Rose Ariadne's Chitchcraft Blog

Dear Friends,

A term that I have heard my mother use for many years, is “Slow and Steady, Fast and Fragile.” One of her favorite statements, she has used that phrase to cover a variety of things. From doing school work to building a personal relationship, my mothers advice was always the same. Slow and steady, fast and fragile.

As I have grown older, I have adopted this statement for myself as well. This is especially true in magick, as rushing through your spell or ritual hardly ever provides the results you are looking for. But this saying also applies to other things in Wicca as well, including your desire to start practicing the craft.

When a person is first starting to explore Wicca, it can be an exciting time. And why not? Perhaps I’m a bit biased as a witch myself but I think Wicca is wonderful! Even so, you cannot expect to start exploring Wicca one day, and the next suddenly be an expert that is performing spells and rituals that are always successful. You have to take the time to learn all that you can so that you are fully prepared and educated to properly handle the work before you. That’s not to say that you should spend years in study before you begin experimenting with various spells. However, having patience and taking your exploration slow is important. If you go to fast, the foundation of your knowledge may be too fragile and quickly start to crumble around you.

Being slow and steady is also something that even the more experienced witch needs to remember when practicing their work. A spell or ritual requires your undivided attention in order to be successful. You must be able to remain focused, without interruption or worry. If you are rushing through a spell quickly, chances are it will be a huge waste of time. Rather than trying to get that ritual in before you have to leave to pick the kids up from the babysitter, just wait. A spell that is performed too quickly without your full attention not only has the potential to be unsuccessful but damaging as well. Remember, slow and steady wins the race.

It almost seems to me as though people are becoming genetically coded to rush through life at full speed, with no concern of how quickly they are going or whether things are actually getting completed properly. In fact, whenever I hear the saying “They don’t build them like they used to” I am often reminded of my mothers favorite phrase. They really don’t build them like they used to, because today it is all about getting “them” build as quickly as possible. Whereas the builders in generations past took pride to build things with their own hands and take the time necessary to make sure that the quality of the work was superior and “steady,” modern builders only care about getting it done fast. There is no concern for quality, nor concern for how “fragile” something might be.

Yes, the life we are living right now is short. But that is no reason to speed through life not taking the time to do things properly. Whether you are doing something as mundane as cooking your nightly dinner, or something more complex such as performing a ritual or a spell, stop, slow down and make sure that what you are building is steady. Don’t go through life so fast that everything you build is as fragile as glass, for when it all comes crashing down it can end up being very painful.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm and Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”