I fear I have lost my way completely

[Tifa Lockhart]

I don't really know how to say this so bear with me please.

I have been a practicing Wiccan for 4 and half years or so. Recently however I find myself struggling with a block so to speak. I feel not the gods warmth or the goddesses love. I don't know what to do anymore. The connection to my path I once had was strong but now I feel... Nothing, empty. I really don't know what to think or what to do. I still believe in my path but I don't know why I have this feeling like this. I just feel lost.

Any advice is welcome.

[Wolf O Volos]

Sometimes, when faith comes TOO easy, I think the gods like to stray from us a little to remind us that we have the power within ourselves, and should not grow TOO dependant on them.

It is just a personal theory of mine, but maybe one worthy of thinking about a little.

It is not entirely unheard of for the gods to give us trials to make us stronger. And when we come out the other side of our mishaps, and times of feeling "lost" they welcome us back in, and we find them even more warm and appreciate them more for having journeyed without them...

[Ivy Artemisia]

I don't really know how to say this so bear with me please.

I have been a practicing Wiccan for 4 and half years or so. Recently however I find myself struggling with a block so to speak. I feel not the gods warmth or the goddesses love. I don't know what to do anymore. The connection to my path I once had was strong but now I feel... Nothing, empty. I really don't know what to think or what to do. I still believe in my path but I don't know why I have this feeling like this. I just feel lost.

Any advice is welcome.


I'm sorry you feel this way, its tough, but I feel that these times in our lives are there for a reason. I'd like to respond further if you could answer a few questions for me? What have you done to try to 'feel the god/esses love/warmth? Meditate? How? Rituals? What type?

Sometimes I can just feel the Gods' presence vibrate through me in all my being. Sometimes... not so much. It seems to go in cycles for me. I just try to find other ways to connect.

Which God/dess(es) do you normally feel close to?

[Tifa Lockhart]

It is not entirely unheard of for the gods to give us trials to make us stronger. And when we come out the other side of our mishaps, and times of feeling "lost" they welcome us back in, and we find them even more warm and appreciate them more for having journeyed without them...

perhaps. But I would have hoped I'd be done with trails after everything.

[Wolf O Volos]

perhaps. But I would have hoped I'd be done with trails after everything.

See, they were with you, as were a lot of US here on MW, when you were at a very desperate time. Perhaps now that you have risen above that, they are wanting you to experience life as the stronger, fully alive woman you have become, and experience that on your own a little to get used to it?

Find your self confidence, and enjoy the life that you had at one time thought an impossible thing to wish for, and I am sure they will come back to you even more strong, and embracing than they ever have been.

Call it a gut feeling. And I am seldom wrong when I get gut feelings as strong as this one. ;)

[Tifa Lockhart]

I'm sorry you feel this way, its tough, but I feel that these times in our lives are there for a reason. I'd like to respond further if you could answer a few questions for me? What have you done to try to 'feel the god/esses love/warmth? Meditate? How? Rituals? What type?

Sometimes I can just feel the Gods' presence vibrate through me in all my being. Sometimes... not so much. It seems to go in cycles for me. I just try to find other ways to connect.

Which God/dess(es) do you normally feel close to?

I meditate daily with a candle representing each element and one for the god and one for the goddess. I have been lately doing a bit of a prayer/thank you ritual. I won't go into the whole thing here but essentially spend a good hour in my circle basking (or attempting to) in the love and warmth of the god and goddess and thank them for everything in my life, thank them for my life (after almost losing it I appreciate it much more). Also being prone to depression I have a ritual I do to banish my negativity, a spirtual cleansing if you will. I typically feel closest to Osiris and Isis. But also had good vibes with Horus, bast, and sekhemet.

[Tifa Lockhart]

See, they were with you, as were a lot of US here on MW, when you were at a very desperate time. Perhaps now that you have risen above that, they are wanting you to experience life as the stronger, fully alive woman you have become, and experience that on your own a little to get used to it?

Find your self confidence, and enjoy the life that you had at one time thought an impossible thing to wish for, and I am sure they will come back to you even more strong, and embracing than they ever have been.

