Horoscopes and Tarot Cards: Handling Daily Readings

   Horoscope and Tarot Card readings are both forms of divination, and divination is the ability to tell the future. But how seriously are we to take these readings? And how are we to, in effect, to use this foretold information, to our advantage? 
   Millions of people read their horoscopes on a daily basis, most of the time at the beginning of the day. So at the end of the day they say to themselves, "Well, my scope was a little off today." These people don't realize that they might have somehow twisted their own fate just a bit that day. If someone has had a negative reading it makes them think in some way they are going to have a bad day. This sort of thinking sometimes makes some people put the day's readings in the back of their heads, but subconsciously  they are telling themselves, "I'm not going to have a bad day." The same can be said for anticipating something good to happen. It kills the moment, sometimes making the outcome different then expected.
   The way to take advantage of a reading is to make those subconscious  decisions, conscious ones. One thing I have learned is to not associate a reading with your day as a whole. It could very well represent one solitary event. But also don't look for things to happen! Don't expect anything, do quite the opposite, live your normal life and stop living like a paranoid schitzo!
   No, I'm just kidding. Serious, in essence, but kidding about the whole paranoid schitzo thing. :) So… first thing in the morning, we read our divination readings of choice, absorb what it could all mean, how it pertains to what is happening in the present, and once absorbed completely, forget. Forget what you read this morning off of the newspaper right next to the comics section under Dear Abby, for at least the next twelve hours. Did the undesired happen?  Perhaps it passed you by. Or the worst thing that happened to you was traffic on the way home. You'll find that when you don't dread on things, like having just read your fortunate or unfortunate fate, they pop out when they have to.
   Throughout the day, follow your routine as you normally would. If and when any situations make it so that something in your readings "pops up" in a way, make a note of it, and save it for later. At the end of your day, reflect on your day altogether. The ups. The downs. Now make any connections between your reading earlier that morning. Compare notes with your day, bring up your "pop up" moments, whether it be one simple word or phrase, or the entire reading altogether.

For Example, here is an example of how I handle my daily readings:

[NOTE: In terms of the way I define my tarot card reading, this is simply an example of how I perceive the cards. The meaning of any one card may vary slightly amongst psychics. This is why it is often said that art of divination is purely subjective; identifying the meaning in any one card is identified through one's own perception of what is going on in that particular moment during that particular reading.]

October 25, 2010

Daily Horoscope (From "The Daily" News for iPad)- Capricorn: What occurs over the next few days will prompt you to accept that maybe you don't know it all. It will force you to consider the possibility that what you call "truth" is in fact a rather fluid concept.

Tarot Card of the Day- XVI The Tower: Quarrel. Combat. Danger. Ruin. Destruction of plans. / Ambition. Courage. Sudden death. Escape from prison and all it implies.

Morning "at a glance" Thoughts

   At first glance I can already see that I am going to go through a sort coming of realization according to the horoscope reading. Connecting that with actual events in my everyday life, I can say that I have been doing a lot of reading lately, mostly pagan articles. I have also been wanting to start a daily exercise routine, and I have also been wanting to start up my hobbies as I once did.
   I just moved to Texas a couple of months ago, and have been doing little to nothing out doors since I have been here. In the last few days, I have come up with the resolution that exercise, hobbies such as blogging and geocaching, re-engaging in pagan practice, and taking care of myself are things I have to do to get out of what I felt like, has been a rut since I've been here. In the past few days, those are the truths I have come up with for myself.
   Even though I know these truths, I have been a bit shy, and in some instances, pretty much scared, to begin my journey into re-establishing who I once was. All of last week I did my crunches, telling myself, that starting this week, I would start going to the gym (which I have available to me in my complex!) for AT LEAST 20 minutes. Monday, which was yesterday, came, and I didn't go to the gym. And today is gonna pass and I still haven't gone. Out of fear of being seen, or not being able to finish the 20 minute session because I haven't worked out in over a year, or fear of starting and not continuing day after day.  Who knows... XVI The Tower: Ruin and Destruction of plans. 

