Day: January 7, 2016
Other Ways to Enhance Energy Practice
Other Ways to Enhance Energy Practice
Try creating increasingly more complicated shapes with the energy. Stars. Cubes. Spirals.
Remember, even when using divine or earth energy, personal energy is still used to help steady and direct it. It’s important that we maintain energy and health. Treat your body as well as you would treat any tool that is sacred and spiritual.
Beyond just sensing and shaping energy, feel and hear it. Understanding and being aware of the energy around will give us information that we can use. Keep track of when you feel a change or shift in the energy around you and what happen before during or after. Eventually, you may find a pattern.
Ashlyn Hawthorne, Wiccan Basics: Solitary Suburban Pagan Guide
PRACTICE WITH ENERGY
PRACTICE WITH ENERGY
After a few attempts at drawing and grounding energy, we have a better idea of the similarities and differences, as well as how we interact with each type of energy. Now, we need to practice shaping and moving it.
Start by pulling personal energy into your dominant hand. Then hold your hands palms facing each other, about three inches apart. Send the energy from the dominant hand and receiving it with the non-dominant hand. Allow it to flow back into your center creating a loop of energy. Trying varying the distance between your hands. Try to decrease the energy to a trickle. Try to dial it up a little more than you have before if you feel confident controlling it.
Center and stabilize the energy.
Try the same exercises sending the energy with your non-dominant hand and receiving it with you dominant one.
After a few sessions of sending and receiving, it’s time to try shaping and molding the energy.
Pull personal energy into your dominant hand, holding it palm facing non-dominant hand. Instead of receiving it this time, use your hands to shape the energy into a ball. Expand it or contract it. Spin it. Toss it from hand to hand. When you’re done, allow the energy to be absorbed, centered and stabilized. Next time, try creating a square or other simple shape with the energy. Then try it with the other two types of energy.
Once you feel confident, try various combinations of energies. Pull earth energy and allow it to pool with your personal energy before sending it into your hand. When done with the exercises, do the same but with divine energy. Pull both earth and divine energy and have them both flow into your hand to work, bypassing your personal energy as much as possible. Finally, pull both divine and earth energy and let it mingle with your personal energy before practicing.
Ashlyn Hawthorne, Wiccan Basics: Solitary Suburban Pagan Guide
DIVINE ENERGY
DIVINE ENERGY
We connect to divine energy in a very similar way to how we call on earth energy. Begin with centering and anchoring to the earth. Once stable, focus on the top of your head and feel the energy there, sort of like sunlight shining down on your head. Open yourself to it. Often, you will feel it flow down your neck and spine. Repeat the exercises with your dominant and non-dominant hand.
After you’ve finished, you’ll need to ground the energy the same way you did with the earth energy.
As before, note how it feels in comparison to the energies you’ve already worked with.
Ashlyn Hawthorne, Wiccan Basics: Solitary Suburban Pagan Guide
EARTH ENERGY
EARTH ENERGY
Start by centering and grounding, the same way as with personal energy. (We won’t be calling on personal energy directly in this exercise, but we will use it to ground, and we’ll also call on slightly to help direct the earth energy.)
Once you feel strongly anchored in the earth, see the connection thicken and strengthen a bit more. Feel the energy of the earth. Invite it to move up your anchor and into your body. Feel its movement as you draw it into your dominant hand and repeat the same exercise as you performed with personal energy. Then move the earth power to your non-dominant hand.
Note how the earth energy feels. How it’s the same and how it’s different from the personal energy in order to add it to your journal later.
When you’re done, send the energy back down through your body, along your anchor and ground it into the earth.
Don’t try to hold on to the earth energy. It can make you feel light-headed, ill or out of sorts. Return your attention to your center, calming your own energy. Then release your anchor and allow your consciousness to return to normal.
