Pagan Art

The topic of Pagan Art is something that we are going to touch on, but very lightly. I imagine that there are artists among those of you who look at this blog, and I am one as well. For me, art isn't just the expression of self, it is the expression of the soul and how the world is seen by an individual. So when I mean Pagan Art, what I'm saying is exactly those two words but how people see the Pagan world for themselves.

For those who are artists, maybe think about the different ways Pagan means. Think of the Gods and the Goddesses, think of their symbols, the seasons, the different myths and stories there are, and try to create a picture that depicts any of those. Let it be in your own style or your own way, but make sure that it represents how you view the Pagan world. Take pictures, paint, draw, sketch, sing, anything! Because the world is yours.

For those of you who are not artists, why not look up some Pagan art. It could be Faeries, Vampires, Werewolves, the Gods and Goddesses, it could be anything associated with the Earth or the darkness that many people believe to be occult. Immerse yourself in it, listen to Pagan music!

All I'm trying to say is that there are very beautiful things that are in the Pagan world, many things that are judged before understood, hated before loved, and scared of because of its difference. Please, before you decide to judge and say that this is all the work of a being made of pure evil, look at what we all represent.

We represent nature, love, life, and good. Yes, there will be people that associate themselves with darkness, but that does not mean everyone is exactly like that.

I particularly love looking at Pagan artwork and listening to Pagan songs, because it feels natural and pure. Look for yourselves, and maybe not by the words of others but by the words and feelings of your heart.

Blessed be.

Twin Souls and Soul Mates

The topic of twin souls and soul mates is one that many different religions touch on. When I went to a Christian meeting about this topic, they pointed out that we only live ONE life, and in that ONE life we find everything that we ever desired, we even find the one person that we were always meant to be with. And if we didn't find them on this plane, then they would be given to us in Heaven. And they specifically said that there is only ONE soul like ours in the whole universe, because God wanted each of us to be special and important in some way. When I heard that, I did not believe it at all.

I mean, seriously, you only get ONE chance to find the person you were always meant to be with, ONE chance to find what your life goal was and complete it, ONE chance to find what makes you special. And if you don't find any of those things, you'll find out in Heaven? Why would we find out what it was we need to find out in a place that would have no use of our special qualities, in a place where we don't need to use them because it's Heaven?

The thing you'll find out about me is I don't like the whole "You only get one chance to do this right, and you will have no help whatsoever, no instructions, no way of telling you that it is right." No, that's not right. I believe that the soul learns in each life that it is born and it quickly adapts, telling you what it is that you really want, what it is that you really deserve.

Since I don't really have that much knowledge on Soul Mates and Twin Souls, I pulled an article up, and I'm just going to include information that is knowledgeable for all of you and me. I also would like to point out that any information on this blog/post can be put in your Book Of Shadows. In fact, I would expect it of you, because one day this blog won't be running anymore, it might even be deleted, so you need to get as much information down as easily as possible. Yes, that is my job, but it's your job to stay informed and to inform the next generations, because they don't know what they are doing either. That said, let's do some reading.

Soul Mates, Twin Souls & Karmic Relationships

Author: Springwolf

Making Sense Of Spiritual Relationships

All of our relationships are spiritual in nature. From metaphysical theory, we make agreements with others while in spirit to share time and space together here on the physical plane once we’ve incarnated. We also make agreements with other spirits to help guide us through our incarnated path to learn lessons, share guidance and pay or redeem karma or both.

Each of these agreements are designed for one main purpose, to help our spirit learn, grow and work toward enlightenment. But that doesn’t mean that each of these agreements are the same.

There are a multitude of theories, myths and thoughts about how our spiritual connections are made. How they were initially created and what impact they have on both our spirit and our soul. As well as, what impact they have in our physical life.

Wikipedia states this about “soul mates”:

In his dialogue “The Symposium”, Plato has Aristophanes present a story about soul mates. Aristophanes states that humans originally had four arms, four legs, and a single head made of two faces, but Zeus feared their power and split them all in half, condemning them to spend their lives searching for the other half to complete them.

According to Theosophy
(the system of belief and practice of the Theosophical Society),
God created androgynous souls—equally male and female. Later theories postulate that the souls split into separate genders, perhaps because they incurred karma while playing around on the Earth, or “separation from God.” Over a number of reincarnations, each half seeks the other. When all karmic debt is purged, the two will fuse back together and return to the ultimate.

Midrash is a way of interpreting biblical stories that goes beyond simple distillation of religious, legal or moral teachings. It fills in many gaps left in the biblical narrative regarding events and personalities that are only hinted at. In one of these collections a proverb states that “marriages are made in heaven”:

A Roman matron, on being told by R. Jose ben Ḥalafta that God arranges all marriages, said that this was an easy matter, and boasted that she could do as much herself. Thereupon she assembled her male and female slaves and paired them off in couples; but on the morrow they all went to her with complaints. Then she admitted that divine intervention is necessary to create suitable marriages.

