“THINK on THESE THINGS”
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

In this day of emphasis on right connections with the right people, in the right places, at the right time, we must have truly extraordinary qualities to become successes on our own.

They who have worked hard and achieved success often carry a double burden by wrongful accusations of being privileged characters. Perhaps some to whom doors automatically open because of right connections seem to be privileged characters, but they, like dictators, have limited existence.

Having connections may help us on the ladder of life, but it will never keep those rungs steady beneath our feet. Only our own greatness keeps us tall, sun-crowned. We must have something to give, something to offer before we can expect to be truly privilege characters. And then, we will have earned the right to our privileges. We are somewhat like God, blamed for much we don’t do and seldom given credit for the good we have done.

Whatever the future, the world still needs citizens like those J. G. Holland wrote about nearly a century ago: “God give us men. The times demand strong minds, great hearts, true faith, and willing hands…..Tall men, sun-crowned who live above the fog, in public duty and in private thinking!”

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – July 5

“It does not require many words to speak the truth.”

–Chief Joseph, NEZ PERCE

The truth shall set you free. This is the truth. When we speak the Truth, we do not need to be defensive. Truth needs no defense. When we speak the Truth, we do not need to attack because Truth cannot be attacked. It is so easy to want to manipulate or to be deceitful or dishonest. My head tells me I can get away with doing these things, after all everybody does it.

My Creator, today let me know Truth. Let me live Truth. Let me risk the Truth. Let me make the Truth sweet. Help me to make my word good. Let Your spirit and intent be added to by words. Let My thoughts be Truth.

July 5 – Daily Feast

A world of things exists that we will never be able to explain. But all we have to do is look around us at world events, natural disasters and at the cold, clear glint in the eye of ignorance, and know that to be somebody we need more than to become clever. The big deals do not make us. Little steps, little thoughts, words and little acts – who we are and who we will become depends on the small bricks in our foundations. What do we have of contentment? It is the measuring stick for wandering souls who have lost the way and don’t even know it.

~ I was living peacefully with my family, having plenty to eat, sleeping well, taking care of my people, and perfectly contented. ~

GERONIMO – APACHE

“A Cherokee Feast of Days, Volume II” by Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Mind Over Matter
Culling Out The Weeds

by Madisyn Taylor

We can improve our overall physical well-being by first starting to notice our thoughts and our reactions to our thoughts.

The power of the mind is a curious thing, because it is so powerful yet so difficult to control sometimes. We find ourselves thinking a certain way, knowing that this thought may be creating trouble for us yet we find it difficult to stop. For example, many people have the experience of getting sick at the same time every year or every time they go on a plane. They may even be aware that their beliefs impact their experiences, so continue to think they will get sick and then they do.

Sometimes we need to get sick in order to process something or move something through our bodies. But often we get sick, or feel exhausted, because we don’t make the effort to galvanize the power of our minds in the service of our physical health, which is one of its most important functions. We really can use it to communicate to our bodies, yet we often regard the two as separate entities that have little to do with one another.

Knowing this, we have the power to create physical health and mental health, simply by paying attention to the tapes running in our minds. Once we hear ourselves, we have the option to let that tape keep running or to make a new recording. We harness the power of the mind in our defense when we choose supportive, healing words that foster good health and high spirits. All we need to do is remember to tend the field of our mind with the attentive and loving hand of a master gardener tending her flower beds, culling out the weeds so that the blossoms may come to fruition.

 

Source

Daily OM

Magic – Making

Author: witchskel

I was like most young people; I rebelled. I ventured forth into the world at the tender age of fourteen. I wanted to experience life so I just went out and lived it. I had a variety of survival jobs, which included dishwasher, hotel maid, mover and waitress. I enjoyed my years grooming horses. I enrolled twice to secondary school attempting to receive my high school diploma.

My past was really tough. I have had positive and negative experiences in life. No human is perfect. I made mistakes. Close friendships, long-term companions, and committed relationships are where most of my education took place. I experienced a series of broken agreements, dishonesty, not staying true to commitments. In return, I gained a great deal of distrust for people. I expected the worst. My anger became a hindrance and very detrimental to my whole being.

