Category: All Regular Daily Posts

Your Ancient Symbol Card for November 5th is The Dove

Your Ancient Symbol Card for Today

The Dove

Throughout history the Dove has symbolized peace and innocence in nearly all cultures. Dove’s soft cooing and gentle nature bring a calmness to any situation. The Dove appears where peace has been attained or there is a need to bring events to a peaceful ending. It denotes a time to let lose of grievances and settle conflicts in a way that benefits all parties equally.

As a daily card, Dove suggests the need to put an end to conflict in your present life. The conflict may be yours or may be that of people close to you. Regardless of the parties involved, you have been called upon to bring the discord to an impartial end.

Today’ Tarot Card for Nov. 5th – Strength

Strength

Tuesday, Nov 5th, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

What has traditionally been known as the Strength card represents Nature which, however wild in its primal form, is tamed by our subtler, finer (feminine, interior) self. The will and passion of our instinctive nature does not need to be broken, but refined and brought to consciousness — so that all levels of Creation, inner and outer, may come into harmony.

The feminine soul-force contains a persuasive power that can nurture and induce cooperation from others, stilling disruptive energies by harmonizing differences in the spirit of collective good will.

 

Your Daily Horoscopes for Tuesday, November 5th

We might have plans to do something fun, but obligations take precedence over pleasure today. The cavalier Sagittarius Moon stimulates adventurous fantasies and lofty dreams, but we’re anchored by circumstances beyond our control. However, upon closer examination it’s apparent that we made the choices that have led us here. Oddly enough, we begin to look forward to fulfilling our commitments as desirous Venus enters responsible Capricorn.

Aries Horoscope

(Mar 21 – Apr 19)

Your emotions are flying all over the place today as the evocative Moon’s visit to exuberant Sagittarius accentuates your impulsive reactions to whatever is happening. However, your moods are inconsistent now and others could tire of your changing needs. Don’t push your luck. You might just get what you want if you know when to quit. But if you expect too much, you may be left unsatisfied. Ultimately, the choice is yours.

Taurus Horoscope

(Apr 20 – May 20)

You may be more concerned with fulfilling obligations to others than enjoying yourself today. Your key planet Venus enters dutiful Capricorn, requiring you to set aside your desires for immediate pleasure. Fortunately, it’s easy to postpone gratification if you believe that waiting will increase your overall stability. Make your decisions carefully now; the more time you spend considering your options, the better the outcome.

Gemini Horoscope

(May 21 – Jun 20)

You don’t want to do what everyone currently expects of you, but this isn’t an ideal time to express your true feelings and rebel against the status quo. You might think you can just skip an activity that you prefer to avoid now, but your retreat won’t go unnoticed and could create unnecessary ripples. Save your great escape for another day; just be responsible and hold up your end of the bargain today if you want others to do the same.

Cancer Horoscope

(Jun 21 – Jul 22)

Your resistance may be futile as you’re dragged out of your shell today no matter what you do. Although you’re tempted to go to great lengths in order to protect yourself from being judged, you’re better off softening your defenses and interacting lovingly with your friends and family. Keeping things real is more important now than avoiding your emotions just because they are inconvenient or scary. Open your heart and let love in.

Leo Horoscope

(Jul 23 – Aug 22)

Your inspirational perspective is contagious today and your positive attitude is appreciated by your coworkers. Nevertheless, there is a mysterious brew of complex emotions in your world that could compete with one another. Don’t be too quick to choose sides now or your rigidity will only add to the chaos. Make a choice if you must, but avoid attaching yourself to a specific outcome. Ultimately, happiness comes from within.

Virgo Horoscope

(Aug 23 – Sep 22)

Steering clear of authorities might be the key to making this quite a memorable day. However, you could inadvertently say or do the wrong thing, thus provoking an unnecessary battle for control. If you are sincere in your intentions, you should be able to avoid getting into trouble with someone who is in charge. Forget about showing everyone how powerful you are today; instead simply focus on creating harmony.

Libra Horoscope

(Sep 23 – Oct 22)

Apparently you’re not in control now, even if you thought you were running the show. The fact is that someone else may be the real authority, even if he or she isn’t around to oversee things. Nevertheless, it’s up to you to take charge of your own life. Thankfully, self-discipline is easier for you when your key planet Venus is moving through calculating Capricorn. Carefully observe what’s happening, but don’t try to alter the dynamics.

Scorpio Horoscope

(Oct 23 – Nov 21)

You know that you can do everything that’s required of you today, even if your confidence is waning a bit. Ultimately, you come through for one good reason: you know that someone is counting on you. You’re highly motivated to push up against your limits and exceed everyone’s expectations. Go ahead and show others exactly what you can do, but don’t judge anyone else too harshly just because you are accomplishing so much.

