Time to Walk

Welcome to our final article on the Rite of Walking. This is a grab-bag of hints, tips, and final thoughts.

tl;dr - it’s time to go for your walk now.

Put down your device, put on your shoes, and go outside.

Your Walking Practice

Look up resources on how to start a new habit to help you embed Walking into your life. There are apps available to help set habits, but you can also use phone reminders, calendars, and so on.

New habits take around a month to feel natural. Once you're walking enough, you'll start to feel antsy at spending too much time inside, the call of the hills and sky will tug at you like a creature trapped unwillingly in captivity.

What helps me is picking a time once per week and setting it aside for my walk. Some times I’ve had a “walk home from work day”, where I leave work and go straight into a ramble (I often get a bus to actually get me home, once I’ve had a good old wander). At other times, it’s been Sunday morning or similar - just like going to church.

Another technique is setting mini-challenges for a period of time. Here are some suggestions - don’t try all of them at once, but try one whenever your Walking practice lapses or needs new inspiration:

Once-Per-Day

Once per Week

Once a Month

Ad Hoc

Reading List

You shouldn’t be reading: you should be off on a damn walk.

But a small collection of books which facilitate the experience are good choices for your Walking Library:

Keeping notes can help focus your walks, both on what you’ve observed, or what you’ve thought while rambling - or even to look back at the places you’ve been. The Rite is Walking, however, not “Writing About Walking” - or heaven forbid, “Blogging About Walking” or “Reading Others Blog About Walking”.

Outside of times where you Walk - perhaps because you are unable to, or for the pleasure of it - planning for Walks in future can be an excellent substitute

Get some things

Walking is a rare part of Pagan life where it is definitely good to amass some stuff. The goal of walking is not to be 'the best' at Walking, but having good tools is sensible, not prideful. At the very least, you need appropriate, high-quality shoes and good weatherwear

People are always intending to go camping and then giving it up, so put notifications on second hand sites to pick up:

In the UK, outdoors shops have their end-of-summer 70% off clearance sale around August/September.

This can definitely become a gadget-driven hobby, so avoid that tendency if you tend to be seduced by it. But on the whole, these things are useful. You will never regret the right-quality clothes for your day out.

My favourite Walking object is my vintage military blanket. It's pure wool, and it's the object I would grab in a fire. I use a cloak-pin with it and judge the technology to be timeless. It resists a drizzle, and gives warmth but is not stuffy; I can adjust its weight and shape depending on my mood, nap under it, and so forth.

Don't Die

We're a big fan of an alarmist 1970s PSA at Fen Cottage, about all the ways you can die while off with your chums and having a jolly old time. You can die on a hike if you're underprepared. And if you're new to walking, it'll take some time to build your body up to tackling big hikes with ease

The rite of Walking does not, of course, call you to danger - the mood is rather that of a rural antiquarian off for a stroll down sedate hedgerows. But underprepared walkers cop it all the time. Be alert to extreme weather, difficult terrain, the dangers of any water, getting lost, and not having the tools to hand for an emergency (like water or - I say with reluctance - a phone).

To go bravely and rashly die into the wild, defy mortal limits, and maybe die or go mad there, is a Lunar Stellar thing - but this is your first week, so take care.

And for non-walkers

To be frank, this section is an afterthought because I can't write from my own knowledge. These are personal notes on a personal tradition: I don't know what the right substitute work is for people whose mobility is limited, having not myself lived it yet. My preference is to leave the gap for you to fill - not because accessibiliy is unimportant, but because there's no value to me talking out of my arse on what I imagine someone might want to try.

I'd love to host an article, or post links, by someone with a Fencraftesque way of being on how they do nature-based work in a non-mobile way. That would have more value than me speculating. Get in touch!

Advancement

Walking never stops being a teacher; especially if you are in a nature-focused Pagan path, or a form of Fencraft which is focused on the Landweird or on Solar practices. You may find times when Walking has to take a back seat, or when it is less essential to your current work, but you should never think of yourself as “done” with Walking - unless your spirituality moves into an area which is wholly mechanical, astral, technical, and nature-free. In short, plan for your Walk to be a constant part of your life going forwards.

Move on to the next section when you are ready. Between two to four weeks is ideal for this chapter. Before you move on, ensure you’ve been on at least a couple of walks, and thought about the information given about Solar energy and Walking and the Landweird. The next Practice - Reading - is to be done alongside Walking, so move on as soon as you feel confident with the material here.

Don’t skip the Walk. Don’t skip the Walk. To pass this chapter, you have to actually be Walking, not just reading about it. It is deceptively simple, and its lessons are learnt as you Walk.

  1. Index
  2. On Walking
  3. Walking and the Solar
  4. Why We Walk
  5. Time to Walk