Tag: Religion and Spirituality

My Body is a Temple.

Author: Aiko Ren 

I write this to express my gratitude. I have always felt ‘less than’… something was missing. At a very young age, I turned to drugs to fill my void. I was a dirty junkie who could care less about myself. The statement ‘the body is a temple’ made no sense to me. I don’t want to get explicated but, in order for someone to understand my bottom, I have to share it. I had horrible hardships in my life. Some were a direct consequence of my drug use; others were because I was a victim. I would bruise my body injecting drugs and I would sleep around to obtain the next hit. I was raped several times, which caused me to lose faith in everyone and everything. I didn’t understand how there could be any good in the world if such horrible things could happen. I was always looking at things negatively. I was sick and tired of being sick and tired. I was at the end of the road. It was either get clean and change, or die.

My clean date is May 11th 2010. When I surrendered my addiction, I started to look for a higher power. This was hard for me at first because my views were so different then everyone else’s’. I felt like no one understood my beliefs. I started to read about the Craft, first out of curiosity. The more I learned about Wiccan ways, the more I learned about myself. I started to understand the saying my body is ‘a temple’. I started to see all the good in the universe. I started to meditate and became driven to better myself. Today, I do the next right thing because that is the right thing to do. Wicca has brought hope into my life.

Even though I am new to living this path, I feel like I found my home. The feeling I received when I got clean is very similar to finding my higher power. I love myself today. I am a loyal girlfriend. I am a respectable daughter. I am a good friend. I am a witch. When I started to dedicate my life to the Craft instead of just reading about it, I was nervous about what others would think. This is a character defect of mine. I am a people pleaser. Once again I was thinking about what others wanted instead of what I wanted.

In the beginning, I was hiding it from everyone I knew; similar to how I hid my addiction. I was telling people I was at my friend’s house when I was really at my local metaphysical shop. I took out library books on Wicca and hid them from my family. I hid my ritual supplies under my bed. I felt guilty about this. I felt like I was ashamed of something. I have read about how society views Wicca and how some choose to hide their beliefs… but I didn’t want to be one of them. (I wasn’t going to tell random strangers, ‘hey I am a witch’ but I at least wanted to tell my family and my close friends.)

I finally came to the decision that a Wiccan was what I wanted to be and I started to take steps to become one. I began to read books in front of my family. As I continued to learn, I also educated them about Wicca. When they finally got over the whole, “why are you reading that devil worshipping stuff, ” and realized what Wicca really meant, they were accepting. This allowed me to practice the craft without feeling like I was lying to the world. When I finally shared it with my family and my close friends, it opened new opportunities. I started to search passionately for guidance. I shared with a close friend my newfound life and found out that she too follows the same path. I started e-mailing other people on this website to start building a support network.

I want to share a little bit more about how my family’s perspective on Wicca. At first, they were completely clueless about anything. They were afraid, thinking that I was dabbing in evil things. Then they believed that I was going to put spells on the family and try to make them turn to toads or something. The more they saw how happy and dedicated I was though, the more accepting they became.

I do not know much ‘about’ Wicca, but I ‘feel’ Wicca. (If that makes sense) I understand there are fundamentals, however I also believe it’s up to one ’s self to figure it out. I believe in practicing on your own, even though the joy of sharing it with someone seems so powerful.

I am writing this article not only to show my gratitude towards my newfound path but also to give a “newcomer’s” view. I am sharing my experience, strength, and hope to maybe touch someone else who is struggling. Maybe I will find someone who can help me. All I know is I had an overwhelming desire to write this article, and usually that means something.

Since I decided to follow the Craft I have a new perspective on life. I find gratitude in the small things. I have a renewed sense of the universe. Nature looks greener to me. Things that were once puzzling now make sense. The desire to find myself has always been a struggle for me, even before I picked up drugs. By following this path, by collecting knowledge, and by practicing, I am finding myself. I could continue on and on about how my life has changed since I made the decision to become a witch, but I know as you are reading this you are probably looking back on your life and feeling the same way. Our stories might be very different, but the feelings are the same.

I believe there are many paths to the same destination. Everyone can follow a different path and have a different story, but the universe brings us together for a reason. And that is powerful stuff.

Blessed be. Let the Goddess and God be with you.

