Tag: China

Your Charm for Monday, February 11th is The Dorje

Your Charm for Today

pic8

Today’s Meaning:   

You are at a physical peak–particularly from a sexual perspective. Enjoy the next few weeks, for they can be remarkable if you let them.

General Description:  

In India and Tibet the Dorje or Thunderbolt of Jupiter, is a favourite and greatly valued talisman. It is worn to protect against magic, all spiritual evils and to bring abundance, fuitfulness, and riches. The Dorje is shaped much like a dumb bell with pointed ends, and is the symbol of power and indestructiblility. It is supposed to overcome the Buddhist gods Ahi and Vrittra, the serpents, which the Buddhists believe swallow up the waters and cause drought, starvation and death; compelling the serpents to disgorge the waters, and to pour down the fertilizing showers.

Why Does The Chinese New Year Date Change Every Year?

Chinese New Year

By , About.com Guide

If you live in an area that has a Chinatown, chances are that at some point you’ve watched the Chinese New Year celebrations. However, Chinese New Year (also called the Spring Festival) doesn’t begin and end on a single weekend. Instead, the Spring Festival lasts a full fifteen days, with preparations beginning before the old year has come to a close. By the time the New Year arrives, families have already spent several days preparing for the big event; cleaning the house, buying gifts, and cooking festive foods.

People often wonder why the date for Chinese New Year changes each year. The Chinese calendar  is a combination solar/lunar calendar, based on a number of rather complex astronomical calculations, including the longitude of the sun. Chinese New Year falls on the second new moon after the winter solstice (all months begin with a new moon). In 2013, Chinese New Year Day falls on February 10th.

How did Chinese New Year come to be celebrated? According to an ancient legend, people were once tormented by a beast called a Nian – a ferocious creature with an extremely large mouth, capable of swallowing several people in a single bite. Relief from the Nian came only when an old man tricked the beast into disappearing. In reality, New Years festivities probably evolved from a desire to celebrate the end of winter and the fertility and rebirth that come with the spring, much like the ancient Roman festival of Lupercalia. Today, New Years is about family reunions and wishing everyone good fortune in the coming year.

The Spring Festival is China’s major traditional holiday, and is also celebrated in other parts of Southeast Asia, including Vietnam (where New Year’s Day is called “Tet”), Malaysia, Taiwan, and of course, Hong Kong. However, in my research I couldn’t find any mention of Chinese New Year’s celebrations in Japan. Lisa Heupel, an expert on Japanese Culture, came up with a possible reason – apparently the Japanese followed the lunar calendar until the middle of the nineteenth century. However, after the Meiji Restoration in 1868, they adopted the Gregorian calendar. Since that time New Years is celebrated on January 1st. While there are other popular festivals celebrating the arrival of spring, such as Hanami or the cherry blossom viewing festival, for the most part Chinese New Year goes unnoticed in Japan, except for a few small celebrations by the Chinese who live there.

A Little Humor for Your Day – Cat To English Dictionary

Cat To English Dictionary
Cat Phrase — Meaning
** miaow — Feed me.
** meeow — Pet me.
** mrooww — I love you.
** miioo-oo-oo — I am in love and must meet my betrothed outside beneath the  hedge. Don’t wait up.
** mrow — I feel like making noise.
** rrrow-mawww — Please, the time is come to tidy the cat box.
** rrrow-miawww — I have remedied the cat box untidiness by shoveling the  contents as far out of the box as was practical.
** miaowmiaow — Play with me.
** miaowmioaw — Have you noticed the shortage of available cat toys in this  room?
** mioawmioaw — Since I can find nothing better to play with, I shall see what  happens when I sharpen my claws on this handy piece of furniture.
** raowwwww — I think I shall now spend time licking the most private parts of  my anatomy.
** mrowwwww — I am now recalling, with sorrow, that some of my private parts  did not return with me from that visit to the vet.
** roww-maww-roww — I am so glad to see that you have returned home with both  arms full of groceries. I will now rub myself against your legs and attempt to  trip you as you walk towards the kitchen.
** mmeww — I believe I have heard a burglar. If you would like to go and beat  him senseless, I shall be happy to keep your spot in the bed warm.
** gakk-ak-ak — My digestive passages seem to have formed a hairball. Wherever  could this have come from? I shall leave it here upon the carpeting.
** mow — Snuggling is a good idea.
** moww — Shedding is pretty good, too.
** mowww! — I was enjoying snuggling and shedding in the warm clean laundry  until you removed me so unkindly.
** miaow! miaow! — I have discovered that, although one may be able to wedge  his body through the gap behind the stove and into that little drawer filled  with pots and pans, the reverse path is slightly more difficult to navigate.
** mraakk! — Oh, small bird! Please come over here.
** ssssroww! — I believe that I have found a woodchuck. I shall now act  terribly brave.
** mmmmmmm — If I sit in the sunshine for another week or so, I think I shall  be satisfied.

