Tarot Readings!

I am now offering to do Tarot Readings for querents online. This is something I’ve been thinking, praying and divining about for a while now and I just had the final push to take a deep breath and do it.
I will be offering readings with a variety of decks in a variety of spreads including:

The Faeries’ Oracle by Brian Froud
Thoth Tarot Deck by Aleister Crowley
The Jane Austen Tarot Deck
The Witch’s Tarot
Herbal Tarot (Coming soon)

The spreads include:

1 card question reading
3 card Past Present Future reading
3 card Body Mind and Spirit reading
6 card Relationship reading
9 card Wheel of the Year reading
10 card Celtic Cross spread

Prices for readings range from $3 to $20 and can be bought on Etsy or paid for by donation here on the blog. For the reading, all I need is your first and last name and e-mail address, which can be sent to my e-mail address hedgewife (at) yahoo (dot) com.

I need your name in order to focus on you as I am doing the reading. Since the readings are entirely online and I do not have the connection I would normally have if I was sitting with you in person or hearing your voice over the phone. Having your name helps me to hone in on your energy. I promise will not use your name for any other purpose than this reading.
I need your e-mail address to send your reading to you. Your reading will include the cards drawn, the reading of each card, overall reading and a picture of the spread for you to review yourself.

While I have full belief in the cards and in my ability to read them, I must add this disclaimer:
My tarot readings are for entertainment purposes only. Readings and advice given in readings should not be used to replace medical, legal or any other professional advice. Tarot readings are not meant to diagnose or cure any ailment. These readings are not guaranteed and the reading or reader cannot be held responsible for any action the querent makes after the reading.

That being said, I am having a special for the Witch’s New Year (Halloween) and will be offering 9 card Wheel of the Year readings for $9. That’s just $1 a card! This is a $6 savings so that you all can have the opportunity to see what the new year has in store for you! If you’re interested, please act fast as I will only be hosting this special from today to November 10th, 2012.

Happy Witches New Year readers and querents and may the Divine bless all of you in the paths you take.

Notes from my journal: Spell(not)work

Why is my spell not working?

I get asked this a lot by witches who are either just starting out in their craft or this is their first really big spell that they care a lot about the outcome.

I used to respond with – Don’t worry about it so much. Just let it go.

Or – Did you set a specific timeline on the spell? Is it supposed to happen between one full moon and another or one season or (put some time here)?

Or – perhaps it’s simply your karma that it’s not meant to be right now.

The responses are little varied. Most of the time I’m blown off and said witch goes on to find someone else who can give them, what I like to call the Staples Button, quick fix (you know, like the commercial, where they hit the big red Staples button and the solution automatically happens). This magic bullet, or big red button, simply doesn’t exist yet, we all look for it at some point in our lives.

So, what do I saw now when a witch comes to me and asks why, why, why won’t my spell work?

I explain that a spell is like a prayer of intent. We gather our tools to bring the desired vibration then, with a chant or prayer or meditation, we send it out into our reality in order to make change happen. This is the definition of magic spell.

The reason a spell doesn’t work is 2 fold:

1. A spell or prayer of intent must be left alone. This is something I learned when I was in Sunday school at my grandmother’s Baptist church. Worry is a sin. Worry over a matter you’ve prayed for (or have cast a spell for) shows lack of faith in God (or the Universe or the Deities or the higher Self, etc). By worrying over a spell, you’re not allowing it to happen. – The Fix? Let it go! Let your spell work. Let it take its time and work as your path allows it to. By worrying over it you’re sending doubt into the Universe and blocking the very thing you want.
2. The other reason why a witch’s spell doesn’t work is because it does. Confusing? Well, so many witches visualize a spell or intent and expect it to happen with trumpets sounding and a big banner saying THIS IS IT! They don’t realize that the man they bump on the street in a hurry to get to their appointment was the Mr. Right they cast a love spell for or that the Boss’s dog dying was the perfect time to show remorse and letter get that big promotion they cast a money or job spell for. The Universe is subtle and we have to boost our intuition and understanding that every little curve in our path can lead us in the right direction. 