Call it a gut feeling. And I am seldom wrong when I get gut feelings as strong as this one. ;)

I hope you are right. Confidence is not my strong suit though.

[Wolf O Volos]

Which would be one of the reasons they would WANT for you to gain in confidence.

Self reliance is one of those traits that most strive for, and some never quite achieve. After the gift you have been given, maybe they would just like for you to stand on your own to FEEL it, and appreciate it to the fullest. They have given an Angel her wings, so now it is your time to fly... ;)

And when you return to the nest, after experiencing the freedom, and enjoying that wind underneath of you... of course they will still be there, as they always were before.

[Sionnach le Fey]

I'm going to second what Wolf O Volos is saying. Self confidence and reliance is very important.

I know how you're feeling. I've been through the same thing several times myself. I think what you need to do is just save some time for yourself and just breathe - enjoy the beauty of life. Eventually it'll all come back to you :thumbsup:

[Amilee]

:hugz: Our paths and trails are never done. There's always new places to explore and interesting things to see. Perhaps they're saying you need to look a little beyond what you're used to and see further. :hugz:

I have low self esteem myself and so I know what you're going through. Just, relax, breath, don't try too hard, because things will come to you when you don't think about it. :hugz: Especially when it's the song of your soul.

[Morgaine_cla]

Greetings,

I don't want to sound patronizing, but is it possible that you are depressed?... Depression can make us feel empty and distanced from our emotional connection to things. We often think of depression in terms of grief, angst, etc. but more often it manifests as a sort of numbness or a very undramatic feeling that it's hard to care about, feel or connect with anything anymore.

The gods are always with us. It is we who close ourselves off to them. If you have closed yourself off, then there is a reason. If not depression, perhaps you are feeling unsafe or insecure? It is instinctive to close ourselves off protectively in such cases, but we can't selectively close ourselves off from feeling. We can't close out what feels "bad" and only feel what is "good" (pleasant, etc.). If you feel unsafe then the first thing to do is to figure out why, and change your situation so that you are safe. Then you will instinctively open up again.

If you've already ruled these out, then the next step is to realise that the trials, tests, and challenges do not stop until we die because they are part of learning and growing, and whatever is not growing is dying. So we need to embrace the challenges and find ways to enjoy exploring them that don't focus on "the destination", so much as the journey.

It is also possible that you have learned what you need from Wicca and now need to explore other paths, but I would not make this assumption first. Once you've eliminated the other possibilities, then consider this one, because different people have different spiritual needs and ways of growing. There is no shame in this. It's nothing to do with the path, it's a matter of what we need as individuals, and the Gods do understand this. Usually, they work to guide us in seeing our own needs more clearly.

And finally, it is very true of all of us that our power comes from within us, and not from any outside source, so if you've gotten used to relying on the Gods as a surrogate for self-empowerment, they may be giving you space to discover the power within yourself.

These are the things I would look at if I were in your place. Best wishes for peace and healing--

[Darth Brooks]

I don't really know how to say this so bear with me please.

I have been a practicing Wiccan for 4 and half years or so. Recently however I find myself struggling with a block so to speak. I feel not the gods warmth or the goddesses love. I don't know what to do anymore. The connection to my path I once had was strong but now I feel... Nothing, empty. I really don't know what to think or what to do. I still believe in my path but I don't know why I have this feeling like this. I just feel lost.

Any advice is welcome.

I have gone through periods like this before. I alternated between periods of being really into my faith and periods of being really numb to it. As I've grown older I've settled into a more balanced enthusiasm for it, in which I don't always have to feel the actual presence of my Divinity to know that He's there. I agree with Morgaine when she says the Gods are always with us. But I think an important part of understanding Them is accepting that They will not always make Themselves clear to us (in fact They can be awfully confusing sometimes). They are Gods, after all; They're on a completely different plane than we are, and They have important business to contend with, maintaining the fabric of the cosmos and what-not. Sometimes, whether we understand Them or not is simply not an issue. It's not that we aren't important to Them; it's just that we aren't all that's important.

