Month: February 2012

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Five Moving to a Conclusion

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Five Moving to a Conclusion

 

Staging 5: Moving to a conclusion – grounding or internalizing the power

If you would like to incorporate cakes and ale into a spell or ritual, this would be the point at which you would first take the cakes on the dish. When you are working alone, this is a lovely part of a spell or ritual to help to connect you with the love all round you.

Raise the cakes on their plate (one for you and one for the birds if working alone) skywards away from the altar.

Then lower them to waist height in front of you, saying:

“May the abundance of the Mother and the bountifulness of the Father bless and nourish, sustain and protect me/you/us all my/your/our days.”

 

You can, if more than one person is present, choose one to hold the dish and another to bless the cakes by making either a pentagram or a cross over the dish as the words are spoken. You can, of course, do this alone with your power hand.

Put the plate in the center of the altar.

Now take the chalice or goblet in your receptive hand and your wand in your power hand and gently lower the tip of the wand so it almost touches the surface of the wine or juice. Say:

“As male to female, god to goddess, so in this wine/juice is joined power and love, strength and compassion, striving and acceptance.”

 

Return it to the center of the altar.

If more than one person is present, one can bless the cakes and another can bless the wine. The same people are usually chosen to carry out the blessings, but you may prefer to share the duties. Often the wand is held by a female and the cup by a male for the crossing of energies, but two women or men can carry out the ceremony.

You should then take the cakes, scatter a few crumbs on the ground (or in a dish indoors) and say:

“I return the gift to the earth mother in thanks for blessings received. Blessings be.”

 

After the ceremony feed the rest of this cake to the birds.

At this point if there were two people involved, you can offer each other a cake and then pass them round to anyone else present. Each person can say:

“Blessed be.”

 

Or add a blessing before eating.

You should then return the plate to the altar and take the wine, pouring a little on the ground and thanking mother earth again for her blessings. (Pour this offering into a dish if indoors and you can put the crumbs and liquid outside after the ceremony.)

Now drink or offer the drink to the other person who blessed the chalice. He or she will take a sip and offer it to you and to the other person who carried out the blessings, saying:

“Blessings be.”

 

If others are present, pass the cup round so each can take a sip, saying:

“Blessings be.”

 

And perhaps adding a blessing before passing it on.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: An Alternative Stage 4

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: An Alternative Stage 4

 

 

If you are carrying out a healing spell or one for gentle love or letting go of sorrow, setting off psychic fireworks may seem a bit over the top.

Instead you may choose to infuse a healing herb mix with the power to relieve pain or exhaustion or infuse a dish of crystals so that they can afterwards be burned for peace in four directions. Gently directed power can be used to steer away in a psychic way someone who is making you unhappy.

“In a group celebration you may likewise not want to have everybody jumping up and down (it could certainly scare a baby at a blessing ceremony and a few elderly relatives at a hand fasting). You need instead to use the accumulated power and direct it into sanctity, whether that be the vows of a couple or of godparents. Or you might each make reflective wishes for the year ahead after the shouting of Happy New Year and banging of saucepan lids and blowing of whistles at a turning-of-the-year rite.”

Through the technique is straightforward it is like learning to do a hill start in a car – getting the clutch and accelerator in perfect balance so you can stay ready but motionless for as long as necessary.

When the power in your spell has built up to almost a climax instead of releasing it, hold it for a moment, keeping your movements and your voice steady and then begin to recite the words more slowly and more softly until your words fade through a whisper to silence and make your movements slower and gentler until your feet become still. The incense sticks, your hands or wand will likewise become still.

Point downward with smudge, incense sticks, wand or your hands toward the symbol at a 45-degree angle (slightly away if necessary so no ash falls on the symbol, herbs or crystals).

Push very gently, psychically holding your hands or sticks motionless, using words to make the power and light flow into the symbol. You may detect a rainbow aura or green light round the symbol.

When you feel the power ebbing, stand motionless and silent for a moment and then replace the wand, smudge or incense sticks in their place or holders or put your hands in front of you pointing downwards so any residual power can flow into the symbol or be used to heal the earth.

Leave the incense to burn through and whisper:

“May you be blessed.”

 

In a ritual this would be a good time for everyone to make personal offerings or quietly pass the symbol round and make low soft promises of practical ways you all personally will help to bring peace or work for the good of others. At a midwinter ceremony you would quietly, after the cry “The sun is born again,” light your candles one by one round the circle and make your own perhaps silent resolutions for bringing light back into your life and the world.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Four

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Four

 

Stage 4: Release of Power

This stage will blur and merge naturally into the previous one if you trust yourself.

When the moment is right, raise the incense sticks and hold the upright and above you, calling for the release. Then plunge the incense sticks simultaneously into a bowl of sand. Do the same if you’re using the smudge with a final spiraling above your head (pretend you are using a lasso).

If you are just using your hands or a wand, raise your arms high either side of your head, then swing them down, one behind you and one in front of you to waist height in a slashing movement.