Sagittarius Horoscope

(Nov 22 – Dec 21)

Managing your self-esteem may be a real challenge for you these days. Luckily, there are some fairly straightforward things you can do to keep yourself on the right track now and eliminating unnecessary activities should be at the very top of your list. It’s far better to have fewer tasks to do and more time to get them done. Be smart and create realistic goals to set yourself up for success.

Capricorn Horoscope

(Dec 22 – Jan 19)

Although you could have your fair share of impulsive moments today, nothing is gained by letting your need for instant gratification run away with your day. Responsibilities are weighing heavily on your shoulders and as much as you can support the weight, you’re also watching for quick escapes throughout the day. Your commitment to doing the right thing grows stronger now that sweet Venus is visiting your practical sign. Thankfully, taking the higher road is enough to get you through these days without creating unnecessary trouble.

Aquarius Horoscope

(Jan 20 – Feb 18)

You don’t want to be seen as the responsible one today. And although you would prefer just being part of the crowd, you might begrudgingly take the lead so you can make sure that everyone has as good a day as possible. You are quite deliberate in your overall approach now, even if you appear to be footloose and fancy-free. Pay attention to how you are being perceived because your strategy could backfire if it looks like you aren’t being serious enough.

Pisces Horoscope

(Feb 19 – Mar 20)

The idea of being a member of a larger group is quite appealing to you now that resourceful Venus is entering your 11th House of Friends. You seek stability and meaning from your interactions with others, but your need to express your own beliefs could create problems with those who disagree with you. Minimize conflict by temporarily downplaying your personal proclivities. Make today about team spirit and not your individual needs.

Venus in Capricorn

Venus in Capricorn

Earn the love you deserve while Venus is in Capricorn

Tarotcom Staff    Tarotcom Staff on the topics of venus, love, capricorn, astrology

Get ready for a shift in your love life! Love planet Venus has been in adventurous Sagittarius since the beginning of October, a time when most of us felt more confident, attracted more suitors and experienced an uptake in our social lives.

Now, however, it’s time to get serious. Venus, the planet of love, pleasure and beauty, moves into earthy Capricorn on November 5, 2013. This transit encourages sweet Venus to take a hard stance on romance, and it becomes a time when love truly must be earned.

Venus in Capricorn has a mature approach to relationships. Couples will spend more time now working through their problems and making commitments to one another and to shared goals. This is not the time for lovers to slack off!

If you’re single, this doesn’t sound as much fun as flirty Venus in Sagittarius, does it? But the good news is that if you meet someone now, it won’t be a flighty flirt that’s over as soon as it begins. With Venus in Capricorn, we’re playing for keeps.

In addition to its effect on love and relationships, Venus in Capricorn has the same serious effect on all things relating to beauty. You may find yourself dressing less flashy now, or putting your hair in a more subdued style. If you’re decorating your home, you may also go for a more conservative look now.

Also, if you’re interested in pursuing any artistic endeavors, now is a great time to get started. Capricorn will give creative Venus the stick-to-it-iveness to start art projects and see them through to the finish.

Capricorn isn’t flashy — it’s about getting real and building foundations for the future. So take advantage of this caring Capricorn energy and use it to achieve your relationship goals! Put in the hard work now so you can earn the love you deserve.

Daily Cosmic Calendar for November 5th

Are you sensing a strong shift about to occur and don’t know what it is? You may be tuning into the annual Sun-Saturn conjunction in Scorpio that occurs on Wednesday morning as well as Jupiter’s virtual station and reversal in Cancer that happens on Wednesday night. With the two largest planets in our solar system — Jupiter and Saturn — making big news on Wednesday, many inspired members of humanity are already picking up on the potent vibrations ahead of time.  Before confronting whatever Jupiter and Saturn have to offer you — particularly on the business and professional fronts — it is wise to deal with more immediate matters as Venus enters Capricorn (12:44AM this morning). This is an unusual Venus entry into a new zodiacal sign because Venus will remain in Capricorn until March 5, 2014. Normally, Venus spends 3 to 4 weeks in a sign — not 4 months. However, Venus is poised to slow down in its forward motion in December, stopping and going into reverse on December 21, 2013 and staying retrograde until January 31, 2014. Venus in the tenth sign of the zodiac can provide some benefits for traditional approaches to making business deals provide rewards over the long haul — although expecting quick results is foolish. Energizing professional aims, as you keep climbing your personal mountain toward worldly achievements, is a key theme of Venus spending 4 months in earthy, industrious Capricorn.  Keep your mind open to flashes of genius as the Moon in Sagittarius makes a harmonious trine of 120-degrees to Uranus in Aries (3:39AM). Be more cautious and careful starting at 8:49AM when the Moon squares off with Mars — starting a nearly 29-hour void lunar uncertainty zone in Sagittarius that lasts until 1:45PM tomorrow. Stay as mellow as possible during this long lunar time-span, enjoying plenty of R and R and not trying to push your personal agenda or conduct arm-twisting maneuvers with colleagues or loved ones. [Note to readers: All times are calculated for Pacific Standard Time. Be sure to adjust all times according to your own local time so the alignments noted above will be exact for your location.]

