Now that I’ve completed the 2017 YouTube Pagan Challenge on the grimoire, I thought I’d consolidate the three videos I made in response to the challenge and also throw in some additional commentary. This year’s theme: the personal grimoire or metaphysical journaling. For your reference, here is a PDF reference to all question prompts for the 2017 YouTube Pagan Challenge that I was going off of for the video responses.

I’m going to be making references to the question prompts by number. So, for instance, when I say Question 1, I mean the “Show and Tell” prompt, or if I say Question 45, I mean, “What kind of pagans were your ancestors?” and so on. Number to question references are on that PDF.

In retrospect, Part 3, my last video, should have been Part 1, the first video, so for those who haven’t seen any of them, oh good. Now you can actually watch them in the better order. In this post I’m going to be featuring the final Part 3 first, since it makes more sense that way, and then you’d move on to Part 1.

Then, of course, it turns out there were a whole load of questions I totally missed, so I’ll try to answer any that seem relevant to my path at the very end, via blog rather than another video upload.

Part 3: Pagan Practice, Opinions, and the Personal

I start this video by addressing the question of whether I am even considered pagan. Then I address my go-to divination techniques, Question 6, how it’s not recorded in my grimoire but elsewhere in separate journals, ritual work or Question 8, my answer to Question 12 is implied in some of what I say in this video, and Question 13, where I talk about a code of ethics for spell-crafting. Here I also talk about the religions that influence my path and give glimpses of my witchy rooms or…more accurately, witchy house.

I address my use of astrology, or Question 27. Psst… I provide a free introduction to astrology and lots of useful free astrology reference sheets for download here on this site. Check it out here. When you’re ready to deep-dive into Western astrology, to master both whole signs and Placidus, understand the difference between a Tropical and Side Real zodiac, and become proficient in the fundamentals of both medieval traditional astrology and modern astrology, then check out my “Astrology Course for Beginners.” Then, I think the answer to Question 47 is pretty much implied and answered in this video.

I skirt gingerly over the topic on cursing, binding, and banishing in this video. If you’re interested in more, I have a blog post all about this topic from an ethics point of view, but also get into very personal details in one of my closed circuit posts, “On Tarot Reading Ethics, Part III: Addressing Curses.” I also get into it in one of my FAQs in the “Tarot as a Tool for Craft” online course. If you’d like to know more about my perspective and techniques, enroll in one of my classes where such a topic would be within the scope and go from there. Intermediate and advanced sigil techniques are provided in the “I Ching and the Practitioner” course and using the Book of Changes in spell-crafting.

Part 1: The Grimoire Show and Tell

This is a flip-through of my current working grimoire as of the date of upload. For the most part it’s just about answering Question 1 and giving the show and tell. I do also get a bit into Questions 2, 3, 4, and a bit into Question 46. If you’re paying attention to the footage, then you’ll also see that through the “showing” part, I’ve also answered Question 25.

Part 2: Content and Logistics

In Part 2, I talk about how I go about creating the pages of my book. How does something transform from a rough sketch and idea on scrap paper into a carefully deliberated page in my book? How much time do I dedicate regularly to working in my book? How long does a single page take me? What does the process and progress of working in a grimoire mean to me in terms of what it teaches me about my path?

Toward the end of the video, I also show some of the shittier, older, and completed grimoires from days past.

Peppered and implied through both Parts 1 and 2, I show the pages for and talk a bit about how psychic techniques, consecrating tools, deities I work with, funeral rites, rites for the birth of a child, blessing ceremonies, all other forms of rituals for important milestones in life, my go-to mantra recitations (i.e. the prompt on chants and songs), healing or therapeutic techniques, recovering past life memories or past life regression techniques, and how these topics form the content of my book. As for meditation, I teach what I believe to be some powerful, self-empowering techniques that will get any practitioner at any proficiency or path to level up through my “Tarot and Shadow Work” course.

