One of my goals for 2020 is to delve deeper into my craft and spirituality. Now that I’ve reorganized my altar (see my last post for more), I’ve decided to incorporate daily ritual at my altar into my life in order to accomplish my goal.

The Purpose of Daily Ritual

The hectic life of a commuter and college student has made it easy for me to put of my practice when I’m tired or simply don’t feel like it. As a result, I end up spending weeks without doing much of anything related to my craft.

It’s easy for us to get caught up in the whirlwind of our daily lives, before suddenly an esbat or sabbat is upon us and we only end up practicing our craft when these big days roll around. But the problem is that we cannot expect to deepen our craft and develop our abilities as witches if we do not have some sort of regular practice.

Although I love witchcraft and my spiritual practice, it’s the first thing that get put on the back burner when I feel lazy or procrastinate. And I want to change that.

When we perform spells, we seek to create a change. We take an active role of causing our intentions to be manifested. However, through daily ritual I find that I take a more passive role. Instead of causing change, daily ritual work is more receptive and mindful.

There are also other types of ritual work – the most common being bigger magickal practices we perform where our work is more ritualistic or ceremonial.

Daily ritual work is a chance to connect with the sacred and be present with the energies of the universe and divine.

Devotional Activity

The first time I heard about devotionals in witchcraft was while reading The Outer Temple of Witchcraft by Christopher Penczak. He wrote about his practice of altar devotionals.

Altar devotionals are described by Penczak as a way of connecting and communing with the sacred in everyday practice. At their core, altar devotionals are about expressing gratitude to the divine and sacred.

Now I’d heard of devotional activities from a few Christian relatives of mine. But, this was the first I’d heard of the practice in the context of witchcraft and Wicca.

Although Penczak likened his altar devotionals to the practice of prayer, this does not need to take on the connotation that comes to mind from the Judeo-Christian concepts. I know that many witches, myself included, were once or still are uncomfortable with practices too similar to the religions of their childhood.

But this practice can be so beneficial to your craft. And, best of all devotionals can be incredibly unique and personal.

The Power of Expressing Gratitude through Devotionals

Expressing gratitude to the divine is something I really loved about Penczak’s altar devotionals. In fact, expressing gratitude can be a great way to maintain healthy relationships in our lives. Why not take the time to thank our deities and spirit guides for all they do?

Often times I thank my guides simply for the path that I’m on and for their presence by my side on my journey.

It’s easy for me to slip up and forget to provide offerings for my deities when I’m not performing any sort of magickal workings. But I want to maintain my relationships with my deities in more meaningful ways and have found devotionals to be a great way of accomplishing this.

Devotionals are a key part of my daily ritual. I think they are a wonderful thing to incorporate into your own as well.

Benefits of a Daily Ritual

As mentioned above, daily ritual and devotional activity is a great way for you to develop and foster a relationship with your own deities and spirit guides.

Overall, daily ritual is a way to continually devote yourself to being a witch and following your path.

Additionally, a daily ritual is a way to invite the sacred into our lives. We are able to establish how we want to act through our day and be more centered with the sacred.

Not only that, but daily ritual allows us to develop our ritual skills and spiritual abilities such as meditation and visualization.

Mindfulness in Meditation and Practice

Most of all, the easiest change to overlook is that which comes from meditation and mindfulness. Mindfulness is a process of purposefully being present with our experiences in the moment without judgment and this occurs a lot through meditation.

Now, I know mindfulness is a word that gets thrown out there a lot lately. But it’s a skill that has a lot of benefits. I mentioned my bipolar disorder recently, which is something that affects all aspects of my life – even my spirituality.

Through meditation, mindfulness, and affirmations in my daily ritual I allow myself to be more centered. Not only that, but mindfulness has been clinically proven to improve mood and alleviate symptoms of several mood disorders.

All in all, daily ritual is a chance to reconnect with the sacred and what matters most in our lives.

Establishing Your Own Daily Ritual

Firstly, you’ll need to decide on when you can perform a daily ritual. For me, most times it’s in the early evening once I get home from my long commute from school. However, for you maybe it’s first thing in the morning or right before bed.

Similarly, you may decide that you want one in the morning and one in the evening before bed. Whether this is because you’d like to try doing both or maybe depending on the day your free time changes.

What to Include

• Open with mindfulness: brew some tea, light a candle, light incense, create sacred space if desired. Meditate.

• Invite the sacred. Whether it’s spirit, your deities, guides, guardians or angels, invite them and be present. I prefer not to ask for much of anything from them other than saying: “At this time, I set my intention to be present with thee, my guides and guardians may I be open to any and all of your messages. In my highest and greatest good.”

• Express gratitude. Simply put, I just thank spirit for the gifts I have in my life and the strength they’ve provided. I recognize the divine in myself and I thank them for showing me the way.

• Provide an offering. If you have patron deities, you know offerings are pretty important. And if you’re like me, without daily practice you might find it easy to forget.

• Incorporate any meaningful art, mantras, affirmations, music, etc. that is meaningful to you.

• Practice any skills you’re working on like divination or visualization exercises. Sometimes it’s hard to just do this on its own, so adding it into the daily ritual makes it easier to practice regularly.

My Daily Devotional Ritual

In my daily ritual, I begin by making some tea if I’d like and lighting a candle. Currently, I use a tealight candle but plan to incorporate a larger candle that’s been blessed and used only for my daily ritual. Next, I’ll light some incense to set the mood.

Typically, I don’t cast a circle or call the quarters. Instead, I’ll establish myself in sacred space through an affirmation or perhaps a simple circle if I feel like practicing. At this point, I begin meditating.

Meditation can be as simple as candle gazing and being mindful or I may choose to follow a more guided meditation such as one involving visualization.

Usually, I only meditate for a few minutes. A daily devotional or ritual can be as short as you need. It’s up to you and how you feel.

Additionally, this step allows us to practice our skill with meditation and entering an altered state of consciousness – the same one we use to create magick.

My Devotional Practices

Now, I’ll incorporate devotional activity into my ritual. I invite the divine and my guides, communing with different deities depending on the day. I spend a moment being present with them and then will express gratitude.

As I conclude my devotionals and daily ritual I try to provide some sort of offering to my deities and to spirit. This may simply be the incense I have burning or something I’ve prepared. It depends on who I’m communing with.

For example, when I am with Apollo I have been sharing poetry I’ve written as a devotional activity. Other times it may be that I’ve previously performed an act of service as a way of showing devotion to deity.

After my offerings, my ritual varies more than ever. For you, you may wish to share meaningful quotes or poetry with spirit. Any form of art including music may be incorporated if desired.

For example, I like to affirm the Reiki principles that my Reiki master taught me when I was attuned and learned about the practice.

Perhaps there’s a skill you are seeking to develop. This is where I would practice divination if I was working on that. Otherwise if I am spending more time with my ritual I’ll simply commune with deity and be open to any messages that may pass through.

Lastly, I’ll finish with some affirmations and grounding myself. When it’s early in the day I will also perform my empath shielding technique for the day.

Conclusion

It’s as simple as that. Some days I spend far more time during my daily ritual, other times it’s short and sweet. The point is that by practicing daily I grow closer to my craft and keep the sacred in mind throughout the day.

Most of all, don’t feel bad if you miss a day here and there. Ultimately, if you only practice a devotional ritual a few times a week that’s perfectly acceptable. As you develop and grow you’ll gain new levels of discipline and work ethic as a witch.

That’s what I find most powerful about daily rituals like the one Christopher Penczak shared in his book; simple and consistent ritual practice will help you grow in ways you could never expect.