Hi, my name is Kwan Yin.

I draw my magickal name from a devotion to the Buddhist Goddess of compassion. With her many arms in motion around her calm, meditative center, I identify with and strive to be ever more like Kwan Yin, especially in my work as a foster care social worker. At the beginning and end of my day, Wicca teaches me this balance of stillness amidst motion, and empowers me to create the change I want to see in myself to better help those around me.

My spiritual journey began when I was born into a strictly Catholic family. I was fortunate to experience a warm and loving community. I was, however, most devoted to Mary, and as a teen I was fascinated to see the many images of her and to hear the multitude of stories about her miracles all over the world. This may have been my first understanding of the Goddess. Today, Mary sits on my altar next to Kwan Yin.

In college, I grew disenchanted with the limited roles for women in the church, and when I took a course called “Search for Meaning”, I realized that there was more to religion than Catholicism. The professor opened my eyes to a multitude of spiritual paths, and after I had missed a lecture on Wicca due to the passing of an old friend, I went to his office seeking more information. He gave me his personal copy of Drawing Down the Moon by Margot Adler. He asked me to read it and come back to talk with him. When I finally read the book, I could not put it down. There were other people in the world like me! I returned to my professor’s office with a bit of trepidation. Could this Catholic girl really be a witch? He put me in touch with a Wiccan friend who patiently answered my questions through letters and recommended dozens of books to begin my studies with.

Authors such as Starhawk and Scott Cunningham guided my initial attempts at formal ritual, and I continued on a solitary and mostly literary journey for about four years, while still exploring other religious paths. After those four years, I felt a strong urging to seek out other people on the Wiccan path. With an internet search in the middle of the night, I stumbled onto the Sacred Crossroads Coven website and saw that they had open Sabbat rituals and that the people didn’t look too scary. I recruited a brave friend, and we attended our first Samhain ritual in 2002. The ritual was unexpectedly moving, and I decided to come again. About a year later, I began to take Wicca 101 with the priestess of Sacred Crossroads Coven, and was later welcomed into the Inner Path, an outer court group for less formal ritual and learning. I enjoyed the opportunity to discuss with others the ideas I had read about in books for years. Through that 101 class I made a connection with a coven member who helped me with spellwork to heal a similar pain she had experienced. I admired the way she actively used her spirituality to deal with real grief and loss in her life. I remember saying to my mother-in-law at that time that this was a woman I could really respect as a spiritual teacher. About a year later I learned that she was hiving off of Sacred Crossroads to form her own coven, Stone Circle. I eagerly petitioned to join and was initiated after Imbolc in 2005.

On this journey, I have been supported by my beloved husband, a sweet cat, and a lively dog. At the end of 2005, life brought us two states away from my covenstead, and yet the importance of the work we do draws me back “home” about twice a month for ritual, for study, and for my coven family. My teachers in this “seminary” of sorts have been a profound influence, and I am indebted to them for their wisdom, guidance, and love.

Besides the time I spend with my coven, I keep fairly busy. I am extremely drawn to work with herbs, and I grow and harvest a number of them at home, along with fruits and vegetables. A connection with nature was what initially drew me to Wicca, and it is an important part of my understanding of Deity. I work on keeping the local stream and trails clean, while learning about and working on creating a sustainable foodway for myself and my family. Yoga and spiritual dance are also a huge part of my personal spiritual practices. As I mentioned at the start, I have a strong devotion to Kwan Yin, and I seek the balance of a still peace while in necessary motion. Using movement meditations, I am able to build this balance, and experience the joy of dancing with the Goddess. Music ranging from classic Prince songs (a modern day incarnation of the great goat god Pan, in my humble opinion) to the beat of ritual drum can cause my feet to move with reckless abandon! I also spend a lot of time walking our big dog in the neighborhood and through the woods. Writing is an important part of my meditation and spiritual work as well. I am still on the literary journey, but at this time, I am reading authors such as Gerald Gardener, Ronald Hutton, and Judy Harrow.

If you read this and it feels familiar, take heart that you are on a path that may feel lonely, but has been tread by many. The teacher will come when the student is ready! Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again!

My LiveJournal http://wicca201.livejournal.com/