Perseverance
Over the course of the next few months, I’ll be sending out sigils to help us navigate these times. These sigils can be used to help us focus and help spur us toward action.
What are sigils? They are symbolic signatures. A maker’s mark is a sigil. So are certain corporate logos. Sigils invoke intention and can also be used to evoke certain qualities in the world.
Magic workers use sigils for many things: to help them study, to manifest justice, to kindle creativity, to help find a better job, to slow down, to speed up, to open to spaciousness, or to buckle down.
Lately, I’ve been pondering the importance of simply persevering. Sometimes, the daily showing up for life becomes a struggle. Life and all its troubles can feel overwhelming. The to-list is too long. Or despair takes over.
Well, I’m working on another sigil for that. A sigil for hope.
But let’s talk about perseverance for now.
Perseverance requires steadfastness, which is a willingness to keep showing up for things, small or large. But especially the small things. It’s the small things that add up. It’s also the small things that can trip us up.
But mostly? It’s the small things that help keep us going.
“Do what you can, when you can, where you can,” has been my catchphrase for the past several years. And that’s what perseverance is about for me.
Perseverance also requires patience. I’m am not a patient person. So how do I persevere? I practice. And when that gets hard? I find a different way to practice. I find support for practice.
And so, inch by inch, I travel the path.
Invoking perseverance also reminds me that I don’t have to tackle the massive problem, or the huge project. Invoking perseverance reminds me that being small is okay. As a matter of fact, sometimes it’s more effective. A small boat can quickly change course, where an ocean liner stalls and founders.
The sigil for perseverance is drawn from our friend the snail. Snails move slowly along, their slime depositing nitrogen that fertilizes the soil. They protect plants from small insects, just by fortifying themselves. They recycle nutrients. They move spores from place to place. They provide sustenance for other creatures.
A snail, simply by moving slowly, and doing what it does best, provides a boon to the ecosystem.
It doesn’t even need to try very hard. It just needs to show up.
So, I offer you the sigil for Perseverance. May it help you show up, as you are. You might just do something important, without even knowing it.
Draw this sigil when you need help to keep going, even in the face of adversity. Speak the word out loud. And don’t forget: It’s also okay to slow down.
This essay was made possible by my wonderful Patreon supporters. I give thanks for them every week! You can join in, if you wish, for as little or as much as $1-100 a month. Everybody gets the same advance content, no matter the pledge level, plus at least four ebooks a year.