It’s funny how a having a blog online where I talk myself through my own spirituality can inspire people to write to me an provoke great intellectual email chats. I have had some really great email exchanges with interesting people from all over the world about religion, tarot, or spirituality in general. I am always thankful that my blog attracts the type of people who want to take the time to write me for those things.
Last week I got an email from someone who wanted to talk about what it means to become “enlightened”. Or perhaps better stated, what is the difference between being “enlightened” and not being enlightened. It turned into a week long continuing email chat and was so interesting. Last night I dreamt that I needed to write about it. Some here I go.
Becoming enlightened is like having a moment where a sudden rush of answers hit and usually it happens without provoking it at all. Some truths we discover are universal, but many more are personal. For me, it didn’t occur during ritual or meditation, it has happened while driving my car, or in the shower, or while doing dishes. I wasn’t doing something “religious”. I wasn’t reading my tarot cards or opening chakras. I wasn’t even technically questioning anything at the moments they have hit the hardest.
A moment of enlightenment is profound. It’s not usually a situation where you ponder things and suddenly the answer appears. It happens because you have grown spiritually over time, and you finally become ready for the answers…. in order to grow more. Almost like a growth spurt if you will. You can’t plan for it. You can’t force it to happen by using tools to obtain it. Sure, they do happen too, but in my personal experience that happens much less often. The first time it happened to me I was 24 years old and it even scared me because I did not understand at that stage what it meant, or why it happened. Since then I have had more moments of enlightenment then I can count. Some are major, and big… some not so big, but nonetheless the answer appears. Some can be almost psychic moments too.
I have had situations where I “knew” something, I could feel it…. but not prove it and that would make me doubt myself. And like magic a week later the answer or proof would come to me without me seeking it out. I’m speaking in general and being vague because that happens so often to me, that it’s now impossible to name an experience. For a long time I considered that “luck” or “intuition”. But another moment of enlightenment has showed me that it wasn’t. For me, it’s part of the growth process and evidence to support my path. Spiritual growth usually means you don’t have to invoke or cause “change” to happen. I so dislike when things are said such as “you have to make a change” or that “change is necessary”. It’s just not a fact at all. (Think about nature. Plants, trees, and flowers all grow…. But you don’t keep moving them all over your yard and have them thrive. They grow best with deep roots) If you are enlightened and on the right path – you don’t have to make abrupt choices or changes. You don’t even get yourself into situations that would cause you to “make a change”. Life is a constant transition, but transitioning is like climbing a latter… one step at a time. Transitioning is working toward something, and having a purpose. Seeking or needing change in your life really indicates that you are not making choices or decisions for your own greater good.
You will see many transitions happen to your mind/thinking when you grow and become more enlightened. You become sharper, quicker, and you see through things that other people hide behind or even lie about to you. When you aren’t enlightened the mind plays tricks on you with games like paranoia, suspicion, hurt feelings, foggy thinking, making assumptions, and emotional outbursts. When you aren’t enlightened you commit things such as little white lies, or you don’t speak the truth upfront to others to avoid confrontation etc. When you are enlightened those things don’t seem necessary. Confrontation often really means “challenge” and being enlightened means you want to face those things head on. Or at the very least you are not afraid of them.
Being enlightened means you understand your physical body too. Your body may not be perfect by any means, but you accept it as it is. More importantly, you understand it. You know when you are ill, you know how to treat and handle that. You accept what you must, you also fight for what you must, and you do it without doubt or hesitation.
Being enlightened doesn’t make you special, but it does make you very different often then your friends or family. Those situations will definitely bring you conflicts too. The answers on how to handle that will come to you when you are enlightened. Each and every situation or person is different, and they will bring their personal issues to the table for you too. There is no standard rule on how to handle it.
There is also a tendency for people who are newly enlightened to become more critical of other people, or preachy, or even believing they can teach others. It’s a bit like being too excited and anxious. It can seem like you are doing the right thing, but it most likely isn’t unless you obtain educational skills. You can’t teach people HOW to become enlightened because you were. There is not a step by step plan, and handing someone all the answers never works out either. Each of us have a different method and path.
