April 2, 2014
You can have good times with friends today. Give people you like genuine compliments and see how happy it makes them. People need to hear positive things about themselves. True things said by others can be healing. Try this out on more than one person. A frustrating situation can reveal new possibilities.
Source:
Horoscope*com
Sleeping tensions awake as impulsive actions reveal the truth. Confidence abounds, encouraging us to take risks by reacting to the changing circumstances before we think about the consequences. Today’s shocking Sun-Uranus alignment is only one part of the cosmic forces that can unleash a bit of chaos. Although the steady Taurus Moon can’t assure total certainty about the future, we gain some clarity from a stabilizing Mercury-Saturn trine.
You could make the people in your life somewhat crazy because you’re not interested in fulfilling their expectations. But today’s Sun-Uranus conjunction in your sign demands that you act from your own heart. Don’t suppress your feelings; if you do, you might regret it sooner than you think. Your job now is to lead by example instead of doing what anyone else thinks you should. Start your own personal revolution by showing the world who you really are.
A situation that seems to be beyond your control could push you into a corner today. If you feel emotionally threatened you might strike out at someone only to later wish you kept your extreme reactions to yourself. Your deepest secrets become fair game for discussion now, so you may as well disclose the truth before you have to do it under duress. Instead of attempting to maintain any semblance of control, use this as an opportunity to clear the air. Taking preemptive action is smarter than waiting and responding after the fact.
An apparently mellow meeting or social event can quickly grow out of hand as too many conflicting emotions agitate the group. Everyone seems to have a different set of needs and tries to steer the situation accordingly. If no one is able to rise above the noise and restore calm, it may be wise to leave the fray for a while. A temporary break might be enough to allow the chaotic energy to settle back down to a manageable level. Put this time to better use by writing down your unconventional ideas to share with everyone later on.
An unstable situation at work might actually be just what you need to come out on top. Someone who was supposed to be running the show may fall short of living up to his or her responsibilities, leaving you with an unexpected opportunity to fill the slot. You probably have more to offer than you realize; don’t wait any longer to step up to the plate and show what you can do. Act now and deal with the fallout later.
You might be reconsidering your travel plans today — not because something is wrong with your itinerary, but because you simply don’t want to be too tied down to a set schedule. Attending a lecture, seminar or any kind of event that allows you to expand your mind into new areas of study might be your answer. Grab any chance to widen your horizons now, even if it’s outside your normal areas of interest. Be fearless and explore new worlds.
A spiritual awakening can come in a variety of guises. You may be touched in ways that you cannot possibly anticipate today as buried feelings or new realizations explode into awareness. There’s no specific practice to make this kind of breakthrough happen on schedule. It’s like trying to predict exactly when and where lightning will strike. Nevertheless, don’t try to run away from it when it does, for it’s only dangerous if you close your mind and heart. There’s nothing to fear if you have faith in the inherent wisdom of the universe.
Your world may seem more chaotic than you wish, but the instability also brings great potential for making necessary changes. Unfortunately, your insecurities might be stirred if people act erratically, but their radical behavior could be just what you need to shock you out of your complacency. If someone comes to you today with a totally outrageous idea, don’t dismiss it until you truly consider its merits. Recognize genius before it’s too late.
Skipping some of your regular routine is wise today because shaking things up might be the best thing you can do. Paradoxically, the more rigid you remain, the more difficult it is to stay on track. Even if you try to maintain consistency, one interruption after another may finally force you to set your schedule aside. However, there’s no need to work yourself into a state of frustration. Accepting the instability of the day and responding with flexibility frees you to reinvent yourself without the restraint of old habits.
Even if you’re a natural-born adventurer, pushing into new territory now encourages you to take creative risks you might not have previously considered. Your enthusiasm is high and you are suddenly inspired to try doing things differently than ever before. Others are watching you to see what you are going to do next. Surprise them with your unorthodox behavior today as you reach for the stars. If you act like the innovator you imagine yourself to be, you can be an inspiration to everyone else, too.
Your spirits may be lifted by good news today, or perhaps you are just ready to fly no matter what is happening in your life. Normally, you would advance your next project methodically one step at a time. Although you typically like to keep your feet on solid ground, your foundation might feel a bit unstable these days. Open your mind and widen your horizons. Instead of looking back for security, let go of the past and take a leap of faith into the future.
