Where are you going...and how much will it cost?

Where am I going on my spiritual journey?  Where do I want it to take me?

Well...I do have some ideas, I do have some goals but the rest...I will just see what the Universe and the Goddess puts in my pathway and directs me towards.   I like to learn, I like to dip my toe into new areas and follow where it takes me.  Quite often I don't know where the new adventures will lead me or what purpose they have...I just have to trust that they are all part of the big plan.

I don't have magical lineage (that I know of), I do have heritage, but I also know that it is best to follow my instinct, for instance I have studied and worked with Hoodoo for some years now, am I a born and bred New Orleans Hoodoo Priestess?  Of course not!  But once I started researching Hoodoo I discovered (not unsurprisingly) that it has a huge European folk magic influence, no wonder I felt so drawn to it, as I was working with a lot of the methods already.

But where do I learn things from and how expensive is it all?

I have learnt from many, many different areas and in many, many different formats.  I read a lot of books, I do a lot of  internet research, those books will range from free ebook downloads to £10 paperbacks.

I have learnt HUGE amounts from our lovely students at the Kitchen Witch online school :-)

I have learnt HUGE amounts from being outside in nature, from taking walks, from sitting in my garden at no monetary cost.

I have learnt HUGE amounts from being a part of the Dorset Grove and immersing myself in the energy of ritual, again at no monetary cost.

I have learnt HUGE amounts from writing and co-leading the Kitchen Witch Coven rituals, again from working with that group energy, again at no monetary cost.

I have learnt HUGE amounts from all the other pagans, witches, druids and spiritual people that I have had the honour and pleasure to come in contact with, whether it is at rituals or sitting having cups of coffee and chatting.

Yes I have paid and attended workshops, online courses and correspondences courses.  Some of them have been free, some have cost a lot of money and others have been very reasonably priced.  Did the higher price mean a better course? NO most definitely not.  It is a shame that society seems to now attach the idea that because something costs enormous amounts of money that it is therefore better than something that is reasonably priced or even free.

In my personal experience I have done some excellent free courses, been on some brilliant reasonably priced workshops and also paid a lot of money for seriously disappointing courses.

You don't always get what you pay for!

I will continue to talk with and learn from my peers, my colleagues, my friends, acquaintances and anyone else that I meet that has interesting things to say, learning as I go - for free - and hopefully exchanging information that they might learn a little from too.

I will also continue to seek out books, internet research, courses and workshops whether they are free or cost money - if I am interested in the subject, if it seems well organised and not a total rip off then I will sign up, but I won't part with my hard earnt cash just because it has a high price tag!

Just a simple half hour in my garden connecting with nature and the Divine has taught me more than some of the courses I have paid good money for.

There are a lot of extremely talented people out there that are sharing their time, effort, knowledge and experience, how do you know whether they are honest and worthwhile or  not?  Go with your instinct, go with your gut feeling, go with recommendations from friends if you can.

I have a lot of certificates to my name (I am honestly and openly a total certificate tart!) but it doesn't make me any better than some of the witches I know that have learnt from years of experience and have never been on a course in their lives.  I also know those that have been on loads of courses, spent large amounts of money, have truckloads of certificates - it doesn't mean they are any good and it certainly doesn't make them better than you, or me.

It can be a bit of a minefield...

Trust in your own guidance when seeking out a teacher, course or pathway...you will be guided to the one you need at that time.