I know that neither of these things offers a quick fix. The life of the modern witch is, sadly, not like that portrayed on television shows like Bewitched, Sabrina or Charmed. There is no all knowing Book of Shadows that offers a spell for every situation, no matter how unlikely, and poof – your demons, inner or outer, are gone and all is well with your world. Magic isn’t all smoke and glitter and big bangs. Sometimes its soft and gently like a summer breeze on skin.

A large portion of spell casting is faith. Faith is simply believing in yourself or in the Universe or Deity that you’ve invoked for the spell and that the spell will come to its fruition somehow. There are ways to build faith.

One way is to build your intuition. This may seem unconnected but if your intuition is strong, you will be able to see the omens as what they really are – signals and messages from the Divine or the Divine Self.

By building intuition and seeing and understand omens, you can better see your ability to walk the path laid out for you AND to see the subtle ways spells work out (without big bangs and trumpets sounding). By seeing these messages, you can better understand how your spell can work instead of running around blindly trying a dozen ways to force your spell to work and having doubts about the outcome.

I want to leave with a note of understanding. I know that life can be hard sometimes but the Witch’s Way or Path or whatever you would like to call it offers the hope of enlightenment and understanding of the world around us. We simply have to open ourselves up to this possibility. Don’t be distressed when a spell or ritual doesn’t work out how you thought it should. Open up your heart and eyes for the smaller, simpler, and, sometimes more magickal things in life.

My Moon Time

Its that time of the month again and if you're a male reader who isn't comfortable with women talking about their menstruation...you should 1. get over it and 2. prolly ignore this post

I am writing about my period because I think it is a form of female magick that is ignored by so many women.
So often, a woman's period is called a Curse. What I think we need to consider is that a period is a very powerful time for women.

Back in times of tribal units and nomadic life and magickal shamanism, etc - the fact that women would bleed for 5-7 days without injury and they lived was a very magical and spiritual and mysterious process. This was celebrated and when girls started their periods they were put through a rite of passage to celebrate this and invite them into womanhood.

We don't see this in Modern Western culture today and its a shame. TOday we see it as a curse, as something painful to be supressed, as a process of punishment in the Christian idea of Eve and the serpent and the apple.
I say eat the apple, celebrate the knowledge and the womanly act of mestruating!

Don't dread the coming of Aunt Flo but accted GodMama Flow and embrace her and ask her to teach you more about what it means to be female.

Menstruation is a time to be still, look within, relax.
Grab a cup of red raspberry leaf tea with some valerian root or chamomile to relax those muscles. Meditate on Divine Feminine and how this part of life relates to that. Reflect on another month of the Childbearing Years that your fertility could be used on something else other than creating another human.
Release the pain of menses and with it any pain you have suffered physically, emotionally, mentally, spiritually in the past month.
Celebrate yourself, your health, your blood, your body this time of the month.

Feminine Blessings Upon You
Dawn

Attunements

There has been a lot of talk in many metaphysical circles lately about ATTUNEMENTS -

Witches, Lightworkers, Sorcerors, Buddhists and more are offering so many attunements today from Reiki 1 2 and 3 to Dolphin Healing Ray.
There is just so much out there that we have to consider what is real for us and what belongs in our sphere of reality; what we need to help us on our path in life.

First - What is an Attunement?
Attunement: (attune) adjust or accustom to; bring into harmony with
An attunement, in the metaphysical sense, is to bring a certain energy into yourself from your higher self, from the Universe, or even another metaphysician (this last one is usually also from the Universe but it simply an energy they have uniquely tapped into)

Many, I'd say most, attunements are based on a template set by Reiki, founded by Mikao Usui. At each stage of Reiki mastery the practitioner is attuned with certain energies and symbols they will use to heal and teach Reiki for the benefit of themselves and people around them.

Other forms of Reiki later came into being such as Kundalini Reiki, which uses the Kundalini energy that rises up from the Base Chakra through all the Chakras to erupt through the Crown Chakra. Another form is Dragon Reiki created by the Order of the Drakontas, which adds a new Blue Dragon symbol to the traditional Reiki symbols.

