Category: Witchcraft

Can The Archer Help Us With Goal Setting?

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

During a recent Moon Circle we were discussing the archer. How they pull back their arrow, pause to assess the lay of the land, then take aim toward the target. Once they are sure and ready, they release the arrow, hoping it hits the target. We then talked about how this is similar to the beginning of a new year and goal setting.

Did I lose you? Let me explain.

Pull the arrow back, pause and reflect

For goal setting, I need to stop and reflect, not only the past year, but on past goals. How did they work out? What worked and what didn’t? You see this year, my overall theme is Take the Leap! So, I have to pull back and think of other times I took a big leap. For me, this was 19 years ago when I moved from St. Louis to New York City at the ripe old age of 24 to pursue my goal of musical theatre. Now, that goal did not pan out, but living in NYC sure did as I am still here loving every minute. Another example I can think of is leaving my corporate job to be a stay at home mom to my baby 9 years ago. This was a huge leap of faith and another one that was beautiful and such a special time in my life.

Take aim

Next, I have to use what I learned during reflection to create those next steps for my goals. So, for my goal of Making Our Apartment a Home I have to look back and think about what worked in the past and how I can apply that to this goal. Let’s look at the big leap of moving to NYC, I was organized, did research, and was prepared to the Nth degree to move to a brand new city. For decluttering and beautifying our apartment I can use that same strategy – read books and articles on cleaning, work with my husband to come up with plans and systems to use as we go from room to room, and we will get prepared before each cleaning session so we stay on task.

Another way to take aim is to see what you want at the end of the year and work backwards. I For example, I want to Live a Magical Life, but what exactly does that mean for me? I want to have a daily ritual that connects me to spirit and magic everyday. I want to have a journaling practice that nourishes my soul. I want to read books about Goddesses and learn more about the cultures and customs of countries I don’t know. These are all the smaller steps toward the main goal. Now I have my aims, my processes and my systems.

Once ready, let the arrow go toward the target

This is the actual step of doing the damn thing….which is probably the hardest step when we think about goal setting, but if we think of the archer, it’s the easiest – you just let go. Can we use that mindset for our goals? Can we make the act of actually doing our daily tasks that help us achieve our goals easier? Honestly, I’m still working on this mindset, but I hope having this image of an archer in my head will help me when things start feeling hard.

Because, here’s the thing, doing big things and taking big leaps is hard and changing systems and habits is also hard. When I moved to NYC at 24, that was hard – yes, it was exciting and fun and felt like a big glorious adventure – but it was also hard at times. Leaving my job to stay at home with a brand new baby was fun and amazing, but it was also hard at times. 2020 was hard a LOT of times, but we made it through, and we can do it again!

Can you use the image of an archer to help you with your 2021 goals? Have you ever taken a big leap before? What big leaps are you planning for this year? I would love to know in the comments below.

Lunar Planning: Using The Moon To Help Me Achieve My Goals

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Awhile back I came out of the broom closet about my new found witch title. I’ve had a few friends and family look at me with wide eyes and wonderment, but the thing is – I am still me, just with a slightly different spiritual journey. One where I am connected to nature, Mother Earth, and the Moon.

I love the moon and have been fascinated with her since I was a small child. Now I use the phases of the moon to help me achieve my goals. I use her cycle to help plan my month and my weeks. How? Let’s start at the beginning of the cycle – although, it’s a circle so there’s technically no BEGINNING, but since today is the New Moon I thought it would be a good place to start.  

New Moon

When the sky is dark and the moon isn’t visible.  It’s the perfect time to set new intentions. It’s when I journal, use my tarot cards and sit with what I want to accomplish for that cycle.  I usually set 1-3 intentions using present tense language. For example, I want to create a fun, easy, Instagram strategy where I can connect with others and enjoy my social media time.  

I personally make this a small ritual for myself.  I have a tall white candle that I light while laying out my tarot cards and journaling about what I want to achieve that month.  Then I write my intentions down on an index card and place them into my Universe box – which is just a cute gift box that has some pretty tissue paper and my offering – for me, it’s one of my birth year quarters.     

