Tag: Shopping

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.

Salt and Water Clearing Spell (Hare Moon)

Salt and Water Clearing Spell

(Hare Moon)

Cast this spell to rid yourself of pain, hurt, and sadness.

After dark, draw a magick circle and call in the Elements. Put three pinches of sea salt in a chalice of water. Stir the water counterclockwise with your athame. Sit quietly and turn your mind toward what you want to get rid of: your worries, problems, disappointments, sadness, hurt feelings and fears. Hold the cup in between your hands, and say three times:

Clear the pain. Clear the hurt. Clear the sadness.

Sip three sips of the water. Before each sip, repeat:

I rid myself of all negativity, right now.

Allow all of your negative feelings to be cleansed with the salt water. Imagine transforming any pain or sadness into positive change elements in your life. Feel yourself being cleansed of all that burdens you. When you are done, bid farewell to the Elements, and pull up the circle.

Empty the remaining water down the drain, and clean your chalice thoroughly with clear, cool water.

Honor Loved Ones: Make a Memory Candle

Adapted from By Candlelight, by Diana Rosen (Storey Books, 2002).

If you want to remember a departed human or animal loved one, the simple act of making a Memory Candle can bring great relief and healing. You can also do this to celebrate someone living, or to mark an important event like a graduation. Either way, the Memory Candle is a beautiful way to honor someone important to you.

1. Decide who you would like to honor in this way: it could be a deceased relative, friend, or companion animal, or someone with whom you have lost contact but still want to remember.

2. Choose a clear glass candle holder-a water tumbler or glass works well.

3. Find a photograph of the person you wish to honor in this way and make a photocopy of it, enlarging or reducing it to fit the height of the candle holder. If you don’t have a photo, you could do a simple drawing or make a photocopy of a memento you associate with that person or animal.

4. Wrap the photocopy around the glass and tape it securely. Place a nontoxic beeswax or soy wax candle in the glass. Place the Memory Candle in a special safe place and light the candle.

4. The soft glow of the candlelight will illuminate the photograph in a very beautiful and special way.

5. You can also pay homage to the living by naming this an “Honor Candle” and using a photograph to celebrate a graduation, marriage, birthday, retirement, anniversary, or other accomplishment of note.

Ward Off Evil

Ward Off Evil 

To ward off evil spirits or energy:

In a small jar, place sage, sandalwood, galangal and brimstone herbs. Mix well and sprinkle sea salt on top. Cute a three inch piece of red string, and tie one knot into it, and place it in the jar. Next, place three pins or nails in the jar and close it shut. Light a black candle and say:

“Pins that price, herbs and string, to protect me now, my angels do sing!”

Hide the jar in a dark place to ward off evil.

Create a Memorial Garden

 

by Judi Gerber

For many people, Memorial Day is just another day off, and is seen as little more than the unofficial start of summer and a great day to barbecue. But, the real purpose of the day is to remember those who have died in service to the United States.

If you are looking for a way to truly observe Memorial Day, you can visit a cemetery and place some of your homegrown flowers on the graves of fallen soldiers. Or, if you aren’t a gardener, but are equally concerned about the negative environmental impacts of conventional flowers, buy organic flowers.

A more lasting remembrance is to plant a tree, or even a garden, in memory of a lost loved one or other service members. As I have written about before, giving somebody the gift of a garden is one of the most memorable things that you can do. This is all the more true if you create a “memorial” garden either in remembrance or in honor of someone.

Aside from remembering those we have lost, there are some things we can do to help the thousands of men and women now serving. For example, are you a gardener? Do you want to make a difference? Then why not put your green thumb to use. For service members that are deployed, consider “adopting” their garden while they are gone. You can even involve his or her family in the care of the garden. Not only will they benefit from beautiful flowers and delicious food, but working in the garden is therapeutic and can help them deal with the stress that comes with the deployment of their loved one.

Not only can you take care of their garden for them, but, if you incorporate edibles, when it comes time to harvest, you can donate that produce to a local veteran’s agency or hospital, or to other military families whose loved one is also deployed.

You can also create a cut flower garden and give the flowers to the same veteran’s organizations. Or, you can go and regularly place them on military grave sites and deliver bouquets to other military families as well.

