I've been reading Vivian Crowley's book "The Magical Life" and she has an excellent Chakra opening exercise. I've been doing this for the last few days. As you draw energy up through your root chakra you let the energy grow until each chakra is fully opened, I have noticed something strange. I keeping getting stuck at my heart chakra. I can feel the energy flowing through my body. It's a lovely tingling, alive feeling, and when I get to the middle of my breast bone, it's like a pit, a rock. While doing this the other day, I took the time to rub on that area, to see if I could loosen things up, and I was amazed at how tender and sore it felt. I could press just below, and just above with no pain, but to press just on that point was extremely uncomfortable. I did my best to push the energy through that area and move onto the throat, the forehead, and the crown, but I can't help but wonder what is going on. Am I holding onto a feeling, or fear? I don't know enough about the correlation between each chakra and other body parts. I'll do some looking into this, and I will keep trying to open this area.
On another note, last night I sat with the family and did this exercise with them. We sat in a circle as I led them through it. It was lovely, and I was thrilled at how well the kids liked it. Each described the energy flowing through them, and things that they saw in their meditations, describing what it felt like to have the white light of the crown chakra pouring over and down around their body. My son also noted how towards the end of the meditation when we were closing the chakras, he was reluctant to close them, because he was enjoying it so much. They felt extremely relaxed and ready for bed when we were finished. And best of all, they were looking forward to another meditation.
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Aquarian New Moon
Happy New Moon.
My husband and I have just prepared our first ritual together: A ritual for the New Moon. Here is our plan.
We will set up the table with a sky blue cloth. With our equipment ready, we will have an opening prayer. Next, we will call the directions. To the East we light incense, and ask the Air to purify us. To the South we light a candle, and ask Fire to awaken the spirit of innocence and play. To the West, we dip fingers in a chalice of water, and ask that it heal old wounds. To the North we have a pot of Earth, and ask that it centers and grounds us.
Next we will sit, calm, and center ourselves. Now we create a ball of light starting from our centers and growing until each of our individual balls join into one. Then we ground our energy with roots to the earth.
After our circle is strong, we will write out our intention on a piece of paper, along with some drawings of icons to remind us of each intention. Because we are in an air moon, we decided to make paper airplanes out of our list, to keep in a place we will see them daily. We will include here Words Of Power: (from Marion Weinstien)
There is One Power which is Goddess and God
And which is perfect fulfillment
And we are a perfect manifestation of this Power
Therefore; perfect fulfillment is here and now
For the good of all
According to the Free will of all
And so it must be
Next we will will give a prayer of thanks. Closing the circle, and thanking each element.
Blow out the candle and ground with a little food and drink.
I will let you know how it goes. In the meantime, Happy New Moon and Blessed Be.
My husband and I have just prepared our first ritual together: A ritual for the New Moon. Here is our plan.
We will set up the table with a sky blue cloth. With our equipment ready, we will have an opening prayer. Next, we will call the directions. To the East we light incense, and ask the Air to purify us. To the South we light a candle, and ask Fire to awaken the spirit of innocence and play. To the West, we dip fingers in a chalice of water, and ask that it heal old wounds. To the North we have a pot of Earth, and ask that it centers and grounds us.
Next we will sit, calm, and center ourselves. Now we create a ball of light starting from our centers and growing until each of our individual balls join into one. Then we ground our energy with roots to the earth.
After our circle is strong, we will write out our intention on a piece of paper, along with some drawings of icons to remind us of each intention. Because we are in an air moon, we decided to make paper airplanes out of our list, to keep in a place we will see them daily. We will include here Words Of Power: (from Marion Weinstien)
There is One Power which is Goddess and God
And which is perfect fulfillment
And we are a perfect manifestation of this Power
Therefore; perfect fulfillment is here and now
For the good of all
According to the Free will of all
And so it must be
Next we will will give a prayer of thanks. Closing the circle, and thanking each element.
Blow out the candle and ground with a little food and drink.
I will let you know how it goes. In the meantime, Happy New Moon and Blessed Be.
Coming of Age
The other day, I got out my tarot cards. My brother had gotten them for me years ago, and it has been a long while since I've taken them out. I have a couple of options for employment for the upcoming Fall and so I thought I would consult the cards. I enjoyed my reading very much, but what I enjoyed more was when my son saw what I was doing, he wanted a reading as well.