Your Magickal Charm for Dec. 31st is Tortoise

Your Charm for Today

pic13

Today’s Meaning:

The tortoise represents the dome of the sky, the universe. It tells you to take slow, deliberate steps and you can achieve everything you desire.

General Description:

In China, Japan, and many other countries in the East, the Tortoise is regarded as a talisman for repelling every description of magic, and the supposed malign influence of the evil eye. This jade charm is also used as a powerful amulet for good fortune, happiness, both of the heart and body, endurance, strength, and longevity. In Eastern Asia the Tortoise is regarded as the symbol of the universe, the dome of the sky being represented by the shell, and the earth by the body of the tortoise.

Surprise, Surprise, We had a new addition to the Abyss Family

wolf pups

 

Got’cha! I don’t know if you remember the Countess telling you are not. But we made an out of town trip to pick up four of these little guys and their mother.  And yes, I have been expecting one of these for a very, very long time. I still haven’t picked out the one I am going to keep but there will be one I guarantee you. I love wolves and these little guys and their mother are full blooded. If I can get her to stop showing her teeth I will take a pic of her. She ain’t too friendly. You can sneak the door open a little bit and call the pups. Here they come a’running. I just can’t wait till Momma catches on to that trick and beats them to the gate. I don’t think it would be very easy to type one handed 😦 .

The Chinese Moons

The Chinese Moons

 

Chinese tradition tells how once there were 12 moons, one for each month of the year. Their mother Heng O, who was also mother of the ten suns washed her 12 moon children in a lake at the western edge of the world and each traveled for their month’s journey to the East where the sun children waited.

In one version the divine archer Yi killed nine of the sun children and was punished by their father (whom he also killed)by being made mortal. Yi then married Heng O, who agreed to spare her life and those of the moon children, if she became his wife. But he tricked her and killed 11 of the moon children as well. She stole from him the herb of immortality and fled with her youngest child to the skies where Yi could not follow her. Here she took the form of the toad who can still be seen in the moon and who is a symbol of prosperity and good luck in China. In some versions all the moon children were saved and they went to the physical moon from which each still flies his moon chariot on his appointed month high across the sky so that Yi cannot harm him.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for November 17th – ‘National Adoption Day’

Today’s ‘National Adoption Day,’ is very close to my heart. Long ago I was dealing with fertility issues and suffered multiple miscarriages as well. We had decided to try one final time to get pregnant and carry the baby to term before seriously exploring the idea of adopting. My son was the result of this last intentional attempt to get pregnant, but my brother and his family took up the adoption mantle just a few years ago. That’s when his wife and daughter traveled to China to pick up our newest family member, my niece Jia Ning. And even though it took my brother and his family over ten years to welcome their new daughter, without adoption this would have never happened. To activate energies for a fabulously smooth adoption process, locate the ‘Children’ area of the main floor and play some music there. Also put in this space something metal and something that symbolizes children. Adopting these tips will bring success to all other child-related efforts.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for November 14th is 18: Repairing What is Spoiled

18: Repairing What is Spoiled

Something is starting to rot and it is time to repair the damage. In the world of human affairs, indulgence and corruption grow like weeds in an untended garden; they must be faced squarely, and rooted out through bold action. Eliminating corruption — and the sloppiness that leads to it — is one of the most ennobling of all human enterprises. Correction of flaws in the system clears the way for fresh, new beginnings.

The time has come to become lean and efficient. The weeds must be rooted out now, before the garden is overwhelmed. Fighting decay, sloppiness and corrupt agendas is not a simple matter; all steps must be evaluated carefully. Planning must precede action. Resist the temptation to strike out prematurely. Gather strength behind you, and summon your inner resources, because arresting decay is no simple task. When you do act, make your strike as precise and clean as the path of the surgeon’s knife.

