Copyright Soul Arcanum LLC. All rights reserved. :)
Dear Soul Arcanum:

Do you think I may be limiting my success or working against myself by trying to improve my psychic skills and spirit communication abilities while at the same time studying Wicca and spell crafting? – Kim

Dear Kim:

I think it’s natural and healthy to explore all sorts of different paths and teachings in search of what works best for you. Most people who consider themselves to be spiritual as opposed to religious have done this to at least some degree. In my opinion, it’s a sign of true intelligence and open-mindedness! After all, how do you really know the best path for you until you explore your options?

That being said, there is definitely a difference between spiritual dabblers and spiritual teachers or masters. For one thing, the dabblers are seeking something, while the masters have found something and chosen to pour all of their beings into that path. This does not necessarily mean that one is in some way ahead of the other, for every time we evolve into new potential, we begin to seek new truths and practices that resonate with who we have become. As we need different things at different stages in our journeys, our inner beings are ever calling us toward whatever we need most at that time.

I’m wondering what is behind your concern, and whether it arises from a sense that what you’ve been doing isn’t really working for you, or whether it’s a question that came up because of some outside comment or influence. Discerning the difference is the real issue here, for you are in the process of learning to trust your own judgment and inner guidance.

Your question reminds me of when I was in training to become a Spiritualist minister, and one of my teachers occasionally made disparaging remarks about Wicca. As I had practiced Wicca for a number of years and had some of the most incredible spiritual experiences of my life in Wiccan rituals, my ears really perked up.

Since I greatly respected this teacher, I found myself questioning my own experiences with Wicca. My own truth rang through strong and clear, however, while what my teacher was saying did not reflect my experiences. I then gave up questioning my views and instead tuned in to try to determine why my teacher was so down on Wicca.

When I asked Spirit about this, I was made to understand that she had had a very different quality of exposure to Wicca, and that her understanding of it was superficial. She didn’t know what Wicca could be or is really all about. This would be comparable to someone forming an opinion of the Catholic Church based solely on what they had read in the paper about priests sexually abusing children.

This surprised me, as this teacher was clearly very spiritually open otherwise. It also made me realize that everyone makes snap judgments sometimes, myself included. For example, if someone mentioned they were into Satanism, I know I would instantly have a negative reaction to the whole subject. I must also confess that I don’t know much about Satanism, have no desire to know more, and am quite closed minded on the matter!

I have since often encountered a disparaging attitude toward Wicca not only in traditional Christian religions but also in other Spiritualist circles. While much of this can be explained by people not having true understanding of the Wiccan/pagan path, it can also be attributed to at least two other main factors.

First, Westerners have been socialized in a culture that is still strongly influenced by the Catholic Church, which of course condemned and persecuted pagans for centuries and falsely demonized earth-based religions. Sadly, not many people are intelligent enough to think for themselves and question all of this, or ambitious enough to seek out a true education on the subject. (Believe me, what we’re taught in school is not what really happened!) It is only those who have explored these matters for themselves who know how hypocritical the Church was in demonizing earlier religions, for most of the rites and rituals of the Catholic Church are pagan in origin.

The second reason I think there is a bit of a clash between Spiritualism and paganism is because pagans and other earth-based religions tend to work with lower vibrational energies of the earth, nature spirits and the elements, while Spiritualists reach for the divine and planes beyond the physical. Again, we have been socialized to view the earth as less than heaven – the body as sinful while the spirit is divine.

To sort this out, I strongly urge you to listen to your intuition and pursue whatever calls to you, for in this way, ultimately you will end up with what speaks most to your own soul and works best for you. You are wise, however, to ask yourself what teachings and practices will best help you fulfill your personal goals.

If you want to develop your mediumship abilities to work with the grieving, Spiritualist training is a great choice. If you want to be able to see fairies or work magick, then Wicca might be better. Please remember that you can do both and more, of course! In fact, if you want to become a medium in order to free earthbound spirits, a combination may be best, because you would be connecting with spirits of a lower vibration. If instead, you want to channel divine healing and messages from guides and angels, you might find it easier to attain the high vibration needed for that sort of thing through Spiritualism or some other channel.

I am not in any way suggesting that any one path is better than another, as I do not believe that is true. That would be like saying that the color blue is better than the color red. I do, however, believe that we all travel a natural order of progression, and are ever rising in vibration. Thus people tend to get interested in more earthly psychic phenomena before they are drawn to explore higher realms. We must also remember that evolution is not a straight line; it’s more like a spiral. If we focus on only one aspect of development, we’ll only get so far before we are led to circle back and bring the rest of our being up to speed. So someone who was a master at working with earth energies could be much more evolved than a dabbler who happened to be into angels at the moment. On top of all of this, we are all unique, and are wise to honor our special gifts and pursue our personal passions.

In summary, the ultimate authority on what will work best for you is YOU. Trust your own experiences and your own inner being/intuition, and don’t let anyone else tell you what you should be doing on your spiritual path, or what you should stay away from. Remember too that often the paths that people may fear and warn you against are simply both misunderstood and very powerful.

I recommend you ask Spirit to guide you to whatever you need now, and forge your own path by taking the best of what you find along the way and leaving behind whatever doesn’t resonate with you as true or useful. With this approach, you will naturally tailor your spiritual journey to your true Divine self, and honor your connection to Spirit as the most sacred, personal relationship you could ever have.

– Soul Arcanum

« »