My cards follow many Greek myths, which happens to be of particular interest to my son. He asked the cards about how the rest of his school year would go. It was amazing to see how the spread laid out before him. So much spoke to the fear and longing of growing up. My husband and I have noticed how he seems to want to hold on to childhood. I have worried that perhaps we should have held him back a year at the beginning of his school career. He is so advanced academically, yet a tad behind socially and emotionally. He approaches a cusp as he is about to turn 12 at the end of May, and the cards could not have agreed more.
The most interesting aspect of the reading; however, was my son's reaction. It seemed to suddenly come clear to him; all of the things he's been worrying about or struggling with. Suddenly, able to recognize and name his fears, they seemed valid, and at the same time, something completely within his capacity to deal with. It was like seeing another step toward maturity taken right before my eyes. What a difficult and wonderful age.
My cards follow many Greek myths, which happens to be of particular interest to my son. He asked the cards about how the rest of his school year would go. It was amazing to see how the spread laid out before him. So much spoke to the fear and longing of growing up. My husband and I have noticed how he seems to want to hold on to childhood. I have worried that perhaps we should have held him back a year at the beginning of his school career. He is so advanced academically, yet a tad behind socially and emotionally. He approaches a cusp as he is about to turn 12 at the end of May, and the cards could not have agreed more.
The most interesting aspect of the reading; however, was my son's reaction. It seemed to suddenly come clear to him; all of the things he's been worrying about or struggling with. Suddenly, able to recognize and name his fears, they seemed valid, and at the same time, something completely within his capacity to deal with. It was like seeing another step toward maturity taken right before my eyes. What a difficult and wonderful age.
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Meditation - Raising the Magick
Here is an exercise that I found, and I really liked it.
1. Find a room you can make dark.
2. Find a candle you feel represents you - a favorite color, or one that feels good when you hold it. I chose white because I felt that it was like a blank page that I could write on.
3. Take the candle and sit comfortable on the floor.
- Clear your mind, relax your breathing
4. When you are relaxed, think about your past and your present. Who you are as a person. How you feel, how you think, what problems you have. What you truly love. Think these things into the candle.
I pictured an electrical current running from me into the candle I held in my hands. You could also picture a jet air stream flowing from you into the candle. Whatever works for you.
5. When you feel you've put enough of your energy into the candle, place it in a holder on an altar. Light the candle.
6. Now turn off the lights, close curtains, make the room dark.
The dark room represents the clarity of emptiness - the candle represents all that you are.
7. Sit on the ground in front of your altar and the burning flame.
Visualize the Magick energy in the candle (the essence of you) being released into the emptiness and darkness all around you.
8. Close your eyes and feel your energy filling the room - starting from the floor, up the walls, to the ceiling. Feel the warmth building in the room.
9. In your thoughts, bring an idea of complete belief in yourself and the energy building up in the room. Put aside any bad things that have happened to you in the past - if they pop up, quietly acknowledge them and cast them aside.
Grab hold of everything good in your life - everything that is possible with the powers you were born with. Believe in everything your heart tells you.
10. Continue to focus on this belief in yourself and your magick. Build up the belief until you forget you ever had a doubt. Admit you ARE special and filled with Magick... just as much as any other person on earth.
11. Open your eyes. look around, take 3 deep breaths in, and snuff out the candle.
I loved doing this meditation. I visualized putting my energy into the candle. As the candle burned, and the room filled with magick, I could feel my entire body tingle. I have felt this tingling before during meditations, especially in my hands, but this was everywhere and very strong. It was like feeling each beat of my heart in every pore of my skin. A pulsing energy. When I opened my eyes, I pictured myself breathing in the magick that filled the room and sent any excess energy back to the earth and sky. I left feeling very upbeat and relaxed, all at the same time.
1. Find a room you can make dark.
2. Find a candle you feel represents you - a favorite color, or one that feels good when you hold it. I chose white because I felt that it was like a blank page that I could write on.
3. Take the candle and sit comfortable on the floor.
- Clear your mind, relax your breathing
4. When you are relaxed, think about your past and your present. Who you are as a person. How you feel, how you think, what problems you have. What you truly love. Think these things into the candle.
