Grounding, Centering and Balance

Grounding, Centering and Balance

Author: Nita

Over the years I have told people hundreds of times to ground their energies, center their energies, and balance their elements. It is supposed to be taught everywhere and be common knowledge. Yet most people do not know how to do this properly. I have had an experience recently that has proven how important this is in life. It is important to relax, unwind, and do many things. I will give a few simple methods.

Grounding:

Grounding is essential to clearing out negativity when you have an off day or during the day when you feel spacey or not quite here. It is especially important with all of the exercises everyone does to elevate himself or herself. We live on this earth and when you elevate yourself with out grounding any energy can be picked up because the person is wide open.

Method 1- Grounding and Centering:

Stand with your feet apart and your hands in the air. Place your feet different distances until you feel comfortable and balanced. There is a point in your solar plexus that centers you. It completes the circuit so to speak where you can ground yourself properly.

Raise your arms in the air and see yourself as reaching all the way into heaven. Next put energy spikes through out your feet and visualizes the spikes reaching to the center of the earth. Pull the golden energies down from above and have the energies fill every molecule, cell, and part of your energies. Push all energies that are not colored gold out through your feet into the center of the earth. Pull your spikes back up to the earth around you and circulate the gold energy around you in circles until you feel cleansed and purged of all energies that are not in harmony with your higher self.

Say-“I ask my higher self to help me to center, ground, and purge and cleanse all energies that are not for my higher good. So be it.”

After you are done, picture yourself buckling a gold belt around yourself and say may I be sealed and safe from all energies not for my higher good.

This method will help with illnesses or any sort of energies that push you off center. They will ease up any psychic attacks or problems occurring with energy fluctuations.

Method 2- Grounding and Centering:

Go to a relaxing place such as a park or into your back yard. Pick out a tree that seems friendly to you that you like. I always like oaks and willows but different people respond to different types of trees.

Go to the tree and hug the tree, and try to energetically feel the tree. You can do this a couple of different ways. I like trying to join with the tree until I feel tingly energies in my hand from feeling the life of the tree flowing into me. We have minor chakras in the hands, which can receive energies, and the experience is great for developing your ability to feel energy changes. If you feel rejection or not friendly energies then you should move to a different tree.

If you are a pagan you might do this prayer:

“I ask that the Divine Mother of Creation link me to the spirit of this tree. May I have all my negativity drawn into the tree to fertilize it and to release me to grow strong and powerful. May all the energies of life be drawn into me to help me be happy, healthy and grounded to the earth through the energies of life. May I be centered, and accepting of all challenges that will bring knowledge, change and joy in my life. So Be it.”

Angelic Version:

“I ask that the divine Father Adonai link me to the angels of trees and creation. May I have all my negativity drawn into the tree to fertilize it and to release me to grow strong and powerful. May all of the energies of life be drawn into me to help me to be happy, healthy and grounded to the earth. May I also be grounded to the divine Father Adonai and all his shapes so that I will know his will, accept my challenges and enjoy my life. May I be centered and grounded in the divine energy of creation and the creator.”

I always tell people to modify my prayers in any way that they wish to do so. It will make them work better for each person and their belief system. I have found that if you are severely ungrounded where the normal exercises do not seem to help it is essential that you ground. I have helped many people with problems that did exercises that pushed them into the upper planes too quickly.

If you have life problems that have not healed, have been abused, or other issues it will stick you open and in an unbalanced and ungrounded state. To close the levels down is not easy. I received such a huge burst of grace in one of my cases for the work I did to help a whole country. It unbalanced me because I have been a person who has been abused through out my entire life. I knew nothing they said was right or true and would ignore vicious cruel people. Yet it hit my soul with the way they treated me and made it so I was held back. I had worked on major abuse but not the cruelties that insecure people do to make others feel just as bad as they do.

I tried to explain to the people I was around that I was trying to ground. All the bad habits you hear mentioned are grounding. People who say that humans do not need to eat meat may be incorrect in that there are many times meat is useful and grounding is one of them. Beer with the herb hops in it is grounding also. You pray over the food and ask it to ground you so you can exist on this earth.

