Non Fluffy Wicca

Kat MacMorgan coined the term "Unverified Personal Gnosis" or UPG in her book Wicca 333. Throwing my own definition at the concept, I think of it as that magic moment when you KNOW something. You KNOW deep down in your soul that it is true because it has been revealed or come to you in a way that is irrefutable vor YOU. That's the "personal" part of Unverified Personal Gnosis

As for "unverified" that's pretty obvious. Regardless of how real my vision of the Green Man telling me he prefers grape popsicles over M&Ms is to ME, if I told YOU this cosmic truth, your reaction would likely not be quite as enthusiastic as mine, as I rush off to the store to fill my freezer with grape popsicles. "Gnosis" means knowledge, so it's knowledge that I know is "truth" which you may think is "bunk" or "nuts" or simply "not in accordance with any of YOUR UPGs."

So today I had a very happy UPG. My Talia (aka "the Luppy") escaped the house. Since she is still nursing her 5 monster puppies of DOOM, there was much concern, not only for my beautiful blue eyed doggie girl, but for her pups. I was frantic, obviously, running here and there trying to find her, climbing through mud, up embankments, through brambles, etc., all in 100 degree heat with high humidity, becoming a total sweat pit from hell, dizzy, suffering from heat issues, but not wanting to give up. We live close to a very busy road, and I had horrible thoughts of finding her hit by a car, suffering on the side of the road, etc. Yes, "frantic" would have been a good word to describe it.

So, as I was tromping around, I found myself near my circle in the woods. Someone who had been out here before said that the place was a "Faery Mound." Now, to me, the whole idea of "The Fae" is kind of silly, with stylized FLUFFY pink critters with gossamer wings flitting around in your face like fireflies on crack. But you know, I was there anyway, and so there I was, saying "whatever or whomever you are, please help me find my doggie?." In my heat induced hallucination, a voice in my head asked, "then will you believe in us?" Huh? "Hell yes, if you can get my doggie back" was my confused and startled answer.

Immediately thereafter, I called for Talia, and way off in the distance, in an area I had just been driving through to look for her, I heard something crashing through the woods. Then I saw a beautiful white head bounding over the ferns and underbrush. Yes, it was my Luppy, and I had one big ass UPG.

Now I don't know what label to put on whatever it was that was out there that helped me find my dog. It could have been a hallucination, wishful thinking, coincidence, or whatever. But in that moment, I KNEW something existed out there. Forest sprites? Spirits? Something I never heard of before? Doesn't really matter. Something was there, and it helped me find my baby. And for that, I am very grateful.

I'm going to hang a few witch balls on the trees on the mound. I hope that the "whatevers" like them :-)