I guess the most revealing aspect of all of this was the very nature of how we shared our spiritual paths online. Unhampered by the algorithm of social media, and instead beholden to the subtle politics of the blogroll, we waxed lyrical on all kinds of things. And there were so many of us reading each other's posts and bouncing ideas back and forth. In LONG FORM.

It's the B entry into my Pagan Blog Project of 2025, I'm not gonna lie, this was going to be a beginner book recommendations list. Because B is for Books.

But as I started to pile tomes from my shelves, plucking out books I felt were influential to my practice, I realised this was an almost impossible task. I've done this a few times, and I've never compiled a beginner book stack that stood the test of time - lists like that should be in flux, a living document subject to change, and the 'expert' who compiled them. You want to create the ultimate list for the fictional seeker - maybe the inner seeker within us all - that you would lovingly hand over with a bow tie on top. A perfect pile of books that would avoid so much wondering in the wilderness, and so much wasted time. But alas, this is the nature of being a beginner, and seeking. You gotta read some crappy stuff. And I read everything. I mean everything.

I also realised my list that I compiled for this post had some frayed edges - not just literally, but as I spend more time developing my own practice, and being in community, both online and in real life, you sometimes learn enough to turn you askew from recommending some authors in an iron-clad, catch-all list. So I scrapped the idea altogether. I've come to a stage where I will give a few ideas if someone asks, and I'll want to know more about the querent to create a list that is tailored. And that is what a good librarian would do in response to a referencing query.

Anyways, no beginner list today. Instead I decided to post my witchy 'TBR' (To Be Read pile), or at least, witch-adjacent.

The beginning of the year started in a place that I don't call home - 4,533km away (or a 48 hour drive) on the other side of the continent called Australia. It is a different country to what I am used to - the birds, the insects, the plants are all different, and they definitely speak a different language. My usual routine of cleaning and doing readings for the year ahead at home were off the agenda, so instead? I sipped tea, noticed the wind, practiced with breath, and listened to the birds. Sometimes listening and breathing with intention, and logging birds on your bird watching app, can be a practice. As I continued to travel, I had the opportunity to add layers and explore and map out new landscapes, both internal and external.

I used to be a prolific blogger. I want to revive that somewhat this year. This inclination wants to resurrect. I am going to slap it around, throw some cold water on it, give it more than a nudge - de-root, loosen, rustle up. Kick her down the hill, maybe. Watch my disheveled, wallowing and neglected creative juicebox tumble head over heels off the cliff, hitting a few branches and loosening some boulders along the way.

And when I clamber down the slopes to see what's left of that inclination, maybe I will be able to rouse her into dusting herself off, getting to her feet. Shake her her by the shoulders. Hey, you. Wanna be 'present' 'online' or something? C'mon. You know you want to.