LESSON THREE

Hello my dears!

It’s been awhile since we looked at divination using the stones, or lithomancy. Previously, I had asked the readers participating in the study to set aside a time and place to sit with the stones that you’d chosen. I wrote about handling them, pulling stones at random to get impressions about meaning and symbol. I asked you to write down your impressions, but not reread them, and to not attach any importance to them as yet.

Buddha Stump

Now I’d like to ratchet things up a bit. If you remember, we have a collection of about a dozen or so stones of varying types that feel good to you, the reader. There should not be any massive enlightenment around any particular rock, that is not what this exercise is about. You’ve just picked up the stones that ‘feel good’. You’ve gained experience pulling them at random, at allowing your imagination to carry symbols into your mind. And at writing down some of those impressions and symbols.

Preparation

Now, I’d like you to pick out one night in the week. You can try any night that works for you, when you will be able to be private and peaceful. Set a time in the evening if you can, if not, the morning will also work. Allow 15 minutes to a half hour every time you do this. Keep your pad by you for notes. Sit in your private and quiet space, with your stones and a white candle. We use this candle to invoke peace, and to symbolize the bringing of the light of knowledge into the darkness of the hidden. If it comforts you, it would also be a good thing to allow the candle to symbolize the Light of the Divine, the Love of the Goddess, the Purity of Buddha, or any God-symbol that helps you to keep the frequency of the energy high and the energetic boundaries secure.

I also will bring a small container of salt into this space with me, for the same reasons. It’s just very purifying. You may add incense or essential oil of frankincense, sandalwood, rose, or another high vibrational scent. If you wear or carry a crystal that has special meaning to you, bring it as well and set it next to the candle. Crystals are especially appropriate here as they ‘related’ to your rocks. Begin to build up a tiny collection of things as an altar set up to help you read. It doesn’t have to be elaborate, although some of my altar set-ups when I was reading 35 to 50 clients per day got pretty extreme! For your own work, you might consider a tiny statue, a flower, salt, a crystal, a candle, incense or oil. Or just the white candle smeared with frankincense and rose oils would do. As always it is up to you.

Why the preparation? Well today we will begin to take a bit more interest in your internal messages. How are your journalling habits? I hope they are good, because they will be necessary for this exercise. In the interest of full disclosure, I must tell you that I suck at this. I am not the best journalling master. And it has shown in the amount of time that it has taken me to master some pretty basic things! But you will be fabulous and dedicated in this journalling exercise, I just know it!

st. john

The Exercise

Take your seat in your space. Light the candle, and your incense or oil diffuser. Close your eyes and breathe deeply and evenly for a few minutes. Pull your shoulders up to your ears and then drop them a couple times. You get the picture. Relax. Then place your hands on the bag that contains your reading stones and pull a total of three out. One at a time. Eyes still closed. Lay them in a line in front of you and open your eyes. Begin to write down your impressions as they occur. What does seeing these three stones make you think of? Location, events, individuals? Once you’ve looked at the grouping of stones, and how they are placed relative to each other, then look at each individual stone. Pick them up one by one and allow your impressions to flow thru you. Write down everything, even if you don’t think it is important. Once you are finished with the individual stones, look at the grouping once more. Any new impressions, now that you’ve take a closer look at each stone? Write them down. When you are done, replace your stones in the bag. Take a moment to express your gratitude for this opportunity to work in the Light. Pinch off your candle and close your journal.

In addition to the journal entry of the reading, I’d like you to keep notes of your week. They do not have to be extensive, but again, it is whatever you yourself are comfortable with. Only this time, allow yourself to look over your notes at the end of the week, on the night before you are to read again. As you read over your writing, can you see anywhere that correlates to impressions that you might have received when you last read? You may see things immediately, or perhaps not. Sometimes it take a long time for the things we see to manifest. I’ve had clients come up to me 5 years after a reading to tell me that ‘everything changed’ from that moment on, but it took 5 years for them to observe and understand events.