Picture yourself releasing the pressure within the cone and lighting the touch paper on the entire firework display. Picture that one of stars cascading into the night.

End the song with a final shout, the dance with a final clap and a leap. Then call out “The power is free.” The wish is mine’ or “The spell is done,” whatever feels right to express the culmination of the spell.

See spiraling rainbows of light shooting upwards lie rockets or hundreds of white doves, colored balloons or butterflies being released as the same moment into the air.

If working as a group, one person should be responsible for calling “Now’ or the drummer could give a huge band. In practice the synchronized energies will bring the climax into synchronicity. But it really doesn’t matter if some psychic fireworks go off a few seconds after the other, it just prolongs the joyous tensions.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Three

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Three

 

Stage 3: Raising or increasing the power

This is the most active and powerful part of the spell, and involves building up the speed and intensity of the action you started in stage 2.

Raising the power is especially easy out of doors as you connect, especially if barefoot or wearing thin-soled shoes, with the natural spiraling energies or straighter ley flows beneath the earth.

Grass or sand near a river or seashore is also energized by the water flow, especially around the week of the new and full moons. On a safe beach you can dance through the shallows.

There are many ways of raising power, limited only by your imagination. When working alone and in a potent natural setting, perhaps at a power time like sunrise, you will sing, away or move quite without prompting or run along the beach or through long grass round in circles or spirals like a dog let off the leash. Watch children playing for inspiration.

Most effective is a combination of words or sound and movement in such a way that your conscious mind is carried along by the power, like riding a carousel when everything blues except for the music. The purpose of this stage is not only to empower the symbol but also to empower yourself, since you are the vehicle to carry the magickal energies from the thought (mental) and spiritual (astral) planes to actuality (earth). This is the same process used by shamans to trigger their out-of-body or out-of-everyday consciousness.

Enchant the symbol with a pair of lighted incense sticks, one held in each hand, a few centimeters/an inch above the symbol. Move the right one clockwise and the left on anticlockwise. Move them faster and faster and chant faster and faster in order to draw in all four elemental powers.

Increase the speed and intensity so the incense sticks cross and uncross over the symbol. As you move the sticks rhythmically, recite your elemental chant continuously.

Alternatively you can move your wand clockwise in flourishes or a spiral, a smudge stick in your power hand in huge circles allowing it to dictate its own pathway and shapes. You can move the other hand anticlockwise in rhythm if you want.

A very simple chant is:

Air, water, fire earth,

Bring, I ask, this wish to birth.

 

You can continue over and over again at increasing intensity and speed, adding variants or weaving your own simple four- or five-word chants, around the natural surroundings and the elemental associations.

Other spells chant include goddess names, the most popular being Isis, Astarte (Ass tart-ay), Diana, Hecate (Hekart tay), Demeter (Dem eat-er), Kali (Karly) and Innana (In-arn-a).

Isis is the Ancient Egyptian mother Goddess; Astarte is the supreme female divinity of the Phoenicians, Goddess of love and fertility, associate with the moon and all nature; Diana, the Graeco-Roman Goddess of the moon and hunt and queen of the witches; Hecate, the Ancient Greek Crone Goddess of the underworld and waning moon; Demeter, the Ancient Gree Corn mother; Kali, the Hindu creatrix/destroyer Goddess and Innana, the Sumerian fertility Queen of Heaven and Earth Goddess in the Middle East area of modern Iraq. Feel free to substitute your own goddesses/gods.

You could instead move round and round the altar or circle, chanting and clapping, while stepping, stamping or whirling and twirling. Sufi spiritual whirling dancing has been eagerly adopted by the New Age as a way of altering consciousness. Trust your feet to follow the spirals of the Earth energies.

You can add the beat of a hand drum using your hand or a striker or use a tambourine. We can all play these, without training or a natural ear for more formal music. Just let your hands and feet set the beat and if you chant along they all harmonize. The simpler and more repetitive words and actions, the better.

Move and chant until you feel that the power has reached its height, like revving a car with the hand brake on or a plane whose wheels are starting to life off the tarmac.

Through visualization, individuals and groups can create a cone of power with the circle as the base, picturing a mass of stars or swirls of rainbow light collecting a light cone above you. Imagine the cone getting higher and brighter as the apex gets taller and the cone denser with rainbow light. As you swirl you may even see it.

When the psychic power peaks in intensity it is released through the apex as shooting stars. Imagine yourself standing in the middle of a firework display.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Two

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage Two

 

You are now ready to begin endowing the symbol and spoken intention of the spell with power. Here you will use words, actions and visualization to build up this power within the physical symbol.

One of the most common methods of empowering the symbol is to pass it round or through the four elements in turn, so that power builds up within it.

Some practitioners start in the east with the incense. It does not matter as long as you are consistent. It depends whether you want to add your stability (north) at the beginning or end. Some prefer to start with stability and to end with the flowing waters of the west.

