Your Animal Spirit for October 2nd is

Your Animal Spirit for Today
October 2, 2013

Bear

Bear represents a time of reflection and stillness—a time of entering the inner cave of  Self to contemplate life’s challenges. Bear often appears during times of confusion and unrest—those unsettling moments when you turn to everyone you know for answers—everyone except yourself. Go within, ask the hard questions—then listen.

You Got No Spells Yesterday, So Today You Get 2. Here #1

 

Oak Wand
Oak Wand

Imagine using this beauty to cast your spells with. Only a few more hours left and it will be long to one of our lucky friends,

Spell To Receive Divine Messages

Goal: To clarify a message that the Divine might have for you.

Items You will Need:

White Candle (you can also use a candle for each element: yellow, green, blue, and red)

This is a simple spell and can be used whenever it is needed,

I ask you help, O Elements

In receiving the message

I feel is waiting for me.

Power of air

Send in clarity

So I might focus on this message

Power of earth

Ground me

So I can shut out the distraction of everyday life

Power of water

Wash away obstructions

That keep me from seeing clearly

Power of life

Open my heart

So I  might freely receive this message

So mote it be.

 

A Bright & Blessed Thursday, Dear Family & Friends!

Witchy Cat Graphics & Comments
Good Morning guys & dolls! How are you doing today? I hope feeling very magickal. Can you feel the power coursing through your veins. Now let’s start this day off the way every day should start…

MAGICKALLY

A CALL OF NINE

By Chant of One – the Spell’s begun
By Chant of Two – it cometh true
By Chant of Three – it comes to me
By Chant of Four – through Heaven’s door
By Chant of Five – the Spell’s alive
By Chant of Six – the Spell I fix
By Chant of Seven – it flies from Heaven
By Chant of Eight – it’s at my gate
By Chant of Nine – the thing is mine

This is an old chant. It is a powerful chant and as you can read it helps you get what you want. *Note: Don’t use it on humans!

Goddess Speak To Me

Celtic Comments & Graphics

Goddess Speak to Me

A man whispered
“Goddess, speak to me”    
And a meadowlark sang
but the man did not hear.  
So the man yelled
“Goddess speak to me!”  
And the thunder rolled across the sky.    
But the man did not listen.  
The man looked around and said
“Goddess let me see you”  
And a star shone brightly.
     But the man did not notice.  
And the man shouted
“Goddess show me a miracle”    
And a life was born.    
But the man did not know.    
So, the man cried out in despair.    
“Touch me Goddess and let me know
that you are here!”
Whereupon Goddess reached down
and touched the man.
But the man brushed the butterfly away
and walked on.
 
                 — Author Unknown

Imbolc to Ostara

Imbolc/Candlemas Comments

Imbolc to Ostara

Imbolc (Oimelc or Candlemas) celebrates youthful potential, with the Goddess being venerated in her Maiden guise, while the Horned God is still in his infancy and childhood. That the Goddess has returned to Earth from the Otherworld, and that nature is reawakening under her magickal touch, may be evident in the tender green shoots of such spring-flowering pioneer as snowdrops, whose white blooms represent the Maiden purity.

WIND SCRYING

WIND SCRYING

Ancient Greeks practiced wind scrying in the sacred grove of Dodona, which was dedicated to Zeus. Paellas referred to this technique writing as “there is a mode of predicting by means of the air and the leaves of the trees

The method seemed to involve the hanging of striking wands from branches of sacred oak tress in a way that they struck resounding brass basins when the wind blew. Interpretations were made of these sounds and that of the wind. The wind gives itself naturally to scrying because it talks the same as you or me. Find a quite place in the bush where there is no noise of cars, music, etc. A place among the trees is the best. Find a tree and sit under it.

Casually focus your attention on the wind, blocking out all other thoughts. In time the wind will talk to you.

In order for you to scy the wind, you must, for a time, become the wind.

Egyptian dream scrying may be traced back thousands of years. The method used by the Egyptians was recorded in the Greek magical papyri which were written between 200 B.C. to 500 A.D.

In preparing to use the Egyptian dream scrying method you must not speak to anyone on the evening you plan to scy. You should remain in silence after the setting of the sun.

Do not consume alcohol on that day or engage in sex. You must refrain from consuming food for up to four hours before the scrying.

After having a warm bath you anoint your temples with olive oil. You will need an oil lamp which must not be coloured red or bear any inscription.

