October 2017 - Seek and Ye Shall Find....

October 2017 -  Seek and ye shall find........

I had a wonderful dream the other night.  I dreamt I was flying around outside.   I could feel  the cool night air flowing through my hair, the leaves on the trees touching my skin gently as I zoomed past them.  They were very brown, crispy oak leaves about to fall from the trees and I felt so very powerful and liberated.  How vivid dreams can be, and yet when we wake,  the concept of flying through the night sky on a broomstick seems totally incongruous, in spite of having felt so real.  Why should it be deemed any less of an experience just because we were asleep?  Our senses still felt it was really happening to us. This ties in with how I feel about  'life on the other side'.  In my opinion there is a thin veil between this world and the next.  Sometimes during dreams we will see our long gone loved ones and their presence fills us with both sadness and deep joy, as on waking it seems that we really have spent time with them once more.  Again, we do not have to dismiss these encounters as merely dreams.  We can choose to believe they have really happened, and why not if one gains comfort or an alternative way of looking at a problem we are facing?  .  If it is true that the other side is only  a breath away then perhaps it is possible that our unconscious can gain access to that which is hidden from us during our waking hours.  When we are asleep we do not have that voice telling us that something is in our imagination, we just accept the experiences of the alternative reality our brains have created. When I think of what it must be like to be 'dead' or a 'spirit' I think it must be like how we feel in our dreams.  You have no 'body' in your dream because you are dreaming clearly, and yet in dreams you can run, jump, make love, think, smell , feel etc.  I think it must be the same for spirits, they can do all of these wonderful things, go where they please in the blink of an eye, they just have no earthly body anymore.  It doesn't stop you from feeling as though you do have one though.  How liberating that must be! 

So this brings me on the Wiccan Festival this month, Samhain, aka Halloween/All Souls night/feast of the dead:  when the veil between this world and the next is at its thinnest.   'Halloween' as it is commonly known has become more about spooky happenings and kids going out trick or treating, (an Americanism), yet its beginnings really lie in the fact that at this time the dark half of the year commences.  The harvests are over and the plants are shrivelling up back into the earth, death is close, yet remember that out of the darkness comes the light.  Death is always followed by rebirth, and endings always mark new beginnings.  The dark allows us to reflect and rest and remember the past, and to prepare ourselves for the future, for the new beginnings which will emerge in the next few months.

Practical Magic

Part of the Samhain tradition is to honour our ancestors who have passed on.  There are several ways you can do this; you can lay an extra place at your dinner table on Halloween, or put out dog food or cat food for your deceased pets.  My favourite ritual though is to invite family or friends over, enjoy some food together and then sit in a circle in  a darkened room with lots of little tea lights ready to be lit.  Then each of you take it in turn to talk briefly about a deceased family member or friend, saying something about them that you will always remember.  As you do so, light a candle to symbolise them.  As each person talks about their memory and lights a candle, so at the end of the meet you will have a whole host of beautiful glowing tea lights each representing the spirit of a loved one.  What better way to honour your ancestors than that.

Crystal of the Month : Blue Sodalite

This stone, with its beautiful blue colour, is associated with the throat chakra and will help if you are struggling to speak your truth.  The throat chakra is also linked to grief, so if you or someone you know is suffering with sore throats maybe grief is the part of the problem, or maybe they are unable to say what they really want to say.  If you lie down quietly and place this stone on your throat and try to relax it should help re- balance this chakra.  (for more on re balancing chakras see my Chakra stone kit available on Samantha's Spells Facebook Page).  Sodalite will also bring your attention to the qualities of idealism and truth, stimulating you to live up to your own ideals and allowing you to be true to yourself. 

Angel Card of the Month: Sense of Humour

As this card suggests, the current situation could benefit from your sense of humour.  You are invited to view your situation from a distance, as if watching a movie, try to detach from the drama/ sadness and see it from a different perspective.  This is a difficult card to put into practise because if you are going through hard  times laughing about it is almost impossible and being told to do so can feel insulting too.  I think what the  essence of this card is saying is, don't lose your sense of humour, in the darkest of times there can be moments of comedy.  Moreover it suggests that perhaps what you need right now is laughter as it is supposed to be the best medicine.   Don't  feel guilty about having a good old laugh, it doesn't mean you don't care, it means you have given yourself a release of emotion.  Laughter is as important as crying in terms of being cathartic and it releases feel good hormones which at the very least will help you get through another day.  Who knows you may even begin to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Moody Moon

This month's full moon is on the 5th October at 19.40 in the sign of Aries.  Aries is the first sign of the zodiac so expect this full moon to mark some dramatic endings and glorious new beginnings.   You may not understand why you are feeling so raw and emotional, vulnerable even, but once the full moon has passed so will these strange feelings. 