Blindfolding the Inner Eye: The Ethics of the Second Sight

Author: LoneWolfTarot

There are lots of books and resources on psychic abilities. There are many different guides to expand your skills and increase your inner sight. However, many of them neglect a most basic aspect: when NOT to use it! That’s right… not how to see more clearly but how to not see at all.

There are times when being able to see is a great gift, but where do you draw the line? How do you keep yourself from becoming the spiritual equivalent of a peeping tom? As a tarot reader, dream walker, and clairvoyant, this is a line I have had to learn to walk very carefully but it worries me that so few places cover this fundamental subject. So I have compiled a list of some basic guidelines for those who want to learn to use their psychic gifts to the fullest.

1) Be specific! When you are trying to see for someone, be very specific in what you ask for. Don’t just aim to see their lives in general, but; instead make sure you are narrowing your focus on the particular issue and only on that issue. If you ask for guidance before you use your gifts, then ask Spirit to show you only what you need to answer the question.

2) Never do a third party reading. In other words, never read for someone regarding someone else. Generally the motives for asking you to pry into the other person’s life are far from pure. If you do not have the consent of the other person, then using your gifts to see into their lives is an invasion of privacy. I do however have two exceptions to this rule: First, if it is parents asking about their own minor child. As the guardian for the child, they have the right to ask. Secondly, relationship readings… and even then I am very careful to ask to see only things that directly impact the client.

3) Find a test subject! I get a lot of people asking me how they are supposed to practice if they can’t “look in” on anyone without their permission. Easy. Find friends who don’t mind you practicing on them… or join an online/local group and ask for volunteers. You will be surprised how many people will be happy to let your practice on them.

4) If the subject makes you uncomfortable, don’t look into it. If you would feel wrong discussing the situation in person, then it definitely is not proper to use your gifts to see into the situation from afar.

5) Never use your gifts to see purely for curiosity’s sake. These gifts come with responsibilities; too many people treat them as if they are some sort of game. You have the very real potential to cause a lot of harm to a person by seeing into things that are none of your business.

6) Never use your gifts to see into the lives of others with the intention of using that information against them in any way – even if it is just to “help”. The road to hell is paved with good intentions.

7) Be wary of those who would use you. There are people out there lacking a clear-cut sense of ethics who would love to get their hands on someone with the ability to see.

This is just a basic set of guidelines. You will have to discover your own more personal rules as you go along. There is another set of considerations that also must be taken into account. What happens when you do see more that you need to? What happens when something comes up in a reading that you are not sure should be brought into the light of day?

As an example, I once did a reading for someone on a relationship problem. Everything went along just swimmingly until I looked into where their issues were coming from. Then I got more information than I needed, and a lot more information than I wanted. It was a tarot reading and the cards screamed of an abusive childhood and more traumas than I knew how to deal with.

I didn’t know what to do. Do I mention what I was seeing? Do I risk bringing up something so painful and potentially damaging? The trauma is at the heart of their relationship problem, and they are asking specifically about the cause of the problem… do I have the right to NOT tell them part of their answer? Do I have the right to bring that up at all?

In the end, I very carefully spoke of what I was seeing in the most general terms I could think of. I felt that I needed to tell them something, to at least point in the general direction of their childhood but I didn’t want to go too far into it for fear of opening wounds. So I sort of glossed over it and hoped they would pick up the hint. Not perhaps the best solution but the best I had at a moment’s notice. As it happens they did pick up the hint – and gave me permission to gently tell them in more detail what I saw.

I hadn’t really thought of it before that event – but during a reading we are often put into the position of counselor. This person has come to you for guidance, often with very personal problems and you need to treat it as such. The problem is that we ARE NOT THERAPISTS.

Few people who go into doing readings of whatever type for people are also licensed counselors, and when something truly painful appears in what we see, often referring them to someone who is, is the best that we can do. Yet we deal with much the same issues, and often we end up put into that position whether we like it or not. So walk carefully, and err on the side of caution. Just by the act of looking into that person’s life, we are altering it. Treat your gifts with the respect and caution that they deserve.

Is Wicca Dead?

Author: Helio

It seems like an odd thing to me, and I’m sure to many others, that some would claim that Wicca is dead or dying. But I have heard this from at least a few members of the Craft. Strange to think of Wicca, the fastest growing of the rapidly growing Neopagan religions, as being doomed to die in the near future. I have received different opinions for ‘why Wicca is dying’ and ‘what the fate of Wicca will be’.