End of the Day Reflections

   There are two views or sides to every tarot card.  The trump card of The Tower possesses the negatives aspects such as combat and ruin, but it also possess the positive aspects of ambition, courage, and escape. So a way for me to have consciously turned  the fate of the card that was dealt to me today, per say, would be for me to go ahead and have gone to the gym tonight, even though I usually like the morning, when its empty. I, in a sense, (If I were to have gone.) possessed the courage to go on with my plans and perhaps upon going, I would have escaped from the "imprisonment" of the fear I once had of going. But lets be honest, I didn't go  to the gym today either. Returning to it's main negative aspect- Ruin and destruction of plans. 
   About an hour after my morning reading, I found myself in a sort of "lover's quarrel". But that was only brought on by my partner's combative nature, and I had no way of going around it.  This is an instance of a fortune unfolding itself, leaving me to deal with the situation. I quickly and swiftly corrected the situation upon remembering my earlier reading (ya, know, the one we are suppose to ignore till the end of the day. Well… you are supposed to put her back there because she comes in handy! I wasn't thinking about it, but it came up.) In this situation I believe that I did not let the negative aspect of The Tower take control of my life in this particular moment in time by putting an end to what would have been a sizable argument. I, in a sense put "sudden death" to anything that would cause "destruction" or "ruin", and then the situation was put behind us.
  Even though we consciously try to live our lives to the best of our intentions, there are still times when what is foretold, whether positive or negative, cannot be bent around or changed.
   Later on in the evening, my boyfriend's uncle came by with his 3 year old daughter, asking me if I would be willing to braid her hair this weekend. An escape from prison and all it implies. I can't seem to get myself into the groove, so fate has brought it to me regardless!
   If there is one thing I love, but haven't done in ages, it's braids! If I do a fair job, I will be doing her hair on a weekly basis for a small price. I was willing to do it for free, might I add! It was so strange how just seeing the little girl enlightened me in some way. I automatically wanted to just follow her around. I kept patting and touching her little hair bun, lol. I was asking myself, "How would I part her hair to trail out the braids? Would it look better this way? That way? She's a little baby so I have to do as little as possible…" I felt myself WANTING to do something. A sense of ambition.
 

Tomato... Tomatoe

  
   It is important not to be looking for things to happen! For example: I woke up this morning and Im out of toilet paper because my cat decided to teepee to living room (mistake for RUIN by the paranoid), true story, btw. Or my Netflix got cut off (SUDDEN DEATH). Also, did happen today. (-__-).  Not everything has something to do with that pesky little paragraph you read this morning! And not everything you read is LITERAL. "An escape from prison and all it implies," does not mean you are gonna get locked up today, and escape. "Sudden death" doesn't mean that someone or something is gonna drop at any second. Your escape could just as well mean you finally were able to get out of the house to go get that mani/pedi you've been dying for. As a matter of fact, the definitions I posted for the tarot reading are not concrete definitions.
   As I have mentioned before, divination is a practice that is subjective. The meaning of any one particular card changes from one person to the next depending on his or her own perception and concepts. One word can bring about different emotions and feeling amongst different people. The Tower card, to me, is entrapment and irritation, needing to find a sense of release but not being able to find one. Kind of like Rapunzel, stuck up in a tower, looking out into the world and all it's beauty, but not being able to experience any of it. On the opposite side I see an escape by jumping off the side,  or climbing down, which takes major courage and true deep desire for freedom and/or exploration. Is my form of expression in any way similar to what is written in text? I may say it differently, but the symbolism turns out somewhat the same. Tomato… Tomatoe…

The wonders of herbal remedies!