Begin with the salt in the north and make three clockwise circles of salt round the symbol, moving the circles outwards.

State again the purpose of the spell and then create an earth power chant, which should be spoken three times, visualizing at the same time what seem to be relevant earth powers. Visualize the power of the element in its natural form and then see that power entering you and meeting your own inner elemental power (like two rivers meeting). You can plan your chants in advance or just let them come spontaneously: they don’t have to rhyme. You can speak the chant as you make the circle, or afterwards for each of the four elements.

Next surround the symbol on the dish with three clockwise circles of incense smoke. Create an incense chant as you make the smoke circles over the salt ones. Afterwards you can also write the purpose of the spell in smoke over the symbol if you wish.

Repeat the process for fire with the candle or, if easier, circle the symbol on its dish clockwise over the candle of the south three times. Create a fire chant and again recite it three times.

Finally you are going to fill the symbol with the power of water in the same way. Make sure the water droplets are over the circles of salt and incense smoke (approximately). Again create a simple water power chant to be recited three times as you make the three water circles.

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage One

The Five Stages of Spellcasting: Stage One

 

Stage 1: Formally defining the purpose of the spell.

Take your symbol that should be made of natural material, natural fabric, crystal, beeswax, dough, clay, flowers, herbs, twigs or metals.

Set the symbol in a dish or flat plate in the center of the altar (you can use a pentacle dish is you wish).

Raising the symbol dish in the center of the altar as you face north, name the purpose of the spell and the time scale, for example, “by the time the leaves are on the trees,” “by the next full moon or “within seven days.”

At the same time, define the person for whom you are casting the spell – this could be yourself.

If you wish, you can now, while you are speaking, pass the symbol on its dish slowly in turn over all four elemental substances, beginning in the north or east.

You may now speaking slowly and confidently, ask for any god or goddess or maybe an angelic power that could be helpful.

Put the symbol back in the center. Touch the symbol with your wand or with a crystal point or the outstretching tip of your index finger to make the connection between the symbol and the energies to be raised. Say:

Be filled with powers and blessings that _________(name) may be/ have/ do__________.

In a ritual you would announce the purpose of the gathering and draw everyone together in a initial chant or action during this first stage.

Special Kitty of the Day for February 5th

Moonlight, the Cat of the Day
Name: Moonlight
 Age: Deceased, Three years old
Gender: Male
 Kind: Cat
Home: Tustin, California, USA
Inominate Moonlight the Stray, who came to accept me as his friend. About three years ago I noticed that the cat food I was leaving out in the evening for my cat Smokey to snack on was disappearing. Then soon after I caught a glimpse of a ragged black and white cat scurrying away into the darkness at just the slightest movement of the wind. Just a spooky little guy. So I began to leave more food out and in no time I had a nightly visitor. Every evening when the sun set this scrawny cat would appear, and so he became known as Moonlight.

Moonlight made great strides in accepting me as his friend. From the malnourished thief of a cat who would steal Smokey’s food under the cover of darkness to that of an occasional lap cat whose purr sounded like thunder. Smokey tolerated him with an occasional nose boop. No longer a wisp of a feline but a big hunk of a tom and as soon as the sun had set I would hear Moonlight make his way upon the tops of the fences with a loud meow announcing his arrival. He would then dine upon two cans of food and a plate of crunchies before stepping inside for an hour long nap on the couch and an occasional brushing. Afterward he would return to the back porch and enjoy the evening for a few hours safe inside my yard. Sometime later he would venture off to make his nightly rounds but would always return the next night as sure as the moon would rise. For three years this feral cat and I understood each other and respected our places in the world. He lived his life and I lived mine, but for a few hours every evening we enjoyed each other’s company.

Then one evening he did not keep his dinner date. Nor did he the next night. Worried I would walk the neighborhood looking for any signs but never saw one. A week passed and nothing. On the ninth day I woke to find Moonlight sitting at the back door and since the sun was up I knew something was terribly wrong. I sat my injured friend in my lap for an hour and listened to his broken purr as he tried to get comfortable, but the look in his eyes told me a story that words could not.

Sadly, Moonlights injuries were too severe and he did not survive. Thank you my friend, you will be missed. I’m honored you accepted me as one of your own.

Dog-gone Doggie of the Day for February 5th

Rosie, the Dog of the Day
Name: Rosie
 Age: Three and a half years old
Gender: Female Breed: Newfoundland
Home: Italy
Rosie’s full name is Rosabelle degli Angeli Neri Kennel in Italy. She was born with a miniature front paw which was later reabsorbed into the wrist. When she was born her breeder, Emmy Bruno, was very sad because she thought that no one would have liked a three pawed, four legged dog, but when we went to see her sister Nana (Rosalinde degli Angeli Neri), we fell in love with Rosie and decided to take her too.

