In today's episode, I'm joined by Ruth for an exploration that begins with goddesses and gently unfolds into land, nature, grief, healing, paradox, and the quiet magick of being alive. In this conversation, we explore:1. Do we choose goddesses, or do they emerge when we are ready?Ruth opens the conversation by reflecting on her work with goddesses across the Wheel of the Year, and the quiet confusion that can arise around “favourites,” loyalty, and doing devotion correctly. What emerges is a shared recognition that goddess energy is not hierarchical or exclusive, but fluid, embodied, and responsive. We explore reframing gods and goddesses as energies that rise from land, culture, and human need, meeting us in forms we can recognise, rather than demanding allegiance. 2. Goddess as landscape, not doctrineThe conversation deepens into local goddesses, particularly Andraste, and how land-based deities feel different when encountered in place. Ruth speaks about walking by rivers, standing in landscapes, and feeling connection not through belief, but through presence. We talk about how goddess energies shift across time, culture, and human evolution, emerging in different guises as we need them, rather than remaining fixed or singular. 3. Releasing guilt from spiritual practiceWe dismantle the idea that devotion must be constant, perfect, or fear-driven. There's a clear rejection of punitive spirituality, whether religious or magickal. Relationships with goddesses, land, or ritual are described as cyclical, seasonal, and alive. The idea that missed rituals, forgotten candles, or inconsistent practices might invite punishment is named as inherited conditioning, not truth. 4. Rhythm, attention, and everyday magickThe conversation turns toward daily practices: tarot, journaling, meditation, walking, noticing. We speak about the danger of turning spiritual tools into checklists, and Ruth reflects on how presence matters more than frequency. 5. Nature as a companion through illness and isolationRuth shares her experience of living alone in nature during chemotherapy and lockdown. Stripped back physically and emotionally, she describes how land, trees, animals, and seasons became companions rather than scenery. From butterflies overwintering in outbuildings, to deer sleeping nearby, to trees marked with her birth year, nature is described as witness, mirror, and quiet ally during a time of profound vulnerability. 6. Bones, feathers, and respectful relationshipThe conversation moves towards skulls, bones, feathers, and instinctive boundaries. Ruth speaks about collecting skulls with permission and reverence, not as tools of power, but as companions and protectors. And I share my own discomfort with feathers, illustrating how intuitive limits are as important as intuitive pulls. There's no judgment here. Only curiosity, humour, and respect for how differently people relate to material allies. 7. Vastness, insignificance, and freedomTogether, we talk on the vastness of the universe, deep time, evolution, and humanity’s smallness within it all. Rather than nihilism, this awareness brings relief. Perspective. Permission to make mistakes. Permission to live. 8. Becoming part of nature, not its managerWe close with reflections on ageing, cronehood, and belonging. Ruth speaks about no longer fearing the dark, about sitting quietly in woods, releasing hedgehogs, and allowing nature to carry on around her. This is a conversation about remembering that we belong, even when we feel stripped bare. -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- All of the Magick: The A Pinch of Magick App: IPhone - download on the App Store Android - download pn the Google Play Our (free) magickal Community: Facebook Group Magickal Journals Explore on Amazon Rebecca's Author Page Website RebeccaAnuwen.com MagickalHabits.com Instagram For Magick: Click here For a Sacred Pause in Nature: Click here For CharmCasting: Click here For Merlin, my Dog: Click here
