December Week 4: Looking Back
We have only two weeks left of the challenge! What a haul it has been, but also what fun! This week we're going to focus on looking back at, and digging deeper into some of our earliest prompts. To see how far we've come, how we've changed, how we've grown and what if any of our goals we have achieved!
Introspection - Rules, Morals, Philosophies - Look back at your work from January. The rules, morals and philosophies you thought about at the beginning of the year, where you stood on these things, have any of your thoughts and beliefs on these topics changed? Have these beliefs grown? What more have you learned about yourself in these respects?
Research - What are the opposing ideas to some of your morals and philosophies? What are the key points that make you stand against or opposed to these? Why do you stand where you stand on these topics? The reasons behind your beliefs.
Practical - Perform a spell or ritual for the coming year. Set some goals and intentions, renew your dedication to your craft and path, anything you feel would be helpful to perform going into the new year.
Journal - How do you feel this year? How do you feel this time of year? How have you changed and grown? What have you learned? What goals have you accomplished? Where do you stand, mentally, physically, emotionally and spiritually right now compared to the beginning of the year?
Tuesday - Elements and Energies
Introspection - Where has your connection to the elements gone this year? And the energies you work with, whether they be natural, divine, or otherwise? How has this connection grown? What more have you learned? Has the knowledge you've gained this year changed the way you view the elements and energies you work with? Do you work with them differently than you did at the beginning of the year?
Research - What more do you have to learn, or aim to learn about the elements and energies you work with? Are there avenues of knowledge about them you haven't touched on yet? Are there connections between them you have yet to devote time to really thinking about? Are there new elements and energies you intend to look into?
Practical - Pick one, or all of the elements (or the energies and their sources that you work with) to connect to individually. Perform a small spell or ritual to connect yourself to it, to swim within its presence, to broaden your understanding of it. Start to finish, work it out in your lab notebook.
Journal - Look back at the working you did and journal about the experience.
Wednesday - Symbols, Traditions, Ancestry
Introspection - How has your understanding of the common (and even the uncommon) symbols within your practice and witchcraft in general changed this year? What have you learned about their meanings and history? What about their uses? Same goes for traditions, both in your practice and those in witchcraft at large. How has your understanding and practice of these traditions grown and changed this year? How about your ancestry? What have you learned about your ancestry? How has your knowledge about your own genealogy and practices/ traditions changed?
Research - Are there aspects of your ancestry you have yet to delve into? What about the symbols you are familiar with? Are there symbols you have yet to look into the history and practicality of? The uses? And the same goes for traditions. Have you kept up on yours? Have you made new ones? What are the purposes of these traditions?
Practical - Work another spell for the coming year! Work through it in your lab notebook so you can look back at it and reuse it or change it as need be!
Journal - How do you feel about your ancestry? About their traditions and practices, even if they've got nothing to do with your craft and practice. Have your feelings changed since earlier in the year, after you learned more about these things?
Thursday - Astrology, Divination, Dreams
Introspection - With what you've learned of astrology, dream work and divination, how do they fit into your craft and practice now as opposed to earlier in the year? Are you more familiar with these things? How do you connect to astrology? What about divination? Dream work? What do these mean to you now, as opposed to earlier?
Research - Are there aspects of astrology you haven't touched on yet? Parts of it you haven't delved into? What about divination? Are there methods or tools you don't know much about yet? What do you know about dreams? What they are, how they work, what they mean? Compare what you already knew with what you learned, and look at what you have left to learn.
Practical - Perform some divination! Ask yourself some questions to lead you into the new year and record the answers from whatever medium you use.
Journal - If you have dreams, record them in your journal. Then look into what, if any, deeper meaning they might have.
Friday - Crystals and Herbs
Introspection - Where does your knowledge of crystals and hers stand now, compared to earlier in the year. What kinds of things have you learned about plants and crystals that you didn't know? Some of their uses, both magical and mundane. Where they came from. How they are related to myths and legends.
Research - Herbal study and Stone Study - Pick an herb from your list as well as a crystal. Make a page for each and learn everything you can about them. Where they came from, myths and legends about them, practical uses, medicinal and culinary uses, chemical makeup and how the crystals are formed. Everything!
Practical - Get crafty! Make your pages pretty and practical! Add color, paper, notes, pictures, stickers, anything!
Journal - This journal entry is about goals for your grimoire. Where do you plan for it to go in the future? What do you intend to add to it? How do you intend to change it?
Good luck and Happy Crafting Witches!
