June 2018:  We have peaked.

Welcome to my favourite time of year.  We celebrate the festival of Litha (summer solstice) on June 21^st, the longest day, when the sun is at its highest in the sky and we can hopefully enjoy a full day of sunshine.  The sun moves into my own sun sign of cancer around this time too, so I really do feel full of energy and power and at my peak so to speak.

A few days ago (as I’m writing this) Liverpool  lost someone who was a much loved family member:  a mother, a wife, a daughter and a Nan, from the awful disease that is cancer.  It is always difficult to make sense of life, especially when someone is taken before it seems right and proper, and especially to such a malevolent illness which robs the person of every ounce of strength.  This remarkable lady fought her illness with such dignity and stoicism, never complaining and always humbled by the love that she was shown from friends and family who wanted to do their bit to help.  It is difficult to imagine how life can continue when someone’s world literally has come crashing down like this with the death of a loved one.  Indeed when I heard that she had passed I found myself angrily asking, ‘but where has she gone?  How can she have been here one minute and then all at once be gone in spirit but still here in body?’

Where do we go?  It’s  the 64 million dollar question isn’t it?  The one we all think we have an answer to except when we are really faced with it.  My sister gave me a quote from a book she was reading which really resonated with me and which I then passed onto the family.  ‘We are not humans having a spiritual experience but spirits having a human experience’

Weirdly enough today it was mentioned on the Chris Evans breakfast show too, which I felt totally validated its meaning.  When this kind of synchronicity appears in your life it is usually a sign that you are on the right path with your thoughts actions or words.

I love this quote because it absolutely affirms my believe that we are something more than just a body and a mind, we are firstly and foremostly a spiritual being which moves on when we no longer have need of our physical body, or when illness or accident takes our body from us.  Your spirit is indestructible, and it is this which comforts me and I hope will comfort the family.  This column is for you Eileen: as the sun shines at its peak this month may your spirit soar and shine brightly for all your family and friends to see and always know that you are close by.

Practical Magic

On the eve before summer solstice (i.e. June 20^th), welcome the coming day of the festival of Litha by reciting this Wiccan blessing :

‘As the sun spirals its longest dance;

Cleanse us.

As nature shows bounty and fertility;

Bless us.

Let all things live with loving intent

And to fulfil their truest destiny’

Do this as the sun sets, toasting its power with a glass of something that you will enjoy.  Take a few moments to check whether you yourself are living with loving intent and fulfilling your truest destiny.  Are you?  Are you being kind and mindful and caring of others as well as to yourself?  Are you living the life you feel you are meant to be living or are you unfulfilled and unhappy?  If it’s the latter then you need to make a silent promise to the sun that starting from the next day i.e. June 21^st you will start to live with intent.  You will start to realise your dreams, even if it means just working out on a piece of paper or in your head what you would really like to be doing with your life.  Once you know in your heart of hearts what you would like to achieve then you are halfway there.  All you have to do now is to work out how to begin to achieve them.  Believe me, simply by writing down and acknowledging what you want out of life is a massive step and it will empower you.  Don’t underestimate the power of placing those thoughts down on paper and getting those desires out there in the universe.

I will toast all my readers on this eve, I will toast for your happiness, your success and your refusal to live half lives.  I will toast that you begin to really live your lives in the way you were meant to.

Crystal of the month – Pink Agate

This stone is from the chalcedony family of crystals and gets its name from the place where it was first found: the Achates river in Sicily!  It comes in many colours: black, yellow, red, grey white brown and pink.  I do think the pink is the prettiest of them all.  All colours of Agate will have mostly the same qualities, but I think the pink is especially a good choice for emotional issues as well as for areas concerning the heart, due to its colour and the fact that the heart chakra area is usually represented by a pink (or green sometimes) stone.  Agate is a wonderful strengthening and stabilising stone, which will keep you calm and elevate and uplift you.  It ensures that positive energies flow through you non-stop.  It is useful during pregnancy and post-natal as it can help prevent an attack of the baby blues developing into anything more serious.  It’s also good for the eyes and healing for the skin.  All in all a positive stone which will help you keep upbeat and stable during difficult times. 

Angel Card of the Month- Positive Thoughts Create Positive Results

This card is telling you that the situation you are enquiring about requires you to bring uplifting thoughts to it.  Although you may feel that you already have a positive attitude Archangel Michael suggests that you really purge your thoughts and speech of any worries or negativity that could diminish your manifestations.  You can tell how constructive your thoughts are by looking at recent events in your life: there is a direct correlation between positive thoughts and positive results. 

