New Age Spirituality is unique from organized religion in one small but important way: There is no external authority. YOU are the guiding light. Others may share their experiences, but ultimately you must decide for yourself what beliefs shape your life. There is no one there to give you instructions on how to live.
As a metaphysical store owner, I am often looked to as an authority on spiritual topics. Customers come to me for advice or guidance on their spiritual journey, and while I’m happy to help you locate an item in the store, or give my opinion on a spell ingredient, my opinion should not be treated as gospel. My friend, you will be sorely disappointed if you hand off all your decision making to me! The most special part of the journey is the freedom to choose for yourself.
The people who just want to be handed a manual for spirituality would be better off finding an organized religion: that’s why they’re organized! Witchcraft & New Age Spirituality hand the power back to the practitioner, essentially making you the god of your own life. For some people, that amount of agency over their own life scares them, and they attempt to hand that power right back by saying “please, just tell me what to do.”
I am happy to share what has worked for me, or to point you to someone who is more knowledgeable than me, but I urge you to remember: Magick is the practice of creating your own reality. No one else can tell you how to do this. This concept ties back into the idea that we are all here to have a unique experience. We all experience life entirely differently; even two people looking at the same painting will imagine totally different backstories for it. That’s the whole point of being on a spiritual journey, and I cringe when I see people so easily hand their creative power back over to someone else so they don’t have to think and decide what to do for themselves.
For me, deciding what felt best for me started with detaching my own spiritual path from what was trending online, or what I felt I was “supposed” to do. I didn’t want my own spirituality to be influenced by random strangers on the internet. I wanted my own experience to be 100% inspired by ME and what I wanted to see in the world. So, early on, I deleted TikTok. I was extremely selective with my Instagram followers. I didn’t pull up random un-vetted articles online. My foundational knowledge came primarily from books, or from paid courses from highly respected experts in the field of metaphysics. I took a money-mindset course from an artist who was already living a life similar to my dream life. I learned about crystals from several highly respected gemologists and crystal healers. I learned about energy work from a Reiki Master who has been studying energy work for 20+ years, and has developed a method of energy healing unique to her own practice, and encouraged me to approach healing my own way.
While I respect tradition, and value the lessons of the past, I don’t allow the long-held expectations of society to dictate my choices. If I did, I wouldn’t be a business owner at such a young age, or be accomplishing so much so quickly. My life is expanding because I choose to expand, not shrink to fit the mold of what society, or even modern spirituality thinks is appropriate.
When something in my spiritual practice doesn’t feel right to me, I don’t think twice about leaving it behind. I’ve been trying my best to live a life that feels authentic and full, and by doing so I give others permission to do the same. When people see me living boldly, authentically, and without comparing myself to others, they feel safe to do the same. I become living proof that their dreams are possible, because I’m living them out right in front of their very eyes. When you start to feel the urge to shrink, to dim your light, remember: you’re not just doing this for you. You’re doing this for everyone around you who will get the privilege of witnessing you creating your magick. Because of you, someone else will go, “I feel brave enough to go after what I want now.”
If it helps you to loosen up a bit in your spiritual practice, allow me to share some of the things in my spiritual practice that would drive other modern spiritualists insaaaane:
- I acknowledge and respect deities, but don’t work with any.
Hekate has reached out several times, and I’ve always politely declined while absolutely shitting my pants. I grew up with parents in a religious cult, and I’m not ready to work with ANY gods/goddesses quite yet!!
- I forget my moon sign all the time, and have no idea how to read an astrology chart
I get asked about astrology all the time, but you’ll always get a deer-in-the-headlights look from me if you start talking about planets. I’ve tried, but astrology may as well be ancient Sumerian to me.
- I LOVE heat treated Citrine
If you haven’t heard, true Citrine is actually quite rare. Most of the “Citrine” on the market is actually Amethyst that has been heated to turn a deep amber color that gets passed off as Citrine. But It’s so PRETTY and looks like crystallized HONEYYYYY *pants heavily* I’ll take my microwaved Amethyst and have a jolly-old time, thank you. I don’t mind it at all. Don’t worry, I always tell customers the difference!!
- I eat hella McDonalds and still feel a connection to the Divine
There’s this weird belief going around that eating “low-vibrational” food somehow cuts you off from Source energy… I’m battling an eating disorder and firmly believe that for this phase of my life FED IS BEST!! Even if that’s chicken nuggies. I may be able to eat healthier one day, I may not, but it’s not a moral or spiritual failing to eat what makes me happy and full enough to function.
- I don’t follow the moon phases
This one shocks a lot of people, especially because of my job, but I don’t personally feel the need to align my practices and rituals with the full and new moon. I often get sick around the full moon anyways, and end up laying around eating sugar and watching a movie. I honor my need to rest instead!
- IDGAF about “ascension”
I’m more worried about grounded embodiment. What does it mean to be fully here? To be fully human? We will have other lifetimes to spend as enlightened higher dimensional beings, this is my time to be deeply human. I don’t want to spend my time trying to ascend above or past the human dimension: I want to experience it fully.
- I refuse to put on the fake spiritual aesthetic
You will regularly find me smoking cannabis behind the shop, cussing loudly and often, wearing ridiculous outfits, and hooting and hollering at the bar with my friends. I am loud about social justice, and often have messy opinions. I will never be the soft spoken, submissive, unbothered quiet waif pictured in the Instagram reels teaching you meditation and preaching that any emotion other than happiness is not allowed. I’m me, through and through. If you don’t like that, then that’s your problem.
- I take regular breaks from healing and ritual
It’s exhausting to be looking at yourself under a microscope all the time, trying to figure out the next thing to fix, or heal, or manifest. Sometimes it’s okay to just exist without judgement, and without expectation. Taking time off is not a sign of failure, or of inconsistency, but rather a chance to reassess and come back renewed.
I hope that you are inspired to be more gentle with yourself after reading some of these. We tend to focus so hard on who we could be if we only pushed harder, that we forget to appreciate who we are right now. We look so hard for meaning in everything that happens all around us, when we should be looking within. I urge you to get into the habit of doing what you actually want, not what is expected of you. I urge you to find that guiding light within yourself, and follow it even when everyone else is telling you that you’re crazy. You shouldn’t give a flying fuck what anyone thinks except for you. Do you enjoy what you’re doing? Do you feel the truth of it in your bones? Then is DOESN’T FUCKING MATTER WHAT ANYONE ELSE THINKS!! And when I honor my power by boldly going forward, following nothing but my inner knowing, I also give you permission to not give a fuck about anyone else’s opinion but your own. Let’s DO THIS!!
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