In modern usage, Jewish singles will say that they are looking for their bashert, meaning they are looking for that person who will complement them perfectly, and whom they will complement perfectly. Since it’s considered to have been foreordained by God whom one will marry, one’s spouse is considered to be one’s bashert by definition, independent of whether the couple’s marital life works out well or not. That’s a key concept to this theory.

The Pagan Metaphysical Theory
Pagan Metaphysics relies heavily on Universal Law to define and explain spiritual connections such as soul mates. So lets start at the beginning with the foundation of Universal Law, Hierarchy and Organization as taught by Metaphysical principles. First and for most the Universe is not totally random. There is a form and function known as the Universal Laws. Many are familiar with the Universal Law of Accountability or Manifestation. These are the two most known and popular laws. But there are others that govern various aspects of existence.

The Law of Chaos and Creation is the first Universal Law that forms the Divine Universe. From Divine thought and intervention Chaos was created through the Big Bang, the physical Universe was formed and the process of creation and evolution began. Out of this Chaos spiritual energy was formed. That’s me and you and all living spiritual entities seen and unseen through out the Divine Universe.

At this singular moment in time our spirit was created from Divine Energy. The Divine is within us, because we are part of the Divine thought that created the Universe. Another way of saying this is, the Divine is within us because we are the Divine.

Twin Souls
At this moment of creation the biggest overriding component of the Divine was established, that of balance. When our spiritual essence was created so to was an exact duplicate to balance the energy of nature. This is our Twin Soul. Our Twin is exactly like us and much like physical Twins when separated at birth we exercise our free will and choice, but oddly our choices seem to mirror one another through time and space.

Now some teachings tell us that our Twin never incarnates at the same time we incarnate. This is part of the Divine Law of Balance. When we are physical, our Twin is Spiritual to ensure a balance of energy in the Universe.

Some teachings take this concept a step further and explain that not only do Twin Souls never incarnate at the same time, they never incarnate in the same place. So if you’re here in this embodiment, your Twin is in spirit somewhere else in the Divine Universal Realm.

Now if the Universe is all about balance, these concepts make sense. To ensure the scale of energy throughout the Divine Universe is balanced, we and our twins must be on opposite ends of that scale.

There are some issues behind these theories however. If we are positive compassionate and caring spirits, then wouldn’t our Twin have to be the opposite? Some suggest that the concepts of positive and negative being related to good and bad are completely man-made and are not utilized in the same form on the spiritual level.

For the concept of positive and negative we can look at science to help understand this idea. Scientifically speaking a magnet has 2 polarities, a positive side and a negative side. A magnet makes the connection to another magnet not through the positive sides together, but rather through the opposite opposing polarities together. Positive to Negative.

In other words, two magnets connect in this manner: Negative / Positive to Negative / Positive
– Opposing energies are attracted to one another. 
Not in this manner: Negative / Positive to Positive / Negative
– Same or like energies repeal each other.

Since Metaphysics is the study of physics beyond physics; I don’t think it would establish one principle in physics; only to establish an opposing or opposite principle in metaphysics. Additionally the negative polarity isn’t “bad” energy, it’s similar but not the same energy. So while we think of positive and negative as being good and bad, they’re not; they’re simply opposite polarities.

If we continue this concept in relation to Twin Souls you might think of it this way. Each soul builds a blue print to follow once it has incarnated. Like all blue prints once the building process begins, alterations take place. You use free will and choice to decorate, take out a wall here, add a window there, change the color of the sink to emphasis the light from that window; all based on the process of construction.

You and your Twin Soul have shared commonalities through out your existence when creating a blue print for incarnation. And similarly you have each faced the same fork in the road. The experiences on one side of the fork are positive energy and the other holds the negative energy. If you choose the right fork, your Twin (when confronted with the same choice) will choose the opposite or left fork.

But doesn’t that make choices pre-ordained?
Not really. Because you may choose designate which way to go on your map at the beginning of your journey, but when you are confronted with the fork in the physical world, your experiences may influence you to choose the opposite road. 

 Don’t think linear here. You and your Twin have had thousands of lifetimes where you have had similar experiences. But those lifetimes do not have to mirror one another one after the other. Life maybe a circle, but it has many spokes that support its framework. Not all of those spokes are exact opposite of each other. If they were, the wheel would fail from lack of support.

Instead, we utilize free will and choice that allows us to make our own determinations to our own destiny. Our Twin may choose a similar path in their next incarnation, or they may choose the opposite. But when all is said and done, by the time we both reach the point of total enlightenment, we will have balanced out choices and become equals on the Universal scale.

Now some believe the concepts defined by Aristotle and Theosophy are actually those of the Twin Soul, not the soul mate. Which makes some sense if you view the description as an individual with four arms, four legs and two heads/faces being split in two. Doesn’t that sound more like a Twin than a mate? There are few other reasons behind this approach as well. For instance, while you have one Twin Soul, you can have multiple Soul Mates in your multitude of lives and spiritual existences.

Soul Mates
The misconception of “Soul Mate” vs “Twin Soul” can be directed toward modern day commercialism. Your soul mate is indeed the perfect connection of love to you. But once again the idea of what that means has been altered by man made perceptions and propagated by greeting card and flower companies. Here we need to rise above the mundane concepts of the physical world and look at the spiritual law behind the idea of “Soul Mate”.

