archive- fierce optimism

This was the last column I wrote for the Reclaiming Quarterly, written a month before the start of the war in Iraq. It was not printed as the Quarterly had had enough of me and fired me as a columnist. I found it ironic given the subject of this column.... a challenge itself to my fierce optimism!

Start Making Scents
A Fierce Optimism
By Oak

Once again; in the dark of the year, my thoughts turn to what is needed to bring back the light in these terrible times. For once, I do not feel like Cassandra issuing dire warnings to a country that sees me as crazy. I think that no matter the political agenda or view, there is mass consensus that (pardon my English) things are fucked. One identifying characteristic of witches is that we are metaphysical meddlers. Most of us have gotten busy trying to change the situation at hand, whether by overt political action or simply by burning candles devoted to peace. I have heard much talk about binding, and although I won't focus on that here, binding is something I am theologically against, believing contracting things is the last thing we need to be focused on right now. Some are opening portals, but while not against portal openings, the whole idea feels like something from Star Trek to me, and I can't imagine it without a giggle. My work seems to be simply envisioning hope and mindfully charging things up with this hope, both in my own home and on the streets.

Twenty-five years ago, a week before winter solstice, my father climbed the tree in front of our home. He carried with him a long metal pole, which he then touched to a nearby high-tension wire. My father had been battling depression for several years, and that day he surrendered to it. In his depression it was a common occurrence to see him in his armchair, gazing out at the tree he would eventually climb, a drink in hand, repeatedly listening to his beloved Frank Sinatra singing "I Did It My Way". That gray day in December, he did indeed do it his way, creative to the bitter end.

My father's suicide, followed by two other family deaths within six months, gave birth to my identity as a witch. For my sisters and I, it also was the strange fire that forged our dark humor and fierce optimism. As the days shorten and the anniversary of our father's death approaches, the magical act of charging, of putting our energy and belief in hope and redemption into our world and the gifts we are making, takes precedence over everything. Over the solstice holidays my sisters and I become embroiled in massive projects, putting our heart and soul into the making of presents and the decorating of our homes. Each gift we make is a message, a spell, and an affirmation of life. Each soap, canned good, bath bomb, sprizer, and candle murmurs; "Let's come to our senses, life is good, please know that I love you". Our homes become lively altars devoted to making it through dark times, full of light, symbols of rebirth, and good smells. We did not grow up with parents who made anything by hand for presents. Our children, on the other hand, expect their homes to somewhat resemble Santa's workshops from mid-November through the winter holidays, each room having it's own mess devoted to creation. Given current events, this year calls for a grand gesture.

In past years I have needed to get on the phone and be reminded by one sister or another that life will go on, even if I don't have enough time to make my own wrapping paper. I have taught my sisters the concept of "charging" things up. They readily recognized that this is exactly what we are all up to. William Bloom, in his excellent book, "Psychic Protection", has a chapter entitled "Blessing". This chapter is devoted to what we witches alternately call "charging", and is a detailed exploration of this all-important magical skill. His definition of blessing is; "any transfer of energy which helps life to fulfill its potential. To bless someone or something is to move energy through your own aura and then into the person, object or space so that it has a good and helpful effect. The basic energy with which we work in blessing is unconditional love." My sisters and I loved someone who lost hope in life fulfilling its potential. We are determined not to. At the darkest of times, we strive to create homes that radiate good cheer. We know that this is not just determined by the amount of ornaments on the Yule tree and packages under it, but by the energy emanating from said objects. New physics reveal that it turns out that the thought that goes into things really does count. I know in my bones that my work over this time is to feed hope, to think, feel, and believe that light will follow dark. As the men in charge of this country court death and destruction by preparing for war, my thoughts relentlessly focus on the power of love, and our ability to charge the world with this healing force.

Several years back my coven had the good fortune to work with Victor and Cora Anderson, founders of the Feri tradition, from which Reclaiming has sprung. Victor was the consummate shaman. Many times my coven, when comparing notes on what had transpired in that strangely mundane San Leandro tract home, would find that we all had heard him say quite different and even contradictory things. A master magician, I am still un-peeling layers of what I learned from him. Cora, on the other hand, was and is a pragmatic witch, skilled at practical magic. She told us about how she was known amongst friends and neighbors for her profoundly healing soup. She made it clear that the ingredients of the soup changed, according to what was in her kitchen. The two things that remained the same were; she put healing energy into the making of the soup, and the soup healed.

