As a result of someone legitimately asking me to explain the values of CCIWI (www.cciwi.org) this week, it led me to consider what our personal values should be. Other than the obvious Rede and Law of Return, what other, personalised set of values do you hold that reflect the underpinning tenets of Wicca and Paganism in general? What are the set of life principles you hold that guide what you do, how you behave and how you connect with people and the world around you? 

A few years ago I was blessed to attend a three day workshop aimed at helping those present identify what their personal values were. As part of the process (which was quite intense and extraordinarily valuable) we each came up with a set of words that articulated the underpinning principles that guided who we were and how we would live our lives.  My list had seven words that included creativity, integrity and sincerity. For others, their words included honesty, appreciation, helpfulness, joyfulness, healthy, supportive and one of my favourites, spiritual. It was an amazing experience that helped each of us to understand ourselves better and have  a set of rules that we could check our behaviours against. 

Notwithstanding that this time of year many people celebrate the Christian festival of Christmas, we can also use the end of the calendar year to re-evaluate our life principles and resolve to continue to live our lives according to a set of personal rules that make us better human beings. To that end, I’d encourage you to take a few moments and write down 5 single words that identify the manner in which you want to live your life from this point forward. What are the words you would want people to describe you as when you leave this life plane? Would you want to be remembered as joyful? Sincere? Learned? Peaceful? Helpful? What makes you the person you are or aspire to be? 

So in conclusion, during the mad rush of the festive season, gift yourself with some time to write down the five words that describe how you intend to live your Wiccan life from here on in. It may be liberating and enlightening to rediscover your internal, personal life rules so that you’re better able to check yourself against them each and every day from here on in. After all, today is the first day of the rest of your life. Make it count. 

Smiles and blessings, Amethyst