Daily Feng Shui News for Aug. 5th – 'Work Like A Dog Day'

You might want to paws to reflect on today’s ‘Work Like A Dog Day’ energies before enacting a ‘secret’ Feng Shui cure that promises to make work a lot more empowering and enjoyable. Whether in a cubicle or an office, this philosophy says that you should always draw your eye to your ‘lucky’ corner. Find the corner opposite your entryway and place something beautiful or inspiring there. This could be as simple as a flowering plant or even inspirational, like a picture of a mentor. Here’s a helpful hint: Placing a favorite lamp or decorative mirror here will make your space appear larger while also activating the auspicious energies associated with this lucky corner.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Calendar of the Moon for August 5th

Calendar of the Moon

6 Coll

Ganesha’s Day

Color: Yellow and green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon cloth of yellow and green place a figure of Ganesh, Indian incense, two yellow candles, and a small stuffed rat. Around the altar have many drums.
Offerings: Saffron rice.
Daily Meal: Indian food, including saffron rice.

Invocation to Ganesha

Call: Hail Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, writer of the Upanishads!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, abundant one who sees that bellies are well-fed!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, protector of your mother!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, beheaded by a lost father!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, lesson of the proud Shiva!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, bringing Shiva to his knees in remorse!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, you of the elephant head!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, you who teach us to look beyond appearances!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, rider of the rat!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, winner of the race by common sense!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, you who teach us to do no more than is necessary!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!
Call: Hail Ganesha, Remover of Obstacles;
May you clear our many paths for us!
Response: Shree Ganeshaaya Namaha!

(This ritual should end in a drum circle that lasts until Akte.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

I haven't left it is just……

goth114

I have been digging through my Spell Books. Yesterday, I got this bright idea I wanted a chatroom for us. So I opened up another tab and did a search. I found several chatrooms but they weren’t what I was looking for. I wanted one to build and put on our site. But that is not the point of the story, I fell into a chatroom that had 4 or 5 individuals in it. And knowing me, you can imagine I started talking away, lol!

One of the girls in there was talking to the host of the chatroom. He wanted to know if she was down that day. She said yes and I couldn’t stand it, I butted in. I wanted to know what was wrong with her. She said she had been depressed since she was 14 years old. A ghost had been visiting her since she was 14 in her dreams. She seemed to never get a good night sleep. I told her that there was  a way of her getting rid of the ghost. She was very interested.

Unfortunately, I was in a hurry and now I feel really bad. I promised her I would return to the chatroom last night and help her. She told me how to bookmark the site where I could find them again. I did or at least I thought I did. I found out last night that there was no chatroom in my favorites.  I forgot something kept interfering yesterday when I was trying to talk to her. I honestly feel this woman is in serious danger. She said the spirit wanted her to go to a church and dig up a book that was buried under it. I told her that wasn’t good at all. To stay far away from that book as possible. I gave her as much advice as I could in a short period of time.

I just feel horrible today. I am hoping she will do a search for me and find me. I used one of my old names in the chat which was TheSweetAbyss. I did tell her I had a blog but not the name. Stupid me! I have helped people before that were haunted by Spirits. But this poor woman, since she was 14, it needed to be stop. Please keep her in your prayers that she will find us and we can end her torment.

I am getting ready to put on some Spirit spells. Just in case you thinks witch – spells – huh, maybe I can do some research and find a spell to get rid of the spell. I sincerely hope my thinking is right. I never let anyone down that I promised to help but oh, brother, I dropped the ball on her.

Again, please keep her in your prayers that she will find her way to us.

Thank you,

Luv & Hugs,

Lady A

Today's Tarot Card for July 26th is The Lovers

The Lovers

Friday, Jul 26th, 2013

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although it has taken on a strictly romantic revision of meaning in some modern decks, traditionally the Lovers card of Tarot reflected the challenges of choosing a partner. At a crossroads, one cannot take both paths. The images on this card in different decks have varied more than most, because we have had so many ways of looking at sex and relationships across cultures and centuries.

Classically, the energy of this card reminded us of the real challenges posed by romantic relationships, with the protagonist often shown in the act of making an either-or choice. To partake of a higher ideal often requires sacrificing the lesser option. The path of pleasure eventually leads to distraction from spiritual growth. The gratification of the personality eventually gives way to a call from spirit as the soul matures.