Choosing Your Karma

Choosing Your Karma

 

The early years of your life tend to be the most karma-filled. Adolescence is often the most intense time of all in a life. The hormonal and developmental changes tend to accentuate the difficulties of that period and facilitate a climate wherein much karma can be played out. This is also the time when you experiment with the different chief negative features: self-destruction, greed, self-deprecation, arrogance, martyrdom, impatience, and stubbornness. Generally by about the age of 21 you select one of them to settle down with.

After the age of 30, karmic intensity is greatly reduced. There are exceptions to this, as is the case with those people experiencing lifetimes at the sixth level of any stage (heavy karma balancing), and those with a goal of growth.

How Karma Repayment Works

Karma is supervised and organized by essence. Often the personality knows nothing of the purpose and impending unfoldment of the karma. There is good reason for this. False personality often operates out of fear. If your conscious personality knew that an intensely painful karma were about to occur with someone, it would run as fast as possible in the opposite direction, thus avoiding the repayment or the lesson that essence had in mind. Your personality usually feels like a victim in karmic situations.

Essence planned the karma repayment without flinching. Even when you are an old soul you need this benevolent amnesia to meet your more difficult karma. As mentioned earlier, karma usually comes with no warning even though it is essence directed. It frequently comes like a freight train rounding the bend and coming down the tracks with inexorable speed. The train is upon you before you can run away. When you are in the midst of a karmic situation you feel foggy and unclear, and you may feel strangely unable to get out of the situation. You often wonder how this happened to you all of a sudden.

You may walk innocently into a meeting and within minutes are insulted and humiliated by the new director on your job. You are instantly plunged into painful emotions and wonder what you did to deserve it.

The answer is often that you didn’t do anything this lifetime to deserve it. You simply showed up to balance the record sheet. Likewise you may be penniless and lost in a foreign country and a complete stranger suddenly appears on the scene and takes you in, cares for you, and gives you an airplane ticket home.

When karma has been completed, a feeling of freedom and relief ensues. The fog clears and you gain insight into the preceding events. You become neutral about the issue that had so recently carried such intensity for you. You don’t care anymore. You may even wonder how you could have been so upset about the issue.

The purpose of karma completion is to get you neutral on the issue so that you can move on to new and more interesting lessons. You have reached the neutral position on the triadic experience and you are ready for something new.

Karma as a Choice

Remember again that karma is not fate. Fate is a notion of predestination. You choose karma specifically with the purpose of undergoing an emotional or learning experience. Think of karma as ribbons that draw together experiences and weave a distinct pattern that is the product of many lifetimes. Remember also that those ribbons cause you to be in specific places and to meet certain people, sometimes to your great surprise. If you have a karmic debt with another individual living in a foreign country you will suddenly find yourself drawn, sometimes almost magically, to travel to that other country where the debt can be repaid.

Occasionally the obstacles in the path of meeting are too great and the karma must be deferred to another lifetime. For example, you may decide that this lifetime you will complete ten major karma, seventy-five medium karma, and one hundred and fifty minor karma. Typically you tend to bite off more than you can chew, so that if you complete most of these karma the lifetime will feel successful to you no matter how uncomfortable for your personality.

Some karma will be judged too difficult to complete for now. There is always free choice about when to complete a karma. The choice to complete it is made by essence at the time of initiation of the karma. It will always be completed.

Let us say that you have karma with a Mr. Chang who resides in China, and you live in Brazil. On an essence level you feel an urge to return the good deeds he has done for you in the past that will take a full year to repay. You however have not been able to travel to China and are heavily involved in completing and creating karma in your locality. Mr. Chang is able to visit Brazil for one week and you feel a pull to attend a lecture he is giving in a nearby city. You go out of your way to see him even though the topic is not of interest to you. You realize that although you are strongly attracted to him you will not be able to complete the karma in this life because of his short stay.

Such flirting with karma is a common experience and happens all the time. On the other hand, if Mr. Chang announced that he would be in the vicinity for several years, the pull to complete the karma would be almost irresistible.