Conclusions

We are human and subject to minds that frantically attempt to be ‘logical’. Allow your imagination to work here, and enjoy observing events as they unfold around you. One thing, though. It helps if you can cultivate a certain distance from the events you observe.  Try to avoid jumping to conclusions.  Attempt to stay in observation mode.  If you allow your emotional body to become too disturbed by things you believe that you have foreseen, you can harm your own serenity and grounding. If you find yourself getting caught up, becoming sad or angry or emotionally reactive, have the discipline to set the readings aside for a few weeks, until you feel better about what you have seen. Keeping the journal going is a good thing, and when your system has settled you can begin to read the stones once more. There is no shame in having to take a break from the reading. The systems of the body that carry our intuitive and imaginative energies are much more subtle and easily disrupted than one would think. Care for them by not stressing them too much, until you feel more confident. Also, a good tonic tea made with valerian root and skullcap herb can do wonders for a new psychic’s jangling system!  And so can a good multi-vitamin, multi-mineral, or some green juice.  Replenish your system, and replace the minerals that the nerves need!  Oh, and try to stay away from reading your own family… just don’t go there!

Well that is all for now dearies! Be good and I will see you in a few days with more from NMOM.

Blessed Be,

Marie Angeli

all text and images ©2011 by Marie Angeli

Waxing Moon in Cancer, a Hedge Witches Dream

Good morning, my lovelies!

What a fabulous day!!  Today is Saturday, the 9th of April, and this article is being written in the Southeastern United States.  At approximately 5:15pm this evening, Eastern Time, the moon will enter into Cancer.  She will now be in her first quarter waxing phase in Cancer.  There is no more fertile time in the entire cycle of moon phase than waxing (growing) moon in Cancer.  This is the absolutely best time for planting seeds, transplanting starts, planting trees, annuals, perennials, fruits, above ground veggies, below ground roots, herbs, you name it.  Plant it now.

Cottage Garden

Even if you have nothing to plant, and you are still in a cold climate and before your frost dates, go out into your garden and do SOMETHING to prepare for the time when you CAN plant.  Get the energy flowing.  If you are an apartment gardener, plant some pots of herbs for your window, or add a tiny rose or a new violet to your indoor garden.  Get your hands into some earth.  Now is the time to reconnect with the energy of growth and fertility.  Women, it is part of us biologically and energetically, and it is vitally important to spend time celebrating that Goddess energy in ourselves.  Men, you don’t need me to tell you, go wallow in some feminine energy!  Enjoy!

Correspondingly, it is also a fabulous time to do things in your life that will seed a new endeavor or put efforts into getting something going that you have been hoping for, WITH THE CAVEAT that Mercury is still Retrograde, and that one needs to avoid contracts, initiating new communications, purchasing real estate, and avoiding buying a new computer, car or airplane!  Otherwise, work those contacts you have already made.  Develop those products you have researched, do your homework on your business and take care of those things you have put off.  Come back to studies you have abandoned and wish to revisit, fix the car that has been sitting forlornly in your drive.  Revisit old friends, or an old flame.  In other words, now is the time to put effort into things you want to grow or to accomplish.

Cancer is the Cardinal sign of the Water triplicity.  Water is considered the most fertile of the elements, the source of life.  Cardinal is the most active of the Water signs, being the one who gets things going, the first and most INITIATING of the signs.  If it is possible for a Water sign to be Yang, this would be it.  So now is also an excellent time for ritual!!!

And any kind of ritual is worth doing now.  Not just the high holy qabbalistic Lodge ceremony, but the little hedge witch pick-a-leaf-and-blow-it-into-a-wish ceremony.  AND because it is the Water element, it is an excellent time to use that element in your ceremony.

If you live near a stream or an ocean, you are very lucky.  This is moving water, and you can definitely use this energy to carry your wish to the Powers that Be.  Even the flow of water into a storm drain is perfectly fine if there is none other available.  The point is to find flowing water, if you are using that element.

Here is a good and very simple personal ritual that uses either flowing water or earth.  You can do this at home, at work, or if you are travelling, really any place at all.