     Today I experimented with a little bit of "herbal self medicating" :). My dilemma started the day before yesterday... When I woke up with a small rash on my left arm. At first I thought maybe I brushed up against something and it was slight irritation. But it started to get itchy, and well... I've always been one to scratch an itch. It wasn't a bit... There were no puncture wounds... No visible scrapes or scratches (Yet). I ignored it thinking that maybe it would go away on it's own.
     I woke yesterday morning with an even larger irritation area, hard to the touch... And on one end of the irritation there was a faint little scratch! All at once It came to me what the irritation was... And why it got so much larger so quickly (not that scratching helped :/). My kitten must have accidentally swiped me with one of his claws as he was jumping off of me. The scratch was so faint! I mean it didn't show up till more then 24 hours after it was made!
     And just to catch you up really quick... I have a moderate allergy to felines. I have my kitten, Brownie, but I keep him brushed to reduce shedding, and I wipe him down with "hypoallergenic, shed control" cat wipes at least twice a week to reduce and pretty much eliminate sneezing. If he licks me... I get an itch... irritation comes from a scratch ... It's never gotten this big though...
     First thing I did upon getting up and discovering my tomato red arm, was take a couple benadryl, and apply on an antihistamine spray for what appears to be a rash forming! Antihistamines...ATTACK!!!
     I waited all day... But the allergy seemed to be crawling towards broader seas, if you know what I mean. Then I remembered that chamomile had antihistamine properties. But since I don't have access to a plant to make a truly natural herbal tincture, my second choice was to depend on good old processed tea bags. Luckily, I had a stash of chamomile tea bags that actually had just chamomile in it! For some reason some companies claim that the tea is just of one herb... But if you look at the ingredients you find five other herbs listed too...

      The first thing I did was simply drink a cup of tea... Made it strong... Soaked two bags in one cup for ten minutes and drank it. And when I took out the bags and expunged the excess water, I ran the tea bags over the irritated area of my arm and left the area wet for a few minutes before drying it off. I was surprised at how quickly the itching went away... But the rash remained throughout day two...
     So now we are down to today! Day three with a deadly rash on my arm... The itching managed to stay away until I woke up today! But I figured I didn't give the chamomile enough time to soak. Into the skin to actually do anything other then get rid of the itch of the rash... Maybe I need to let it soak longer... Or better yet... Maybe I need to have the chamomile directly on the skin. I did two applications, one in the morning, and one in the evening. So this was my process:
(Please note that to some with sensitive skin, this might actually irritate the skin further, so if skin becomes more irritated after applying, do not continue this remedy.)

   1. soak 2 tea bags of chamomile in one cup of hot water for ten minutes, then take out tea bags and expunge excess water.
   2. Rip open tea bags and apply chamomile directly onto the entire affected area.

   3. Soak a towel or even a paper towel, in the chamomile tea water and place over the area with chamomile yo keep it moist with the tea water.

   4. leave the application on for 15 minutes, occasionally re soaking towel with tea water to keep moist. It is normal to feel a cool tingling sensation, that means it's doing it's job.
   5. Take off application, but don't rinse it off. Simply dry it off.

Before application:

After first application:

After second application:
 

The wonders of herbal remedies! I suffered with this massive allergic reaction for 2 whole days before today! And after two fifteen minute applications, about 7 hours apart, I am getting results that not even oral medication and an antihistamine spray could fix! All I need is one more application before bedtime today, and this monstrosity will be gone by tomorrow. :)

Fear...