Rosie is beautiful, and if it had not been for her handicap, her breeder would have kept her for breeding. Emmy was (and is) very fond of Rosie, and spoiled and pampered her a lot while I was waiting to take her home. Rosie still thinks she is a lapdog, and now and then she half jumps on my knees, keeping her hind legs on the ground, wrapping her only paw around me, and laying her big head on my breast, looking at me as if saying “I love you, Mom”. We thought that she would never be able to lead a normal life at the beginning. She had problems getting up, and when she wanted to lay down, she circled and circled around like a cat on a cushion , and then literally dropped down face first, with her butt in the air and her tail wagging. She still does it even now, minus the floor hitting with her face.

Her sister was a pest with her when they were pups. She bullied her and pulled her around by the tail. But little Rosie (we still call her Rosina, little Rose, even if she weights 56 kilos), learned to get up very quickly, and to wrestle with Nana and to jump on her and push her down.

She is a very brave and sensitive dog. She still spends most of her day laying on the floor, but if she wants to run and romp with Nana, she is as quick as her sister. The day she learnt to climb stairs was a great day in our house! She never gives up, and having been rather spoiled because of her handicap, at times she is very stubborn. She likes to go to the seaside to my Mom’s even if she does not like water very much. I think it is because she feels unbalanced and knows swimming is not for her.

This summer we almost lost her to an infection, and she was emergency spayed, but her kidneys were damaged. I slept three nights on the floor with her after the operation because she was too restless and was supposed to be resting.

Notwithstanding all this, she is as loving and sweet as she has always been. She is very funny when she sleeps on her back, her stump tucked to her breast. She is very protective of the house and of me, and her deep, husky bark is very intimidating. If anyone arrives she does not know, she hops in front of me and puts herself between me and any possible danger. I love her determination never to be left behind or excluded from anything, her love for life, her courage.

She is a philosopher dog. You can see her thinking while she is looking at you. She loves fish and little treats, and when she was a pup she was a formidable wood chewer, but she never destroyed anything in the house. I love her, and hope that notwithstanding her kidney problems, she will be with me for a long long time still, because losing her will mean the world would have lost a very exceptional being, and I a part of my heart.

Green Tip – 20 Reuses for Plastic Drink Bottles

20 Reuses for Plastic Drink Bottles

  • Chaya, selected from Networx

Plastic grocery bags and plastic water bottles – those disposable environmental nightmares – have become iconic in the current green revolution. Which is why plastic grocery bags are banned in many states, with many more on the way. Alas, single-use soda and water bottles are still ubiquitous. And even those of us who refuse to buy them, somehow seem to find ourselves in possession of the little landfill disasters.

So you’ve found yourself with a stash of bottles, maybe from your Couch-To-5k run, or your company-provided lunch, or that one time you got caught on a long drive in the middle of nowhere. Beverage trash still happens to mindful people! But that’s okay. There’s plenty of ways to get creative and up-cycle them for new and useful purposes. Here are a few fantastic ideas to get you started:

1. You can construct surprisingly elegant hanging lights, like this incredible plastic bottle chandelier.

2. You can also make awesome standing lights, like this glamorous floor lamp or this awesome desk lamp.

3. Be a DIY exterminator! Make a bug trap to thwart those summer fruit flies that invade your kitchen.

4. Make an automatic-plant watering system, and never let another plant die due to forgetfulness.

5. While you’re at it, you can fashion a simple, small watering can to keep on hand.

6. Freeze your bottles full of water and use them as cold packs in your cooler, or in your cloth shopping bag to keep your cold items cool on the way home from the grocer.

7. Put them to work in your kitchen. Make a citrus juicer! Or a quick funnel!

8. Cut off the tops and use the bottoms as your seed starter pots for your spring garden’s indoor transplants.

9. Or, cut off the bottoms and use the tops to blow giant bubbles!

10. And don’t forget those caps too! You can use them to make mini stamps.

11. Fill them with tap water and drop them in your toilet tank instead of a brick. You’ll save gallons of water each day!

12. Make a DIY lava lamp! So fun!

13. Make a super cute piggy bank.

14. This is NOT just another boring old “plastic vase”. This idea from Dollar Store Crafts for a DIY flower vase is a most elegant-looking use of a plastic drink bottle!

15. This is a pretty boring, but very functional, plastic bag dispenser. You could totally paint or decoupage it to spruce it up.

16. Make custom fashion, like these fun water bottle bracelets.

17. Make a coin purse. Amazing.

18. These “flower garland” hangings look so modern and so chic.

19. Save them for the holidays and make strings of stars (WOW) or icicle ornaments.

20. And finally, for the pros, you can set up a hydroponic window garden (double WOW).

Applying the Feng Shui Five Elements to Your Home

Applying the Feng Shui Five Elements to Your Home

  • Erica Sofrina

By Erica Sofrina- Author of Small Changes, Dynamic Results! Feng Shui for the Western World.

