Remembering What We Once Knew
My connection to witchcraft has allowed me to deepen my yogic practice. I can use asana to engage in ritual and to move in an inspired way. When leading group meditations and slow restorative classes, I draw on goddess myth and archetype. I use oracle cards to guide our themes and read poems about the moon. Many of the yoga retreats I run are based around the lunar calendar and moon goddesses. These connections allow me to create a sacred space, allowing the subtle energy present in our movement and our spells of intention to bring greater presence to the ritual of our class. It is this deepening of experience that I wish to share with you.
There is a Sanskrit word I love: smarana. It means to recall or uncover that which you once knew. Once, as children, we moved our bodies for the sheer joy of it. We rested, ate, laughed, sang, cried when we wanted to. We gazed at the sky, threw tantrums and hugged with abandon. Yoga can help us remember some of this. As can witchcraft, maybe even more so.
You aren't just remembering what you may have forgotten from your own life, but many lives before you. You are remembering the wisdom that the earth and universe held long before you arrived: the ancient knowledge of the earth, seasons and planets. An understanding that was once unchallenged in its power. And then, somewhere along the line, was pushed aside as nonsense, woo-woo or evil.
The time has definitely come for smarana: to uncover, rediscover and reconnect with the realness of the universe – simple, powerful, infinite.
This is a lil’ snippet from my new book Yoga for Witches, now available from all good bookstores!