Possible specific meanings: adopt a daily practise of saying positive affirmations/read a book or take a class on positive affirmations/ avoid blaming yourself or others, instead focus on solutions/ rather than worrying about something pray and practise a loving compassionate state of mind. 

Moody Moon

This month the new moon is on June 13^th at 20.43 in the sign of Gemini.  As Gemini’s is ruled by mercury the planet of communication this is a particularly good time for any new deals within the communication/media industry.  If you have an interview on this day you could easily talk your way into a new job, just believe in yourself!  Any kind of letter/phone call/ email bodes well today.  Take the plunge and pluck up the courage to make that call, write that letter or apply for that job. You will have the power of mercury behind you and the power of the new moon handing you exciting opportunities.

The full moon falls on 28^th June at 05.52 in the sign of Capricorn.  The full moon nearest the summer solstice is always the lowest full moon of the year, so if it’s a clear night look out for this.  Capricorn is the opposite sign of Cancer which is where the sun is at this time, these signs actually work well together, so any venture you are involved in today or any seed you sow for the future bodes very well indeed.  It will have the power and tenacity of Cancer with the steady foundation of Capricorn.    It may mean today that you have to make a choice between two very different options.  Both have their appealing features.  Only you in your gut will know which way to go.  Remember there is no such thing as a wrong decision. 

Summer solstice occurs on 21^st June at 11.07 when the sun moves into Cancer.  This marks the absolute peak of its cycle.  From this moment the light will start to decrease (believe it or not!!)  so make the most of these few moments leading up to 11.07.  What was gestated in the spring is now about to manifest! 

Eat: asparagus, radish, courgette, cod, lamb, raspberries, gooseberries, rhubarb, lettuce, artichoke, crab, watercress

Play: Embrace a hippy lifestyle for just one day.  Do Glastonbury or rock up to a field with a picnic and music or poetry or the seaside.  Don’t plan just go with the flow and let things happen.

Love: The seasons.  How great is it that we are in summer?  The weather is sometimes rubbish in the UK but instead of feeling fed up if its raining, don’t let that stop you from doing what you love.  Variety is the spice of life!

Nam Myoho Renge Kyo - May 2018

May 2018- Nam Myoho Renge Kyo

First of all Happy Beltane!  I talk at length about the Wiccan festival of Beltane in my May column from last year (2017), but in brief it is held at the beginning of May and marks the joining together of male and female energies, heralded by the climax of Spring.  It’s a time for celebrating the differences between the sexes, a time of procreation and fertility and rejoicing the sun which is now high in the sky and enabling our crops to grow ready for harvest in August. (Lammas).  If you live somewhere that still celebrates May Day with the old fashioned maypole and dancing and the May Queen, enjoy the day and remember that in times gone by the May Queen would have been the young fertile woman in the village who was about to be betrothed.  Indeed, May 1^st eve may have been the consummation of that union…..!

I spoke in my last column (March 2018) about how much chanting I did to try to bring about the positive changes my sister needed in her life.  I promised to tell you about this journey, which although is a form of Buddhism, in my mind is not a million miles away from Wicca in its reverence towards all living things and its take on karma.  I guess most ‘religions’ are not that far apart from each other, only we have different names for our ‘gods’.  I will attempt to explain in my own words what Lotus Sutra Buddhism is, although please bear in mind this is just my understanding of it and how it has worked for me.  For further information look up your local Buddhist centre as there are groups all over the country who would be happy to welcome you into their fold and tell you more!  My friend introduced to me this and explained that the Lotus Sutra is a scripture (sutra) of Buddhism and its key message is that Buddhahood (boundless compassion, wisdom and courage) is inherent within every single person regardless of colour, gender intellect etc.  It teaches that we must engage within life, both the mundane and the extraordinary.  It is not an escape: it provides us with an inexhaustible source of positive energy with which to transform the sufferings and contradictions of life and create happiness.  It teaches empowerment.  It teaches that we are all Buddha.  When we chant we are chanting for the transformation of our lives which will in turn transform others’ lives, rather like the ripples on a pond.  If we are determined in our chanting we can transform anything and everything.  Nam Myoho Renge Kyo is the Lotus Sutra chant which basically means ‘devotion to the ultimate truth of the universe’.  By chanting this we are stimulating the Buddha nature within us to come forth and manifest itself in our lives and manifest those positive changes we want to bring about. 