I cannot stress enough that you don’t have to be religious to be enlightened. Or you can follow any religion of choice. I am watching and communicating about enlightenment with a friend of mine who is not spiritual at all. I have known this woman for 25 years now and in the last 4 she has grown by leaps and bounds. Her path is 100% different then mine. I would never tell her what she needs, only she knows that… but it is extremely interesting watching her evolve for the better.
Ok I am a collector of all sorts of things, and Tarot Decks are no exception. I was surfing around and came across a really cool deck and just had to place my order.
Being a novelty deck they are also fun to learn on usually. I got a deck for my best friend because I’ve been working with her to learn to do readings too. She has so far stuck with one deck that I suggested and I think she is going to enjoy the humor of this one. Because the images are something we all recognize I think anyone could learn with them.
And for those who love to play psychic games online my boss founda cute one tonight and gave me the link. We tested ourselves and were cracking up over who was “more powerful”. Check it out…….. Who Has ESP
UPDATE and EDIT: I got my deck and I am busy busy getting them into proper shuffling shape. I love the stiffness of a new deck and working it in. This weekend I will be delivering the one I got for my girlfriend. I do think this is a great deck to learn on since all of the images are very universal and symbolic too.
Everyone carries a shadow, and the less it is embodied in the individual’s conscious life, the blacker and denser it is. At all counts, it forms an unconscious snag, thwarting our most well-meant intentions. — Dr. Carl G. Jung
Jung had a brilliant way with words. I do not. I choose to be blunt about the dark side.
You have a monster inside you. It is mean, vengeful, spiteful, angry, greedy, ugly, blunt, manipulative, rude, crude, impatient, negative, and just plain nasty. You have a dark side. I have one too. Everyone does.
Our dark side is primarily in our subconscious. If you don’t believe you have a dark side, it’s because you learned how to suppress it well to obtain acceptance. If you don’t think you have a dark side then you are not taking responsibility for who you really are.
The dark side can grow, it can get bigger and bigger as we have a daily dose of denial. It is so deeply buried within us….. and the more we deny it, the more it actually comes out in some way. Thinking happy thoughts doesn’t change anything about the dark side. It still remains and it eats your “happiness” for breakfast. The more you protest against the dark side, the stronger it becomes.
How can I explain it more directly? Here is an example…. You can tell yourself to believe “Today will be a positive and good day where I am comfortable and things go my way”. But the minute you have a fight with a neighbor, your friend, your spouse, your partner, your child, etc…. you have turned to the dark side. Changing your thinking will not change your life completely, that is only a band aid. It’s just too easy of a solution, because the dark side can steal our thoughts at any moment…. subconsciously. You’ll never see it coming. It is far stronger then you think it is. Stop fighting it. Fear is not the answer, the inner child is not the excuse, and parental influence is not the problem. It goes even deeper then what pop psychology wants you to believe. Give the monster a hug.
Repressing the dark side of ourselves is likely to take us into situations where it will overwhelm us. When you avoid conflict, when you run from a confrontation, when you hide your true selfish desires… you are repressing it. When you tell yourself that money isn’t important, that you love everyone, that you didn’t do anything wrong…. You are repressing the beast. And the beast KNOWS it.
The dark side does have positive aspects within it, but you will not find that if you cower from it or repress it. The dark side can be discovered, accepted, understood, researched into, and expressed at the right places and times. The beast must get some sun, it must be expressed, because it will not sleep forever. Ultimately, our dark sides can help us to grow spiritually, and it can allow us to change the behaviors instead of just the thoughts. The beast has a purpose that you will never discover if you hide from it.
A witch knows all of this, at least hopefully they do. A witch works to balance the core of their own personality and is never afraid of the shadows. We feel at home in darkness, we work to control our inner monsters. We can’t deny their existence, we know the forces and the energy they possess. We embrace our dark sides; we go deep into our own underworlds to figure out what created our personal monster. Only then will our magic be powerful, only then will our thoughts not betray us. Separating the light from the darkness is just…… another separation in our lives. A witch must never allow their being to be separated.