Modern decks tend to portray the feeling of romantic love with this card, showing Adam and Eve at the gates of Eden when everything was still perfect. This interpretation portrays humanity before the Fall, and can be thought to imply a different sort of choice — the choice of evolution over perfection, or the choice of personal growth through relationship — instead of a fantasy where everything falls into place perfectly and is taken care of without effort.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Your Love Horoscopes for the Weekend of July 26 – 28

Weekend Love Horoscopes

July 26-28: Honesty Is the Best Policy

Jeff Jawer   Jeff Jawer on the topics of love, horoscopes, astrology

Romantic dreams and super-sensitive feelings inspire imagination early on Friday while the Moon is traveling in the gentle waters of tender Pisces. But the courage to act on our ideals strengthens with a lunar entry into rambunctious and impatient Aries in the late afternoon. The desire for instant gratification triggers impulsive behavior and incites hunger for new experiences.

You may feel brave enough now to take the initiative in relationships, yet you can also appear selfish or crude in the eyes of someone more cautious and timid. Fortunately, the Moon’s lovely alignment with the bold Leo Sun that night can attract playful folk who find brash behavior appealing. As long as generosity matches self-interest there’s almost no limit in terms of what you say or do in pursuit of pleasure.

Saturday morning, though, is when the glow of the night before fades away and we’re held accountable for our actions. Relationships could grow testy, but if you’re able to express negative feelings without going too far or can handle constructive criticism, hearts will be healed by this difficult work. Trust is essential to turn hard, cold reality into the warmth of intimacy and affection that makes partnerships worthwhile.

Being honest without falling into guilt, blame or shame invites a glorious Sunday morning that’s ideal for indulging in a sensuous breakfast in bed or an extravagant brunch somewhere special. Showering the one you adore with love and appreciation is a delightful way to spend the day.

Goddess Grant You Peace & Relaxation This Weekend, Dear Brothers & Sisters!

Wishing you and yours a very Blessed and Relaxing Weekend!

Walk out in the woods or forest and take a mini-retreat. Really you don’t have to go out in the woods, got a quiet place in the house? Use it! You will be amazed how you will feel afterwards. Letting go of all your emotions, anger and anything that has upset you since your last retreat. You need to take one a least every  month. It helps to draw you closer to the Goddess. And being a child of Her’s, She is delighted when we try to make that connection.

Have a very blessed weekend, my brothers and sisters,

Love ya,

Lady A


 

Let’s talk Witch – Wild Magick

Gothic Comments

Let’s talk Witch – Wild Magick

Wild Magick The definition of Wild Magick is very broad. Essentially, the Wild Witch seeks to defend nature, deepen her understanding of the wild, use this understanding as a spiritual tool, and then educate others regarding the state of the earth and how to preserve it. That’s a pretty big job, but one that many Witches, Wiccans, and Neo-Pagans embrace. Wild Magick deals specifically with those moments when the “wild” world touches our nine-to-five reality in intimate ways. Animals represent a big part of that picture, especially the Witch’s pets and familiars. Try the following strategy, a type of “wild” divination that relies on reading signs: Observe your pet’s behavior with visitors in your home. It might give you some insights about your visitors you wouldn’t otherwise get on your own, perhaps because animal reactions are based on instinct.

Outside the home, Wild Magick transforms a bit, especially when you’re in a natural environment. For example, if a Witch observes gulls circling above a group of fisherman with their daily catch, he might gather up a stray feather and add it to his power pouch, in order to inspire extended vision, especially when hunting (figuratively). This, too, is Wild Magick: taking a gift from nature and applying it positively to your spiritual life.

The Only Book of Wiccan Spells You’ll Ever Need (The Only Book You’ll Ever Need) Singer, Marian; MacGregor, Trish

The Magick of Life

The Magick of Life

Author:   Crick 

Have you ever taken a moment to notice the magick of life?

While walking along a country road, the reeds off to the side begin to waver to and fro. Is there a Sylph at play? Or is it Father Time heaving a sigh as he passes through?

Have you ever had the pleasure of listening to an old bullfrog bellowing out the blues? A grand old song of love lost and of love yet to be realized. An adage of life presented by way of the lyrics of nature in a symphonic way.