On a spiritual level there is no greater gift than love. When that concept is implemented here in the physical world it can come in the form of a mother’s love of her child, a father’s sacrifice to protect his children and so on. It is not solely a physical intimate relationship of sexual partners that are destined to be together in this lifetime. Nice idea, but in a way that approach lessons the importance of a Soul Mate in your lifetime.

A Soul Mate is a spirit that shares your spiritual progression toward enlightenment. Think of them as part of your buddy system, traveling together through the cosmos and helping each other meet the challenges. You and your buddies share both knowledge and wisdom, but each may have their own special talents that enhance the group overall. You maybe better at writing music and your buddy has the talent to write the lyrics. Together you can make beautiful music because you utilize your skills in harmony with each other. This is the basic concept behind the relationship between you and your soul mate.

You do not incarnate with your soul mates in every lifetime. While in spirit you build your blue print and choose the lessons to learn in order to advance your soul toward enlightenment. These lessons involve karma, spiritual knowledge and practice. Each relationship you have in this embodiment and your own self discovery will all impact the challenges you face during the incarnation. And more importantly the reactions you express in those situations.

Now in making these choices we don’t establish every lifetime as one that will be difficult and the struggles will be immense. We may go through a lifetime of great challenge and in the next incarnation we may build our blue print for an easier path as a reward or simply to balance out the hardships from the past incarnation.

It’s in these lifetimes that we choose the hard lessons and potential hardships that one of our soul mates will agree to work with us. They come into our life right when we need them the most. They participate in the hard lesson and help us form the events that will challenge our soul to learn and cross the chasm so we can put that lesson behind us. Once we have achieved the goal, the soul mate will probably walk out of our physical life.

These relationships can be parent/child, sibling/sibling, boss/employee, same sex, opposite sex, friend or lover. But whatever the design of the relationship from spirit, they are always about the love of spirit, helping, guiding and perhaps sacrificing in order to achieve the spiritual mission of evolving toward enlightenment. And it is because of this aspect of enlightenment that makes these relationships so important and meaningful to us.

While we have many Soul Mate buddies, we have even more karmic relationships that can be just as important.

Karmic Relationships
Almost everyone you know in your life today has some type of karmic relationship to you from a past life. There maybe a few who you meet that are simply passing through your journey and you feel no connection to them. They are indifferent, simple acquaintances you share a little time with. In that brief moment you may develop a spiritual connection and a measure of karma for your next shared lifetime. But not everyone on the planet has a karmic connection to you and it’s important to remember this.

Karmic relationships are based on balance, similar to that of the Twin Soul. The main difference is, they are not a twin and the balance of energy we share with the karmic relationships occur from one shared incarnation to the next. We may be female in this lifetime and have an agreement to be the mother of a soul that was our mother in a previous incarnation. It’s an exchange of energy designed to promote spiritual learning and balance the energy we share during our lives together.

Consequently there are karmic relationships that are loving and supportive and others that are challenging. Each is designed to teach us both something. But as with all things, we all have free will and choice. We may encounter a soul that chooses to be controlling, resulting from some karmic situation their soul went through in a previous incarnation that we weren’t even part of. In these cases, someone who was murdered might put themselves in a similar life experience where they come face to face with the choice of killing someone or not. And if they make the same choice and murder you, they develop a big chunk of karma to answer for. Not only to you, but to the Divine Universal energy we are all part of. We could get into a great discussion of reincarnation and karma here, but that topic is for another time. Let’s focus on the karmic relationships themselves and what they mean to us.

In some of these relationships we can be a teacher to someone who becomes our teacher next time around. That same soul can become a brother or sister to us in a different life supporting our lessons for family evolution, or a lover or friend and so on. Through each embodiment we develop deep bonds with some of these souls similar to the way we develop deep bonds to certain people in our incarnated life. We have best friends that we feel we’ve known for ever, or lovers who simply know us better than we know our selves. Each of these relationships have been built on mutual love and respect through our existence as spiritual beings. So we have ‘known’ each other “forever”, at least on a spiritual level.

Simply because these close karmic relationships aren’t in the same form as the Twin Soul or Soul Mate doesn’t make them less important or that they lack meaning. In reality they are more important. These are the relationships that we share from lifetime to lifetime helping each other overcome all the mundane lessons and participate in all the challenging and rewarding lessons as well. They hold the deepest connection to our soul and they are vital to both our physical existence and our spiritual evolution.

There will be some karmic relationships that work so well together, that they become permanent fixtures in one form or another in each embodiment we share. These extra special relationships can be the ones commercial vendors think of when they use the term ‘soul mate’. I like to call these relationships Spirit Mates. And here’s why.