On day two of my Wicca book, it asked me to look at a set of words and write down what I knew about them, how the non-Wiccan world might view the words, and how I personally felt about the words. That was a simple task, I wrote down exactly as I was asked, and awaited my next assignment. On day three, I was asked to look back on all on what I had jotted down and pick one word that may possibly symbolize then majority of my feelings toward the words... And I have found myself pondering for the last couple days.
     I noticed I always started talking about my catholic background and how I always justified hiding my pagan practices with the fact that my family found ways of reprimanding, or looking badly upon, or tabooing the practices. Mostly, it was done to pacify the Christian atmosphere... But I also did so in a way to search for a medium. A means by which I could possibly fuse my beliefs and make them all into one. There had to be a way that the way I was brought up, and this new path I had chosen to go into could coincide.
     But why then did my practices lay dormant for almost five years? And three of these five years, why did I run around a church and surround myself with bible studies and Sunday sermons? I believe my word shall be FEAR. I spent three years advancing from 1st communion to confirmation... learning. You know, I almost chose to go to church every Sunday and sing in the choir over this beautiful world I have now dived into. But the words of the bible and harshly misconstrued in this day and age.
     "Such 'wisdom' does not come down from up above but is earthly, unspiritual, of the devil." (James 3:15) This is what is said of spell casting and speaking in rhyme. Of following moon and sun phases and reading tarot spreads... But how is something "earthly" considered unspiritual and of the devil? Evil exists amongst all of us, but the devil himself does not exist. And most certainly, practices of divination and spell casting are always done in good will, and never by dark forces if done by a true witch. And everything that we do is very much so spiritual, in fact, I have found that people that follow pagan paths, or even those such as Buddhism or Muslim religions, are more in touch with their spiritual selves then any Christian could ever imagine. Ohhhh! But it's ok for them to have earthly beliefs! "For those nations, which you will dispossess, listen to those who practice witchcraft and diviners, but as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do so." (Deuteronomy 18:14) In other words saying, it is okay for those other countries to remain ignorant and worship idols, for they shall soon be conquered, and even killed. Or this could even be seen as, "It's okay for them to do it. its just not ok for you to do it." But that is also not so. That could be misconstrued at meaning one could easily befriend a witch or a spiritualist... but read on.
     "These are rebellious people, deceitful children, unwilling to listen to God's instruction." (Isaiah 30:9) The way I see it, I sat around and I listened to as much as I felt necessary. I was very willing. I am in no way of any deceitful mind, although I admit quite a bit rebellious. I take into great consideration God's word. There are some things worth taking in and grasping, such as some the ten commandments per example: thou shalt not commit adultery, not steal, not murder, not lie, thou shall honor thy mother and father... They are all instructions of God... which I dont mind following, so how am I in any way unwilling to follow His law?
     I remember at one point when I was a teenager and I used to have my little make shift alter on top of my dresser, it pacified my grandmother to see a picture of the Virgin Mary in the Middle of my altar. To her it was me giving in to her nagging and having her believe I had reverted to the correct religious ways. In my head, I needed a goddess image. In my mind the way I saw it, if God is God, and the Virgin Mary is Jesus's mother, then that very well merits her Goddess position... In most christian religions she isn't even considered a saint! So her picture served as a mother image of the goddess to me.
     When I started going to bible school and started learned how "terrible" of a sin it was to be, 1. Bisxual and 2. Of pagan practices, for one I was damned to hell for all eternity according to the Catholic church, and for another, there had to be something I could do about it! And here I thought God was all forgiving and of the sorts. I started changing the way i practiced my rituals once i started bible school. When it came to calling the guardians of the watch towers, I at one point started calling up saints instead, and when it came to spells and magic, I used God and His blessings and still to all harm none. I stopped using rhyme and started praying, visualizing and meditating while staring at candles. I found that my new ways, at least the visualizing and meditating, had a stronger effect on my matters at hand. But apparently, even this Way of doing things, is wrong. "Many will say to me 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, cast out devils in your name, and in your name perform many miracles?' Then I shall tell them to their face, "I never knew you, out of my sight, you and your wicked ways! '" Matthew (7:22) Even if I performed my rituals in the name of God... In the name of Jesus, or in the name of saints or virgins... The sin still stands. I am still practicing a ritual, just like a witch would. I am still performing magic, which is wisdom of "earthly" types, therefore, of the devil.
     Even if I were to become some born again Catholic, it would not be enough to be a devout Catholic! "Let no one be found among you... Who practices divination or sorcery, interprets omens, engages in witchcraft, or casts spells, or who is a medium or spiritualist." Deuteronomy (18:10-11) Yes, my dearest witch family, it is a good thing that at this time of great study and contemplation I had no pagan relatives! Can't be one, can't be around one. See how that little quote above could NOT be so easily twisted to one's favor?
     I wasn't going to sit in a church and question my views on spirituality for the rest of my life... I viewed it differently before Wicca or paganism had anything to to WITH ME. I always saw things differently...  Life and the world around me makes sense away from church...
     I mentioned at the beginning of this journal entry that my word for day three will be fear. I've had such a great fear of moving forward in Wicca and the pagan path for so long. Fear of having myself a permanent altar, of practicing my rituals outside ad being seen along with candles and incense burning and being questioned; scared of not practicing the right thing or not reading the appropriate material, of simply doing something wrong! Fear of just being me and going with the flow... and letting things happen. Fear is what will be melting away when I do the exercise tomorrow. I will be letting go of all restraint that I have on my self and be more free about my spiritual and religious ways. I hope that my wishes become so.