My constant support was my family. My mom and dad have always been there for me.

I moved home to the farm where I had a good support system after sampling many of life’s pitfalls. I wanted to control my anger. Witchcraft captured my interest. The Earth faith is the belief that the universe is a giant web, on which every person, animal, plant, tree and object holds a thread of energy connected to every other thread. To believe in magic one knows that like produces like and things that once had been in contact will always continue to have a connection. Things that have a common quality, ever quickly seek their kind.

Reading Green Witchcraft by Ann Moura and a series of Witchcraft books by Laurie Cabot I learned the basics. I explored the fine art of spell casting during the Sabbats, Esbats, and other rituals attuned to the cycles of nature. I discovered planning is important to the process and outcome. One’s success depends a great deal on one’s effort to change. Being given copies of both sides of my family tree, I learned I am descended from Celtic ancestry.

I am a witch. Descended from women of Europe being a witch and witchcraft is my heritage. I’m often asked what does a witch practitioner do. There is no single approach to witchcraft. I can’t speak for anyone but myself. The main ancient formulae guidelines in magic are followed: An herb, a flower and a tree make three.

I walked out into the open field during the Sun’s cycles – the Sabbats, the changing of season and Moon Phases – the Esbats, the Full Moon rites and New Moon to acknowledge the earth’s changing seasons and cast spells for me to be better to myself and others – to be conscious of my choices and outcomes. I never request for material things. I drew a protective circle on to the earth with flower petals, feathers, salt or stones. I faced each direction, beginning in the east, moving clockwise I lift my voice to call the Spirit of East, South, West and North. Inside sacred space with the use of herbs, candles and other natural ingredients that have a common quality (to apply like energy will attract like energy) .

I applied witches’ spells to help accept my past choices, to find peace and my place in the world. I asked Spirit that what I willed be correct and for the good of all. I remained in the center of the sacred ring and talked openly to Spirit for guidance or meditated – listened for an answer. I closed the circle by circling around counter clockwise, drawing the energy inward and saying: “The circle is undone but not broken”.

On my way home, I’d look for either negative or positive support from nature. If a Blue Jay appeared or if I heard the bird’s song I knew I had the resourcefulness and adaptability to accomplish that which I set out to accomplish that which I set out to change. If I tripped over a Blue Jay’s blue, black, and white feather, there would be surprises in love, the unexpected. If a gust of soft wind suddenly blew, this meant for me to favor love – use the emotion to achieve harmony. The west wind would tell me to be confident to restore hope; the east wind I would need to be patient; the north I had gained wisdom – use my intuition.

Casting a sacred circle, spell casting and reading signs in nature, I stayed aware of the person I wanted to be and the direction I would like my life to take. In my daily life, I became conscious of my words and of my deeds and how they affected others and myself.

I pursued information from books. I studied a lot of literature, magical books of instruction, fragments of history, traditions, legends and formulas for conjuration. Of all trees, the oak tree is one of the most powerful and sacred reputations. Furthermore, it is extremely good fortune to find one struck by lightning.

Both the Druids and the Hebrew race felt the oak was a sacred tree to perform magical rights – prayers with responses under it. The mighty and sacred oak tree is known as the Grandfather tree and is a great place for magic making (open door, go down into the earth) . In a remote location, an oak tree of immense age made itself known to me. I cast a circle around mighty tree, lit incense for good psychic atmosphere, and then sat center of four trunks growing upward as one. Within sacred space I talked to my grandfather’s spirit, my guide, to find confidence, conquer fear, and to become more secure with self and the direction I would like my life to take. Spirit made contact in many ways. During meditation, visions appeared like a movie or magical symbols to foretell the future. Sometimes it was a clear image, other times a voice unlike my own. I came to expect whatever I needed — not wanted but needed — would surely gravitate to me.

My heart and head became open to the synchronicities, the small coincidences that were placed in the right place at the right time to change my attitude and life for the better. Dedicated to Spirit who is an advisor and Otherworld Guide, I withdrew from society to live closer to my family, friends and nature. Most of my family allows me the freedom of choice without criticism. Most are quite supportive when at dawn or dusk, new or full moon, I can be found outside with candles and/or incense.