Ashlyn Hawthorne, Wiccan Basics: Solitary Suburban Pagan Guide
Personal Energy
Personal Energy
When connecting with personal energy, we have to understand where, exactly, our own power comes from. We have to start by asking ourselves where we feel energy and emotion in times of intensity. Most feel it somewhere in the center of our body. The chest, the solar plexus, or the stomach.
Once we locate our personal energy center, we have to center ourselves. Start by concentrating on that spot and focus on keeping your awareness there. Breathe in and out, practicing extending the time when we can hold our concentration.
Next, we have to ground ourselves, anchoring our mental and emotional ‘bodies’ in place. Some people imagine tree roots connecting them to the earth beneath them, others see a line of energy. Choose whatever image feels sturdy and substantial to you. Once feeling anchored and secure, go back to your energy center and make sure your focus there is still strong.
Now, see that energy seeping/flowing/stretching/weaving itself out from the center and making its way to your dominant arm. Feel the warmth/tingle/movement as it expands. Allow it to pool in your dominant hand. Stretch out your fingers to expand it. Curl them back to condense. After getting comfortable with it for a few minutes, focus again on your center and pull the energy back until it has all returned to your energy center.
Repeat the same steps, but let the energy move into your non-dominant side. This may or may not be more difficult. It may feel different. Make a mental note of it while you’re experiencing it and write it in your journal later. Pull the energy back. Once with this exercise, your energy center may feel larger or more active. Focus on calming it back to the way it felt when you first connected with it. You may need to ground some of the energy along roots, releasing it into the earth.
Once you feel centered and stable, disconnect from the earth, allow your consciousness to release its focus on your energy center and return to normal awareness.
Ashlyn Hawthorne, Wiccan Basics: Solitary Suburban Pagan Guide
Energy
ENERGY
We have to have strong focus in order to work with the energies around us. We need strong mental skills to sense, draw, shape, and direct energy.
We have to have strong focus in order to work with the energies around us. We need strong mental skills to sense, draw, shape, and direct energy.
There are multiple types of energy around us all the time, but it’s easiest to look at the ones we use the most as falling into three categories:
Personal energy-energy that comes from within us.
Divine energy—energy that comes from the deities or other parts of the spirit world.
Earth energy-energy that we can draw from the aspects of nature around us, both in the ground beneath our feet and in objects drawn from nature like flowers, stones or wood.
Ashlyn Hawthorne, Wiccan Basics: Solitary Suburban Pagan Guide
A Little Thought From Me to You…..
A Little Humor for Your Day – How Not To Get Invited Back To A Circle
How Not To Get Invited Back To A Circle
- Take the ritual sword from the altar and make sounds like Darth Vader — “Luke, I am your father!” — and start making light saber noises.
- Start skat-singing when chanting.
- Take the ritual athame from the altar and start cleaning your nails with it.
- When taking a sip of the ritual wine, act like a wine snob and comment on it.
- When doing the spiral dance, make it a Conga line.
- Call down the Goddess with “Get your ass down here, Big Momma!”
- Call down the God with “Our father, who art in heaven …”
- When chanting the names of the Goddess, randomly include Pokemon names.
- When being smudged, complain vehemently about second-hand smoke.
- In a drumming circle, laugh insanely and start drumming the beat to Wipe Out!
- Ask the people in the circle “When are we all gonna git nekked?”
- When in a skyclad circle, randomly point and laugh.
- When the ritual wine goblet is passed to you, chug it and ask for more.
- Invoke Satan.
- Take out a Bible and start evangelizing.
- Light-up a cigar.
- Bring a cute furry creature and offer it as a blood sacrifice.
- Talk a lot about casting spells for revenge against people who have offended you.
- At a handfasting say “Thank God! Maybe now i’ll get some grandchildren!”
- When in circle, answer your cell phone.
- Respond to “So Mote it Be!” with “Amen!”
- Invite people to “Come to the dark side.”
- Bring you kids and ask the group to invoke the baby sitting Goddess.