More than a few Wiccan elders who have expressed this sentiment to me are just simply disheartened by what they view as a lack of progress made in and for Wicca over the past few decades. These elders, I think, believed that there would be a great unity in the Craft and that Wicca and Neopaganism would make great social progress. Many of these Wiccan elders have also seen the rise and fall of covens and friendships between witches. And so if asked the fate of Wicca, they would respond that there would be no future for Wicca. Neopaganism in general will fail as a religious movement.

I have heard from other Wiccans that Wicca is dying do to a lack of central authority. And this I have heard from Witches who are not members of any tradition! I’ve found that some of those I’ve heard this from have backgrounds in Catholicism, so perhaps they are used to the idea of the papacy as a central authority. But the whole reason why many come to the Craft is I>because of the lack of central authority. The Craft teaches self-reliance. I think some of my fellow Crafters have forgotten this.

I have also heard that Wicca has become too public. ‘No one wants to stay in the broom closet anymore like a good witch should’. Oh My! I think those who hold this sentiment may still be holding on to past life feelings of persecution. But if this is an age of religious tolerance, and Judeo-Christian beliefs are no longer supposed to operate in the secular domain, then we have no reason to hide or fear being burned at the stake. Wicca needs to be open if we are to show the world that we are not dangerous.

There are also those who see the rapid rise of solitary witchcraft and the collapse of covens as evidence of Wicca’s impending doom. I have never felt that it ‘takes a Witch to make a Witch’ but certainly there are some who could use a bit more experience before they declare themselves a Witch. I know there are plenty of solitaries who don’t really know the Craft as much as they should and that they may sometimes suffer from hubris, but it is the right of every Wiccan to explore the Craft personally and without a coven. I think covens are great, but for some people a coven just doesn’t work, and I feel there are some who use the coven structure to make themselves feel more important and powerful. We all know there is no place for tyrants in a coven structure.

Now unlike the belief that Wicca will die and cease to exist, I have found those who believe Wicca is dying but that it will develop into a new religion, or religions. I somewhat share this sentiment, but I don’t think Wiccan witchcraft will just cease to be. And if Wicca is to become something else then it is not dying, it is evolving. All religious movements evolve. There are many who would point out that modern Wicca is ‘not the Wicca of sixty years ago’, and this is because of a natural evolution in the religion.

I feel that part of the reason for this whole ‘Wicca is dead’ thing seems to be that Wicca and Neopaganism have failed in the last sixty years to supersede western society’s Judeo-Christian dominance. I know that there are many screaming at me after reading that last line. ‘The point of Wicca isn’t to supersede Christianity! All faiths lead to the same source!’ But I have not yet met the Crafter who didn’t hold some level of anti-Christian sentiment. I’ve found that much of the ‘Wicca has failed’ belief comes from those Wiccans who experienced the great social and spiritual revolutions of the late sixties and seventies. At the time it must have seemed like Neopaganism would become a powerful social force by the turn of the millennium. Its failure to become so has soured the movement for some.

It may not seem like it for many, but Wicca’s ability to suddenly go from a few dozen followers to thousands (or millions) of followers in only half a century is an amazing achievement. It is a direct parallel of early Christianity’s rise from a few dozen believers in 30 C.E. to hundreds or thousands by 150 C.E. Wicca has perhaps grown twice as fast in half the time thanks to television, the Internet, and especially, modern printing and publishing. Most new religious movements do not rise out of the underground in their first hundred years.

Is Wicca dead? Has Wicca failed in some way?

No one ever said being a Witch is easy. Some of my elders may find me youthfully naïve, but in the six years that I have been in the Craft, I have found a vast, vibrant, though mostly underground, community that is ever growing and evolving to meet the needs of its followers.

I can definitely say Wicca is very far from taking its last breaths.