Confusing Words

In day 2 of Timothy Roderick's Wicca: A Year and a Day, Roderick asks to look at a set of words and to explore my comfort and understanding of the word, as well as imagining how each word might impact other people who are not involved in the  path of Wicca. I was to commit my feelings to this exercise and write them down for tomorrow's exercise.


Wicca: I first came across this word when I was in grade school. And when I first came upon it, I thought of earth magick, shamanism and gypsy magick. At first I used to interchange the word "paganism" with Wicca. Growing up both of these words were taboo to use in a Catholic household. Wicca was immediately accociated with witchcraft and magic. As  I got older and became more educated, I learned the beliefs and traditions within Wicca were one of the oldest earth religions/traditions around, even before Christianity.

Witchcraft: To others, witchcraft is magick, hexes, charms, vodoo... I've never been comfortable using this word. One question that always follows after a non-wiccan finding that you are Wiccan is,  "Do you practice witchcraft?" and my answer is often ,"no." But what is the true definition of the word? In the sense that an outsider is asking, the answer would be no. But if another witch were to ask the same question, the answer would not be the same. Or would it? Because of how I was brought  up, witchcraft=magic=evil, and I've always had a hard time with the word.

Power: The energy someone can put out or bring in during a prayer, charm, spell, ritual, meditation, or visualization. Or simply the strength  of someone's aura or person. There is potential power within everything.
     For example: some people have a very strong eye (look or gaze), and can accidentally (or on purpose)  put out ill will to someone, making them ill. In Mexican lore this is called giving someone the evil eye. This usually happens when older women never had children and really yearn for them, so they sometimes accidentally give the evil eye to an infant. When someone knows they have this "strong gaze" as they call it,  its a good idea to not let the adult yearn to hold the infant, the  mother should let the adult hold the baby. Because of things  such as the evil eye, there are tiger's eye bracelets for infants sold in high volumes in many latin american botanical stores.


Ritual: There is ritual in everything that we do. Some of us have to have a cup of coffee and read the news paper every morning before we do anything else in our day. Perhaps its more indepth then that... you wake up, turn of the coffee maker, take a shower, get dressed, then read the news paper. And it has to be done the same time every time. It's known as "routine", but in itself, it is a ritual. From a religious standing oint, every time a Catholic or a Christian goes to church... it is ONE BIG GIANT RITUAL. They call it mass or worship... but its a ritual. It happens once a week, its repetitive, you praise the lord, repent, and thank him and you leave. Some pagan religions have esbats (moon ritual) and sabbats (pagan holidays or seasonal equinoxes). Anyway, on these days we also like to "worship" and give thanks to our Gods and what not. We also do this in the form of a ritual.
     When other people see people who follow the path of Wicca, they might view the word "ritual" as a "magical" type ritual. In other words, if it's a ritual that is being done, we have to be up to some hocus pocus.

Magic: People often assume, that because you follow a certain path, you automatically know of magic. Or that you do it. But what does that even mean!?! Can I pull a rabbit out of a hat and make people dissappear in boxes? Can I can someone in half and put them back together again? I like to see our magic, as more like spiritual energy. When someone of a non-pagan or non -wiccan path ask me if I do magic, I almost always reply with, "When you pray is it magic?" When I walk around my little patio 3 times clockwise to open my circle and welcome the corners and I sit in front of my table, I don't sit there and make demands! I am asking the Gods for a request and I'm also letting the universe know that my intentions are to harm none.
     Magic coincides very much with power. The results of the magic you put out depend on how much power you exert in the magic it self, whether in the form of a spell or charm, or during a ritual of some sort altogether.

Occult: Anything to do with the new age or neo-pagan culture.