Reading witchcraft literature and practicing out in the open field beliefs, customs and traditions I’ve learned to accept people for who they are or attempt to right the wrong. I’m not pushed or agitated by the whims of others for a long period of time.

Tuning into the seasonal activities connects one with the wheel of life. Life is continuously changing, evolving, dying, and re-born. Winter is fading and releasing the emptiness. Spring has sprung; seeds begin to stir beneath the soil, and soon will begin to open to become solid forms. If you have been kicking around the idea you would like to know more about practical earth magic to allow physical, intellectual, emotional and spiritual expansion head to your local new or used book store.

Risking an overload of information in the witchcraft or spiritualism sections take a quick survey of the array of titles. Close your eyes and relax. With your left-hand allow your fingertips to float across each spine in the row of books on the shelf, out loud or to yourself saying: “Come forward allow me to thrive by uniting your knowledge. Allow your intuition to pick out what books contain the information you need.”

If there are many books on more shelves, one by one perform the process. Look for the connection in the book you chose. Take time reflecting on the content. Read; uncover the secret knowledge for yourself – “Truth in our hearts, Strength in our hands, Consistency in our thoughts”. Doing this you perform a valuable act of personal magic. It will put you in touch with your inner self.

The magical books of instruction, fragments of history, traditions, legends and formulas for conjuration might transform your way of thinking and your way of living.

The Ethics Of Magick

Author: Frances

Some people are of the belief that when it comes to the practice of magick that anything goes. Magick is after all, simply that – magick. It is not caught up in ethics or morals. While this is correct, magick is actually shaped by the inner beliefs, ethics and morals of the person who uses it.

In all orthodox religions there are certain laws and regulations of how a follower of that faith should conduct themselves – in Christianity, for example, there are the Ten Commandments. In many Pagan traditions, however, it is believed that there is actually little need for such dogma as each person is ultimately responsible for their actions. Such responsibility can be overwhelming for someone new to Paganism, especially if they come from a more orthodox background, so they find the need to create boundaries in the form of guidelines. Within Wiccan belief there are a number of guidelines such as the Wiccan Rede and the Threefold Law of Return which are designed to help the newcomer understand the essence of that belief.

The Wiccan Rede is a beautiful piece of poetry whose author is believed to have been the late Doreen Valiente. Within this poem many aspects of Wiccan beliefs and practices are outlined, such as the seasonal wheel of the year, honoring the Goddess and the God, and sacred trees to name a few. The poem ends with eight specific words that many Wiccans consider to be the main guideline as to how they are to live their lives: “If it harms none, do what you will.” Some critics of Wicca see this as an indication for followers to do anything they wish. However, when the statement is given due thought, its true meaning is understood – that as long as your actions do not harm anyone, then you are free to live your life as you please. Some Wiccans take this statement further, relating the “none” to animals and the environment as well.

The Wiccan Rede is a version of the Golden Rule, which can be found in most other religions, the earliest dating back to Confucianism, where a 6th century BCE statement, “What you do not want done to yourself, do not do to others,” can be found. Buddhism, Hinduism, Judaism, Christianity and even Sikhism also have variations of the Golden Rule.

The second ethical guideline which many Wiccans follow is that of the Threefold Law of Return, where it is believed that every deed done will return to the doer three times greater. This means that a good deed will return three times stronger, but so will any bad deed that is performed.

Many Wiccans also hold either a belief in the Eastern philosophy of Karma, or the Universal Law of Cause and Effect, where every action has an equal and opposite reaction. Karma is often viewed on a more personal level, that the deeds of one’s life are counteracted in the next life, while the Law of Cause and Effect can be viewed on a more global scale. A good example of the latter is seen in our environment. People in the past have done what they like without concern or respect for the environment or the creatures that live in it. The effects of this lack of regard and respect are the depletion of the ozone layer, rising salt levels due to large scale land clearing, droughts and floods brought on by erratic temperature fluctuations, and so on, that are witnessed today.

