The Pagan religions are, by popular definition, Earth-based religions. Are we, as Pagans living in an urban environment able to reconcile our path with our environment? If we are unable or unwilling to drop everything and flee to the "country", are we compromising our path? Are we, as dwellers in the midst of concrete and glass, any "less Pagan" than those that live on farms or run naked in the woods? Perhaps it is a bit more difficult or takes a bit more creativity to remain spiritual in the realities of urban chaos, but you can learn to incorporate your faith into your daily life and find the magick wherever you are.

Getting in and staying in tune with nature while living the urban life is very much dependent upon heightening and tuning your levels of awareness. You have to learn to wake up your senses and focus them. At first you may have to make a conscious effort to be more alert and aware of your surroundings. Concentrate on the details around you--the way the wind feels on your face, the texture of a leaf or a blade of grass, the warmth of the sun on your back, or the silver light the moon throws across your windowpane. With time all of this will become a natural part of your routine. You'll find it's much easier to let a hectic day at work slide away when you can literally feel the rhythm of nature pulsing around you. Standing outside under a waxing moon for a few moments can infuse you with energy after a trying day. Watching a bird build a nest underneath the overhang of a skyscraper can remind you of your own ability to adapt and survive no matter what the hardships in your life.

Now turn your attention from the out of doors to inside your home. This is your environment too. Look around your home and feel its vibrations. Listen to what it says to you and about you, and decide what you can do to help it better reflect who you are and what you are becoming. Your home is where you spend most of your time. Shouldn't it be a place that you look forward to going to, a place that welcomes you?

Your home doesn't have to be decorated like a gypsy fortuneteller's wagon, or an occult shop. But that certainly doesn't mean you can't place a few items that hold special meaning in strategic places. Hang a sun catcher in a Southern-facing window. Grow plants or a small herb garden in a Northern corner. Set a bowl of potpourri on a table in the East. Light a blue-green candle or set up an aquarium in the West. Non-Pagans will be none the wiser, but your home will begin to reflect the peace and tranquillity that come with balance. No matter how you decide to decorate your apartment, condo, or city home, strive to make your environment a place for positive magickal living.

The pace of living in an urban setting can sometimes be overwhelming. Days are hectic, evenings rushed, sleep is hard to come by in adequate amounts. Sometimes it feels like all of your energy is going to someone or something other than yourself. Make a concerted effort to take time for your spiritual self. Perhaps you need quiet meditation time all alone. Perhaps an hour or so curled up with a good book is your way to relax. Whatever it takes, take time for you. Don't allow yourself to get so caught up in doing for everyone else that you don't do for you. It is impossible to feel centered and balanced with the ebb and flow of Nature around you, if your inner self is in chaos.

Learning to be aware of the natural cycles of the Earth is essential to living in harmony with it. No matter where you live, the first step toward returning to the Goddess is to be observant. As a Pagan living an urban life, the way you stay in tune with your chosen path will in many ways differ from that of your "country cousins". But in the end we are all a part of the Earth: from it, in it, and to it we will return. As long as we know that, we know the magick of being Pagan.