Tag: Alternative

Daily OM for October 4 – An Invitation to Love

An Invitation to Love

Angel Meditation

by Madisyn Taylor

A meditation with your angels can provide a new gentleness into your normal meditation routine.

Though your host of spirit guides encompasses many diverse beings, all of which willingly watch over you, meditating with angels can be a uniquely insightful experience. The angels stationed at your side are both powerful and knowledgeable—they possess a limitless understanding of your needs and desires, your strengths and weaknesses, and your purpose. However, angels take an active part in our lives only when invited to do so. Meditation allows you to make contact with your angels and lovingly request that they participate actively in your day-to-day life.

To begin, retreat to a solitary place where you won’t be distracted by concerns. Incense and candlelight may aid you in achieving a meditative state but are not necessary. However, laying an image of an angel, angel statue, or item symbolizing your angels before you can focus your thoughts. Sit comfortably, breathe deeply, and let yourself relax. When you feel peaceful, invite your angels from the highest of light to sit with you as you meditate. Mentally repeat your request and reiterate that this time together is important to you. Then, in your mind’s eye, visualize a bright-white light floating above you. As you breathe, draw this light first into the crown of your head and then into the whole of your physical self. Allow this light to spread through your arms and hands, your core, and your lower body. Repeat this integration of illumination with a violet light.

Once again, ask your angels to be with you. Let the stillness surrounding you enter your soul, and open your heart to your angel guides. If they wish to communicate a message, they will do so now. Allow them to wrap their wings around you and infuse you with their bountiful love. Breathe them in as you did the light. As the meditation draws to a close, you may feel a presence, fluttering wings, or billowing fabric, or you may see an angel in your mind’s eye. Thank them for providing you with love and light, and being with you as you meditated. If you don’t sense or feel anything, there is no cause for worry—you can be certain your angels are with you. Don’t be surprised if you start to see signs throughout the day that your angels are near, perhaps a feather at your doorstep. As you practice this meditation, you will become increasingly adept at recognizing when your angels are near and sensing their presence.

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – October 2

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – October 2

“Laughter – that is something very sacred especially for us Indians.”

–John (Fire) Lame Deer, ROSEBUD LAKOTA

Laughter is mental, laughter is emotional, laughter is physical and laughter is spiritual. Laughter helps us find balance. If we get too angry, laughter will turn that emotion in a balanced direction. If we have a mental picture of someone who is too strong, laughter will help ease the tension. If the body is stressed, laughter will release natural relaxants into our muscles and our nervous system. Laughter often changes our attitude. We need to lighten up and laugh more.

Great Spirit, teach me to laugh.

Magickal Herb Use: Lesson 1 – Storage and Tools

Lesson One: Storage and Tools

by Leillan

I am starting very basic here. Some may want to breeze through this. But I have been asked to start at the beginning, so here goes. You don’t have to store your herbs in any special way unless you want to. I just use blue canning jars and interesting bottles. I like a tight lid to keep moisture away from the herb, and to keep the herb in the bottle. Nothing is worse that herbs spilling out into the cabinet and all over the floor when the jar is tipped over!

Always label your herbs. Even the most adept herbalist can get confused once in awhile. The labeling method is another matter of choice. As I use my herbs for many purposes, I generally just label by herb name. However, you could also add a few lines stating elemental properties, basic uses, etc. As you learn more you may want to store herbal blends. Label these with the types of herbs used and the purpose it was intended for when you blended it. Maybe you found a certain natural incense you made that you really like. Blend a bunch of it, label it, and jot down the purpose for which you like to use it, e.g., power, relaxation, etc. You’ll find this simple step very useful in the future; don’t always rely on memory.

You more than likely will want a few tools. A mortar and pestle, and a good knife should be among your first tools. I use my athame to cut herbs. You may choose to use the traditional sickle-shaped “Boleen.”  If you intend to use your herbs for both magick and cooking/healing, get two mortar and pestles (especially if you choose something porous like wood). This way, a mortar used to crush mistletoe and holly won’t be used for crushing pepper and garlic. Remember, some of the herbs you use for magickal work are toxic if taken internally. With the exception of the knife, I prefer to use wood, stone, or clay for my tools, and tend to stay away from metals. Certain oils and herbs have a reaction with some alloys.

Other tools you may want are pretty basic to the Craft in general, and you may already have most of them. These include a censor and incense, candles of various colors, and a bowl for mixing. You’ll need something to hold water (if needed), like a shell or a bowl, and you may want to collect various sizes of shells or containers for measuring your herbs. You may want a colored cloth for a bag, string,or rubber bands for sachets, and of course you will eventually want to make amulets and such. But these things can be acquired as the need arises.

