnt realize that I was picking up from the negative energies in the room neither. I also didnā€™t realize that my thoughts become my actions neither. You said that you are very intuitive, and I feel the same. To many times I was being told that my intuition was wrong & I never trusted my gut because people would knock me. Goes to show how I should start trusting myself. I always ended up being right. I want to love myself to the core!! Know I am learning to love my gift. Before, no ne even would admit that we all have a intuition. Till I meet my bestie who is a witch.
You said that the tarot was like a security blanket, sometimes I cant walk out the door unless I have my tarot with me. You said its like a companion me too I am learning to be strong for myself and trust that intuition. Itā€™s a really good tool and seems like you have all the tools you need to work your magic!! I Remember that bracelet you made that was magical with the evil eye. See your helping me too and thatā€™s awesome because I really needed some protection in my family and that helped. I am glad we all have eachother!

Blessed be
Jeannie

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I understand exactly how you feel @Susurrus same here, i came across Spells8 by accident, and has been the best thing thatā€™s happened to me, spiritually. I canā€™t believe how much Iā€™ve grown and learned. Wicca has been almost my daily practice, a year in April. (June officially, where I accepted the religion in my heart)

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I finally accepted it & did my self initiation in September. Thank you everyone! I am an empath so on some level I knew that the Christian religions werenā€™t what fulfilled me.

I am the same and knowing that there were other people like me really helped once I found my way here. I feel on such a deep level and personalize other peopleā€™s feelings. So I wind up beating myself up for them or taking on their pain or their joy. I have been aware that I feel very deeply for many years, I just didnā€™t know what it was or why I couldnā€™t just turn it off like other people. I was also labeled emotional or angry or a bitch. Whatever works for people I guess.

@Jeannie1 we have some similarities! I love it! I think the DNA breakdowns are so interesting. My family tree on Ancestry has over 8100 people in it. I love to see how far back I can go with it.

As for my stepmom, we had our issues. She was my mother from the time I was about 2 years old until just after my second son turned 1 year old. She was my abuser for many years. It wasnā€™t until I had my first son that it stopped & we could talk to each other. She passed away in 2003 to pancreatic cancer. But she is the person who got me my first tumbled stones & introduced me to Tigerā€™s Eye stones & others. When I got back to my practice, I took out the stones I had from when I was a teenager & started with those.

@walter thank you also, I found Spells8 completely by accident in July when I was looking into being an empath & working with crystals & just being curious about what I was thinking & doing. It just made sense once I started going through the courses & doing things. I was like, oh, this is home!

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Beautiful story @Rowan! And I love your closing statement! I think that goes for a lot of us here! Good job!

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@Susurrus , exactly my feelings as well. Itā€™s like, oh, ok, this is where I belongā€¦

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I can especially identify with this part. That was a great story! Thanks for sharing how you heard the calling to magic. It really feels like a warm blanket sometimes.

@Jeannie1 Your results are so diverse! You have family all over the world! :laughing: :earth_africa:

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Thank you, Jeannie. Always trust in yourself, even in the hardest times. I am so glad we all have each other also. :smiling_face_with_three_hearts: And if Iā€™ve helped you then thatā€™s even better!
Blessed Be,

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Thank you Francisco!

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My Magical Roots come from love. This presentation made me think of my personal journey:

I may not know my true ancestors or relatives, but Iā€™ve always had love! So, what I did for this challenge was think long and hard. I asked my kids if they could go anywhere in the world at all, anytime at all, future or past, where would it be. Now, this is all through meditation.


Where would you go??
Who would you see???
What would you do??
Meā€¦


Iā€™d be right here loving my kids, exactly right here and now! Love is what Iā€™ve always known of my journey and is what I hope will continue.
I never got the chance to know my ancestors. My kids are fortunate enough to know their biological family. All family isā€¦is love.

Psst, and by the way, you all are family as well! I hope each of you have someone to love! Even if itā€™s a fur pet or a friend. Just know love.

As for a significant other type of loveā€¦itā€™s not for me. Iā€™ve had too many chances given out. For now, Iā€™m a single mama. I have a huge void that I need to continue to work on through self love.

Thank you all for reading this and Id like to say itā€™s great to know all of you with your unique personalities! I love you all!!

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@christina4 that is beautiful! I am so happy that you have so much love! I understand being a single mama with a void that needs to be filled. I have had that too. Iā€™m going through something right now that requires self love & Iā€™m learning to listen to myself first. I love my kids with my everything & would lay down my life to save them. I think any parent would feel that way but I would rather have the time with them now.

I consider your family as well, otherwise, I wouldnā€™t share as much about me as I do. I learn so much from each one of you & how everyoneā€™s path is different. Iā€™m learning to make it my own in my own way. I hope you reach the love you are looking for, itā€™s there. It will show itself when the time is right.

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Thank you so much!! Being a single parent teaches you alot. And I share alot here, too because I respect and appreciate you all

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