Calendar of the Sun for May 27th

Calendar of the Sun

Media Ver

Color: Green
Element: Earth
Altar: Upon a green cloth set growing herbs and flowers in pots, a pitcher of rainwater, small dishes of late-sowed seeds such as lettuce (as many as there are people), a flower wreath, and a single green candle.
Offerings: Seeds to be planted in the garden.
Daily Meal: Vegetarian

Media Ver Invocation

Earth, you have awakened to our touch!
The winds have stirred you,
The rain has nourished you,
The sun has opened your eyes.
Your million mouths open
On the unfolded leaves of every tree.
We glory in your abundance,
In the dance of your youth,
And we dance for your brilliant life
And your new season.
Yet now is the time when the real work begins.
If we would keep what we have sown,
We must not stop here,
But we must labor for the sustenance
Of our creation, as it has always been.
For the first growth is a miracle from the Gods,
But the second growth is the miracle unseen,
From the labor of our hands,
Which is also sacred.

Chant:
Green growing
Green Man knowing
Path of striving
Way of opening

(Each takes a pot of seeds and goes to the garden, and hoes or otherwise prepares a space for planting, and then plants their seeds, chanting while doing so. The pitcher of rainwater is carried out and ritually poured onto the seeds. Weeding should also be done at this time, and the care for plants that have already broken the surface.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

‘THINK on THESE THINGS’ for May 26th

By Joyce Sequichie Hifler

Hardly any of us are without some jealousy. We like to think of ourselves above that painful emotion, because such a monstrous feeling is a destructive thing. But if we have not felt a normal amount of it, it is because we have yet to doubt something we love very much.

Margaret, Queen of Navarre, and sister of Francis I, King of France in the fifteenth century, wrote the following words:

“Love may exist without jealousy, although this is rare; but jealousy may exist without love, and that is common; for jealousy can feed on that which is bitter, no less than on that which is sweet, and is sustained by pride as often as by affection.”

Jealousy can rear its head when logic is giving you the facts, and throw the whole thing into chaos. But confidence is the enemy of jealousy. Confidence, trust, and faith are all strong parts of a nature where jealousy does not rule.

And jealousy, even in moderation, can introduce us to a serious problem with ourselves, if we let it grow out of proportion. It breed rejection while maturity and understanding keep us safely within the bounds of permissiveness rather than possessiveness.

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Available online! ‘Cherokee Feast of Days’
By Joyce Sequichie Hifler.

Visit her web site to purchase the wonderful books by Joyce as gifts for yourself or for loved ones……and also for those who don’t have access to the Internet: http://www.hifler.com
Click Here to Buy her books at Amazon.com

Elder’s Meditation of the Day
By White Bison, Inc., an American Indian-owned nonprofit organization. Order their many products from their web site: http://www.whitebison.org

 
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Elder’s Meditation of the Day May 26

Elder’s Meditation of the Day May 26

“The man who sat on the ground in his tipi meditating on life and its meaning, accepting the kinship of all creatures and acknowledging unity with the universe of things was infusing into his being the true essence of civilization.”

–Luther Standing Bear, OGLALA SIOUX

There is a concept that says you move toward and become that which you think about. If we think about everything as interconnected and interrelated, we will begin to accept the greater whole and that there is a power who is in charge. If we see the cycles of life, if we see the inner powers, if we see the interdependence of the universe, then we will participate in a harmonious way. We all need to pray and meditate on this. We need to understand the property of unity.

My Creator, let me have the insights of nature and give me the power of acceptance.

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Calendar of the Sun for May 26th

26 Thrimilchimonath

Lemminkainen’s Day

Color: Light blue
Element: Air
Altar: Upon cloth of light blue set two spears, two arrows, a black cup of water, and a pot of honey with the figure of a bee.
Offerings: Examine the area where you feel most clever, and humble yourself.
Daily Meal: Venison.

Invocation to Lemminkainen

Great Lemminkainen,
Trickster of the cold north country,
Yours is the story of the fall from pride.
You took your wife by force
Because she was the only one
Who would not have you,
When all others were impressed.
You fought the Saami mages and won,
You slew the great moose of the snows,
You caught the fiery horse of the mountains,
But when you faced the River of Death
Dark Tuonela caught you, Lemminkainen,
And cut you into a hundred pieces
Floating in the dark water.
Only the love of your mother,
Who fished out all your lost parts,
Who sent bees for the sacred honey
To restore your life with sweetness,
Could save your humbled heart.
Remind us, trickster of the north country,
That when we fall from grace
By our own fire and pride,
That only the love of those we scorned
And thought so little of
Can save our souls from the river’s rushing dark.