Have you watched as a caterpillar goes wafting along a rough barked tree? She is a beautiful metamorphous in motion, a budding mystery waiting to transform into a colorful and majestic form. From earth to sky, a wonderful delight forever touching our souls. The magick of life in a brief expanse of titillating color.

Have you ever noticed mother spider silently gazing over her web of silken strands. A superb artisan as she quietly guards the doorway to a special realm. Hers is an ancient lesson in patience. Sitting off to the side as a master shaman stealthily traverses from this realm to that using the glistening web as a mystic gateway into orbs of awareness floating about just beyond our senses.

Have you listened to the crescendo of a community of crickets as they sing in unison? First softly then loudly, then softly again, never missing a beat. An exercise in harmony, an everlasting bond of harmony. An awareness of their surroundings woven into the tapestry of their opera.

Such is the magick of life.

Have you ever noticed tiny dewdrops glistening like little diamonds clinging to the tall green blades of grass? An Undine child in the making perhaps as Father Sun draws them up into his warm embrace. Or perhaps a treasure forever in the making and yet never to be harvested.

Have you ever watched as a solitary leaf floats lazily out of the sky? Going this way and that and yet with a sure purpose. Directed by the currents of the breeze, much like life that is influenced by the changing winds of society. And yet a steady yet unseen goal looms before it.

Have you ever watched as a mother bird feeds her young? A bond of love stronger then steel and yet undetected by the human eye. The continuation of life, a magick ever so strong. For love can lead to birth as well as to death.

And so the wheel turns.

Have you ever watched as a black snake silently slithers across a path? A symbol of evil to some and yet seldom seen. Misunderstandings leading to fear, spiraling about in the darkness of ignorance. And yet knowledge will bring you back to the depths of understanding. And such awareness leads to tranquility and peace.

For such is the magick of life.

Have you ever watched a busy colony of ants? Oh the magick that resides within. A common purpose and involvement by all. No obstacle too great. No task too small. Surely lessons here to be learned by those who seek out such mysteries.

For the magick of life offers lessons not to be seen nor heard but to be felt and absorbed when we open up our hearts. Some teach that humans tower above nature. But as pagans it’s our way to be as one with life. For nature is life and the magick that she offers transcends all such misguided beliefs.

Have you noticed?

Deep within the forest, mother bruin lies within the embrace of hibernation, new life forming within her womb. An ancient ritual practiced through the ages. Have you ever wondered about her dreams as she sleeps through the frigid months of winter?
Now that is the magick of life.

Have you ever stood at the waters edge and watched as a mighty fish comes bursting through the surface of its watery domain? Perhaps it is carrying a message of truth and wisdom from He who resides in the murky depths.

Awaken witch, to the wonders of this realm. Listen to all that your ancestors knew to be true. Perhaps it is telling you to shake off the detritus of the mind and to feel with your heart that which is your destiny to experience as a pagan.

Far too long such knowledge has been suppressed by man; let nature be your ears and eyes.

Have you ever listened to the lone cry of a coyote during the moon lit night? A primal reaction to an awareness that has always been and will always be. Shaman quietly smiles in acknowledgement as his brother bids him welcome.

Such, my friend, is the magick of life.

Have you ever come upon the empty shell of a cicada clinging silently to a tree?

It would appear that death in place of life is in evidence; however a metamorphism onto a greater reality is the result of such an event. For death is the balance that creates life, one without the other is an energy, which has not come full circle, a partial reaction to what must be in order to be complete.

Have you ever sat amidst a field on the edge of dusk as an owl goes gliding quietly by? Some would say a witch in flight. Striking fear into its potential prey as it wings by on its deadly mission. And yet even fear has its place in the magick of life.

As pagans of whatever path, we too have something to contribute to the cacophony of magick that swirls all about us like a silent mist contained within the fog of reason.

Freeing our minds from the shackles of fears and insecurities that such knowledge brings to those who are not of pure heart is a step forwards towards such a contribution.

Acknowledging that such wisdom is within our ability to accept is a gift of awareness and acceptance that has been sorely lacking by so many of our species.

Throw off the blinders of prejudice and ignorance and allow yourself to be a student of life.

For the path of the pagan is truly the magick of life.