The New moon is on 19th October at 20.11 in Libra, the sign of balance and harmony.  Libra is also the sign of beauty, so a great time to go for a new image or hairstyle.  Any  Legal matters being dealt with on this date bode well too.

If you look closely at the moon on these dates you will see the following planets showing up as next to them: on 17 October you will see Mars next to the moon, on the 18th you will see Venus next to the moon and on the 24th October you can see Saturn next to the moon.  Wow!

On the 21st October there will be a Orionids Meteor shower.  This can produce up to 20 meteors per hour!  The crescent moon will set early in the evening leaving dark skies, so your best viewing position will be from a dark location after midnight.  Meteors will radiate from the constellation Orion in the south east of the sky, but you may see them anywhere in the sky, although this is obviously a good starting point.

Finally don't forget to put the clocks back one hour on Saturday the 28th October before you go to bed!  Hurray an extra hour in bed!!

Eat: Pheasant, pumpkin, Swede, beetroot, cabbage, wild duck, wild mushrooms, sea bass, sloes, kale, celeriac, partridge, Swiss chard.

Play: Trick or treating time on 31 October!  Go with the kids if you have them, if not and you want to participate leave a pumpkin or something 'Halloweeny' outside your front door as a sign to the 'trick or treaters' that they can knock on your door.

Love: Remember those who have passed and that their love never dies but lives on in all those whose lives they have touched.

September 2017 Honouring Your Dark Side

September 2017 -  Honouring your dark side

On the 22^nd September we celebrate the Wiccan Festival of Mabon, also known as Autumn Equinox. At 21.01 on this date the sun enters the sign of Libra; there is perfect equilibrium between daylight and night.  It is no accident that likewise Libra is known as the sign of balance, symbolised by the scales.  Mabon or ‘Autumn Equinox’ is also known as the second harvest.  The first harvest was celebrated in August (Lammas), notably a time of plenty when the sun was high in the sky and we were rewarded for all our hard work, and encouraged to bask in its glory and enjoy our harvest.  This festival has a darker element to it; we are on the cusp of the earth’s descent into winter.  Plants are beginning to suck themselves back into the earth to regenerate, trees are about to start losing their leaves, animals are preparing for hibernation or the journey to sunnier climes.  The natural world cannot help but affect us, however much we resist it, we too are part of the push and pull of the earth.  We are 90% water and thus we are affected by the moon, like the ocean is, only our  tides are more recognizable as moods and feelings.  You know some days when you wake up and feel deflated or flat and you can’t find a reason why?  Or other times when you have so much energy and feel happy and content? Well the moon has more to do with this than you think!  Some people are more in tune with this and others have just learnt to ignore the basic instinct we have inside of us.

Mabon is named after the welsh god, son of Celtic mother and goddess Modron.  It is told in the Welsh mythological tale ‘Culhwch and Olwen’ that Mabon was kidnapped when he was 3 days old and imprisoned.  He was later freed and transformed into a young god.  His kidnapping symbolises the Autumn Equinox; as Mabon disappeared into the darkness, a tiny seed of a being, only to return fully grown, so the sun and nature’s energy disappears over winter and regenerates in the spring.  Interestingly the naming of this Pagan festival ‘Mabon’ seems to be a fairly recent addition, as researching the story of Mabon there is no mention of his connection to ‘Mabon’ the festival in the old tales. 

Practical Magic

One of the many rituals to perform at ‘Mabon’ is a ritual to honour the dark Mother.  Literally translated in my mind this means meditating on the darker aspects of your own soul. Do you have pain you need to bring to the surface and deal with? Do you have anger or frustration that you need to find an outlet for?  Do you have thoughts and feelings about yourself or others that you are ashamed or embarrassed of?  We all have negative traits, parts of ourselves we dislike.  That is quite normal, the key is not to dwell so much on these so that we lose sight of our gifts, our attributes and our unique magic.  Because Autumn Equinox is a time of perfect balance between dark and light it is fitting that we in turn acknowledge the darkness within us all, give it respect and then banish it, whilst releasing and focusing on the light within us. 