The next thing is sex. Sex is grounding and ties you to this earth. I mentioned this to the people and you would think I was suggesting that I run around and pull men’s pants off. They had been studying Indian methods with gurus and all of that was about evolving to where they do not reincarnate. They were taught celibacy was the only way to do that in this life.

It made me realize that most people only know what they read and then they filter it through their own opinions and it comes out warped. Sex is not evil or it would not be created to bring people into existence. Lust might not be good if it is all you do and do not care about the person. Yet healthy love and sex is not wrong. If you were to be put under medications because you could not deal with reality or have sex, which would you chose? I would choose sex without thought on that question. Love is never wrong and just loving someone can keep you going in cruel upsetting circumstances more than anything else in this world.

The question is what works for you. I found that what works for me is charity, kindness, unconditional love for the divine, and prayer. I have never worked to evolve but to do a good job to please the divine. I found out years ago each of us has our own path and cannot judge anyone else’s path.

So recognize your priorities and do whichever ones work for you as long as you do not overdo anything. Excess is more of the enemy to evolving than anything else. You are meant to live on this earth and learn not to cut yourself off and just work for evolving.

Method 3-Balance:

I always ask for help from either specific angels or my higher self.

I ask that Archangel Michael help me to balance myself. May the elements of air, fire, water, earth and spirit be balanced in my body, mind and soul and on all levels of spirit. May the energies of the divine be balanced and place me in complete equilibrium. May I be grounded, centered, balanced and focused to live today and every day in the light of the divine.

You can ask the Divine Mother or any other form of the divine that you worship and have as what makes your spirit sing to do this for you. I hope that these methods will be helpful to you. I know that staying in balance has helped me many times in the stressful situations that I get into doing work for others who are suffering.

A Tree Blessing Charm for Happy Homes

This charm will work for any tree that you plant on your property; just adjust the opening line accordingly. The best time to plant a tree is the waning moon phase. Once the tree is planted, enchant the tree for healthy growth and to encourage it to add its magick to your home—and don’t forget to keep it water.

The magnolia brings fortitude and fidelity,

Little tree, send happiness and harmony to me.
Grow strong, straight and true where you now stand,
Your magick spreads out across my land.

Eucalyptus Banish Bad Habits Spell

The eucalyptus tree is believed to possess potent banishing properties. If you have a eucalyptus tree, it’s simple to make a decoction:

Place leaves, twigs and loose bark into a pot and cover with water. Bring it to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer gently for an hour or more. Otherwise you can create an infusion from dried eucalyptus, available at herbal supply stores. Pour boiling water over the herbs and let them steep until the water cools.

Either way, strain out the herbs and add the infusion to your bathwater, to destroy evil ties that bind, whether bad addictions, bad habits or bad company.

A Taste of Autumn

A Taste of Autumn

Author: Lady Rain StarDragon (Teresa Garcia)

Over the past several days, I’ve watched the maple tree between the laundry room window and the Mountain. Slowly, the vibrant green has yellowed to gold, and today, the whole tree now blazes a brilliant vermilion. Other trees still wear their green, like our own maples, while yet others are changing into their yellow robes. Across the street and all through the neighborhood, those that have apple trees have the golden and scarlet fruits of the season.

The air bites when I step out into the chill, sending a delicious shiver down my spine. I am constantly in a state of in between, my dragon self balances well with my human self, and so I can sense when my plumes stand up a little, and the shiver passes clear to the tip of my tail. When walking in this, the blasts of wind the town site was chosen for combs through my head and I can’t always resist the urge to spread my wings and revel in the feel.

Now is the time for hot apple pies heavy with cinnamon, and soon the pumpkins will be ready for harvest. Thoughts of warm pumpkin bread and persimmon cookies dance through my head. Sometime soon, I know that I will give in to the desire for pie, and indulge in the ecstasy that comes with baking, and then eating the fruits of my labors with loved ones.

The sky is gray, the clouds high and not touching the Mountain; yet again I’m sure the Mountain will wear a little more white. The wind and rain that caresses the land at night brings forth a purr from me, and inwardly I coil. Now is not the time to den though. This is the season of the harvest and the hunt.

