Celebration - 10,000 Hits

It has taken 6 months of blogs but my blog has finally reached 10000 hits.

Reflecting on... Self-Expression

I will admit from the offset of this piece of writing that I have never been particularly adept at self expression; in fact blogging is possibly the boldest form of self-expression I have ever practiced. It is a very prolific way of getting my opinion out to the world and expressing it with eloquence, drama and descriptive flair. I can convey anything through writing… passion, anger, love, enlightenment… I choose this form of self-expression because it is understated and requires thought; a piece of writing can be re-written over and over, it takes time to get the words and the grammar right to express exactly the right thing. Every sentence says something specifically from my mind, my imagination, from me.

It started when I was a teenager, I started a diary… I’d found the emotional hurricane powered by hormones which was flooding my 14-year old self needed an outlet; I couldn’t sing or dance, I had no talent for drawing or painting; I thought writing would be the easiest way to release my emotional burden. For a long time I thought I was taking the easy way out by writing but over time I realised I was simply doing what felt natural. It was and still is my form of self-expression – the words give shape and colour to every emotional nuance; each comma, full stop and sentence adds texture and richness. Writing is how I declare my personality; it didn’t happen for me in a sense of style or an artistic flair, I wasn’t moved to channel my life through politics, law or music but I found a spiritual belief I am proud of and I found freedom in the written word.

To express yourself fully, however you choose to do it, you must feel a sense of purpose, a sense of self; something to believe in, something worth defending. Once you have that, you have something worthy of expressing and you can do that through whichever medium you choose. It could be dependant on the seasons: trees express themselves differently as the wheel turns; the tides change as the moon waxes as wanes – self-expression cannot be dictated to you, it comes from the self. Though outside influences may sway how you choose to showcase yourself, it must come from you. Do what feels natural, follow your heart and let your spiritual and emotional self be explored, nurtured and freed.

I have written about my personal form of self-expression here because that is what I know it to be and how I have learned that there are no rules or limits when it comes to being yourself. If you feel like you should have red hair, dye it; if you feel like you can’t breathe unless you are making music or art or writing then go with it. The Universe will never give you more than you can handle and however you choose to express that, my personal advice/experience says that as long as you are being true to yourself and can accept and love who you see in the mirror every day then be as wacky and wonderful as your imagination will allow.

Reflecting on... My 33rd Birthday!

I was born 17^th June 1981 under the Strong Sun Moon influenced by the Celtic month of Oak and the Chinese zodiac of Rooster. I feel very blessed to have been born under a full moon and that influence flows through me every day. It is the force which drove me to study witchcraft and to find my spiritual path, which although I only found at the age of 14, I have been on all my life. So, on this day, the beginning of my 33^rd year, I count the blessings of each moment I have experienced, witnessed and cherished. I smile at each joy that my life has been blessed with – the birth of my niece and nephews, my parents marriage, my grandparents marriage, my best friends wedding, the late night talks with friends and the too many bottles of wine. I shed a tear at every loss I’ve felt, be that via someone departing this world or losing contact with an old friend.

As with any birthday, I am taking stock, clearing out the negative and starting fresh. The moon is waning so it is the most auspicious time for banishing the crap out of my life, getting pro-active, so that when the moon is waxing in a couple of weeks, I can bring things into my life. As part of this birthday clear-out I have made a list of five ‘things’ which I am banishing from my life this birthday:

Resentful feelings

Debt

Body Issues

Selfishness

Procrastination

I did not plan to turn this into a post about banishing negativity and all my issues so I am stopping; this is a day of celebration I will focus on the positive things about myself today: I have Love, family, friendship and work but above all, I have the light of the Universe within me as my spiritual path stretches onward, I have enlightenment, faith and I have something to believe in. That is the best birthday present I could ever hope for.

Fledgewatch - Translations from inside the nest.

My thoughts on what all that squeaking is about…

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01z2vn8/live

“Your beak is digging in my wing”

“Well his foot is on my head”.

“Get your tail out my mouth”.