I pictured an electrical current running from me into the candle I held in my hands. You could also picture a jet air stream flowing from you into the candle. Whatever works for you.
5. When you feel you've put enough of your energy into the candle, place it in a holder on an altar. Light the candle.
6. Now turn off the lights, close curtains, make the room dark.
The dark room represents the clarity of emptiness - the candle represents all that you are.
7. Sit on the ground in front of your altar and the burning flame.
Visualize the Magick energy in the candle (the essence of you) being released into the emptiness and darkness all around you.
8. Close your eyes and feel your energy filling the room - starting from the floor, up the walls, to the ceiling. Feel the warmth building in the room.
9. In your thoughts, bring an idea of complete belief in yourself and the energy building up in the room. Put aside any bad things that have happened to you in the past - if they pop up, quietly acknowledge them and cast them aside.
Grab hold of everything good in your life - everything that is possible with the powers you were born with. Believe in everything your heart tells you.
10. Continue to focus on this belief in yourself and your magick. Build up the belief until you forget you ever had a doubt. Admit you ARE special and filled with Magick... just as much as any other person on earth.
11. Open your eyes. look around, take 3 deep breaths in, and snuff out the candle.
I loved doing this meditation. I visualized putting my energy into the candle. As the candle burned, and the room filled with magick, I could feel my entire body tingle. I have felt this tingling before during meditations, especially in my hands, but this was everywhere and very strong. It was like feeling each beat of my heart in every pore of my skin. A pulsing energy. When I opened my eyes, I pictured myself breathing in the magick that filled the room and sent any excess energy back to the earth and sky. I left feeling very upbeat and relaxed, all at the same time.
Ostara Home Blessing
Spring is upon us and it has been glorious. Friday we went to enjoy the Cherry Blossoms, and for the past two days we have been beautifying our own yard. About a week ago, I came across an Ostara Home Blessing, and I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. Here is the blessing:
Take four raw eggs; bury them at the four corners of your property (you can use more, if you need to). While burying the eggs say something like this:
Bring thee seeds of new life
Ease all pain, and end all strife
Ancient Symbol of Fertility
Bring to us great harmony
Love for all upon the ground
For here is where the light abounds
Joy, happiness, life, and love
Surround us from below and from above
Seeing as we were just about to turn up the ground for new planting, I thought it was the perfect time to perform this blessing. Both my husband and my son, were totally into it, so we each took turns burying an egg while another quoted a verse.
Here is the interesting thing: I mentioned to the kids that I wanted to do this blessing earlier this week, and my daughter says "well, I'm not Wicca just yet." I told her, "that's okay, you don't ever have to be Wicca if you don't want to be, I just thought this would be fun. Does this bother you?" She said, "I don't know, it just doesn't feel right."
My husband and I have been trying to puzzle this one out. It is sometimes hard to lead small ones on a spiritual path, when you are still searching for one yourself. I think one of the most important things that kids can learn; however, is that you are on one. We still go to church on a regular basis, and I want the kids to have some spiritual nurturing, but this is where my hubby and I start to part ways.
I love my current church family. They are the reason that I continue to go to church. But if those people were to leave, I'm not sure that this is where I would continue to find my faith. Obviously, I am already finding it in other places. But how much of this journey do I share with my family? Part of my own trouble with my Christian upbringing is the worshipping of the story of Christ, rather than the words that Christ spoke. To be totally honest, I'm just not sure how much of the story I believe. Let me be clear, I don't think it matters if I believe it or not, it seems to me that the important parts are in the lessons that Christ teaches, but how are my kids hearing this? And I still can't figure out what about the above blessing may have offended my 9 year old daughter. Hubby is not comfortable with them being in on all of our Wicca rituals, which I agree with, especially since I don't really know what I am doing yet, but I also don't feel like I can just turn them over to the church and say, teach them what you will. Let's face it, that's how I grew up, and I sometimes feel a bit betrayed by the whole thing. Certainly, this is not the same path that I want for my kids. Truth be told, I want them to find their own way, and I'm sure they will, but not right now. Right now, I am their guide along with my husband. It is not a job I take lightly. My hope is that they learn love, forgiveness, and joy in their lives. Right now, I think it is all I can offer.