Feng Shui Tip for June 3rd – “National Repeat drry

What’s that you say? Oh, it’s ‘National Repeat Day,’ a perfect time to repeat some sacred words that can bring blessings, health, and abundance into our lives! For the next nine days repeat (either silently or aloud) this affirmation three times upon awakening, three times at midday, and thrice before slipping into nightly slumber. Repetition is the name of the energy associated with this day, so let’s use that for all it’s worth. ‘My good is a perfect and permanent idea in Divine Mind, and must manifest for there is nothing to prevent.’ Do I have to say that again? Go ahead and repeat yourself today. You’ll be happy you did!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for June 3rd is 58: Joy

58: Joy

Hexagram 58

General Meaning: A joy that is shared is symbolized by a group of friends playing, or a carefree young girl singing to herself while engaged in her work. Happiness is rising within, and spreading out into the world.

Joy arises through gentle means, but springs from a solid inner base. The power of pure joy should not be underestimated. The enjoyment of learning and discovery, for example, has let to great innovation and much material progress. Accordingly, that which brings the most joy into the world — love — is the source of life itself.

If happiness is supported by personal stability, it will eventually wear down the stiffest barrier and win over the hardest heart. True joy is a beacon in the world, and though it is indeed rare, its presence is an indication of great good fortune, both now and in the future. How could it be otherwise?

Today’s Runes for Sunday, June 3rd is Inguz

 

Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement. Inguz is the rune of completion and fertility. The presence of this rune suggests that tasks which have been initiated will come to fruition. This rune is associated with Ing and Frey, it is this connection that explains its connotations of both fertility and sexuality. The variant of this rune shown here is reminiscent of the twin strands of life, and of the challenge and rewards of bringing together things complimentary.

Today’s Tarot Card for June 3rd is The Devil

The Devil

This Tarot Deck: Folklore

General Meaning: What has traditionally been known as the Devil card expresses the realm of the Taboo, the culturally rejected wildness and undigested shadow side that each of us carries in our subconscious. This shadow is actually at the core of our being, which we cannot get rid of and will never succeed in taming. From its earliest versions, which portrayed a vampire-demon, this card evoked the Church-fueled fear that a person could “lose their soul” to wild and passionate forces.

The image which emerged in the mid-1700’s gives us a more sophisticated rendition — that of the “scapegoated Goddess,” whose esoteric name is Baphomet. Volcanic reserves of passion and primal desire empower her efforts to overcome the pressure of stereotyped roles and experience true freedom of soul. Tavaglione’s highly evolved image (Stella deck) portrays the magical formula for harnessing and transmuting primal and obsessive emotions into transformative energies. As a part of the Gnostic message of Tarot, this fearsome passion and power must be reintegrated into the personality, to fuel the soul’s passage from mortal to immortal.

Today’s Runes for June 2nd is Ken

 

Jade Runes are most commonly used for questions about love, friendship, and relationships. Ken is the rune of light and knowledge, driving away darkness and ignorance and revealing hidden truth. This rune also brings forth images of friendship and comfort. Ken is the light of inspiration, the light of imagination, and a beacon in the darkest hours.

Today’s Tarot Card for June 2nd is Temperance

Temperance

This Tarot Deck: Golden Tarot

General Meaning: What is traditionally known as the Temperance card is a reference to the Soul. Classically female, she is mixing up a blend of subtle energies for the evolution of the personality. One key to interpreting this card can be found in its title, a play on the process of tempering metals in a forge.

Metals must undergo extremes of temperature, folding and pounding, but the end product is infinitely superior to impure ore mined from the earth. In this image, the soul volunteers the ego for a cleansing and healing experience which may turn the personality inside-out, but which brings out the gold hidden within the heart. (This card is entitled “Art” in the Crowley deck.)

Daily OM for June 1 – Recognizing Happiness

Recognizing Happiness
Analyzing the Path

by Madisyn Taylor

 

When we take the time to recognize when we are happy and what that feels like, it becomes easier to recreate. 

Those of us on the path of personal and spiritual growth have a tendency to analyze our unhappiness in order to find the causes and make improvements. But it is just as important, if not more so, to analyze our happiness. Since we have the ability to rise above and observe our emotions, we can recognize when we are feeling joyful and content. Then we can harness the power of the moment by savoring our feelings and taking time to be grateful for them.

Recognition is the first step in creating change, therefore recognizing what it feels like to be happy is the first step toward sustaining happiness in our lives. We can examine how joy feels in our bodies and what thoughts run through our minds in times of bliss. Without diminishing its power, we can retrace our steps to discover what may have put us in this frame of mind, and then we can take note of the choices we’ve made while there. We might realize that we are generally more giving and forgiving when there’s a smile on our face, or that we are more likely to laugh off small annoyances and the actions of others when they don’t resonate with our light mood.