— concept by Azriel LittleHawk,
with edits and ammendments
by Turok and contributors
Published on Turok’s Cabana
WOTC Quiz: Who Will Be Your Guiding Goddess for 2016?
Who Will Be Your Guiding Goddess for 2016?
Which face of the Divine Feminine is by your side in this New Year, urging and encouraging you to be the person you are meant to be? Take this quick quiz to see which goddess is your guide:
Which statement is TRUE for you?
1. This year, what I long for MOST is freedom.
2. This year, what I long for MOST is a fresh start.
3. This year, what I long for MOST is love.
4. This year, what I long for MOST is to be healed.
5. This year, what I long for MOST is wisdom and learning.
6. This year, what I long for MOST is creativity.
If you answered TRUE to 1, ARTEMIS is your goddess. To the ancient Greeks, this goddess was a feisty, wild woods-dweller, in tune with nature and animals. Artemis encourages us to connect with the outdoors, with animals, and with our own fiercely independent spirits.
If you answered TRUE to 2, KALI is your goddess. This Hindu deity is the one to call if something in your life needs to go in order to make room for something new. Kali destroys what is stale so that new life can come in.
If you answered TRUE to 3, VENUS is your goddess. If love relationships or the longing for love are paramount for you this year, the Roman goddess Venus can help you to open your heart.
If you answered TRUE to 4, KWAN YIN is your goddess. This Asian Bodhisattva is the most prayed-to deity on earth. Kwan Yin reminds us that the healing power of her understanding and compassion are always available to you.
If you answered TRUE to 5, ATHENA is your goddess. The ancient Greek goddess of wisdom and learning is often shown companioned by an owl, the traditional wisdom-bird to many. If you desire deep wisdom or want to do well in some course of study, Athena will help you to clear your mind.
If you answered TRUE to 6, BRIGID is your goddess. This fiery Celtic goddess of poetry and crafting (among other things) is a great help in unlocking your creative potential.
You might want to do a little research on your goddess, and then find images or statues of her to remind you of her help and guidance as you follow your path throughout the year.
By Cait Johnson, co-author of Celebrating the Great Mother (Inner Traditions, 1995).
Astronomy Picture of the Day – High Energy Andromeda
Astronomy Picture of the Day
Discover the cosmos! Each day a different image or photograph of our fascinating universe is featured, along with a brief explanation written by a professional astronomer.
2016 January 7
High Energy Andromeda
Image Credit: NASA, JPL-Caltech, GSFC, NuSTAR, GALEX,
Explanation: A mere 2.5 million light-years away, the Andromeda Galaxy, also known as M31, really is just next door as large galaxies go. In this (inset) scan, image data from NASA’s Nuclear Spectrosopic Telescope Array has yielded the best high-energy X-ray view yet of our large neighboring spiral, revealing some 40 extreme sources of X-rays, X-ray binary star systems that contain a black hole or neutron star orbiting a more normal stellar companion. In fact, larger Andromeda and our own Milky Way are the most massive members of the local galaxy group. Andromeda is close enough that NuSTAR can examine its population of X-ray binaries in detail, comparing them to our own. The background image of Andromeda was taken by NASA’s Galaxy Evolution Explorer in energetic ultraviolet light.
Scanning the Skies: Jupiter Retrograde, January 7 through May 9
Jupiter Retrograde
Seek inner wisdom as giant Jupiter spins back
Your Daily Influences for January 7
Your Daily Influences
January 7, 2016
Queen of Pentacles Reversed
A lack of trust may prevail. Obligations and duties are not attended. Failure is feared.
Wunjo
Wunjo reversed may represent a basic discord and failure in your life. Possibly good fortune is not looking down on you at this time. If so it must be remembered that Wunjo also represents change, which could mean your bad luck is soon to change.
The Serpent
This aspect will be affected by someone’s illness being shed. Their healing will cause positive changes within this aspect for you.
Your Daily Influences represent events and challenges the current day will present for you. They may represent opportunities you should be ready to seize. Or they may forewarn you of problems you may be able to avoid or lessen. Generally it is best to use them as tips to help you manage your day and nothing more.
