Pagans and Poverty

Something I have noticed in general about the pagan culture has gotten me thinking today.

Have you ever noticed how many spells, rituals, and chants there are for money, bringing wealth (in the monetary sense), or otherwise filling your wallet; yet the pagan culture as a general whole, witches, wiccans, etc, are poor or just barely making it by?

I thought to myself why is that? Why out of all the cultures, religions, are pagans almost always short on cash, barely able to pay the bills, and scrambling to find a way to make it by?

This came up because I have been considering writing some short books for kindle. I was discussing with my husband about how much I love to write about witchy topics, yet I doubt they would sell as most pagans would go to a library rather than buy a kindle book for a few bucks. They just don’t always have it.

The realization, one which I have always known about but didn’t really think too hard on it until now kind of shook me.

So my husband and I started talking about why this might be.

I would like to note that my husband, while fully supporting and encouraging my beliefs as a witch, is not actually pagan.

**Please be forewarned that this is not meant to offend and does use a lot of generalizations to get a theory across. This does not apply to every pagan, but only  used as a generalization from what we personally have noticed and experienced.**

In general pagans tend to be more solitary in their practice. (When I say pagans I am referring more to witches, wiccans, and the like)
Even within a coven, covens do not always communicate with other covens on a regular basis, so I still count that as solitary as most covens are not overly large.

There are up sides and downsides to being solitary or in a coven. For this example they will be both one and the same.

When you are solitary, you get to connect with nature, your surroundings, and get all the benefits of doing things your own way.

I could go on and on about how wonderful this can be verses a mass religion type, partly because I can quite be anti-social myself, while other times I like a little social interaction, for the most part I am content being outside of large crowds.

Here is one major downside and part of a good reason why pagans tend to not end up better off money wise. Networking.

I will use Christians as an example, mostly because I was raised Christian originally so I have first hand experience for comparison.

Christians network like crazy. The smaller churches that do not network you will easily tell as they do not do as well as the ones that do.

Churches range in size but still tend to be larger than most covens. Covens in my experience range between 6 and 40 people I’d say, and even less than that show up for regular coven gatherings. Even if the coven breaks 150 people, nowhere near that many are usually active within the coven gatherings.

Christians on the other hand usually go to church, whether a true Christian or one that just goes for appearances does not matter, they go or are usually judged, feel guilty, etc for not going. For some it is highly looked down upon not to go to church unless you are quite ill or have a damn good reason not to.

So not only do you have a whole church full of people, who network with each other, you also should note that most churches communicate with other churches in the area, or even in other states across the nation.

They get involved, for better or worse, but the point is they DO communicate often. Not that pagans don’t communicate, but the way we socialize is a little different and tends to be at festivals, small gatherings, and not quite on the scale that Christians would. Even if we meet regularly, it is usually with the same small group.

Point being is that we miss out on a lot of opportunities we could get by being content to be alone and not network with each other.

Ever heard the saying that it isn’t about what your resume looks like, it is more about who you know when it comes to landing a good job or a great opportunity? Well, that is largely true when it comes to networking.

I was originally raised Christian, and while at times we had money, and other times we did not. We almost always had lots of great opportunities through church members, and help when we needed it from the churches themselves. I can honestly say that the times we did not have money was not for lack of opportunity, but more for poor choices of my parents, but that is a whole other topic.

Heck people were there to help, even if they were just there to teach you how they budget, how to write a resume, where to find good deals, anything was helpful and they were happy to help the community grow by sharing knowledge.

The point is there was always room for growth with the networking system we had.

While paganism is becoming more and more of a choice, and less judged, it is still judged a lot. I am sure part of our networking issues has to do with the fact that Christians have simply been doing it longer and been more open with their lifestyle than we have.


Another bad cycle I tend to see is what I would like to call “trailer park pagans” without being overly offensive, hear me out.

Poverty breeds poverty. Once you are in it, your mindset changes, and one rarely ever gets out of it simply because they become content. No matter how often they complain they wish things would change, they simply do not change, or put forth the amount of effort needed to change. In other words less effort appears to be a lot more than it really is when you feel tired often mentally.

Sometimes people who live in poverty situations tend to become pagan because of the solitary practice, the act of rebellion, the connection we have with living with less as pagans used to. The big difference of course being that pagans used to live with less because they did not need more…

Pagans were ‘Poor’ by monetary definitions because they got all they needed from the land and had no need to work outside of their own stewardships.  They were not poor in every other way. Poor only referred to money, and when money is not needed, and your needs are met, it is hard to see them as being in poverty.