Calendar of the Moon for November 5th

Calendar of the Moon

Reed Month

Color: Blue-green
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of blue-green place a vase of reeds, a single blue-green candle, a great bowl of water floating with wetlands plant leaves, and a knife.
Offering: Recycle something useless into something useful.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian soup and sandwiches. Only water or herbal tea to drink.

Ngetal Invocation

Call: Now is the time of the bleak cold.
Response: Now the reeds whisper in the swamp.
Call: Now is the time when we see the growing dark.
Response: Now is the time when we begin to shiver.
Call: Now is the time of bare trees.
Response: Now is the time of rain and wind.
Call: Now the rain fills the wetlands to overflowing.
Response: Now the swamp overflows into our lives.
Call: We feel our feet dragged down into the cold waters.
Response: Yet the wetland is the source of greatest life!
Call: We feel ourselves pulled into the unfamiliar.
Response: Unfamiliar to us, but no less of value.
Call: The damp cold begins to reach our bones.
Response: We must welcome its touch.
Call: We must keep it far away with fire’s warmth!
Response: We must welcome its touch.
Call: Why should we not ban it from our lives?
Response: For this, too, is a Mystery of water.
Call: Not the deep mystery of the Ocean…
Response: Not the running flow of the river…
Call: Not the crystal of snow and ice…
Response: But the secrets of the still waters.
Call: From the still waters springs the greatest number of lives!
Response: And it is this that we must honor.
Call: Welcome into ourselves the song of the whispering reeds!
Response: Welcome into ourselves the oncoming winter.

Chant: Cold as stone
Marshes heart
We will own
What is apart

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Calendar of the Sun for November 5th

Calendar of the Sun

5 Blutmonath

Herne’s Day I: Prey

Color: Brown and green
Element: Earth
Altar: On a cloth of brown and green lay dried leaves, pine incense, a vase of dead branches with dry leaves attached, antlers, and figures of deer. The room is dark, lit with a single green candle.
Offerings: Cobs of corn. Willingness to face a fear that is pursuing you.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian.

Invocation to Herne I

Hail, Lord of the Forest!
The deer are gathering
In these your deepest woods,
Great stag with antlers wide and proud,
Soft-eyed doe for whom
The warriors clash their horns,
Delicate fawn mottled as the underbrush.
The hares are finding
Their winter burrows,
The squirrels collecting
Their hoards of fodder,
The pheasant and quail
Readying themselves for the season
Of death on many sides.
You who understands
The desperate chase,
Heart pounding, feet pounding,
Knowing well that death
Is your destiny,
Help us to make peace
With the oncoming challenge
And to know that it is only
One of our many moments
In the cycle of life.

Chant:
Horned One, Lover, Son,
Leaper in the corn
Deep in the Mother
Die and be reborn.

(As the last sound of the chant dies away, all bow to the altar and leave room in silence.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Current Moon Phase for Nov. 5th – First Quarter

First Quarter Moon

(waxing/18% of Full)

Emotions begin to stir coupled with recognizing that the new beginnings you are making must also increase personal security to be worthwhile over the long haul. This is a time when it’s appropriate to get in touch with your gut instincts and begin to guide your life more deliberately, with an awareness of using your “sixth sense” as well as your enthusiasm. Obstacles may emerge that require you to reevaluate how to better integrate yourself into your immediate environment.

The Witches’ Magick for Nov. 5th – Pheonix Power Unbound

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Pheonix Power Unbound

To give your self the power of the pheonix.This will last for 5 moons (5 days).

The following ingredients are needed
Your staff or what ever you use. 5 red or black unused candles

Draw a pentagram on the ground. Place the candles at each point.Stand in the middle and hold up your tool.Now chant the folowing 3 times.When done blow out one candle for each day that passes.

Black flame,
Phoenix claim,
Spirits around,
Give me power unbound.  

Let’s Talk Witch – Strengthening Your Circle

Faerie-Guardians

Strengthening Your Circle

A circle of light or a physical circle can be strengthened by casting three elemental circles just inside it.

Some practitioners aim to put the triple circle on top of the light one but I prefer radiating circles, albeit close together.

If using empowered salt and water as one of your elemental circles, you would empower the mix first before the elemental casting.

The three clockwise circles, either positioned one over the other or extending inwards, should be made with salt and water, or just salt (the first), with incense (the second) and with the directional candle of the south or a central one (the third). If you use salt for circle one (and not the salt and water mix), use incense for number two and magical water droplets for the third circle.

