A 'Witch of All Trades'

I can't believe it is May already, the time has flown past but I have been incredibly busy and packed quite a lot into this year already.

Within the past month for instance I have worked my Craft, am writing a book on magical herbs (nearly finished), attended a Shamanic workshop, learnt an Apache smudge ceremony, given messages at a mediumship evening, been on a ghost bust, talked about faeries & elementals at a fair, taught about faeries & elementals at a workshop, run a Moon Circle, attended an online Beltane ritual, talked at a workshop about Ostara and Beltane and written articles about witchcraft at this time of the year and recipes for Lughnasadh and Mabon...all a bit of a 'pick n mix' really - I do use the title 'Jack of all trades' to describe myself - and that same title has been used against me as an insult too...

My journey on this pathway has been a very windy, twisty one with lots of unexpected turns but isn't that part of the fun?

I have studied lots of different areas, I incorporate a lot of different 'bits and pieces' into my Craft but that is what makes it MY Craft surely?

I have a huge amount of books on all sorts of spiritual subjects and pathways - druidry, shamanism, Avalon, Atlantis, Hoodoo, psychic skills, Hawaiian traditions, animal totems, the Fae, deity and any number of different witchcraft books along with all the various courses and workshops I have attended (Reiki, crystal healing, progressive magic, herbalism, Druidry etc) - all have been read, digested and processed - I take what works for me, use the bits that I like and ignore the rest.

I work with the Goddess - any number of goddesses actually and a few gods, and over the years a few orishas and loas as well - I work with those that present themselves to me - they come to me for a reason, a life lesson or just for guidance and support.

Yes I work with Hoodoo, but I work with the folk magic practical side of it, more from the European folk magic history of it - that causes a few raised eyebrows I can tell you - because I don't say Christian prayers when I work with it - no I don't - so sue me.   We could get into a huge debate here about where it all originates from and whether you need to say the Lords Prayer for each petition or not, but I don't want to do that - I work it into MY pathway the way that is right for me, as many other people do.

My base of training is Wiccan - but I am not a Wiccan.  I do work some Wiccan practises into what I do but I lean more towards hedge witchery and kitchen witchery.

I have also had Druidry training, but I am not a Druid, I just work a few bits of that into my pathway too.

I work with Reiki, crystal healing, animal totems, the spirit world, the underworld, the Fae, Gods, Goddesses, Loas, Orishas, herbs, candle magic, shamanic practises, hedgeriding, meditation and I read the tarot - in fact any dang thing that I like to work with that gets the job done.

Just because I do things my way does not make it the wrong way or come to that - the right way.  Just because someone else does things differently to me does not make it right or wrong - it makes it individual.

One thing that struck me this weekend as we finished our day at a faery fair was that at the heart of it all, the real base, the structure and foundation of it all is witchcraft.  I am a witch and I think sometimes that can be forgotten a little with all the other wonderful and exciting things that present themselves.

But at the end of the day do we need labels?  Do we need to be pigeon holed into some sort of category system?   If we do then I am a 'Witch of All Trades' and very proud of it.