Nowadays there are simply things we must pay for and it is almost impossible to live without some expense. Because of this our mindset has to change a little to evolve with the current times in the ways we must.

Now that is not to say that I don’t agree with simplistic living and getting back to our roots. I am creating an urban homestead for petes sake, though that does not mean that I am ok with barely getting by either. I would very much like to have a constant amount of savings in the bank that I could use when needed, and I know things need to be done to keep that there, or create that savings for that matter.  I am working hard to make that happen, and it will happen.

Now I am not saying that people are horrible trash if they live in a trailer. What I am saying is that once you move to an area that is filled with sorrow, guilt, regret, poverty, illness, sluggishness,  etc, that it is very hard to not have that energy pull your own down and drown you in it. A sinking ship if you will and misery does love company.

Sometimes people get out and end up right back in that situation. Most of the time though those people are just not wise with the way they spend their money. Fast food and spending sprees anytime they see a little extra, as if to reward themselves for that little extra they got.

I understand the need for having nice things or going out. I am not saying not to do those things. But seeing my parents, when times were tougher, going out and spending anything extra they got immediately on useless things… Rather than saving the money and making better use of it. That is how you get stuck.

You get so excited that you have $20 extra, $200 extra that is normally not there… and you decide to do something special because you can for once, and you feel you deserve to go out or get something you normally couldn’t have.

People who usually have a little extra at the end of the month do not think this way and tend to save more in the end. Because they save a little more each time they have a little more they end up being able to do more. I am not meaning they can do more spending, I mean they can make actual full lifestyle changes if they do things the right way. It is literally just another thought process and way of doing things.

Changing your lifestyle is a lot better than staying in a bad lifestyle and only having a nice thing every once in awhile. You want to actually like the life you live in.
I think it is very possible to change that. It is hard work, but if you do it right anything is possible.

I have changed a lot in my life and the way I think and do things. I still have a lot more to go, but it has greatly impacted the way I view my life. I have gotten so far ahead of where I thought I would be now. It is just proof that you can change your situation entirely and not just for the short term.

Another difference is mindset in general.
Now I am speaking in general terms for things we have both observed on a mass scale, so don’t take any of this as “fact” but more as our personal opinions and observations.

Christians tend to pray for help but also act… They are told to pray but that God will not do all the work for them, and if you do not do all you know to do, you are tying his hands. While God may want to help, he cannot if you do not also act on what you know.

So in addition to praying, they are also doing everything they can to fix situations.

Pagans, for reasons unknown, tend to think doing a spell or a ritual is both the prayer and the action. It is not.

The spell, ritual, chant, etc, is there to put your intentions out there. Yes, you can call things to you, but it is an aid, not a “all I have to do is this and it will fix my problem”
Do you really think that the Gods are going to help a lazy witch who only ever complains about their life? No. You will get help, but only through action, and not just the action of doing a spell, prayer, ritual… No, I mean if you want a damn job you do a spell to find the job that best suits you and your needs, and then you do a job search for as long as it takes to find that job.
A job is not just going to land itself on your lap because you spelled it to. That is not how spells work.

Spells work through intentions, will, action, willpower, motivation, ambition. Do you get my point here?

They are aids to help sway things in our favor. To help open doors that we may have missed, to turn one opportunity that might be good into an even better one. or just to help guide people to us. None of this will happen if we don’t actually do anything other than the ritual and then complain when nothing happens, or complain when we do not continue to act upon things.

Yes, it takes awhile to find a job, but spells and rituals do not always have a “expiration date” and we do not always know when things will happen. Just because we think they should happen now and they do not, does not mean we should give up. It means we need to keep trying and trust things should happen when it is the right time, even if you yourself think the right time should have been yesterday with all the crap that is going on in your life. Things happen for a reason, be it good or bad.

I just think pagans should be taking more initiative and come out of the broom closet and start networking with each other more than just a few online forums or small gatherings.

What does it say for our path if most of our people are barely living paycheck to paycheck yet we have all these money spells that appear to not work? Why on earth would anyone want to be pagan if what it seems to offer is poverty and spells that obviously are not working?

Money isn’t everything, but it DOES mean something when it comes to living in a time where you have to have money to survive.