Once we know what it feels like and can identify some of the triggers and are aware of our actions, we can recreate that happiness when we are feeling low. Knowing that like attracts like, we can pull ourselves out of a blue mood by focusing on joy. We might find that forcing ourselves to be giving and forgiving, even when it doesn’t seem to come naturally, helps us to reconnect with the joy that usually precedes it. If we can identify a song, a picture, or a pet as a happiness trigger, we can use them as tools to recapture joy if we are having trouble finding it. By focusing our energy on analyzing happiness and all that it encompasses, we feed, nurture, and attract more of it into our lives, eventually making a habit of happiness.

The Emerald Rose Meditation (Hare Moon)

The Emerald Rose Meditation

(Hare Moon)

Before you go to sleep, turn on meditative music and recline. Take a few deep and complete breaths to center your awareness. Quiet your thoughts and let go of any tension you may be feeling, in your mind’s eye, imagine a beautiful emerald colored rosebud. It is a dream rose, a flower bud more incredible and exquisite than you have ever imagine before. Instantly, a magickal doorway appears as the emerald rosebud opens slowly. You step through the door with your imagination and find yourself in a world of plenty. In this magickal world, you live like a God or Goddess with a carefree heart and immortal spirit. You are free from fear and pain. There is no trouble, problems, heartaches or old age. Your energy is always vital, and you feel wonderful, inspired, and uplifted. You are strong, vital and sensual and you play with the delight of a young child. So many good things are yours. Your life is prosperous and your ideas are fertile and productive. Everything is abundant and unforced, willing and effortless. As you experience this world, a renewed sense of abundance and prosperity fills you. The loving spirit of the divine embraces, guides and illuminates your path to plenty.

Now take another deep, complete breath, and imagine stepping out of the emerald rose in your mind’s eye. Continue relaxing and drift to sleep. As you do, imagine being in the magickal world of plenty.

Lessons In Tarot – Lesson 8(b): The Question Tarot Reading

Lesson 8(b)

The Question Tarot Reading

A Step-By-Step Procedure

Here are the steps for a tarot reading you do for yourself based on a written question. (See lesson 8.)

  1. To begin, have ready:
    1. your written question
    2. your tarot cards
    3. the layout for the spread you have chosen
    4. the card and spread information pages, if desired
  2. Setting the mood
    1. Prepare the environment according to personal preference.
    2. Sit down with some empty space in front of you.
    3. Relax and still your mind. Breathe deeply several times.
  3. Asking your question
    1. Remove cards from container.
    2. Hold cards cupped in one hand. Place other hand on top.
    3. Close your eyes.
    4. Say on opening statement out loud, if you wish.
    5. Read your question out loud, or say it from memory exactly as written.
  4. Shuffling the cards
    1. Shuffle the cards until you feel ready to stop.
    2. Concentrate on your question while shuffling, but without strain.
  5. Cutting the cards
    1. Place cards face down in front of you with short edge toward you.
    2. Cut the deck in one unplanned action as follows:
      1. Grab some number of cards from the complete pile.
      2. Drop this smaller pile to the left.
      3. Grab part of this second pile. Drop this third pile to the left.
      4. Regroup cards into one pile in any fashion.
  6. Laying out the cards
    1. Hold cards in your hand with short edge toward you.
    2. Turn over the top card as you would turn the page of a book.
    3. Lay out cards according to the spread you have chosen.
    4. Turn reversed cards around if you are not using them.
  7. Responding to the cards
    1. Note your responses to individual cards.
    2. Note your response to the whole pattern of cards.
  8. Analyzing the cards
    1. Analyze individual cards:
      1. Find the information page for the card.
      2. Read over keywords and actions.
      3. Look for actions that hit home.
      4. Write down thoughts and feelings, if you wish.
      5. Consider card orientation – upright or reversed?
    2. Analyze card relationships.
    3. Use principles of interpretation.
    4. Note additional insights.
  9. Creating the story
    1. Tell your story spontaneously out loud.
    2. Tape your story, if you wish.
  10. Writing the summary statement
    1. Think about the theme or message in your reading.
    2. Answer your question in a written summary statement (1-2 sentences).
  11. Finishing up
    1. Write down the cards and their positions.
    2. Clear the deck.
    3. Gather the cards together.
    4. Hold cards cupped in one hand. Place other hand on top.
    5. Close your eyes.
    6. Say out loud what you have learned from this reading.
    7. Express gratitude to your Inner Guide.
    8. Put cards back into container.
    9. Restore environment if necessary.
  12. Using what you have learned
    1. Decide on one or two actions to take based on the reading.
    2. Write down intended actions.
    3. Relate developments in situation to the reading.

