Only by establishing trust within can we function from the truth of our soul. When we are recovering from spiritual programming, we can fall into the trap of believing that Hekate, our guides and even the cards are more trustworthy than our own insights. This, of course, is a falsity. Without the trust in our own inner voice there is no true trust in any other.
The Sacred Seven altar representing a deep trust in my ability to teach this program of true magic and fierce love.
Listening To Intuition: The Journey of The Sacred Seven
Over ten years ago, while I was sitting in a coffee shop, I had what can only be described as an enormous download of spiritual information. Overwhelmed, I walked around untethered for weeks as I grappled with what was being transmitted. At times, in the following months, I ran away from what is now known as The Sacred Seven. Without The Sacred Seven, there would be no Keeping Her Keys. The Sacred Seven is a course that turns spiritual growth programs sideways, pouring out their wisdom, and then shakes the container of witchcraft courses upside down until all the magick flows out. I used to struggle with how different it was. The Sacred Seven altar is built upon intuition. The Sacred Seven, and me, seemed to belong nowhere. The voice within – my sacred intuition – kept telling me to stay with it. That same voice said to start Keeping Her Keys. Hekate only speaks to me through the voice of my soul, which is the intuition.
Suffice to say that me listening to this sacred voice has worked out better than I ever anticipated. Here are some of my teachings that may help you learn to trust the wise goddess within.
Intuition is the Sacred Voice of the Goddess
There is the shadow voice within that says, “give them another chance,” or “that’s too wild, don’t do it.” This always is accompanied by fear. What if I cut the cord to that individual? Will there be ramifications? There has been enough instances where I am now only listening to the wisdom of my inner voice. Of course, this voice is that of Goddess. Intuition is her sacred voice.
Stop “Shoulding” On Yourself
Should I have listened to this voice that said not to allow certain members in the first place or to remove them as soon as I felt a problem? This, of course, is such a great topic to discuss. In one sense, not following the intuition allows us to learn vital lessons. In contrast, listening will always save us from suffering.
The Magic of Trusting Ourselves
How then do we discern what we must do to learn and what we must listen to in order to avoid the inevitable pain? Beloved, this is where the magic abides because we are being called to trust what we know to be true in contrast to what we think should be. I should be nice, I should be helpful, I should be accommodating. I could be wrong. And so on. You know the story-spiral of how this swirls within. I’m at the point in my journey where I choose to trust my inner voice instead of being nice.
Indulging In Second Chances
Should we give second chances? Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. My work requires me to connect with hundreds, thousands if the blog and books are counted. The indulgence of second chances is not something I can often afford because I must stay focused on the overall mission. A tricky balance for certain, but I grow more confident each day in my ability to listen to my intuition when she speaks. And to do nothing when she is silent. Wait. Patience. Not over-tending to the non-urgent and non-important. Trusting what calls to be dealt with swiftly, allowing to simmer what has no obvious solution.
Trust and Transcendence
The following is an excerpt from Book of the Sacred, Lesson 12 of The Mystai:
“Whether we are purely evoking the divine within, creating a beautifully potent altar or casting a powerful circle, trust is the key to success. It is through trusting in our ability to go deeper, the forces we work with, and Hekate herself that we can achieve transcendence.
If we have difficulty trusting ourselves, then we can get severely stuck in our practice of Hekatean Witchcraft. This is expressed through difficulty in experiencing those transcendental moments. It’s going through the routine of ritual without entering wholeness within and without. Those times when Hekate seems to be nowhere to be found the problem is often that our trust has been shaken, not in her since she is an eternal force beyond the whims of humanity, but because we are questioning ourselves.
If trust has been a long-standing issue, it can take years to learn to be confident in ourselves. To boost your self-trust, begin to study the ways that you have demonstrated being reliable to yourself, and then extend it to others. List the times that you’ve proven that you are accountable and responsible. This inventory helps to correct learnings earlier in life where you may have learned that your own judgment was faulty. Often the origins of this lay in early childhood when we sought support from our caregivers only to have them let us down. Seeking Hekate can be a way of healing from these wounds. However, the real work is done by learning to trust yourself, the sacred within.
Rituals, altars and spells are beautiful works we create. There is power in their aesthetic for certain, but ultimately the experience of wholeness goes far beyond this type of energy. Throughout this lesson and afterwards as you prepare for initiation, work on deepening your chanting, connection to your own energy centers and the Hekatean Currents, and maintenance of the Hekatean Shield. Daily practice will help you achieve the transcendence that is wholeness and experienced by a stillness within.” When we find that stillness, it is because we are trusting ourselves and Goddess, allies and their kin. It is through the stillness of trust where we enter flow which is where the magick, medicine and mystery reside. The pursuit of this flow, this entering into the sacred, is the great work of our journeys. That is the awakening of the sacred serpent-soul within.