Bringing nature into our homes is a key component of the teachings of Feng Shui. The goal is to have all of the five elements of fire, earth, metal, water and wood balanced in every room of of our living space. By studying the Feng Shui Five Elements theory we can gain valuable insights as to why our lives are out of balance by looking at the elemental imbalances in our homes.

I have worked with many clients to improve their young children’s sleeping habits along with teens who were suddenly out of control. The culprit is often found in the elemental imbalances in their bedrooms. By bringing these into balance the child or teen comes back into balance as well. Clients think I have worked magic but I am merely applying these ancient, tried and true principles (also used in Chinese medicine) to physical environments.

The five elements can also be used in a powerful way to heal health issues, and to assist in personal growth. If we find we are staying ‘too small’ in our lives, our environment will often reflect too little of the wood element. We would want to both wear and bring into our living space objects and colors that reflect this element as shown in the chart below.

Please see the list on the next page of what the elements mean and what we experience when we have too much or too little of them in our lives and take advantage of my free offer to send you information about working with the elements at the end of this article.

If you are feeling over expanded and overwhelmed, you are experiencing too much of the wood element. In this instance you would benefit by bringing into your living space objects and colors that represent the element that cuts wood, which is metal. An example of too much of the wood element might be found in an all-green bedroom with floral prints and wooden furniture. What you thought would be soothing actually feels overwhelming.

The metal element is represented by white and cream colors, pastels, circular shapes, rocks and stones and metal. By changing the floral bedspread to a pastel or cream color and accessorizing with whites and pastels, you will begin to bring the room back into elemental balance.

Below is a Five Elements Map that will show you how they work together to balance each other.

The elements when closest to their natural state will contain the most vibrant ‘chi’ or energy. However, there are colors, objects and shapes that represent these elements as well. Some are subtle and some more obvious. A tall cylindrical shape (reminding us of a tree) represents the wood element, along with medium blues and greens, anything made of wood, plants and trees and pictures of them.

Here is a short summary of what we experience when the elements are out of balance:

Wood is about growth as reflected in trees and plants. We want the right amount in our environment, not too much or too little. Too much wood = over-expansion and overwhelm. Too little=staying too small. Bring in objects, shapes textures and colors of the metal element to cut the wood, or those of the water element to increase it if there is too little. See the controlling and nurturing cycles of the chart.

Fire is about passion. Too much, however will result in aggression and overly impulsive behavior. Too little will reflect as lack of enthusiasm, motivation and warmth. Add water to douse the fire when there is too much and wood to increase the fire when there is too little.

Earth is about staying grounded and being present. Too much= overly discipline and conservative. Too little= spacey, ungrounded as well as infertility issues. Add fire to increase it when there is too little and wood to decrease it when there is too much.

Metal is about mental clarity and determination. Too much= rigidity and inability to compromise. Too little=lack of back bone and indecisiveness. Add earth to increase it and fire to melt it when there is too much. There is a reason those who live in all- white houses tend to also be rigid… bring in fire and warm it up!

Water is about connection to spirit and synchronicity in our lives. Too much= not enough structure and being ‘wishy-washy’. Too little =the need to dominate, lack of flow and connection to spirit. Add metal to increase it and earth to dam it up when there is too much.

Please note that you can also just take away items in a particular element to decrease the amount of it in a space, or add it when you need more, you do not necessarily have to use the elements that either control it or nurture it.

I encourage you to learn more about these powerful concepts and utilize this powerful knowledge if you or your loved ones are experiences any of the imbalances as described above. I have seen profound shifts in my own life and those of my clients when applying these tried and true, age-tested principles that come out of the ancient practice of Chinese medicine and Feng Shui.

Yin and Yang: The Key to a Balanced Home

Yin and Yang: The Key to a Balanced Home

  • Erica Sofrina

Have you ever been in a room that didn’t feel good to be in but you couldn’t figure out what was wrong? Chances are the Yin/Yang components were out of balance.

Yin and Yang is at the foundation of the Ancient Practice of Feng Shui. It has to do with the recognition that the universe is made up of opposite forces of energy, which cannot exist without each other. They are finely balanced and, like polar sides of a magnet, are innately attracted to each other.

The Yin/Yang symbol (picture at top) depicts two fish gliding together in perfect balance. Each carrying components of the other; the black fish with the white eye and the white fish with the black eye. The two swim together in perfect harmony creating a circle, the most ancient symbol depicting wholeness.

Feng Shui acknowledges that we are ancient creatures who naturally seek balance. If our living spaces are not balanced, our lives feel out of balance as well. By learning to work with the Yin and Yang components in our homes, we create supportive spaces that bring our lives back into harmony as well.

The concept of Yin refers to the feminine principle, which is passive, dark and yielding. Yang refers to the male principle, which is bright, active and extroverted.

In physical environments Yin objects would be reflected by circular shapes, darker more muted colors, lower darker rooms, upholstered furniture of soft chenille, velvet and corduroy fabrics, carpeting and area rugs, and smaller detailed prints. In building materials adobe, brick and stucco would be considered more Yin materials. In design history, the eras that incorporated Yin qualities would be the Victorian era, Louis IV and VI and the Baroque period.

