Written above the entrance at the temple of Delphi are the words “know thyself”. What was true thousands of years ago is true today: as a Witch your primary responsibility is to know yourself. What exactly does this mean? How does a Witch know thyself? Why is it important?

Spiritual Growth

Spiritual growth is the long (life long) process of clearing yourself as a channel for spiritual energy (aka: magick!). The only way you can be a clear and clean channel, is to understand who you are and how you function. You function based on a series of motivations; many of which are set in motion before you even realize what is happening.

Motivations are created during childhood. Motivations come from repeating patterns in your life – the good and the bad. They can also form out of trauma or hardship. And some of them are just how the stars were aligned when you were born. None of these things are inherently bad, but they can slow us down, stifle our growth, or keep us locked in negative behaviors when we aren’t aware of them.

Primary Motivations

What makes you tick? Your primary motivations are the early life programming you have received. These are the messages of childhood, family of origin, and early development. Primary motivations are deeply incorporated into our lives. Without awareness we may never understand how much power they possess. Understanding your primary motivations is the first step in spiritual growth, but it’s not easy work. You may have to do some soul searching and sleuthing. You may find yourself confronting hard or traumatic things from your past. If this feels daunting to do on your own, seek help. Therapy is awesome. Talking to a counselor is great. You are not alone.

When you start to uncover your primary motivations you have a better understanding why you react the way you do. This work can bring clarity on some of your driving forces and self sabotage. Discovering your primary motivations won’t change your behaviors, but shining light on them at least gives you awareness of their existence and that can do a lot for spiritual growth.

Know Thyself

It doesn’t matter if you have been looking at your motivations for decades or if you haven’t even started yet. This is the work of your lifetime; to better understand yourself. The following ideas are ways for you to get started on the path of knowing thyself and taking your awareness even deeper.

Therapy – Did I mention therapy yet? Seriously, it’s helpful to have someone to talk to that isn’t a part of your every day life. It’s helpful to have a professional give you tips and tricks for shifting out of self limiting or harmful beliefs. Therapy can help you to process trauma that might feel impossible on its own.

Enneagram – This personality system can shine a lot of light on your personality. It is a complicated system, but it can give you more information that just a personality code or label. Working with the Enneagram can show you how to shift your limiting beliefs and move forward. There are plenty of online resources and books on the Enneagram. Here’s a link to a free online test to discover your type.

Myers-Briggs – This personality system has more categories than the Enneagram. Myers-Briggs will reveal your personality type and give you information on how you work. However, it won’t really shed a lot of light on why you work that way or what to do about it. But, knowledge is power. The more you know and understand yourself, the better and easier it will be for you to become stronger, healthier, and whole. Here’s a link to a free online test to discover your personality type.

Astrology – This system is more than just your sun sign or reading horoscopes. Astrology can give you a lot of information on where you might get stuck and what to do about it. Astrology can work as a diagnostic and warning system to help you navigate potentially troubling times. A talented astrologer can not only shed light on who you are, but why you might be that way, and what to do about it.

Self Improvement

Some of these systems may feel too surface, too simple, too easy. And that’s true. These suggestions aren’t going to show you how to resolve your issues, but rather, they are going to give you a place to start. Remember, knowledge is power. The path to power is to know thyself. Go on Witch, you can do it.

Have you already started a loving relationship with yourself? The more you become aware of your motivations, the more you can change them, shift them, make them healthier. As you do the work of knowing thyself you may find that friends, family, or lovers no longer fit who you are (or who you want to be). Change is hard, but imperative for spiritual growth. Real power comes from clearing your channel.

Why Does It Matter?

Magick flows the strongest through a clear channel. Humans are not naturally clear channels, especially us modern folks. We get caught up with the stressors of the world and have a tendency to move and react without an awareness of why. This lack of self understanding creates blocks and obstacles in our energy fields. It makes our magick less potent.

Self awareness creates opportunity to have control of our reactions and motivations. Becoming aware allows us to take our power back. You don’t have to react to circumstances or situations based on old messages from your childhood. This creates power and makes space for you to do things a different way. Control over your reactions clears your channels. Clear channels makes your magick stronger.