Other than what I have mentioned above, the purpose will tell what supplies are needed.

Lessons In Magickal Herbal Use (Intro)

Lessons In Magickal Herbal Use

by Leillan

This article was a text file in the library of a local Pagan BBS years ago.

Introduction

The purpose of these texts are to introduce you to the Magick of herbs. There is so much these plants and flowers can offer. Working with herbs can be as simple or as ritualistic as you want to make it. For example:  as simplistic as selecting a few herbs for a bath sachet and putting them into cheese cloth, a tea ball, or even a coffee filter for use, or as ritualistic as working with certain herbs in Circle for a specific spell or talisman, enchanting each herb and then the entire mixture. Remember, however, that when working with things from the Mother Earth, sometimes “less” is best.

There are no set rules here, save 2:

  • Rule No. 1:  Remember the Law of Three
  • Rule No. 2:  First learn rule Number 1.

I said there were no set rules and there aren’t. But there are some simple hints, as well as etiquette, that you should be aware of before you start with the Magickal Herb lessons. Among these are:

  1. Magick is natural.
  2. Harm no one – not even yourself.
  3. Magick takes work. You get what you put into it.
  4. Magick should not be done for pay.
  5. Don’t haggle over the price of your tools. If you can’t afford them now, then wait until you can afford the price. Haggling lessens the worth of the tools in your work.
  6. Keep your ego in check. Remember, you are only a tool, as well.
  7. Magick is learning. Know not only how, but also why.
  8. Magick should be used for defense only. (The Law of 3 very much applies here.)
  9. Magick is Love!  Do what you do because you love it in your heart.
  10. When you use Magick in anger or hate, you cross the fine line from white to black, and therein lies danger.

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – September 30

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – September 30

“Don’t be afraid to cry. It will free your mind of sorrowful thoughts.”

–Don Talayesva, HOPI

Human beings function from choice. We can choose to stuff things, or we can choose to let go of things. If we choose to stuff things, then we will feel a heaviness, or sorrow, self pity or fear. Sometimes we feel the need to cry. Sometimes we are taught it is not okay to cry. The creator designed the human being to cry. Crying is a release. This release allows us to let go of thoughts that are not helping us so we can open to new thoughts that will help. Crying is natural for women and men.

Grandfather, if I need to cry, let me realize it’s a natural process and help me to let go.