I’m back to work after a really long vacation whoohoo. The hubby and I did some stuff at home but then we also went away to Salem Massachusetts. We had a total blast omg! There are so many things to do such as: the Salem Witch Museum, Ghost Hunting, Cemetery tours, Wiccan shopping, and lots more. We caught a few paranormal things on film actually, very cool. One thing I know many Wiccans get flustered about is Laurie Cabot’s commercialism which I feel is all just a matter of opinion. She has obviously done so much for Salem’s tourism industry and yet managed to keep the rich history there. Just being in the same room as Laurie Cabot was a spiritual experience. Many non-fluffy Wiccans dislike her books due to the fluffiness but I do feel she tries to inject a much needed spiritual view rather then the “be a cool witch” attitude. She is a woman who has committed to the fight of truth which I must honor. Much of the tours were tourist themed…. however, they did an excellent job of actually educating everyone on the Wiccan religion, and the true history of the Salem Witch trials. Many people watch The Crucible and do not even know it was a metaphor for the McCarthy era. I was thrilled to see that was explained. I learned things I didn’t know too. And let me tell you the shopping was AWESOME.
The photo above is one of the postcards I bought, I scanned it before I mailed it to a friend.
A woman emailed me this week and told me her “story” and then asked me if I thought it was possible to be addicted to getting tarot or psychic readings. Why she felt I would have this “answer” is also part of the problem. I’m not a psychologist. But I guess I do have an “opinion”.
Think about the whole self help movement or the wellness industry. Hundreds of books, CDs, classes, and groups can be utilized;. And they are. Its a billion dollar industry I would assume. Right now as I write this “The Secret” and the whole “Law of Attraction” is the BIG deal, meanwhile these companies bid on key words in the search engines and are making tons of money. The true secret is about how much money is made from it lol.
There are many people who feel “weak” or like they aren’t as important as they should be, so they seek all of those things to fill in some empty hole inside of them. Some people can be very addicted to all those techniques, but never end up truly applying solutions to their life. They can stop relying on their own common sense and follow someone else’s instructions on living life. They are often seekers of “the outside answer” or the quick fix instead of building their own personality, self esteem, and philosophy. If you think about someone you greatly admire, someone who really made a difference in the world (Albert Einstein, Thomas Jefferson, Susan B. Anthony) you’ll realize they were great thinkers, innovators, creators, and even rebels, but not gurus. I just don’t see Thomas Jefferson looking into a mirror daily reciting his affirmations: “I am good enough, smart enough, and dog gone it people like me. Can you?
People are seeking “growth” or preaching that we all need to make a “change” in our life in order to grow. The fact is that with age;.. growth and change happen NATURALLY. You become wiser, you become experienced. Our bodies change naturally over time too as we move into different life phases. Change is inevitable. Personal growth happens because it is necessary, and because your choices and actions allowed it. There is also usually evidence that appears in your life from growth that can be measured. For example: My household is making double the income I did 2 years ago. Does that mean that money is all that matters to me? No, of course not, but the evidence and the manifestation of my actions is measurable and has made a difference in my life. It is seen and felt, it allows me additional or new ways of growth too…. but that’s just one example.
The same is true with Tarot or psychic Readings I think. I feel it can at least be compared to the type of self help junkie addiction I am referring to. A tarot/psychic reading isn’t a problem solving technique. It’s a form of divination. A tarot reading can make a person FEEL better about a problem, a person, or a situation. But it doesn’t make you HEAL or GET better in some way and it in itself is not a solution. A person addicted to tarot or psychic readings wants to FEEL better usually.
If you rely on a fortune teller or psychic too often then you are making them your “guru”. It’s just not what they are intended for. A reading should be “fun” since technically it’s just another form of entertainment; not any sort of “therapy’.
I remember one woman when I worked on the 900 psychic lines years ago. She called me literally every single day for weeks at a time. She specifically sought my personal extension number to reach me, it wasn’t random. She wanted up to the minute reports on a relationship. Information on her boyfriend or spouse, what he was thinking and feeling blah blah. It was obsessive behavior in my opinion. The reading you got yesterday had a spiritual message for you, and that basic premise won’t change in 24 hrs I would tell her. What she really wanted was for me to tell her what she wanted to hear; not a real reading. She wasn’t actually seeking anything except confirmation on what SHE believed, assumed, and perceived. For all I know this man was a horrible person and all of her friends got sick of telling her the same things I was. So she came to me instead of annoying them any longer, hoping to get that one person who would agree with her.
