It has been in the news this week that there is new evidence that people's beliefs concerning their level of influence over their health have a major impact on their actual health.
This is not actually news to anyone involved in health care, or indeed in any field involving any aspect of human behaviour!
There is a huge difference between saying 'We've always been big in my family & died of heart disease,' and saying, 'I know I am overweight, I know that puts me at risk of an early death which I don't want so I will do something to change it.'
The difference here, of course, is the sense of agency. If we feel a sense of agency over our lives, rather than just being the passive recipients of whatever comes our way, we are in a position to make changes which can have far-reaching consequences in our lives.
This sense of agency is such a witch 'thing' that it should really require no further elaboration apart from to repeat the magical motto of 'know thyself': to what areas of my life do I need to apply this sense of agency?
While the life of the witch is filled with ecstasy and much peace, it can never be said to be a life where we get comfortable of rest on our laurels for long!
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Do you see the cobbles on the streets? Everywhere you look, stone & rock. Can you imagine what it feels like to reach down with your bones & feel the living stones? The city is built on itself, all the cities that came before. Can you imagine how it feels to lie down on an ancient flagstone & feel the power of the rock buoying you up against the tug of the world? And that's where witchcraft begins. The stones have life, & I'm part of it. - adapted from Terry Pratchett
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