I’ve been sitting on a few subjects to write about but I can’t seem to write fast enough to keep up with the hits the news keeps bringing every day; what is the POSOTUS destroying today? Who has he insulted? What other damage has the government done to the scientific world like the screw worm issue, the disbanding of national park lands, the rolling back of climate protections. Every day brings more destruction. The ICE and police presence in my home state at Delaney Hall and the hit the DOD gave the many pagan military members came most recently and hit hard. Thinking I would focus on more specifically pagan news, I’ve been watching some kerfluffle surrounding the declarations of some pagan elders but even that was bringing me more negative feelings than I like to willingly expose myself to. Every day I would sit at my computer and just stare at the screen trying to gather enough good feelings to dive into the negative news to try to build something out of it.
As I would sit at my computer, I would drink my tea. I moved away from drinking coffee fairly recently, maybe a month or so ago to try to step away from excess sugar. I started drinking chai. What I noticed was that as I drank the tea, I didn’t just ‘drink’ it like I would my coffee. I would take deep breaths in through my nose to enjoy the aroma and I would sigh audibly before I sipped the deliciousness and after. I have a large David’s Tea tumbler that keeps my tea nice and hot all morning into the afternoon so I am able to repeat this smell and sip process for hours. What I realized the other day, was that my tea was a spell, and it was working.
Any witch who has been a witch for a good amount of time should have developed a relationship with the elements. I know I spent time years ago deeply working with and learning about each element and how they interact with each other and I continue my interactions with the elements today. I’ve always thought of the cup of tea as the combining of all four elements – the fire that heats the water, the water itself, the earthy tea and spices of chai, and the aroma of the tea as the elements combine to create the wonderful elixir that
It’s always been, in my mind, a combining of elements, but what I didn’t realize was that somewhere along the line, it became a spell. The spell was not just to give me the caffeine that helps me focus, it became a spell to make me take a moment and give thanks for what I do have. It was a spell to slow me down, to encourage me to breathe deeply, to enjoy the sip of tea thoroughly. What I also didn’t realize was how effective that spell would become. I find myself reaching for the tea when I get overly agitated over news or social media feeds. I am thankful that I learned to work with the elements in so many ways, and that they are there for me even when I don’t realize it.
I don’t have any wise words about the world around us today, but if you can find a moment to engage your senses and the elements – perhaps the smell of a flower, the feel of grass under your feet, the feel of running water in the shower, or sitting next to a fire on a cool summer night, I encourage you to do so and remember to slow down, breathe deeply, and move on with your day in a hopefully more settled state.
As always,
Mach’s immer besser!
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