In architecture the Bauhaus period in Germany from around 1919 – 1933 was the beginning of modernist design utilizing more Yang components. Slick glass and mirrors, metal and plastics, high, vast ceilings, bright angular spaces, bold stripes and geometric patterns, square, hard angular furniture without detail, flooring of hard woods, cement and tile, all reflect Yang design materials and features.

In balancing a home we want to first determine the use of the space and then incorporate the Yin and Yang qualities appropriate for it. Passive spaces should incorporate more Yin features and active spaces more Yang features. The key, however, is to make sure we always have some of both qualities and not an over abundance of either.

Yin rooms are the places you want the energy to calm down to support rest, relaxation and rejuvenation. Yin rooms would be bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, possibly family rooms and bathrooms.

In these rooms we would want to bring in more Yin features such as comfy furniture, more muted colors and lighting, plush fabrics and more detailed patterns and accessories. Having a bright, light ultra-modern bedroom with high ceilings and slick fabrics would not serve the occupants and will often translate to sleep disorders.

Yang spaces are the more active spaces such as children’s playrooms, kitchens, gyms, home offices, laundry rooms, family rooms (depending upon the use), hallways and garages. These spaces should incorporate more Yang components with brighter lighting, whites and/or bolder colors, more angular shaped furniture and accessories with less detail.

In using modern Yang qualities make sure to choose furniture with more rounded edges. Sharp-edged furniture is considered weapon-like in Feng Shui. It may be subtle, but you will never fully relax in a space that has objects that can injure you. Our homes always need to be ‘people friendly’ no matter the style of decor you are drawn to.

We also want to bring in all of the Five Elements, which include plants and things that are either from the natural world or represent nature. Ultra modern homes devoid of nature will never allow us to feel truly ‘at home’ because of our deep innate connection to the natural world.

The key is to have a balance of both Yin and Yang qualities in every room, emphasizing more Yin or Yang features depending upon the use of the room. Yang features will make the space more active and Yin features generate a more restful atmosphere. Make sure your design choices and styles are serving the people who need to occupy the space, and not the other way around!

Once we have achieved an appropriate Yin/Yang balance in each room, we will be well on our way to creating a balanced and harmonious home that supports, uplifts and nurtures our lives!

Today’s Correspondences for Sunday, Feb. 5th

Days Of The Week Comments  

 Correspondences for Sunday

Magickal Intentions: Growth, Advancements, Enlightment, Rational Thought, Exorcism, Healing, Prosperity, Hope, Exorcism, Money 
Incense: Lemon, Frankincense 
Planet: Sun 
Sign: Leo
Angel: Michael 
Colors: Gold, Yellow, Orange and White 
Herbs/Plants: Marigold, Heliotrope, Sunflower, Buttercup, Cedar, Beech, Oak 
Stones: Carnelian, Citrine, Tiger’s Eye, Amber, Clear Quartz and Red Agate Oil: (Sun) Cedar, Frankincense, Neroli, Rosemary

The first day of the week is ruled by the Sun. It is an excellent time to work efforts involving business partnerships, work promotions, business ventures, and professional success. Spells where friendships, mental or physical health, or bringing joy back into life are an issue work well on this day, too.

Magickal Graphics

Daily Cosmic Calendar for February 5th

Can you withstand another 24-hour time-period when the cosmos hands you a cream-puff instead of a stick of dynamite? Anytime a day happens when the celestial seasonings come down to a pinch of salt, be thankful. First of all, even though you only need to be aware of a supportive, 60-degree rapport from the Moon in Cancer to Mars in Virgo (3:02PM PST) – which can be physically and emotionally invigorating – it is still wise to get a jump on what is going to occur two days from now on Tuesday February 7 when Saturn shifts from direct to retrograde just about 8 hours before the Full Moon. In addition, February 7 will bring forth several other planetary shenanigans that will keep you on your toes for the entire day. Plus – the 48 hours before any Full Moon constitute the time-period of preparation for the enlightening spiritual vibrations that are seeking to descend into the earthly realm when the solar and lunar orbs tug at each other from either side of our beleaguered planet. Spend part of today learning important lessons from the annals of history in order that you stop making the same mistakes you made years and decades ago. Cancer Moon reminds all of us to review and reflect about our past actions in order to become more illuminated and selfless human souls. Immerse yourself in a bestselling biography or tune into some of your favorite film classics.

Calendar of the Moon for February 5th

Calendar of the Moon
5 Luis

Sarasvati’s Day

Colors: Purple and Blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of purple and blue place seven blue candles, incense of Indian scents, many peacock feathers, and instruments of the arts.
Offerings: Make something creative and artistic, or assist an artist in doing so.
Daily Meal: Indian food.

