On her blog, A Forest Door, Dver has challenged Polytheists to write about their religious practices for the month of September. The blog post https://forestdoor.wordpress.com/2016/09/01/are-you-up-for-the-challenge/ and the John Beckett’s post which is referenced, are both worth reading.
It has been months since I last wrote a blog post, let alone a series of blog posts, but I felt like this was the perfect prompt to get writing again, no matter how raw I might feel.
It happens to me often enough for it to be a pattern. I will read something – a book, a blog, and article – and it will resonate with me. Soon, I am falling down deep rabbit holes, reading more books, blogs, and articles. Being a practical person, I spend some time experimenting with using and applying all that I’ve read. Only after I have figured out how this new information fits in with my existing practice, do I feel comfortable really discussing it.
I first learned about project management during my undergraduate studies – only I didn’t know I was learning project management. The class was specific to accounting (my major) – essentially, how to run a financial audit. Later, in graduate school, I took two classes in project management, so I’m familiar with the traditional terminology and concepts. Unfortunately, it never occurred to me that the concepts could be applied, quite easily, to a magical and spiritual practice.
In November last year (2017), I found Ivy Bromius’s blog at circlethrice.com and it has transformed my practice, and therefore, much of my life.
Ivy is a professional project manager and her blog is all about magical project planning. Applying the principles of project planning, along with a consistent divination practice, she shows readers how to manage large projects, mitigate risk, and effectively cope with ongoing ambiguities and uncertainties.
Though there is plenty there in line with traditional project management concepts, where her methods really shine is in Agile project management – a methodology started in the tech industry where there are many unknowns and a group must be able to quickly ascertain what is working, what isn’t, and keep moving forward despite not knowing all the answers – kind of like life.
Combined with a newfound love of the bullet journal, Ivy’s methods have changed so much of what and how I do what I do. I find myself engaging with magic and allies much more often and the results have been wonderful.
Lastly, Ivy is incredibly generous with her time and material. Though many of the blog posts I read were several years old, she still took the time to answer my emails and forward me some additional information. She even laughs at some of my twitter jokes.
For those of you who are much less DIY-inclined, she offers consultations to coach you through project management. Soon, she’s going to be offering classes to walk beginners through magical project management. I can’t wait to see what she has in store! I encourage everyone to go and check out her blog.