Take a piece of black paper and draw a pentacle on it, (a five sided star) make sure the two points are facing downwards, (see pentacle below)  otherwise it is a sign of the devil!!  Write on this your faults, the things you dislike about yourself or even negative situations that you feel you are in right now.  Burn it.  Take a white piece of paper and draw a pentacle on this too, write your attributes, your gifts all the positive things you have to offer.  Take an apple, (a symbol of Mabon) cut it across the fruit so you can see the pips formation inside.   You will see that they make the shape of a pentacle which is why this fruit is so closely associated with Wicca.  There is also a little circle around the pentacle of pips, this symbolizes the magic circle of protection that one draws around oneself when performing a spell or ritual.   Bury the pentacle of pips along with your white star of your positive attributes.

If you have children at school you will be aware of the Harvest Festival assemblies around September time too, when thanks is given for what we have, and when we collect non-perishable items of food to distribute to not so fortunate folk.   For those of us that don’t have children at school, have your own dinner party/tea party whereby everyone comes with a dish each to share at your house, plus an extra tin of something, so at the end of your meal you will have a bagful of goodies to donate to your local food bank,.  We are spreading the ripple of our celebration of Mabon far and wide.

Crystal of the Month – Turquoise

This beautiful stone has for many years been used as a talisman against evil.  Its protective qualities are still known to this day and it can be used to ward off evil as well as protect its owner from negative energy.  You can use this stone as part of a cleansing ritual to rid your house or office from negative vibes, or just keep it with you as a good luck charm.  It is both calming and balancing and can be used to support you during times of over work and exhaustion.  The colours vary depending on where the stone has originated, but whatever the variations I feel it is such a vibrant positive stone to behold. 

Archangel Michael Card of the Month – Take your time Making This Decision

This card suggests that there is a situation which you are confused or indecisive about.  Don’t feel bullied into rushing a decision, take as much time as you need.  More information will be available to you in the coming days and weeks so don’t jump in with both feet!  Slow down and take your time.  In terms of specific meanings this could be read as ‘Don’t sign the contract just yet/negotiate a better deal/don’t rush a new relationship/don’t be pressurised by other people’.

Moody Moon

This month’s full moon falls on September 6th at 8.02 in the sign of Pisces.  Pisces is a very dreamy sign, and a water sign, so full of emotion.  Expect emotions to be running high especially in the lead up to this full moon.  Your hopes and dreams could be the focus, are you really doing what makes you happy?  Perhaps it’s time to seize the day and make some changes.

The New moon falls on 20^th September at 06.29 in the sign of Virgo.  This is a great day to start a new diet plan or health regime!  Virgo is all about health, food, cooking and being precise. 

Planets visible in the evening are Saturn in the south, mercury and mars in the morning from mid-month, and Venus in the west.  There is a Piscid meteor shower on 9^th September which will produce about 10 meteors per hour at its peak and can be seen throughout September into October.  They will radiate from the constellation Pisces in the south.

Eat: Apples, plums, figs, grapes, pears, kale, squash, leeks, pumpkin, mussels.

Play: Invite some people round and celebrate Mabon with food, wine and merry making.

Love: Picking your own fruit. (Blackberries are around early September and damsons/apples/pears)

August - Harvesting Karma

August- Harvesting Karma

On the first of August we celebrate Lammas (literally loaf mass)  also known as Lughnasa. This is the pagan festival which symbolises the gathering in of the first harvest.    I know we always think of harvest time as September, and of course the harvest continues to be reaped throughout august and September, but Lammas is signifying the very first harvest.  So the first crop of corn is gathered and ground to make bread which is then shared amongst the villagers, thus the term 'loaf mass'.  Wicca follows the seasons closely and celebrates the cyclical nature of our world, so it is usual to celebrate not only the changing seasons but what they mean in terms of harvest, growth, rebirth and abundance.  We cannot mourn the passing of the summer and the leaves falling from the trees because the sun will grow high again in spring and the leaves will be reborn. I suppose it is a kind of acceptance; of life, of death, of change and of renewal.  The natural world doesn't seem to mourn when the plants die down and the earth is cold and hard, it doesn't celebrate either when the earth is pulsating full of energy and life, instead it just sits in each moment, 'being' and being present.  One can see how the Buddhist ethos of remaining in the moment, in the present, relates closely to nature.  Perhaps we should strive more to enjoy our 'present' instead of looking backwards or forwards.

