The Importance of Regular Ritual Practice
Growing up religious, the church took up a lot of my time. Every Sunday I’d put on a floral print dress and make my way to church for a dreaded 3 hour session. It was instilled in me that taking this time and sitting through the discomfort would strengthen my spirit.
The doctrine of this church never quite aligned with me, so it never fed my soul as intended. However, as a magical practitioner I have designated days of the week to connect with my spirits. On Fridays I work with my goddesses. My altar set ups alone can be extensive and time consuming. As I drove home very tired from the day, I contemplated skipping my workings or pushing them to Saturday.
Immediately I thought, ‘No pain, no gain.’ Yes… I’m aware I probably sounded like a 20 year old gym rat right there. But there is the saying ‘magic comes with a price’ for a reason. In this case, the price was my comfort. Instead of settling in with Netflix and wine I would be arranging flowers, cleaning altars, and placing offerings.
I realized, not only was making this ‘sacrifice’ a sign of respect to my goddesses. It was also building my gnosis. One of the reasons we sit in meditation for longer than what is comfortable is we are working to strengthen our resolve. When we perform rituals regularly, we are learning to be spiritually stronger. Life is messy and unpredictable. We never know when we will need to pull from our inner reserves. Weekly practices teach us to go into that gnostic state even when it is not exactly what we want to be doing.
However, I am not endorsing practicing dangerous workings while tired. I also hold off on working with with newer spirits, as this can be a recipe for a trickster or parasitic entity entering your magical space. I’m speaking on the spirits you are very strongly connected to already.
I have also found altering rituals based on current mental band width has worked for me quite well. Example, on my ‘sleepy Friday’ I placed all my goddesses offerings and paid my respects, but I did not do extensive workings. The ritual was simplified but I still made sure to connect with that part of my spirit.
Life can get wild sometimes. We are only human, malaise or chaos can occur. These are times when it is most important to already have a strong spiritual foundation in place. Regular practice is how the foundation is laid. Yes, it can be a sacrifice. But in my own experience, my spirits have reciprocated and given me strength when I most need it.
Hail the Ancients. Happy practicing.