Spirit Mates
The theory of Reincarnation works like this from a metaphysical perspective. We are complete energy in spirit, holding all the memories of every lifetime we’ve ever had within our being. As spirit we are capable of holding this vast amount of energy, viewing it from the perspective of Divine knowledge and wisdom. But when we incarnate, we cannot bring all this energy and knowledge into our physical being. It would be overwhelming. Instead we choose previous lifetimes that hold knowledge, experience and wisdom that will be beneficial to us as we face the lessons we set on our blue print for the coming incarnation. Since the Universe is about balance, we balance the number of previous lifetimes with the implementation of who we will become on a physical level.

By that I mean, our physical body is made up of 23 DNA strands we get from our parents. This DNA determines our eye, hair and skin color. It dictates our skeletal features based on nationality and our physical health based on race and so on. To balance the physical DNA to spirit, we choose 22 past lives, to incorporate into the coming incarnation. These 22 strands plus the coming lifetime make up our 23 Spiritual DNA strands and together they establish the energy of our soul. The soul is therefore a subset of the greater spirit. We implement these 23 spiritual DNA memories into our chakra centers and this becomes the physical manifestation of the soul within the physical body. Our soul remains connected to the larger spiritual body through what many call the “silver cord” that can be seen in altered states of awareness connected at our solar plexus (where your rib cage meets at the bottom) and the opposite end travels to the ethereal plane where the spirit body resides.

Because our Soul Mates don’t come into every incarnation we have, they are somewhat limited in their connection to us. They are a small part of our past, though a meaningful part. But they are not as connected to us and important to us as the Spirit Mates who have come with us through a vast number of incarnations. They are with us on a much bigger scale and therefore more meaningful to us in each incarnation.

Now take that idea a little further and consider the 22 past lives you pulled into this one to work with. In all the thousands of lifetimes you probably had, only 22 are chosen for this incarnation. And within those 22 lifetimes, how many other souls will incarnate with you at this time to share knowledge, experiences and karmic events with you? It raises the importance of their interaction in your life, does it not?

When we work to understand all these relationships we can develop both a deeper understanding of their importance in our physical lives and their greater impact to our spiritual evolution. There are many ways to learn about the relationships in your life. Through dreams, deep meditation and past life regression we can get a glimpse of our spiritual connections and learn from them. We can share this knowledge with those we have in our lives and strengthen our understanding of each other and why we’re connected and what we bring to the table to share with one another.

Remember all of these relationships are a two way street. These spirits are important to you, just as you are important to them. Each type of spiritual connection has meaning and purpose in your life. Each should be honored and respected for the gifts and sacrifices they provide for our benefit. In honoring them, we honor ourselves as well. Because we too give to these relationships that which we receive from them.

The article above came from the website http://springwolf.net/2012/05/15/soul-mates-twin-souls-karmic-relationships/

The Wheel of the Year - Pagan Holidays

Alright everyone, how is everything going? Today, we are going to be going over, very briefly, about the Pagan holidays that are and have been celebrated for hundreds of years! These holidays are called Sabbats, or days of power that one can be closer to Nature.

Yule / Winter Solstice on or near December 21st 
Here in the northern hemisphere, nights get longer and days get shorter until the day of the Winter Solstice when the cycle reverses. The word Yule comes from the Norse Jul meaning wheel. On this darkest of nights, the Goddess becomes the Great Mother and once again gives birth to the Sun God. This is a fire festival so celebrate with a Yule log in the fireplace, candles on the table and lights on the tree. Evergreens, holly, ivy and mistletoe, symbols of fertility and everlasting life, remind us that the cold darkness of winter will eventually give way to the warmth & new growth of spring. 

Imbolc / Imbolg / Candlemas - February 2nd 
Imbolc means, literally, 'in the belly' (of the Mother) and in the womb of Mother Earth new life is truly stirring. The young Sun God is growing and his strength is beginning to be noticeable. If you look closely, you may notice a snowdrop or a crocus pushing its way out of the still-cold earth. This is traditionally a day of purification, of sweeping out the old to make room for the new... both physically and emotionally. Celebrate by lighting LOTS of candles to encourage the young Sun; if you like to make them yourself, this is an auspicious day to do it. As nuts and seeds symbolize new beginnings, enjoy some sesame cookies or nutbread while visualizing yourself co-creating a loving, joyous & prosperous future. 

Ostara - Spring Equinox - on or near March 21st 
Named for Eostre the Teutonic Goddess of New Life, Ostara is the first day of Spring. Light and darkness are in balance, but the light is growing stronger as days continue to grow longer. The Young Sun God continues to mature and grow; small tender leaves appear on the trees, young buds are swelling and, here in New York, cheerful white and yellow daffodils are already in full bloom. The Life Energies are building quickly now and the very air seems to vibrate with promise. Celebrate by coloring eggs, an ancient symbol of fertility. 

Beltaine / Beltane / May Day - May 1 
From the Irish Gaelic Bealtaine meaning Bel-fire (the fire of Bel, Celtic God of light) Beltaine is primarily a fertility festival; the Land represented by the Goddess is now ripe and fertile and the Sun God expresses His Love for Her. Celebrate by establishing a woodland or garden shrine and gathering flowers to adorn your living space... and yourself! 