First Quarter 

About a week later, I look over my intentions and set one action for each one that I want to work on that week.  Again, using our Instagram example – I might write down in my planner: Set aside one hour this week to make fun, colorful images for the upcoming posts.  That’s it, just one action 

Full Moon

Letting go, releasing what no longer serves me and setting another action for the week.  Again, I do a small personal ritual with journaling prompts, my white moon candle, and tarot cards.  I will write down what I’m releasing on tissue paper and flush it away (as burning stuff in our apartment isn’t always safe).  So, again, using my example I might write: I am releasing self-doubt and worry. Down the toilet it goes!

Last Quarter

About a week after the full moon, I one last time look over the intentions and choose a final action for the week.  At the end of this week is usually the dark moon where I will review my month before starting over. Now, this can be debated (is it different or the same as the new moon) but for me, I like to take a small moment for the dark moon, ending one cycle before beginning a new one.  

And that brings us back to the New Moon again.  I usually have some ideas of what I want to work on, but I use the tarot cards and my journal to guide me and I set 1-3 new intentions (or I’ll revamp an old intention for the new cycle – depending on the goal and what I want to work on).

For me, this works – it gives me time to pause, connect back to my goals and my desires and what I want out of life.  It gives me a chance to slow down, take time for myself and connect with others either online or in my New Moon Circle that I go to here in Queens. Going forward I hope to continue this practice, deepening it even more, connecting with the moon’s powers to transform me in ways I can’t even imagine right now.

Do you use the moon as a guide? Do you have any questions about the process? Would you like to see sample questions or even a tarot spread? Let me know by commenting below and then, come over and join me on Instagram to see me in real-time share my process via Stories for the next month (maybe longer if people seem interested).

I hope you have a magical day – now go and set some New Moon intentions of your own!

 

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I Like Big Goals And I Can Not Lie

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

As you may (or may not know) I love setting 90-day goals – I started this in the fall of last year and it really did help me be more productive…until I wasn’t. 

That’s when I realized that I like having my goals mapped out for the quarter but only the first 3-4 tasks written down and on my Kanban board for just one month at a time – I don’t like to get overwhelmed.

So today I’d like to give you an overview of my three main goals and the few projects underneath each goal. I probably won’t give you a list of tasks, but if you’d like, you can follow me on Instagram where I’ll be talking about my Kanban board with all the tasks for the month.

Goal #1 – Writing and Publishing

Project A – 3rd Draft Revision of Novel 2 (working title – Etta & Gina)

Project B – Research ARC readers and/or Street Team

Goal #2 – Marketing

Project C – 1-hour week of learning time (the first month is Instagram)

Project D – Create a workable and fun content strategy system

Goal #3 – Jennifer 2.0 (being the Goddess I know I can be)

Project E – Beautifying the apartment

Project F – Lunar Planning

Project G – Health & Wellness*

*Which is further broken down into self-care habits, Orange Theory goals, and some personal development type things

What do your goals for 2020 look like? Do you plan yearly, monthly, quarterly? Or a combo like me?  I’d love to hear so let me know in the comments below! We can even keep each other accountable.

 

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My 2020 Vision – What’s Yours?

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Over the past few years, I have chosen 1-3 words to guide me along the path I want to take.  Last year was Joy – which to be honest, felt a bit flat – like I was playing a part, superficial…never fully integrating into my body and my heart.  The year before it was Courage and the one before that was Nourish – both felt so aligned for those years and allowed me to grow and show up in new and exciting ways.

That’s what I wanted for this year so I thought and journaled and took a workshop and came up with 3 words that feel so perfect for where I am and where I want to be at the end of 2020.

🌟 Shine – Be seen, be heard, give my ideas and my opinions a voice.  Use my light to help others (how? I have no idea yet!) and be the woman that fixes the crowns of others rather than diminish and cause pain.  Have confidence and do the scary things.

🔮 Intuition – I want to really connect with who I am and with the Universe, the source of all power.  I want to be the goddess that I know I can be.  I want to connect to my ancestors – especially my maternal Grandma who I think has been my guardian angel my whole life (she died the year before I was born).  I want to get quiet and listen to the answers that I know are already inside of me.

