Dedication

The other day I had an epiphany. But first a little background…

Each time I practice yoga, I make a dedication to infuse the energy of practice into my life while meditating at the start of my practice. The other day, I was thinking that I need to apply the same dedication I have for my yoga practice to my writing. While on the way home from work that day, it all came full circle. This wave of realization washed over me that infusing my life with the energy of my practice meant not only applying the dedication of my yoga practice to writing, but also to treat writing how I treat yoga: as something sacred to me that I make time for daily because it is so important; to always try to do the best that I can do, like I do each time I hit the mat; to be present in each moment so that I let the words flow forth from my mind, like the poses flow one into the next; to apply my strength and will  to keep moving forward with and get better at my writing, the same that I do in my practice.

My epiphany is that every single aspect of my yoga practice can be applied to my writing; can be applied to practicing the flute & piano; can even be applied to my current job, and spider out into every aspect of my life – and that is how I infuse my life with the energy of my practice.

All of this came about because I bought a Shiva Rea DVD a couple of months ago. In the lunar meditation Shiva asks ‘What is your offering to your life?’ and ‘What is your inner prayer?’. I mulled it over for awhile and found my answers. I ask you to think about the same questions, and find your answers that resonate with you and your life.

This week’s Moonday recipe – High John Oil

High John the Conqueror root has long been used in the hoodoo tradition to add a little (well, actually a lot) of oomph to spell work. High John root is the root of the Ipomoea jalapa, also known as Ipomoea purga and is related to both morning glories and sweet potatoes.

High John garners it’s name from the legend of an African prince who was captured and brought to America as a slave. There are many legends about John the Conqueror, one of the most popular being the legend of John falling in love with the devil’s daughter. The devil gives John a number of impossible tasks to complete, which he does with the help of the devil’s daughter. They steal the devil’s own horses to escape him & when he pursues they shape-shift to successfully escape. There are also numerous folk stories of the tricks John used to escape the masters that tried to enslave him.

Because of these legends, High John root is thought to be imbibed with the power of John, and even with his American dwelling. Typically, High John is used by men, but can also be used by women to call John by rubbing the root. The root typically looks like a phallus, and the more it looks like a phallus the more potent the root is.

The recipe below utilizes the essence of the root combined with oil.

High John the Conqueror Oil

• Find one good sized High John root and grate, being very, very careful not to ingest any of the root as it is an EXTREMELY potent laxative. High John root is a very hard root and grating it takes some time, but the value it adds to spell work  is worth the effort to grate it. It is also helpful to place the root between two paper towels or sheets of wax paper & hit it with a hammer a couple of time to break the root into smaller pieces that are easier to grate, or can be added to oil in pieces or chips. I prefer to use a few chips in my High John oil and grate the rest into a fine powder.
• Once the root has been grated, add to a base of olive oil

* I recommend that the grater used on this root not be used for food preparation EVER in the event that the dishwasher doesn’t get the grater completely clean. Gods forbid the High John root gets ingested by accident because a few pieces were left on the grater after being washed. I personally have an inexpensive grater that I use for herbs & roots, which is separate from the grater I use for cooking.

This week’s Moonday recipe

This week’s Moonday recipe is Crown of Success Oil. This conditioning oil is primarily used in employment spells, money spells and court case spells, but can be added to any spell that needs a little ‘oomph’. Crown of Success oil assists the spell worker with finding a job, landing the job & retaining the job, as well as obtaining promotions and greater professional financial benefits.

• Essential oil of bay laurel or crushed bay leaves
• Essential oil of frankincense or powdered resin
• Essential oil of sandalwood or powdered sandalwood
• Essential oil of vetiver or dried, powdered vetiver roots

Add the ingredients above to a blend of sunflower, olive and/or jojoba oil.

If using powdered ingredients, powder them and blend them together using your mortar & pestle before adding them to the oil.

Insight

I’m recently subscribed to Yoga Journal and completely devour new issues within a couple days after receiving them. Out of all the yoga magazines I’ve read, Yoga Journal offers the most bang for your buck with articles for every skill level & branch of yoga. This month’s 35th Anniversary issue does not disappoint, with an interview with Sarah McLachlan and the 35 Moments article, which outlines the 6,000 year history of yoga.

I got to the ‘Timeless Passage’ article, which is essentially the below quotes and some very nicely Photoshopped images. And while not exactly on-topic, the quotes got me thinking and making connections so I thought I’d share to see if they get you thinking too.

‘Yoga, born in ancient times, alive today, is eternal – yet it exists only in the present. Enjoy the paradox!’
And what a paradox it is, yet it is a beautiful paradox that is true, regardless of being a paradox. I find this statement to be fundamental not only to the spirituality of yoga, but is fundamental to living itself as the majority of our suffering exists solely because we do not live in the present moment, but live instead in futures that haven’t happened yet & past events we can not change. Every single second of every day I strive to live in the present. While I am not always successful, just being mindful of where my mind is & bringing it back to the present moment brings me closer to the intent I set at the start of my day (and the start of each practice) of always living in the present moment.