Write on a short narrow strip of white linen with ink mixed with myrrh the name of the dream God and the purpose for the dream scrying. Twist the linen strip into a wick and insert into the oil of the lamp.

Place the lamp on a table beside your bed. Using the ink draw the image of the dream God upon your left palm.

You must decide which God or Goddess you wish to use. Thoth was well used with the Egyptians.

Light your lamp. Kneel before the lamp.

Concentrating on the image on your left hand recite the following invocation :

“Thoth I invoke, blessed power of dreams divine, Angel of future fates, swift wings are thine, Great source of oracles to human kind, When stealing soft, and whispering to the mind, Through sleep’s sweet silence and the gloom of night, Thy power awake the sight, To silent souls the will of heaven relates, And silently reveals their future fates.”

You need to concentrate on your question you wish to know the answer to. Around your left hand wrap a piece of black linen about four inches wide and about thirty inches long.

The black cloth is called “black” of Isis. Blow out the flame of the lamp.

Now go to bed, clear your mind and go to sleep. Have a tape recorder beside your bed so that when you awaken you may record your dreams while still fresh in your mind.

You will find that the dream will come to you in a voice that is clear and powerful rather than in dream images. Sometimes the message is sent in cryptic form so take your time in working out the answer.

OIL SCRYING

OIL SCRYING

The history of oil scrying can be traced back to the ancient Babylonians. Some of their magic books have survived down through the centuries with details of the methods they used.

One of their techniques was called the “Princess of the Thumb”. A scryer anointed the forehead and thumbnail of a subject. The shiny nail acted as a magic mirror in which the scryer saw spirits. Another version was called the “Princess of the Hand”. Oil was mixed with black soot to make a black paste that was then smeared upon the hand. The scryer then used the hand as a mirror to scry future events.

A third type of oil scrying was called the “Princess of the Cup”. Sesame seed oil was used to coat the inside of a cup that was rested on its side.

The cup was used as a concave magic mirror to capture and magnify the light of a candle that was fixed on its inner rim.

From the Babylonians oil scrying found its way to the Egyptians and Hebrews. The most detailed examples of oil scrying are written in the Greek Magical Papyri written in Egypt between 200 B.C. and A.D. 500.

Four kinds of water which is to be mixed with the oil is used for four types of divination.

If you call upon the services of the heavenly Gods then use rainwater. If you invoke the terrestrial Gods then use sea water. If you invoke the Gods Osiris or Sobek use river water. And if you call upon the souls of the dead then use spring water.

Meditation Technique to Clean and Heal the Eyes

Meditation Technique to Clean and Heal the Eyes

By Natalya Podgorny, Yoga+

If you’ve ever been transfixed by a candle flame and felt your mind clear, you may have been tapping into a yogic focusing practice called trataka.    The Hatha Yoga Pradipika defines trataka as “looking intently with an unwavering gaze at a small point until tears are shed.” This simple    technique has a purifying, invigorating effect on the mind and improves concentration, paving the way for a deeper meditation practice. Because it is one    of the shat kriyas, or six cleansing actions, trataka also cleans and heals the eyes.

Though many objects can be used to focus your gaze during trataka, the most common is the flame of a candle. Assume a comfortable meditative posture    with your head, neck, and trunk aligned. Set a candle two feet in front of you, with the flame positioned at eye level. Make sure the room is dark and    draft-free.

STEADY YOUR GAZE

Begin with your eyes closed, surveying the body and watching the breath until it becomes calm, regular, and even. Then open your eyes and rest your gaze    on the middle part of the flame, right above the tip of the wick. Keep your eyelids slightly more open than usual, and maintain your gaze without blinking    or blurring your vision for as long as possible. Observe any thoughts that arise, watching them come and go without becoming engaged.

Close your eyes only when they begin to strain and water, and you can no longer sustain the gaze. (You can cup your palms and place them gently over the    eyes to ease the strain, but do not rub the eyes; because the tears you have shed are carrying away impurities, wipe them gently with a tissue.) Then find    the afterimage of the flame in your mind’s eye, resting your awareness at the ajna chakra, or eyebrow center. If the image moves up and down or side to    side, stabilize it by bringing it back to the center, and continue to fix your gaze until the impression disappears. To delve deeper into the mind, you can    follow this practice with meditation.

