Join us in the dark time of the year through to SpiritSong (Feb 15) join us in a community-supported exercise in daily practice.

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Reasons & Intent

Why is this being offered?

To say that the world is hard right now is a grievous understatement. It’s been this way for a very long time, truthfully, and many of us are understandably exhausted. When we’re so weary and the climate is so tumultuous, it’s natural to feel as though we’re being tossed about in a storm without anchor or rudder. 

When the external world no longer offers a solid foundation, it’s a time to reconnect to both ourselves and one another. We look to our values, our stories, our loved ones – all those things that remind us of who we are and what’s important to us. 

A daily spiritual practice can help with that. It’s a way to remind ourselves of what we live for and to search for that answer if we’ve forgotten or lost it. If we root ourselves in our own spirit then we can maintain our open hearts and our connections without getting lost in the tumult.

It’s personal work, for sure, but that doesn’t mean that we have to go about it alone. When one of the things most important to us is community, healing and security won’t be found in isolation.

As to intent, try to think of this as an opportunity rather than a challenge.

Regular spiritual practice can contribute many things to your life – stress should never be one of them. That’s not to say that challenge and even stress won’t make an appearance in your life and even your spiritual or occult practice overall, but there’s no need to pile on!

When setting your intent, focus on your purpose but try your best to avoid expectations. Intentions help us to keep our actions aligned with our goals and redirect us in the present, encouraging embodiment in the present. Think of intentions as goals that align your desires and values. They help us know how to act without necessarily dictating what we must do.

Expectations are stricter, being an attachment to a rigidly defined result. The assumptions we make and sense of anticipation that arises from our expectations can have us so focused on what “must” be that we lose sight of our experience in the moment. 

This is an opportunity for growth and focusing on what’s important to us. Give yourself permission to take it day by day.

Through doing this, we ultimately hope to help us all go forth back into the blooming world, renewed by the bonds of our Fellowship. 

Out of the Flames, Into the Light.

Tous kya te.

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Format

Keep it flexible!

As stated above – this is ultimately personal work. While doing it, though, we can still support one another and be supported in turn.

Because of that, there isn’t any sort of strict format. We’ve laid out suggested themes or concepts to consider on each day of the week, loosely tied to the heavenly body usually associated with that day.

If you miss a day, or a few, that’s nothing to be ashamed of or worried about! If one day involves 20 minutes of ritual and contemplation and the next 3 are just closing your eyes and breathing in your intent once before bed, that counts! Be gentle with yourself. Rigidity doesn’t breed resilience – adaptability does. Let your intent be about the outcome – not the metrics.

At its core, this is meant to be a chance to check in on ourselves at least once a day. That could be accomplished through prayer, journaling, meditation, or any number of other methods and tools. Try not to constantly switch it up – this is meant to provide a sense of continuity that will eventually become comfort and familiarity. Repetition helps the thing to become easier in the future.

Do this in your way, as time allows.

Our practice and contemplation will be done in our own time. If you wish to partner up with someone to practice with, though, that’s fine! Perhaps someone else on the Discord channel would be open to partnering up.

If you’d like to have a calendar to remind you of the theme for a particular day, I’ve made one that you can subscribe to here.

We’ll have a couple of different ways to stay in touch with each other.

Within the first few days after ShadowDance we’ll open a new channel on Discord for people to check in, share thoughts and experiences if desired, ask questions, and just generally provide some small sense of community as we all do our own small practice each day. 

There’s no requirement to participate, but if you’d like to, just join our Discord!

Once a week, Rev. Briar will host a group discussion in Discord that can be joined via text, audio, and/or video so that we can chat about how we’re all doing and share any experiences, thoughts, or questions that we wish.

That’s it!

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Tips & Tricks

If you don’t know where to start, try this out:

• Take a few minutes to yourself. Some days may be shorter and some longer – that’s okay.
• Say a prayer to a deity of your choosing, an ancestor, spirit, or just recite an inspiring poem. You could even play a meaningful song. If you’re interested in praying to the divinities of our tradition, you’ll find some examples below. 
• If possible, do something special to signify to yourself that this is a special moment that you’re taking for yourself and your spirit. Light a candle or some incense, sit in a certain posture, wear a specific shawl or scarf, or just hold onto a special token like a stone or pendant. Or anything else that feels appropriate to you – but do something that helps you reify that this is a special moment devoted to your spirit.
• Think a bit on the theme and/or intent for that day. This can be as long or short as possible, but please do give the concept at least a moment’s consideration.
• If time and energy allows, write down any thoughts you’ve had. 

Or just do the Fellowship’s Daily Devotion!

You can find that on the website here.

Set reminders and, if desired, track your progress.

You could use a calendar, pen and paper, the Discord channel, or any number of other methods to keep track of your journey. There are a number of quality mobile apps that can help! Try searching your phone’s app store for tasklist, habit building, or routine building apps. Ask in the Discord channel for specific recommendations!

Pair this up with something else you do every day.

If you have a daily routine or task that you feel could help, then combine it with this spiritual reflection for ease.

Most importantly, be gentle with yourself.

This can’t really be overstated; spiritual practice like this is meant to add peace and reflection into your life – not stress or self-criticism. Focus on intention and try to set aside expectations. You’re not hurting anything by missing some days. 

Prayer Examples

These are simply modified from the text on our available prayer cards – use these directly, as inspiration, or truncate them if they’re longer than desired. Or write your own, or omit the prayer altogether and focus on the theme reflection.

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Contact