Let’s Talk Witch – Candle Magick

goth114

Let’s Talk Witch – Candle Magick

It is important to know that you do not have to have elaborate spells prepared for most candle magick. If you have good visualization skills, or would like to add a candle spell to an existing spell you have prepare, it’s as easy as lighting the appropriate candle and stating your intent. What you do want to keep in mind, is that you should always combine as many elements as possible in your magick. Do your research — use the appropriate colors and herbs to enhance your magickal experience. Always be sure to set the mood in your magickal space. Be sure to have a clean and safe environment prepared when casting. All of this will contribute to your magickal experience, and help to effectively cast successful magick.

Another effective way to ensure added results is to always carve your name and astrological sign on the candle, to personalize it. Add as much detail to every spell you perform and create spells that are your own. There is no greater spell than the one you create. Meditate create and succeed. Magick is everything you are, and everything you place into it. Your energy and time, will create the perfect spell.

Always Remember

Gothic Comments

Always Remember

To KNOW:  Know yourself, know your craft. Research your spells, apply all your knowledge

To WILL:  Focus your mind, your power and inner being.

To DARE:  Believe in your spells and all you do with Positive thought and intent. All this is energy you place in the universe.

To REMAIN SILENT:  Speak not of your spells….for every thought placed into your magick, your magick is affected.

May The Goddess Bless You On This Glorious Tuesday!

Goddess Comments & Graphics
Dearest Goddess,

Anything that is evil to us,

Or that may witness against us

Where we shall longest be,

Illume it to us,

Obscure it to us.

Banish it from us,

Root it out of our hearts,

Ever, evermore, everlastingly.

Ever, evermore, everlastingly.

So Mote It Be.

Ancient Celtic Prayer

Author Unknown

A Vacation Spell

A Vacation Spell

For a change of pace you may want to try using some magic to decide the best destination for a quick get away. You will need a pendulum and a map. Narrow down your choices to between three and five destinations and spread the map in front of you. First, as the pendulum to show you a “no” answer and a “yes” answer. When you have determined which way it swings for yes and no, hold it over each sight. Ask aloud if this would be a good place for your vacation. The pendulum will swing giving you a yes or no answer. If the pendulum swings in circles or vibrates wildy, avoid that location. When the pendulum answers yes to one or more locations you have your destinations!

Purification Ritual for New Magical Tools

Purification Ritual for New Magical Tools

by Jame Kambos

Whenever you buy a new tool for magical workings it is important that the tool is purified. This is a simple purification ritual that I use to cleanse my new magical tools:

Ingredients:

caldron or any heat-proof dish

dandelion leaf

wormwood

sage

Ignite the herbs and let them smolder awhile. As the smoke curls about you pass your tool through the smoke and say:

“Smoke rise, Let me be wise. This (name of tool) is cleansed.  

I will use it only for good.”

The item is now ready to use!

Full Moon Scrying Ritual

Full Moon Scrying Ritual

The upcoming summer months are the perfect time for Full Moon Scrying and I’d like to pass on an old, time honored scrying ritual originally written by D.J. Conway that I have used many times during the long summer nights:

Items Needed:

1 bright, shiny silver coin

1 small, black cauldron or scrying bowl filled with water

Perform this ritual outside where the rays of the Moon can fall directly onto the water in the cauldron. If you cannot go outside, stay in a darkened room near a window that the Moon shines through. Place the coin in the water and take the cauldron in both hands. Gaze up at the Moon and say:

“Lovely Lady of the night,  
Mysteries old and futures bright,  
Give me a glimpse of that to be  
And as I will so mote it be.”

Look down at the coin shimmering in the cauldrons water. With your eyes half closed, adjust your vision as if you were looking into and through the coin. Don’t try to analuze anything you might see or that might come into your mind. Just accept it. Some people, rathar than seeing actual pictures within the cauldron, will have mental impressions, feelings or pictures. When you have finished, bow to the Moon and say thank you. Pour the water out on the ground. You’re done!

Daily Feng Shui News for July 22 – 'Sunflowers'

This is a month where sunflowers are growing in abundance as they slant their golden visages up to the shining sun. Ancient lore tells that if you take one seed from the center of a sunflower, make a wish upon it and then eat it, your wish will come true. Now you can grow your dreams and make them shine too.

