The Universe has a funny way of putting me where I need to be. Sometimes I petition her for help, other times I am a part of the plan to get someone else where they need to be. There are also times where she sends me signs and warnings that I must let go of something in order to move forward on my journey. Somehow everything the Universe has ever warned me to let go of has turned into a battle of wills.
She has had to pry it out of my life as I desperately clawed at it in effort to hold onto it.

That is the thing about her warnings, they are subtle at first, but then her message gets louder when I am not paying enough attention. It usually springs forth as adversity or a crisis: obstacles that are preventing me from getting where I need to be or shattering the image that I am living the life I want to be.
Adversity
I feel it is safe to say that most humans face adversity in some aspect of their lives. Loss. Grief. Sadness. Fear. Worry. Overwhelm. I have experienced moments that defined how I moved in this life. The death of who I was before an event in my life and the rebirth of myself after that event. It is in those moments that I had to choose how I was going to move in this life.
Do I allow the adversity to stop me in my tracks and become stagnant?
Or do I move forward to persevere by healing from it?
Will I choose to be defined by the adversity I have faced, or do I choose to be defined by my perseverance? Both taste of truth. Which one is going to allow me to stand in my power, my sovereignty, and be free? It will always be perseverance. Every time. It is an inherent power.

When it BIG sucks
Let me be clear – adversity sucks. Things sometimes suck and sometimes it is not a little amount of suck, but BIG suck. It has left me reeling, raw, full of emotions, and needing to heal. This is not always a quick process nor is it ever truly over. Every time I hear a certain song, smell a certain fragrance, drive down an old, familiar road – I break open again a little bit. This awareness of healing as a necessity is how I began to stand in my power and be free. Accepting responsibility for my own healing is tough. The journeys I’ve embarked on to heal the things that hurt me is where the freedom is.
Perseverance
Facing the obstacles, confronting each one that is standing between me and my beautiful life, and then choosing to reach higher. That is perseverance. It is being responsible for my own truth. It requires awareness, intention, and energetic effort. It requires me to be real with myself, a speaker of truth, and embrace the power I hold over my own life by letting go of what no longer serves me.

Triformis of Spells and Sovereignty
Awareness, intention, and energetic effort are the triformis of spells in my craft. They are the groundwork for the spells I cast, and it is the same for how I move in my life when it comes to healing.
Awareness
Awareness references the ability to see and comprehend the world around me and my internal world. Seeing the symbolism in my life as it is the only way that the Universe can communicate with me. Whether it be dreams or the fact there are crows in my backyard that will not be quiet right now. Awareness includes being cognizant of emotions and thoughts taking place within and how those are outwardly expressed in my actions.
Intention
Intention refers to the objective of whatever action will take place or whatever specific thing I am looking to accomplish. It is the thought form that I am looking to manifest into my reality and the plan to get there. This is not wishcraft, it requires a plan but the divine can help align things for me to have the greatest impact.
Energetic Effort
Energetic effort refers to the action. Bringing awareness and intention together, and then some energy to help send my message to the universe and sit back to let her coordinate while I work on what I can control: my own plan of action. I might use the energies of the elements, plants, or stones to give additional energy, focus, or higher vibration to the intention as I send it out.

Where to start…
Deep diving our lives is always a great place to start when we have decided that adversity will not define our lives. Sitting with the things that we don’t talk about and journaling about it will create the space for acceptance of those things that we cannot change. While this does not mean it should have happened to us, it simply means that it did and we cannot change the past. I cannot face something that I do not even acknowledge, which means I also cannot heal from it until this part happens. It is an initiation back to my personal truth. It means I call my energy back to me from those moments of being powerless that will make me whole, sovereign, and powerful now.
This is the beginning of awareness.
The Nyssa.
The Initiation.
This is where the path to freedom and living an intentional life starts.
I wish I could say it is easy to do, but that is not the case. Acknowledging the things we need to heal from is ugly, hard, and can cause distress. If distress tolerance is not a strong point, please seek help from a licensed professional. I am a firm believer in the power of psychology as a path to freedom and sovereignty when needed!
A candle and a key,
Kaycee
So much of this is true. Thank you for sharing your Revelations.
Eventually, the thought occurs that the only way off the carousel is to get off. It’s a disorienting dismount, but truly remarkable once you realize that the universe is showing you the way. All we need to do is trust it. I’m glad it led me here. Thanks for this.