Mechanics of Spellcasting

Mechanics of Spellcasting

Spellcasting is the lesser, not the greater magic; but the greater
magic builds on the lesser. The paradox is that in spellcasting we
may start out working with the personal self, but in order to work
the magic we are forced to expand and recognize the Self that moves
through all beings.
Magic involves the deliberate self-identification with other objects
and people. For example, to do a healing, we must become the healer,
the one who is healed, and the energy that is to do the healing. To
attract love, we must be able to love ourselves and to become love
its self.
Spells work in two basic ways. The first is through suggestion;
symbols and images implant certain ideas in Younger Self, or the
subconscious mind, and we are then influenced to actualize those
ideas. Spells can also influence the external world.
The theoretical model that witches use to explain the workings of
magic is a clear one and coincides in many ways with the “new”
physics. It is simply an elaborate but extremely useful metaphor. The
metaphor is based on a world view that sees things not as fixed
objects, but as vortexes of energy. The physical world is formed by
the vortexes of energy, and if we cause a change in the energy
patterns they, in turn, cause a change in the physical world. When
our own energy is concentrated and channeled, it can move the broader
energy currents. The images and objects used in spells are the
channels. They are the vessels through which our power is poured, and
by which it is shaped.
As energy is directed into the images we visualize, it gradually
manifests physical form and takes shape in the material world.
Directing energy is not a matter of simply emoting. Emotion can be
likened to a strobe light which provides a very inconstant light,
while directed energy is more like a laser beam. Even concentrated
power is a small stream compared with the vast surges of energy that
surround us. The most adept witch cannot be successful in all her
spells, for the opposing currents are often too strong.
The craft teaches to first identify the flow of energy and then to
decide whether or not it is going where we want it to go. If it is
not, then we can try to deflect it, or we may have to change our own
course. Sensing the energy climate is a matter of intuition and
experience. Some witches make a study of Astrology in an effort to
plan their magical workings at the optimal times, while others prefer
to work when they feel the time is right.
Of all the planets, the Moon’s influence on subtle energies is the
strongest. Subtle power increases as the Moon waxes, so the time of
the waxing Moon is best for spells involving growth or increase, such
as money spells. The power peaks when the Moon is full and that is
the best time for workings of culmination and love. During the waning
Moon, power subsides and turns inward. The waning Moon’s period is
used for banishings, bindings, and discovering hidden secrets. The
practical witch soon learns to adjust her spells to fit the time of
the Moon. If, for example, she needs to do a money spell during the
waning Moon, she would put a little ‘English’ on it and make it a
poverty banishing spell.
Energy pursues the path of least resistance. Material results are
more easily achieved on this plane of existence through physical
actions than through magical workings. For example, it is simpler to
lock your door than suffer the constant drain from maintaining
psychic seals on your doors and windows while you are away from home.
Of course, once you have locked your door, you might feel more
reassured by placing seals on it.
No magic spell is going to bring results unless channels are opened
into the material world. For example, a job spell is useless if you
are not willing to go out and interview for jobs or at least let
potential employers know that you are in the market for one. In the
same vein, a healing spell is no substitute for medical care.
Most medicine today can be broken down into two broad categories,
emergency medicine and that which is not needed for immediate life-
threatening situations. Emergency medicine has excelled at
stabilizing the body’s condition so that it can repair itself at its
own pace. Most other forms of medicine consist of treatment through
surgery or chemotherapy or a combination of both. The procedures
noted above work on the physical body and do not take the other
levels into consideration. Psychic healing works at healing the
higher levels of the person so that the physical heals itself or
allows the person to let go of their physical body if it cannot be
repaired. In either case, the choice rests with the person who is
being healed and not the healer.
Visualization used in creating a spell should focus on the desired
result, not the individual steps leading up to the result. We give
the spell free rein in how it goes about achieving the results with
the understanding that it is not to bring harm to anyone or any
being. For this reason, spells have a habit of working in very
unexpected ways.
To assure that the power we have unleashed does not inadvertently
cause harm, we bind the spell. This serves to ‘set’ the form we have
created so that the energy becomes fixed in the pattern we desire.
The energy we project to others affects us even more strongly than
the other person. This is because we have generated the energy, and
thus we have become the object at which the energy is directed. If
healing energy is sent out, then the health of the person casting the
spell is enhanced. By the same token, any hex or curse that is sent
out ALWAYS affects the person who sends it no matter whether it
affected the person it was sent at or not.
Reference:

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – September 21

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – September 21

“Everything is laid out for you. Your path is straight ahead of you. Sometimes it’s invisible but it’s there. You may not know where it’s going, but still you have to follow that path. It’s the path to the Creator. That’s the only path there is.”

–Leon Shenandoah, ONONDAGA

Everything on the earth has a purpose and a reason for its existence. Every human being is a warrior and every warrior has a song written in his/her heart and that song must be sung or the soul forever remains restless. This song is always about serving the Great Spirit and helping the people. This song is always sung for the people. Many times I need to learn much about the difficulties of life. I need to know this, so I must experience it. Then I can be of use to the people. Because I am experiencing difficulty does not mean I have left the path or that I have done something wrong. It means I’m doing the will of the Great Spirit during these times of testing. I need to pray constantly to keep a good attitude.

Great Spirit, this I know – You will never leave me, only my doubting makes it seem like You do. This I know – Your love is always dependable, only my doubting makes it seem like You do. Today remove the doubts from my belief system and allow me to stand straight and see You with straight eyes.

Fire Divination

Fire Divination

　

Items You Will Need:

Fire of Azrael Incense

 

The Spell:

Once the fire has died to a glowing reddish-white mass of coals, stare into its heart. If you wish, throw some Fire of Azrael incense onto the coals (equal parts cedar, juniper & sandalwood). This will flare up & burn, but will quickly die down. With the scented smoke rising from the divination incense scry in the coals. See what shapes the charred wood seem to form, & determine their meaning through the language of symbolism.

Mabon Balance Meditation

Mabon Balance Meditation

Celebrating the Dark and the Light

Mabon is a time of balance, and this simple meditation will help you focus on bringing harmony to your life.

A Time of Positive and Negative Energy

Mabon is one of those times of year that affect people in different ways. For some, it’s a season to honor the darker aspects of the goddess, calling upon that which is devoid of light. For others, it’s a time of thankfulness, of gratitude for the abundance we have at the season of harvest. No matter how you see it, Mabon is traditionally a time of balance. After all, it’s one of the two times each year that has equal amounts of darkness and daytime.

