Tips for the commuting pagan
by Michelle Santos

So, your car resembles the dumpster in back of a food restaurant, your life
consists mainly of working, sleeping, and eating, and you have more intimate
relationship with your car than your significant other.  Face it.  You are
commuter, a person who travels at least one hour, one way, to get to work.

Since many pagans feeling affinity with nature, they often choose to live in
the country and work in the city.  This arrangement allows plenty of space
for herb gardens, Sunrise walks, and outside rituals on weekend.  During the
week, however, the list full countryside turns into a never-ending stretch
of highways, a loud cacophony of horns, and a bright twinkling of break
lights as the country dwelling pagans strike into the city.

Having commuted an hour and a half into Boston for work or school for many
years, I understand the frustration, the anger, and the resentment of the
commuter.  You need the money, but you have no time for anything meaningful
in your life.  The following the compilation of all the tricks I have
devised to make my commute more enjoyable.

Breathe.  Taking deep breaths when upset calms body, slows the heartbeat,
and allows you to make more rational decisions.  Even when you are not
upset, consciously focus on your breathing.  Not only would take your mind
off the jerk in front of you obviously got his license at the local
convenience store.  But the regular breathing will center you and achieve in
greater connection with your body.  Open the window.  If the weather allows,
let fresh air filter through your lungs (minus all carbon monoxide spewing
from the tail pipes of various cars and trucks, of course).  When your car
is stopped next to clump of trees, listened for the birds.  Marvel at beauty
of nature.  She is the reason you in this two mile backup.

Listen to tapes.
Don't waste a valuable time by listening to the prepubescent babble over
LocalTalk radio disc jockey.  Instead, buy or borrow some books on tape.
When you wanta change of subject, there are several other educational topics
to choose from.  Learn Spanish.  Understand the periodic cable of elements.
Any tape you choose allows you to do something constructive with your
commuting time.

Decorate the inside of your car.
People decorate their homes for the holidays.  You spend a lot of time in
your car.  Why not decorate your car for the holidays?  Bring a bit of
nature inside with ivy and holly for Yule and a mini sheets of wheat and
dried flowers for Lughnasadh and Mabon.  Welcome the spring with dyed eggs
for Ostara and brightly colored ribbons with fresh flowers for Beltane.  At
a mini candle and honor the hearth goddess of your choice drinking Imbolc.
But a traditional witches hat and a stuffed Black Cat in your car, along
with pictures of your dead loved ones to celebrate Samhain.  Remember the
little people with a pendant or glossy picture of a gossamer fairy for
Midsummer.

Create or buy a protective talisman.
Much of the stress of commuting comes from the other drivers on the road.
Give yourself piece of mind and a protection of the Goddess and God with a
talisman.  Many pagan books have large craft sections that illustrate how to
create such a talisman.  (My favorite is the God's eye in Edain McCoy's The
Sabbats: A New Approach to Living the Old Ways.) However, if you have no
time or simply no talents, you can buy a talisman at any pagan or New Age
store or catalog.  (Be sure to cleanse and consecrate talisman, but not
while your driving.)

Say a prayer.
At the end of the day, was you put the city behind you, at a point way you
see and feel the comforting presence of nature, praise the Goddess and God
for seeing you safely through another hectic commute.  I personally believe
that the best prayers are those that come directly from the heart, bypassing
the brain, and have no words to them.  However, you can chant a rhyme, sing
a song, or form a prayer in celebration of nature and deity.

I hope these hard won tips helped to make your commute a more pleasant
experience while bringing you closer to the Goddess and God.  They certainly
helped me.  The next time your stuck in a huge traffic jam, the scent of
fresh flowers into your lungs, smile, and remind yourself that it's worth
it.