Lessons In Tarot – Lesson 8(a): Shuffling Methods

Lesson 8(a)

Shuffling Methods

  1. Card Player’s Method
    The Card Player’s Method is commonly used to shuffle everyday playing cards. Hold about half the cards face down in each hand and intermingle them as they drop to the surface of the table. This technique mixes the cards thoroughly, but it can be awkward because most tarot cards are bigger than normal. This method is also hard on your cards. They tend to form a bend in the middle. The Card Player’s Method is effective, but somewhat mechanical in spirit. 
  2. Insertion Method
    Hold about half the deck in each hand, and insert one half in a scattered fashion down through the other half. You can hold the cards on their long or short side. This method is fast, efficient and composed with a lot of hand-to-card contact. Be careful with the edges as they can fray over time. 
  3. Cowie Push/Put Method
    In Tarot for Successful Living, Norma Cowie describes her push/put shuffling method. Her technique thoroughly mixes the cards with maximum hand contact and little or no damage. Hold the deck face down in your dominant hand. Push some cards from the top with your thumb into the other hand. Then, push again, but this time to the bottom of the new pile. Continue alternating a push to the top, then one to the bottom until all the cards have been transferred. At this point, put the entire deck back into your dominant hand and start over. This method can be difficult at first. You may push too many or drop some, but your technique will improve with practice. 
  4. Scrambling Method
    The Scrambling Method is about as basic as you can get. Spread all the cards face down on the floor or table, and start scrambling. This technique creates a good mix with few ill effects on the cards. The main drawback is that you need room. This shuffle also has a rather uncomposed feel which some find undesirable.
To Avoid Reversed Cards: To Encourage Reversed Cards:
Start with your cards all facing the same direction.
Every time you divide the deck before shuffling,
make sure the two piles stay facing the same way.		 Every time you divide the deck before shuffling,
rotate one of the piles 180 degrees.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for May 30 – “Water a Flower Day”

It’s ironic that today would be ‘Water a Flower Day’ since everybody knows that April showers bring May flowers. The floral most associated with this month is the regal magnolia, a tree native to the southern United States. It’s generally acknowledged that spring doesn’t begin until the magnolias bloom, and that splendid beauty and dignity accompanies every opening bud. This flower has long symbolized beauty, perseverance and nobility. Feng Shui has always believed that the white magnolia represents purity, and that a single magnolia tree planted in the front of the house will bring pure contentment and joy. A magnolia tree grown in the back garden is said to symbolize hidden jewels or the gradual accumulation of wealth. But the single greatest Feng Shui cure for using this beautiful flower is to bring a mate or partner who will also bring love everlasting. Placing a pair of magnolia flowers in the Romance area of the main floor or bedroom is believed to attract a mate for life, and a union that will forever bloom and grow. There’s hope worth watering!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com

Today’s Runes for Wednesday, May 30th is Ger

Today’s Runes

Spirit Runes are most commonly used for questions about mysticism, spirituality, and religion. Ger is one of the runes that touches on the cycles of the year, in this case the fall harvest. These cycles are eternal, which is represented in the rune by the fact that it is unchanged by reversal. Ger can represent pregnancy or other forms of fruitfulness, and is especially indicative of the cycles of providence and karma – that which has been sown is now being reaped. This rune can also represent the cycles of wealth, for crops were frequently a sign of wealth.

Today’s Tarot Card for May 30th is Wheel of Fortune

Wheel of Fortune

This Tarot Deck: Connolly

General Meaning: The central theme of what is traditionally called the Wheel of Fortune card is cyclical change. The Wheel keeps on rolling, churning events in a ceaseless progression of ups and downs, either way freeing us from the past. No one can escape its cyclical action, which can feel somewhat terrifying — no matter whether we are rising or falling. When one is balanced on top there is a moment of crystal clarity, but the only part of the Wheel not going up and down is the hub, which is your eternal Self, the Source of Freedom.

