Magical Herbal Correspondences

Even though it’s the end of February, the unseasonably warm weather in many places has gotten a lot of us thinking about spring a little bit early – and with spring comes gardening! Are you thinking about planting some magical herbs in your garden this year? Even if you don’t have a big yard, you can grow herbs in containers to use in spellwork and rituals later on. Let’s take a look at some of the most popular magical herbs to grow, so you can start planning your plantings!

 

Herbs have been used for thousands of years, both medicinally and ritually. Every herb has its own unique characteristics, and these properties are what makes the plant special. Subsequently, many Pagans use herbs as part of their regular ritual practice.

Also, be sure to read about herbal correspondences to get a feel for which herbs are useful in what types of workings: Magical Herb Use.

This first part is 29 different “pages” long. To read the other 28 information articles and see the pictures of each herb please click on this link: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/herbalism/ss/Magical-Herbs.htm?utm_campaign=list_paganwiccan&utm_content=20170228&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exp_nl&utm_term=list_paganwiccan

 

What’s a, “Familiar,” and What Purpose Does It Serve?

Aloha!

You’ve probably heard the term, “familiar” during conversations among those who provide psychic and/or natural healing services. What does it mean? Though a familiar may take on a variety of different forms, most often a familiar’s form is feline. A psychic, healer, clairvoyant, medicine woman, shaman, etc., will frequently have what is basically a working assistant in the form of a cat. That cat is not a pet, but rather provides useful, practical, magical supportive assistance to its human.

More often than not, the familiar is the one who chooses the human, rather than the other way around. There will be something that’s just “different” about the animal – a look in its eyes, a difference in its demeanor making it stand apart from the rest of its liter, or a consistently-demonstrated heightened sensitivity and special skill set.

Yes, I have a familiar in my work, and yes, he chose me rather than the other way around. As I’d never been around a cat before, it was and continues to be a fascinating adjustment that adds depth & enjoyment to my work & life. One of those adjustments was how to effectively discipline this curious, dedicated kitty cat…

To read the rest of , T. Renee Richardson, DD, http://www.psychic-services.com, point of view and information on this topic please click on this link: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/what-s-a-familiar-and-what-purpose-does-it-serve

Living a Balanced Life

Living a balanced life. To lose balance sometimes for love is part of living a balanced life. ~ Elizabeth Gilbert

Living a balanced life is essential for personal effectiveness, peace of mind and living well.

We have to realize that we can’t have everything and do everything at the same time. And the challenge is to balance what we must do with what we enjoy and choose to do.

In today’s society where most people spend more time at work or working than in any other context, it’s common to feel over-worked and off-balance. Everyone struggles to step away and find time for the people, activities and things that restore peace and balance in life.

“Happiness is not a matter of intensity but of balance, order, rhythm and harmony.” ~Thomas Merton
When our life seems out of control and we’ve got endless demands tugging at us from all directions, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed, fatigued, and just plain stressed!

This rest of this article by Mitra Shahidi please click on this link: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/living-a-balanced-life-0

All Your Divination for Saturday, February 25th is on the WOTC Podcast…..

Hot-linked for your convenience

And for those who don’t want to listen to me make an idiot out of myself, we have provided a transcript for each podcast. It is for those who would rather read than listen and I can’t say I would blame you either. On the last podcast, we have a special session which is not listened in the transcript. It is a “9 Point Checklist on Doing Spells and Rituals.”

We hope you take a moment to view the podcast. Have a very beautiful Saturday, till tomorrow…

Love ya,

Lady of the Abyss

Introduction to Healing Energy Chakra Meditation with a Powerful Chakra Meditaton Step by Step And More Mind Body Healing Techniques

Balance one or all your chakras and see exactly what a distinction it can make to your health and success.

Some Background first and Understanding Chakra Meditation

It is commonly understood how meditation can enhance your general health and wellness, plus make your mind more serene. You can decrease tension and acquire a higher sense of satisfaction through experiencing meditation.

Meditation provided for brief duration a number of times a day has actually been revealed to alter the brain and make it much easier to carry out complex jobs. It is likewise utilized as a way of going beyond common idea and presence in an effort to accomplish knowledge, an increased mindset.

Practicing meditation by duplicating the mantra for each chakra, either by itself or in a series, can move your chakra energy. Each chakra is what can be referred to as a focal point of spiritual, physical and emotional energies.

7 Chakras Energy Centers Explained

The chakras are energy centers connected with a specific location of the body and specific kinds of energy which can be well balanced as well as amplified in order to result improvement in your life. The 7 chakras are referred to as being lined up in a rising column from ones bottom or anus through to the top of the head. Each chakra has its own color and kind of energy.

Beginning with the bottom and working our method to the top, with the color of each chakra, we have:

To learn more this subject as put forth by Leon Edwards please click on this link: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/introduction-to-healing-energy-chakra-meditation-with-a-powerful-chakra-meditaton-step-by-s

Mother Goddesses

When Margaret Murray wrote her ground-breaking God of the Witches in 1931, scholars quickly dismissed her theory of a universal, pre-Christian cult of witches who worshiped a singular mother goddess. However, she wasn’t completely off-base. Many early societies had a mother-like godform, and honored the sacred feminine with their ritual, art and legends.

Take, for instance, the ancient carvings of rounded, curved, feminine forms found in Willendorf. These icons are the symbol of something once revered. Pre-Christian cultures in Europe, like the Norse and Roman societies, honored the deities of women, with their shrines and temples built to honor such goddesses as Bona Dea, Cybele, Frigga, and Hella. Ultimately, that reverence for the archetype of “mother” has been carried over in modern Pagan religions. Some might argue that the Christian figure of Mary is a mother goddess as well, although many groups might disagree with that concept as being “too Pagan.” Regardless, those goddesses of motherhood from ancient societies were a widely varied bunch — some loved unwisely, some fought battles to protect their young, others fought with their offspring.

