(Scroll down for – A recap of 2022 – Some tips for navigating real-life plot-twists with the Witches Pyramid – and a glimpse of what’s coming in 2023)

Ok, ok, so we’re 3 weeks into 2023, but we’ve just had the New Moon, kicking off the Lunar New Year (of the Rabbit!) and Imbolc is just around the corner with the new shoots of Spring.

2022… The year of the Hermit… again!

Last I posted I’d just finished my PhD and was focussed on getting the first Goblin Masquerade together…

Well, in case you’re not following me on social media, or have missed my emails on my mailing list, here’s the short version of the subsequent events of 2022:

• Goblin Masquerade! Great success!
• I had a couple of weeks off adventuring in Glastonbury with my coven, and then at an Aurora gig.
• And then I ended up in hospital for a night in so much pain I couldn’t walk. Still not sure why.
• Recovery. And more recovery. And very, very very slow walking. (I’m much better now, btw.)
• I did mentoring for the NDSA (NeuroDivergent Self-Advocacy forum) and studied for my Life Coaching Certificate.
• Aaand I learned songwriting and music production. I’ll be sharing more about that very, very soon…

As much as the world was opening up in 2022, I was back in hermit mode, adjusting, healing, rebuilding my foundations. As autumn went on and I got stronger I returned to teaching cycle 3 of Star Club (multi-disciplinary training for Magicians), opened a little space in the local market – The Rabbit Hole – and an online space, The Crimson Coven Collective. All with lots of rest-time factored in.

Adjusting Course with the Witches Compass

It’s not unusual to have to adjust course, for something unexpected to happen (plot twists abound!) and we can look for the story of “why”, or we can focus on the “next right thing” as the trolls advised in Frozen 2.* While this certainly felt like a stumbling block, I didn’t feel like I’d been thrown entirely off course, which is always a risk if you’ve got a dream.

Instead, I came back to my heart, my compass, my guiding star.

I definitely spent a bit of time wondering how the hell I was going to travel if I could barely walk, when one of my big dreams has always been adventuring and exploring the world, but I didn’t wallow in this too much. Instead I asked myself the questions that guide much of my life.

What do I dream of? How do I want to feel, today?

What can I choose, at this point in time, that feels like a step towards my dreams?

How can I take that next step?

Rather than relying on a set plan for the journey ahead, I follow my compass, my heart. Asking in each moment how I can make this now closer to what I most long to feel. Perhaps the next step isn’t the last one needed but allowing myself to be guided each day in what brings more joy now means I’m enjoying every part of my life as much as I can.

I invite you to try it. When life gives you a plot twist, look for how you can feel more like you choose to feel in this moment. Ask yourself what the next step towards your dreams is from here. Ask yourself what tiny change you have control over that will support you in your adventure-called-life and help you feel more joy today.

Not everything is fun and games – ouch, seriously – but when we carry our compass with us we can always point ourselves towards our True North, our dreams. Let your heart guide you.

The witches pyramid is a useful model to help with this, and is sometimes called the “witches compass” because it is a guide to the steps of our magic.

To Know, To Will, To Dare, To Keep Silent.

~ The Witches Pyramid

And that’s what we do when we find our path disrupted. We ask questions of ourselves so we KNOW what we dream of, and the feeling we desire that we think the dream will bring. What we long to feel. And then, we set our WILL toward it. We choose to orientate ourselves towards our chosen feelings and our dreams. And then we DARE to take that leap. The final step, of KEEPing SILENT, means we don’t reveal things before it is time. Often our dreams are tender things and there is a lot of pessimism that can encourage doubt before we take the steps we need, so they need the nurturing dark of the soil, the silence of the night’s sky, to hold them safely while we carry them into the world.

(*I finally watched this and I loved all the elemental stuff, the animistic environmentalism, the magic, there’s some fun music… it’s far from perfect but there is a lot I liked.)

What’s Next?

Well, firstly, you can join The Crimson Coven Collective where we’re exploring how to embody our magic more fully! There are journaling and creativity prompts, and online circles, and I’m active there every week.

I’m filling up my diary for 2023 slowly, but so far confirmed magical events include:

And I’ll be performing at…

• 4th February ’23, Fables Storytelling Circle, Aberystwyth – at The Bookshop by the Sea – telling tales of love.
• 4th March ’23, Fables Storytelling Circle, Aberystwyth – at The Bookshop by the Sea – Spring stories!
• 1st April ’23, The Goblin Masquerade 2: The Fool’s Ball!, a full afternoon and evening of entertainment, a goblin market and a fairytale ball! Get your evening tickets to the Goblin Masquerade here!
• September ’23, A performance with Milly Jackdaw… details TBA!
• (My upcoming performances will be listed here as they are confirmed!)