“You call that singing”?

“When’s mum coming home”?

“I’m hungry”.

“Get off me”!

“I’m getting out of here… Wait! It’s a long way down”.

“But you’re going across, not down”.

“You do it then”.

“I’m hungry”.

“Mum’s back…”

“Me! Me! Me”!

“Feed me”!

“Feed me”!

“Feed me”!

Wittering on... Blue Tit FledgeWatch - Springwatch

Blogging has been completely abandoned for the day (except for this one) because I am addicted to blue tit cam on BBC Springwatch. So close to fledging and I cannot tear myself away.

I will add Blue Tit info here for anyone who would like it, once the little sweethearts have fledged and I am free…

Book of Shadows - Extending the Inspiration

Some of you may remember seeing the inspiration page I created for my Book of Shadows – link here: Book of Shadows - Inspirational Page. Now, no part of my Book of Shadows is one page and so the Inspiration section of my magickal tome will now include the blog posts from my Inspirational People series and it has started with +Shiann Raven Moon 

Reflecting on... Seeking Approval

Everybody wants to be validated; to be patted on the back or to hear ‘Good job!’ It makes us feel approved of. When this happens without it being sought out, there is also a feeling of acceptance and recognition… who wouldn't want that? I myself have fell victim to doing certain things in order to gain someone’s respect, and at other times, I have gained their respect for simply being myself and letting them make up their own mind. Which one do you think felt better? That’s right… being respected and approved of for being myself. This does not mean I have the ‘Screw anyone who doesn't like me’ attitude; it just means that I do not waste my time worrying why someone would put so much effort into disliking me.

Approval of others can be based on many things: if someone lives up to values that you hold; if they do something special for humanity or the planet; these are the larger bringers of respect but it could be as simple as someone who is willing to put themselves out to make you a coffee or put their arm around you when you’re a little low. People interact with each other every day and whether those interactions are friendly, funny, unusual, tense, passionate… being yourself in those interactions will keep you grounded and whether you are judged or accepted by others on those interaction you know you are being honest with yourself. The approval and validation which will then always ensue from these interactions will also be from you.

The idea of self-validation ties in nicely with the practice of affirmations. Knowing who you are and what you stand for makes affirming what you want to achieve an empowering process. Accepting yourself when you stand in front of a mirror and say ‘this is what I want from my life’ will make it much easier to achieve the goals you affirm. My personal affirmations tend to fall into the ‘be more creative’ category and because I know and trust myself to follow through on actively making these things happen, I am confident in the power of affirmation. The approval I have always really sought was my own – it is a part of why I found a pagan path, because there is no other path which embraces self-discovery, freedom of expression and self-approval so much as a pagan one.

I had not intended this reflection to become about self-approval but because I practice self-approval I am okay with it having turned out like that. Much of what I write comes from my spirit guides and I approve of them too – lol! However, I would like to return to seeking approval from others as this article begins to conclude and say that on the pagan path which I walk, I have not always received approval, even from family. For a long time my own mother was very ignorant of my beliefs which was hurtful and limiting to my practice but with time, she came to find her own spiritual path – as a medium of all things – and now we have a very connected spiritual understanding of each other. She still drives me nuts about other things but I accept her how she is and vice versa. This makes for a much higher number of nice moments, and a fewer arguments.

Wittering On 28/05/14 - Post Updates

Good Morning all,

My deepest heart-felt apologies for being absent from posting recently. Work has been non-stop and I just couldn’t fit everything in but I have most of today and all of tomorrow off so I plan to catch up a little bit.

Runes are on hold for a while as getting the magicks together is quite a draining and time-consuming process but I will try to work on them during my holiday at the end of June. I am still waiting for the anointing oil for The Stave of Knowledge but that will be posted as soon as it is received. However, I have by no means given up on runes and I will continue to post my interpretations and magicks as they come to me.

I have started planning the format for my colour magick posts which will begin soon – YELLOW will be first, followed by the other element colours before I expand into the full spectrum.