Where Tia is, I know that she feels similar urges to mine. If I close my eyes, even during the day I can hear the short pant of her breath as we run through the forests in our dreams. Though we are different species, there are things that we share…

However, it is the waking world of physical form that I am in now, not the metaphysical one where not all is as it seems at first glance. Even in this waking world, I can practice my art. I can be One with Nature, draw it deeply into myself.

I have noticed that lately I have started wearing clothes that echo the changing leaves, a subconscious nod to the stately trees that teach me so much. The trees begin to draw their essence further inside of themselves, and I do as well.

The chill encourages this, this time of introspection and preparation. Now is a good time to finish things, and then I can have a little rest. The earth murmurs softly as the wind passes by, a reminder that change is the only constant.

The ranges around are still mostly green; various evergreens make up most of our forests here, despite the deciduous trees that are beginning their turning.

It is said that at this time, the veil between worlds is thin, and I’m inclined to believe it. I’ve always noticed that at this time of year, dreams become easier to recall and more vivid. It could be inspired by the weather, which inspired deep contemplation, but there is more to it.

The pendulum swings and the wheel turns, this is the way of my world. The voices grow louder, and sometimes even those that aren’t particularly open have interesting experiences.

It is also said that, in folklore and traditionally, anything left in the fields after the 31, must be left for the fey folk. Not only is it easier to pass between worlds, but they need food as well… It’s said that they blight anything left in the fields, I have sometimes wondered whether it’s because of the freeze possibility messing with the food, or whether it’s from them taking the essence… or some combination. At any rate, much of modern society doesn’t seem to follow this.

Perhaps it is a good idea to let the late stuff stay though… the nutrients return to the ground to nourish the earth, and animals have food to eat… The deer will not be quite so hungry, and the predators will benefit from this, but so will those prey animals that are fed upon. With the scat and vegetation turned under, the soil will be richer, and we will have a little less impact. But these are random thoughts as I let myself mingle with the season.

The waters grow colder with the temperature changes, and soon enough the lakes will begin to freeze. Ice will form over the rivers, though some larger ones will stay unfrozen. Small streams will sleep. But for now, we are between, and Summer mixes with Winter to make this Autumn.

Some traditions depict this time as a War between the two Kings of Summer and Winter. I’ve often thought of it more as the union of Summer and Winter, the blending and uniting of the two… male and female each season, yet neither sex as well. Two forces or essences swirling and merging, pressing into each other until at last… one gives with a last sleepy sigh and gentle nuzzle.

Summer sleeps then in the arms of Winter, and he/she covers them both with a mantle of snow as he/she watches the Beloved sleep and incubate the new life, resting for the next shifting in the Spring.

This is the Deep Magic, working with these forces that eternally shift and merge, draw apart and dance together again. This is what holds me trapped as I dance with Life and Death, Growth and Rest.

When people ask me what I think about the weather, I never know how to answer them in the moment. It is the weather, and the season, and I am a part of it, responding ever to the promptings. I’d like to share the ecstasy that a good gust of wind gives me as it passes by, leaves swirling giddily in its wake.

This is all that I can do… leave you with a taste and a touch, and let you hear the sighs of Summer and Winter in their Autumn Meeting.

Have a Very Magickal Saturday, my friend!

Saturn/Saturday

Element: Earth
Color: Black, grey
Crystals: Haematite, jet, lodestone, obsidian, smoky quartz
Incense: Aconite, cypress, patchouli
Tree: Blackthorn, yew
Herbs: Aspen, bistort, comfrey, horsetail, Solomon’s seal
Metal: Lead, pewter
Astrological rulership: Capricorn (co-ruler of Aquarius)

Saturday, the day of Saturn, is potent for spells concerned with unfinished business, with endings that lead to beginnings. It is a good day for all slow-moving matters and for accepting limitations, as well as for overcoming obstacles that are long-standing or need careful handling. It can also be used for lifting depression or doubts, meditation, long-term psychic protection, locating lost objects (as well as animals and people) and regaining self-control over bad habits or emotions. Saturn can be used to slow down the outward flow of money and to encourage those who owe you favours or money to repay.He will help banish pain and illness and bring acceptance of what cannot be changed. Saturn is in sense the shadow side of Jupiter — in other words, the reality factor. He represents the constraints of fate, time and space but can also turn challenge into opportunity if you are prepared to work hard and persevere.
Magickal Graphics

Puzzle Play Sex Magick (Blood/Harvest Moon)

Puzzle Play Sex Magick

(Blood Moon)

You will need a puzzle with a maximum of twenty pieces, your favorite scented oil, two pens, and two sheets of paper.