By the way there are many very effective money spells. They only don’t work if you don’t actually use them correctly and then take action after. No you will not get rich from them, but they are quite helpful when needed.  The fact that most people complain they do not work is a testament to just how many people do not understand the process of a spell and the actions after it is cast.

I have always been one to think that you have to do what you need to do to get where you want to be, whatever that means for the situation presented. I think things could greatly improve in the pagan community if we changed the way we do a few things to better suit the communities needs.  Am I wrong?

Could it really hurt to take more physical action? Could it hurt to network and be a little more social while still being non-social as a lot of us are? You don’t have to be a social butterfly, but just actually get involved with more than just a few people.

No one is going to help the pagan community. We have to help ourselves. There is absolutely no reason why we cannot be a thriving community who helps to build each other up like more mass religions do.

That is not saying we are conforming to be like a mass religion, that is saying that we can evolve to better help the needs of our people and better the way of a pagan life.

Outside of GoddessFest, and private or open coven meetings, how many events are there that are pointed towards the pagan religion vs events and holiday gatherings for Christian religions? Mind you, we have more holidays and sacred days to celebrate.

I think it is time for us to come out of the shadows, the broom closet, and actually be more of a community. Yes, we may get hate thrown towards us, but really it does not matter. You can be hated for the choice in the shirt you wear, but you will still wear that shirt if you like it will you not? Religion is a personal choice. One choice in which others opinions should never matter. Stop being afraid of ridicule and connect.

Not all pagans are broke all the time. Every person can learn something as well as has something to teach, even if they do not realize it.


Here is a simple way to see it. Take the show Lost for an example. If someone decided to be greedy and wanted to go out and survive on his own, maybe he could do it, but he could not do everything he needed to do in a day to survive without breaking his back.
By working together, each person has their own job, their own skill set they can teach others, and by becoming a community they get a amazing amount of work done in a fraction of the time because they decided it was better for survival to work together than alone. This is no different than coming together as a community.

We do have community, just not quite to where it needs to be. We have a lot of catching up to do.

Gardening and baby humming birds

This is what I have in my kitchen near my espresso machine. I have an open container to store coffee grounds in as I use them, and a old ziplock lunchbag that I put dried used tea leaves in. It is not a lot right now, but over time it will be very useful.



I have also started saving eggshells again that I will later grind up.


My little kitchen garden is doing fantastic. Avocado tree, ginger, bok choy, watercress, onion, and romaine. All but the watercress were propagated from fruit stand or grocery store scraps.


This yellow crookneck is getting so big! Now everything I read says to harvest when the skin is still soft… But mine has never really been soft, so to be honest I am not sure when it needs to be harvested. I will most likely be picking it tomorrow after getting some feedback.


The beginnings of my compost pile! The boys mowed the grass and piled it up for me on top of a box that is laid flat. It towers closer to 4 ft tall… I will most likely be scattering it a bit more as I add more things to the pike so the pile is not too high.


Look at these two incredibly cute baby hummingbirds! They are quite the delight to have on the little urban homestead.

Look at those beans grow! I love vined plants. Now if only the bugs would stop chewing on the leaves I would be happy.
Beets are all sprouting up as well though it is too bright to get a photo of that until they are larger.
Carrots are not looking promising. I think the bugs may have gotten to the seeds. We shall see.

Being that I am pagan I wanted to go into a little more depth as to why I have been posting about fertilizer so much. For me, it is respectful to give offerings to the Gods, and the spirits of the land. In my past garden this was usually done by putting out seed for the wild animals to eat. I do not want the seed I have to sprout here as I did in the last house, so I have not put seed out until I can get the non-sprouting kind.
My bird can be a semi picky eater and I would put out what was not eaten. Waste not basically.

To me fertilizing and nourishing the plants is also an offering. A  show that I am here to care for the plants, for the land, and to be a steward. I am giving back to the earth and helping it grow healthy just as it helps me.

Now while I do give offerings other than this, I do feel that the act of taking care of your garden, the act of making your own fertilizer, and showing dedication to your plants is something that speaks volumes to the genius loci. The spirits of the land.
I help them and they help me. It is a working relationship. As I get to know my new land better, they will get to know me and may even teach me a thing or two about the secrets of the land.

I work with them rather than against them. I very much enjoy getting to know the plant spirits, animal spirits, and in general the local spirits as I enter a new territory. There is so much one can learn if only they are willing to listen and be patient.