Taking Responsibility For Your Actions

As not every person who uses magick follows a Wiccan path and therefore is not necessarily guided by the Wiccan Rede, magick itself does tend to have its own guidelines. What some people do not realize when they first desire to perform magick is that magick is based on energy. When you cast a spell, you are sending out energy. The Universe magnifies this energy and returns it to you. Therefore it is vitally important that, before a person performs any form of magickal act, they are fully aware of the energy exchange and are prepared to take full responsibility for their actions. In magick there is no such thing as coincidences – everything happens for a reason, and when you perform a spell you are creating the reason.

Taking responsibility means being honest with yourself about what you are doing and why. You also need to be able to acknowledge your mistakes and their consequences. Mistakes are often the greatest lessons we can learn in life. To learn from your mistakes, you must closely examine what went wrong and to find a way to rectify the error. However, mistakes when performing magick can have dire consequences, especially if your energy is directed at a particular person.

Magick should never be done on a whim. Before you perform any form of magickal rite you need to look careful at the reasons why you want to use magick to obtain something. You also need to be very clear about what you want to achieve. Some people find it useful to consult one form of divination or another, such as runes or the tarot, prior to casting a spell or magickal rite to determine all possible outcomes. Only when you are sure about what you are doing, should you perform magick.

Due to the amount of “spell books” around it is understandable why some people are of the view that magick is an easy and safe means to get whatever they want. However this is a misconception, for magick is not all that safe if you do not know what you are doing. Things can happen that you did not intend. Those readers who have seen the movie The Craft will be able to relate to the dangers of casting love spells – in the movie, the victim of such a spell became obsessed with the caster of the spell to the stage where he was stalking her. There are also numerous stories about people who have cast money spells and while they did end up with a monetary sum, this was obtained through some kind of personal disaster or upheaval, such as an insurance claim or even a death. Therefore it is vitally important to be very careful about what you ask for, because, as the saying goes, you could very well receive it, but not necessarily through the means you had anticipated.

Magick is serious business and should never be taken lightly. It can be dangerous for those who are unprepared and there are consequences if it is used carelessly or with malicious intent. However, if you abide by a few simple guidelines (such as the Wiccan Rede), take the time to properly understand what you are doing and use it responsibly, magick can help you can achieve positive and rewarding changes in your life.

Frances

The Blending of Magick

Author: Lady Abigail

Somewhere deep within the Ozark Mountains, on a mid summer night, stood a small gentle woman wearing a long dark skirt covered with a crisp, clean white apron.

Her face, careworn from years of life, could only give a glimpse of the knowledge she held from worlds long since past.

As she walked across the dry grassy meadow her long skirt brushed against the ground as she looked for where she could best see the night sky. In the middle of the clearing she stood beneath an endless blanket of stars. The warm fragrant breeze was softly blowing her long silvering hair across her face. She began to smile with the understanding she received from this moment in time, a foretelling of a life to come.

This is how, I would be told by my Great Grandmother, that she gained the knowledge of my coming. My Great Grandmother was a Witch, one of the wise ones. She never considered herself as being born a Witch, or that she had came from so many generations of Witches that the number was simply unknown; magick was just part of her and it was her life.

My Great Grandmother was a strong and kind soul of many lives. She was of mixed traditions, a blending of half Native American and half French. She was raised in a time when those who could not believe would try to stop the powers they feared. A time when, with heart and love, anything was possible within the forces of the Earth and Nature.

She was born into a world that was beginning to forget the wonders hidden within every element of nature. A world that scoffed and made fun of those who were different and those of the Old World. At times, it could be a very dangerous world for those born of magick, because such things were considered wrong and somehow evil. What some would, in fear and ignorance, call sinful.

Her upbringing was a mixture of her family traditions; French, Native American, Southern and Cajun, as well as those which came from a long and contented life. She knew potions and charms, how to heal the sick with herbs and soothe a broken heart with a cup of tea sweetened with a listening heart. She could see what others could not see, or would not see. And oh, yes…she could cast spells and work glorious magick.

I loved being with my Great Grandmother; she taught me that life and magick just “are,” no matter what others may believe. That people are only a tiny a part of the mysteries found within life and love, energy and light. For there are truly more things between the worlds than those which can be seen.