Also coming up are more Reflecting On… posts; the planned ones are the long promised post about Sex Magick, but also my reflections on Seeking Approval and Walking an Eclectic Path.

More Inspirational People posts… I may concentrate on a few authors… Scott Cunningham will be on that list, Dorothy Morrison, Ellen Dugan, Doreen Virtue, etc…

Also, a few spells will be added into the mix for Spell Spin. I know the spells are very popular and I post them to keep the readers happy but the spells are not the biggest part of my practice, just the sprinkles on top.

Golden Poppy - Money Luck Spell

An American spell to being you luck in money.

Correspondence:

• Thursday
• Twilight
• Waxing Moon

You will need:

• A gold coin
• A silver coin
• Pen and paper
• Poppy seeds

Instructions:

1.          Take the coins and charge them in the moonlight, calling for a blessing from Jupiter for the work ahead.

2.         Light the candle and by its light alone, write on the paper the reasons you need luck in money and the things you would do with it. Take your time – this list is important.

3.         Place the coins on each side of the candle and extinguish it. Put the paper under the candle and retire to bed.

The following evening, relight the candle and check your list – you may wish to amend it. If you feel happy with the contents, meditate for a few minutes on the glow of the candle. Burn the list and collect the ashes. Mix the ashes with the poppy seeds and the coins and plant them in a favourite spot.

Spell Spin

As I’m sure my blog readers are aware, I like to add rhyming to spells that have none… this one is no exception. There are two verses I have added to step one:

Jupiter Call

Jupiter, ruler of wealth and gain

I call you in to ease the pain

Of my monetary ups and downs

And make my balance flow with pounds.

Coin Charge

Moon of wisdom, moon of light

I ask your charge this waxing night

Coin of silver, coin of gold

Be blessed with monetary luck untold

On the second night, during the burial of the spell ingredients, another rhyme:

Blessings of luck from above

I bury deep within earth’s love

To grow and flourish in poppy hues

And with money, my life infuse

Golden Moon - A Spell for Opportunities

This is a spell to make you receptive to opportunities which are within your reach. It has been in my Book of Shadows for about ten years and as I am currently revamping said book, I thought it was time to revamp the spell too.

You will need:

• 2 Mirrors
• 3 orange candles
• A length of orange cord
• Honesty seeds

Instructions:

1.          Place the mirrors opposite each other so that one mirror reflects a moonbeam back into the other.

2.        Take one of the candles and warm it so that you can scratch your initials at the op of the warm wax.

3.        Stand midway between the mirrors with the candles around you, so that you can see your initials on the candle.

4.       Light the candles and return to your place, holding the orange cord in your right hand and the honesty seeds in your left.

5.        Stand in the beam of moonlight and absorb its energy while the candles burn and free the letters of your name.

6.        Turn seven times, clockwise, trailing the cord around you to gather the moonbeams about your body.

7.        Open yourself to all receive all that comes your way; then, retire and sleep with the honesty seeds under your pillow.

8.        Bury them the next day.

This spell is to open you up to opportunities so I feel it necessary to prepare for those opportunities, to be ready and balanced to accept them. For this reason, I added an incense blend to the spell – my ‘Reset Incense’ is charged to rebalance your energy so that when the opportunities come, you can be open to them. I light the incense once the mirrors are in position and let it burn until the end of the spell.

Incense Blend
The amount of each ingredient used can be altered for your specific needs (e.g. if you feel your magickal energy is specifically waning, use more carnation in the incense and tailor the colour of the carnation to correspond to that).

• Black pepper (Mental alertness)
• Carnations (protection; strength; healing; vitality; physical energy, love, health, magickal energy)
• Frankincense (spirituality; protection; banishing of negative entities; consecration; meditation)

Correspondence & Associations from ‘The Pocket Spell Creator’ by Kerri Connor

Charge

Time for reset, restoration

Pepper, frankincense, carnation

Blended strong with my intent

Prepare me for any event

And every opportune moment found

I will embrace as if I’m bound