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Tower of White Light Protection

Tower Of White Light

A Spell Of Protection

The Tower of White Light is a visualization exercise in both the magick and psychic versions. It is a general protection construct, allowing no harm/evil to cross it’s boundary.

The Tower in either version is visualized as a pure white light of blinding intensity. It should be thought of as so intense as to be painful to look at but cause no pain to you.

Preparation:

Find a quiet spot where you won’t be disturbed and are comfortable. As you become more adept at visualization you will find that you can set up the Tower virtually anywhere.

Now if you like you can meditate, chant, or whatever you like to get ready to begin visualization. Some people use this time to dedicate their actions to or invoke their diety.

Visualization (for both versions):

Visualize yourself (or whoever or whatever you want protected) then visualize the Tower of White Light surrounding you (or whatever) completely. It is important that there be no breaks in the Tower. It should be solid and without seam.

Now come the difference between magick and psychic. In the psychic version you should visualize the Tower as emanating from your solar plexus (or the center of your body) and expanding to encompass your body.

In the magick version you should visualize the Tower as emanating from the center of the universe (or from your diety) and coming down to and encompassing your body.

After seeing the Tower formed and in place, know that no harm/evil can cross it’s boundary. This is a necessary step as it gives the construct it’s purpose. Without a purpose it is no more than gathered energy, like a battery, with no purpose.

Hold the image as long as you can up to 5 to 10 minutes.

As you end the visualization know that the Tower is still there and still protects you until you chose to cancel it. At some point in each day visualize the Tower and know that it has been there and is still there and again know that no evil/harm can cross it’s boundary. This revitalizes the Tower and keeps it strong.

A reminder. The Tower in either version can be use to protect other people or even places. It just depends on your skill at visualization.

GOOD MORNING, WOTC! How Are Ya' Today?

Goddess With Me

Goddess with me
Goddess before me
Goddess behind me
Goddess in me Goddess beneath me
Goddess above me Goddess on my right
Goddess on my left
Goddess when I lie down
Goddess when I arrive
Goddess in the heart of everyone who thinks of her
Goddess in the mouth of everyone who speaks of her
Goddess in every eye that sees her
Goddess in every ear that hears her

Types of Magic Practitioners

Types of Magic Practitioners

 

White Magician Expert of Protective and Purifying Spells. Forwarded most notably by the New Age movement, it focusses on the use of the “White Light”, protection, protective auras, stasis, cleansing, suppression of discord, and working on the mystic level to sustain and strengthen ethereal structure.

Black Magician Master of Manipulating Entropy. Grounded in the application of the laws of thermodynamics, the nature of decay, radiation, the effect of emotion on the body, and civil engineering and/or anatomy.

Psi Mage Expert at Psychic and Mental Control. Studying recommendations include telepathy, telekinesis, magnetism, secular and occult empathy, general psychology, emotion, motivation, hypnotism, cognitive processing, consciousness, states of awareness, sleep deprivation, learning, decision making, group dynamics, “Zen” concept, and other aspects of psychological classification and analysis.

Nature Mage Master of Nature and Natural Forces. Stressing the relationship between sound and plant growth, holistic medicine, botany, ley lines, earth spirits, photosynthesis, and astrological, minerological, and magnetic influences on earth.

Enchanter Expert at Enhancing Objects, People, or Areas. Employs a working understanding of vibratory rates, radioactive decay, music, energy impressions, quantum and magnetic resonance, body conductivity, and Ayurvedic philosophy.

Elementalist Expert of Controlling the Four Elements, and Influencing Weather. Studies the nature of natural phenomenon (electricity, heat, cold, wind), biochemistry, composition philosophies (Heraclitus, Anaximenes, Thales, Empedocles, Xenobius, etc), body composition, thermodynamics, natural entropical disarray, and physical laws of attraction and repulsion.

Diviner Expert of Future and Fortune telling. Heavy study in the mathematics of randomization, probability, chance, psychology, deja vu, precognition, instinct, sixth sense, visions, dreams, self-fulfilling prophecy, chaos theory, game theory, sociology, group psychology, identification and interpretation of patterns, and free-energy theory.

