Illness and Ritual
Let's face it folks; it's the time of the year for feeling crummy. Sneezes, sniffles, coughs, and dozens of other symptoms that tell you Winter is in full-swing. It never fails, I'm feeling my worst and here comes Yule! The question then arises: how am I going to manage a Ritual, when I feel like death warmed over in a malfunctioning oven? Well, I reckon the question should really be: do I do Ritual now?
You know, I really hate to miss Ritual for anything. Same thing with Spells. But, before we go making any rash decisions, let's think about this.
When you are ill, your perception usually is altered. You have a severe sinus headache; the one thing you are concentrating on is the pain. You are not capable of intense concentration. Same thing goes for raising energy. It's very hard to raise the energy for a spell when you are having to pause every few seconds to sneeze or cough.
This doesn't even touch on the physical dangers you bring to yourself. You have an incense burner on your altar with the charcoal sizzling; you are reaching for your wand when you are seized by a coughing fit that ends with you racing to the bathroom to retch. You don't realise you've knocked the burner over and now the charcoal is no longer in the burner. (Not to mention the fact that you have broken your circle and crossed the elements in your headlong race for your worship of the Porcelain God.) This is an extreme example...but hey! It could happen. And if you are under the influence of medicine: you may be unable to truly make good decisions. Back to our example. You are now finished worshipping the Porcelain God, but now your head is spinning so badly you can't hold it up. So, you crawl into your bedroom and lay down; completely forgetting the burning charcoal (which is no longer in the burner) or the candles at the quarters. You are also leaving the elements hanging around without closing your circle. The rest of the story will be history because of your desire to honor the Lord and his Lady.
Given the fact that our Lord and Lady are more familiar with the frailty of humans, than even we are...you can bet that they are going to understand you postponing Ritual until you are better and more capable of performing it. You might be better off in times of illness to wait. Of course, you and only you, are going to be able to determine if you are capable when the time comes.
But, keep this one last thing in mind if you are performing spells while ill. If you do manage to raise the energy for the spell, are you going to be able to maintain enough control over the energy you do raise to control the direction that the energy goes when you release it?
It's a lot to think about, and I will be the first to admit and tell you that I'm not the person to be telling you how to handle your Craft. But, I have learned that when I'm ill, it's better to wait. (I have knocked over a burning charcoal burner, and I have the hole in my carpet as a permanent reminder. lol) In Love and Light!
