My Personal Journey
What's in a Name?
I thought I'd begin this blog by introducing myself and talking a bit about my personal journey. I'm Elisa, a name that I grew into rather than one that was chosen for me. My journey to Paganism is similar: I grew into these perspectives and this personal identity just as I grew into my name.
A Wild Spirit
It's difficult to say when my actual Journey to Earth Centered perspectives began. Because, in truth, the heart of a Pagan has beat within me since I was a child. Growing up, I was always outside. In the forests of Appalachia, I ran wild and barefoot, climbing trees and chasing fireflies. Without inhibition, I romped about beneath the moon and always had a free spirit. Moving to Florida didn't change much, as I climbed the great oak trees dripping with moss, and splashed in rivers and waterways- clothes on and without a care.
Spirituality Beyond Church
Entering into young adulthood, I was an extremely spiritual person, constantly aware of my connections with Spirit. Although then my definitions of spirituality were rooted in my Christian upbringing, my connections to Divinity were strongest when among the wild places. I found Spirit among the reeds in the slow-moving brackish Florida canals, rather in the rows of pews on Sunday.
My soul craved deep emotional connection and I sought it with my whole heart. My belief is and always has been that if there is a Source of all things, then that it would have to be rooted in Love. Yet the more I read and studied Christian theology, taught Youth Groups, and following an interest in Seminary, the less I could ignore the contradictions between what I felt in my heart and what was being taught by my Evangelical Christian Pastors.
Paradise Lost
At 23, I had a road accident that absolutely shattered my world. I had multiple injuries, including ruptured discs. I was alive, but I felt like my body had betrayed me. Things that had been easy for me during my active and rambunctious lifestyle now felt impossible and out of reach. Every moment was spent in pain. Modern medicine helped the physical pain, and I'm thankful for the treatments available today. But the emotional pain was crushing, and the overwhelming silence to my prayers created a gaping hole in my heart. At the time a close family friend opened up to me about their path of witchcraft and introduced older medicine- things that the modern world deemed "magic and superstition". I found relief, opportunity, and space to grow in witchcraft.
Paradise Found
I found hope in myself for the first time; something that had always been discouraged by the churches I'd grown up in. If the accident had destroyed my self-worth, then my recovery could only be called Empowerment. I realized that the power I'd thought only belonged to Gods and Priests was indeed within me. I became my own Priestess, weaving blessings of healing over my body and my spirit. I started to feel a profound connection with something I had never put much faith in before - myself.
Connection with myself led me to connections with the natural world on a level I hadn't experienced since childhood.
The Ever-Winding Spiral Path
My journey has led me down some unexpected pathways. All of them have had their own divine purpose in my life. The journey is never complete, there are always new paths, the next step, a new adventure, more challenges, and always more lessons. I try to let each one teach me and bring me into more awareness of the invisible threads that connects us all to the greater web of consciousness and reality. The Labyrinth is a powerful symbol in ancient cultures, as they believed it was symbolic of the Soul's Journey through the Universe, always doubling back on itself to provide new perspectives and lessons to old situations and patterns.
I invite you to join me on this path. I will share my journey as it unfolds, talk about past experiences, and my life at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. My blog will feature posts about growing your own personal spiritual practice, lore and traditions from European Ancestors, how to manifest magic, self love, and how to find wisdom in your own journey. I hope to feature guest authors that also embody the mission of Spiral Path: to be a place of love and uplifting energy for all that visit.
With that, Welcome!
And I look forward to sharing my own journey with you!
Elisa
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