Anoint the edges of the puzzle box with a bit of the oil, too. Hold the puzzle box in your hands, and say:

These pieces join us together as one

Ayea! So be it! Blessed Be!

Next, number the sheets of paper with as many numbers as you have puzzle pieces. Write down the love treat you would like from your partner when you match the puzzle pieces after each number. Have your partner do the same on his or her sheet of paper. For example, list a five-minute foot massage, a three-minute kiss, and a strip tease dance. You can take it from here! Next , spread out all the puzzle pieces, mix them up and begin. Whoever finds the first puzzle match wins his or her love treat. Whoever finds the second puzzle match wins his or her second love treat, and so on and so on. The biggest challenge is to actually finish putting the puzzle together before you join together in passionate love. Direct your sexual energies toward a shared dream or magickal goal.

Sweet Dreams Sex Magick (Blood/Harvest Moon)

Sweet Dreams Sex Magick

When you are deeply and passionately in love, it seems you are always thinking about the one you love. Your mind just keeps wandering back to your beloved, back to the way you feel when you look him or her in the eyes, when you embrace, and the shivers you get when you kiss, and the explosive power of your love making. Just before you go to bed with your lover, look him or her in the eyes, and say:

With your love, so many dreams become reality

All I desire is to be your special friend

All I dream is to be your passionate lover.

Sweet dreams become reality.

Blessed Be!

Make passionate love. As you drift to sleep, repeat to yourself:

Sweet dreams become reality.

Blessed be!

A Tree Spell for Strength and Courage

You can carry out this spell with an Oak, Ash or Redwood, which are traditionally associated with courage and strength. But all trees are intrinsically powerful and so if you have a favorite grove of trees or piece of woodland, you can choose any tree you especially like. You could also use your magick tree.

By adapting the words you could, alternatively, use the tree spell to heal yourself, especially if you have a debilitating or chronic condition or suffer a lot of pain.

There are lots of ways we can return strength to trees, for example by picking up litter in woodlands, planting saplings in memory of loved ones in local woodlands on tree-planting days or campaigning for the preservation and regeneration of forests.

Timing: If possible, as sunlight filters through the leaves, but any bright morning.

You will need: A chosen tree. If you carry out the spell in an unfamiliar place, touch a number of trees and feel which one seems receptive to your energies.

A red (for strength and courage) or pink (for healing) biodegradable ribbon – not synthetic.

Touch your chosen tree with both hands at about waist height so that you can comfortably place your upright outstretched palms against the tree to create a circuit. Loop the ribbon round your power hand.
Your power hand will send your energy into the tree and it will flow out through your other hand, through your body and in again.
Stand for a few moments and allow the connection to flow.
Then say softly:

You are strong. Give me strength/courage/healing if it is right to be.

You may be rewarded by a gentle breeze through the trees, a sudden shaft of sunlight, a pleasant buzzing vibration through your hands or a sense of peace and rightness. If the tree feels unresponsive, thank the tree nevertheless and try another one.
When you feel the connection, press your hands more firmly against the trunk and allow the power to flow. Your whole body will feel more alive and energetic, and you will be filled with confidence, certainty and maybe even joy and harmony.
When you sense the power ebbing slowly, remove the pressure until your palms are just lightly resting against the trunk.
Thank the tree for its gifts and tie the ribbon round an accessible branch.
Spend a few moments sitting against the tree looking up through the leaves. When you can, return the favor to nature.

A Tree Spell for Protection of Self and the Home

There are a number of variations of this traditional ritual. Especially in Scandinavia and Germany, red is a color of protection and was the color of Thor/Thunor, the thunder God whose magickal tree was the Oak.