A few months back, somebody linked an article in which the author discussed how the relationships between Gods and humans is similar in some ways to the relationships between humans and their pets. Whomever it was that wrote this article did a much better job of explaining it than I can, but perhaps this is a situation in which your Divinities have "gone out," so to speak. You're wondering when They will be "back," or whether They will even "come back home" at all, not unlike pets do when we leave them home while we go out running errands. But in my opinion, since you've evidently had some kind of deep, everlasting experience with these Divinities before, I think it's safe to say They probably will "come back home" so to speak, at some point at least.

However, as Morgaine pointed out, the problem could also be internal rather than external. Perhaps there is something you must do or finish before you can graduate to the next level of your becoming. We all go through changes, and each stage of becoming requires its own specific Work, which must be completed somehow before the next stage can begin. Perhaps, as Morgaine suggests, the problem has to do with depression. Or perhaps it is something else internal. But if there is some special task you must do to get through this, no one here can really tell you what it is with absolute certainty. The only person who can ever really figure out such a thing like that is you. I know it's hard, though; it's when one is closest to the problem that one has the hardest time seeing a solution. The best thing to do in a situation like that, IMO, is to put some distance between yourself and the problem and distract yourself for a while. In other words, maybe you need to "take a break" from your spirituality for a bit and center yourself on something else temporarily. Then the solution to your problem might pop right out from nowhere, when you least expect it. :)

[Faelon_Moon_Hawk]

I don't really know how to say this so bear with me please.

I have been a practicing Wiccan for 4 and half years or so. Recently however I find myself struggling with a block so to speak. I feel not the gods warmth or the goddesses love. I don't know what to do anymore. The connection to my path I once had was strong but now I feel... Nothing, empty. I really don't know what to think or what to do. I still believe in my path but I don't know why I have this feeling like this. I just feel lost.

Any advice is welcome.

I don't have any advice to offer, but only have to say I've been going through something similar for the past few years. I find myself with periods of focusing solely on the mundane, then times like now when I find myself trying to get back into my practice and not knowing even where to begin. So if it's any comfort you aren't alone in your feelings ^^ And I hope we both can figure things out sooner rather than later ^^

[Incendia]

And finally, it is very true of all of us that our power comes from within us, and not from any outside source, so if you've gotten used to relying on the Gods as a surrogate for self-empowerment, they may be giving you space to discover the power within yourself.


Hard to accept at times, but true. I'd also like to add: the gods help those who help themselves. A twist on the 'ole Ben Franklin quote. ;)



A few months back, somebody linked an article in which the author discussed how the relationships between Gods and humans is similar in some ways to the relationships between humans and their pets. Whomever it was that wrote this article did a much better job of explaining it than I can, but perhaps this is a situation in which your Divinities have "gone out," so to speak.


Yes, a very good article. :) I happened to bookmark it: here (http://manygods.org.uk/articles/essays/catanalogy.html)


Hope your 'dark night of the soul' passes soon. :hugz:

[Zhr Morgana]

While I'm not sure exactly how this will help, I will say this anyway and hope it will make sense. This is not a hijacking of this thread, I'm simply offering my own experiences and advice will eventually stem from it.

I have never had a real bond or relationship with any deity. Once or twice the Goddess has shown herself to me in moon form, but aside from that I have had no contact, spiritual or otherwise. Partly because of this, after a few years I wound up following the path of magical practice rather than religion, moving away from Wicca and learning more about Witchcraft, Hoodoo and a few others. I have no shortage of god and goddess statues...my search for the Lord and Lady has placed statues of the Venus of Willendorf, Kwan Yin, Ganesha, Buddha, Gaia and the Green Man in my curio cabinet, among others.

The point is, my spiritual evolution came when I realized that I no longer felt a real connection to Wicca, so I did exploring until I found out what did call to me. Perhaps you have outgrown your particular stage in this spiritual journey, you've learned all you need to know about your current path, and need to do some exploring to see what calls to you.

Hope that made some sense for you. Good luck.

[Tifa Lockhart]

thank you all for the advice. I think bits and pieces of everyones suggestions have been right. I think a big part of it is depression. I do think I need to get help on that front and then perhaps my path will be clearer