Hello, reader. How are you doing? My dear one got deployed to fight fires for the first time. So a witch friend suggested I might do a spell for my dear one’s safe return. Ever since, I’ve been thinking about destiny and magic.
- Do you believe in destiny?
- Are you afraid of tinkering with destiny?
I had a “maybe not” reaction to my friend’s suggestion of a spell, because– what if my dear one had another destiny than safe return? What if they are supposed to stay in another state and make a new life there? Or what if they have a destiny of becoming disabled, while fighting a fire?
“Safe” can have many meanings, and I wouldn’t want to mess up anyone’s life plan. Maybe my dear one made a strange contract long ago, that something dangerous would happen while fighting fire, to change the course of their life.
Of course I want my dear one to return safely. But also, I deeply respect them. Consent in all areas of life is important to me, including magic. So I listened to my witch friend describe the spell, and have not done the spell.
book
I might be comfortable doing that kind of spell with a physical object, like a unique book I was loaning out and needed back. Or maybe with someone like Ming who I’ve taken vows with, where we made a mutual life bond intentionally in ritual.
Even then, I would be careful not to mess with Ming’s journey.
life’s work
I don’t think about destiny very much– not that exact word. But every day, I think about my life’s work, why I’m on earth, and what my ancestors put me here for. Maybe destiny is one and the same.
questions for discussion with your familiar
What are your morals around magic?
Do you feel a tug of destiny or fate in your own life?
Is consent important to you in all areas?
Are there weird directions your life has gone, that you didn’t choose? That you couldn’t have predicted?
worshiping cats
Personally I’m shocked at how I find myself worshiping cats. I’m not the biggest cat person. But there’s that Sekhmet temple out in the desert near the test site, where I worshiped Sekhmet for around nine years.
I would say, I worshiped Sekhmet mostly just because she was there. But what if greater factors were at play?
Then when Jaguar saved me from the jungle when I was dying of the stomach ulcer seven years ago, of course I was grateful. That led to a whole relationship with Jaguar which is complex, layered, and important to who I am these days.
Lately I’ve been listening to a song in Middle Egyptian worshiping Bastet over and over, and thinking about Bastet as a cuddlier manifestation of Sekhmet energy. Many nippled Mother Cat nurture vibes.
Two this-world, domestic cats I love both have names that translate to “light.”
love is powerful
What if worshiping Sekhmet in the desert, was also worshiping Jaguar, and that’s why Jaguar saved me? What if worshiping Bastet these days is a natural progression? Maybe my soul hum is a purr. I never planned any of that.
Love is powerful. All those hours and years, singing to Sekhmet and praying to her… it wasn’t an accident. If a deity shows up, what do you do? I adore many animals.
But I like to imagine rich, lush deities lounging on Mt Kailash eating ras malai, jelubi, and cashew burfi. When I slipped into the underworld, Jaguar nodded to Durga, angels, grasshopper, mason bees, water, and gravity as if to say, “I got this one.” Then leapt.