Pagan: Any non-christian religion. I learned growing up that I could keep the Jehovah Witnesses of my doorstep by telling them my family was pagan and not interested. The Mormons were a little more stubborn, but it worked the JWs. I also learned that when I was going to bible school, my teachers didn't like it when you tried to tell them paganism was older then the bible. Pentagram necklaces made you pagan. If you were pagan you were automatically a witch. If you were a witch you can do magick and you were evil. When I was in high school the goth clique would claim they would worship satan and wore upside down pentagrams... it would piss me off, having already learned quite a bit about Wicca and paganism, and I myself holding the pentagram in high regards. I think to be pagan is to me a spiritual child. To follow Wicca is to have an affinity towards the earth, but to be pagan is a broader spectrum, a more spiritual spectrum, it has no specificity.

Spell: When I was a teenager I was more into the sense of doing everything "right". I had an altar that changed with the seasons, i did everything according to the moon changes, I even at one time performed spells the correct way. In a ritualistic manner and I even spoke in rhyme. But everytime grandmother from dad's side came to visit... she'd tear down my altar, tell my parents i was performing dark magic and worshiping other gods and it was a sin. So I learned to meditate and visualize. I put away my altar eventually. I didn't use any tools past incense and a single candle...  In a sense I reverted to prayer and visualization.  And I learned that visualizing only makes you concentrate more on the matters at hand, and it makes you really be conscience of your spiritual surrounding, making whatever it is that you are trying to accomplish more efficient in ones effort.

Earth Religion: Any religion that doesnt necessarily worship idols or gods, but instead has a great respect for nature and all of its metaphysical properties and energies. People from the  outside very often say, "They worship the ground they walk on." And they say  it as merely a joke. We ask to take before we clip even a single rose from a bush. Im basically killing a bud by cutting it off its branch... its life source... why wouldn't I be thankful for the beauty I have been allowed to take with me? I love meditating on the grass when its a lil hot out cause the grass's  energies keep me cool... and you gotta thank them for that when you get up and walk  away! I just sat my 200 pound self on all these lil strands of grass that kept me cool for the most part, why not thank them? People from earth religions thank the earth for everything that comes from it, which in essence is pretty much everything.

Where to start?

For quite some time I have found myself in quiet the dilemma. I didn't know where to begin my learning when it came to my "born again" interests in the pagan path, to be non-specific. And I don't mean to be specific because my interests have been over spirituality over-all! I find something beautiful and compelling about even non-pagan paths.

In my mind, it's like, I was brought up around a catholic environment, but I saw beyond the biblical scriptures. I saw the mysticism behind the incense burning, the bread and the wine… and during Christmas, the four white candles and that ONE purple candle (or was it vice versa)… And aside from the religion there was always grandma… and her wonderful little herb garden. Or in my grandmother's case… 4 lemon trees, 2 lime trees, 2 avocados, a mango, a peach, a prune, tomato gardens I planted myself :), guava trees… then there was aloe vera (savila), chamomile(manzanilla), peppermint(yerba buena), hemp (I never made the connection of it actually being marijuana.. all I knew was grandma was secretive about  growin it, and she stuffed those leaves in bottles of alcohol and let them sit, and it was like a tincture. She would rub it on her knees for arthritis, and thats pretty much all it was for.) And OMG it would drive me mad when my grandma would drive me around the town hunting down good looking eucalyptus trees… So I could run out and grab some perfectly green leaves. (-__-) I grew up around two grandmothers who had teas and herbal remedies they swore up and down was a family secret recipe against a certain ailment(its on the internet g-ma!), and boiling pots and the smell of sage in the background. And why is it that I have weird aunts that are always showing off how authentic and big and beautiful their "molcajete" is?!?

   "Look hears my room, bathroom, kitchen… oh, and this is my beautifully decorated mortar, which i just crushed some fresh blah blah blah in the other day to make some blah blah blah!"… always… without fail.

As Catholic the most "religious" of all always was the most superstitious… Don't ever go inside a circle of mushrooms cause the evil will take you? wtf? Sound at all familiar to faery rings, though not in a sense evil? Break a mirror you get seven years of bad luck? Don't walk under ladders… Don't wear red on your period… Wear tiger's eye to protect from the evil eye. If a baby is touched by the evil I the mother must crack an egg into a bowl and place 4 toothpicks in the bowl and place the bowl under the crib, in the morning if the sticks and the yolk have arranged themselves to form a perfect EYE, the hex is gone, if not the same thing must be repeated the following nights until the eye appears… to cure a flu with a bad fever… swallow one garlic clove with a teaspoon of olive oil,  and drink some chamomile tea, and grandma gave you some special stomach massage, and you were set. And growing up, all these things fascinated me!

