{"id":4944,"date":"2019-06-01T01:10:41","date_gmt":"2019-06-01T06:10:41","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/paganpages.org\/content\/?p=21345"},"modified":"2019-05-25T12:04:47","modified_gmt":"2019-05-25T17:04:47","slug":"wreathing-the-wheel-7","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/2019\/06\/01\/wreathing-the-wheel-7\/","title":{"rendered":"Wreathing the Wheel"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Wreathing\nthe Wheel: June – Summer Solstice and Project Planning<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The\nmonth of June contains my favorite of all the quarter days: the\nsummer solstice. This day is high noon for the year, a time when\ntransformative, fiery powers are at their peak, warming the earth and\nhelping plants grow to their fullest. Litha is about action, so this\nmonth I\u2019ve decided to get serious about planning some of my\npersonal projects. While there are many different types of projects,\nI\u2019ll be using the example of this column as our template.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s\na basic, five-step road-map that can be used for both cyclical and\nlinear projects, from the start of an idea to complete fruition. This\ncan also be the basis for your planning spread, although obviously\nsome projects may require you to add or eliminate steps. I\u2019ve tried\nto make it as general as possible, so that this road-map can be used\nfor event planning, project planning, spell work, and much more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

1.\nBrainstorm Your Idea<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\noften do this first step in a sketchbook, as especially with\ncomplicated ideas, it can easily be too much for a bullet journal.\nHowever, this column\u2019s a slightly simpler example than a long-term,\ncomplicated project would be, so I\u2019ve made a layout to include this\npart of the process as well. My method of brainstorming is a bit like\nScrying: I like to make a word cloud out of short phrases, symbols,\ndiagrams, and keywords that inspire me in my project, as well as\nshort lists as I start to discover the structure in this cloud. I\nalso like to highlight certain words with colored pen so that they\nstand out from the cloud after I\u2019ve finished this first\nbrainstorming step.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

2.\nRefine the Idea: Vision, Mission Statement, and Goals<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

My\nvision board conveys the most important parts of the brainstorming\nresults, and my ideas about how the finished project should be\nrealized. My mission statement is a short sentence which concisely\nexpresses my primary goal. While these may seem silly in the context\nof a simple article, they can be very important for long-term\nprojects, as a mission statement will help remind you of what you\nshould focus on if you get distracted. I also include a list of\npractical goals here to help give my idea some more structure and\nformulate the next phase of the plan.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

3.\nDefine the Project Needs: Resources, Education, Materials<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

With\na complicated project, this part of the spread could easily be\nexpanded to include a list of articles and references, a\nbibliography, and even a complex budget for my project. In the case\nof this article, this section is fairly redundant, since I already\nhave all the materials and resources that I\u2019ll need, but it would\nbe a great way to track research progress for a longer project. If\nyour project involves a budget or financial goals, this part will\nbecome much more important, and doing the exercise of writing it all\nout may even help you realize whether your goal is truly attainable \u2014\nand affordable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.\nProject Road-map and Action Steps<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

For\nthis article, I broke my trackable progress up into two phases: a\nstructural phase which reflected my development of the article\nitself, which I call the project road-map; and the actual steps\nneeded to bring this idea to fruition, from sketching the layout to\ne-mailing the column to my editor. And when that last piece of this\nroad-map is done \u2014 so am I! But there\u2019s still room in this layout\nfor one more section\u2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

5. Reflection and Response<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ideally,\nyou\u2019ve been using your road-map and your whole layout not only as\nyou plan, but also as you work on your project. You may find that you\nneed to expand or rework some of these items as you refine your idea.\nYou should also track your progress as you accomplish your goals to\nhelp keep you moving forward. When your goal is accomplished, you can\neven journal a short reflection, or note others\u2019 responses to your\nproject, as a way of reviewing your own work. This is a great way to\nbookend your project and make sure that you don\u2019t miss recording\nthe results of all your hard work!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

***<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

About\nthe Author:<\/strong>\n \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Sarah\nMcMenomy <\/strong>is\nan artist and witch. Her craft incorporates herbalism, spellwork,\ntrance, divination, auras, and more. Her work can be found at\nhttps:\/\/sarahmcmenomy.tumblr.com<\/a>\n\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Wreathing the Wheel: June – Summer Solstice and Project Planning The month of June contains my favorite of all the quarter days: the summer solstice. This day is high noon for the year, a time when transformative, fiery powers are at their peak, warming the earth and helping plants grow to their fullest. Litha is about action, so this month I\u2019ve decided to get serious about planning some of my personal projects. While there are many different types of projects, I\u2019ll be using the example of this column as our template. Here\u2019s a basic, five-step road-map that can be used for both cyclical and linear projects, from the start of an idea to complete fruition. This can also be the basis for your planning spread, although obviously some projects may require you to add or eliminate steps. I\u2019ve tried to make it as general as possible, so that this road-map can be used for event planning, project planning, spell work, and much more! 1. Brainstorm Your Idea I often do this first step in a sketchbook, as especially with complicated ideas, it can easily be too much for a bullet journal. However, this column\u2019s a slightly simpler example than a long-term, complicated project would be, so I\u2019ve made a layout to include this part of the process as well. My method of brainstorming is a bit like Scrying: I like to make a word cloud out of short phrases, symbols, diagrams, and keywords that inspire me in my project, as well as short lists as I start to discover the structure in this cloud. I also like to highlight certain words with colored pen so that they stand out from the cloud after I\u2019ve finished this first brainstorming step. 2. Refine the Idea: Vision, Mission Statement, and Goals My vision board conveys the most important parts of the brainstorming results, and my ideas about how the finished project should be realized. My mission statement is a short sentence which concisely expresses my primary goal. While these may seem silly in the context of a simple article, they can be very important for long-term projects, as a mission statement will help remind you of what you should focus on if you get distracted. I also include a list of practical goals here to help give my idea some more structure and formulate the next phase of the plan. 3. Define the Project Needs: Resources, Education, Materials With a complicated project, this part of the spread could easily be expanded to include a list of articles and references, a bibliography, and even a complex budget for my project. In the case of this article, this section is fairly redundant, since I already have all the materials and resources that I\u2019ll need, but it would be a great way to track research progress for a longer project. If your project involves a budget or financial goals, this part will become much more important, and doing the exercise of writing it all out may even help you realize whether your goal is truly attainable \u2014 and affordable. 4. Project Road-map and Action Steps For this article, I broke my trackable progress up into two phases: a structural phase which reflected my development of the article itself, which I call the project road-map; and the actual steps needed to bring this idea to fruition, from sketching the layout to e-mailing the column to my editor. And when that last piece of this road-map is done \u2014 so am I! But there\u2019s still room in this layout for one more section\u2026 5. Reflection and Response Ideally, you\u2019ve been using your road-map and your whole layout not only as you plan, but also as you work on your project. You may find that you need to expand or rework some of these items as you refine your idea. You should also track your progress as you accomplish your goals to help keep you moving forward. When your goal is accomplished, you can even journal a short reflection, or note others\u2019 responses to your project, as a way of reviewing your own work. This is a great way to bookend your project and make sure that you don\u2019t miss recording the results of all your hard work! *** About the Author: Sarah McMenomy is an artist and witch. Her craft incorporates herbalism, spellwork, trance, divination, auras, and more. Her work can be found at https:\/\/sarahmcmenomy.tumblr.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":249,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"iawp_total_views":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4944","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4944","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/249"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4944"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4944\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4944"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4944"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paganpages.org\/emagazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4944"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}