Midsummer / Summer Solstice - on or near June 21st 
Midsummer is the longest day of the year. It's not harvest time yet, but Mother Nature is impressively lush. The veil between the Faerie realm and our world is thin so don't be surprised if you catch a glimpse of an otherworldly someone on Midsummer's Eve! Celebrate with a bonfire and if you're into herb magick, any plants gathered at this time are particularly powerful. Or just stroll through a park or woodland area and bask in the glory of our natural world. 

Lughnasadh / Lammas - August 1 
Even though Lughnasadh occurs at the warmest time of the year, it marks the time at which days become noticeably shorter and so is considered the starting point of the autumn quarter of the year. The autumn season contains three harvests, and Lughnasadh is the first of these, the time when the first corn harvest is cut. The name is derived from Lugh (pronounced 'loo'), a Celtic deity of light and wisdom. At Lughnasadh, bread from the first harvest was eaten in thanks. Baking, sharing & eating bread is a wonderful way to celebrate this holiday and if you can, attend a Renaissance Faire, Medieval Festival or Highland Games competition. The jousting matches and caber & sheaf tosses were no doubt inspired by that aggressive war god Lugh :-) 

Mabon / Autumn Equinox - on or near September 21 
Mabon is the time of the second harvest, when fruits are ready for collection. The land is showing clear signs of the journey towards winter - leaves are beginning to turn and birds are gathering for migration. Mabon is a time to consider which aspects of your life you wish to preserve and which you would prefer to discard. This is the Pagan Thanksgiving, a time to appreciate and enjoy the fruits of your labors. Commemmorate Mabon by making wine, feasting with friends, planting bulbs to bloom in the spring and put out feeders to help those brave birds who don't migrate get through the long winter ahead. 

Samhain, All Hallow's Eve, Hallowe'en - October 31 
This is the Last Harvest and New Year's Eve to the ancient Celts. Being "between years," it is considered a very magical time, a day when the veil separating the the physical plane and spiritual realms is most permeable. This is a good day to practice divination: scrying, Tarot readings and Rune casting are all particularly effective. The practice of donning costumes... especially scary ones... grew out of the ancient fear of evil spirits passing through the veil along with the benevolent ones and pumpkin carving evolved from the practice of painting hideous faces on gourds to keep "gouls and goblins" away from the home. Samhain is also a day for honoring our ancestors and one of my favorite rituals is the Dumb Supper... laying an extra place at the dinner table for those who have passed over to the Summerlands. 

Now, to kind of clarify, Wiccans believe in a place called the Summerlands. This is what some would believe to be paradise, the afterlife, etc. Also, Yule is celebrated kind of  like the Christian Christmas, but different; it is celebrated because of the passing of the old king that is to be reborn for another year. I still haven't gotten a grip onto it very well, but if you look it up some more, I think you will understand it more. But the rest is very simple and very easy to understand I hope. Next time, we'll get more into the topic of hand-fasting and soul mates, because I believe it's a very strong topic that Pagans do believe is very important. Well, blessed be!

Information for this post came from the following website: http://www.catanna.com/paganholidays.htm

The Calender And The Moon

Let's switch gears for a bit and talk about the sacred calender. This calender is very important for Wiccans, but I believe that not just Wiccans should follow the ways of the sacred calender. These holidays have been around since even before the creation of Christianity, starting back from generations of Pagans. First, before we go into a big huge lesson  of Beltane, or Samhain, let's talk about the moon phases.

The moon phases are a major and important part to spell practitioners, and many others. Some of the spells we shared we kind of already got a sense of when to do certain spells according to the moon phase. Loves spells to attract are performed when the moon is waxing, getting larger, and banishing spells are cast when the moon is waning, or getting smaller.

The full moon is a particularly significant day, symbolizing the power of the moon at its fullest. It's more than possible to tap into deeper levels of power if you perform a ritual or spell on the night of the full moon. What to remember is that the moon symbolizes the goddess, or the feminine aspect of the divine. So, if you have already figured out your matron goddess, this could be any female goddess; Ix Chel, Isis, Athena, Aphrodite, Hera, Durga, etc. But, there is also belief in a god, the masculine divine, symbolized by the sun. This can be any male god; Zeus, Triton, Thor, Osiris, Anubis, Odin, etc.

Therefore the days that mark the changing of the seasons are also days of power and significance, thus the Calender. There are eight days of power; four of them are the solstices and equinoxes. The other four mark the changing of the agricultural seasons. Here are all eight days and what they signify in order of the calender.

Imbolc - February 2: Imbolc celebrates light and fertility, as the days begin to get longer and the light begins to return, and the earth prepares for another season. It's also known as the Feast of Torches.

Spring Equinox - March 21: This is the official beginning of spring. Light and dark are in equal balance on this day, and the fields awaken and prepare for the blooming of spring and fertility. Spells for money and prosperity are especially effective at this time.

Beltane (Bell-chan-ee) - April 30: This is the return of vitality and passion to the earth. This is a good time to perform a love spell.

The Summer Solstice - June 21: This is the longest day of the year. It's a day of purification, health, and fertility. Healing spells done on this day have special powers.

Lunasa - August 1: This day commemorates the first harvest. The nights grow longer, and we begin to reap the fruits of our labors.