Sarasvati Invocation

Hail Sarasvati, Lady of the Arts!
Hail Sarasvati, faithful to her husband!
Every eye of your peacock tail,
O Lady of the starry heaven,
Sees a different part of beauty –
Beauty that sings, that dances,
Or writes, or puts the hands
To making music or the touch
Of things that draw the eye.
Yet of all these eyes not one
Takes in the whole tapestry
Of the full radiance of life
Save your two alone,
Who see all things not as they are
But as they might be
Come finally to fulfillment.

(All should now join in creating some work of art together, or in reading poetry, or in making instrumental music, or all of these things. )

Calendar of the Sun for February 5th

Calendar of the Sun
5 Solmonath

Day of the Serpent

Colors: Malachite green, sea-blue, and silver
Element: Water
Altar: Set a cloth of sea-blue embroidered with a great serpent in malachite green and silver, and on it place a figure of the Midgard Serpent with its tail in its mouth. Around the room strew colored ribbons in a great circle. The ritual takes place within the circle.
Offerings: Cords or ribbons knotted into a circle.
Daily Meal: Eel. Fish and seafood. Seaweed. Salad. Cooked greens. Eggs.

Invocation to the Midgard Serpent

Hail Iormundgand
Child of the Trickster
And the Hag of the Iron Wood,
Brother and sister of Death,
Neither male nor female
But complete within yourself,
Neither forward nor backward
But eternally circling,
Neither of the earth
Nor apart from it
But forever surrounding us
In our Middle Land.
Teach us, O Serpent,
Of what it is to see the end
And the beginning as one,
To see all things
In their place on the wheel,
To live with the turning
And not mistake it for a straight line
Even when the horizon
Is too far away
For our weak eyes to find.

Chant: Ior Ior Iormundgand

(All join hands and do a circle dance around the outside of the room, just inside the serpent boundary.)

Blessings to You & Yours on this Super Fantastic Sunday!

Sunday Pictures, Images, Comments, Graphics
Today’s Affirmation for Sunday, February 5th

“I am committed to finding the most worthwhile routes for my energies – I will work to transform my emotions into the exhilarating energies of the spirit.”

 

Thought of the Day for Sunday, February 5th

Moods pass through us like clouds across the sky.  Allow them to pass, knowing that clear azure blue is the true colour of the spirit. All moods are transient, whether stormy and racing heavy, dull and slow-moving; or a wispy veil that hides the sun.

 

Today’s Meditation for Sunday, February 5th

Relax with Incense

In the brain the processing of smell is closely linked with memory retrieval, so that a smell can act as a powerful trigger for a memory and therefore a mood. This makes it possible to prime calm states of mind using certain scents – helpful when preparing for meditation. Perform this exercise for the first time when you are already feeling calm. Sit comfortably, light some incense and close your eyes As you breathe focus our awareness on the smell of the incense as it enters your nostrils during each inhalation. Visualize the smell as a beautiful light, flooding your body with liquid calm. Continue for at least five minutes. Perform this exercise at the start of your meditation practice if you are feeling agitated. Not only will it be calming in itself, but it will also trigger memories of the calm that you experienced the first time around.

Chant for W.I.C.K.

Chant for W.I.C.K.       

This was writtin by Jenness for our women’s healing group. I hope you enjoy it as we have.

Women in Wicca
May we heal in love
Mother Earth at our feet
Sun and Moon above

Sister of the Craft
Lord and Lady our guides
The new moon is magick
Show us where it lies

Mother Earth and Father Sun
Grandfather Star
Grandmother Moon
May your energies be with us
As our work begins soon.

BASIC SKILLS FOR HEALING WITH YOUR HANDS

BASIC SKILLS FOR HEALING WITH YOUR HANDS

Anyone can learn to heal. You have to believe in you can and learn to connect to
Source.

You are like the ‘middle man’ who brings the healing from Source to the person.

Everyone has the ability to tap into ‘source’ and bring in energies of higher
vibration that heal and balance out the person’s Chi – Qi – life-force energies.

If the person you are with has overcome the emotional problems linked to the
ailment – you will be successful. This includes self-healing.

Ailments originate from many levels of our bodies – as we have seven sheath
bodies.

The physical level is where we experience the final manifestation of the ailment
because we live in third dimension.

For example – of the person has problems with a hand – they most likely do not
want to do something related to the use of that hand – usually the hand they
write with.

If you prefer to say a prayer or use ‘white light’ protection while you work –
please do so.

Some people ask their Source in the healing to be sure that the imbalanced
energies of the person do not come into your energy fields. You are there to
balance the person.

Basic skills for healing with your hands

You may prefer to wash your hands before and after the healing.

Find a place that is quiet to do your healing.

You can use soft music or no music.

The person you are working with should be a peace and feel comfortable that you
will do not harm to them – and WILL heal – or alleviate the problems.

DAY 1 – Connecting to Source

Let’s first determine which hand works best for you.

Hold both hands out in front of you – palms up.

Focus your attention on your left hand and experience the flow of energy coming
from your hand.

