My English teacher lets her students research whatever topic they want towards the end of the year and calls it “Genius Hour”, when I was first presented with this endless field of wonder my mind jumped from what it takes to be a pediatric nurse, training my dog, and learning how to cook, but my mind kept gravitating towards one idea, Pagan healing rituals. Naturally, researching what Paganism is as well as some different types of healing rituals. As I got deeper and deeper into my research I began to find out that these Pagan rituals made so much more sense to me than any other religion I had ever researched or practiced.

When I had grasped the general idea of how some branches of Paganism use nature as the basis to their religion I began to gather materials from around my house to carry out some of these rituals to see if they would actually work. I personally have issues with anxiety and depression, so I started to look for rituals that would help with these ailments. I researched what stones to use, how to cleanse my stones, as well as rituals they aren’t stone based but were instead more herb based. I carried cleansed amethyst, rose quartz, smoky quartz, and garnet to help with my anxiety and depression and also began to drink certain teas and take baths with rose petals in the water. As time went by I began to notice that I was braver and I was having better days and nights more often. My mom told me that my improved mental condition was simply a placebo effect, but I’ve had a better effect with these Pagan rituals than praying has ever given me.

After I had found out that these rituals had worked for my well-being I began to share these rituals with people around me who were okay with trying them out, and oddly enough some of the things I had suggested most people had already tried so I began to look into what common home remedies are actually based on Pagan rituals. I found that aroma therapy as well as drinking certain teas are from Pagan remedies, Tylenol is also based off pain remedies that used white willow bark which is in Tylenol.

These rituals have worked for me, and I personally love the idea of the religion, but so many people are uneducated about what Paganism is, so I’m hoping to educate those who aren’t. I have shared many rituals with other people around and I hope that they will do the same for others around them.