The Fall Equinox - Semptember 21: This is the other day when light and dark are in balance and harmony. The cycle of the earth is slowing down and preparing for winter.

Samhain - October 31: You may know this date as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve. It's also known as the Feast of the Dead. It's a time of reflection on the past, and a perfect time to communicate with spirits unseen. This is also the very last day of the calender. November first will be the beginning of the new year instead of January first, but this is only spiritually.

The Winter Solstice - December 21: This is the shortest day of the year. The darkness is greatest on this day and therefore spells that use light and candles are used to enhance the darkness.

Those are the eight days of power in the Calender. All of them have their own specific purpose and meaning. But it is safe to say, that if you want to add extra power to a particular spell, performing your spell on the proper holy day will add immense power to your spell.

Many Pagans choose to celebrate these days of power with a special ritual to mark the occasion. They are not asking for anything specific, per se. Sometimes they just want to give thanks to the divine powers, or feel connected in some way to the movement of the earth and the seasons.

Next time, we'll talk about the Holidays and how you can incorporate them to your Pagan religion. Blessed be!

How To Work Spells - Healing Spells and Deepening Rituals

Okay, everyone, this is the final and last lesson that we will deal with spells (just how to work with them). In this post we're going to learn some of the most advanced and powerful magic out there. Before you try to perform any of this, make sure that you have a lot of PRACTICE. The spells here required a lot of energy to cast - but the reward is worth it. amazingly powerful spells can accomplish just about anything, beyond what you thought was possible with magic.

So if you feel comfortable trying some of these "Advanced Spells" get ready for an incredible power rush as you work with new, potent magical forces.

What Energies Do You Need?

Before we really delve into the advanced spells, you need to know a bit more about the powerful energy needed to cast these spells. Advanced magic requires you to raise and manipulate energy. Really, the better you become at raising energy, the more effective ALL your spells will be.

So, what does "raising energy" mean? Where does the energy come from? Let's remember about the three types of energy: personal energy, earth energy, and divine energy. Remember that most witches don't use their own personal energy for spells. Instead, they draw upon the earth energy from plants, candles stones, and other forces to use in their spells. (It's a lot less draining and makes for much more powerful spells, when you draw from the vast stores of earth energy.)

You've already practiced an exercise to sense and manipulate energy. Keeping practicing and honing this technique because it is very important. Remember, in the exercise, how you rubbed your hands together to create your personal energy ball? How you could change it, make it bigger or smaller if you wanted? Well, you can do the same thing with earth energy, but instead of drawing energy from inside yourself, you draw it from the earth, or a plant. This energy, instead of returning to the earth, is directed into a candle or another object used in your spells. This energy multiplies the power of your spell many times over.

Here's an example of how it works: If you are outside, try using a tree or the earth itself for this. If you can't find a place to be outside, or if you are working your spells inside, then a plant can also work well for this purpose.

Sit near your earth energy source. Close your eyes and breathe slowly and deeply, clearing your mind and relaxing your body. Hold your left palm a few inches above the earth, tree, or plant. Focus your awareness on your palm. Feel the energy radiating from the earth, and feel your own energy flowing from your palm, mixing together and blending with the earth energy. Picture small threads or tendrils binding the energies together, like a rope. Now you are connected. Use this connection to draw the energy up from the tree, earth, or plant.

Picture it forming a glowing ball in your hand. Now the energy is yours to play with you can make the ball bigger or smaller, and change its color or shape. When you feel comfortable manipulating the energy, you can either release it back into the earth, basically detaching it from your own energy and letting it flow back into the source. Or, you can direct the energy moving into the candle, as you slowly untangle your own energy, like untangling a ball of string.

Now, when you light the candle during your spell, it will contain the powerful earth energy that you have raised.

Eliminate Addictions Spell

So let's get right into the advanced spells YOU need to know about. Ready? Let's get started by talking about bad habits. We all have them, even the ones we don't like to admit to. And we have our own addictions too - some of which are very harmful to ourselves and others. Breaking free of addiction isn't easy, but with the help of some powerful magic, its possible.

The "Eliminate Addictions" Spell should be performed during the waning moon, when the moon is getting smaller.

You will need the following ingredients:

Your magic broom, circle, and altar
A blue candle and a tool to carve the candle with
One teaspoon of dried anise seeds
One teaspoon of ground cinnamon
One teaspoon of cloves
One teaspoon of sage
One teaspoon of St. John's Wort

Before you start the spell, take the time to "charge" your candle with energy. This is performed exactly as described; by drawing the earth energy from a natural source and directing it into the candle.

To prepare yourself for the spell, sweep the area with your magical broom. Lay your magic circle using crystals, candles, or a cord. Assemble your ingredients on your alter.

Now, hold the unlit candle in both hands and visualize yourself free of your bad habit or addiction. Affirm to yourself: "I control my desires."

Carve your name and birth date into the candle.

At the base of the candle, carve today's date and carve the symbol that represents the habit you wish to break. Scratch an X over it afterwards.

Concentrate once more on your wish to stop your addiction, feeling the power contained in the candle. Light the candle.