Trees are believed to stand guardian over homes. If you don’t have one near your house, if you live in a potentially dangerous area or live alone and feel vulnerable indoors, you can use leaves to transfer tree power and as a portable symbol of protection. This spell is very effective for creating a psychic shield round yourself and your home.

Since the spell uses red leaves, it is easiest in Autumn, but copper beech and red Maple are just two tree with naturally red leaves. If you walk round an arboretum or ornamental garden, you will find a number of different species.

Timing: As the sky reddens at sunset

You will need: Three red leaves. Always remember to thank the tree even for a few leaves and do something small for nature, when you have time, in return for the power given. If you can’t find any red leaves, use three sprigs of any tree (oak is very effective) with a few leaves still on each stem. Tie the stems together with red wool or thread in three knots before you begin.

Any single tree essential or fragrance oil such as birch, cedarwood, cypress, laurel, pine or sandalwood.

A small red scarf or circle of fabric.

Work in the open air, if possible close to the tree from which you take the leaves or if not where you can see the sunset. If you need to be indoors, light a red candle.
Pick the red leaves, if possible close to or at the beginning of the spell.
Set them on the red cloth and very carefully anoint each leaf or sprig with a drop of oil, saying as you do so, over each leaf:

Leaves three,

grant to me

Protection this night

That from thy sight

Harm and malice,

Darkness and danger

Fears and intruding stranger

May flee.

Fold the scarf of cloth round the leaves and knot the top three times to make a bag. Repeat the chant three more times as you make the bag.
Hang the bag on the back of the main house door or your bedroom door if you sleep alone and are anxious.
Repeat the spell when the leaves have crumbled or every three months, whichever is sooner.

The Properties of Trees

Below is an extensive list of the properties of different trees:

Alder: Prosperity, security, stability, house moves

Almond: Abundance, prosperity, fertility and love without limits

Apple: Fertility, health, love and long life

Ash: Expansion of horizons; travel, especially by sea; courage, healing, strength, prosperity

Aspen: Clear communication, good news from afar, eloquence, protection against theft, healing

Avocado: Increasing the desire of someone for you, growth of beauty in self or environment

Bamboo: Protection especially of household boundaries and against the negative thoughts of others; good luck, especially in money matters

Banana: Fertility, male potency, prosperity

Banyan: Good luck and optimism

Bay: Fidelity, marriage, preservation of family home, pleasant dreams, abundance

Beech: Knowledge, formal learning, positive change

Birch: Cleansing, health, new beginnings, protection of young children and animals

Boxwood: Discovering hidden treasure, new sources of income, developing forgotten talents, unexpected good fortune

Cedar: Good luck, fidelity in love, mature relationships

Cherry: New love, increasing divinatory abilities, fertility

Chestnut: Abundance, expansion of opportunity, employment

Chestnut, Horse: Money, healing, courage

Coconut: Fertility, motherhood, the flow of new life and energies; give protection against all negativity, especially psychic attack

Cypress: Long life, healing and comfort in sorrow

Dogwood: Clear focus and determination, tests and examinations

Elder: Increases clairvoyance; overcomes negative feelings; healing; good for older women

Elm: Tree of quiet sleep, of family love and giving and receiving in equal measure

Eucalyptus: Cleansing, healing, clarity of thought, overcoming obstacles and misunderstandings

Fig: Wisdom, creativity, fertility, harmony and balance

Fir: Birth and rebirth, new beginnings, cleansing, unexpected gifts and money

Hawthorn: Courage, marking boundaries, purification, protection male potency, cleansing and protection

Hazel: Wisdom, justice, good luck, fertility, knowledge and inspiration, psychic powers

Holly: Protection, especially of the home against all negativity and harm; overcoming impossible odds, persistence; also a tree for money and material gains

Ivy: Fidelity, married love, committed relationship, restoring lost love

Juniper: Protection against all negative forces, purification, prosperity, new beginnings, justice

Larch: Protection, especially against thieves; optimism

Laurel: Protection from illness; success and realization of ambition; winning through in spite of difficulty

Lime/linden: Justice, co-operation with other, partnerships of all kind, dealing with officialdom

