A question I get asked frequently is how I am raising my children being that I am a witch. It’s one I had to make a decision on a long time ago and I chose to raise my children around magick and allow them to choose their religion when they get older. Quite simply I teach them to see the world as magickal and I expose them to all different religions and cultures of the worlds as I can. I particularly love infusing their lives with magical energy as I believe every child should be surrounded in a fun and magical world. Today I have a few ideas that I wanted to pass along to you that I do with my children.
1. Acknowledge the fairy tales. Most children love reading books, and many of the books have mystical and magickal creatures and legends. I’m not sure about most of you but I was taught very young as I believe most children are, how they don’t exist. Yet here I am in my 40’s building gardens for fairies, and studying cave drawings of unicorns on walls. Am I saying to validate every fairy tale enthusiastically? No, but validate the ones that you can or at least leave it open.
2. Encourage their bond with nature. Get them outside in nature as much as possible and start teaching them about the things they see when they are there. Teach them to listen for the wind, to watch the animals as they go about their daily lives, to notice the age of the trees, to appreciate how the Wheel of the Year impacts nature and the world around them. There is so much beauty in our world and nature holds the most wonderfully loving and nurturing energy.
3. Rocks and Gemstones. Go out on walks and collect rocks! See if you can identify them together. Then have them hold them, and ask them to describe them. I’ve been surprise when my son will use adjectives like happy to describe rocks. You may be surprised what you can learn from them. To this day my son and I both still bring home rocks in our pockets.
4. Color Magick. Teach them about colors and their various meanings. You can show them that wearing blue on a certain day can help them feel calm, or drawing a picture of a bright yellow sun can increase their energy and happiness.
5. Trees. When you go out in nature, start learning what all the different trees are and have them help you identify them. My daughter is the one who taught me how to find Sassafras root. My children have a healthy appreciation for all trees now and will marvel at how old the trees are. They also look at the bark for patterns to see if there is anything unusual (or mystical) there. They love finding birch trees to collect the bark that has fallen to the ground to draw on later, and nibble on the branches as we walk for the minty taste.
6. Herbs. Most children absolutely love gardening. Have your children help you with yours. Teach them how to grow herbs from seeds and how to identify them. You can then start teaching them basic uses dependent upon their age. My children know that they can pick mint leaves or lemon balm to put in their water during the summer. It’s not uncommon to see either of them walk by with a sprig of lavender held up to their nose. They also both enjoy making their own tea. Several herbal teas are actually wonderful for them to drink.
7. Water. My children love water. My son doesn’t like swimming much but he still has a strong appreciation for rivers, oceans and streams. When he was younger we spent hours with our toes in the sand digging for water to make sand castles on the beach. I have used meditations with both of them to help them sleep that involve cleansing in water. I will help them to visualize a beautiful lake that when you swim in it, it takes away anything negative and protects them.
8. Animals. Pretty much every child loves animals. Most children try to communicate with them. How many of you encourage that? Animals are very sensitive and therapeutic. Encourage the connection with the animals around them. Teach your children to be kind by doing things like feeding the birds, and recycling leftovers from dinner for the wild animals if you can.
9. Astrology. I have a fabulous app on my iPhone that helps identify constellations in the sky called Skywalk. We love going out in the summer when it’s warm and trying to find different constellations and plantets in the sky.
10. The Moon. My children love the Moon. From the time they were very little they said goodnight to her each night when they can. (sometimes in the summer it gets too late! ) They also can identify basic moon phases and get excited to see that bright Full Moon light up the sky. As they are getting older they are learning what the other phases mean and have learned to appreciate the new energy that a New Moon brings as well.
11. The Fae. My daughter absolutely loves fairies. We have fairy gardens outside. When she was little she knew that if her room wasn’t clean the fairies won’t come by to play as they don’t like messes. I should remind her of that now that she’s older. Both of my children love leaving trinkets outside for them.
This is just a small list to get you started. There are so many things you can do. Coloring mandalas, introducing mythology and tales of the different deities, teaching them to heal their own boo-boo’s with energy, the list literally can go on and on. As a Mom and someone who lives a magickal life, I take a look at everything I do and decide if it can be incorporated in some way. I then teach them at what I feel is an age appropriate level for them. My daughter has been asking me to teach her magick for a long time. I’ve explained to her that I am. She got her first tarot deck for Christmas when she was around 10. It was a children’s one, and it came with a pendulum. She viewed it as I use to view my Magic 8 ball at her age. I know it’s just another stepping stone for her on her path. Now that she’s older and into astrology the time may come to get her a different deck to try working with. Time will tell and I always follow what feels right to me for where they are on their path. What’s important is that they can call upon magickal energy to enhance their life and help them to navigate it. I hope this helps!
Much Love and Many Blessings,
Jasmeine Moonsong