Even if time already seems to be moving fast, the pace of your life is accelerating again as the Sun catches up with your key planet Uranus. You may be thinking about a quick escape, but it’s not about running away from the hard work. To the contrary, you’re probably eager to jump into a project now, but it’s challenging because you’re distracted by so much noise in your immediate environment. Embrace the unknown instead of avoiding it. This quantum leap could bring the positive changes you seek.
Your finances may be impacted today in one of two ways. You could face an unexpected expenditure that puts you into a precarious position. Or, you might actually receive a windfall as money comes to you from out of the blue. Either way, react with caution; don’t assume that this sudden change of fortune — for better or for worse — will last. It’s not helpful to panic or to spend impulsively. Conserve your money and your energy for a rainy 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.
2014 April 2
Mars Red and Spica Blue
Image Credit & Copyright: P-M Hedén (Clear Skies, TWAN)
Explanation: A bright pair of sky objects will be visible together during the next few months. Mars will shine brightly in its familiar rusty hue as it reaches its brightest of 2014 next week. The reason that Mars appears so bright is that Earth and Mars are close to each other in their long orbits around the Sun. Spica, on the other hand, shines constantly as one of the brightest blue stars in the night sky. Pronounced “spy-kah”, the blue-hued star has been visible throughout human history and the sounds that identify it today date back to ancient times. Pictured above, the planet and the star were photographed rising together toward the southeast after sunset last week through old oak trees in Sweden.
If you were able to handle yesterday’s April Fools’ Day celestial onslaught, then give yourself a row of gold and silver stars for meritorious astro-zodiacal preparation and action. You are definitely not out of the woods yet by a long shot as the Sun forms its annual union with shock-inducing Uranus (12:10AM), Mars forms a dicey, 135-degree tie with far-out Neptune (12:29AM), Mercury makes an off-kilter, 150-degree link with Mars (2:45AM), and Venus connects with giant Jupiter via a frictional, 135-degree aspect (8:21AM). These four intense alignments — happening within an 8-hour time-span — can pack an emotional and psychic wallop. Luckily, the Moon in earthy Taurus may keep you practical, sensible and focused on necessities. Strive to utilize the Sun-Uranus conjunction at 13 degrees of Aries as a springboard to studying advances on the cutting edge of science, alternative medicine, and metaphysics. Watch out for a tendency to be too zealous and idealistic for your own good due to both 135-degree sky patterns. And because Mercury and Mars are battling in the heavens for a second straight day, it is wise to avoid contentious discussions that can flair into unintended arguments. Slow your pace later on when Mercury trines Saturn in earth signs (8:04PM). Think along shrewd pragmatic lines to make gains as a rising star on the business and entrepreneurial totem pole. Be aware that a void lunar uncertainty zone in Taurus begins at 11:44PM and lasts until 4:49AM tomorrow when the Moon enters airy, multi-faceted Gemini. Get set for more cosmic shenanigans on Thursday as Pluto, Uranus, and Mars continue to stir the proverbial pot. [Note to readers: All times are calculated for Pacific Daylight Time. Be sure to adjust all times according to your own local time so the alignments noted above will be exact for your location.]
4 Fearn/Elaphebolion
Alder Tree Month
Color: Crimson
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon cloth of crimson set a flaming brazier filled with charcoal and incense.
Offerings: Purification. Write what has been dragging your down, and place it in the fire.
Daily Meal: Hot, nourishing food.
Fearn Invocation
Call: Now is the time of the warming of Earth.
Response: Now is the time of the Sun’s first warmth.
Call: Now is the time when the waters of Spring are banished.
Response: Now is the time when fire dries the flood.
Call: Now is the time when the heat rises within us.
Response: Now is the time when our tears are dried.
Call: Now is the time when our inner floods give way.
Response: Now is the time when our inner fields are greening.
Call: Like the birds who build their nests in the Spring….
Response: Like the creatures of the woods who brave the open fields…
Call: As they brave the world….
Response: So we now brave the world.
Call: As they seek sustenance of the body….
Response: So we seek sustenance of the soul.
Call: As they are driven forth by need and the cycle of life…..
Response: So we are driven forth by need and the cycle of life.
Call: No house can contain our souls….
Response: As no house contains the foundation on which it is built.
Call: We will be the piles that lift the house from the water….
Response: And we will lift our spirits from the winter’s flood.
Call: We will be the island in the river….
Response: The islands where the future is told…
Call: And we will see that future running like the current….