I didn’t go into how-to step-by-step details on technique and approaches for the question prompts on, say, how to cast an actual hex, of mediumship and channeling techniques, or a love spell, prosperity spell, the step by step for a funeral rite, or any of that. I just sort of acknowledge vaguely, yeah, these are things that would definitely go into my grimoire and then move on.

The Metaphysician’s Day Planner

In the back end pages, or the “grimoire pages” of my Metaphysician’s Day Planner, there’s a color correspondence reference chart on different colors and what they mean to me, in effect answering Question 26. By the way, at the end of Part 3, I talk about how the 2018 Metaphysician’s Day Planner is in the works and will be released for pre-order soon.

Remaining Questions

Some of these question prompts were big, heavy questions, like 10: “How did the universe begin, will it end, does it have a purpose?” That’s supposed to be answered in a 10 minute YouTube vlog? Yikes. I guess I could just regurgitate what the scriptures I follow have to say on the matter, but that wouldn’t be very interesting. Or 11: “How does consciousness work, do all things have consciousness, is the universe conscious?” I guess to the third part of that inquiry, I’ll say, yes. Yes, I believe so.

I was amused by Question 48 (“How would your path be different if you lived on another planet, such as Mars?”). The answer for me is it would definitely be different, because I would be sourcing locally, listening to the spirit of the lands to better understand the metaphysical correspondences for what’s on Mars, and tapping in to Martian consciousness, but because I carry with me the legacy of my own ancestors (not from Mars…), my new Martian practice would be integrated with my ancestral path.

And by the way, folks, that’s not called cultural appropriation of Martian religious iconography; it’s called common sense personal spirituality. It’s intuitive and organic for cultural transplants and new diasporas to hold on to what is in their blood and bones, and mix that with what’s influencing them in their new physical environment and culture. In a globalized society that’s mostly online, beyond physical borders, you don’t have to leave your house to become, in effect, a cultural transplant, and be exposed to new and different cultural ideas that you merge with the native practice that’s in your blood and bones.

For Question 50, I did want to give some quick shout-outs. Sacred Land Sage (sacredlandsage.com) has some amazing, high-quality, potent products. I swear by that proprietor’s work and love what she comes out with. I also trust her craft with quite a deal of faith because she’s got such a strong sense of “do no harm” to our Mother Earth. I also really love The Sacred Well (sacredwell.com) and the magic they create.

Now what better way to end this post than to end it with the last question in the Challenge, Question 52: “Imagine the Abrahamic religions died out and everyone was pagan. What would the world be like?”

The same. Instead of Yahweh or Allah it’d just be Zeus or Tai Yi and you’d have the sects of extremist fanatics, the majority of the hive mind congregating like sheep under some charismatic leader who inevitably takes advantage of said sheep, and brawls over whose god or goddess is the best, most all-powerful god or goddess. Institutions formed around dominant pagan paths will try their darndest to rise to political power and influence the government to reflect their religious beliefs. In other words, exactly the same situations we have going on around the world today. And minority pagan paths will be suppressed and feel voiceless. It’s not about Abrahamic religions. It’s people. Even if Abrahamic religions died out in some alternate universe, people will still be people, pagan or otherwise.

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By the way, it’s only August, so it’s not too late to join in on the Challenge if you haven’t already. And if you have, please leave links below in the comments section! I’ve been having just the merriest time checking the hashtag #ytpaganchallenge and lurking on everybody’s cool videos.

Some of the ones I’ve been lurking on, but not all (!!! oh man, I’ve checked out so many more than this list here shows !!!), in no particular order, include of course, Annika herself, The Sea Priestess, The Aspie Pagan, The Mer Priestess, Alie Francis, Vella Mour, Caelia Remnants, Wild Intuitive, and although I didn’t see anything from Hellbound Heathen for 2017, I’ve been scoping out his 2016 Challenge videos. Same for AthenaBeth Black. Again, that’s nowhere close to all of the channels I watch. Just the ones most readily availed at my mouse-clicking fingertips at the moment.