So now to the point! Finally right? haha. I for a time wasn't exactly sure in which direction I wanted to take my further advancement in my spiritual path. Quite honestly, there is still a lot more I would like to learn about other religions, but the fact of the matter is… that I'm not looking for religion. I am an earth child, and I am  looking to become more attuned to  my inner self and the earth around me. Through hiking, geocaching, gardening, and learning more about herbs, crystals, and gems and all their both healing and magical properties.

So I am starting with herbs… with which in time will come the making of oils, incenses, sachets, brews. Since we are in a fairly new apartment, I can practice by learning protective mixes and  using them in my home. Ive got Scott Cunningham's The Magical Household, and the Complete Book of Incense, Oils, & Brews to help me along in my learning.

I finally got my Wicca: A Year and a Day! Cause what more to get in tune with your green self then traditional Wicca! I shall set out on a hunt for my 1st 30 days of tools next week!

The Wonders of a Magickal Household :)

     I have been in Houston, Texas since July 29, 2011. And what is the significance? One asks as they are reading this. Well the significance being that I moved to Texas with the biggest hopes of finding, or being able to build my own serenity in a sense. My ultimate goal being; practice and learn more about my religion.
     One month in... and I got mad at myself the other day because I thought I hadn't done a single thing towards my goal. A month! All starting with my forgetting to put a travel charm on my luggage before the flight... something so simple and quick. FAIL!
     Last week my boyfriend turns around and looks at me and says, "Babe you have been aware of your goals subconsciously! You had me driving all over town for a green candle and crazy scents for some 'healing crap' remember?" Oh yeah... I needed my damn green candle! I am very specific! "And you didn't let anyone into the new apartment until you went in by yourself and 'blessed' it." Yes that is true... "You've been looking into herbs that will grow in our patio. You hung a charm outside our door for who knows what..."
     The only way I can explain it, is that when magic is a part of your nature, somethings just come to do naturally. Does that make any sense? After years and years of having some things engraved in us, they are second nature. But then there are things that pop out of nowhere sometimes... and it's like, "How the hell did I know to do that?!?"


Instant Purification!
There are a lot of little things that I do that to him are a bit odd. Among them being one thing I did just most recently. I went out side to smoke a cigarette in my patio. It had been a very nice day. Out of nowhere something odd happened, it was just a BAD feeling.. I immediately ran inside the house a took out one myrrh and one cinnamon incense stick... lit them, and started waiving them in my right hand, as if bringing in towards me. I did this to each room and bathroom, and then when I got to the patio, I switched hands, went to the left and changed directions of the waiving. I was waiving away and out all the negative and bad energy from my home... then I left the two incense sticks burning outside on my patio.


