Q of the Day: Alternatives to Visualizing

A lot of the books I have talk about visualising various things (white light, pentacles, etc etc). I can't do this. I don't think in pictures, I think in words. If I try and visualise "white light" all I think is "white light" in my head. Does this mean I can't be a Wiccan? Is there an alternative to visualising?

Not being able to visualize certainly does not mean you cannot be Wiccan. Visualization is a tool that Wiccans regularly use, but to say that non-visualizers can't be Wiccan would be like saying someone without an athame can't be Wiccan.

Magic happens within us. Visualization helps us focus on the task at hand. It's the frame of mind the white light puts you in that's important, not the image of white light itself.

Since I myself am very visually oriented, I'm not sure what to suggest. Perhaps there are sounds that you may associate with your practices that would help you, so that you "visualize" sound instead of images. For example, if you're trying to consecrate something, you might think of a clear bell ring or the rush of wind rather than white light.

How you go about that will be a lot of trial and error, but Wicca has a lot of trial and error in it, even for us visual people. What Wicca teaches are practices that people tend to find useful. Not everyone finds every practice helpful. People start to adjust things so as to best suit their own mindset.