During this moment in our world, our leaders are requesting many of us to “stay home, stay safe” to prevent the spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19). Many Sanctuaries are finding ways to continue to provide their services, while also keeping their coven members safe. One way is many sanctuaries are switching over to an online format. Instead of doing gatherings in person for rituals, they are going live via various live streaming services to provide the service.
For us at Sanctuary of the Phoenix, this hasn’t meant much of a change. We have been providing online services for several years now. We were providing weekly streams, mainly concentrating on our live streams for the rituals of the wheel of the year. However, with this virus spreading, and other covens turning to the internet for their services, we are no longer a big fish in a small pond. Bigger covens have jumped in, and now our small sanctuary is surrounded by bigger fish that have jumped in from their swimming hole. These groups have larger followings, they usually have facilities to perform services in, and they have the funding and donations to do so.
Solitary witches have long practiced the craft from the comforts of their own circles with little to no one else involved. They prefer to stay away from larger covens or groups and work alone. With the influx of other covens going to online formats, it allows solitary witches to watch from the comforts of their own circles and utilize those extra energies to amplify their magickal power. This also allows solitary witches to potentially choose to bring their work to the internet and stream it so that other solitary witches may learn how to do different practices for their spell work. Unfortunately for some solitary witches those options may be overwhelming for them, and they may continue to do their solitary work, which is perfectly fine!
For this COVID-19 crisis, being a solitary witch may be one, if not THE safest, of the ways to continue to practice your path. First and foremost, you are solitary, meaning usually there is no one else around. No one around for you to potentially expose to COVID-19, and no one to expose you to it. You control the sanitization of your workspace. You do not have to be responsible to keep items properly sanitized for others to use, nor do you have to worry about whether others have properly sanitized the altar and altar items for use.
What you want to continue to do for your own personal safety:
- Wash your hands regularly for at least 20 seconds. Pick your favorite song, Pagan or not, and sing it in your head or out loud and have a mini concert in your bathroom. Don’t forget in between your fingers, on the backs on your hands, and underneath your fingernails. Do your best to refrain from touching your face without properly cleansing your hands.
- Before ritual, make sure your ritual garb is cleaned and sanitized. If the clothing allows, make sure to wash and dry on the hottest settings your washer and dryer allow.
- If you are purchasing items for your magick or general use, make sure to properly sanitize them before use. If you can safely leave them outside in the sun for up to 3 days, please do so, weather permitting of course. If they are perishable, be sure to wash them thoroughly before storage. If the item is in plastic packaging or would not be harmed by cleaning in this manner, you may use sanitizing wipes and sprays.
- If you have a small amount of people that you do decide to have together for a ritual or gathering, keep the guest list under 10 people. Keeping the number of participants 5 and under would be best. Also, if you do gather with others remain at least 6 feet apart. The best option right now is less means more. The less people gathered together in one space, the more likely we will get rid of this virus.
There are options for all of us to continue down our paths, whether it is watching online streams of covens and sanctuaries doing services or practicing in the comfort of your own space by yourself. You and only you know what is best for your path to safely continue to practice. What ever option you choose, please stay safe. We are all in this together, and so long as we follow the precautions of our respective government agencies, we will make it through this.
Much light and love. Blessed be.