HEALTHY GLOW

According to the Hatha Yoga Pradipika, Trataka eradicates all eye diseases, fatigue, and sloth, and closes the doorway creating these problems.    In addition to improving concentration and memory, trataka cleanses both the eyes and the cerebral cortex, balances the nervous system, and relieves    depression, anxiety, and insomnia. Another yogic text, the Gheranda Samhita, states that the practice cultivates clairvoyance and inner    vision.

Because sight, mental discrimination, and the fire at the manipura chakra are intricately interwoven, trataka also nourishes the subtle flame at the    navel center, promoting vitality and inner health. In its more advanced form, as the Himalayan master Swami Rama said, “The practice of trataka    eventually merges into surya sadhana, meditation on the solar energy.”

STARING AT THE SUN

Under the guidance of a teacher, you can learn how to use a variety of auspicious objects or symbols as the focus of your gaze during trataka, such as a    yantra (a symbolic geometric representation of aspects of Divinity), the symbol Om, the form of a deity, lightning, the moon, your own shadow, or the    glowing orange orb of the rising or setting sun. So steady your gaze, and follow the light all the way to your inner self.

Natalya Podgorny is the editor of Yoga + Joyful Living

Your Deck of Ancient Symbols Card for Aug. 17 is The Crystal

Your Deck of Ancient Symbols Card for Today

The Crystal

The Crystal glows with the power of mystical truths transformed into material realities. The Crystal denotes a self with a powerful connection to the spiritual world that allows them to literally soak up cosmic wisdom and apply it favorably to their everyday life. It suggest a tremendous growth of one’s spiritual self that will greatly impact the querant’s secular life.

As a daily card, The Crystal indicates a time when you are likely to be well served by allowing your spiritual self to guide your day to day behavior.

Living The Witches’ Life: Water Magick for Autumn

Water Magick for Autumn

The Wheel of the Year begins to make its final turn and now we enter the twilight of the year. The spirit world is closer to us now. Autumn water magic includes working with spiritual energies, contacting ancestors, scrying and harvest blessings.

Since ancient times, it has been believed that spirits of the deceased make their journey to the Otherside by water. So it would be appropriate to use water to contact a deceased loved one. Begin by writing a letter to your loved one, using white paper and black ink. Either in the early morning or at dusk, go to a quiet body of water such as a pond – if it’s foggy or misty that’s even better. Kneel at the water’s edge, fold your letter, and let it float away. If there are any fallen leaves upon the water, you may place your letter on them instead. Your message has been received.

Scrying at this time of year by using water can be very effective. Fill you cauldron or a dark colored bowl with water, drop a silver coin into the water, and gaze at the ripples. Allow your eyes to focus on the coin and begin to gaze at the water. If you wish, perform this ritual after dark outside during a Full Moon. Using the water and the Moon together will aid your psychic powers.

Since colonial times, as the harvest season came to a close water was used to anoint the last stand of grain to ensure a bountiful crop the following year. You can do this in your own garden. Simply leave on plant standing in your garden. This could be one herb, tomato plant, or a flower. Before a killing frost, sprinkle this plant with water you’ve blessed. Don’t remove this plant until next spring.

Excerpt from

Four Seasons of Water Magic
By James Kambos
Llewellyn’s 2012 Almanac
Practical Magic for Everyday Magic

Today’s I Ching Hexagram for July 31 is 19: Approach of Spring

19: Approach of Spring

Hexagram 19

General Meaning: It is as if spring is approaching. Good times ahead feel inevitable; there is vitality in the air. This is a most auspicious time. Like a snake emerging from hibernation, negative forces are barely stirring and can be effectively controlled. This is a time of hopeful progress, and must be used to best advantage. When approaching good fortune, paying attention to what is happening now earns great dividends. All in all, a clear road lies ahead.

Take some action now, for at some point this ripe opportunity for advancement will be reversed. No spring lasts forever. It’s wise to stay alert and note the changing seasons and the energy they call for.

Spring is the season of new relationships. In the bounty of good times, new bonds form effortlessly. Relationships born in spring can serve well to warm the following autumn and winter.

Today’s Tarot Card for July 31 is The Hanged Man

The Hanged Man

This Tarot Deck: Old English

General Meaning: Traditionally, the card known as the Hanged Man usually indicates a lack of ability to help oneself through independent action. This energy is arrested and awaiting judgment. With this card, there is no avenue for the will to regain control until the situation has passed.