Next mentally focus on your right hand and see how strong the energy from that
hand feels.

One palm should feel stronger energy flow – hotter – more tingles – whatever
your body relates to!

Now place your hands – palms facing each other – just in front of you.

Keep them about 3 inches – 7.6 cm – apart.

Move your hands slowly – back and forth.

Feel the lines of energy between your palms.

Now slowly move your palms further away from each other.

See how far out you can go before you no longer feel the ‘pull’ of the energies.

When the energies stop – move your palms back and forth slightly in opposite
directions and you should continue to feel the energies.

If you had an aura camera it would record the lines of energy in photos.

Now let’s tap in to ‘source’!

Your mental frame of reference for Source could be – a white Light – a spirit
guide – a religious figure – healing master – your higher self – yourself as a
healer in another realm – the computer in the pyramid – a sea of consciousness
connecting all things – the grids – something external from our reality –
whatever.

Now connect with that source (Plug in)!

Allow that energy to come through you.

You may feel – hot – dizzy – exhilarated – other – depends on how out of balance
you are and how your physical vehicle (body) reacts to the energies!

Get used to that energy and balance your body’s flow of energy today.

DAY 2 – Healing another person with your hands

Once you understand and feel comfortable with the fact that you can heal with
your hands – try a healing on someone who has a simply ailment.

Be sure the person is comfortable with you.

Ask them about the problem and anything they wish to share about the onset of
the problem – including emotions related to that problem. Ex: I hate my job —
suddenly I fell down while on the job and hurt my back so I do not have to work!

Now don’t play shrink as that really pisses people off and you probably are not
qualified! Just Listen.

Don’t start getting into their issues – unless they want you too.

Keep the conversation brief and tell them to seek emotional help for their pain
perhaps with a professional.

There are many people out there with chemical imbalances who are finding out
about them at adult age – when tests should have been made in childhood! So who
knew in those years?

Have the person sit or lay down in a relaxed position.

You can use with music or just find a quiet place.

Sometimes healing in Nature works well!

Assure the person that you will do nothing to hurt him / her in any way or to
aggravate the situation.

Place your hand / hands within three inches from – or on the person in question.

You can close your eyes and see your connection to Source – or you can heal with
your eyes open.

If you have a specific symbol – word – or key – you would like to use – please
use it as it makes you feel comfortable.

Pause and allow the energies to begin to flow through your body.

This could take a few minutes . . .

Relax . . .

Breathe deeply if that helps you connect . . .

Ask spirit to protect and guide you and not allow any of the person’s imbalanced
energies to affect yours —
placing you in imbalance.

Next – do a ‘sweep’ of the body!

Open your eyes.

Keep hands about three inches from the person’s body – move your hands slowly
down the body – starting with the top of the head.

You are looking for changes in temperature levels, which is an indication of
improper flow of the Chi energies. If /when you feel this change tell the
person. They may say, “Oh yes, I have been having discomfort there, also.”

At the very least you are finding a problem.

Send that person a lot of healing energy by taping into Source and seeing it
entering their body in that place.

Send healing as is comfortable for both of you.

They may tell you they feel heat – or tingles.

Many healers like to send energy through the crown chakra and feel it moving
down through the person’s body.

We all find the way that works best for us.

There is no specific time frame for the healing. Do not look at the clock. There
should be no time constraints. The amount of time you spend with the person is
up to both of you!

If you receive mental image while healing someone – be discerning in what you
say.

It is usually best to say nothing.

DAY 3 – Working with Plants

Find a small plant – preferable one that has problems.

Place it on a table in front of you.

Place your hands in front of you, palms up.

Tap in to Source.

Feel the energies start to move through your body . . .

Feel the vibrations in the palms of your hands . . .

Place your hands on either side of the plant (about 3 inches away from the
plant).

Send energy back and forth between your palms.

Imagine the flow lines of positive energy between your hands.

Allow your mind to become one with the plant – connect energetically.

If you are telekinetic – the plant – or its leaves – may move slightly!

You may receive mental images from the plant.

‘See’ the plant healthy.

You may have to repeat this daily for several days.

DAY 4 – Healing Yourself

Sit down or lie down in a peaceful place . . .

Extend you palms upward . . .

Feel your connection to Source . . .

Feel the energies moving through the palms of your hands . . .

Relax . . . Breath deeply . . . Close your eyes . . .

Mentally connect with your physical body to see where there is pain . . .

Now place your hands on that area and send the healing energies.

If the pain is in your back. . You can send healing through the front of your
body and it will reach your back . . .

If you do not have pain . . . just place your hands on your heart chakra and
send energy of light and love. It will make you glow when you meet others today!
Pay attention to their reactions to you.

If your pain is emotional . . . placing your hand on your heart chakra will work
in the same way to help alleviate the pain.

Of course you can not erase emotional pain using your hands – but it can raise
your frequency and lift some of the depression. It can bring you some balance.