Open up a book about Wicca and somewhere in the pages you are likely to find the word “visualize” multiple times. Meditations are great to have in a Wiccan repertoire. We use them both for divination and for magick. But what do you do if the mental pictures do not show up for you? Some authors say practice is key and to do it over and over until you get it. Practice is important to meditation. But some authors are are unapologetic in publishing words to use for meditations that are only or primarily visual imagery. For some people visualization does not work all that well. But there are other senses to use beyond the visual. If this is the case for you, pack up both your patience and creativity to rewrite some of those meditations. Yes, you can make improvements on some of these meditations so they will work for you. And you can even write some from scratch.
For example in shielding one is often told to visualize a white or golden light surrounding him/her. So, what does that sound, feel, smell or taste like? There are no single right or wrong answers. What sound equals white light? Would it be the sound of a flute, bell or something else? What sound equals golden light? Would it be a Tibetan singing bowl, trumpet or something else? What does white light feel like? Is it warm or cool? Does it feel like a sheet? What does golden light feel like? Is it warm or cool? Does it feel like a wool sweater? What does white light smell like? Does it smell like lavender or lemon? What does golden light smell like? Does it smell like frankincense or mint? Does white light taste like mashed potatoes with chives or strawberry ice cream? Does golden light taste like blueberry muffins or chocolate? Are you beginning to get the idea?
Here’s a more complex meditation using visual imagery. Soften your gaze and close your eyes. Do a body scan, find where the tension is and gently release the tension. You can see in your mind’s eye that the sun will be setting soon. In front of you is a path along which you start to walk. As you walk, you see that the path leads into a forested hill with smoke curling up at the top. You notice that the clouds are starting to cover the sky hiding the sun. Your path winds into the forest and it starts to get darker. You look up and you see pale green birch leaves shimmering against the darkening sky. As you walk further, you begin to see other trees such as pine, maple and holly. It gets darker and you see a flash of light. Lightning. You quicken your pace as rain begins to fall. You take a moment to unpack a forest green rain jacket from your backpack and put the jacket on. You see another flash of light. More lightning. You rush along the path and climb the hill. You can barely make out a flickering glowing light ahead. As rapidly as the storm arrived, it abated. You reach the top of the hill. It is nightfall. As the clouds part, you can see the moon. You pass by a cabin, take off your jacket and hang it on a low hanging branch of an oak tree. A woman with dark dancing eyes wearing a black dress is stirring a cauldron over a fire. She beckons you over to the cauldron and she is stirring something liquid. You look down at the liquid and you see __________. (You fill in the blank with this meditation.) You follow the path back down the hill. Your path is lit with silvery light from the moon. As this meditation ends, start to feel your body. Slowly open your eyes.
Without the other senses involved, this meditation feels like it is missing something. I will add the other sensual imagery to this meditation and you can see what happens. Soften your gaze and close your eyes. Do a body scan, find where the tension is and gently release the tension. You can see in your mind’s eye that the sun will be setting soon. It has been a warm day, and you still feel the sun’s gentle heat against your skin. In front of you is a path along which you start to walk. You hear the far off chirping of songbirds and the cawing of crows. As you walk, you see that the path leads into a forested hill with smoke curling up at the top of the hill. You start to feel a cool refreshing breeze, and you notice that clouds are starting to cover the sky hiding the sun. Your path winds into the forest, and it gets a little darker. You hear the rustle of leaves. You look up and see pale green birch leaves shimmering against the darkening sky. You lean up against a birch tree and feel its cool smooth bark. As you walk further you begin to see other trees such as pine, maple and holly. As you crunch on the leaves on the path they leave an earthy smell. A cold wind sweeps around you and the trees begin to to sway. You can smell the oncoming rain. You quicken your pace as drops of cold rain begins to sting your skin. It gets darker, and you see a flash of light. Lightning is followed by a low rumble of thunder. You take a moment to unpack a forest green rain jacket from your backpack, and you put the jacket on. You hear a Crack! More lightning is followed by the drumming of thunder. You can taste the cool fresh rain as it falls. The cold rain is beating on you in a torrent. You can feel yourself breathe hard and your heart pump as you rush along the path and climb the hill. You can just barely make out a flickering glowing light ahead. As rapidly as the storm arrived, it abated. You reach the top of the hill. It is nightfall. As the clouds part, you can see the moon. An owl hoots, and you can smell the smoke from a fire. You pass by a cabin, take off your jacket and hang it on a low hanging branch of an oak tree. A woman with dark dancing eyes wearing a black dress is stirring a cauldron over a fire. She beckons you over to the cauldron and she is stirring something liquid. You look down at the liquid, and you see _________. You follow the path down the hill. Your path is lit with silvery light from the moon. As this meditation ends, start to feel your body. Slowly open your eyes.
Did you get the much fuller picture? Next time you see an exercise or meditation with the word “visualize”, you may want to turn it on its head and include imagery of other sensations in it. Feel free to use your creativity, and rewrite it like I rewrote the meditation here. Note that a thesaurus helps.
Enjoy rewriting, writing and recording meditations for yourself!
I hope you had a meaningful Ostara!
I will continue to post on Wednesdays.
Auburn Greene
Suggested Investigation:
Auryn, Mat, Psychic Witch: A Metaphysical Guide to Meditation, Magick & Manifestation, Llewellyn, 2021. Guided imagery is mostly visual.
Cedarleaf, Glenda, A Guide for Writing and Recording Guided Imagery Meditations: 70 Healing Scripts Included, 2019.
https://guidedmeditationframework.com/blog/how-to-create-a-guided-meditation
Roget, Peter Mark, M. D., F. R. S., Thesaurus of Words and Phrases, Grossett & Dunlap, 1947.
Wildman, Laura, Wiccan Meditations: The Witch’s Way to Personal Transformation, Citadel, 2002.
My Inner Wiccan 