This represents a good time to be philosophical, to study and meditate upon the position you find yourself in, and form resolutions for the moment you become free again. Only those who possess wisdom, patience and optimism will be able to see through limitations, including possible humiliation, to grasp the inspiring lesson one can gain from such an experience.

Daily OM for July 21 – A Special Goodnight

A Special Goodnight

Creating A Nightly Ritual

At the end of the day, as the sweet, dark stillness of night beckons us to lay down our bones and rest, we find ourselves at a clear transition point: Behind us lies the previous day and all that has come before; ahead of us, dawn heralds the unfolding of all that is yet to be. While many of us have morning rituals that connect us with our center and help us to set intentions, we may want to explore the magic and power of nighttime ritual as well. It holds for us a beautiful chance for self-appreciation and blessing. Before you go to bed each night, you can send gratitude, compassion, and healing to the being you have been up until this moment. And you can send lightness and love into the future for the one you are in the process of becoming.

Though simple, this action honors the journey you have taken thus far, while opening you to the wonderful possibilities still ahead. When you consciously engage with your own evolution this way, you may find that your sleep gets sweeter, filling your night with a deeper sense of trust and relaxation. As you rest, you can surrender to these peaceful hours, knowing that the road behind you has been seen and acknowledged with respect and kindness, while the path ahead now holds your own benevolence and well wishes.

This bedtime ritual empowers you as the only one who can determine the meaning of your own past and the hopefulness of your future. By setting this special time aside each night, you can begin to orient yourself on your path of growing. It allows you to let the past have its place, to trust that the future is taken care of, and to simply rest yourself in the graceful arms of the present moment.

The Hanged Man Speaks

The Hanged Man Speaks

by Miriam Harline

meditation/evocation

In the early evening, orange-gold light still pouring through half the sky, purple hazing the east, you walk along a country lane, two tracks of dust fine as corn meal and cool on your bare feet. The air smells sweet, of cut hay, and as you crest a hill you see before you a half-mown hayfield. Its dark stubble lies close-shorn on the earth; among the stubble conical haystacks rise regularly. Through a dent in the hills, the last rays of sun gild the remaining hay; its blond heads nod, rustling, in the breeze.

Something about the hayfield attracts you, and you cut off the road, clamber over the grey-tan split-log fence into the field, carefully pick your way through the blunt stubble. It’s only after a few moments you see, against the bright ridge of hay still standing, a dark form. A scarecrow, you think, but why, in hay? You go forward, curious. The sun lies on the horizon, molten; as you look, the last gold bit winks out. A cold breeze brushes your arm.

Walking forward, you see the scarecrow hangs from a gibbet, the form silhouetted black against the sky. A cold finger runs down your spine; someone here has a strange sense of humor. Still you go forward; you think maybe this is art.

You close on the scarecrow. At the base of its square pole, a sickle leans; the edge of the steel blade gleams violet. You look up, and you see this is no scarecrow, but a man, hanging upside-down by his left ankle, right leg bent behind left in the pose of the Hanged Man of the Tarot. You take a sharp breath in.

“Hello,” the man says. He smiles at you: it looks strange upside-down. You can’t seem to reply. “I’ve a favor to ask you.”

“What’s that?” you stammer.

“Untie me, will you?” Catching hold of the gallows pole, the man climbs up hand over hand till he can grab the rope from which he hangs, curls himself in a ball. “I’m ready.”

His rope is rough hemp three fingers thick, tied low on the pole, knot big as a fist. You think, I’ll never get anywhere with this; still, feeling his gaze on you, you begin picking at the knot with your nails. Just when you begin to despair, the first loop loosens; bit by bit, you manage to untie the knot.

The last loop falls. Landing with a thump, the man quickly frees his ankle, rubbed raw by the rope. He jumps up brushing his hands, extends one to you. “Many thanks.”

So athletic was his pole-climbing and leap up you can’t help wondering why he didn’t untie himself. “It’s a geas, a rule, that somebody has to untie me. I can’t do it myself. Now I owe you a favor.” As he stands before you, you notice his strange clothing, a kind of jumpsuit quilted all of diamonds of blue, yellow and red. “Where were you going just now?” he asks.

“I was taking a walk.”

“Mind if I walk with you?” You shake your head, and presently you walk together down the lane’s two dust tracks.

The lane cups the hayfield in a long curve, then veers to the left, where girdled by a split-log fence a wood rises. On either side of the fence-break where the path enters, sentinel tree-trunks stand; beyond, shadows fall black and green.