Create simple elemental casting chants according to the substances you are using and the nature of the spell or ritual.

*Note* With a group, before the triple circle casting invite them to walk the triple circle in line after you as you cast it. You can use three people to make the triple circle by having them each carry a substance around it. You need not use words for this unless you wish. With a group it is easier to make the three circles over one another just inside the original light circle.

You can end the triple element casting by sprinkling each person with a few drops of either the saltwater or the water alone saying:

You are Blessed!

If you are working alone, end the triple circle casting by taking the water and sprinkling yourself, saying:

May the Lord and Lady God and Goddess bless me and my spell/ritual.

Celebrating Spirituality 365 Days A Year – Guy Fawkes Night

magick89

November 5th

Guy Fawkes Night

Guy Fawkes Night is one of the most widespread and thriving of all the British holidays and one that was decreed by an act of Parliament. It was in the early hours of November 5, 1605, that Guy Fawkes was arrested. He had hidden 36 barrels of gunpowder in the cellar of Parliament and planned to blow it up that day, an act that would have wiped out the entire government of England–clearing the way for a Roman Catholic coup.

There are several theories, one of which claims that the gunpowder plot was covertly encouraged by an administration anxious to discredit its Catholic opponents. Whatever the truth, the act sparked a nationwide explosion of patriotism and Protestant enthusiasm. The commemoration has become a night replete with bonfires, beer-drinking, fireworks and bands of children begging for money. Topping off the evening’s festivities, effigies of Guy Fawkes are tossed onto the bonfires.

Tuesday Is Ruled By Mars

Tuesday Is Ruled By Mars

Archangel: Samael

Candle colour: Red

Incenses: Dragon’s blood or cinnamon

Crystals: Jasper or garnet

Use Tuesdays for spells for courage, change, independence in home or business life, for overcoming seemingly impossible odds and for passion.

Where possible, work near a fire or a bonfire or with a huge red beeswax candle as a focus; alternatively work next to a flowerbed or large vase of red, orange and/or yellow flowers.

The Witches Almanac for Tuesday, November 5th

cat

The Witches Almanac for Tuesday, November 5th

Tuesday (Mars): Passion, sex, courage, aggression and protection.

General Election Day (United States)

Waxing Moon

Waxing Moon is the ideal time for magick to draw things toward you.

Moon Phase: First Quarter

Moon Sign:  Sagittarius

Sagittarius: Encourages flights of imagination and confidence. This is an adventurous, philosophical, and athletic Moon sign. Favors expansion and growth.

Incense: Ylang Ylang

Color: Black

 

Wakey, Wakey, It’s Tuesday Morning, Time To Get Up!

“The Mother’s Prayer”

“Our Mother, whose body is the Earth,
Sacred is thy being.
Thy garden grow.
Thy will be done in our cities, as it is in nature.

Thanks be this day for food, and air, and water.
Forgive us our sins against Earth, as we are learning to forgive one
another.
And surrender us not unto extinction, but deliver us from our folly.
For thine is the beauty, and the power, and all life, from birth to
death, from beginning to end, forever.

So be it,
Blessed be.”

1989 by Henry Horton

 

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for November 4th

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

What is the texture of life?

Texture is that finely woven fabric of life that demands we have a congenial environment. It asks that we be industrious toward success, and that we should have a way of life, a purpose. We should hear the music of life and taste the bitter and the sweet.

Texture requires us to research every experience and hear the lesson in it. It orders us to communicate with life and make discoveries about ourselves and progress toward a texture where the course has been refined.

Frequently we should examine the texture of life to identify the quality. How wide is my world? How high is my sky?

All of us should know our own makeup, our capabilities, our gifts with which we have been divinely endowed. And we should think long on these words from Edna St. Vincent Millay’s Renascence:

“The world stands out on either side no wider than the heart is wide. Above the world is stretched the sky, no higher than the soul is high.”

________________________________________

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 – November 4

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – November 4

“The honor of the people lies in the moccasin tracks of the woman. Walk the good road…. Be dutiful, respectful, gentle and modest my daughter… Be strong with the warm, strong heart of the earth. No people goes down until their women are weak and dishonored, or dead upon the ground. Be strong and sing the strength of the Great Powers within you, all around you.”

–Village Wise Man, SIOUX

The Elders say the Native American women will lead the healing among the tribes. We need to especially pray for our women, and ask the Creator to bless them and give them strength. Inside them are the powers of love and strength given by the Moon and the Earth. When everyone else gives up, it is the women who sings the songs of strength. She is the backbone of the people. So, to our women we say, sing your songs of strength; pray for your special powers; keep our people strong; be respectful, gentle and modest.