Every one of us will occupy all the points on the wheel at some time or another. The cycle of the wheel is its lesson — and we can learn to take comfort in it (as we do when we celebrate our birthday). If you don’t like the look of things right now, just wait — things will change. Of course, if you do like the look of things right now, enjoy it while it lasts, because that will change too!

I Am A Witch

Witchy Comments

I Am A Witch
by Sandi Thomas

When I stand up for myself and my beliefs, they call me a “Witch”.
When I stand up for those I love, they call me a Witch.
When I speak my mind, think my own thoughts, or do things my own way, they call me a Witch.

Being a witch entails raising my children to be strong people
Who have a solid sense of personal and social responsibility

Who are not afraid to stand up for what they believe in
Who love and respect themselves for the beautiful beings they are.

Being a witch means that I am free to be the wonderful creature I am,
With all my own intricacies, contradictions, quirks and beauty.
Being a witch means I won’t compromise what’s in my heart.
It means I live my life MY way. It means I won’t allow anyone to step on me.

When I refuse to tolerate injustice and speak up against it, I am defined as a witch.
The same thing happens when I take time for myself instead of being everyone else’s maid or when I act a little selfish.

I am proud to be a witch! It means I have the courage and strength to allow myself to be who I truly am and won’t become anyone else’s idea of what they think I “should” be.

I am outspoken, opinionated and determined.
By Goddess, I want what I want and there is nothing wrong with that!

So, try to stomp on me, try to douse my inner flame, try to squash every ounce of beauty I hold within me. You won’t succeed.

And if that makes me a witch, so be it. I embrace the title and am proud to bear it. I love this, I can call myself a witch now and not feel bad about it!

SO MOTE IT BE!

Chant For Unlocking The Astral Gates

Syn, good Goddess of Locks and Doors,
Open the gates, I now implore,
Allow me to pass through the astral veil
With speed; grant fair winds to my sail.
And when I’ve gained what I can learn
Grant a hasty, safe return.
 
Everyday Magic
Spells & Rituals For Modern Living
Dorothy Morrison
ISBN 1-56718-469-3
 
 
Brought to you by Heathens Underground a Yahoo group.

Mojo Rising Medicine Bundle

Adapted from Plant Spirit Shamanism, by Ross Heaven and Howard G. Charing (Inner Traditions, 2006).

Focusing our intention can help us to get what we need. This ancient shamanic technique uses the spirit power of plants aligned with your own desire to make a simple bundle that you carry with you. It’s like a spiritual radio, transmitting its energy and your requests to the universe and receiving the blessings that the spirits send back. Here is how to make a mojo bag to attract what you need.

Before you create a mojo bag, be clear on your intention, what you want the charm to do. Holding this intention in mind, take a walk in nature and allow yourself to be drawn to the plants that reflect your purpose. Spend a little time with them and speak to them of your needs. Request that they offer a little of themselves to help you.

The creator has given us clues to the healing and spiritual power of plants by ensuring that their outward appearances reflect their uses and intentions. Thus, the seed pods of the honesty plant, dried and relieved of their outer skins, are shining, translucent, and silver, round like coins and round like haloes. They can therefore be used to attract spiritual blessings and truth (honesty) or to draw in wealth, according to your intent.

When you take your plant materials home, dry them and then gently crush them. Mix them with a little rum, Florida Water, or essential oil and allow them to dry again.

Choose a piece of fabric in a color that corresponds to the qualities you wish to draw into your life. Colors are have traditional associations with certain energies: red with power and energy, pink with love, green for abundance, blue for peace, white for purity, and so on.

Place your plant material in the center of the fabric. You may add other objects to help: for more money, for example, add a few small coins on the homeopathic principle of like attracting like; a magnet to pull in success; a rose quartz for love, and so on. You can also write out your intention on a piece of paper and include it if you wish.

Sew up the bag or tie the bundle with a ribbon to keep the materials in place. Then smudge it with sage smoke and sprinkle it with a little Florida Water or essential oil. Carry your mojo bag with you.