I can remember my Great Grandmother telling me stories of her family and childhood, teaching me how it was possible to call the wind in a whisper, stop the motion of time and call on the powers that are held within the elements of nature. She also taught me how we are a part of the natural world and that, if we desire, we can communicate with the animals and insects as well as read the messages, sent to us by all the universe, that appear on a starry night.

She would teach me how to draw on that energy, the magick found in the understanding that we are the Air, the Fire, the Water and the Earth surrounded by all Spirits. We are the concept and the deed. We are all things and all things emanate from within us.

Recently in my studies I have learned of others that come from mixed traditions, such as the mixing of the first settlers of the Old World and the American Indians. The blending of magickal beliefs from those who came over from Scotland, Ireland and, for me, France in the seventeenth century. Some call it Appalachian Granny Magick, Ozark Magick or White Witch Magick. I was raised that it is a gift of Mother (or Goddess). Whatever name you call it, the tradition is complete.

Many times I observed my Great Grandmother as she watched the signs and concocted potions and brews for people from all around where she lived. This act of creation was common practice for families of her time; there was little money and doctors were expensive. Normally a person would have to travel a day or more just to reach a doctor. That travel was not generally possible. She was the Wise Woman, or Healer, of the area.

I remember going with my Great Grandmother, my “Mom Ma,” to pick berries and herbs for different workings. We would make the blackberries into wonderful pies that she would take to those who were ill and cobblers that were for other workings. I would sit and listen to her say wonderful incantations and spells while she stirred the beginnings of a blackberry cobbler or pie. Once the pie was done she would proudly announce, “This, my little love, is a Money Pie, and as you eat, money you will meet.” She was always right.

I didn’t understand or appreciate at the time all the wonders my Great Grandmother would place into my life. Even now she influences my life with wonder and Magick. When I am struggling, or can’t quite decide what the right ingredients are that I’m looking for, if I will find a quiet place and allow my mind and heart to open I will hear the answers. Whispers on the wind are my Great Grandmother’s voice.

Mixed Traditions, like many of the older ones, were passed on from parents to their children for many generations and generally not “taught” outside of the individual family structures. Many times within the community old customs, wisdom, and practices were considered unacceptable. With the modernizing of areas and beliefs, one will often find ancient Irish, Scottish, French and Native American songs, rhymes, dances, recipes, crafts, blended within what we know as “The Craft.” This history has been passed down for many years in this way, though sadly with the original meanings sometimes being lost in the winds of time.

In the hills and mountains of the Ozarks this quality of the ancient religion of Witchcraft continued right on through the decades into the early twentieth century. At times when Witchcraft elsewhere was being eliminated by the increasingly modern and Christian world, the people of the Ozarks were still calling upon Mother Nature. The fertility of the crops, the livestock, and of the people themselves was vital. Therefore, fertility, and the worship of Mother Nature, Father Winter, Chloe, Spider Grandmother, Demeter, and such varied deities continued on within this region, staying a current part of the people’s faith rather than becoming a mythic memory as such “nature worship” did elsewhere.

The terms “Witch,” “Witchcraft,” “spells” and “charms” were not seen as evil or bad. Each community had their local Witch or Wise Woman and openly called them such. This reference was considered to be a title of honor, not an insult or a charge of crime as the term later became known.

Witches were called upon to heal the sick, deliver babies or tend to the dying, just as their ancestors had been so charged with doing in Europe so many years ago. Many times a community had no medical doctor to call upon so the local Witches continued to work as the only healers well up until the early twentieth century.

Many will claim that Magick isn’t possible and that such things are not to be believed in. However, is it not strange that children just know Magick is all around them, but as they grow older they are forced to think they must stop believing in that which just…”is?”

Witchcraft is a blending of Traditions and Magick. Whatever practice you believe in, you are most assuredly a mix of many things such as traditions, beliefs, society, ethnicity, family, social experiences, region and time. We are all from a mixed and proud Magickal background. We are also practical and down-to-earth. Witchcraft, no matter what name you call it, is very eclectic naturally.