Then more and more attunements came out and are offered for different levels of magic workers at different price ranges from free to hundreds of dollars.

I will say that before you decide to obtain an attunement, free or otherwise, be sure to check wiht your higher self, your guides, by dowsing or meditation or whatever that this is something that will AID your LIFEPATH. Always question whether it is beneficial.

Love and Light,
Dawn

G is for Gris-Gris

As I'm quite the amateur at hoodoo I'll be referring to Moma Sarah's blog and her well-written and informative post about gris-gris.

I will say that from what I've read, gris-gris is considered by many to be the same thing as a mojo bag and I must say I'm not sure if there's a difference. The only thing I can see is that a gris-gris can be made in regards to a specific deity and I have not seen that a mojo is made for that reason.

While you're looking at Moma Sarah's blog, be sure to check out her shop - ConjuredCardea !

31 Days of Samhain: Day 8 (belated)

Day 8: What sorts of things do you put on your Samhain altar?

Sadly, my altars are usually pretty sparse and simple, so this post won't be all that elaborate.

For Samhain, I am usually alone in my celebration and will decorate either a blanket on the floor or a small table with black candles in candle holders, a small pumpkin, maybe some maple leaves, a pentacle, my athame, and a black bowl with water for scrying. Also available will be the ritual written out on parchment nearby for me to work off of.

Sorry for the simple and short post. In order to make this post a little more pleasing to read, I'll include some photos of beautiful Samhain altars I've found through a search engine.

Divination Tools Etsy List

Divination is an aspect of the Craft that I am very drawn to and I love all the different ways witches have to scry and divine past, present, future, answers to questions, inner conflict, etc.
My favorite means of divination are via cards (Tarot and oracle), a bowl of water, or my black Rainbow Obsidian sphere. I also scry using fire either by candle light or at the hearth.

I would like to learn to read tea leaves at some point - a combination of two of my favorite things Tea drinking and Divination!

Playing around on Etsy I decided to make a treasury list of some very nice divination tools I've come across.

Here

Do you scry or divine? What is you're favorite way to scry? What have you used and what has worked or not worked for you?

Bad Economy Bloggery

So, I work in Short Sales, which means every day I go to the office, to my little cubicle, I log into a phone, sip my tea and I talk to people who are looking for alternatives to foreclosure. Sometimes  can help these people with short sale of their homes, other times I have to tell them, unfortunately, that they will lose their home and there is nothing to be done about it.
I work very hard at not getting trapped n the guilt and shame and anger that comes with this job and focus on trying my best to help people and moving on if I cannot.

That being said...there are a few Pagans on YouTube who have done videos in regards to foreclosure, bad economy, etc. I thought  would share a few here:

I love Madame Dubois and her Real Witches of Orange County Videos and she did a very genuine video about foreclosure here:



Mrs. Fiendish Bat has a few political, economical, talking videos on her channel but I wanted to share her Get a Job Spell for those of you interested in prosperity magick:



And of course a Witch Bottle ^_^

Magick in the Mundane: Canning

So I've been picking, pitting and canning cherries today and as I worked on stirring the juice I had a thought about how to make this seemingly mundane practice magical.

Use specific fruit and herbs to create a magical concoction.
Example: cherry or apple and rose for love, golden peaches or apples and cinnamon and nutmeg for prosperity, mint for prosperity, etc.

Stir clockwise to bring desired outcome, counterclockwise to banish the undesired.

Decorate, set on altar, make during certain days or planetary phases, surround with crystal grids, add elixir drops to brew, etc.

There is just so much you can do to make simple tasks into a spell or potion! This is why I love being a witch!

Where is Henna Magick?

So I've been interested in researching how Henna has been used in magick and ritual but I haven't been able to find any books or sites or anything on the subject.
My first reaction is...well if I can't find any books, why not make one instead. (make anyone think of the Grinch much?)
If you can find rites, spels, workings that use Henna I would appreciate the aid.
Also, if you would like to help out, come get some henna tats or if you are working a rite and think a henna tat would help then give me a hollar.
Thanks and Blessings,
Dawn