While the candle is burning, use a mortar and pestle to ground the herbs together. Allow the motion to release any pent up anger, frustration, or fears.

Place the herbs in a small pouch, and carry it around with you at all times. Whenever you should feel a strong craving or want to return to your habit, open the bag and take a deep breath of your charm. The herbs will relax you and allow you to overcome your craving, reminding you of your power.

The constant reminder of your power and self-control will allow you to easily break bad habits and overcome addictions.

Of course, with any serious or dangerous addiction such as drugs or alcohol or self-harming, you should also take other measures and consult with a counselor or an other professional. But the magic charm will give you the additional support even in that kind of situation.

Healing Spell

Healing spells. They are some of the most powerful spells that a witch can perform. But, like with other matters of life and death, their outcome is often uncertain. Performing a healing spell is not a surefire guarantee that the person will recover. Nevertheless, healing spells DO help in many cases, and they are especially helpful for giving strength and hope to the sick person.

Healing spells require a lot of energy to perform, so make sure that you have practiced your energy raising and manipulating before attempting this one.

This particular healing spell is an offering to the powerful healing spirit.

Here are the supplies you will need for this spell:

Your magic broom, circle, and altar
Some white wine
A white candle
A bowl of popcorn, coated in palm oil

Sweep the area with your broom, lay your magic circle and place a cup of white wine and the bowl of popcorn on your altar, along with the candle. Before you start, perform you meditation exercise to charge the candle with earth energy. Light the candle, and say the following incantation:

Healing spirits, hear my plea,
Look with favor on this offering for thee.
Bring healing energy to ______________ today.
And in the light of health may he/she forever stay.
So mote it be.

Leave the popcorn on your altar for seventeen days. During that time, use your alter for petition, prayer, and reflection. After seventeen days, take the popcorn outside and feed it to the birds.

This will seal the spell and the illness will be neutralized. Of course, you want to exercise preventative measures before you can get sick, so that you won't need this healing spell.

Congratulations! You have completed the "How To Work Spells" guide! I hope that you have learned a lot when it comes to working with spells and how you are to approach all of this. When given the chance, practice, practice, and practice as much as you can! Because you will be grateful for knowing what to do in a slip second instance. And if you ever meet Aurora, make sure to thank her to the bottom of your heart, because when I bought her book, I thought that it was very informative; that's why I used it for you guys!

Anyway, my next most will deal more about the moon phases and why they are important and how to tell which phase is which (because it gets SO confusing!) and we'll be talking about some pretty important dates that Pagans have celebrated for hundreds and hundreds of years (predating the Christian holidays, might I just add). So get plenty of rest, practice as much as you can, and blessed be!

How To Work Spells - Defense and Protection Spells

What we'll be sharing today is important information that could save your life, or someone else's life. Here's what this means: Magic can be practiced as white magic (Like Wicca), and an important rule to always remember is the "Harm None". But there are other branches of magic, and other people who may use magic to harm others. So you need to be prepared, when you enter the magical world, and defend yourself from attack.

Most likely, you want to know how to protect yourself and your family from harm and defend yourself from ALL negative influences in your life (whether it be natural disasters, illness, burglars, or any other tragedy, there are important magical steps you can take to protect yourself and your loved ones). So pay very close attention, because we are going to learn all those important secrets here, today.

Now, we all know that we have only the best intentions for using magic. We know the really important rule just shared, and we know that we shouldn't use magic in improper ways. But, unfortunately, not everyone has the same idea. And there are many people out there who DO want to use magic for greedy, selfish, and harmful purposes.

As soon as you start performing spells, you step into the magical realm and make your presence known. And this can leave you vulnerable to magical attack by those people who misuse and abuse their magical abilities. Magic, just like driving a car or getting on a plane, has an element of risk attached. And, just like we buckle our seat belts and go through security at the airport, we have to know how to protect ourselves from dark magical forces as well. So, let's get started.

Signs Of Attack

First of all, how can you ell that you are under attack? How can you discover who is attacking you, and most of all, how can you defend yourself?

Not all magical attacks are intentional. In fact, the "evil eye", which appears in many different cultures, can be cast completely unintentionally, and without a spell, just by using the sheer force of envy, hatred, or ill-wishing. Another magical attack can come from people called "energy vampires" who feed on other people's positive energy, literally sucking the life force out of them.

You can recognize an energy vampire because you always feel tired and drained after talking to them, you feel like they take and take without giving back, and they always seem to be radiating negative energy. The best thing to do if you come in contact with an energy vampire is to STAY AWAY. Simply have as little to do with that person as possible.

Now we will talk about the intentional attacks-someone who is performing a spell or other magic in order to take revenge or otherwise cause you harm. In this situation, drastic defensive measures must be taken. First, how can you identify an attack? Well, you may begin to notice things "going wrong" or you may have a string of what you'd call "bad luck". But don't be so quick to write it off as bad luck but take care to make sure that this IS an attack, because a number of unfortunate incidents in a row could e a sign of magical assault. If you are getting the feeling that EVERYTHING in your life is going wrong, I mean EVERYTHING, it is definitely time to suspect magical attack as the cause.