Sexual attraction is one of the greatest facilitators of karma. When an imbalance exists between two people there is a strong essence-driven impetus to balance the record sheet. However, personality may sense a possible danger and wish to avoid the situation. Strong sexual attraction will make this avoidance less likely. For example, if you embezzled a large sum of money from Marsha in an earlier lifetime and you suddenly run into Marsha in this lifetime you may want to run and hide. You sense that she has come to collect. However if you are distracted by the fact that Marsha is now a beautiful blonde, your very type, then your lust will lead you directly into the karma. How convenient.

You may later wonder how you ever could have gotten involved with her after she has divorced you and taken your house and car in repayment.

Karma and Time

How long does karma last? Is there a time limit or a way to speed it up? The answer is not a simple one. Sometimes karma lasts only for a few seconds, such as a short intense pain; other times karma can last a whole lifetime, such as having a benevolent aunt who constantly looks out for you for many years. In another vein, a foe can cause you the loss of your arm early in life, a handicap that can last for decades. The length of the karmic experience is directly in proportion to the length of the first incident. If you deprive someone of the use of their legs for twenty years then this becomes a twenty-year karma. If you cut short someone’s life by one year then your own life will be cut short by one year in a later life. If you raise an orphan with kindness and generosity for twelve years then you will be repaid with a twelve-year kindness.

Balance then, is the name of the game. However, you can drag karma on, escalate it or creatively manipulate it according to the experiences and lessons desired by all parties involved. In order for karma to be truly complete, everyone involved must acknowledge the completion of it at an essence level. Karma can be such a delicious source of growth and lessons that often all parties would rather refuse to recognize the repayment and generate more karma instead. The karma builds and becomes more intense lifetime after lifetime, until ultimately the lesson of forgiveness is learned.

Sometimes a person will feel an intense tug to repay a karmic debt that they owe you. You may recoil at their appearance and try to avoid them based on past painful experience. This is like saying “Oh no! Not you again! I’m getting out of here!” So the chase is on until the debt is repaid. However, people are not always successful at repaying the karma. For example, Tom may owe Susan for abandonment one lifetime. Men they meet again the intention is to repay the debt. Nevertheless Tom may get cold feet at the prospect of being abandoned and instead repeat the original offense by abandoning Susan all over again. The karma then has just escalated. Small wonder then that some people get skittish when they see their old enemy show up.

The question arises “Am I about to be repaid or am I about to be burned again?” The game of cat and mouse can go on for centuries. Again, in the end, all is forgiven, balanced, and completed. Occasionally you play the game of “Who can be the most generous?” lifetime after lifetime, by building karma of a positive nature with someone. On the other hand, old souls wishing to cycle off the planet become adept at completing karma efficiently and creatively, sometimes accomplishing several at the same time.

Authors Details: José Stevens

Feng Shui Tip for October 11 – ‘It’s My Party Day’!

Today is called ‘It’s My Party Day’ — and I’ll cry if I want to! You would cry too if it happened to you! At least that’s how that sad old song goes. If your own engagement party just ain’t happening, than maybe it’s time for a little marriage-minded Shui. According to this philosophy, the ‘god of marriage’ named Chieh Lin lives among the stars. In fact, this god is none other than the old man in the moon and he is said to be responsible for all weddings that take place between mortal men. To activate some romance luck inside your own soul mate’s ready space, display a painting, image or photo of the full moon in the ‘Romance’ area of your bedroom, along with a pair of champagne glasses tied together with red cord. Displaying these symbols on the day of the full moon is considered highly auspicious. Now go out and get yourself someone really special to put a smile on your face. Because it’s your party and there’s no crying allowed!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Feng Shui Tip for Oct. 10 – ‘Bring Your Teddy Bear to….’

On ‘National Bring Your Teddy Bear To Work and School Day’ let’s look at what Feng Shui says can happen when you leave any symbol of a bear at home. This philosophy states that any symbol of a bear can be used as an energetic protector of your home, especially if placed immediately inside the main entrance. Bears symbolize strong energies, courage and potency. Secret Shui says you can prevent your home from being broken into or robbed by keeping a representation of a bear in your ‘Helpful People’ area. Other secret Shui says that positioning an image or symbol of a bear in the ‘Children’ area can promise the birth of a strong and healthy boy. So if you don’t bring your Teddy to work or school today, leave them at home to protect your hearth.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com