12 — Chapter One
Tidy away any candles or other markers if used and leave the space as you found it.
Meditation and Trance Work I have heard many people say that no matter how much they try, they just cannot meditate. Meditation is such a valuable tool in any witch’s arsenal and, like most things worth having, it takes time, effort, and patience. There is a common misconception that meditation aims to silence the mind, so it’s no wonder so many people “fail” at what they are told meditation should be. Meditation does not seek to silence the mind; instead, the aim is to focus the mind, to organise those chattering voices so they are occupied, thus allowing our subconscious mind time and space to do what it is we want to achieve with meditation. Meditation is a vital skill for any magic worker. It aids in almost all aspects of the craft. It focuses your mind, your will, and condenses it into its purest essence. It gives you space to detach from the mundane world, the world where you are many things to many people, the world where you spend most of your time not really being you. You might be a parent, a lover, a worker; there are many masks we must wear in our everyday lives, and meditation allows you to find yourself again. When I first started out on my own crooked path, my mediation skills were nonexistent. Try as I might, all the information I had dredged through—books and dusty corners of the internet— were of no use. Nothing worked. I thought I just couldn’t do it, that this was one thing this witch would just have to do without. But master the skill I did. So if you feel like you just cannot med-