A Traditional America Indian Earth Blessing:

A da we hi a ne he ne ha
Do hi u a iu ni
O lo hi a li ga lu lo hi u nah ta
Ga li e li ga O sa da du

English translation:

Wise Protectors, they are so giving
Serenity, it resounds
Mother Earth and Father Sky are so giving
I am thankful, it is good

Lady Abigail

To Think Is To Shield

Author: Rook

Many times I have met, run into, or communicated with beginners or uninformed practitioners about their not utilizing Shields. It is common knowledge in the Craft (in the very least the Wiccan version, to my knowledge) that Shielding is one of the fundamentals of Craft practice and know-how. I believe a Shield is one of the most important and versatile forms of Craft work Pagan spiritual paths must accomplish. For example, a psychic with too much information rushing through their mind can benefit just as much as a practitioner preparing to cast a spell. Such individuals need safeguards to prevent psychic and Craft misfires, and using a Shield in such situations can help calm the flow of psychic information or keep the caster and others safe from negative effects.

In my opinion, before progressing to more complex forms of spell craft, the fundamentals of the Craft amount to this: Meditating, Grounding, Centering, Shielding, properly casting and closing a Circle, and Protective spells and charms. I have always suggested these particular fundamentals to those entering the Craft, and I will probably continue to do so for the rest of my days. When I have children who may choose to follow the Path of the Craft, I will help them to learn these things, too. Unfortunately, these fundamentals remain much overlooked by many beginners, and I believe Shielding is among the chiefest of things forgotten.

What do I do to protect and Shield? I Shield by imagining my aura as a concrete thing, and I “harden” it and I expand it just beyond my skin about an inch. In my opinion, this is nothing more than basic energy work. It is imagining your “core” as color, this color being your body’s energy/soul. From there, you make it as hard as stone like Mother Earth, slippery or reflective like Water, elusive as Air, or burning like Fire. Other alterations to your Shield are extremely flexible; any other alterations are what you Will them to be.

To protect in general, imagining deified white light or generally positive energy filling you can do the trick. Imagining it in the form of the Shield I mentioned is just as easy, and may be an easier method for the basic layout of a Shield.

To protect otherwise, I tend to call on each of the Elements and utilize their individual powers in layers. I might conduct a protection spell or put together a protective charm. In desperate cases, I call upon my deity, Hecate.

Why do I Shield? When one comes into the mysteries of the Craft and learns about them, that is the end of psychic innocence and automatic, inherent Shielding. The Craft brings to light the how-to of such matters (spell craft, the pentagram and what it means, etc.), in addition to the other fundamentals I mentioned. While Wicca may be the gateway into deeper spiritual learning of the Craft to which I refer (which can’t be labeled easily, so I shall not attempt to do so). Thus, I Shield because it protects me from energetic, psychic, extra-planar, psychic-vampiric, and any other negative influence I acknowledge as harmful to my self and my self to others. In the case that the negativity is consciously focused from outside, make your Shield “reflective” as I mentioned.

Negative influences in general are what I believe I protect against. As I said, once you enter the Craft, your eyes are open. Negative influences are harmful, from as little a thing as thinking mean thoughts at a “bad” person (even a bully), to a spell cast awry because the practitioner did not take into consideration the result of their actions.

Shielding is one way for a practitioner to be responsible in his or her Craft. As I mentioned in passing, Shields not only protect the Shielder from negativity, but it protects other individuals from the practitioner’s inadvertent mistakes. Is a Shield such a “beginner’s” concept, and not a responsible thing for an individual of the Craft to achieve? For instance, in some cases, I know Shielding has even been outright disregarded by “advanced” practitioners. Why does that practitioner take their chances? Is a Shield so little a thing that it doesn’t matter? Whether a practitioner is a beginner or advanced, a Shield is essential; all actions have a reaction, and spell work is probably one of a number of potentially volatile skills Pagans use. Why risk negative effects when a circle doesn’t have to be overcomplicated beyond a basic toss-up of energy around the individual? To each his or her own, but just because you have lived thirty or forty years, does that mean you should stop watching for cars when crossing the street?

