The Philosophy of 0 In the Pagan Culture

.When practicing Paganism there are many elements to consider, for example  our own individual energies as well as the energy in the things around us. Herbs, Crystals, Cards, Water, and the Earth are just a few examples. Basically everything around us has its own energy that we can utilize in our practices. In our craft, intention is the primary focus of whatever we are doing or trying to accomplish. That intention is fueled by the energy of the practitioner. 

In order for us to be able to fully utilize that energy or recognize the energies around us, we first need to be present and grounded. When we are distracted by unresolved issues or the outside world it can cause a block. That block hinders what we cast out, it creates bias in our intentions. Have any of you performed a ritual or done some form of spell work where you can’t seem to fully concentrate, you feel forgetful about what you are doing, or even feel your casting has taken a toll on you and sapped your energy? Leaving you feeling as if your intentions were not met or met fully? That is a sign of having a block, not being present, or not being grounded. 

Strong feelings of both positive and negative emotions can pose as a distraction, whether we are having a really bad day full of distractions and emotions or having a really good day where we feel energized, happy, and excited. No matter which direction we are at on the number line, if we are not centered, our intentions, and the things we are trying to accomplish within our “craft” will never work out the way we want them to.

Strong emotions and past traumas reside in our subconscious and are responsible for those feelings regardless of whether we know it or not and will work its energy into our casting. This creates something that isn’t what we intended, a less than stellar effect or it can create something different than we intended to accomplish. If that is the case, we aren’t casting with true intention, right? It means the work we are doing is being controlled not by our conscious mind but our subconscious without actually knowing ultimately what we’re doing, what we’re casting.

Note: Story about Hiking with Dakota

My cousin and I went on a healing hike one evening. Afterwards we went back to my place to do a ceremony. Story -

When we hiked up that mountain we had fears but we did not try to repress them. We were coming into tune with those fears. We surrendered to them. We felt all of those emotions and worked our way through them. By doing that we were able to start healing. While in this process, we were also surrounded by the most basic forms of life. There was no busy city, traffic, emotional, and perceivable distractions. We were surrounded by peace, harmony, simplicity, the earth, and the air. Having those elements around us, we were able to truly heal and free ourselves from the illusions that we had created inside ourselves. We were able to surrender those negative feelings without any outside or bias noise. This is an example of being at zero.

Having the idea to do an energy cleansing ritual after a physical healing process is what brought back the pain and fear. The next morning, my cousin and I had debilitating anxiety and panic. Those feelings for both of us lasted over a full week and we didn’t understand why. We had such a magical day and a magical evening it didn’t make sense to me at the time. 

I didn’t feel very special and wasn’t very happy with myself after that. I had performed something that not only made my life miserable, I had hurt someone close to me, and caused them more pain than they had gradually felt over the course of years. I did that and shame on me. I can’t tell you how bad I felt about it and how bad I still feel about doing that. 

It brought the fears and anxiety back with a vengeance. I was using those two energies in the wrong ways without realizing it. I was using them not for true healing and cleansing even though that was my intention. 

Ceremonies, rituals, and spellwork is a lot like making cookies. You have a bowl that you gather all of your ingredients in. This is in forms of different energies. Herbs, water, crystals, the earth, and our own personal energies. This includes energies from our subconscious that we dont’ realize is actually mixing in the bowl. When it comes time to cast, our intention is far different from what our original intent was. 

Without taking the time to come back to zero after hiking, yes we had done work to

I had the energy of illusion already in me. Using that perceived energy instead of the true energy created from the healing, I was using it to mask the illusions instead of using the energies created from true healing to actually cleanse and protect. I brought back everything we had surrendered during that hike. It all came back so quickly, it was unbearable for both of us to handle.

The way things are presented to us through the way we are taught to think, see, feel. I can guarantee that the majority of us have thought this way our entire lives, from the second we came out of the womb into this world. Let’s talk about birth for a moment. When we come into this world. The very second we come into this world. It’s pure innocence. Nothing has been taught. The world is seen as a blank canvas as you will. As we grow up and are taught about the world. How to crawl, sit, stand, giggle; We are taught how to feel how our parents feel. How the world feels. How we see things, what to believe. How to triumph life’s challenges…..Whoa we got serious. Our feelings and emotions come from the people around us how they feel and perceive the world. 

Now, I’m sure a lot of you are about to click off because you think I am high in the night. Bear with me. After this, if you still think I am crazy. Do whatever your little heart desires. 

During this time I had no idea that my subconscious was playing a part in all of this. It was casting out its energy and I had no idea. At this time, I had been performing rituals and crafting spells without even knowing what I was putting into it. I didn’t know what zero was. 

So how do we combat this, how do we get to zero. It’s all about perception. Yes, using practices like shadow work and meditation do help, however, that takes time. It takes a lot of work to be proactive in our work. I do advise meditation before any type or ritual or spellwork. It will help you ground and it will help you go back to zero. During this meditation, take those thoughts that are coming and put them in a neutral perspective. Fear for example. I’m fearful of not being good enough, I’m fearful this might not work. Change your perspective on fear as you meditate to something like, I’m not scared of it, It’s just hard to do. Not feeling good enough is a hard thing to swallow, It is hard to see an outcome not happen as I perceive it. And you know what. We can do hard things. You will hear me say this a lot throughout my workings. It is very important to understand this concept.

It is really easy to get lost in your mind. Especially when things are good. When things are happy, moving quickly, you're having the time of your life. If you keep pushing for that feeling, it is very possible that it will fail. What if it doesn’t work out the way you want it to? Instead of getting all excited and ready for things to manifest, then being disappointed if they don’t, keeping your mind at zero regardless of the outcome will make things run a lot smoother. The bias is under control and in that space, we can work with the outcome no matter what it is. 

Being at zero, even in our day to day lives can keep us calm and keep us at a neutral point to where we are able to think through trials and tribulations in a more efficient manner. It helps us stay present and in tune with the earth and ourselves. Being present helps us think more clearly and we can develop solutions in a more powerful way. Same with ideas, daily tasks, and thought processes required throughout daily living. 

We also need to remember, staying at zero or as close to it as we can take a lot of hard work and energy to achieve in the beginning. We need to be able to recognize when we start falling on either side of the number line. Once we do, it is important to ground and take the time we need to rest. To take a break. Self-care is a huge part of this. Taking care of ourselves makes us feel much better and keeps distractions of the world around us at bay. Eating right, meditating daily, and developing helpful habits eliminates that mental fog and helps keep that clarity that we need in order to focus. 

So I have a challenge for each and every one of you. With what you have been taught today, Take 10 to 20 minutes every day to meditate and ground. See how close to zero you can get and start to recognize when you start falling away from it. Meditation will help you start to recognize those feelings within yourself so you are able to stay present and get back to zero. Especially in times of very present highs and lows. 

I hope the messages we have shared today can help you in your daily lives. I hope you start to take time for yourselves and start recognizing different feelings and energies within yourselves so that you can come back to a neutral state. Take care and Blessed be.