Because this is, for many people, a time of high energy, there is sometimes a feeling of restlessness in the air, a sense that something is just a bit “off”. If you’re feeling a bit spiritually lopsided, with this simple meditation you can restore a little balance into your life.

Setting the Mood

Now that fall is here, why not do an autumn version of Spring Cleaning? Get rid of any emotional baggage you’re dragging around with you. Accept that there are darker aspects to life, and embrace them, but don’t let them rule you. Understand that a healthy life finds balance in all things.

You can perform this ritual anywhere, but the best place to do it is outside, in the evening as the sun goes down. Decorate your altar (or if you’re outside, use a flat stone or tree stump) with colorful autumn leaves, acorns, small pumpkins, and other symbols of the season. You’ll need a black candle and a white one of any size, although tealights probably work best. Make sure you have something safe to put them in, either a candle holder or a bowl of sand.

Light both candles, and say the following:

A balance of night and day, a balance of light and dark Tonight I seek balance in my life as it is found in the Universe. A black candle for darkness and pain and things I can eliminate from my life. A white candle for the light, and for joy and all the abundance I wish to bring forth. At Mabon, the time of the equinox, there is harmony and balance in the Universe, and so there shall be in my life.

Meditate on the things you wish to change. Focus on eliminating the bad, and strengthening the good around you. Put toxic relationships into the past, where they belong, and welcome new positive relationships into your life. Let your baggage go, and take heart in knowing that for every dark night of the soul, there will be a sunrise the next morning.

Mabon Harvest Incense

Mabon Harvest Incense

 

You’ll need:

  • 2 parts sandalwood
  • 2 parts pine
  • 1 part rosemary
  • 1 part cinnamon
  • 1 part dried apple
  • 1 part dried oak leaf

Add your ingredients to your mixing bowl one at a time. Measure carefully, and if the leaves or blossoms need to be crushed, use your mortar and pestle to do so. As you blend the herbs together, state your intent. You may find it helpful to charge your incense with an incantation, such as:

Mabon, a season of dark and light,
balance of day turning to night.
Counting my blessings in all I have and do,
love and harmony, and gratitude too.
Mabon herbs, bring balance to me,
As I will, so it shall be.

 

Store your incense in a tightly sealed jar. Make sure you label it with its intent and name, as well as the date you created it. Use within three months, so that it remains charged and fresh.

Aromatherapy For Unruly Children

Aromatherapy For Unruly Children

Sweet Orange, Tangerine, Lavender or Bergamot will all have a calming effect when the kids get a little wild.

There are many inexpensive ceramic diffusers that hang from the rear view mirror or purchase a car diffuser that plugs into the cigarette lighter. Try adding a few drops to a cotton ball and place near the heat vents.

 

Calming Aromatherapy Spray – Formula

Calming Aromatherapy Spray – Formula

 

Adapted from Aromatherapy for Healing the Spirit, by Gabriel Mojay (Inner Traditions, 1997).

This easy-to-make formula is based on centuries-old aromatherapy wisdom that reduces anxiety and apprehension.

After all, we can all use a little more calm and reassurance from time to time–and this spray smells simply divine!

According to aromatherapy wisdom, Lavender is one of the most comforting oils, often used for anxiety in those who feel oppressed or emotionally confused, or feel they don’t know where to turn.

Palmarosa nourishes heart energy and has a cooling, calming, supportive effect. It alleviates fear and insecurity.

Jasmine combines a calming effect with a distinctly upliting one and is especially useful for anxiety when it alternates with feelings of depression.

Geranium calms nervous anxiety and alleviates insecurity.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Place one cup of water in a spray bottle, and add the following pure essential oils:

3 drops lavender
2 drops Palmarosa
2 drops jasmine
1 drop geranium

2. Shake well and spray upward toward the center of the room, or onto any non-staining surface.

Summoning the Ancestors

Summoning the Ancestors

Items You Will Need:

  • A Staff (preferably one you have worked with before)
  • Incense burner (stick and cone incense will work here, I first made this ritual using those, but you must have a way to burn the offering)
  • Purification or protection Incense (I use Frankincense or Sandalwood)
  • a small offering (meat works well, though bread will work too, I’m not sure about offertory incense though because I have never tried to use it with this ritual)
  • 6 white Candles (any type will do, i just depends on how long you intend to hold the ritual, I usually use tea candles if I’m not going to take too long, though it can be hard to tell sometimes how long the ritual will last.