The wood gives you pause, but the hanged man walks right in, and you follow him. The air in the wood is noticeably cooler; it smells of leaf-mold. Great trunks of trees loom to either side; in the undergrowth creepers tangle saplings.

“Hot day today, wasn’t it?” the hanged man asks conversationally.

“Yes.”

“But autumn’s coming, nonetheless.” He smiles a little. “Autumn’s always coming.”

“I guess that’s true.”

“At autumn comes harvest.” You nod, looking over at him; is he going somewhere with this peculiar conversation?

Just then the track you’re following comes to a crossroads. The crossing path runs perpendicular to yours and is just as wide, its dirt the same dark grey. “Which way do you want to go?” the hanged man asks.

You frown at him. “I don’t know. I was just taking a walk.”

He stares back, a smile quirking the corner of his mouth. “Turn left, why don’t you? You seem like you need some luck.”

You stare at him. Can you trust him to steer you? What does he mean by luck? What are you doing with him in this dark wood? His smile broadens a little; you feel that he can hear what you’re thinking, and that he’s laughing at you.

Turning on your foot, you do as he says. His and your footfalls pad quietly in the leaf-mold together; branches whisper as you brush by. The wood grows darker, shadow collecting in the underbrush and at the bases of the trees. A crow caws behind you.

Fear rises in you. You don’t want to be lost in this forest at night. But just as the fear tightens, you see on the path paler light ahead.

You emerge from the wood into countryside, hazy blue with dusk. Your new track borders a hayfield; you see it’s the same field, the uncut side. “Come,” the hanged man says, and you both climb the fence into the field.

You brush through hay taller than your head. Dry stalks crush below your feet, releasing perfume; seeds fall into your hair and clothes; your movement makes a sound like water. The hanged man walks ahead of you, the colors of his suit almost lost in dusk.

Then you break through the last unmown hay into stubble, dark and damp now with dew. The sickle still leans against the gallows-post, a shadow against a shadow; you touch the gnarled wooden handle worn smooth with use.

“I’ve a favor to ask you,” the hanged man says. “Tie me up again.”

You stare at him in blue near-darkness. You sense he is smiling.

Lighten Up – Circle Etiquette

Circle Etiquette

Never summon Anything you can’t banish.

Never put asafoetida on the rocks in the sweat lodge.

Do not attempt to walk more than 10 paces while wearing all of your ritual jewelry, dream bags and crystals at the same time.

When proposing to initiate someone, do not mention the Great Rite, leer, and say, “Hey, your trad or mine?”

Never laugh at someone who is skyclad. They can see you, too.

Never, ever set the Witch on fire.

Looking at nifty pictures is not a valid path to mastering the ancient grimoires. Please read thoroughly and carefully from beginning to end so that your madness and gibberings will at least make some sense.

A good grasp of ritual and ritual techniques are essential! In the event of a random impaling, or other accidental death amongst the participants, (see next rule) a quick thinker can improvise to ensure successful completion of the Rite. Make them another sacrifice, Demons like those.

Watch where you wave the sharp pointy items.

Avoid walking through disembodied spirits.

Carry an all purpose translators dictionary in case the ritual leader begins talking in some strange and unknown language.

Avoid joining your life force to anything with glowing red eyes.

If asked to sign a contract or pact and you are experiencing doubts or reservations, sign your neighbors name. Malevolent entities rarely ask for photo ID.

Blood is thicker than water. Soak ritual garments an extra 30-45 minutes.

While drunken weaving may be mistaken for ecstatic dancing, slurring the names of Deities is generally considered bad form.

Daily Feng Shui Tip for July 16 – ‘Global Hug Your Kid Day’

Your kids are going to feel healthy, happy and loved today. It’s ‘Global Hug Your Kid Day,’ so let’s look at all the benefits a big hug can bring your child. A recent study shows that any affectionate cuddle, especially a heartwarming hug, can elicit positive emotions and improve mood and frame of mind. This study states that a simple hug can adjust the attitude to a positive place more quickly than regularly visiting a sacred place of worship. Another study has proven that people who regularly receive hugs were twice as likely to have healthy mental states. A brief hug is believed to offset the harmful effects of stress while getting or giving one before the day even begins can keep you happy all day long. Embrace this advice and give your kids and everyone else you know a hug today — and every day! Here’s to your hugs and your good health!

By Ellen Whitehurst for Astrology.com