🖊 Create – Make stuff…for fun! Not worry so much about the business side, not worry about the marketing stuff as much.  Yes, yes…I will still be professional when need be with my writing and I will still be doing my newsletter and promotions BUT I want to do things MY WAY…have more fun connecting with others online, not worry about followers – have conversations.  Make messes in the kitchen, create with my kid more, basically do things that feel good.

Your turn!  What word (or words) are you using this year to guide you and help you win in 2020? Comment below and let me know!!  Let’s make this year amazing – together. 😊

Have a great day,
Jennifer

New Year…Who Dis?

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

Hello to 2019 and to my lovely readers.  How were the holidays for everyone?  How has January been so far?   Christmas was really nice and a little crazy (seven year olds are good for that) and January has been a bit of a whirlwind as I onboard two new Virtual Assistant clients, gear up for another 6 months of helping my son’s Parents’ Association, and finishing up the first draft of my next novel!

While reading through the old blog archives, I  realized that I’ve never really introduced myself (and if I have…it was years ago) so no time like the present to give you a few facts about ME!

1. I was born and raised in St. Louis, MO and went to college in Springfield, MO so I spent the first 24 years of my life in Missouri.  I loved growing up in St. Louis (and I lived in the city – if you’re familiar with the city, I grew up just a few blocks from The Hill across Hampton Avenue) we had an amazing Art Museum, Science Center, The Arch, good food, and Botanical Gardens.

2. I was homeschooled from sixth grade through High School.  The one thing St. Louis didn’t really have was good public schools.  I hated school, like so much I did not want to go back and would get sick (either real or fake) to stay home.  We tried a few other options (that didn’t really work – including a private religious school – which was worse that the public school in terms of how kids treated one another and the teacher’s being weird bullies themselves) but eventually we landed on homeschooling and I thrived.  I was able to do my regular school work along with all the passions that I had – photography, theatre, writing, and music.  It was a multi passionate kid’s dream!

3.  To go along with Number 1 – I moved to New York City right before my 25th birthday having never visited (I also didn’t have a ton of people that I knew there – there was a few friends of friends, or people I went to college with but weren’t exactly close to) but I flew up there with my parents, dropped my stuff at the 92nd Street Y (where I was staying) and immediately fell in love with the city.  By the first night, standing on the Staten Island ferry, watching the lights of the city start to come on I turned to my Mom and said, “I’m home!” and it’s true then and it’s true now.

4. I moved to New York City to pursue my first love of musical theatre.  I took classes, singing lessons, went on auditions, and did a few off-off-off-off broadway shows.  I had fun when I was doing something, but the constant rejection finally took it’s toll and I decided to hang up the towel.  I still love musical theatre and Broadway, but it’s not a huge part of my life anymore and actually I’m okay with that.  For years, after I “quit” auditioning, I couldn’t watch The Tony awards – it was just too hard – now it’s just not that entertaining because I don’t know as many of the shows.  Although – if someone has some Hamilton tickets lying about – I’ll take them off your hands.  HA

5. I love coffee!  While in college I got really into teas and so some of my “old” friends think it’s funny how much I love coffee, but coffee was my first love.  I’m the youngest and my much older brothers both drank coffee as did my parents (my sister did not drink coffee though) so I wanted to be like everyone else, so they would let me have some with milk and sugar and it was heavenly.  I’m not a coffee snub, I know what I like and I enjoy every last drop every day!

6. I’m multi passionate – I mentioned this up in number 2, but although I love writing novels I also love learning about witchcraft and shellwork, pulling tarot cards and researching meanings and history, I love music and still want to learn how to play that guitar properly, I love singing and entertaining still even if I’m not auditioning, and I love planners and planning, I love helping my clients with their VA stuff, and I love so many other things – I never realized there was a term for it – I just assumed I was flighty, but nope – I’m just multi passionate and it’s been a glorious discovery!