And the sooner you do this, the better. Because if you leave the problem alone, things will go from bad to worse. Don't let it go on! Take defensive action as soon as things start "going wrong" for no reason.

Another sign of potential attack is mental disturbance, like vivid nightmares that keep coming back, a feeling of oppressive anxiety, or being confused, disoriented, and forgetful for no apparent reason. You may also just have a "bad feeling", you may feel like you are being followed or that there is a shadow hanging over you. If you are FOR SURE about these signs, don't dismiss them and say "I must be going crazy!" Take them seriously. It can't hurt to do a protective spell, and it can actually do a lot of good.

A quick side not: The mental signs list above are also signs of a psychological disorder, such as: depression, schizophrenia, anxiety, and ADD. Magic is NOT a substitute for proper treatment and therapy, so if you suspect that you have any of these things, do a protective spell, AND see your doctor.

There can also be physical symptoms of an attack. Headaches and fatigue are the most common. If you are having headaches and fatigue and cannot discover the cause, first see your doctor, and then consider your magical defenses.

You can also sense an attack based on the reaction of the plants and animals around you. Finding more snakes, spiders, and other pests in your yard is a suspicious sign. Magical attacks will almost always affect plants and animals first. And actually many different witches set up an "early warning system" by keeping a plant or two in the house. At the first sign of an attack, the plants will suffer first. Your house plants can actually be very effective "guard dogs" against dark forces, so make sure you water them!

Now, experiencing one or two of these signs can often have a perfectly logical explanation. Everyone gets headaches one in a while, after all, and depending on the season, bugs and spiders may infest your house. Some thing goes for bad dreams, or even a string of bad luck. So don't be too quick to attribute these things to do the work of dark forces. But DO keep your eyes open and be aware. You may generally find that you will get a "feeling" when the signs cross the line from normal bad luck to "suspicious". Stay aware, and stay vigilant, and you should be able to tell a real attack from plain old back luck.

So how do you protect yourself if you are experiencing any of the signs of attack? Well, the best offense is a good defense. That means doing regular protection and banishing rituals, like the ones we will be looking at right now.

Your Magic Shield

One of the most useful tools in defensive magic is your shield. This isn't a specific spell per se, but it is a very powerful mental tool that requires no other supplies except your own will and imagination. Shields are very effective against negative people, energy vampires, and any other negative influences that you want to protect yourself from.

Your shield may take some practice to conjure, but it will get stronger and stronger every time you do it, so don't give up. Right now, we'll be practicing the technique for conjuring your personal protective magic shield:

First, find a quiet spot where you won't be disturbed.

Begin by imagining that there is a flow of energy that is connecting you to both the heavens and the earth. Picture it as a column that runs through you straight up and down. You are connected to the earth, and to the skies above. See it descend from the sky and pass through you down the earth.

As you inhale, feel the power from above and below flow into you. As you exhale, feel that energy move throughout your body, infusing every cell and fiber of your body with power.

Make a fist with your left hand and place it over your heart. Cover it with your right hand and apply pressure.

As you inhale again, feel the power gather around your heart. Direct all the energy in your body straight to your heart.

See a small, gray sphere gather at your heart. Release the pressure on your chest and feel the sphere grow larger, expanding through your skin and encompassing your entire body. Push the sphere out about a foot or two from your body. This is your shield. Imagine that its surface is impenetrable, and that no dark or bad forces will be allowed in. You are safe and protected. You know your shield is there for you.

The effects of the shield will generally wear off in a few hours. You may repeat the ritual again to bring your shield back.l But be careful about using your shield too much. Yes, it will protect you from attack. But because it works against everyone, it will cut you off from the people who mean you no harm at all. Use your shield only when you really feel that you need it.

Protection Spells

Protection is VERY important, so I'm going to be giving you two very simple spells that will keep you safe if you deem it very effective. I'll also give you a website just to help you out. Blessed be!

While sitting or standing before any fire, look into the flames (or flame, if using a candle). Visualize the fire bathing you with glowing, protective light. The fire creates a flaming, shimering sphere around you. If you wish, say the following words (or something like them):

"Craft the spell in the fire;

Craft it well; Weave it higher.

Weave it now of shining flame;

None shall come to hurt or maim.

None shall pass this fiery wall;

None shall pass No, none at all."

Repeat this simple yet effective ritual every day when in need.

Imagine a bright light circling around you and filling you from the inside. Picture something that is warm, safe, and fearless. Once you have that, chant 

"Thrice around the circle bound

Evil sink into the ground"

You can chant this as many times as needed and carry on your way if you are ready. Just something to be very quick and effective.

This is a spell to protect a person from the criticism and hate of another. This spell can be done during any phase of the moon. You must have something that is connected to the person, like a piece of handwriting, a picture, hair, etc. Place this in a container, and set it aflame. While it is burning, chant:

"Away from me

Away from me

Away from me

Away from me

So Mote It Be." 

http://www.lightchamber.org/gfs_bjdocs/magicdivination/protection.htm