Your Ancient Symbol Card for January 7th is The Believer
Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today
The Believer
The Believer represents Faith and the realization that you have an important place in the workings of the Universe. Although The Believer may not always understand why things are the way they are, they none-the-less feel an underlying cosmic rhythm which is moving events in a direction that is good. The Believer rejoices in their celestial role, because they realize their life has purpose on a grand scale.
As a daily card, The Believer denotes a time when you will benefit by embracing and exploring your place in the Universe. The Believer confirms that you have inherent value far beyond our secular existence; that you are an important part of the both the grandeur and the mystery of our Cosmos.
Your Daily Witches Rune for January 7th is the Crossed Arrows
The Daily Witches Rune
The Crossed Spears
Meaning: The presence of the spear signifies arguments, negative events, and all manner of strife of an upsetting nature. However similar to the ‘Tower’ tarot card if next to a positive rune it could mean the end of an argument or quarrel. If with the rings it means the healing or renewal of a relationship. If there are military connections it could mean promotion. If illness is within the equation it means a speedy and successful recovery.
Your Daily Minchiate Tarot Pyramid Reading for January 7th
Your Daily Minchiate Tarot Pyramid Reading
Query: How Will Your Day Be?
Today’s Theme
Justice Reversed
The reversed Justice represents injustice, inequality and a lack of mercy or understanding. Ethics may be crumbling.
Today’s Challenge
Faith Reversed
Faith reversed may denote a pursuit of truth through spirituality that is out of balance. Beware of false prophets and evil posing as good.
Today’s Ally
Taurus
With The Bull comes strength, loyalty and determination.
Your Rune Persona Cast for Thursday, January 7th
Your Rune Persona Cast
This is a very simple five Rune cast used to explore your personality.
Where You Are In Life
Jera
Jera denotes positive, recurring cycles, fertility and a time to harvest rewards from your hard work.
Your Primary Thoughts
Gebo
Gebo represents the coming of gifts and favors. While each are usually positive events, they often carry obligations with them. Gebo often represents strong bonds such as deep friendships and marriage.
What You Desire
Ansuz
Ansuz represents mankind’s spiritual connection to God and the universe. It is often referred to as the “God Rune.” This Rune embodies reason, truth and justice. It denotes the coming of knowledge and true counsel from a higher authority.
Your Goals
Sowilo
The Sun Rune, denotes power and strength. That which you want may be attained. Sowilo also denotes mental clarity and added warmth to your relationships.
Your Future Deeds
Kenaz
Kenaz foretells the coming of clarity and knowledge. It is time for you to grow by exchanging knowledge with others. Opportunities are upon you.
Your Rune For Thursday, January 7th is Tiwaz
Your Rune For Today
Tiwaz
Tiwaz is the Warrior Rune. It represents pure, masculine power and the ability to successfully fight to meet your goals. However, you must be careful that costs of attaining your goals overshadow their values.
Additional Information About Today’s Rune, Tiwaz.
teiwaz: Tyr
Creation Date: teiwaz.wav
Phonetic equivalent: t
DIVINATORY MEANINGS: duty, discipline, responsibility, self-sacrifice, conflict, strength, a wound,physicality, the warrior path
MAGICAL USES: protection, victory, strength, strengthening the will, healing a wound
ASSOCIATED MYTHS & DEITIES: Tyr and the Fenris Wolf, Odin’s ordeals
ANALYSIS: Just as the second aett began with the cleansing destruction of hagalaz, so too does the third aett begin with a loss. However, hail is imposed by the Gods to force the sacrifice of those things that aren’t really vital to our development. Teiwaz, on the other hand, represents a voluntary sacrifice, made by someone who understands exactly what he or she is giving up and why. Tyr’s sacrifice of his hand to allow the binding of the Fenris Wolf was a noble one, and notable in a pantheon of deities not known for their sense of duty and ethical responsibility. He is believed to be one of the oldest of the Norse Gods – a Bronze-age rock carving was found in Scandinavia depicting a one-handed warrior – and his position may well have originally superseded Odin.