Summoner Expert at Summoning Spirits or Entities. Academia for this art includes telemetry, attempts at long-distance telepathic communication, vibrational states, dimensional theory, multiple personalities, schizophrenia, possession, multiversal theory, the Ethereal realm,thought-forms, and the nature of the Mind. There are a great many ritual texts worth reading as well.

Life Mage Expert at Manipulating and Sustaining Life Force. Emphasis on anatomy, biology, kinesiology, alternative healing methods, herbology, theories of life force, chakras, meridians, acupressure, acupuncture, reiki, ethereal body, medicine, Breathism, and chi as vitality.

Necromancer Expert at Manipulating Death Essences. Focussing on dim mak, animal biology, study of chi, toxicology, viriology, bacteriology, immunology, the Kreb cycle, phosphorylation, free radicals, anatomy, psychological effects on the body, the nature of hallucination, auric poisoning, “miasma” concept, acupuncture theory, lou channels, chakras, life meridians, medical biochemistry, and death deities.

Sorcerer Expert Manipulator of the Twilight Realm. Focussing on interpretational abstractions, geometry, Jewish “hell” concept (abyss), pre- and post-Christian “hell” concept (both Greek), the nature of emotion, multiversal theory, lucid dreaming, astral projection, the nature of physical interpretation (the five senses + sixth), Eastern “void” concept, dimensional theory, meditative trances, trance states, and physics related to holographic reality models.

Wizard Expert Manipulator of the Astral Planes. Focussing on non-Euclidian geometry, geometry, mathematics, multiversal theory, astral projection, astral forms, dimensional theory, the nature of perception, meditative trances, trance states, and physics.

Celestial Mage Calls on Deities to Intervene. Relevant studies include history of religion, cultural sociology, historical sociology, anthropology, history of religion, theology, High Magic, the bible, the koran, the Keys of Solomon, the Sacred Magic of Abramelin the Mage, John Dee’s Angel studies, Johannes Trithemius, shamanism, Intelligent Design theory (ID), and examinaton of other various holy writs and mythologies.

Satanic Magician Expert of Manipulating and Expressing Internal Forces. Pertains to LaVeyan “Satanic Magic”, Luciferianism, thought-forms, chaos theory, mind over matter, nature of perception, chakras, cause and effect principles in open systems, “crimson” magic as per CoS, self-fulfilling prophecy, and specific emphasis on microcosmic effect on macrocosms.

Luna’s Grimoire

Learning Anything

LEARNING ANYTHING

One of the most important skills you will ever learn in your life is learning
which questions to ask and when to ask them.

You will never learn how to do much of anything in your life if you do not learn
how to ask questions, and not only that, but to question the answers you get in
return.

For instance, “I want to learn about wicca,” is not a question. It is a statement.

“Teach me about wicca,” is also not a question. It is a command, even if you add
the word please.

Think about what you really want to ask. “Can you teach me about wicca?”

Ok, you’re getting closer to the question you really want answered. “Will you teach me about wicca?”

Even closer, but the topic at hand is a large one.

Look for where you actually want to start learning.

Good questions to start working with are “What makes wicca different from other paths?” or perhaps, “What is the first thing I should learn to start my journey of learning about wicca?”

These last two questions are good questions because they are specific and and
give the person you are talking with an idea of what you are actually interested
in learning.

Here’s another example.

I want to learn how to bake bread.

First of all I find someone that knows how (the right person).

Then I wait until they have the time to help me and a place ready to show me how to bake bread.

I try to read up a little ahead of time if I can and show up well rested and
ready to learn hopefully without any preconceptions (the right time).

Now I could ask them what the chemical structure of bread is, or why it browns
when it bakes or what type of butter to use on it, but none of these are very
good questions to help me towards my goal of learning how to bake bread.

True it might be useful information, but I can always learn the answers to those
questions later once I have learned the basics.

So my first questions are, “What are the ingredients we use?” and “How do we
start?,” two specific and useful questions.

A good question asked at the right time to the right person helps the person answering it almost as much as it helps the person asking it.

If the person you are asking questions to has no idea of your level of knowledge of the subject or your specific area of interest at the moment they cannot help you nearly as well as they could if they knew these things.

Good questions are one way of helping a person understand what you want to know and what level of difficulty you want it explained at.