I was advised to decide on what I wanted to change.  My sister was in a dire place emotionally and physically, both without a job and suffering at the hands of noisy neighbours, and when I say noisy I mean constant noise and bullying towards her.  So my ‘Determination’ for my chanting was to change her situation somehow with her neighbours, before she had a nervous breakdown.  I decided to chant about this for 10 minutes at the beginning  and the end of the day for 3 weeks.  It is important to give yourself a time limit on both your chanting and the time period you are going to chant for, as at the end of this period you are asking for proof that it is working.  Proof works in two ways: conspicuous and non-conspicuous.  Conspicuous proof is when something really tangible happens: a new job, financial gain, a house move, and non-conspicuous is the ‘slow burn’ if you like.  It’s the feeling of deep contentment inside and the changes within that you start to observe after a long period of practising Buddhism.  So I chanted for 3 weeks.  At the end of this time my parents rang me to say they parked outside my sister’s house about to drop something off to her whilst she was on a temping job. They had arrived in time to see the neighbours upstairs putting their last remaining boxes into a removal van and driving off!  YES! They moved out:conspicuous proof.

Needless to say I continued my chanting.  It took a long time, almost 18 months before she got a permanent job, but with the help of my friend who also chanted for her, which I really believe made a difference too, she got there.  I know the cynical amongst you will ‘pooh pooh’ this and say it was coincidence, or she was going to eventually get a job, but I really believe this helped us all as a family.  I spent many months worrying and feeling ill but when I started to have faith and see my chanting as a way of life too, things did change, albeit slowly.  But moreover, I feel I have been given a gift here.  The gift of Lotus Sutra.  I still chant, I chant for myself primarily, (one has to tend to one’s own lawn before you can tend to others), I also chant for family and friends and I continue to find my chanting a source of peaceful pleasure if that makes sense.  

Practical Magic

Try it!  It’s a form of meditation really.  Decide on what you want to chant for.  Decide on how much time you can devote to it per day (even 5 minutes is worthwhile and will get results)  Give yourself a time frame (2/3 weeks, a month, whatever) after which you will want to see results.  If you google ‘Nam Myoho renge Kyo’ you will find examples of people chanting so you can hear it which will help you find your own pace and get comfortable with it.  If you don’t want to chant for anything specific you can always use it as a form of meditation.  Think about what you want an answer on, then empty your mind and focus on the chant.  Chant for 10 minutes, concentrating on the chant, every time a thought comes into your head bat it away gently and come back to NMRK.  After the 10 minutes write down your immediate thoughts.  Don’t dwell on them, just get them down on paper.  Do this for a week and see how your feelings change or stay the same or give fresh perspective on your question.

Crystal of the Month- Tigers Eye

This stone is a long held talisman, a protective stone and one used to enhance luck.  The ancient Egyptians used it in place of the eyes in their deity statues to symbolise the all-seeing divine wisdom which would be bestowed upon the person who was carrying the stone.  Thus Tigers eye is said to help the bearer see beyond what is in front of your own eyes, behind the closed door if you like.  It gives both wisdom and insight and will help you find balance in your decisions.  It is a good stone to use if you are starting a new business or building up your business.  It takes no prisoners, you must be determined in your goals as it will only support you if you show your hardworking vision and take practical steps to achieve your goals.  It is also said to be useful in combatting addictive behaviour, so it’s great to have around if you are trying to lose weight or stop smoking. You will find that wearing the stone or holding it will automatically reduce your cravings for the things you are trying to avoid!  Due to its beautiful gold colour it was associated in Egyptian times with the sun god Ra, and so has a great energy to it which is infectious and overall will help and support you make those positive changes in your life.

Angel Card of the Month- Pay Attention to Your Dreams

This month’s card focuses on what is going on whilst you are sleeping!  Archangel Michael has been working with you during your dream time, helping you to release old fears and find new ways of happiness.  Although you may not remember your dreams be sure that the information resides within your subconscious and will help you in many ways.  It’s worth keeping a dream journal right now and upon waking jot down your dreams or how you feel as soon as you wake up.  They may not make sense right now, but in a few weeks or months’ time you may start to see a pattern or a message in what you have been observing.  Possible specific meanings: recurring dreams are speaking to you be sure to pay attention., respect and act upon your hearts desires, consult a dream expert or a book of dream meanings, make sure you are getting enough sleep, go to bed sober as chemicals can interrupt REM sleep (dream sleep).