Tyr’s rune is also one of the oldest in the fuþark, having survived virtually unchanged from the earliest Bronze-age carvings. It represents all those qualities associated with the God: strength, heroism, duty and responsibility. But it also represents a deeper mystery – that of the wounded God. Like þurisaz, the pain of teiwaz focuses the attention and forces discipline. However, in this case the effect is more conscious and the wound carries a greater significance. Uruz has been confronted and bound, and the lessons of teiwaz and hagalaz have been learned. This is the path of the warrior.
Your Daily Tarot Card for January 7th is The Lovers
Tarot Card of the Day
The Lovers
January 7th, 2016
Although it has taken on a strictly romantic revision of meaning in some modern decks, traditionally the Lovers card of Tarot reflected the challenges of choosing a partner. At a crossroads, one cannot take both paths. The images on this card in different decks have varied more than most, because we have had so many ways of looking at sex and relationships across cultures and centuries.
Classically, the energy of this card reminded us of the real challenges posed by romantic relationships, with the protagonist often shown in the act of making an either-or choice. To partake of a higher ideal often requires sacrificing the lesser option. The path of pleasure eventually leads to distraction from spiritual growth. The gratification of the personality eventually gives way to a call from spirit as the soul matures.
Modern decks tend to portray the feeling of romantic love with this card, showing Adam and Eve at the gates of Eden when everything was still perfect. This interpretation portrays humanity before the Fall, and can be thought to imply a different sort of choice — the choice of evolution over perfection, or the choice of personal growth through relationship — instead of a fantasy where everything falls into place perfectly and is taken care of without effort.
Tarot.com is a Daily Insight Group Site
Get A Jump On Tomorrow, Your Daily Horoscopes for Friday, January 8th
Get A Jump On Tomorrow….
Your Daily Horoscopes for Friday, January 8th
by Rick Levine
General Horoscope
Love might seem scarce today, but we may be pleasantly surprised if we slow down and look beyond surface appearances. It’s tempting to show our displeasure by withdrawing emotionally as the austere Venus-Saturn conjunction resonates through our lives. Blending the warmth of Venus with the coldness of Saturn requires hard work. Meanwhile, the Moon’s shift into goal-oriented Capricorn at 10:06 am EST confirms that there are no shortcuts to happiness.
Aries Horoscope Mar 21 – Apr 19
Giving someone the cold shoulder isn’t nice, even if you want to send a message of disapproval today. Withdrawing support isn’t helpful if your response is actually based on your current fear of the unknown. It’s more productive to engage in an honest discussion about the cause of your concerns without throwing any blame around. However, don’t expect the tension to dissipate immediately. A river cuts through rock not because of its power but because of its persistence.
Taurus Horoscope Apr 20 – May 20
It’s no fun feeling like you’re being left out of all the action today. It’s as if there’s an emotional chill in the atmosphere now that affectionate Venus is burdened by the weight of karmic Saturn. Although you might push back against the resistance at first, the smartest way to turn an uncomfortable situation into a sweet one is to let go of control. Relinquish some of your independence voluntarily; it’s a small price to pay in the big scheme of things and can improve your chances of feeling like you’re a part of the pack.
Gemini Horoscope May 21 – Jun 20
You may be required to make a tough choice today, especially if you’re not one to sign on to a commitment easily. You could be quite convincing now as you reveal your desire for greater intimacy in a relationship, but you might still feel the urge to run for the hills if someone gets too close to your heart. Thankfully, you’re not doomed to repeat the same old patterns just because you’re worried about getting hurt. Mustering up the courage to push past your fears is the secret to your happiness.
