I'm moving. It's one of the symptoms of living by faith - taking a leap when you believe you're being led in a specific direction. I felt very strong spiritual guidance that I needed to move to a new apartment, simplify my life, and focus on my spiritual growth and my role as a father. The signs were appearing in dreams and in shamanic journeyings. But to the mundane eye, there's a vast chasm between vision and reality. And even when I was ready to take the leap, I laid out a couple conditions that had to be met.
First, I needed a place with a fireplace. My dreams were filled with a specific living room and an altar placed inside the fireplace - in other words, my spirtiuality would revolve around the home's hearth.
In my own spiritual practice I've started to divide what I do and what I believe into two parts. The first is the shamanic side of my practice. I've been feeling a real affinity for the Pacific Ocean, the surf and sand, and the spirits that inhabit both the shoreline and water. My most powerful rituals have been connected to the ocean and my shamanic abilities are much more acute when I'm calf-deep in the waves. As a family, the kids and I spend a great deal of time along the coastline. And, if the gods are willing, I'm planning to take up sea kayaking as a hobby this summer. I'm hoping that I'll be able to report back on what it's like to cast a circle while bobbing on the waves.
The second portion of my practice is the witchy side of my practice, which I relate to the hearth. I take both of my leadership roles - as a single father and as the leader of a coven - very seriously. While I travel to the ocean to carry out much of my shamanic practice, I felt that I needed a fireplace to use as my personal altar. It was such strong direction that the fireplace appeared in my dreams. Furthermore, I wanted the very heart of my home practice to revolve around the family hearth.
Second, I needed a place close to my ex-wife, Rowan. Rowan is doing fine and we have joint custody of both kids, meaning we split almost everything - including custodial time - right down the middle. My daughter, who most of you know by the name of Sparrow (a name she received at her naming ceremony as an infant), will be entering school next year. My son, Bear, is about a year behind his big sister. I wanted the children to have both parents as close as possible. That way, if one of the kids wanted to bring a friend home after school, it's never an issue of which house they're going to - both homes will be within walking distance.
When I speak of being guided, it was more than just a feeling that I needed to move in this direction. The rune Raido, which often symbolizes "travel," began to appear every time I would think about staying put. It was the spirit world's way of reminding me that I need to move. Crows began to appear in threes and fours, meaning "joining" or "birth" respectively, cawing for my attention. It was time to join my dreams with reality and birth a new chapter on my spiritual path.
So I leapt. I contacted a rental agency I'd rented from years before. They had a vacancy, close to Rowan and with a fireplace. When I walked through it, it was the same room that kept appearing in my dreams. As I signaled my intent, the pieces began to fall into place. An unexpected financial windfall provided the money to move; a friend volunteered a truck and his assistance in moving. One by one the pieces began to fall into place. I'd found, not only a home, but a place to promote my spiritual growth.