Magickal Principles I Am Teaching my Son

A few years back, I wrote this blog post where I outlined the magickal principles that I would teach my son.

1. Magical cause and effect.

2. All living things have a consciousness and specific energetic properties.

3. There are many ways to communicate- human language is but one.

4. "The Invisibles" are real.

5. The borders between this world and the next are not very solid.

6. There is plenty of Mystery- and not everything can be explained or needs to be.

7. We are responsible for what happens as a result of our words and deeds, even if/when we cannot predict what the outcome will be.

8. History, myth, and story are Truth. There is no "objective" reality or truth.

MOther and Child in Russia at the summer solstice.

The business of teaching a child magick is a strange one. After all, children are natural Witches, and usually have the magick beaten out of them, either literally or figuratively. I know that after a while, my family discouraged my natural talents of talking to animals, plants, the dead, and the fey. It took me decades to restore them. My partner says the same of his childhood.

Rowan's father and I work very hard to encourage his talents in any realm, be they magickal or musical. We know that even offhand unintended remarks by adults can be discouraging, so we try and think before we speak, especially when tired or frustrated. So when Rowan is talking to someone that I cannot see, I do not dismiss the object of his attentions. I watch and do not interrupt. When he tells me stories of flying in his dreams, I ask where he went.

Lately, we have been focusing on principles #2 and #7. They seem the most toddler-friendly of the eight.

Erzulie Dantor and Child.

To demonstrate that all living things have a consciousness and specific energetic properties, we work a lot with animals and in the outdoors. He is learning how the energy fields of animals differ, how they "taste" differently when you cannot see them, and how plants and animals communicate differently. Anytime we are outside, we encounter plants- even parking lot landscaping is an opportunity for learning! We work on asking before we take something- especially if that thing is part of a greater living being (like a flower or leaf). We leave offerings of spit in exchange.

To demonstrate that we are responsible for what happens as a result of our words and deeds, even if/when we cannot predict what the outcome will be, we talk to Rowan A LOT. We use te words "if" and "then" a lot. We are demonstrating that if he decides to stop eating dinner and leave the table, he won't get snacks to make up the difference. He can always choose to come back, until dinner is over for everyone. (The up and down is a new annoying phase, I must tell you, though!) These very mundane examples will lead the way to a larger discussion on how we are responsible for our magick workings as well- after all, as above, so below!