Response: Knowing not where it will lead….
Call: Save by the grace of the gods.
Response: Save by the grace of the Gods.
Chant:
We gather at the river
We bring fire to the water
Our fire burns within us
The river parts before us
Source:
2 Eostremonath
Day of Macha’s Race
Color: Red
Element: Fire
Altar: Upon a red cloth set the figure of a running horse, two red candles, and incense of cedar.
Offerings: The morning exercise should be running, or fast walking for those who cannot run. Ideally, there should be racing, or each should try to push their own boundaries with regard to what they can and cannot achieve on their run.
Daily Meal: Plain, nutritious, athletic.
Invocation to Macha
Swift as the wind,
Faster than a brush fire
Sweeping through the forest,
Sometimes horse, sometimes woman,
Wild, free, untamed,
Lady of Ulster, you have no patience
With those who abuse their power
And force a woman with child
To race the king’s horses,
As did the Lord of Ulster.
You have no patience
With those who lack courage,
With those who dally and loiter,
With those who have no convictions
That they will stand up to defend,
As did your mortal husband.
You have no patience with those
Who stand by and laugh
At the misfortune of innocents,
As did the men of Ulster.
And to this very day,
There are still those whose misery
Stems from your righteous anger.
We would ask you for mercy,
Lady of the flashing hooves,
But we know that you would consider
Your implacable and unstinting standards
To be the far greater gift.
Song: Horse Goddess
Source:
During this Moon phase, there is a slight slowing down of enthusiasm due to an emerging desire to produce tangible results from the energy being expended. The issue of values enters into the equation and an urge to tie together the data available so that you can utilize current opportunities. There is still plenty of forward motion, and this is a great time to continue initiating and progressing forward. This Moon phase favors gaining more information and the input of others to further your plans.
YOU WILL NEED
Mirror
9 white candles
A protection incense
A largish round mirror
A representation of the Goddess
METHOD
Light the incense.
Place the candles in a ring around the Goddess image. Light the candles, beginning with the candle most directly before the Goddess image and say these or similar words:
Light of Luna, Protect me now.
When all are lit, hold the Mirror so that it reflects the light of the candles. Turn slowly in each direction, ensuring that you throw the light as far as you can in each direction. Then spin round as many times as you have candles, continuing to project the light and say:
Goddess of love, Goddess of Light, Protect this space.
Pinch out the candles and put them away safely until you need to use them again.
Source:
Natural Magic: Spells, Enchantments & Self-Development Ball, Pamela (2002-11-20).
ELEMENTAL CORRESPONDENCES
EARTH:
Feminine Element
North
Green
Rules Spells dealing with fertility, jobs, money, business, health, ecology, and stability.
AIR:
Masculine
East
Yellow
Rules spells dealing with memory, tests, intellects, divination, psychic powers, and travel.
FIRE:
South
Red
Rules spells dealing with success, sex, banishing, illness, protection, legal matters, strength, energy, health.
WATER:
Feminine
West
Blue
Rules spells dealing with love, friendship, meditation, healing, dreams, childbirth, clairvoyance, and purification.
ELEMENTAL HERBS
Activator: Mistle toe, Mandrake, Dragon’s Blood
Banishing: Black Willow, Hellebore
Beauty: Catnip, Ginseng, Maidenhair, Yerba Santa
Courage: Cohosh, Mullen, Thyme, Yarrow
Divination: Broom, Dandelion, Hibiscus, Meadowsweet, Orris, Pomegranate, Mugwort, Dragon’s Blood, Black Willow
Employment: Devil’s Shoestring, Lucky Hand, Pecan
Friendship: Lemongrass, Sweetpea, Passionflower
Happiness: Catnip, Hawthorn, High John the Conqueror, Lavender, Meadowsweet, Morning Glory, St. John, Witch grass
Healing: Adders Tongue, Bay, Blackberry, Burdock, Cedar, Fennel, Garlic, Hops, Horehound, Life Everlasting, Rosemary, Sandalwood, Vervain
Health: Caraway, Galangal, Juniper, Marjoram, Nutmeg, Rue Sassafras, Tansy
Love: Apple, Basil, Betony, Chamomile, Coltsfoot, Copal Damania, Gardenia, Jasmine, Verbena, Meadowsweet, Moonwort, Poppy, Raspberry, Rose, Violet
Mental Ability: Eyebright, Horehound, Mustard Seed, Periwinkle
Protection: Acacia, Ash, Broom, Datura, Dogwood, Elder, Foxglove, Rowan
Psychic Ability: Borage, Honeysuckle
Purification: Sage, Benzoin, Copailm Iris, Thistle, Vervain, Yucca
Sleep: Agimony, Chamomile, Hops, Lavender, Passionflower, Pepper, Valerian
Spirituality: Frankincense, Gardenia, heather, Sandalwood
Strength: Carnation, Mulberry, Pennyroyal, Oak, Saffron
Success: Cinnamon, Patchouli, Chamomile, High John the Conqueror Root
Wisdom: Bodhi, Iris, Sage, Yew
Goddess: Willow, Moonwort, Hawthorn
God: Holly, Mandrake, Buckthorne
April 2nd and 3rd
In Germany, this is a time of rejoicing with the return of warm weather. In some regions, the old custom of “carrying death away” is still practiced. Straw effigies are carried through the streets and placed on a central bonfire. As the last of effigies is consumed, Winter succumbs to Spring.