Cancer Horoscope Jun 21 – Jul 22
Gaining support from a coworker is tricky business today, but you won’t know what you might receive unless you ask for it. Even if you can’t imagine that anyone will actually go the extra mile on your behalf, taking a calculated risk could turn out in your favor. Don’t scare yourself by assuming the current situation demands an all-or-nothing approach. Instead, be cautious and systematically establish common ground as the basis of a solid working relationship. You’re not alone; let others nurture you the way you would nurture them.
Leo Horoscope Jul 23 – Aug 22
It could be awkward to engage in a casual conversation today because your feelings might be exposed, and you’re worried that you won’t get what you want. Ironically, your unspoken concerns could manifest into a self-fulfilling prophesy, especially if you choose to withdraw from social interactions. Luckily, you have the resolve to overcome the negativity of your own fears. Turn things around quickly by changing your attitude and opening your heart.
Virgo Horoscope Aug 23 – Sep 22
It may be disheartening if you don’t receive the respect you deserve from a loved one as vulnerable Venus bumps into judgmental Saturn in your 4th House of Home and Family. You’ve done everything right, yet your ego can trick you into believing you should be more appreciated than you are today. Don’t waste your time dreaming about receiving accolades and standing ovations. The best reward is the deep satisfaction that comes from within when you know you’ve done your very best.
Libra Horoscope Sep 23 – Oct 22
Too much resistance from a friend or coworker doesn’t give you an excuse to sulk and brood today. Don’t isolate yourself from your companions just because you think that everything isn’t copacetic between you. It may be tempting to hide your feelings from those closest to you, but this avoidance tactic is not a satisfying solution. Confronting the shortcomings of a relationship might put you back in touch with what you admire about each other the most.
Scorpio Horoscope Oct 23 – Nov 21
You’re not inclined to put too much effort into sharing your feelings today. In fact, you’re quite practical when it comes to allocating your time and energy now that resourceful Venus joins forces with austere Saturn in your 2nd House of Resources. You may be very straightforward about cutting back on frivolous pleasures to assure you will have what you need on a rainy day. Naturally, exercising caution makes logical sense at first. However, there’s an unlimited supply of love in the universe, so you can always splurge when your heart is involved.
Sagittarius Horoscope Nov 22 – Dec 21
The time has come to make a crucial decision about how to spend or save your money. But this choice goes much deeper than being a simple cash flow problem because the underlying issue is more likely about your self-esteem. When you realize all the skills you have to offer, your earning power could grow beyond your current expectations. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you’re worth any less than you actually are. Real wealth is not about your income potential; it’s about appreciating what is already yours.
Capricorn Horoscope Dec 22 – Jan 19
There’s no reason to suffer in silence today if you’re willing to face an old fear with a fierce new attitude. Your emotional isolation is probably more voluntary than you care to admit now that the sobering Venus-Saturn conjunction influences your 12th House of Invisibility. It helps to acknowledge that the current situation is not the same as what happened in your past. You can choose to respond defensively, based on an old habit, or you can live in the present. There’s no question about it, being an optimist is a much more empowering strategy than being a pessimist.
Aquarius Horoscope Jan 20 – Feb 18
Don’t rush to the conclusion that your friends are putting you down today when your limited perceptions may be contributing to your worries. In fact, you could be so sensitive now that you imagine trouble where there isn’t any. Unfortunately, it might be too late to sidestep a dance with discomfort. Nevertheless, it’s not necessary to project your previous failures onto others; discuss your concerns without pointing fingers at anyone. A heart-to-heart discussion may be all that’s needed to put things right.
Pisces Horoscope Feb 19 – Mar 20
Unfortunately, there’s no room on your busy schedule to surrender to your desires now. Instead, you must maintain an emotionally cool and competent presence at work while flirty Venus hooks up with responsible Saturn in your 10th House of Career. There’s no time to waste energy complaining about what you’re missing as you strive to achieve your long-term goals. Seeking personal satisfaction can wait; practicing patience today is your best strategy for realizing your dreams tomorrow.
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