Moody Moon

This month the new moon falls on May 15^th at 12.47 in the sign of Taurus which is a sign of stability and material security.  It’s a great day for choosing a big home purchase like a sofa or car or new TV as you will be influenced by the Taurean need to be surrounded by lovely things and will probably choose a real classy piece, just be careful you don’t end up spending too much money just to keep up with the Jones’! 

The full moon is on the 29^th at 15.19 and falls in the sign of Sagittarius, the adventurer, the traveller.  Of course this is a fantastic day for travel, a great day for a new adventure. Any news today will be treated by you with an open philosophical mind, you won’t be goaded into any rows which is good news and are able to see the positive in any situation today.

On May 5^th there is an Eta Aquarids Meteor shower which will produce up to 40 meteors per hour at its peak.  Best viewing will be from a dark location after midnight.  Meteors will radiate from the constellation Aquarius but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Eat: asparagus, new potatoes, radishes, lamb, salmon, and gooseberries

Play: Do something different one evening in the week now we have lighter evenings…. A walk, a swim, gardening….

Love: language. Try some new words out on your tongue, try Nam Myoho Renge Kyo, try to learn a new word from the dictionary every day this month!  Enjoy the ‘foreignness’ of it on your tongue.  How does it make you feel?

March 2018 I Do Believe In Miracles

March 2018 I do believe in Miracles.

So Spring is literally around the corner, with the official spring equinox occurring on March 20^th at 16.15 when the sun moves into Aries.  Days and nights are of equal length although it’s the start of the lightest half of the year, and the sun is returning!  Mind you, as I write gazing out the window at the fresh snow which has covered the ground outside, it doesn’t seem possible that spring is only a few weeks away. By the end of the month we will be looking back and remembering with surprise that early march was a time of Siberian temperatures, yet this is the miracle of nature, one day snow, another the optimistic prospect of sunshine and new growth. 

I’ve always believed in miracles, but sometimes ones faith gets a little jaded.  My sister lost her job in October 2016.  We thought it might take a couple of months at worst for her to get another.  She is a hard worker, enthusiastic with a sunny disposition and 20 years’ experience in her line of work.  It was not to be.  She took bar work, babysitting work for paltry minimum wage, whilst trying to live in London with a mortgage and bills to pay.  I lost count of the temping agencies she signed up with, at first full of enthusiasm, ‘yes no problem we’ll get you work don’t worry’ only to be left at the bottom of some incompetent person’s pile.  Jobs would come up which she would apply for, only to realise that the agencies who were advertising them already had her details but hadn’t put her forward for the jobs... At other times she would go for interviews and discover the job had been given ‘in house’ again and again.  My parents were worried sick, we were all doing our best to buoy my sister and each other up financially and emotionally.  I prayed, I chanted, (more of that in April column) I gave her spells….. Nothing seemed to change…. Then one day I in September last year I felt ok about it.  I let go of it.  I don’t know how exactly this came to pass (again I will explore this further in April column), but the situation FELT different.  I wasn’t full of anxiety or dread.  I didn’t wake up feeling sick or with that leaden weight in my stomach.  I had the strength to reassure my parents and my sister that something had changed and it was only a matter of time now before these changes rippled into her life. 

Suddenly she found an agency who did actually get her work, more longer term contracts, and then bingo a couple of weeks ago she was  offered a permanent job with a company she is very keen to work for.  Getting the news that she had got a job was like winning the lottery.  It felt like a miracle because as a family we had been in the dark for so long. 

I could tell you of a couple of other miracles too that have affected me hugely, but my point is that they do exist.  Look around you and instead of seeing the disasters, the disappointments, the dread, see the positive, the hope and the changes that can occur. 

Practical Magic

There was no ‘magic’ involved in my sister finally getting a job.  Although I did weave some spells for her to do they didn’t seem to work, at least, they didn’t work within the time frame that we had wanted!  I have also found its often tricky trying to do spells for close family members, perhaps I have too much invested anxiety within the situation so I am unable to be removed enough to weave the right kind of spell for them.  However, maybe it was as simple as saying the time wasn’t right then for her changes.  Who knows what lessons she was meant to learn during that very long period, or what lessons me and my parents were meant to learn?  One thing is for sure change always does occur, just not necessarily when and at the speed you want.  Have faith.  Trust.  Even when darkness envelops you keep that believe that your miracle is around the corner. 