Archangel: Raphael
Candle colour: Yellow
Incenses: Lavender or fennel
Crystals: Citrine or yellow calcite
Use Wednesdays for spells for money-making ventures, learning new things, passing examinations and tests, house moves and travels, overcoming debt and repelling envy, malice and deceit.
Where possible, work in a windy place or when the clouds are moving fast across the sky
Magickal Intentions: Communication, Divination, Writing, Knowledge, Business Transactions, Debt, Fear,Loss, Travel and Money Matters
Incense: Jasmine, Lavender, Sweet Pea
Planet: Mercury and Chiron (though this is a moon of Pluto)
Sign: Virgo
Angel: Raphael
Colors: Orange, Light Blue, Grey, Yellow and Violet
Herbs/Plants: Fern, Lavendar, Hazel, Cherry, Periwinkle
Stones: Aventurine, Bloodstone, Hematite, Moss Agate and Sodalite
Oil: (Mercury) Benzoin, Clary Sage, Eucalytus, Lavender
This day is governed by Mercury. Wednesday’s vibration adds power to rituals involving inspiration, communications, writers, poets, the written and spoken word, and all matters of study, learning, and teaching. This day also provides a good time to begin efforts involving self-improvement or understanding.
Wednesday (Mercury): The conscious mind, study, travel, divination, and wisdom.
The Battle of Flowers (French)
Waxing Moon
The Waxing Moon is a time for study, meditation, and little magickal work (except magick designed to banish harmful energies).
Moon Phase: First Quarter
Moon Sign: Taurus
Taurus: Things begun now last the longest, tend to increase in value, and become hard to alter. Brings out appreciation for beauty and sensory experience.
Incense: Lilac
Color: Brown
Bless these tools, that I might use them well Bless these spells, that they may work as I desire Bless my heart and mind That I might practice in perfect love and perfect trust. Shine your light on all my magickal workings For the good of all And according to the free will of all. So Mote It Be
‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler
A new galaxy of shining promises made to oneself are resolutions made with the utmost faith that self is listening and will carry out the plans.
But self is as unpredictable as a child playing in the street; it may dart in any direction, according to the mood and to whatever catches its attention. At the first signs of a challenge, self may race back and lean hard upon the old ways of doing things, no matter how wrong it might be. Resolutions do very little to change a way of living. They are easily made and easily forgotten. There may be a sincere desire to keep a resolution, but if self has not changed inwardly, little can depend on the outward change.
It is said that we promise according to our hopes and perform according to our selfishness. Failure to keep our promises to others is a disappointment, but failure within oneself is disaster.
A little performance is worth a host of promises on any day that starts a new year.
______________________________
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 – April 1
“People think other things are more important than prayer, but they are mistaken.”
–Thomas Yellowtail, CROW
An Elder once said the most important thing you can do in the course of a day is to pray. If we get up late or oversleep, which is more important? Rush to work without praying or pray first and then go to work? The Elders say it’s more important to pray. If we get angry, should we act on our anger or should we pray first? The Elders say it’s more important to pray first. If, during the day, we face indecision, what should we do? PRAY. If, during the day, we become irritated or we experience fear, what should we do first? PRAY. The Warrior who prays first will lead a different life from those who pray last.
Great Spirit, teach me to pray first!
