Witches/Pagans, what do you do when you feel powerless?

I can't remember the last time I felt truly "powerless"..... and that is not a sarcastic answer, either. Let me answer this from a strictly personal point of view. (your mileage may vary)

Don't worry about being "heard" by the gods. That's what christians and other main-streamers do with their god, they ask for help and his intervention.

Instead, draw *strength" from the "divine" however you perceive it to be, (a universal energy or life force, whatever) and MAKE it happen by sheer will and focus.

But that's the deal... YOU make it happen, not try to petition the god(s) to do it for you.

Want to help your brother and wife? Be there for them, help them by listening, understanding and being compassionate. Sometimes that's better than any medicine or therapy by a stranger. You love them... make your LOVE help them. You CAN DO THAT. Don't doubt it.

Take your wife to a Reiki practitioner, and suggest the same for your brother... it may do wonders for the physical pain as well as the emotional pain. Get them involved in their own healing as well.

I wish you all the best... many blessings, and strength for all involved.

Added: You got some really good answers here... I'm so happy to see that. re-news my "faith" in the community.

Well, first let me say that I'm sad to hear you're having

problems and some depression. I guess everyone does,

at one time or another.

One thing to remember is that the Goddess does not

get involved in day to day affairs, and solve our material

problems for us. That is what we must do. If She did,

just think how lazy and useless we would be.. we would

just cry for help and the Goddess would fix things every

time. No, that won't happen. She gave us this universe

but from here on, we must solve problems and make

Her proud.

Another part of that idea is that small things don't really

matter. And big things may take many generations and

many centuries to solve. We are all just links in a chain.

There are lots of times when individual people have to

live with typical human problems, such as money and

health issues. The important thing is to keep moving,

spiritually... to make a contribution to the overall level

of positive vibes on the planet.

Next, never lose your faith. It's not the Goddess's fault that

things go wrong. She loves us and gave us life, and one day

we will rejoin with Her. We can't expect perfection here and

now. As we get older, our physical health goes downhill, but

our spirit energy does not have to.

Another thing is that spirituality should not revolve around

magic. Metaphysical events are rare, and usually they are

the responsibility of the Priestess or Priest. The real beauty

of the Goddess lies in the moments of direct person contact

that we can have with Her, which distinguishes our religion

from many others.

By performing a daily offering, we can often feel the presense

of the Goddess manifest Herself to us. No matter what name

you call Her... Cybele, Artemis, Isis, Prithivi, Hecate... She

can manifest herself, in ritual and in dreams... once you're

seeing that, you'll know She's the real thing.

Magic isn't something that comes from a book, and it isn't

ours to wield as we choose. When the suituation calls for

it, those whom the Goddess has chosen invoke Her power,

and with Her support, they perform metaphysical actions.

In my religion that primarily involves working with spirits of

the dead, and dealing with another class of beings that I

don't want to mention here. In any case, it doesn't mean

doing anything for my own personal benefit... or we would

all be millionairs and be fashion models who never get

sick.

The best thing to do is to think carefully and figure out how to

most effectively deal with your problems. Get good advice and

help if you can. And simply open your mind to the Goddess,

and perform a daily offering... let Her appear to you and comfort

you in non-material ways... "For She is the Mother of all living

things, and Her love is poured out upon the Earth".

Many Blessings,

Jeanie

It's something I haven't totally found a "definitive answer" for, if such a thing exists on this one. Occasionally I feel totally powerless, like (for want of a better term) my battery's run dry. At other times, I feel the complete opposite and full to the brim.

I think potentially partly it could be in accordance with your state of mind (perhaps more than partly) - if you're under a lot of physical or emotional stress, then it is going to have a knock-on effect no matter what you do, and it can feel like nothing will really happen. Illness also seems to have an effect from what I've read and seen (and felt), and I'm pretty sure there's more reasoning to that, but I'm still exploring that side of things a bit. In essence, magick seems to come from within, but can't just be thrown about willy-nilly. It does take focus and a sense of will, but if you've got such underlying concerns playing on you, you may find that the anxiety is causing you to rush, or not focus properly. Or that you may be trying too hard to make changes work.

In essence, I find its' not so much about shaking that feeling off, but finding a sense of self and calm when you may feel lost and confused. Basically, stay true to who and what you are, find quiet moments to relax and meditate, and be there to help your wife and brother in any way, shape or form you can. It seems magick is merely a tool to help aid life, but at times we just have to roll up our sleeves and get stuck in to make the changes physically. In time I tend to find that things balance out in the end - the last time it happend to me, it lasted for months, but once I found myself more settled it all returned to me again.

To be fair though, this is just my advice. If you have witch friends, just talk to them, tell them you have concerns. You may find they will tell you something you had not already considered.

Blessings and Toodles

answer: I think you might have lost your focus, young one. Many witches, Wiccans and pagans go through this - especially when your focus becomes workings and not the connections. What I mean is, a focus on magic and changing things through magic but forgetting that you need the connection to the earth, the cycles of the year, your own life and the deities to work that magic.

It's like a Christian praying and praying for change but not doing anything to make that change happen other than praying.

Reconnect with your gods and the earth. Find your energy, balance it and then work on changing things in your life without the magic. You want to break a bad habit, do a banishing ritual, sure. Don't do a ritual and sit back and hope it happens. Do the ritual and help it along.

I haven't done magic in years, my focus is on my religion at this point in my life. I do expect things to change and work energy towards that by working towards results.

I hope that made sense. Good luck and hang in there.

short version - concentrate on reconnecting for now.

Stop focusing on magic and start focusing on faith. They are not the same thing. I am a pagan, I am not a witch. I have no desire to be a with. My faith and my life are completly fine with out "magic" most of which I doubt anyways.

You will NEVER HAVE TOTAL CONTROL! This is the pyschologist in my speaking as well as the pagan. The sooner you realize this the happier in life you will be.

I recently went through a similar situation, I cursed a lot, then I put magick aside and did what I could with the tools I had that did work, I was there for the people who needed me as I could be, and did what I could.

The moral of the story, casting your spell and then taking care of business gets much more accomplished than simply casting a spell.

Sometimes just talking to your friends can help...andif you see people you love in pan, then give them kindness. Kindness and touch are proven to help lessen both physical and emotional pain, and much more easily than magic ever can. One of the most about teachings in modern witchcraft (as well as life in general) is to give love to your loved ones, and just being there for them and talking to them, being there for them, and listening to them can make you feel a little bit better. It's easy to fall back on magic, but you'll always get depressed if its the only thing you do to help your situation. Sometimes these things are biological.

One final question about your wife...do you think that she might need to go into counseling?

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You sound disconnected. You need to go outside and walk and talk to nature. This should help a little. Talk to your friends too. I have been going thou this myself. I feel like I have no control over anything going on in my life. But it will come back I just need to do a little spirit work. Good Luck and Many Blessings

When I feel that way I meditate and communicate with Spirit Guides or other spirits. I might also do a ritual or possibly a spell not to gain power but to gain more understanding.