As an aromancer, I am well accustomed to the healing properties of the essential oils I work with. One thing I know for sure is; the bath salts I make you might be chock full of relaxing oils, but will not be as effective if made when I am stressed out or frantic. The healing properties increase if charged up with my good intention and love. As the nights grow longer, I work on staying grounded and calm amidst my chaotic household of spells in process. In order to charge things up, to imbue them with our good will and intention, we need to feel connected and plugged into the energy of the earth. Otherwise, the energy we put into things will not be as strong and we will soon find ourselves depleted and exhausted. Over the years, I have become more adept at the magic inherent in surviving each solstice and have recognized how staying grounded in a good humor is key to the work at hand. The same can be said for surviving countless demonstrations and marches.

My sister Stacy, who is approaching the age of my father at his death, is prone to exclaiming "Dad thought HE had it bad! He never could have survived all this, even with Prozac!" My two sisters and I have had more than our fair share of turbulence in our private lives, while also living in a maelstrom of a time. We are well accustomed to various physicians and therapists carefully asking us if we know that we are at higher risk of committing suicide ourselves, given our family history. We know when asked such a question that we are in the presence of someone who surely won't get our gallows humor on the subject, or understand how, as with childhood abuse, such an experience can map a ferocious commitment to this not being a road we go down. We understand quite well the power of despair and have worked hard to do the paradoxical work of not being in denial about how bad things are, yet staying optimistic. There simply is no other viable option.

Recent studies on optimism have shown that one quality all optimists share is the tendency to compare their situation with those worse off. In other words, optimists know that things, although bad, can truly be worse than they are. As a child, I would often say to my sisters, "At least we aren't with the Donner Party". (For those who aren't familiar with California History, they were a group of pioneers who made it across the whole country in covered wagons. They got stuck in a blizzard in the Sierras not far from their destination and were forced to eat those who died off) The Donner Party continues to be a code phrase for us, one that bugs our children no end. Comrades of mine, who have spent time with me in holding cells, are also familiar with my invocations of the Donner Party.

As we approach this solstice, we approach the very real possibility of war, as well as an economic depression. I find myself at times contemplating a tree of my own to climb, or seeing the positive side of the instant relief of a sniper's bullet. Then that feisty optimist rears up in me, and my commitment deepens to enjoying this brief ride on the only green planet I happen to know of. Along with my sisters, I am once again challenged to find that conduit to the regenerative qualities of this living earth, and to mindfully put faith and hope into the creation of my solstice presents. This upcoming time will find me charging them as well as the water bottle I share on the streets with those who resist the cry of war, who fight for life over certain suicide.

As witches, our art of charging and blessing things is one of the greatest gifts we can give to not only family and friends, but to social and global change. Grounding ourselves and tapping into the power of this planet, staying optimistic and staving off despair, is daily practice for many of us at this time. Then from a grounded place, connected to the beauty of this spinning orb of life, we can radiate out our faith in the life force, sending it through our hands into what we are working with and through our breath into the world at large. By doing this we assist the natural forces of what Reclaiming priest Donald Engstrom calls " beauty, balance, and delight". May we get through these hard times, may peace prevail on this magnificent planet, may over and over we invoke: Joy to the World! So mote it be!

Joy to the World Blend

1part orange essential oil - this provides zest and a feeling of optimism
1 part frankincense essential oil - one of the oldest sacred oils, for endurance, reduces stress and tension
½ part myrrh essential oil - this is also one of the oldest, having been used by humans for over 4,000 years. Imagine people using it 4,000 years into the future. Feel your connection to all, past and present.
½ part ginger essential oil - for energy and stamina, for the sun!
1 drop rose essential oil - just a drop of liquid love and open heartedness

This blend can be put in carrier oil such as almond or jojoba for a personal scent or charging oil. It also can be put into bath salts, spritzers, or bath bombs. The main thing is to charge it as you are making it. Feel your connection to the miracle of life on this planet. Mindfully inhaling and exhaling, feel the power of our constant giving and receiving. Imagine this power flowing into the oils as you work with them.
I have not put quantities of drops, as this will depend on how much you are making. Adjust it to the strength you like, and use your divine intuition on changing proportions to suit your taste(well, smell).