• As you are walking near a source of flowing water, a large fountain, a stream, the ocean, or the ladies room, find and pick up a leaf or blade of grass.  If you are indoors in an office building, and cannot find an indoor plant with small leaves, go outside the building for a moment and raid the landscaping near to a sprinkler!
• When you pick, remember that because this is a magical working, no matter how small, connect with the plant in your imagination and give it some respect and gratitude for the gift of the leaf.
• Take this leaf in your both your hands, and really look at it.  Look at the smoothness or roughness of the texture, at the veins of sap running thru, at the different colors of green and brown that mottle it.  There is no ‘perfect’ or leaf of ideal appearance, and to seek one would be to sterilize your ceremony.   Pick one at random and then really look at it.  This period of study will help take you out of your normal busy day mind.
• Take a few seconds to imagine the light coming on above your head and flowing down into you and around you, as we have been doing for the Divination 101 posts.  Let this light also flow into and fill the leaf in your hands.  Along with the light, let your wish flow into the leaf.  As you look at the leaf, really try to visualize the light of your own divinely connected energies filling it, carrying your wish.  Or if you are more kinetic, feel the warmth of that energy and your wish filling your leaf, as your hands warm it.
• You may hear a sound (sometimes I hear harmonics) or simply just know that the leaf is full.  It all depends on how you process information, but there will come a point when you will know or see, hear, or feel a signal that you are done.  If you don’t, don’t worry about it, just decide you are done and the leaf is full.  It’s your ceremony, after all.
• With a feeling of gratitude for a wish already granted, drop the leaf into the stream or the wave.  If your stream is the flow of water into a gutter, go for it!  If it is the ladies room in your place of work, fine!  Just flush.  Whatever works.
• Imagine that leaf flowing away from you and carrying your wish to the Universe, to the Powers that Be, to the Divine energies, whatever positive and fertile and active energy you wish to work with.

Here is a variation for those of you to whom flowing water is not convenient, if you prefer to work with the earth.

• You can also take the leaf and push it into the dirt near the plant, imagining in your mind that you are ‘planting’ your wish, and that it will grow with time.
• If it is a really big wish, obtain a small personal crystal and, using the method we just described, place your energy and your wish inside the crystal and ‘plant’ it.  Put it into the potted plant on your desk, as long as it is your plant and won’t migrate to someone else!  OR, simply push it into the ground somewhere outside in the landscaping and let the chips fall where they may!

Remember, as we’ve said before, casting a spell to harm or damage or manipulate another is not in our purview.  This is black magick, most especially if you do it in the name of prayer or religion, and it will backfire on you sooner or later.  Usually sooner.  That’s not shaking a finger, it’s just the way energy works.  As in life, you create the energy you will have to live with.

This type of hedgewitch ceremony is wonderful for real life problems.

• If you are forced by circumstances to work in a horrible environment where your finer qualities are not recognized, and bosses are taking the credit for your good work and blaming you for everything that goes wrong, even if it has nothing to do with you, this is a good way to work to change that energy.
• Since we do not want to initiate NEW communications, you can visualize that the truth of your good efforts and work abilities becomes known in your company. or among those you have contacted.
• You can imagine or visualize that your reputation for reliability and hard work, correspondingly along with your pay, grows and flourishes.

Then let the Powers the Be decide how that will look.  Try NOT to visualize your obnoxious boss getting the boot or being hit by something large on wheels, OK?

If you are searching for work, this is an excellent time to do ritual to obtain a job.  Plant your job in that leaf or crystal and let the Great Mother Earth grow one for you.  Remember to be as specific in your visualization or description of the qualities of your desired job as you can, WITHOUT GIVING A SPECIFIC COMPANY OR NAME OF AN INDIVIDUAL. Use positive language.  Do not say what you do not want.  Declare what you want.  Good pay.  Good co-workers.  Appreciative boss.  Recognition of your qualities.  Interesting and rewarding work.  To do some good in the world.  Whatever is of importance to you.  You can even write some of your requirements on a small slip of paper and bury it with the leaf, or wrap it around the crystal.  Plant your wish, or throw it into the stream or the ocean and walk away.

Alright lovies, there is another moon unit, with some little rituals thrown in.  Thank you again for your patience with the blog itself, and I promise that I will let you know when the RSS feed and the email subscription are fixed and all better.  Enjoy your weekend and get out and put your hands into the earth of the Great Mother if you can.

Blessed Be,
Marie Angeli

all text and images ©2011 Marie Angeli