Mango: Health, permanence, lasting happiness

Maple: Long life, health of children, fertility, riches of all kinds, pleasure

Myrtle: Stable relationships, married love, fertility, matters concerning young people; also preserving youthfulness; peace, money

Norfolk Island Pine: Assurance that you and your family will never go without the necessities of life

Oak: Knowledge, power, independence, confidence, success, courage, prosperity and potency

Olive: Peace, mending of quarrels; forgiveness, especially of our own mistakes; abundance, healing and fertility

Orange: Love abundance, fertility, marriage, passion, luck and money

Palm: Fertility, potency, energy, starting again, rejuvenation

Pear: New life, health, girls’ and women’s needs, fertility

Peach: Marriage, pregnancy and birth, abundance, happiness, fertility, wishes and long life

Pine: Ending destructive relationships or habits; cleansing negativity; friendship in adversity, knowledge, protection from all harm, money

Redwood: Ambitions, limitless potential, success, spiritual growth, focus, courage, strength, concentration and increased mental acuity

Rowan/mountain ash; Protection of the home, intuition, increasing psychic powers, healing

Silver Banksias; Protection of all kinds, allowing one to let go of sorrow, grief and destructive habits or relationships

Sycamore: Protection and the granting of wishes; increasing influence over others and situations

Tamarind: Love, especially new love and the rebuilding of trust

Vine: Rebirth and renewal, joy, ecstasy, passion, good luck in games of chance

Walnut: Prophetic powers, prosperity, health, increase of mental powers, fertility, granting of wishes

Willow: Intuition, moon magick, healing, prophetic dreams, making wishes comes true, increasing psychic energies, understanding the emotions of others

White Mangrove: Nurturing self and others, being sensitive, intuitive, caring, balanced and in touch with life force

Yew: Endings, of new and good things coming out of the old, of permanence, aims that are slow to come to fruition, enduring strength, what is of worth, union between two people after difficulty

Using Tree Magick

You can use trees in magick in countless ways, the most basic by touching a tree with both hands, palms flat against the trunk and asking for its particular powers to enter you. This is another way of tuning into the different strengths of various trees.

Collect twigs from different trees or small hand-carved items made of the different woods and use them as charms to bring the powers you need into your life.

You can empower these with salt, incense, candle flame or water if you wish, though the natural wood is already powerful.

Craft fairs are an excellent source of small hand-carved items, as are ethnic stores that give a fair price to crafts people.

Carry a different wood when you need its particular strength.

You can also burn incenses and oils made from different trees (where possible, use natural plant products) and state aloud nine times the power you seek from the tree fragrance as you write your needs in the air with the smoke from an incense stick.

You can eat seeds, nuts and fruits from different trees or use products made from the blossoms in your bath to absorb the magickal strengths into your life. Natural tree, as well as flower and herbal products used in the kitchen give your home protection and harmony – and are much better for the environment than many of the alternatives.

Finally you can burn two or three of the woods in a fire dish, barbecue or open fire to release the qualities you need. Create chants or a simple phrase or two incorporating the names of the chosen trees and what you seek from them.

Trees and Magick

Each tree species carries strength and healing, though obviously longer standing tree with deep roots and spreading branches have greater repositories of energy. Each kind of tree also has its own unique powers. These you may associate with the kind of nature essence dwelling in that species or more abstractly with the qualities filtered through different kinds of wood.

Hold a crystal pendulum close to different trees and you will feel in your hands and body, amplified by the crystal, the differing tree strengths. For example, a redwood may make you feel confident and a willow, dreamy and intuitive. Note these feelings in your nature journal along with any images or words that come into your mind.

There are variations in intensity even with different trees within the same species. Take time to explore these energies and to visit forests (children love them) to get yourself attuned.

An arboretum or botanical garden is a good place to start if you are not familiar with trees. Buy a small tree book to carry with you so you can identify trees wherever you go, even in cities.

Creating a Magickal Tree

You can create your own, albeit more modest but nevertheless magickal, world tree in your garden.

You can use any tree or a large bush as long as it has plenty of branches. Indoors, you can use a large ornamental tree or bush. Alternatively, use large, stripped-wood branches indoors or set them in soil. Wherever it is located, you magickal tree acts as a protective force to repel harm from your property.