Now for the recap. Shields are essential to the beginning and advanced practitioner. Shields hedge in and reflect against extraneous or negative energies that could prove harmful to the practitioner and his or her surroundings and fellows. Shields are also a way of keeping one’s energy from intruding on others, be it through mental projections or spells gone wrong. Personally, I learned to Shield very soon after learning what my place was in relation to my Craft. If you’re going to practice spell work, it is responsible behavior to utilize a Shield. Think about it: street… car… looking before you leap… or get cut down at the knees because you didn’t consider the possible result. Knowing why you want to do something in the Craft—such as why you want to cast this spell or that—is something that should happen before a practitioner conducts a spell. The same goes for why a Shield should be used. It is, plain and simple, responsible behavior; and as practitioners who have opened our eyes, we must proceed with wisdom. As for the Shield itself, it is easy! Think of your body as a container filled with white energy. Extend that energy around you into the shape of a sphere. “Harden” the sphere. Know that the sphere is a permanent fixture that can maintain itself. And… Fini.

A problem (such as knowing how to Shield) is only as difficult as you believe it to be. One of the most important things to remember is to do what feels right. Use your intuition and you will stay afloat in this great ocean of experience, wisdom and learning — and in Shielding.

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 July 5

The Colorful Clouds of Rho Ophiuchi
Image Credit & Copyright: Tom Masterson

 

Explanation: The many spectacular colors of the Rho Ophiuchi (oh’-fee-yu-kee) clouds highlight the many processes that occur there. The blue regions shine primarily by reflected light. Blue light from the star Rho Ophiuchi and nearby starsreflects more efficiently off this portion of the nebula than red light. The Earth’s daytime sky appears blue for the same reason. The red and yellow regions shine primarily because of emission from the nebula’s atomic and molecular gas. Light from nearby blue stars – more energetic than the bright star Antares – knocks electrons away from the gas, which then shines when the electrons recombine with the gas. The dark brown regions are caused by dust grains – born in young stellar atmospheres – which effectively block light emitted behind them. The Rho Ophiuchi star clouds, well in front of the globular cluster M4 visible here on the upper right, are even more colorful than humans can see – the clouds emits light in everywavelength band from the radio to the gamma-ray.

Moon in Cancer

 

 

The Moon is traveling through Cancer today. Beware of mood swings. Cook some soul food. Cuddle up with someone.

The restlessness of the Gemini Moon gives way to an instinctive need for peace and quiet. Feelings of belonging and safety are what motivate us under this influence. The Moon feels right at home in the sign of Cancer, as it rules the sign. This Moon position has much healing potential. Although insular by nature, our feelings run deep, making it an ideal time to get in touch with what motivates us.

The Moon in Cancer generally favors the following activities: Domestic activities, those that involve awareness of personal needs. Home decor, family get-togethers.

 

Source

Cafe Astrology

Binocular challenge: Venus and moon

Author

The Words of Confucius

Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.

Your Daily Influences
July 5, 2016 

 

The Lovers
The drawing of two forces together, choices, temptations. The fight between the sacred and the secular. Accord of the inner and worldly self.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Fehu
Fehu reversed represents material stagnation, possibly poverty as well as infertility.

 

 

 

 

The Menat
A few prayers to your diety of choice would serve you well when dealing with this aspect. Your questions or requests stand a better chance of being answered in the next few days if you do so.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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 Daily Charm for Today

Today’s Meaning:
A journey that you or someone close to you must make will have a positive influence on this aspect. This trip may be over a great distance.

General Description:
This charm was worn by the ancients to protect the wearer against disease and snake bites. The Jews used it as an amulet for epilepsy and erysipelas. It is still used in Ireland as a talisman against sickness. The Tau is one of the most ancient crosses and the forerunner of the Latin Cross. Moses used the Tau Cross with the brazen serpent attached, to save the Children of Israel in the wilderness from the attacks of the fiery serpents. The Cross has always been the symbol of life eternal. It was this mark, the Tau Cross, that was placed upon the foreheads of those exempted from Divine wrath in Jerusalem. :