The Spell:

This ritual works best at night though can be performed at any time

Form the candles into a circle around the incense burner (or incense) and light the candles and start burning the incense (note: if using stick or cone incense, keep a ready supply within the ritual area and light it with the candles, there can be no new fire added or it can disrupt the ritual)

(optional, but recommended) Cast a circle

Hold up your staff and visualize a light at its end as you say in a firm tone

“Ancestors of Blood and Spirit, come to this light. Come to guide and aid me in this time and place, for I seek you wisdom and knowledge, please lend me your aid and grant me an audience oh wise ones”

You should start to feel their presence in short order, though you can never tell how many or which of your ancestors will come, some may not even be related to you by blood and some may only have spiritual ties (I have had a few animals and one Amakua [guardian spirit/deity] show up, this is why I recommend some experience with spirits

Hold the ritual for as long as you need

When closing the ritual don’t forget to burn the offering and be careful to thank all that came and bid that they fare well until next time (this can be anyway you like as long as it is personnel and done with the appropriate respect)

Extinguish the candles one by one and envision that the spirits are leaving with the candle smoke

Open the circle once the last spirit has left.

The Witches Spell of the Day – A Charm To Secure Employment

A CHARM TO SECURE EMPLOYMENT

Take a green handkerchief or a piece of green cloth roughly that size, lay it flat with one of the corners facing you. Place upon it 3 cardamom seed, a bay leaf and a sprig rosemary (or 1 tsp. of dried herb). These herbs surround you in self-confidence and attract energy.
Cardamom sweetens your personality and brings out your natural eloquence.
Bay leaves are symbols of success and triumph.
Rosemary is a herb of achievement and mental alertness.

Tie the corners together with a length of string, so that you have a little bundle of herbs.

Before each interview, hold this bundle and visualize yourself walking into the interview room, radiating confidence imagine yourself being in a position to pick and chose jobs at will.

Carry this to your job interviews. And accept that any rejection is a sign from the universe that the job was not right for you.

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – September 11

Elder’s Meditation of the Day – September 11

“Listen to all the teachers in the woods. Watch the trees, the animals and all living things – you’ll learn more from them than from books.”

–Joe Coyhis, STOCKBRIDGE-MUNSEE

Nature is a living example of how communities live in harmony. If you go into the forest or mountain and sit still and watch, ask yourself, what lessons are being taught? Then watch how the animals conduct themselves.The trees could represent diversity. The flowers could represent people. Notice how everything in nature assists one another. See how balance works. See how conflict is handled. Can you see acts of forgiveness? Can you spot respect? Nature is full of wisdom if we will only consider her to be our teacher.

My Creator, today let me learn from nature.

Herbal Witches Cleansing Bottle

HERBAL WITCHES CLEANSING BOTTLE

To make an herbal cleansing bottle, pour a layer of sand in a large clear bottle. Add layers of dried herbs, one at a time: first rosemary; then lemon peel, sage, cedar, black peppercorns, lavender, dill, bay leaf, and rowan.

When the bottle is full, focus cleansing protective energy into the herbs and sand, and see a golden light radiating from the bottle. Visualize the herbs driving away negative influences.

Cork and seal the bottle with white wax.

Using a permanent marker, draw the Algiz rune on one side of the bottle, and on the other side draw a pentagram.

Set the bottle near your front or back door, and every six months, uncap,
Pour herbs out into the woods or your compost heap, and thoroughly wash
and dry the bottle before filling it with a new round of herbs.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for Sept. 5 – ‘Be Late For Something Day’

Today’s ‘Be Late for Something Day’ energies will probably describe this first day of school for many parents who have trouble getting the kids out the door in a timely and peaceful manner. Therefore, in order not to be late for anything, getting prepped for today might take a bit of planning. That means kids should start getting into some sort of routine a few weeks before school officially begins. Waiting until the final twenty-four hours before the alarm goes off probably won’t work. So a few weeks before school starts, start waking your student a bit closer to the time that they will eventually be rising on a daily basis. If getting your wunderkind to bed earlier poses a problem you might want to use a blend of lavender and chamomile essential oils to calm the child and help them stay quiet and content. Put ten drops of the two oils in a spray bottle and fill with distilled or spring water. Spray around the sleeping space at least twenty minutes before bedtime and you’ll be giving the Sandman a huge helping hand. Whatever you do, make sure that all electronics and technology are turned off at bedtime. The electromagnetic frequencies from appliances, computers and televisions can impact the sleeping student in a disruptive way, so keeping stimulation to a minimum before bed will make for a rested and ready student in the morning!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com