Embrace Your Inner Warrior

There is lots of talk about change at the moment.  2016 was very traumatic, and I think there is probably a general sense that people tried to make things happen gently and peacefully, but in the end, they just didn’t quite get the results they were hoping for. Now, I do not advocate violence. Indeed, I am a very gentle person, but if something upsets me, or I see injustice done to another, especially innocent animals, then my inner warrior will rage. She is wild!

I think we all have an inner warrior. Over the years, we have been taught to suppress that violent, primitive nature. We learned that we didn’t need to fight for everything, because there was generally enough to go around. Some people do feel the need to fight, and they probably channel that in military organisations, or combat sports. My inner warrior does not physically fight, but she will speak up when the need arises, and of course, I am a child of the 80s. I grew up watching action movies and superheroes fight to beat the bad guys, and I wanted to be those superheroes, flashing my sword and saving the day. Don’t we all?

Sometimes it is nice to embrace your inner warrior in a more ceremonial sense. You will find many pagans use weapons during sacred rituals. They don’t use the weapons to inflict harm on others. They simply form sigils or symbols in the air, or on a piece of wood or stone, or hold the weapon while they speak sacred words. I felt that connection when I saw a few of the reproduction swords that you can purchase from English Heritage. The Excalibur Sword invoked memories of medieval castles and a fight for honour and strength. This would be a good sacred tool for pagans who feel connected to the myths of Avalon and King Arthur. I would have to find a stone circle somewhere, and wear my floaty medieval dress, so that I could re-enact the scene that plays in my imagination… “I have the power!”

Catherine is the author of the adult paranormal romance series The Redcliffe Novels and also The Darkness of Love, She has short stories published in YA anthologies, freelance articles on various industry websites, and contributes to her personal blog, and her author blog .

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