The grand old silver maple in my yard has to have the most personality of all my trees. I picture her as a happy old woman, who much likes to tickle my cheeks with her leaves and give me encouraging pats on the head as I water the garden. She seems quite delighted with me. While it may seem strange to notice the personality of a tree, I assure you it is actually quite a normal practice for myself and many others.
It has already been proven that plants do in fact speak with each other. Just because we do not always regularly speak with them, does not mean they do not talk in their own way, and are not listening.

It has also been proven that talking to your plants does in fact help them grow. I know this to be true personally myself. Music is another thing that helps plants grow.

The biggest thing with communication would be patience and the knowledge that communication will not happen as I am talking to you now. It will happen in other ways. An impression, a dream, a sway in the breeze. If you are keen at picking up these signs you will know what they mean.

I had two deaf friends growing up. I did not speak sign language myself but I still understood what they were saying. I eventually learned some signs and we could communicate a little better through their teaching me. I think this is no different than that. You are learning the communication style of something that does not speak like you, but that does not mean you cannot communicate with it. I would not change some of the wonderful experiences and conversations I have had with some of the plants I have grown for anything.

I feel very blessed to have my new plants so happy to have me living here. I feel very welcomed in my new home. Some may take a little more time to warm up to me, but the welcome I have had is already quite heartwarming.

The River and the Woods

Recently I have been able to make a few trips out to the wooded areas near the river. Each time has been quite wonderful and I see new things every time I am out.

The river was quite calm the first and second trip. It rose a lot even just a couple of days later. A lot of the places explored were now under water. The snow has been melting off of the mountains and making the water levels rise. Amazing how quickly it can happen.
There is a swirl in the middle of the river. There were a lot of mini whirlpools that would appear and then disappear as they moved down the river.
New growth. A forest within a forest. I could not help but take a picture of this. Many tiny trees beginning to grow within a small spot of this wooded area. To me it is a magical place where small elves and faeries might wander.   
 
I could not count even if I tried, all the nests that were perched in the trees. There were so many of them. Many different kinds for many types of birds and squirrels too I am sure.


Lots of white budding trees were seen. This is just one of the three or so types I had seen clustered around each other.

 
Beautiful black birds with red spots on their wings were seen. There were a lot of them and this one seemed to like to pose for my camera.

 
This was probably a home for some forest creature at some point but it was empty when I found it. I really like trees that have little pocket holes like this one.
The mushrooms were found at the side of a fallen tree. I was not sure what kind of mushroom they were and since most mushrooms you do not want to touch unless you are sure what kind, I left them be.

A beaver was spotted during the second trip and a single crow was spotted on this last trip.
Crows are known to be messengers to the gods.


During my little magical adventures I was able to wild craft some moss, fern leaves, balm of Gilead, as well as collected pine cones, a couple of feathers, and sand from the river. Once summer comes there will be more things to harvest but for now I think I have collected all I can unless I go to a new area and find something different there.
I found some really interesting branches that I gathered that could make some good staffs. I grabbed a smaller one that twists a bit that I would love to turn into a wand.
Burn some runes or oghams into it, maybe other symbols… Not sure exactly what the plans are just yet for the designs.  I am not the best at carving always nor do I have the right tools for it really, but I hope to craft something with them.

I am sure there will be more trips out to this place but now that I have explored here there are others I want to go to that sound promising.
Those are a little bit farther of a drive to get to though. Not as far as the deep woods, but still enough to take a bit more planning so to not run out of daylight too soon.
I am not a morning person which is why planning is needed *laughs*
I would also like to start going out and exploring the more desert parts of this area. I already have plans with a friend of mine to go exploring those lands at some point. No official date has been set yet, just the understanding that it will happen at some point in the future when the timing is right.

I had given an offering to the nature spirits but a few days ago. I was happy to find that the spirits accepted my offering. My offering of nuts, seeds, and grains is being eaten up by the birds, squirrels, and probably other little creatures that eat the same. Giving food to the spirits, gods, and nature, is a way of giving thanks for all they provide for us.  Why should we take from them and give nothing back? Doing this is respectful, shows you are grateful, and adds to the balance of things.

It is supposed to storm tomorrow, I can’t say for sure if it will but I actually kind of hope it will. It says it will be nice the day after so storming for one day is most welcome to me. I do love storms. The way the air feels during and after is amazing. The smell of the wet leaves and soil. Its very calming and exciting at the same time. Contradicting I know. Sometimes I find interesting things after a good rain as well. Not to mention dancing in the rain is always fun. Especially if it is warm rain.