I suspect that Islam is the only major religion that has never had a monastic movement, by which I mean a withdrawal from 'the market place' into 'the desert'. (Islam has more than enough provision for a para-monastic life to make a monastic movement unnecessary.) I gather that modern scholarship is undercovering a history of urban monasticism for the early Christians, but the movement tends to be associated ultimately with the desert, understood either literally or figuratively.
We witches of course don't have a monastic movement, but I am realising that the ever-fruitful image of the hedge exactly parallels the idea of the desert in Christian monasticism - a place where you are essentially alone, what comes next is unknown, you are faced with your worst demons & fears, & even life itself can be in doubt.
The fruits of entry into the desert/hedge are emerging transformed. As non-monotheists we wouldn't interpret this as transformation in conformity with Jesus, but rather interpret the transformation in epic terms of conflict & struggle. There be dragons in the hedge, me dears. The other change is that the world outside the hedge looks different seen from the perspective of the hedge, & it's an experience that cannot be undone.
The experience can of course be triggered by any of life's major events or emotions - bereavement, loneliness, abandonment, depression & other illnesses. As witches we believe that everything holds the seeds of its polar opposite, so it is in these events that life is transformed, & help is always at hand. When the witch is ready the thing needed appears.
Hold on to your hats, we're in for a bumpy ride.
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