Okie Wheel of the Year: March 8 2021

first bloom! A sign of hope

Lilac buds, bulb blooms, and lofty buzzards, hurray! Finally we have more signs of spring. Facebook reminds me daily that in past years we had peach and redbud bloom by now. This spring is taking its time, but there is hope. Hope is not a word often used when describing Oklahoma. More often you hear words about poverty, deadly weather, and backwards, judgmental attitudes. There is one surprising place where Oklahoma is actually known for hope: The University of Oklahoma School of Social Work Hope Research Center. Yeah, that sounds kinda hokey, but his theories may actually have some usefulness in the toolkit of your metaphysical, magical personal practice. Really. Hear me out here…

Lilac buds

In his book Hope rising: How the science of hope can change your life, Prof Hellman illustrates his ideas through the lives of several people, many of whom are from Oklahoma.  One is Emeka Nnaka, paralyzed football player turned motivational speaker. Their research measures hope and demonstrates that higher hope scores lead to higher survival and more success in what magical people might call "manifestation."  They define hope as “the belief that the future will be better and you have the power to make it so.” Hope is made up of three things: goals, “pathways”- road maps to achieving goals, and the willpower to follow them. Lacking any part of those those three items, the book explains, results in being “low hope”. One of the keys to raising hope will probably sound familiar to anyone who has been a part of any healthy modern type of spiritual path: being honest about and understanding your own trauma and the effects it has on your goals, pathway finding, and willpower. One of their stated aims is to “Call for the end to shame and blame when addressing struggles of those who had experienced trauma, illness, or adversity.” 

This science guy from Oklahoma is out here telling social workers and politicians they need to do shadow work, basically.  But seriously, this sounds an awful lot like the advice I see experienced witches handing out on the internet: Set your intention (have a goal), get your materials/ritual/etc (find a pathway), and believe in yourself (willpower). These also come with advice like “Do the work; there are no shortcuts.” and “work on yourself first” (self-care, self-esteem, deal with your trauma). While a “science of hope” might sound implausible at first, it seems pretty reasonable in light of what the magical community does.   If a science-y way to improve your ability to manifest work into the world appeals to you, this might be worth checking out.

Who would have thought that science and magic might agree down here in ol’ Oklahoma. Maybe there’s hope for us yet!

Wheeling turkey buzzard