7. Random facts: I type 100 words per minute with about a 98% accuracy rate.  I worked at The Disney Store for about 6-8 months after college (if you know St. Louis, it was the Crestwood Mall location – which sadly isn’t there anymore).  I haven’t drive a car since August 2001 (since moving to New York City).  I know about 95% of Friends episodes – meaning I can recite the whole show while it’s going on, and I’ve even been known to know an episode just from a screenshot or line from the show.  (I can also do this with certain movies – Ghostbusters, Back to the Future, and Ferris Bueller)  

Okay, so here’s seven things about me — what else would you like to know?  Ask below – I might do a part 2 if I get enough questions, or I might just answer them in the comments.  Also — I have a few ideas for the next few blogs, but then I’m tapped out, so if you have any ideas of what you’d like to see from me and this blog, let me know!  

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Coming Out of The Broom Closet

Posted on by Jennifer Gregson

I’ve always been fascinated by the moon.  When I was little, I thought about being an astronaut for a brief moment – until I watched the Challenger blow up on TV while sitting in the elementary school auditorium next to a hundred other scared children.  But I still loved looking up at the moon, wondering what was up there, watching her from my window sill.

In college, I took a Greek Mythology course and fell a little in love with these gods and goddesses.  Especially Dionysus, Mercury, and Persephone.  I was a theatre major so the Greeks held a special place in my heart from years of studying the origins of acting and actors. Right now I’m starting to read up about Iris, the female companion to Mercury – she was the messenger to the gods, and goddess of the rainbow.  YES!

A few years ago, I bought a Goals workbook by Leonie Dawson and in the back, it had a Tarot Planner for the year ahead – where she suggested you pull a card for each month.  I had heard of Tarot but didn’t really know much so I used an online generator and did the exercise.  Then a few months later, a writing workbook I had suggested finding a tarot deck to help with character and plot development.  I bought my first deck and started studying it, buying books and online courses.  I was fascinated with the archetypes, the fun imagery.  I now have two decks and a few more that I have my eyes on.

Earlier this year, while scrolling through Pinterest, I kept coming up on these posts and images about Wicca and Witchcraft and somehow and they captured my attention, my heart, and my imagination.  I bought an eBook from Amazon and was taken right then and there with spell work, setting new moon intentions, and finding your own personal inner goddess to work with. I have quickly added to my growing book collection and have started studying, learning, and practicing.

All of these stories down memory lane is my way of saying – I’m a witch!

I am coming out of the broom closet to say that I have found something that makes me feel connected to the Universe, to other people, and to myself.  AND to Mother Earth and her Moon companion in ways I never did before. 

I was baptized a Lutheran and went to just about every Protestant church denomination there was growing up.  I am not giving up my Christian upbringing, but I’ve never been one for organized religion in the first place.  I find most churches (MOST) too misogynistic, too man-centric, too rules-oriented for just the women and children, too stuffy, too old school.  I’m not saying I’m going to start celebrating Yule and not Christmas – in fact, this year I would like to do things for both!  Just like I’ll be doing things for both Samhain and Halloween. I’m not giving up, I’m adding to – which feels so wonderful.

For me, my witchcraft journey is about empowering myself to feel connected to the Universe, to fulfill my dreams and my goals, and to think of things larger than myself.  To give me tools and “spells” to help my intentions become reality, to help me manifest my dreams and wishes, to give me community, to give me a sense of peace in this crazy world.  I love doing candle spells, drawing sigils, doing tarot readings, watching and using the Moon cycles, and reading about The Wheel of the Year.

As we approach Samhain, which some consider to be the Witch’s New Year, I thought I would tackle a few topics each week this month to share my new found witchy knowledge.  Share the resources I’m using, how I write sigils and do candle magic, how I work with the moon and it’s phases.  If you have particular questions – be ask and I will answer to the best of my ability.

And for those friends and family members that might be seriously confused – no, I don’t follow or worship Satan, I don’t curse or hex anyone (and don’t plan on it either), and I don’t judge anyone by the religion (or non-religion) they choose – I am still me, just on a  slightly different spiritual path that has me feeling happy and fulfilled.

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