I am always banging on about Vision boards but they are incredible!  I did mine in January.  Get some card just A4 size will do.  Have a flick through magazines and cut out any images that stand out to you and stick them on your board.  They should be things that you want to achieve, or feel this year.  So if you want to move and  you see a picture of your dream house, cut it out and stick it on your card.  If you want a baby, cut out a picture of a family holding a baby or a baby in a pram.  Images, words, photographs, affirmations, all these things will speak to you personally.  Whatever you find does, cut it out of the magazine and stick it on your card.  Put your vision board somewhere in your home where you will see it regularly and especially at times you feel a bit disheartened or have lost faith study your board and focus on those wonderful images that you are going to bring forth into your life. 

Crystal of the Month: Selenite

This silky creamy white stone, which can often be translucent is named after the Greek word for Moon.  You can buy this stone in wand shapes (as pictured), or clusters, or as simple palm stones.  It’s a deeply spiritual stone which is meant to connect you with the divine and the angelic realm, who will guide you and help you to fulfil your lives purpose.  Many people use selenite when meditating as it is a very peaceful stone.  It can also be used during healing, in fact healers will often make a wand of selenite and use this to pass over the patient’s body, when the vibration of the energy from the stone changes, the healer knows that this area of the body is the area which needs work.  Working on a higher level Selenite can connect you with past lives as well as your spirit guides.  One word of warning: when cleansing this crystal do not use water as it can start to break up and is incredibly soluble.  Instead use a sage smudging stick to waft around it and the cleansing power of the sage will work a treat.

Angel Card of the Month: Focus Upon Divine and Perfect Health

This card is all about being positive about one’s health.  Rather than focusing on your ailments or fears about possible illnesses try to count your blessings for the healthy good working parts of your body.   This card is a reminder to stay centred upon your desires and not your fears.  If you are facing possible long-term illness visualise your body responding well to treatment, imagine every cell in your body being filled with love and light and speak of yourself in terms of perfect health.  Easier said than done I know, but attitude does seem to have an effect on one’s health, so it’s definitely worth a go!  Possible specific meanings:  You’ll notice an improvement in your health/follow your intuition regarding health and healing/your life’s purpose involves healing/make positive changes to your lifestyle/use uplifting affirmations about your health/ seek a second medical opinion.

Moody Moon

This month is another special month in terms of the moon for there are 2 full moons in the same calendar month, hence forth the second full moon on March 31^st is known as a blue moon for this reason. (It occurs only once in a ‘blue moon’).  We start the month with a bang, on March 2^nd the moon becomes full at 00.51 in the sign of Virgo.  The next blue moon won’t be until 2020 so we must make the most of this one!  This first full moon in March is also known as the Full Worm moon as the ground is now sufficiently soft enough to encourage the earthworms to rise above the grounds surface.  Thus you will also start to see the return of the Robin to your garden, ready to catch these newly risen worms.  Virgo is an earth sign itself so it’s in a happy placement here, with the full moon accentuating issues particularly relating to health and diet.  Now is a great time to start a new health regime.  Virgos are usually incredibly particular about how they like things done, so this moon will encourage a clearing out for you in terms of paperwork or sorting through old boxes or clearing the loft even! 

The new moon falls on 17 March at 13.11 in the sign of Pisces.  I wouldn’t say this is a natural placement for starting new projects and new beginnings as Pisces can be a bit head in the clouds, dreamy, without focus. So don’t let your imagination, fear or procrastination stop you from starting anything around this time!  There is no time like the present, do not put things off!

Finally the second full moon, the blue moon, also called the Full Sap moon by Native American Indians, (this was the time the maple trees started to ooze their sap), occurs on 31 March at 13.36 in the sign of Libra.  Any issues that occurred at the beginning of the month should now be cleared up, this bodes well for legal battles too, there is a sense of balance and justice.  The world should look a particularly beautiful place today with the Libran effect. 

Eat: Sardines, spring onions, kale, mussels, cockles, oysters, winkles, clams, venison. (Not good if you don’t like shellfish!!/seafood)

Love: the fact that you have no idea what tomorrow will bring!

Play: outside……..BST starts at 01.00 on 25^th March, so the clocks spring forward and we get an extra hour of daylight so make the most of it!