Oh, Great One, bless our women. Make them strong today.

Daily Motivator for Nov. 4th – Too valuable to waste

Too valuable to waste

Consider what a truly great day you have today. Think of all the magnificent  possibilities that are yours right now.

You can fill the next hour with sixty minutes of focused, purposeful,  effective effort. You can bring new and meaningful value to your work, your  home, your family, your community and your dreams.

On this day you can learn, experience, work, feel, love and play. You can  make creative use of whatever you have to move in the direction of whatever you  desire.

The possibilities are limited only by your imagination. So let yourself  imagine something wonderful, and then enjoy the wonderful experience of making  it happen.

Though it might seem easier and more comfortable to just do nothing, that’s  really not the case. If you waste the great possibilities of this day, you will  very soon come to regret it.

So avoid that regret and jump into action. Today is much too valuable to  waste.

— Ralph Marston

The Daily Motivator

“Me Time”

“Me Time”
image
Author: Ashley Rose

Many people have their morning routines. It is sad to think about how many people just rush around making sure they have everything for the day. Their mental list may be: shower, clothes, papers for work, lunch, car keys… where are the car keys? But what happened to: breathe, “Hello flowers”, me time?

I never realized just how much even a few minutes could change the way I see the world. Even if a person has to set their alarm five minutes earlier, it is worth it. I’m lucky that I don’t have to be to work till 11:00 AM. So, my morning “me time” usually lasts about a half hour.

Every morning starts off with me opening my bedroom door to three awaiting cats (Daemon, Ireland, and Loki) . I get followed down the stairs as they tell me what they need. Some mornings it is food and water, others just love. And then there are the days they want to go right outside.

After I take care of my ‘kids’, I start making my tea. I’m not a kitchen witch, nor do I grow my own herbs. Some may say that I cheat. But, I buy my green tea at the store.

As I let my tea steep I head outside to my sanctuary. It is a work in progress, but yet still so calming. To give you a mental picture… There is lattice up around the patio (to keep the little ones from slipping through the bars of the gate) . Also, along the top are flower boxes, sitting on the concrete walls. Inside are beautiful cacti.

The flower boxes were put up because Daemon liked to jump over the six-foot concrete wall. The cacti were chosen because I live in the desert and they are hard to kill. You can also find a patio table out here. Along the wall of the house are paper lanterns and two beautifully sounding wind chimes. And, the latest addition: a new garden area.

One weekend my boyfriend and I got some bricks, potting soil, honeysuckle, and a hibiscus. The former eyesore is now a small, but beautiful, garden area. They only thing missing is a fountain (coming soon) .

Now that you hopefully have a mental picture of the patio, we move on towards the front of the house. Through the gate on the left is a bell. This was not placed for magickal purposes or for looks. The bell was put up for all the ignorant people who couldn’t figure out how to open our gate. Honestly, it isn’t that hard! [Sorry sidetracked] On the left are bushes along the whole side of the house. A humming bird feeder is the latest addition. Hopefully it will be joined by some bird feeders soon.

This brings us to the right side. There are lots of plants starting to pop up. If a person looks close enough they could find many bugs crawling around here.

Further down the sidewalk is the magickal area. Two palm trees are growing along side a rose bush. Inside the rose bush is where the mischievous fairies live. I know they are there because of two reasons. One section of lattes (held up with lots of zip ties) just fell down one day. And, occasionally a flower box will fall down. Now one would think the wind would cause this. But they always fall when there is no wind at all…

The last area to describe is the front. There are plans to add at least three more rose bushes here. But for now a lone birdbath stand on the rocks. In front are four dirt circles. As of right now nothing can be seen in these circles. But, soon they will show signs of new flowers growing.

Now that I’ve described my sanctuary, lets get back to my morning routine.

The first thing I do is real out the hose and remember to turn on the water. Yes, there has been a morning here or there where I stare at the hose wondering why it isn’t working. What happens when I’m not awake yet!

I like to start out front. I hose off the birdbath if it needs it and then add more water to it. The circles of dirt get watered next. Then I move along to the palms, rose bush, and new seedlings. I always warn the fairies before I start spraying their home with water.

After the front and side are watered I take time to observe and talk to the plants. I’m sure my neighbors think that I’m crazy. But, that is ok to me. It really does take some time to learn to listen to the plants. But, once you do they can tell you a lot. With a little extra love plants do seem to grow better.

Next comes watering the patio area. Some days I water the cactus and other days I don’t. Some of them tell me when they need watered and just how much. I also water my new garden area too.

Once everything is watered I grab my tea. I sit in my special chair and just feel the magick around me. I take time to stare at the sky and watch the clouds. Then I listen to all of the songs around me. I let the powers of my tea infuse me.