(The water is passed around, and all sip from it, saying, “I will face the River of Death.” Then the honey is passed around by the eldest or most frail member of the House, who says, “Only this humble sweetness can save you from the River.” All taste of it, kneel, and bow their heads to the floor, saying, “I will never forget what it is to fall and be restored.”)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Today’s Rune for Saturday, May 26th is Gebo

Ice Runes are most commonly used for questions about struggle, conflict, and achievement. Gebo means gift, and like any gifts, the rune may be understood on many levels. Gifts are generally positive things, for both the giver and the recipient. In many cultures however, gifts and favors carry with them an obligation to respond in kind. It is for this reason that gifts, and hence the rune Gebo, are frequently symbolic of friendships, marriages, alliances, mergers, and other bonds between people or organizations. Gebo is a strong rune and the unions represented are strong as well. Moreover, Gebo is not reversible, as true friendships are not easily undone.

Evil Eye Potion

Evil Eye Potion

 
A modern Syrian custom suggests that an Evil Eye afflicted ailing child drink water blended from seven distinct wells or cisterns. It can be difficult to locate one well or cistern. As if you didn’t have enough trouble, now you have to locate seven? Update the spell, itself an adaption. There is a very anicent pan-Semitic belief in the magickal healing power of water blended from seven springs. When the springs became unavailable cisterns were substituted.
 
1. Blend seven different bottled spring waters, each from a distinct source.
 
2. Give the child a glass to drink and apply a compress soaked in the blended water, too.

EMPLOYMENT POTION

EMPLOYMENT POTION

 
One part sandalwood oil
One part patchouli oil
One part clove bud oil
One part frankincense oil
One part nutmeg oil
 
You will also need a green candle, parchment, a pen and dragon’s blood ink.
You may also use a green or gold ink pen.
On the waxing or full moon, fold all the herbs into the cloth and tie a ribbon around it and place it on your altar.
Combine the oils together and place the bottle on your altar.
On the parchment draw the symbol for Jupiter, a money symbol (like a dollar sign or the
symbol for the pound or a rune for prosperity). Also make a general list of all the things
you’d like to gain from your new job. Take the green candle and with a pen, tack or crystal,
carve the word “Prosperity” into the wax. Anoint the candle with some of the oil and allow it
to burn out. Wear the remainder of the oil as a perfume, add it to a bath or put a drop or two
on your application or resume. Sleep with the sachet under your pillow for at least a week.
You should see results in 1-3 months.

Calendar of the Sun for Friday, May 25th

Calendar of the Sun
25 Thrimilchimonath

Sara-Kali’s Day

Colors: Black and red
Element: Water
Altar: Upon cloth of black and red set a picture of a dark-skinned madonna, a chalice of wine, and many ivory candles.
Offerings: Give faithful service to another greater person or cause.
Daily Meal: Middle Eastern food.

Invocation to Sara-Kali

The wandering people swept across the continent
Like leaves blown before a great wind,
And brought you with them,
Dark Madonna, maiden goddess,
Who is an echo of the great Dark Mother.
Your face changed, and your nature,
Yet never did they forget you.
Your story retold you as servant to the Lady,
Following in her footsteps wherever she went,
Worshipped in grottoes and crossroads
Lit by a thousand candles.
Changed one, goddess of a wandering people,
You teach us that although divine nature
May change and bend, devotion is stronger.
Dark servant of the Lady,
You now embody all that serves faithfully
As you serve the Lady your mistress
As you serve your outcast people.
Teach us that darkness can serve us as well,
That we need not always seek the light
When what we look for has deep roots
Lost in the mist of time
And buried in the cradling darkness.
Sara-Kali, St. Sarah the Black,
We hail your journey across a thousand years.

Chant:
Sara-Kali Sara-Kali
Devlesa Avilan

(Each comes forward to the altar, bows before it, and extinguishes one candle as they leave.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Homemade Dog Bones

by Annie B. Bond

By making your own dog bones you are providing your pet with wholesome food and are assured that you are not feeding them animal byproducts of unknown origin. Keep your eyes out for dog bone cookie cutters; they are frequently
sold in kitchen supply stores.

(Adapted from Rodale’s Book of Practical Formulas)

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/3 cup corn meal
  • 1/2 cup soy flour
  • 1/2 cup ground seeds
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 tablespoon linseed oil (available in health food stores)
  • 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
  • 2 eggs
  • 1/4 cup milk

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Mix to blend. Add the liquid ingredients.

Stir, adding more milk if necessary to make a ball that can be kneaded and rolled out on a cutting board. Roll out dough, and cut out dog bone shapes using a cookie cutter or knife. Place on a well-greased baking pan, and bake at 350 F for 25-35 minutes, or until browned.

Calendar of the Sun for Thursday, May 24th

24 Thrimilchimonath

Day of the Horae

Colors: Black, dark blue, and white
Element: Air
Altar: Divide the altar into three parts. The first part is covered with cloth of black, upon which is set a white candle and a scroll or book of the Principles. The second part is covered with a dark blue cloth, upon which is set a silver candle, a scale, and a blade. The third part is covered with a white cloth, upon which is set a green candle and a leafy wreath.
Offerings: Read the Principles and meditate on them.
Daily Meal: Vegan and simple.