I had a male client that did the same thing. Weekly he’d call and ask me about the woman he wanted to get back together with. She was his “soulmate” he believed and they had remained as friends after their break up. I’d read his cards for maybe 10 min each week, and he’d go on to tell me every detail of their contact since the last time we talked for another 40 minutes or so. He would literally describe to me a “look” she gave him and try to get me to tell him what it meant. Sometimes after the phone system disconnected his call, he’d ring me back to finish his details. The truth of the matter was he really just liked talking to me, getting a female perspective, and having a friend. I was reliable for him, I was on his side, and he could say anything to me because it was over the telephone which allowed a certain level of anonymous freedom. I made great money off these two people; but the readings were not genuine at all. This was one of the contributing factors that caused me to have a real moral dilemma for “charging” for readings and especially so in the “900 line” atmosphere.
Yes, I do believe that a person can be addicted to getting tarot or psychic readings. But most of them aren’t really addicted to the “cards” or the “reading” or the adviser of the service. Typically they are getting something else out of the situation for themselves, and that’s true for any type of addiction.
I have known tarot readers who felt they could do a card a reading on a person that wasn’t present and think they could READ their motivation, thoughts etc. And truly believe it without any doubt or question! Or some people learn how to do their own readings for instance and make 90% of their choices based off it. And no, I am not joking or exaggerating. I don’t read my own cards; I feel that I can “influence” the cards too much. I can very easily allow my energy to influence what I want to see too. I believe I can make the cards agree with my emotions and that just makes it self serving. I always get someone else to do a reading for me, I want their objectivity.
A tarot reading is divination, and divination is a touch different then fortune telling because it involves more “ritual”. Divination has a spiritual element involved yet the terms are still a little interchangeable. Divination is something every culture has done throughout history and basically continues to do even in modern times. It has never gone away or lost it’s “popularity”. Why? Because there are so many seekers, people who want comfort, people who want the “answer” to what is a mystery to them. Divination tools are interpreted rather then “factual”. A reading is only as good as the person who can interpret it TO you. And seriously this is true for a psychic that uses no divination tools too. They must interpret images, sounds, visions, etc. They can misunderstand them, and do so probably more then they’d like to. A lot of normal “human” error comes into play. This is often why something may appear “wrong” to you from a psychic or a reader. The message may not be translated to you properly, clearly, explicitly etc. Much is dependent upon the reader’s life experience, cultural experiences, education level, verbal skills etc. Also what YOU the querent is capable of understanding comes in to it also. The reader can be as clear as a bell to 1000 other people, but maybe not to you personally.
So let’s suppose a reader tells you there is money coming your way in 60 days time. People always want to hear that, maybe it’s only a $500 windfall coming your way. But who wouldn’t get a thrill out of hearing that? Then you “hope”, “wish”, “daydream” and even “fantasize” about it happening. Getting this kind of information COULD come true of course. But maybe it doesn’t;. and even if it doesn’t it still made you “high” from the fantasy. It made you feel good for 60 days. So sometimes even if a tarot reader or psychic is wrong, we still get something out of it.
Let’s also think about this too, again, maybe it’s just my personal opinion. I see tons of tarot readers and psychics who advertise what they do as “advice”. Think about it. How often in your life has a friend asked you for your advice and actually taken it? Or what about you? Didn’t you ever have a relationship, a work problem, a marital issue and received advice from someone else? Did you take it? Surely you know someone who has had a bad relationship and they continued in it, did stupid things etc while everyone sat back KNOWING they were in trouble. When they do not listen to the advice; eventually you stop offering it. We’re human; it’s natural for us to seek the advice and opinion of others. But we’re all also ego driven and still think we know better. We ALL do it. But I am not sure I want to pay for advice all the time. I’m not sure that one sided advice is even helpful at all.