April 1 – Daily Feast
In ages past, our old ones were the storytellers. This was the way things were passed along to the generations that followed. For this reason the aged people made it a point to remember every detail so they could relate it at a later time. They were the word and picture carriers making history and spiritual values alive and important. In recent times we have made our old ones think they are not so important. We spoof their stories and make them feel foolish. The truth is that we are ignorant of what is precious and how to, a da li he li tse di, appreciate age. Rigidity can creep in and set even the young mind if there are no soft memories, no laughter, no times too deep for tears. Age is grace – a time too valuable to waste.
~ We can get over being poor, but it takes longer to get over being ignorant. ~
JANE SEQUICHIE HIFLER
‘A Cherokee Feast of Days’, by Joyce Sequichie Hifler
It’s only a limitation if you see it as a limitation. Choose to see it differently, and you’ll find a way around it.
Many things influence your life and your work, often in negative and limiting ways. Nothing, however, can stop you from moving forward in each moment with positive purpose when you are committed to doing so.
Instead of assuming that some factor in your life is a limitation, make a different assumption. Decide to see it as an opportunity to grow stronger.
Instead of wallowing in disappointment when things don’t work out the way you planned, choose a different response. Choose to be more inspired, more motivated and more determined than ever before.
Whatever has happened, has happened, and there’s nothing you can do to change that. What you can change, though, is what you do with it.
Tell yourself it’s a good thing, and moving forward, you’ll find a way for it to be precisely that. Rather than seeing something as a limitation, see it as an opportunity and get busy living the value that is most certainly there.
— Ralph Marston
Source:
The Daily Motivator
Physical Intuitiveness
The Body Is Natural
So much of the human experience is removed from nature that we forget we are products of the natural world.
So much of the human experience is removed from nature that we tend to forget that we are products of the natural world. At the moment of birth, we are perfectly attuned to nature. Our feelings are an authentic response to the stimulus we encounter. We interact with our environment viscerally, desiring only what is necessary for our survival. And, if we are lucky, we take in nourishment in the form of pure mother’s milk. As months and years pass, however, we discover the sights, sounds, and scents of the synthetic world. Though these often momentarily dazzle us, the dim memory of our naturalness remains. When we embrace the notion that human beings are inherently natural, bringing it to the forefront of our day-to-day experiences, we achieve a new level of wellness that boasts nature at its very core.
We innately understand that our bodies are not composed of plastics or man-made chemicals and that there is no legitimate reason to consume or expose ourselves bodily to such substances. This knowledge is reinforced each time we find ourselves energized by sweet, fresh air and warm sunlight or awed by the majesty of Mother Nature’s beauty. We feel the strength of our connection to nature when fresh food that is close to the earth sustains us more effectively than artificial supplements and when the pleasures of exercise outweigh the pains of exertion. The human body has been blessed with the same physical intuitiveness that all nonhuman living beings employ instinctively. But because our lives are no longer bound up in nature’s rhythms, we must actively seek to reconnect with this formerly innate skill. The process of rediscovering our place in the natural world can be exciting and inspiring, since nothing more is required of us than to delight in nature’s wonders, to derive nourishment from natural foods, and to drink deeply of all the wisdom that plants and animals have to share.
Your own naturalness will reveal itself to you when you look beyond your beliefs, your lifestyle choices, and the attitudes you hold. When these constructs are stripped away, you will see a body and mind that never gave up its relationship to the essence of the natural world from which consciousness sprang.
Source:
Daily OM
Materials Required:
One white candle
One mirror
Method:
This spell should be performed in isolation at exactly twenty minutes past one early morning. Wear white or clothes of light pastel shades. Sit in front of the mirror. Light the candle. Set it up in such a way that the light from the candle falls on your face alone and yet the reflection of the flame can be viewed in the mirror.
Focus on the flame in the mirror and slowly begin to build up your energy. Once you feel that you have reached the threshold of your energy level, look at the reflection of your eyes and say the following spell loud and clear:
Blessed be the oracle’s lunar light
May I be granted the gift of a second sight
Once you have chanted the spell twice, look closely into the mirror into your eyes. Remember not to blink. In a few minutes, your image will disappear and the image of what you were in the past life will appear. Observe the facial features, clothing etc of the image in the mirror. Don’t break eye contact because the minute you do, the image will disappear. Don’t attempt to speak either. The minute your soul feels that it has observed enough the image will go away.
This spell is tricky and may take quite a few attempts before one can master it.
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