Sacred Writing: Understanding Relationship Styles
How do we begin to know even if we trust ourselves and others? This exercise of sacred writing is from The Sacred Seven, Lesson 3: The Book of Sovereignty. It can also be found in the Book Club Group within Keeping Her Keys where the emphasis is on our relationship with Hekate. You can find that exercise here.
The following is taken from The Sacred Seven Book of Sovereignty:
“The key to personal development is the same as for witchcraft: know thyself. In our exploration of how we interact with the energy of others, it’s beneficial to understand how we generally approach other people. The following four statements reflect our general interpersonal orientation. They are not bad or good, but a helpful tool for self understanding. I’ve used them extensively in my research on well-being.
Read over the four paragraphs and decide which one best describes you. Write about why in your journal. Are there times when one or more of the other descriptions fits you better than your usual approach? Discuss those situations. Explore how your general style and relationship-specific ones interact with your goals and witchery. You can use the four descriptions for interpreting others’ behaviors. You can also practice evaluating how others fit the descriptions as a way of developing your observation skills, one of the main abilities of highly effective witches. Here are the descriptions:
I am usually comfortable depending on myself and having others depend on me. I don’t worry much about others not accepting me.
I want to be completely emotionally intimate with others, but I often find that others are reluctant to get as close as I would like. I sometimes worry that others don’t value me as much as I value them.
It is important for me to feel independent and self-sufficient, and I prefer not to depend on others or have others depend on me.
I would like to be close to others, but I know that they’ll let me down. I don’t like being self-sufficient.
Once we understand our general interpersonal orientation and that of others, we can follow up by learning more about the energy of the way we communicate with others. It’s interesting that we apply this general relationship style to almost all interpersonal interactions, including those with spirits. We can establish strong bond with spirit. However, these relationships can become toxic as well. It’s good to check-in with yourself about how you are acting with your spirit allies, and to examine how they interact with you.
Trusting our relationships, whether human or spirit, is an enormous process, especially if you’ve been betrayed before. The relationship descriptions above reflect the problems that many of us have with trust. Often the trust we lack in others boomerangs back on us, so that we don’t trust our beliefs, what we know to be true in our witches’ heart. A balance of connection and independence is optimal. How do you achieve this balance in your relationships?
Using the four descriptions above, write about how you in general relate to the spirits you work with, whether they are deities, entities, animals, ancestors or otherwise. Do you act differently in different relationships with spirits? Is there a connection between how you relate to your spirit companions and your human relationships? Are there ways you could correct your general style that would help you to unleash your inner witch more?”
It is so easy to get caught up in the shadow’s desire for spiritual bypassing. The desperate, fearful shadow says she doesn’t want to listen to our intuition, she wants to run, full-tilt, towards some sort of magick that is quick and easy and doesn’t require any effort. Intuition, that soul-voice, says that the way to truth is long and winding, and that we, as pilgrims of the sacred, must pace ourselves to avoid disaster. I’ve seen some students ignore this exercise, dismiss is as unnecessary. Without exception, they later drop out of the course. We must be still to listen to the truth. This is trust. It is the stillness that is the authentic energy that opens the depths. The choice to listen to the sacred truth within is where our missions are revealed. This is where visions are found. Where the healing medicine of witchcraft abides. Trust, beloved one, is a requirement. Learning to trust ourselves is the first assignment.
May this article bless you with the energy of self-trust.
Cyndi
PS: I’ve decided to stop taking new students into The Mystai or The Sacred Seven after May 1. You can still enroll up to that date. I need time to write, travel, and spend time with those I care about. You can get a free preview of the courses by signing up for the one month trial in Keeping Her Keys. CLICK HERE.
Join the Keeping Her Keys Modern Online Coven Network for one month free. https://bit.ly/KHKfreetrial
Read More:
After The Ritual: The Messiness of Spiritual Growth
Banishing the Need for Approval: Social Media, Self Love and Sovereignty
Thirteen Things I Know For Sure
Opening Up Your Personal Magic Circle: The Power of Vulnerability
The 13 Symptoms of Shadow Syndrome And Ways To Recover From It
Hekate: Giver of Keys and Teacher