Invocation to the Horae

Call: Hail Eunomia, Keeper of Rules!
Response: Hail Eunomia, She Who Draws Boundaries!
Call: For without boundaries, we trespass on each other.
Response: For without rules, we cannot find a path in the wilderness.
Call: Hail, Maiden who keeps the Laws of the Universe!
Response: Hail, Hora of the Upraised Hand!
Call: May your chains bring discipline to our lives!
Response: May your chains set our spirits free!
Call: Hail Dike, Giver of Justice!
Response: Hail Dike, She Who Returns All That Is Given!
Call: For without justice, all things fall into tyranny.
Response: For without return and recourse, the cycle is broken.
Call: Hail, Maiden of who balances all things in her scale!
Response: Hail, Hora of the Even Hand!
Call: May your keen blade cut fine and true through all wrongs!
Response: May your keen blade slice away our prejudices!
Call: Hail Irene, Keeper of the Peace!
Response: Hail Irene, She Who Brings Harmony!
Call: For without harmony, there is no progress.
Response: For without peace, we burn to nothingness.
Call: Hail, Maiden who walks unafraid toward the enemy!
Response: Hail, Hora of the Open Hand!
Call: May your flowering branch blossom into the fruits of serenity!
Response: May your holy name bring unity to the world!

Chant:
Narrow the Rule and just our hand,
We keep the peace and together we stand.

(Read the Principles aloud, and leave in silence.)

[Pagan Book of Hours]

Did You Know Your Body Part Compare With That Of A Car?

Comparison of Body Parts and Systems to Your Automobile

from an article by Keith Stepro, Editor of LETS LIVE MAGAZINE, August, 1987.

* The Brain – on-board computer;

* The Heart – engine;

* The Glandular System – spark plugs;

* The Digestive System – fuel system;

* The Immune System – pollution control;

* The Nervous System – electrical system;

* The Lungs – exhaust system;

* The Spine – drive shaft;

* The Muscles – frame:

* The Skin – exterior;

* The Liver and Kidneys – the filters;

* The Blood – transmission fluid;

* The Colon – sewage system;

* The State of Mind / Attitude – brakes;

* The Feet – tires;

* The Mouth – fuel pump;

* The Voice – horn;

* The Air Filters – nose and mouth.

A wise teacher of mine said that when something goes wrong with your car it was
an out-picturing of what was wrong with YOUR body!

Wow, how wonderful to have a car that can diagnose our ills!

Please, don’t tell this to your doctor or they will have your car impounded and brought up on charges of practicing medicine with out a license!

And the AMA will vigorously pursue!

Elder’s Meditation of the Day May 23

Elder’s Meditation of the Day May 23

“To me, if you’re Indian, you’re Indian. You don’t have to put on your buckskin, beads, and feathers, and stuff like that.”

–Cecilia Mitchell, MOHAWK

The most important thing that determines who we are is on our insides, not our outsides. If we are Indian inside, that’s all that matters. Being Indian means to think right, to be spiritual and to pray. Feathers and beads don’t make us Indian. Being Indian means to have a good heart and a good mind.

Great Spirit, today, let me think Indian.

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Special Kitty of the Day for May 23rd

Name: Tonka
 Age: Seventeen years old
Gender: Female
 Kind: Calico
Home: Near Topeka, Kansas, USA
Hi, my name’s Tonka. As you can see, I’m a calico. I only weigh four or five pounds cause I’m a tiny little girl. I was born right here in the house I live in. My fur momma showed up here one day and the owners took her in. She was already expecting kittens and so here I am.

I used to go outside a lot and bug my brother, I’m afraid I never did like to play with toys that much. Now my favorite pastimes are sleeping, bugging my brother Pepper and my stepbrother Carlito, and eating. My favorite trick is to guard the can of food thats just been opened. If it’s sitting on the counter, I lay right next to it and will not let any other cat get near it. (It’s mine!)

Well, that’s about it. It’s been a pleasure talking with you, and now I’ll be able to hold my head up as high as Pepper has his.

Mom says: Her name started out as Tanqueray, but got shortened to Tonka over the years, I don’t remember why. Tonka is a better name for her anyway because I read somewhere that it’s a Native American word for strong or tough, and this little kitty is certainly both. Tonka thinks she’s the boss of the boys. Pepper goes along with it, but Carlito gets a little angry with her sometimes. It doesn’t stop her from trying to be top cat though.