There is a karmic element to Lammas: we are celebrating the bountiful harvest of our crops, quite literally we are reaping what we have sown, as well as symbolically in the form of karma.  So what better time than to start sowing our own seeds of kindness every day as these not only will make a difference to our fellow human beings but karmically put us in the 'black'.    Karma and gratitude, in my book, go hand in hand.  Helping each other brings about good karma and also feels good; it makes us feel grateful for what we have and the more grateful we are, the more thanks we give for the little (or a lot) that we have.  Thus the more we feel we have, the more we will have. i.e.   what we have will seem to grow the more gratitude we show for it, if that makes sense! 

Practical Magic

This month is all about our power.  The earth's power is at its peak, it's like a big fat ball that is full of life, bursting with the vitality of the crops and the suns energy which has been building over the last few months.  We too are powerful creatures.  We can influence our reality simply with our thoughts, we have much more power and control than we believe, so we need to start believing it and creating the reality we want for ourselves.  Power is much more creative and contagious if used for good in my mind, so this month we need to start using our power in a positive way so we can help others and spread the positivity and light to make a difference to other people's lives.  It has been proven that 'random acts of kindness' are one of the keys to personal happiness.  All you have to do is one or two every day.  You would be surprised how one tiny act sets off a ripple which can reach far and wide.  A tidal wave has to start somewhere and its beginnings will be tiny.  For example, last week I rescued a honey bee that was exhausted.  It was lucky I saw it as it could easily have been trodden on.  But I managed to coax it onto a tea towel and then gently placed in on one of my roses in the garden, where it promptly gathered some pollen and then recovered quickly enough to then be able to fly away.  So what?  Well that honey bee will be pollinating many plants which in turns keeps our world ticking over.  Without bees our natural world as well as our food resources would be depleted massively.  If it wasn't for bees we wouldn't have broccoli, cucumbers, apples, cherries , or of course honey (to name just a few).  So you can see how a tiny thing like helping a bee can have a massive global effect.   Imagine then how it feels to be having a rough day and someone smiles at you, or helps you carry your shopping, or opens a door for you, gives up their seat for you, gives you the 20p you are short of in order to pay your food shopping.  Sweeping someone's path when its snowed, offering to do an elderly persons shopping, giving someone a lift, being a listening ear to someone in need, there are so many ways  in which we can reach out with random acts of kindness and in turn make ourselves, as well as the person we are helping, happier.  Let me know what you do and the results and I too will report back with my findings!

Crystal of the Month - Sunstone

This stone really is known as the happy stone.  It cannot be anything else considering it is named after the glorious sun, which in the month of August should be at its peak.  As August is such a power month I thought this stone would be appropriate.  It can be used during dark times to give you hope and confidence.  Its power can lift you out of sadness and like a magnet pull positivity towards you. 

Archangel Michael Card - This Situation Is Already Resolved

This card is a sign that the situation you are enquiring about is already concluded happily.  You may not know at present what the results or the outcome will be, but rest assured that matters have been taken out of your hands and trust that all will be well.  Try to let go of the situation and the outcome will be revealed in due course.  In specific terms this card can mean that there is nothing to worry about/ everything will turn out fine/stay put as things will resolve.

Moody Moon

There is a full moon on August 7th at 19.10 in Aquarius.  There is a partial lunar eclipse , a part of the moon will darken as it moves through the earth's shadow.  We won't be able to see it from the UK sadly, but you will in most of eastern Africa, central Asia and Australia. 

The new moon is on 21 August 19.30 in Leo  there is a total solar eclipse at 19.24.  however from the UK again we will not notice this as only 3% of the suns disc will be covered by the moon, but from the USA it will be noticeable.

In the  evenings Mercury is visible at the beginning of  the month only.  Jupiter is low in the west and Saturn can be seen in the south in the evenings.  In the morning Venus can be seen in the east.

On the 12th August there will be a Perseids Meteor shower.  If you find a good dark spot after midnight you should be able to see the bright meteor shower.  These meteors can be seen up to a week before the 12th, they are usually very bright and numerous.  They will radiate from the constellation Perseus but can appear anywhere in the sky.

Eat: apples, beetroot, courgette,  cucumber, french beans, lamb, raspberries, sea bass, scallops, venison, sardines, tomato, sweetcorn, watercress.

Play: Read Dancing At Lughnasa by Brian Friel, it's a wonderful play set in Ireland during the festival of Lammas (aka Lughnasa)

Love: Smiling. A smile away keeps the Dr away. (apparently)