I believe in the Tarot wholeheartedly. But even I have must maintain a certain level of skepticism to be really honest with myself. If I do not; I lose a little bit of my own intelligence and my faith in myself to make competent choices without a “tool” as my crutch. I also must allow my faith in a higher power outside of myself that may not want me to know the answer I want right now. Or perhaps the higher power wants me to learn a lesson the hard way rather then the arm me with knowledge. Maybe some things are just better left “unknown” to us. Sometimes the “mystery” is best left to be unfolded by me alone, and with nothing else but the great wide abyss. Our lessons have a purpose and they aren’t always going to be revealed or even easy to understand. Personally, I have not had my own cards read in YEARS now. I grew past it in some way; it helped me to build up the confidence to not need to know the future for every step I take. It taught me how to analyze situations from different angles on my own. I use the cards all the time, but more for ritual purposes. Sometimes I give readings to friends but it’s more just to for fun now. Like a hobby where I get to be creative.
So my truthful answer to this woman who wrote me is: you need to ask yourself what you are REALLY addicted to. Maybe it’s just fluffy feel good talk from a reader, like a friend. Is it your desire to hear the answer from another person that YOU assume, believe in, or want to hear? At what point do you get that “rush” of excitement? Where is the thrill for you? When you figure that out, you’ll know the answer. My judgment of you means nothing.
My post isn’t meant it knock anyone down who practices, or reads the tarot. This journal is my own sounding board where I just get to post my own deep thoughts. I believe a tarot reading can be beneficial; but only if you have a really well rounded reader and a truly open mind yourself. In my own personal experiences I felt that at 50% of the readings I gave fell on deaf ears or were like the examples I gave. For me, and in my experiences, it was self esteem destroying to perform a reading for someone who did not really want my message. I really have tons of respect for the tarot readers who do it as a career because they obviously have the ability not to feel that way. I am too much of an empath sometimes lol! It is just not my personal path and I grew from learning that lesson. However, those things apply to me alone, and I do not speak for anyone else! The internet is certainly full of “lofty opinions” and mine is no different.
One way to begin spiritual growth is to write and reflect on your life story. It’s kind of like taking a good long look at yourself by everything you’ve lived into a written story. The only way to growth is by learning and reflection. If we do not know our own story then how can we truly reflect? When someone knows they are dying for instance, they often spend time doing their own life review, and in essence I am talking about doing the same thing.
Situations and experience can shape us, from childhood, or even the impression other people leave on us. Our own actions and choices certainly shape us too. There is no way to grow past those situations, experiences, impressions, actions, or choices if we do not truly reflect on them.
Writing your own life story can be powerful, I first did it about 15 years ago, and it allowed me to move past the troubles of my early twenties. If you think about it, we have learned lots more about the psychology of the human race more from great literature then from a psychology book. Story telling, mythology, the bible, poetry, music, art, and film are all examination processes of humanity. They are all examples of “reflection”, sometimes they are the reflection of one individual and sometimes they are reflections of society.
Try writing your own life story, reflect, and find the meaning. Make it an ongoing project and use all the abilities you were taught in school or that you know from films or literature. Anyone can write a story; the excuse that you aren’t a writer isn’t valid. It’s easy to write about your life story - you’ve already experienced it all. Then be sure to read it so you really can reflect.
We don’t see things as they are; we see them as we are. ~ Anais Nin
Human beings are defective, we’re just not perfect, and as long as we learn to understand that… we can also learn that many of our problems are self created. I believe that all problems have solutions or ways of meeting in the middle. But in order to make changes in our lives, we really have to look to ourselves first before we assume that another person is to blame. Or before we decide for someone else what they “coulda, shoulda, woulda. We have to become honest with ourselves in order to grow, move forward, and make our life better. It’s all just what I believe in personally. Perhaps you reading this feel differently, I respect that too.
We, as people, tend to blame our problems on others, and we use our emotions instead of logic. It’s the easy way I feel. Just because you felt “this, that, or something else” doesn’t mean the other person intended or meant it or that they even DID it. Basically it’s about YOU and why your feelings are that way. The only person who can ever really sabotage you… is you. Team efforts do not fail…. Unless one party breaks the chain in some way.
There are 2 ways to “deal” with things in life: to meet the challenge… or to run away from it. Both are kind of “solutions” but one is practical, and the other is based on our ego in my opinion. We know the word ego technically means…. “I, Myself” so if you run away from a problem you are only thinking of yourself, not the others involved. Freud said the ego had 3 parts so, of course, that could all be broken down further which isn’t the direction of this post.