Some days I take a little extra time to ground myself. I try to let go of all the negativity that surrounds me. I let the warmth of the sun burn them away. It’s amazing how taking a deep breath and feeling the warmth of the sun can calm me. And this only takes a few measly seconds!

On occasion I’m graced by the presence of a hummingbird. I like to watch them flutter around. They really are a beautiful bird. My ravens are another favorite of mine to watch.

While I’m taking time for myself, so are my cats. Most days they all find a place to lie out in the sun. That is until a fly comes along. I usually get a laugh as they chase them around. Ireland also likes to talk to the pigeons. If only I really knew what she was trying to say.

Before I go back in the house I thank the Goddess for letting me spend some time with her. I take one last deep breath as I cross the thresholds back into the real world. This was my ‘me time’.

Making Your Life Magical

Making Your Life Magical image Author: WitchGeek
Most Wiccans and witches – and many other pagans – practice some form of “magic” (often spelled “magick” to distinguish it from stage illusions) . Magick is a topic at which most modern westerners would likely scoff, and doubtless this attitude throws into question the credibility of those who claim to practice it.
We do not believe in the “supernatural”. All that exists that is part of this universe, is part of nature itself and is therefore “natural”. If intrusions from other universes or realities happen in this one, then that too is part of its natural processes. In other words, everything – everything – can be rationally and scientifically explained; we just don’t know all of those explanations yet.
We accept that there are many things about this universe that we not only cannot explain in concrete terms, but things of which we’re not even aware. Bear in mind that there was a time that germs, bacteria, and viruses were all completely unknown to humanity; a microscopic world of living creatures has surrounded us for as long as we’ve been on this planet and we only recently learned of it.
Scientists have never actually seen an atom, and many modern physicists feel confident that evidence indicates such incredible things as multiple universes. We’ve learned so much, but that which we still do not know boggles the mind while thrilling the imagination.
As I have said many times, being a witch or a pagan is more about what we do than what we believe. Whether it’s a magickal activity or a religious ritual, we engage in time-honored rites that – for whatever reason – just seem to work for us. It’s a bit like exercise; one need not understand advanced kinetics and physiology in order to benefit from a brisk, daily walk. Nor does one need to understand ritual and magick in order to reap its benefits; those who do it regularly will experience mental and spiritual gains.
But this post isn’t about magick; it’s about life.
I have an Egyptian-themed altar/shrine at home, and among the items on it is a statue of Thoth. In Egyptian mythology, Thoth was – among other things – a god of writing, magick, and science. I’m not sure what initially drew me to him, but my attachment is long-standing and strong enough that I made an altar for him and the goddess Bast.
By day, I’m a computer programmer. I write, using computer languages, things like this:
begin select responder, recipient_role into v_emp_user_name, v_recipient_role from temp_notifications where message_type = itemtype and user_key = v_requisition_no and notification_id = history_record.notification_id; exception when no_data_found then v_emp_user_name := null; v_recipient_role := null; result := ‘COMPLETE:N’; end;
…and when these words are “executed”, they result in the taking place of literal, real-world actions.
Remember Arthur C. Clarke’s famous statement, “any sufficiently-advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”? It is easy to see the parallels between what I do by day and the concepts of magick. I use special languages full of words that have power, and yet I must order these words properly for them to have the desired effect. Sometimes they definitely backfire! But most of the time, I get the desired results.
Over time, I began to think of Thoth as having a modern role in addition to those normally attributed to him: the “patron saint” of computer programmers! But then, more recently, I made another connection. If what we pagans call “magick” isn’t supernatural, and if what computer programmers do is so similar to the methods of magickal practices… what, then, separates the two? Is it merely the fact that we humans have a scientific understanding of computer processing?
If modern magickal workings were to be defined scientifically tomorrow, would we put a new name on those activities and cease to call them “magick”?
I’m fond of blurring lines. A line that we’re forced to cross is no different from a line that holds us back; true freedom happens when there are no lines. And true magick happens all around us, every day.
Aleister Crowley defined magick as “the art and science of causing change in conformity with will”. We all do this, every day. For instance, when I sat down to write this post, it was something that I chose – to share my thoughts – and because my will to do this was strong enough, I made the time and put forth the effort. It is art (writing) and science (grammar, spelling, word processors and the Internet) , it is change (because this document didn’t exist before I wrote it) and it was my will.
Am I trying to diminish the practice of magick? Of course not. Instead, I am suggesting that we bring magick into our everyday lives… where it belongs. Learning to see the “magick” in the things that we choose to do means seeing those things in a whole new light… because when we realize that those elements that make up an act of magick exist in so many of our daily actions, we begin to see ways that even the mundane can be made special.
In many eastern philosophies, adherents are taught the value of living in each and every moment:
“As you practice Zen in your life, you will see that living in the present moment is like living heaven on earth. Even though we can all deal with this one moment right in front of us, we rarely live in this one moment right in front of us. We don’t know how. We have been conditioned since our early childhoods to live in the future or the past.” -Everything.com, Zen: Living in the Moment
Seeing ordinary actions as magickal is one way of helping us to live more consciously and building in us the habit of “living in the moment”. Yet it works in the other direction, as well… for as people who have studied the ways of “magick”, we are already trained in the skills necessary to embrace a magickal life.
This is convergence; when the ordinary and the magical become one in a person’s life, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. The ordinary takes on new vibrancy, and those energies, which are normally reserved for our rituals suddenly, work their way into our everyday lives.