Long Distance Healing
Given that I haven't been able to find any reputable occult stores in Houston, I was very limited on what I could do in either of the cases mentioned above. I had a long distance friend who had contacted me and needed my help. To keep details short, she asked for help in the form of a healing charm or spell. I had done one before, though many years before, I remembered most of the ingredients and began my 4-day witch hunt. (HA!) But don't think I waited these four days to direct any energy towards my friend either! Any chance I got, or that she randomly popped into my head, I took a minute to direct my healing energies in her direction. I also had her burn both a blue and purple candle empowered by her with lavender oil... She's into meditating, so I told her to use the flames as a center and focus her thoughts on being healthy and without pain. I also suggested constantly burning myrrh.
    Now... when I finally had all of my supplies: 4 white taper candles to represent the 4 directions (placed at the 4 corners of my table),  1 pillar green candle (placed in the middle of my table), sandalwood oil (for white candles) and lavendar oil (for green candle), 4 gems, and Cinnamon Incense (only because this is all I had available. I would have preferred Myrrh and Sage).
     I'm only placing 4 gems, and not specifying, because for learning purposes, you should look for stones and gems that pertain to your ailment in particular. And sometimes the stone that would pertain will get to you in the mail, and you feel no energy from it. I bought 10 different gems and picked the 4 that a felt most attuned to me. (Again I don't know if this makes sense... in any case, my choices were lapis, aquamarine, moss agate, and rhodochrosite). Each gem is placed at each corner of the altar (table). (It's a good idea to empower your gems by carrying them with you or holding them for short periods throughout the day, or days before ritual takes place.)
     My rituals are always silent, and more meditative then anything. If I have room to move around, such as my living room (I have discovered haha) I can create a bigger circle and prance around the room if I choose. But when its my usual tiny lil patio space, its lotus position on the concrete, centered on the box out line that I call my table.  (^_^) Ive got my 4 corners and my center, that's all that anybody really needs. To purify my ritual space I simply light my incense and walk around the perimeter of my little patio slowly, as if I were in a walking meditative state, in a clockwise direction, until I come back around. I like to go all around 3 times, it's a small patio, but since I do no speaking, I feel it really helps get my energy through better. Once I have purified my space I sit down at my altar and consecrate and empower my supplies, which is in this case my candles and my gems. The gems should already be empowered, so they may be placed at the corners (place them where it feels they want to go, I'm not very familiar yet with elemental and astrological correspondences). I began empowering with my East candle, moving clock wise to South, West, North. When empowering the candles it important to visualize the guardians of that specific tower, and asking them to help in delivering the task at hand. Once I get to my green candle, the visualization is PURELY on the task at hand. In my case purely on healing my friend and ridding her of all pain and envisioning her in good health.
     Once all my candles have been empowered and placed in there positions in the altar, I take a minute to ground all on my energies, I then start lighting all my candles, starting with my East (top right corner), and moving down clock wise, ending with the green pillar candle. Once all the candles are lit, its time to meditate and focus on where I want all of the energies of this ritual to go. I think of this as a moment of deep envisioning and prayer. I am envisioning my friend becoming better in health and no longer being in pain, but I am also asking the Gods to please help my friend become better, as I am sending my own energies to help her as well.  I attain this deep focus/visualization for as long as possible, and once I can no longer keep my focus, I thank the guardians and Gods and Goddesses for aiding me in my ritual, and I start blowing out the candles. I start with my green pillar candle, then my East candle, and move counter-clockwise. To close the circle, using the same incense as before, which should still be burning, I move around my entire patio space 3 times counter-clockwise. I then put away all of my materials and I am done. I felt it only necessary to do the ritual once.

House Blessing
     All I had when we moved into out new apartment... was a cinnamon incense stick... That's it. No candles, no herbs, no crystals or gems... NADA. I anointed the cinnamon stick with sandalwood oil and empowered it with positive thoughts and goodwill toward our new home. Such things as no arguing, a steady income, no burglary, no negative energies, only positive thoughts and good business energies... all things of the sort.
    I lit the insence in the center of the inside of the house. I take a moment to ground and center my energy and then start moving slowly in a meditative walk along the perimeter of the inside of the entire house in a clockwise direction, keeping all of the positive aspects that I want to come into my new home. Go in and all around every room, closet and restroom. All positive thoughts and energy directed towards the entire household.
     Once every room in the house has been covered, I go to every door and window. At every door and window, I first outline the opening clockwise, draw a pentagram in the air in the middle of the opening, and then outline the opening counter clockwise. I did this to ensure no bad energy or spirits try to enter the household.
     Everything is done with the incense sticks, pointing them as if they were a wand, per say. Once the perimeter had been purified and the openings had been "secured", my new apartment was finally ready for move in! Now starting at the center of the house again, I move along the perimeter counter clockwise along the entire house. I return to the center, ground, and the circle has been closed.

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The last thing my boyfriend told me was, "And you have a wish-list on Amazon with all the new magic books you want. Future reading?" INDEED! I have much to learn still... I cant be pulling shit out of a hat all the time! And Myrrh and green candles sure as hell aren't the answer for everything! Haha.
   
   So after running a few errands today I decided to purchase my new book for the month. The Magical Household by Scott Cunningham & David Harrington. That along with my already lovely collection of occult texts should lead up to some interesting future journal entries! (^_^)