Introspection and extrospection are needed in our lives. Yes, spirituality is about looking within… but it is also about observing the world as a whole too. If we are not looking inside and out… viewing the entire picture together, then we’re always working from the ego. If you are suspicious, make assumptions about other people, do not communicate, make accusations without asking… then you are reacting with emotions and your ego. People who are afraid to communicate because it may bring a confrontation are also reacting from ego and emotions. Logic is not emotional therefore it isn’t afraid to confront. And confrontation doesn’t have to be a “fight”… it doesn’t have to be a scary word or process. Confrontation is supposed to be used to clarify things where inconsistency exists, which could be simplified into: “you say one thing but are doing another and I need you to explain it.”
The ego can be tricky. The ego can be hidden to us. For instance, the desire to help others. It’s a new age “belief” that helping others is a life mission. The common discovery anyone seeking spiritually thinks is that their own life mission is to help others or to heal and teach. It seems to me sometimes that it is everyone’s life mission. If that was the case - the world would really be a different place. I believe that it’s too vague, and ego driven. I think of the show LOST on TV and how every survivor there has a specific role, how as a team.. they are all pieces of a puzzle that create a society, a problem, and a solution. In essence that’s how we all live, each one of us are a single piece in a larger puzzle. We have to figure out where we fit in the big puzzle. And sometimes we won’t be as important as we might like. But it doesn’t mean our piece doesn’t hold every other piece together anyway. Maybe there are several puzzles we fit into…. a big one, and several smaller ones too. Maybe we have a world puzzle, a family puzzle, a work puzzle etc.
How do you figure out where you fit? Introspection and extrospection. Healing ourselves first before we ever attempt to heal someone else. Never preaching your own philosophy as a fact to anyone, because the concept of philosophy means it is just a theory or thought process. Accepting situations as they REALLY are from the inside and the out, and then figuring out what YOU can do to make it better. Realize that you hold responsibility somewhere…. and find it. Then it’s probably a good idea to allow a release.
I have to clarify. There is also a major difference between “release” and “quitting”. You can release negative emotions, childhood hurts, past traumas; you can even “release” grief. But you don’t release people, jobs, or abandon a situation instantly… because if you do, then you are really just a quitter. And we have all heard the old adage “quitters never win.” It’s pretty simple logic.
This post is a personal response to a woman that has emailed me several times for “free psychic” readings. She had explained her entire situation to me, and I don’t do free readings. In my experience people who ask for that are basically seeking a quick emotional fix which I can’t morally support. And no such thing exists from others, only from ourselves…¦ if we open up to the truth widely, or just lie to ourselves to make it easy. I cannot better you with a reading; I cannot lead you to figure out a lesson that’s for you alone to learn, and I don’t want that responsibility. Moments of enlightenment do not happen when you are seeking… they happen when you least expect them too. They come from great need when you “get it” with the lesson. I can only share what I have learned about life based from my own experience. In some way all of the things I wrote are what the Death Card means to me, but it’s also all just my opinion. You wrote me about the situation with your husband and I really wish you luck.
Affirmations are statements that describe a positive state we wish to attain. It’s a way of programming your mind to act/think in a particular way. Affirmations are very powerful tools, so powerful in fact that they could be magical! In fact, they ARE their own type of magic, and they work on many levels. We can inspire and heal ourselves with spoken words and thoughts.
Creating our own personal affirmations is a personal spiritual journey. It is greatly dependent upon your personal goals, and individual needs for growth. Do your affirmations daily; in the morning so that you start your day off right! Use as many different affirmations that you feel are correct for your goal/s. Say them loud and strong; so that pesky little subconscious can HEAR it clearly! The repetition of saying uplifting affirmations for a month will make a tremendous affect on your spirit! As our lives and situations change, so will our affirmations.
The following are a few essentials to writing your own private affirmations, how to use them successfully, and how to reap the rewards for loving yourself! Remember that your only limitation is yourself – make sure you believe in what you are saying!
1. Affirmations should be placed in the PRESENT tense. Never says things such as “I will be strong and confidentâ€â€¦. The correct way to positive thinking is to say “I AM strong and confidentâ€.
