I so often hear that you must dress a certain way and have certain things that must look a certain way to make things happen. In my experience, that is absolute hogwash. The only time I have seen that as being true is when the person completely believes those things are necessary If you believe you can do it yourself, you can! I personally was raised in a backwoods - rural Celtic Elemental type of magic. It was hidden through the family and of course, no one had special tools or clothes. We dressed however we felt was best for the moment and used what we found or ourselves. I was raised knowing with absolute certainty that all I needed was myself. It wasn't until I was much older that I even heard of needing special things to practice.
So why on earth is there such a strong belief in all the "stuff"? I'm sure there are a thousand different answers out there, and there is probably some validity to them all. A friend and I had a great conversation about this recently and came up with some interesting thoughts. Maybe this will give you some ideas for your practice as well.
"You gotta have the item because they used it in the book/movie Such-and-such so it must be true" Ummm... No. Over the years I have come across many a newbie wanting to get into paganism or Wicca because they watched a movie or tv show and thought it was cool and it must all be true. Think of the hey day of Charmed and all the people who just had to have the grimoire just like on the show because that's only kind a "real" witch uses. This is fiction. Not real life. As for the gromoire example, one of the most powerful witches I have ever known kept everything in those spiral notebooks you get 5/$1 during back to school time. On the other hand, since you create your own reality, why can't you use some things you pick up in fiction? Anything is possible! It is simply a matter of making it so. That means don't limit yourself by saying something can't be true if it's roots are in fiction. If you come across something that really resonates with you, then find a way to make it work. You never know where inspiration may strike!
"I was told/taught once-upon-a-time by so-and-so that it has to be this way" Again, not really. While there is a good reason for traditions and continuity of practice and faith, that does not mean it is the only truth. We grow by stepping beyond those perceived boundaries and discovering new ways of doing things. We grow both as a person and as a tradition. If someone didn't take that first step, there wouldn't be so many types of religions or branches within. In fact, everything new that has ever happened in the history of mankind came about by someone looking at that boundary and wondering what treasures lay beyond.
There are of course other reasons, but these two seem to be the predominant ones. So now we must address the question of whether we even need any "stuff" to practice. This is a tricky question to answer. Often people like the comfort of having something else to rely on. They need the trapping to help instill confidence in their work. But as you grow in your abilities and begin to have faith in yourself, you discover that nothing is needed but yourself.
So what is the lesson of all of this? The wrappings are just that... wrappings. It doesn't matter if the package is covered in beautiful fabrics with jewels and little trinkets or if it's wrapped in rough burlap and nothing else. It's the gift inside that counts. Look at your gift. Spend your time nurturing it and don't worry about anything else. The rest is simply personal taste. Wrap yourself in whatever makes you comfortable and happy.
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Images do not belong to me. They were found as I wandered the internet. If credit is known, it will be stated. If you see an image without credit and you know the artist, please let me know so I may give proper credit.
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