To read the rest of this article by Patti Wiggin please click on this link: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/godsandgoddesses/a/MotherGoddess.htm

Dolní Vestonice (Czech Republic)

Definition:

Dolní Vestonice (Dohlnee VEST-oh-neets-eh) is a large Upper Paleolithic (Gravettian) occupation, loaded with information about the technology, art, animal exploitation, site settlement patterns and human burial activities of 30,000 years ago. The site lies buried beneath a thick layer of loess, on the slopes of the Pavlov Hills above the Dyje river. The site is near the modern town of Brno in the region of Moravia in the eastern part of what is now the Czech Republic.

Artifacts from Dolní Vestonice

The site has three separate parts (called in the literature DV1, DV2, and DV3), but all of them represent the same Gravettian occupation: they were named after the excavation trenches that were dug to investigate them. Among the features identified at Dolní Vestonice are hearths, possible structures, and human burials. One grave contains two men and one woman; a lithic tool workshop has also been identified. One grave of an adult woman contained burial goods, including several stone tools, five fox incisors and a mammoth scapula.

To read the rest of this informative article by K. Kris Hirst please click on this link: http://archaeology.about.com/od/dterms/g/dolnivestonice.htm

 

To read an academic point of view on this subject of the female figurines from The University of Chicago Press Journals please click on this link: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2744349?seq=1#page_scan_tab_contents

Two Energies, One Body:Balance your male and female

What is the big mystery of the male and female sides of the body? Why do we need to be aware of this? The body is energetically divided into two parts. The right and the left, male and female dominated sides. This is not a new concept, it has an origin in eastern philosophies like Buddhism, Yoga, and you can even find ancient writings that the Mayan civilization was aware of the power of maintaining balance between these two opposite energies.

The Buddha taught it quite clearly. Each human being has a right and left hemisphere in the brain, which we classify as male and female, the right being female, left being male. The left or male side is in charge of the right side of the body and the right brain or female side is in charge of the left side of the body.

The Maya placed themselves and their environment into categories that allowed them to order and manipulate their world. They frequently categorized using the basic complementary pairing of male/female, and right/left.

In yoga, male energy (the sun), is referred to as Shiva, and is the form of the universe. Male energy is the domain of the right side of the body. Whereas female energy (the moon), is referred to as Shakti, and is the force of the universe. The female energy is the domain of the left side of the body.

To read the rest of this informative article by Marti Angel please click on this link: http://www.selfgrowth.com/articles/two_energies_one_body.html

Magic and Witchcraft In History and Folklore (Part 4)

The Woman of Willendorf

The Woman of Willendorf, formerly called Venus of Willendorf, is the name given to a small statue found in 1908. The statue takes its name from the small Austrian village, Willendorf, near where it was found. Measuring only about four inches high, it is estimated to have been created between 25,000 and 30,000 years ago.

Hundreds of these tiny statues have been found in various parts of Europe. The Woman of Willendorf and many of the other small female figurines were originally called “Venuses,” although there is no association with the goddess Venus, whom they predate by several thousand years. Today, in academic and art circles, she is known as the Woman rather than the Venus, to avoid inaccuracies.

For years, archaeologists believed that these figurines were fertility figures – possibly associated with a deity – based upon the rounded curves, exaggerated breasts and hips, and obvious pubic triangle. The Woman of Willendorf has a large, rounded head – although she lacks any facial features – but some of the female figurines from the Paleolithic period appear without a head at all.

To read the rest of this interesting article by Patti Wiggins please click on this link: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/wiccanpaganhistory/fl/The-Woman-of-Willendorf.htm?utm_campaign=list_paganwiccan&utm_content=20170221&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exp_nl&utm_term=list_paganwiccan

Magic and Witchcraft In History and Folklore (Part 2)

The Magic of Alchemy

During the medieval period, alchemy became a popular practice in Europe. Although it had been around for a long time, the fifteenth century saw a boom in alchemical methods, in which practitioners attempted to turn lead and other base metals into gold.

The Early Days of Alchemy

Alchemical practices have been documented as far back as ancient Egypt and China, and interestingly enough, it evolved around the same time in both places, independently of each other.

According to the Lloyd Library, “In Egypt, alchemy is tied in with the fertility of the Nile River basin, fertility being referred to as Khem. By at least the 4th century BCE, there was a basic practice of alchemy in place, probably related to mummification procedures and connected strongly with ideas of life after death… Alchemy in China was the brainchild of Taoist monks, and as such is wrapped up in Taoist beliefs and practice.

The founder of Chinese alchemy is considered to be Wei Po-Yang. In its earliest practice the Chinese aim was always to discover the elixir of life, not to transmute base metals into gold. Therefore, there was always a closer connection to medicine in China.”

Around the ninth century, Muslim scholars like Jabir ibn Hayyan began to experiment with alchemy, in the hopes of creating gold, the perfect metal. Known in the West as Geber, ibn Hayyan looked alchemy in the context of natural science and medicine. Although he never did manage to turn any base metals into gold, Geber was able to discover some pretty impressive methods of refining metals by extracting their impurities. His work led to developments in the creation of gold ink for illuminated manuscripts, and the creation of new glassmaking techniques.

While he wasn’t a terribly successful alchemist, Geber was very gifted as a chemist.

To read more of Patti Wiggins post on this fascinating subject please click on this link: http://paganwiccan.about.com/od/wiccanpaganhistory/fl/The-Magic-of-Alchemy.htm?utm_campaign=list_paganwiccan&utm_content=20170221&utm_medium=email&utm_source=exp_nl&utm_term=list_paganwiccan