You can start the tree with just one or two items. You will need some of the following:

A witch ball or colored-glass fishing float that reflects the garden and shines in sunlight. These are both protective and empowering. Witch balls resemble huge Christmas baubles and come from the American folk tradition. You can make one by painting a glass sphere with metallic paint or buy one from a New Age shop or website.
Fishing floats make a transparent glass are on sale in antique stores or garage sales, but increasingly in gift shops and houseware stores. Hang two or three of them from the tree.
Mirrors. These need only be small to reflect the flow of the life force round the garden and repel all harm. You can use ordinary round mirrors or Chinese lucky Bagua mirrors that display the old Chinese symbols for eight natural forces that together energize the universe and our lives. Convex ones that curve outwards are especially protective.
Outdoors, nets of seeds and nuts or fat balls bring wild birds to the tree. This is especially important if the tree itself is not living.
Symbols of fertility and prosperity. Fill small raffia baskets with long handles with coins, sparking crystals like yellow citrine and clear crystal quartz or dried herbs like sage, rosemary and thyme that bring abundance to the garden with your home. You can often buy ornamental baskets set with wooden or ceramic fruits and flowers. Look in ethnic stores.
Small metal birds (you can sometimes buy them made of recycled metal). They will gleam in the light and encourage the circulation of positivity.
Feathers on cords to encourage positive change and the free-flowing life force.
Seasonal flowers, again especially important if the tree itself is not living. These can be weaved into circlets or use as garlands secured with twine. Keep these fresh and replace regularly.
Sun catchers, crystals or polished glass stones on chains.
Ribbons tied on the tree for different wishes. Secure the ribbon with three knots on to the tree and make your wish. Use ribbons that are not synthetic.
Use the following list when choosing the colors of items to put on to your magickal tree:

Blue: Justice, career, travel and house moves

Brown: Animals, property, finances and officialdom

Green: Love and fidelity, for gradual increase in health, alternative healing, prosperity and to heal the planet

Orange: Creativity and fertility

Pink: Children, new or first love, peace, peaceful dreams and reconciliation

Purple: Psychic awareness, peace, alternative healing and for protection

Red: Passion and change

Yellow: Learning and anything that needs to happen fast or temporarily in your life; also for conventional healing

Tree Magick

Sacred and magickal trees are found in the religions and mythology of almost every culture. Trees form the link between earth and sky, because they have their roots in soil and their branches in the air and were originally regarded in creative form of the Earth Mother.

In early forms of religion, people believed that trees were themselves deities, a belief that gradually gave way to the idea that the spirits of deities or nature essences live within the tree. In Japan, temples have been built around sacred trees for more than two thousand years. Here it is believed that Mononoke, the magickal life force, is concentrated in trees and rocks.The Japanese Cryptomeria and the evergreen Sakaki trees are especially rich in this force and are often used for building sacred shrine. The tree itself is incorporated into the central pillar so the indwelling power of the nature deity might bless the site.

In parts of Sweden until quite recently, a guardian tree, often Elm, Ash or Lime, was planted close to farms or small settlements and it was forbidden to take even a leaf from this tree. Pregnant women used to embrace the tree to ensure an easy delivery.

Trees have also been associated from Africa o Eastern Europe with the spirits of fertility, who regulated rain, sunshine and good harvest. In Germany and France, in some agricultural areas, large leafy branch or even a whole tree, decorated with corn ears or the last corn sheaf, adorns the last wagon of the harvest. It was traditionally set on the roof of the farmhouse or barn for a year to ensure future good harvest.

In India, sacred trees are still visited in order to ask for blessings, especially for fertility, from the indwelling spirit or deity: food and flowers are left at the tree shrine and offering ribbons are tied to the tree.

The Celtic Druids worshipped not in temples, but in groves of trees. These natural sites may have predated the Celts by thousands of years; and still in Wales, Brittany and Cornwall the trees are hung with ribbons, trinkets and petitions for healing and blessings.

Your Deck of Ancient Symbols Card for Sept. 13th is The Phoenix