The Evolving Witch: Navigating Spiritual Upgrades

I took this photo at a local cave, known as The Ovens.

Rebirth. Emerging from a period of underworld journeying of self-discovery and connection to our guiding spirits, whether an intentional phase of personal inquiry or a spontaneous episode, can find us in a state of spiritual upgrades. Our bodies, minds, and souls are reconfiguring. Regulating our emotions and navigating our lives can be challenging during these times.

Witchcraft as a spiritual journey can include these types of intense shifts, when the mysteries unlock. A ritual, a spell, a meditation, a dream, or a message comes through. We are forever changed.

In my new book, Entering Hekate’s Cauldron, I included a section on spiritual upgrades that delves into these experiences:

Spiritual upgrades provide us with an opportunity to not only become more enlightened but also to make peace with being uncomfortable. Distress tolerance, abiding outside our comfort zone, is an important skill to develop as you advance along your witch’s journey. There is no transformation without friction.

Here are some general tips for navigating a spiritual upgrade:

· Stay with your daily ritual, adjusting it as your feel called. It is natural for our practice to evolve as we “level up.”

· Wear a calming stone, such as selenite. Sleep with red jasper. Use black obsidian as a touchstone and release vessel.

· Dialogue with Hekate and your spirit guides about this transformation, seeking advice and support.

· Seek to understand the process. Record your experiences, whether in your journal or making audios or videos, so you can reflect on them.

· Embodied activities—such as dance, yoga, or simply going for walks—can balance the spiritual energy with the corporeal, while also providing time to connect with and contemplate the messages being received.

· Nourish your body well. Making extreme changes during the upgrade can lead to increasing problems, but small changes can be helpful.

· Manage the changes in your energetic field and neural networks with the help of natural supplements, but only when it is safe for you to do so based on your own health needs. The dandelion spiritual upgrade soother in Entering Hekate’s Garden may be helpful.

· Ritual bathing with purifying salt and equanimity-invoking botanicals—such as yarrow, lavender, and rose—can be very helpful.

· Foot soaks using cornmeal and grounding botanicals—such as dandelion and the ones above—are very grounding for when we feel as if we can’t keep our feet on the ground.

· Release stressors. Get rid of anything that isn’t serving your highest good, whether it be people or possessions, but consider the consequences and be graceful as you do so.

· Every time you go to the bathroom, envision the feelings that don’t serve you getting flushed down the toilet.

· In all areas of your life, be as gentle with yourself as possible.

What works for you will be very personal. Try things. Record the results. Cast off what doesn’t work. Try new things. Repeat as necessary.

Watch the full class on spiritual upgrades and download prayer cards: