We are spiritual beings with a physical body, and the Earth is too. Every tree, rock, and animal have a spirit and yet must contend with living an embodied life.
As humans, we find all kinds of ways to forget our body- through trying control it, deny it, or avoid it due to trauma, social conditioning, oppressive systems and more.
Our mind, heart, soul and body are all connected, so when one is out of balance, the others can be too. During stressful times, it is easy for our nervous systems to be dysregulated, which can affect our overall health.
We can choose to feed the fear, feed the numbness, or feed our body and soul with what nourishes us. This helps us to be energetically strong and present to navigate our daily life.
We can meditate, pray and connect to Spirit, but if we aren’t integrating the needs of our body (and whole self) with our spiritual work then we can’t fully come into our power as spiritual beings living in this physical world. Likewise, we can diet, exercise, take supplements and do all the ‘right’ things for our body, but if we aren’t connected to our Spirit (and whole self), we also may struggle to embody our power.
What Does it Mean to Embody our Magick?
Embodying our magick means that we live, breathe and express our spiritual practice through our body and into our daily life. It means that we bring our spiritual energy into form through how we carry ourselves and interact with the world around us. We become a physical channel of divine energy on earth.
For example, if being attuned to the element of water is a central part of your spiritual practice, then you may wish to try moving your body with more fluidity or softness, bless your glass of water before drinking it, express your emotions more freely, wear blues and greens, and spend lots of time in and around water. In a sense, you strive to embody the water itself and express its energy into the world.
Perhaps you are feeling connected to an animal ally right now. To embody that animal’s energy more in your life, you can do a bit of research- What do they eat? How do they move? What environment do they thrive in? And then you can emulate them to some degree in your life, transforming your own energy in powerful ways.
Embodying our magick is essentially a self-healing tool and practice. Some may call it shapeshifting, some may call it cultivating your inner Priestess, Witch, Mage, etc. It is essentially becoming a clearer channel for the Divine to flow through you and actively grounding that energy into your body.
What is central to your spiritual practice right now? How can you manifest that quality or energy more within your body, actions and in the world around you?
Perfection is Not the Goal
In the process of becoming a clearer channel for the Divine to flow through, we may come up against some challenges. There may be trauma, illness, injuries or chronic habits that inhibit the fullness of our spiritual power from flowing with ease through our body. This is very normal and simply part of the spiritual journey. Perfectionism itself can be a barrier to overcome.
You are not less spiritual or less powerful if you have physical or mental health challenges to contend with. In fact, integrating them and navigating through them can bring you more capacity for expressing your spiritual energy in the world, as the healing process brings deepened self-knowledge, empathy and wisdom. The body doesn’t have to be ‘perfect’ by any means for divine energy to flow through!
Nature is perfectly imperfect and fully divine in all its diversity.
Many powerful healers have met great obstacles on the mental, emotional and physical level, and that healing process enables them to hold great spiritual energy and help others more compassionately.
Our healing is never truly done, so trying to achieve some kind of embodied spiritual perfection is not the goal. Just being more integrated and self-aware is.
Depending on your needs, a therapist who is familiar with somatic work, a bodyworker or energy healer may be helpful.
Have you experienced barriers to feeling comfortable in your body? What have you learned about yourself through the process?
A Relaxed Body is a Powerful Body
I recently became aware of a fabulous quote by embodiment facilitator Prentis Hemphill:
“One of my teachers says, ‘A relaxed body is the most powerful body that we have.’…Because when we are relaxed, we can do almost anything. I can make any kind of move from a relaxed body. I have a lot of choices from a relaxed body. From a body that is tight, tense, or protective, has taken on a protective shell, there’s only a limited number of moves we can make from that body. We’ve already foreclosed certain options.”
This is such a succinct way to put it. When we are relaxed, we have options. We can shapeshift into anything we need to, and that is powerful.
What makes you feel more relaxed?
Daily Ritual Ideas for Embodying Your Magick
There are many ways to align body and spirit in our daily life. Here are some simple rituals to support embodying your magick in your practice. The possibilities are endless of course, so these are suggestions you can embellish or combine together to create your own:
Morning Grounding Rituals: Yoga or any movement that expresses your devotion and supports your body; My Grounding Tree Meditation; Morning herbal tea with prayer; Mindful eating of breakfast with gratitude, Walk in nature to attune to the land; Smoke Cleanse attuning to the plant medicines.
Evening Relaxation Rituals: Essential oil/salt bath with intention stirred into the water; Slow movement or mindful breathing with devotional music; Evening Walk in nature to process the day and attune to the land spirits; Journal writing for processing as well as a tool of connection with your higher self/spirit.
Regular Check-ins: Starting and ending the day with a ritual is great, but it’s also important to check in with how we’re doing during the day as well. Take a break from work to simply ask: What do I need right now? First ask your body, then your heart, then your mind, then your spirit.
Pleasure Rituals: Many spiritual traditions eschew pleasure- however paganism recognizes pleasure as our birthright and an essential aspect of practice. Keep it simple. What scent arouses your sensuality? What sound brings you peace? What color makes you feel good when you wear it? What activity makes you giddy with joy? Surround yourself with the things that nourish your senses. Take it a step further and create a perfume for the deity you are working with, or if you enjoy singing or drawing or another art, create something that is fun as well as devotional.
Dress up: Adornment and costuming are great ways to bring a spiritual aspect of yourself into form! You can do some more subtle forms of adornment such as jewelry, or a change to your hair and makeup, or go full out with a new wardrobe to help you channel the vibes you are working with.
Communing with Nature: Visit a nearby tree in a park for a conversation; Talk to/sing/water your houseplants; Give your pet some love; Sit on the earth and merge with its wisdom; Swim or spend time near a body of water and let it cleanse your energy.
Movement: Any type of movement that is done mindfully or with intention can become a spiritual practice. Whether it is taking a few deep breaths and stretching in your office chair; Dancing to music that helps you feel connected to all life; Moving intuitively to the sound of oceans waves; Or merging with your animal ally and dancing it into form, spirit loves to move through us when we let go of our rigid habits and move our body organically.
Music: Make a playlist of songs that evoke the energy you wish to embody more of. I create playlists for every sabbat/seasonal celebration that helps me attune to its energies. I also create playlists for deities I work with, and animal allies I work with too. Use the playlist alongside any other rituals you do or listen to it while you cook, drive, or do other daily activities.
Color Therapy: Color is energy and holds the power to transform how you feel and interact with the world. What color have you been feeling drawn to lately? How does it make you feel? How can you incorporate it into your wardrobe, jewelry, environment or daily life? You may wish to connect with crystals, flowers, herbs or environments with that color.
Crystal Therapy: Crystal beings hold powerful energies and are medicine for our body and spirit. You may have a favorite or feel drawn to one in particular at a certain time in your life. Go to a crystal shop (in person preferably) and notice which crystal draws you- it may carry an energy your spirit wants to emulate. If you take one home, spend time connecting with it. Notice how it makes you feel. You can place it on your body regularly or wear it or carry it with you.
Trees- Grounding tree meditation: I admit I am a huge tree-lover and they remain one of my favourite ways to connect with the Divine on a regular basis. You may wish to spend some time hugging or leaning against your favourite tree and listening to its wisdom. You may also wish to emulate tree energy in your practice.
I have recorded a variation of my Grounding Tree Meditation. Each time I do it it’s a bit different. This one is approximately 13 mins long, check it out here:
I hope you feel inspired to incorporate a new ritual to support embodying your Magick! If you have any other ideas you wish to share, please feel free to share in the comments below!
May your body and spirit be nourished, supported and well during these times of change,
Blessings,
Serena
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