She’s a very affectionate cat – she’s always looking for a lap to lay on and demands pets and back scratches if you happen to walk past where she’s laying. She’s terrified of strangers, and even freaks out when we get a package in the mail. If it doesn’t smell like home, she gets terrified and runs around the house hiding and peeking out to see if it’s safe yet.

Tonka is a little bundle of dynamite, and we love her all the more for it.

Spellcrafting, Spellcasting and the Spellcaster

The majority of the spellbooks on the market today give you pages of spells for all sorts of purposes. Lists of ingredients, directions, and words to say, these aren’t your words, they are more like a recipe book you would find in your kitchen. A spell is more than a list of ingredients, directions, how to mix them, and a sure outcome. It isn’t that simple, believe me. What makes the difference from the spells you find in a store bought book and your own, is you, your will and your intention. All of these things have an important influence over spellcrafting and spellcasting. You have an enormous amount of control throughout the process that the books don’t mention.

There are random and unknown factors in spellcasting, just as if you were cooking your favorite recipe, you affect the outcome. The personal factor of spellcasting is unique, and this fact is what classifies spellcraft as an art.

In order for your situation to change, the common element over which you have the most control is yourself. Magick transforms the caster instead of the environment around the caster. Spellcraft isn’t just about bringing home a bigger paycheck or finding the love of your life; it’s about growth and evolution, making the career choices that lead to that bigger paycheck, accepting that the love of your life will have a few flaws and accept your flaws, too. Spellcrafting is about reassessing your life, searching deep within your soul, striking a balance. Then the spellcrafter within you will emerge.

Spellcrafting is the process of creating a spell. Spellcasting is the act of putting it into motion. Casting is, in fact, one of the final steps of spellcrafting, for the moment you begin to craft your spell is the moment you begin an active process.

Make no mistake: as a spellcaster, you are a part of the active process of change. You cannot interact with the energy of the world on a daily basis, at the depth required by spellcrafting, and not be changed. You will be transformed, learn to understand and accept the benefits of spellcasting, you will see your life beginning to reflect inner change. You will understand the power you have comes from within you, then finally the true spellcaster within you will emerge.

Daily Chinese Zodiac Horoscopes for Friday, May 18th

Rabbit

You may be making sudden and impulsive changes to your finances. Be careful before you invest in real estate or home improvements though, because Saturn is working overtime in your “home and family” sector. That brings unexpected breakdowns, governmental restrictions, zoning hassles and strange encounters with cranky neighbors.

Dragon

Your attitude towards a specific relationship or partnerships in general will be changing today as a result of an intuition, dream or impression. Listen to your feelings carefully. You may be thinking of making a relationship more formal.

Snake

If you want to make the chores go more smoothly today turn on the radio or CD player, grab a mop and bucket and dance your home clean. You can have a good time getting ordinary daily chores cleared up if you put yourself in the right mindset.

Horse

You have a high degree of physical energy today, which could prove delightful to your significant other in more ways than one. You are energetic and active, and interested in trying new things. You have something of an impulsive streak in you right now.

Sheep

Friends, companions, and siblings will bring great joy. Someone you know could be adding to their family. Someone else may be given an award for their creative skills and talents. Celebrate in moderation, because someone near you is on the sobriety trail.

Monkey

You are going to be on the telephone a lot today. Your loved ones and relatives may have shocking news, but the changes that are coming you and your family will welcome with great excitement. You will be passionate, creative and highly verbal today.

Rooster

You can make more money if you are willing to take a stand on your own merits right now. If you are already successful, this means using your name or likeness to promote yourself. If not, it means being willing to believe that you deserve to succeed for who you are.

Dog

You are feeling extremely talkative and chatty today, and it is a good thing you have a friend or companion who feels the same, otherwise the two of you would talk some poor soul’s ears off. There is good news traveling on the gossip lines right now.

Pig

Expect positive experiences with your religious or spiritual growth. You have witnessed a profound healing and are eager to experience this for yourself. Keep an open mind and heart, but don’t expect the same results as others have, you have your own path to walk.

Rat

A friendship is developing in new and important ways. You may share a moment of insight, or take time together to explore shared spiritual interests. Meditating or praying together could bring you closer and open up new ways for you to understand one another.

Ox

You’ll be thinking about the future. Which road do you want to take, and do you hope to enjoy the journey? You won’t get anywhere sitting on your behind, that’s for sure. If you want to make a dream come true, this is the time for action, not dreaming.

Tiger

Your ninth house of education, travel, and publicity is heating up again, and this time there are equal measures of joy and frustration. Expect Divine chaos. You may have to make a detour that takes you past a big sale. Or your flight is rebooked, and you get a better seat.