Footnotes: http://www.everything.com/zen-philosophy-living-in-moment/

Soul Connection: The Means to Finding Your Life Purpose

Soul Connection: The Means to Finding Your Life Purpose
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Author: Colleen Deatsman

There is quite a bit of talk these days about “self”, and what that means, in metaphysics and the popular media. In all of these forums and disciplines, a person is divided within themselves in one of a number of different ways. Most disciplines have these divisions designated with terms coined by their founders or adherents. Id-ego-superego and mind-feelings-emotions-spirit are examples of such divisions. But it really boils down to what can be called the “small-s-self”, the workaday self through which we interact with the world, and the “big-S-self”, our authentic or transcendent self. All these words and divisions are substitutes for the traditional terms ego and soul, respectively.

It has further been observed that humans appear to manifest on this plane as beings consisting of body, mind, and spirit. In all the philosophies and disciplines that we know of, the mind purportedly controls the body, strategizing and acting in the world, while the spirit or soul observes the journey, accumulating the “good” and “bad” from life, seemingly acting as the immortal scorecard of our deeds.

Oddly enough, it is the soul in these disciplines that is held to be the human element, which passes on from life to life or, in some belief systems, to an after life. We refer to ourselves by saying; “I have” a mind and body and that “I have” a soul. The relevant question here is: Who is it that has these three things? Who is the “I” that stands outside of body, mind, and soul when we make these proprietary statements?

We are missing the relevant truth by glossing over it. If the soul is eternal, and the body is ephemeral, it follows that the soul has a purpose in occupying this body and utilizing this mind at this time. The truth here shines clear. We don’t “have” a soul; we are a soul having a human experience for a particular reason. There is a lot involved in getting born and occupying a body in this world, after all, so the soul must have an agenda if it is to go to all that trouble to be here. The new question then becomes: What is my soul’s agenda? What is my purpose in life?

The key to finding the answer to this question is to get in direct contact with the subtle energies of the soul in order to then understand our life purpose. This is a three-step process. The first step is to shift our perspective from the self-involved egoic personality with all its frantic needs and machinations, to the slow, smooth perspective of soul.

The second step is to harmonize ourselves with the soul’s subtle energy, allowing it to flow through us unfettered by pettiness, strife or our own personal history. The third step is then to act in the world from the powerful place of soul. At that point we will have begun to actualize the performance of the soul’s agenda, our life purpose.

The First Step: Getting Out of the Way

When we are born, we are a blank slate. We stare out at the world from the perspective of pure soul. Because the soul uses the body and mind to interface with the physical world, we have to learn how all that works. Over the course of the next twenty-one years or so, we are filled, like a computer, with the programs that provide the needs for our survival along with the opinions, perceptions, preferences, behaviors, rules, protocols, and expectations of our various family, friends, schools, churches, and society. By the end of this process, the gross stimuli of the dense physical world are the only things that capture our attention. The still small voice of the soul is drowned out by the clamor of the world and our own programming. Our job then becomes to clear a pathway from consciousness, through the resident programming, back to the soul. The two elements of this step are re-programming the behaviors that do not serve us, and the combined discipline of reclamation and recapitulation.

Reprogramming occurs when we recognize and change one of the behaviors or issues in our life we find distracting, confusing, self-defeating, or in the way. Then, we seek out their origins, where they came from, and mentally and emotionally “change” them using the technique of reclamation and recapitulation. This last step requires that we remember the original events in their entirety, seeking out the feelings, emotions and ultimately the beliefs that hold these issues or behaviors in place. Once that is finished, we can dissolve those beliefs and substitute new ones, or we can fully free up the machinery of our being by just letting them go.

This combined technique alters the programming, but also repairs the energy body, reserving our personal energy for our use, rather than for maintaining a disadvantageous behavior. The following is a sample of the Psyche Inventory, a technique designed to dig out a particular behavior and it’s origins during the technique of reclamation and recapitulation.

Typically, you would start by creating a timeline of your life, filling in all of your memorable life events and occurrences. For our purposes here, pick a single memory that has had lasting repercussions in your life, preferably one that is emotionally charged or one where you still feel caught. The Psyche Inventory process requires you to write down everything you can remember about the event.