In the meantime, we have most of our herb garden and shade garden planted. A new bush by the back gate should help keep the neighborhood dogs from trying to barge in for a visit with our very popular pooch.
I am off to meditate and give thanks for this glorious day.
Happy Spring, and Blessed Be.
Monday, March 29, 2010
The Timeline
Now, I am recording things in the timeline that I have done things, but I would not say that I have done things in the best order. I have been reading all that I can get my hands on. I have signed onto a FREE online course that will take me through A Year And A Day, giving readings, exercises and exams. I have read through the material thus far, and am practicing my meditations. I am attracted to an Eclectic version of Wicca. It allows the freedom that I seek. I do not intend to replace the Christian God with some other Mythical idea of the Gods. I do believe in one Diety that is the creating energy and that is manifested in the sky, the earth, and each creature living on it. I like praising the Goddess and the God, reminding us of the importance of both male and female. I believe God is in each of us, whether we agree or disagree, are alike or different. Each of us is where we should be for it is where we are. It is impossible for us to hate one another when we see God in each other. Jesus said he was the son of God, and that we are ALL the children of God. God is in each of us. These are my thoughts on this day.
Blessed Be
Blessed Be
A Year and a Day
I am continuing on my exploration of my spiritual path and it has led me to Wicca. If you are reading this for experienced information, I will tell you to move on. I am a Newbie with a capital "N".
Having been raised Christian, and being several times disillusioned by the religion, I have rejected, re-accepted, and rejected it again many times. There are many reasons for this, but the overwhelming trouble I seem to run into is the feeling of being lied to over and over again. I'm not saying that I have a problem with the Christians using Pagan rituals and holidays as the basis for their own, but feeling like we aren't up front about our history. The Christian history is supposed to come straight from the Bible which seems less like an historical document than I'm comfortable with. The history of the Bible itself remains a mystery, at least to me. That's all I'm going to say on this subject at the moment.
The reason I began looking into Wicca is really a rather funny one. I had an audition for Voice Over work for a witchcraft website. As far as I know, I didn't get the job, but I did visit the site. It was not what I would call a reputable website - they were really just trying to sell spells, but I started to look around, and what I read increased my interest.
"A New Earth" by Ekhart Tolle had been a life changing book for me. That along with "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie, and "The Secret", all of which talked about living life in the Now, and to the fullest. Of course, there is a lot more to these books, and I would recommend any of them, but here I was finding a religion that truly embraced all of these concepts that had been mulling around in my head for the last couple of years. Concepts which include a divine energy that truly lives in everything around us and inside of us.
So am I now Wiccan? I don't know. But I am looking into it. So here starts my Book of Shadows. A recording of my journey. A log of meditations, rituals and spells I might try, as well as, a diary of thoughts and feelings I have along the way. Let us embark on A Year and a Day.
Having been raised Christian, and being several times disillusioned by the religion, I have rejected, re-accepted, and rejected it again many times. There are many reasons for this, but the overwhelming trouble I seem to run into is the feeling of being lied to over and over again. I'm not saying that I have a problem with the Christians using Pagan rituals and holidays as the basis for their own, but feeling like we aren't up front about our history. The Christian history is supposed to come straight from the Bible which seems less like an historical document than I'm comfortable with. The history of the Bible itself remains a mystery, at least to me. That's all I'm going to say on this subject at the moment.
The reason I began looking into Wicca is really a rather funny one. I had an audition for Voice Over work for a witchcraft website. As far as I know, I didn't get the job, but I did visit the site. It was not what I would call a reputable website - they were really just trying to sell spells, but I started to look around, and what I read increased my interest.
"A New Earth" by Ekhart Tolle had been a life changing book for me. That along with "Loving What Is" by Byron Katie, and "The Secret", all of which talked about living life in the Now, and to the fullest. Of course, there is a lot more to these books, and I would recommend any of them, but here I was finding a religion that truly embraced all of these concepts that had been mulling around in my head for the last couple of years. Concepts which include a divine energy that truly lives in everything around us and inside of us.
So am I now Wiccan? I don't know. But I am looking into it. So here starts my Book of Shadows. A recording of my journey. A log of meditations, rituals and spells I might try, as well as, a diary of thoughts and feelings I have along the way. Let us embark on A Year and a Day.
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