Finding "Your Path" β Not as Straightforward as it Seems
In the pagan and witchcraft community, you will often see or even be asked about "your path", and may eventually wonder which one you are on.
Today's post is about reflecting on this subject, rather than providing information.
As such, please keep in mind I only speak for myself.
The definition of path may change from person to person. It can be what type of magic you do, the deities you worship, the many branches within your religion or even the esoteric orders you have joined.
Are you a green witch? Sea witch? Norse pagan? Crystal witch? Rosacrucian? Tarot reader?
A lot of beginners will get caught up on these terms and find themselves in a bit of an identity crisis. "What the heck am I?" is something I'm sure many people can resonate with.
I would like to invite you to look at things from a different perspective regarding what "the path" is all about. Of course, you are welcome to disagree and have different interpretations.
We have hundreds and hundreds of labels we use for every sort of thing in our lives. You can be a father, co-worker, genderqueer, bisexual, animal lover, sculptor, gym rat... all at the same time, though not necessarily in the same contexts. Yet none of these could fully describe who you are. In paganism and witchcraft, the same applies.
We might be called to (or pressured into) choose one or a few labels to describe who we are and what we do, then find ourselves seeing a lot of labels fit but not fully or not on their own. This might make us feel lost and unsure of what "our path" is.
This is just how things are. Labels can't possibly be all-encompassing. And one label can hardly describe the path you are walking. No two persons calling themselves a grey witch or a hellenic pagan have walked the same path. Even their current personal practices are probably different.
The label might be the same, but the whole living experience behind them is not. They may share similarities, but they are still singular.
We tend to see paths as traditions, ethics, codes and practices we follow, but I will ask you to put that aside for now. I want to share something I've experienced with you a few years ago.
I once told a wise spirit "I don't know what my path is, I'm afraid I'm walking down the wrong one".
At the time, I thought of my path as a road I walked to achieve a certain goal, and as my religion, my practices. I often found myself feeling drawn to many things at once and somehow failing at following any of them through. I thought my path was a mess, and that I was lost.
The spirit answered, in sum: "your path is the path you are treading right now. It is what you make of it".
Sidenote: for those wondering, the spirit was talking through a trusted medium in serious and proper ritualistic setting.
What he said was simple, right? But what does it actually mean?
I am constantly walking down my own path. No matter if it can be categorized as "right" or "wrong", it is my path, my journey, my own growth... With all of its twists and turns. My path can't be wrong because there is no right path either.
It is not a set, definite thing, and instead a continuum of experiences. It was, it is, and it will be.
We tend to see "our path" as a means to an end, a road meant to take us to a destination. We think that if we are not doing something we think we are meant to do, that we are in the wrong path.
I believe this is because we mistake our path with our purpose. We can have a life purpose, or even a fate, but these are not inherently our path.
Try to look at your path as a continuum of your own experience, instead of a means of achieving something. It's not immutable, or a predestination, or even what you are.
Think of it as the ground you walk on... no matter where you go, you'll always be standing on it. It may change its appearance or its characteristics, but it's still ground.
The ground you have walked, the ground you currently stand on, and the ground you'll walk upon is unique to you. No one could follow your exact footsteps or walk the same way as you did. And it exists as long as you continue experiencing things.
So what does it all mean?
It is what you make of it. If you are like I was, maybe this reflection will resonate with you, and maybe one day it will bring you some peace of mind (at least as far as this matter is concerned).
Colloquially, people will still ask about your path reffering to your practice, religion, etc. But I hope that internally, you feel less bound by the constraints that labelling yourself can put upon you.
Remember Your Path is unique to you, with all its twists, turns and your perceptions of them.
Don't feel pressured into "choosing a path" or "finding your path". Enjoy the beautiful singularity that it already is.
If you feel like you need to find your path, try to take a look at it as a whole. Reflect upon where you are, where you have been, and where your heart tells you you are heading to.
And if you feel you don't like your path right now, well, that's a sign maybe it's time to stir it in a different direction. One that you can feel proud of, someday.
