Rose Ariadne's Chitchcraft Blog

Dear Friends,

With little ones, it’s sometimes hard to know at what point you should start explaining some of the important things to them. This isn’t just relevant to Wicca, either. Although your child, or children as the case may be, will grow up around your traditions and rituals and beliefs, knowing exactly when you should start explaining those things to them and how you should go about doing so can be tricky.

I’m thinking about Halloween, right now, but of course there are other holidays and even larger things like death that children are affected by that you’re eventually going to have to explain to them. With their cognitive skills being limited when they are young, though, it’s hard to explain concepts to them that even some adults have difficulty understanding.

I am trying to start young with my children and get them used to some of the simpler concepts and beliefs so that when they are older they will already be acclimated to them. This past spring, for instance, I took my oldest into the garden where we dug up the earth together, planted seeds and cuttings, and talked about what we were doing. When a worm crawled by and fear struck, we discussed the importance of the worm and how he would help make our flowers and plants grow and our dirt better. We talked about the importance of the rain and the sunshine and how nature works together to provide the things that we need for our garden to survive.

When we planted our herb garden, not only did we talk about how we could cook with the herbs that we were planting, but we also talked about how some plants could help us in other ways, too. As we planted the sage we discussed some of the bad things that have happened to us and how we get scared at time and how sage can be helpful in clearing out negative energy and vibes.

The conversation was light and easy going and it was a discussion that lasted throughout the week as we got our vegetables and herbs planted. I felt as though it was important to start instilling a sense of personal responsibility and understanding and appreciation to the natural world in my child now, so that later when we talk about other issues, like death, that foundation would already exist.

It’s a similar way to how we have treated Halloween. Yes, we have costumes at our house and lots of fall decorations and the little ones like coloring pictures of fall harvests and painting pumpkins. Along with those things, however, I try to make a point of explaining why we are doing some of those things. While they might not completely understand it now, by introducing these ideas to them a little bit at a time it will help later on down the road. Plus, I think it’s important for children to understand why we carry on the traditions that we do.

When a dear friend passed away and I performed a ritual in remembrance of them, my oldest walked in on me. A little confused, but enthralled by the candles, there were questions about what I was doing. I answered them as simply as I could and attempted to explain that sometimes you miss someone and you want to remember them and that this is a different way of doing so. I tried to keep my language simple and uncomplicated, but when I was finished my child looked at me and asked if I was praying. (Children are more astute than we give them credit for sometimes!) I answered that yes, it was a form of praying in a sense but that different people simply have different ways of doing it. This appeared to be a satisfying answer.

We carry out traditions and rituals because they are familiar to us, we are comfortable with them, and they make us feel secure. Of course, there are other reasons that we carry them out as well, but those reasons might be some of the most common ones. It’s like getting up in the morning and brushing your teeth or putting in your contacts before you do anything else. You might not consciously be thinking, “I need to put my contacts in so that I can see before I do anything else”, yet you are aware that if you don’t put those contacts in you might be running into the wall.

Sometimes, it’s important to step back and take a look at the rituals and traditions that are important to you and remember why you are doing them in the first place. I have found that explaining them to my children actually gives me a better understanding of them myself, and even a renewed sense of peace when I perform them.

Brightest Blessings,

Rose Ariadne
Your Warm and Caring “Resident Witch In Charge”