What happened? Who else was involved and what were your and the other’s actions, intentions, emotions, feelings, and thoughts during the event? Looking deeper, what were the causal factors of the event and what were the changes in you that issued from the event? Did you lose a part of yourself in this instance? Was anything taken from you or did you take something from someone else that needs to be returned?

After this detailed analysis, sit quietly, with eyes closed, and put yourself back in the situation in your mind’s eye, imagining it in precise detail. Give back and receive what was lost or stolen. Forgive and be forgiven. Re-imagine the event in a way that produces a more desirable outcome for you and everyone involved.

Feel with certainty the resolution of this event and the freedom you feel with its closure. Open your eyes and return to the present. From now on, set this event aside. You are finished with it, free to live your life unaffected by the memory or the issues and energetic drain these created.

Obviously, a more detailed and thorough approach, along with ongoing maintenance and monitoring of this process is recommended, but this brief example provides an illustration of the concept. When enough of the resident programming is moved out of the way using this method, the reconnection to soul is automatic and produces a profound shift in awareness and perspective.

The Second Step: Staying in Harmony

Any wise person with even a little experience will tell you that enlightenment is not durable, especially in the beginning stages of self-actualization. Once you are connected to your soul and are oriented to the world from it, the resident ego begins its fight of attrition as it slowly dissipates over time, energetically aligning itself with your new soul-centered orientation. During this period you will notice extensive swings from soul to mind to emotion and back again. It’s just as well, really, because it’s the observable difference between these varied states of awareness that help you sit up and take notice of where you are and where you want to be.

Once you have experienced the consuming clarity and slow brilliance of your soul, you need to find a way to remain in that state of heightened awareness. There are many ways to do this, each discipline has it’s methodology, but the best methods always utilize energy movement as well as some form of meditation. The energy movement will keep you clear and clean and allow you to monitor and fortify the boundaries of your energy body.

Meditation gives you perspective. It allows you to step to one side and get a good look at what you are doing and what is going on in your life. For millennia, shamans have utilized a technique called journeying that has proven to be particularly helpful with this necessary perspective shift.

Rhythmic drumming is employed as a sonic driver to push the individual out of everyday consciousness. That simple act is enough to deliver perspective, but the shamanic journey goes one better and utilizes the individual’s connection to soul to gain added and intense insight as well. The following is an example of a shamanic journey that incorporates healing energy movement.

Close your eyes and relax. Send your awareness around and through the inside of yourself and notice what is happening in your body and energy field. Allow yourself to feel what your body feels. Pay attention to each organ and each system, noticing its color, energy, and pulsating rhythm. Now allow yourself to feel what your energy field feels. Pay attention to each chakra layer. See, sense, and feel how your body and energy field work together. Send the inquiring part of your mind into your body and energy field and ask them to “talk” to you and listen to their response. Hear and feel what is being communicated.

Carry on a conversation with each layer of your energy field, each individual chakra, and each cell, organ, and system of your body, and ask them to communicate with you. See, sense and feel if you have any energy imbalances, blockages, or areas where the energy flow is sluggish. If you do, explore the issues surrounding your imbalanced, blocked, or weak energy flow. Listen.

Now send attention and energy to the areas that need it. Feel the gathering of power as your intent floods these areas with healing life-force energy. See, sense, and feel the healing nature of this energy as it clears and revitalizes your trouble spots. Feel the change in your body and energy field as you do this.

Your inner healer is healing your body and energy field. See and feel it happening. Now slowly open your eyes, holding the images and sensations in place, noticing how you feel.

By practicing a regular discipline of energy cleansing/movement and meditation/journeying, while staying on top of programs that are running your life, you can maintain your constant connection to soul and even enhance it over time.

Part Three: Acting From the Soul

After you have done the heavy lifting of rewriting the programs, and subsequently maintained and broadened your connection to your soul through energy work and journeying/meditation, you find things changing in your life. There is an extensive re-ordering of priorities that takes place as you begin to address the world from your soul connection.

Your thoughts grow quiet as you find less need to hold your old reality in place with the way you talk to yourself and your mind chatter. The conversations you have with others are increasingly substantive. You begin to make a profound difference with what you say and do as your words and actions resound with truth and authenticity. As this happens, you soon notice a pattern that is strangely familiar to you. You will resonate with it.

You realize then that your soul has been quietly trying to express itself through your resident programming for many years, but was not coming through clearly due to your own lack of clarity and soul connection.

It is then you will see the shape that your soul’s purpose has been trying to get your life to take. At that point you will no longer be a divided being, made up of body, mind and spirit, big-S-self and small-s-self, or any other separation. You will have become a unified being, a brilliant soul moving as a force in the world, fulfilling your intended purpose.