Prayer? Meditation? Magic Spells?

Thread originally posted on the Aeclectic Tarot Forum on 09 Jan 2003, and now archived in the Forum Library.

Red Emma	09 Jan 2003
Thursday, January 9, 2003 When you're not sure which path to take, or what to do next when you're facing a dilemma and want to ask Spirit (The Goddess, God, All that is) for guidance, how do you feel most comfortable? Do you pray? Meditate? Cast a spell? Also, why do you choose your method? Because that was the way you were taught, because you're more comfortable with one way than another? Because you've found one to be more effective for you? What do you feel describes each of the methods? (Yes, I did used to be a teacher!) Goddess Bless Red Emma

Natalya	09 Jan 2003
I always go in my room, and light candles...I have one of every color. So I light the one that corresponds with my anxiety as well as a white one. Then I simply speak my heart out. As for casting spells, I rather read the cards. They give me advice and have never failed me.

cjtarot	09 Jan 2003
Hi, My 2 cents. I pray to God. I always have just talked and talked and feel he/she is listening. I am new to spell casting and have done only 1 canlde spell so far so. Meditation to me is a way to communicate with myself not nec. God. I have a feeling that is just because I have not been taut otherwise. Oh and spell casting using candles and effort (God/Goddess only helps those who help themselves) is not a bad thing. What I found is the spell had to be done over the span of a week and each day it brought my thoughts back to the why I cast the spell and the ritual of casting. Blessings on your path Cj

Musie	09 Jan 2003
I have hit a couple crossroads and hit a few brick walls in my spiritual path. I pray to Goddess for guidance. I talk (pray) to her specifically what my problem is and I simply wait for her help. I always trust the universe will provide the answer. When I talk to her, it is with full heart. She always answers! She'll either bring enlightenment or manifest something in the mundane physical world that will help me or she'll gently lead me in a direction and I find the answer. I am very casual. I follow where she leads me. I don't cast spells using ritual, though I have cast spells in my mind and they work too. Any ritual I do though simply consists of a candle and a prayer.

Red Emma	11 Jan 2003
Thanks guys. Your answers are a big help. I guess my right-wing religious background was so severe and destructive that I find it hard to do anything which smacks to me of Christianity. I've read a lot in the past three years, and learned that a lot of people whose spiritual path I admire do pray, but it seems hard for me to overcome my aversion to the destructiveness of my early life. I'm slowly overcoming my negativity, still I sometimes find myself rejecting things just because I do associate them with the past. Goddess Bless.

zorya	11 Jan 2003
i tend to think of praying as communicating (or asking for something) with something outside of oneself, and even above oneself. since i see 'god/goddess/powers that be' as something that is not completely separate from myself, i tend to avoid using the word prayer. i think of what i do more as connecting, plugging in and communicating. i usually turn to the cards first, but don't see that as separate from the above, i feel like i'm communicating when i read. meditating is great when i need to just listen. ....and for the big stuff, i perform spellwork.

Sulis	12 Jan 2003
Quote: Originally posted by zorya since i see 'god/goddess/powers that be' as something that is not completely separate from myself, i tend to avoid using the word prayer. i think of what i do more as connecting, plugging in and communicating. This is exactly how I feel about deity and I too have problems with the concept of prayer, I generally see prayer as asking a higher power to sort things out for me. I prefer to take control myself. The cards come first, followed by meditation or spellwork. Love and light Crystalmynx xx

Kiama	16 Jan 2003
I'm one of those strange people that is always asking for guidnace, not because I don't know where I am, but because I view everything as happening for a reason, and I see myself as just as divine as a deity. I am, therefore, constantly looking out for things that are happening, and taking them as hints as to where I should be going next... I also read the cards, or just simply sit and think. I suppose you may call it meditation, but it's just, to me, sitting down, and taking time to think about what I want to know, and examining what's going on in my life. I get the answers I need this way. Why do I do it this way? I don't honestly know. I guess it's partly cuz that's what works for me, partly cuz of the beliefs that I hold, and partly because doing spells all the time is costly in candles! Kiama

Laurel	16 Jan 2003
I lay down in bed, burrowed in blankets like a cave. I close my eyes and let my mind drift to where it will, until the little voice in the back of my head tells me what I already knew, but wasn't read to face and I emerge sort of "reborn" in a metaphorical sense, and can take the necessary steps from there. Afterwards, I might light a candle or preform a LBRP or dance, but that's just to affirm my decision and self-power and cleanse away the residual grief and confusion. ~LAS

Woof	16 Jan 2003
After years of Catholic school and all that I can't bear to pray to any incarnation. What I do is meditate. I sit and clear my mind and try to concentrate on nothingness, maybe my breath if I'm a little blocked. It has been wonderful for me. That and using tarot for guidance when needed. I find I've been more greatful to the universe for everything: the good and bad. I'm more centered and more alive. Good luck to you in finding a path you are happy walking. Woof

Centaur	16 Jan 2003
I go to bed and hope that when I wake up everything will be ok...

napaea	16 Jan 2003
gosh i'm so glad this thread was started! interesting to find so many others who are at a loss for prayer. i used to pray alllllll the time when i was a christian. then for a long time i havent' been comfy with it. now i do all this stuff, i do whatever feels right at the time: * i might do a spell * i might do a "lay around and talk to higher self" thing * i might do tarot * i might do a "talking to the powers that be" * i have started to read some earth prayers in the morning, which helps me to focus on the earth and her needs, and i feel ok praying for those things. but it's all the same to me; prayer, tarot, spells, we're basically acknowleding our desire for a change in our environment/life/heart and calling on something to help us; whether it is a benevolant force outside ourselves, or our own inner knowing.

The Enchanter	16 Jan 2003
Well, meditation is a form of prayer. I love to meditate. I try to stay away from spell casting when I can because it is against my religion and I am worried about it being a sin and stuff. Meditaion is the best way for me,with relaxing music ofcourse. Peace out!

Red Emma	17 Jan 2003
Dear Woof, Having been raised in the Baptist Church, I know whereof you speak. Red Emma

The Prayer? Meditation? Magic Spells? thread was originally posted on 09 Jan 2003 in the Spirituality board, and is now archived in the Forum Library. Read the active threads in Spirituality, or read more archived threads.