2. Be happy with your affirmation. Sounds like common sense but it isn’t for all. If you say it and it doesn’t FEEL right, please trust your instincts. Rephrase it, rewrite it, and drop it altogether. Make it a PERSONAL statement! Only YOU can know what works for YOU. Just because it works for someone else, does not mean it will work the same way for you.
3. Never use a negative word in any affirmation! Words have power and meaning in our subconscious. Make sure you affirm what you WANT, not the things that you do not want.
4. Visualize yourself as your affirmations state you are! See it in your mind’s eye happening, and all that would be associated with it. Visualization is essential to magical acts, and a skill that needs practiced. By practicing it with your affirmation; you are reinforcing the power of your words/thoughts AND sharpening your visualization skills at once!
5. Be Committed! Don’t give up and stick to a solid daily schedule! Repetition is key! This is your chance to be devoted to YOURSELF for 5 minutes per day, and you deserve that much!
Remember that affirmations are very important part of living a magical life. It IMPROVES your magic by improving your inner spirit. Write out some affirmations and start them on the next New Moon. Continue them until the next one, and update them as needed.
Color plays an important factor in our lives. Living a magical and spiritual life means we need to attune ourselves to color. Candles that we burn in specific colors will produce a certain meditative, or magical effect. A brief description and definition of color goes like this:
Red – Strength, health, energy, power, the will, attracting power, lust, conquer fears, moon blood, courage, survival, sex, passion. Red has a distinct male energy and is associated with the planet Mars.
Pink – love, friendship, harmony, affection, tenderness, spiritual love, caring, loving yourself, healing emotions, good will. Pink has a distinct female energy. Pink is associated with the planet Venus.
Yellow – intellect, concentration, intelligence, inspiration, thinking, memory, learning, breaking mental blocks, selling yourself, logic, and the mind in general. Yellow is associated with the planet Mercury and has a male energy to it.
Orange – quick changes, luck, attracting positive energy, energy building, fun, and energy for goals. The color Orange is a combination of Yellow and Red, therefore both energies are present with less intensity. It has a Male energy and is associated with Mars and Mercury.
Green – money, business, fertility, good fortune, growth, and it attracts success. Green has both Male and Female energies so it is a very balanced color. It is associated with Venus and Mercury.
Blue – truth, peace, protection, occult powers, calm, creativity, soothing, cooling, bliss, spiritual well being, and truth. Blue has a female energy to it, and is associated with the moon, Venus, Saturn, and Jupiter.
Purple – the spirit and spirit contact, ESP, break bad habits or luck, protection, wisdom, understanding life’s mysteries, expansion, knowledge, reaching your higher self and highest potentials. Purple has a male energy and is associated with Jupiter and Saturn.
Brown – earth, stability, solid foundations, study, healing the earth, material needs. Brown has a female energy and is associated with the Moon, Venus, and Saturn.
Black – reversing, protection, binding, absorbing, endings, encasing negative energies, endings. Black has a powerful female energy and is associated with the planet Saturn.
White – spirituality, purity, wholeness, the goddess, balance, protection, healing, raising vibrations. White is female energy and is associated with the Moon. The color white is a pastel combination of all colors, therefore it be used for any purpose.
I'm 38 years old, Italian, and I was a witch before I really knew what it meant. I have been devoted to Wicca as my path for over 13 years now. I consider myself an eclectic solitary non-fluffy bunny witch and I follow the Aridian Tradition of Stregheria.
I believe religion and spirituality are extremely personal and private, between you or me and our gods. I also believe that not every single moment in life is meant to be spiritual, I don't believe in "new age" pop psychology in my religion. I believe that there is a time and place to pay my bills, to have normal conversations with others, and to have moments even away from it. Too much over indulgence of any kind keeps us from facing our reality, and my reality is a part of the mundane world where my actions affect others. I keep religion a non-topic with the people I work with, or even with several friends that I have. For me, this is a more practical way to live a full and balanced life. I am, as they say, "in the broom closet" however; it is by choice.
I also believe that to know light, we must also know some darkness and all of us have some primal darkness buried deep inside. Denying it or hiding it means we are not experiencing our true selves. Buried within all of us is a core being that we never fully experience or show to others, and the traits of that core come out of us in small pieces.
