“Are you your own roadblock?”

As different as we all are, there are so many things that connect us. We all have dreams and goals. We all want certain things to happen in our lives. We all want good fortune and success. In spirituality, we call it intention and manifestation. We light candles and pray, or ask our guides to help us. We write petitions on brown paper bags to our ancestors. We write about what we want in present tense and imagine what it would feel like to receive it.  We bring offerings to our ancestors, deities, spirit guides and so on and so forth. We pour all of our efforts into thinking about our goals. But what are we, personally, doing to accomplish them?
Change is difficult. Even for the ones who are adaptable and used to the changing energies surrounding them, personal change is difficult. It’s not all flower crowns and sunsets. Avoiding change in ourselves is self-destructive. We can think about our goals and dreams all day but if all we’re doing is lighting a few candles and then waiting for something to happen, opportunities will pass us by. 
Spirituality and magic are not meant to be the new gateway to inaction. We must take control of our destiny. Yes, there are forces out of our control that play a part in how events unfold in our lives. Yes, there are spirits who can help guide us down the right path. Yes, there is intuition and signs from the Universe and angels that help us along the way. But we’re not meant to sit and wait. We’re not meant to hold our hands out and expect our perfect dream lives to fall into our lap.
Coming to terms with the ways we are in our own way is crucial. Yes, that sometimes awful word, accountability. As humans, we get so caught up on blame. Before being born, we decided on the life paths we were going to take. That is hard to come to terms with, especially if there have been some troubling times in your past. We chose our parents, our trials, our tribulations, our loves, our heartbreaks; the good, the bad, and the ugly. As hard as that may seem, once we come to terms with the fact that every single thing that has happened in our lives happened because it needed to, we’re given clarity on why it happened. It was meant to. Every single hard lesson that was learned, every moment of pain and hardship; but also, every moment of bliss, every happy memory, every smile; all of it happened to compile the beginning chapters of our lives. 
And it is so until we awaken. 
When we figure out how powerful we are and how we can wield that power to change our lives, we feel unstoppable. Awakening doesn’t happen by chance. Most of us weren’t even setting out to do it. Most of us just wanted to feel better. Most of us were tired of feeling like we were losing at life. Becoming aware of magic and the spiritual world should be paired with a keen sense of self awareness. Because to become aware is to understand that not only are we a part of this Universe, we are this Universe. We are not meant to fall in line and follow in the footsteps of those who came before us. Most of us are the ones breaking generational curses. Even if the beginning chapters of your story were pleasant, awakening brings self-awareness. Self-awareness brings accountability.
So, here we are, on a new moon or a full moon, intentions in hand, and praying to our guides for the things we want. We pray as hard as kids before Christmas, in hopes of receiving our hearts desires. But when it doesn’t happen, at our pace, we get discouraged. That’s the thing about the Universe. No matter how “ready” we feel we don’t get what we want right away. Seeds need to be planted and seeds take time to grow. The question I have for you is are you planting the right seeds?
It is said that our mind is a fertile ground and whichever way we tend to it is what will grow there. If we think negative, harming thoughts our mind becomes a battlefield. Negativity is a disease. A few positive thoughts doesn’t take away the years of negativity we’ve heard our entire lives. We carry in our emotional luggage the failures of the adults we were raised by. Our original blueprint has their projections, their believed limitations and their half-assed attempts that never worked. We tend to allow others to give us their doubt and let it become our own doubt. Have you ever asked yourself, “well, if it didn’t work out for them why do I think it’ll work out for me?” Those thoughts aren’t just born out of fact, they’re there because they were planted. Life does come with lessons that seem like failures. Not everything will work out exactly how we want it to. What will happen, if we choose to see it this way, is that life turns out exactly how we need it to. Failure is just a word we’ve given a terrible meaning to. Nothing in life is a true failure if we learned something. It’s, instead, more of a roadblock on the path to your true destination. 
It is not that our prayers weren’t heard or that our magic isn’t real. If the events and things we want aren’t happening, it may be time to ask ourselves if we’re the ones standing in the way of our blessings arriving. Could it be possible that you are your own roadblock?
Spirituality and magic are not escapes from hard work. They are meant to help us on our way to our personal successes but they do not fully cause it. We cause them to happen by working for them. But before we start asking for things, we should first do the proper work within. That means getting down our hands and knees and tending to our mental garden. Throwing away the years of doubt and weeding out the ideologies and behavioral patterns that don’t work for us anymore. We must first deal with how the events in our lives have affected us. We must first learn why we have coping mechanisms. We must first learn who we are. 
We are the driving force behind our magic. Tarot, runes, candle work, jars, and so on are merely tools and ways to manifest our magic but the magic is within us. We are the magic. We are what can change us. Others may spark our first steps and we may be guided in certain directions, but we hold the power. Which means, we have a greater responsibility to ourselves to make life happen the way we want. Good things do not come to those who wait. Good things happen to those who make ways for the good things to manifest. 
Becoming aware means we’re reparenting ourselves. We must discipline ourselves in our crafts, in our magic, and in our personal lives. Without the proper inner work, we will continue to rebel against our own dreams and goals. If it was easy to do, more people would do it. Going down the path of change takes real effort, real time, and real work. It means rebuilding our mindset, taking care of our bodies, and cleansing our spirits. 
Stop rebelling against your higher Self and your calling. Stop allowing fear distract you the steps you should be taking. If during the more intense energies of the cosmos, you feel discomfort figure out why. Retrogrades and eclipses and solar flares are there to force you to try harder. Allow yourself to be transformed and to do that, you have to face yourself. Face your shortcomings. Face the ways you’ve continued to let yourself down and forgive yourself. There is no need in beating yourself up for putting off the work. Acknowledging the things you can improve on is exactly what you need to do. 
Pair you power and your magic with action. Let your intentions motivate you towards your goals. Push yourself to try harder. If you won’t fight for your future, why should your guides? If you won’t put in any effort, why should your ancestors? Show up for yourself more. Even if it’s only 5-10 minutes out of your day, do something towards your goals. Be there for yourself in the way you want your ancestors and guides to be. 
We all at one point or another will be in our own way. Life is a journey and at every turn there is something to learn. You will spend the rest of your life getting to know yourself and it’s the most beneficial relationship you’ll ever have. Be the dedicated gardener in your own life. Learn where to spot the weeds and take them out. Spend time carving out time for your goals and actually do it. The only thing stopping you is you. No more excuses, it is time to really make things happen. Don’t wait another 5 years to do what you can do right now. You’ve already made it this far. Keep going.

​-Jazmine
@magickandmyth