‘The ritual of honoring the light – the glow that brightens the darkness, the sunlight that gives birth to life itself, the flame in your own heart – is as old as time & as close as your breath. How do you celebrate it?’
Most cultures have rituals that honor the light. Ancient people understood that life is born from the light, and with the exception of some newly discovered organisms, life cannot exist without it. Too often we separate ourselves from nature which we are intrinsically connected to, but it is a false separation. There is no way for us to separate ourselves from the universe that gave us this life, we will always be connected to it and to everything in it. To me, celebrating the light means celebrating the universe that gave birth to light, love, energy, matter, and sentient beings connected to it all.

‘In meditation, you connect with an awareness that has no beginning or end, that is not rooted to time or place. Is it possible that your experience is the same experience of the ancient yogi?’
This quote really got me thinking, and feeling…a connection to someone I’ve never met, someone who does not even exist in my own time – the ancient yogi. How comforting to know that my experience is not unique, is not new, that many people before me experienced it. That feeling highlights the interconnectedness of everything in the universe, regardless of what time or place we exist. To be connected to someone who came before creates the sense that what we are experiencing now has already been experienced and any obstacles we are facing today are the same as those of yesterday and can be overcome.

More about me & some pagan philosophy…

I just finished up writing my ‘About’ page and realized that a couple of the sentences I wrote could lead a person to think that I believe something I don’t exactly believe. To be a little less vague, one of the sentences I’m referring to is:

‘What you reap in the afterlife are the seeds you have  sown in this life.’

What exactly do I mean by that? To begin, I believe in an afterlife, though I can not speak with 100% certainty as to what form it takes, nor how much of ‘me’ is retained after I die. But, it feels right to me that the energy that makes ‘me’, my ‘mind’, and my ‘soul’ is separate from my physical body and does exist in some form after my physical body’s death. Advances in physics and cosmology have led me to have more certainty than ever that our energy exists after physical death.  It also feels right that this ‘soul’ repeats existence until it achieves a state where it is one with the universe’s energy (or consciousness).

While I do not necessarily believe in a rigid karmic system, I do believe that there are certain qualities that are in accordance with the universe’s energy or consciousness. To me, these mainly have to do with survival – of humans, of the Earth, of space-time, of the universe. Some of these qualities are non-attachment, inner stillness, compassion, empathy. You might wonder why I think those qualities are needed for survival. Well, if we didn’t feel compassion it might be harder for mothers to mother their children. If we didn’t feel empathy, we may not care for our sick and elderly. Both of these are necessary to the survival of our species. Traits such as non-attachment and inner stillness are more for the universe’s benefit, in my opinion, but still are traits necessary to cultivate in order for a soul to finally assimilate into the universe.

How do non-attachment and inner stillness benefit the universe? Because of certain events in my life, and after years and years of direct observation of the universe, I think that when we ask the question ‘why do we exist?’ the answer is that we exist to observe, to figure out what the universe is; we are essentially the universe trying to figure itself out. I think everything in existence somehow, in some way contributes to this. For example, through a plant the universe learns about itself through the perception of the plant, through the perception of a dog, through the perception of a human, through everything that is. Non-attachment and inner stillness allows the part of us that is the observer for the universe (our soul) to observe the universe without the chatter of our physical bodies & minds interfering. By attaining non-attachment and inner stillness we are able to be the universe observing itself.

The other sentence on my ‘About’ page that could be misconstrued, is:

‘And if the spell-work you do happens to attract the energy of the deities, you know it comes because of something offered freely to them, by you.’

I think the above could be misinterpreted to mean that I think the gods are physical beings that exist somewhere. I don’t. Although I believe in the deities, I believe they are simply the personification of the elements of nature and humanity that they represent. I do not think that when I call Ochossi, the hoodoo orisha of the hunt, that I’m actually calling a being; I think that I am calling & utilizing that specific element of nature, ‘the hunt’. I will grant that there may be entities that once had a human, or other, existence at one time and their spirit or soul exists as the deity. A example of this type of deity, to me, could be an orisha like Papa Legba who is typically called on to open the door between our physical world & the afterlife. There really is no comparable element of nature that opens the door between our world & the realm of the dead, so Papa Legba may have had some type of existence at one point.

I’ve also considered that the deities may indeed exist separate from their elements as entities simply because humans believe that they do. But, even if they do exist as such I do not believe that they control us, or require anything of us other than an offering to encourage the deity to help me manifest my will.

Of course, these topics warrant additional discussion and I invite everyone to share their views by commenting.

August 1st is Lammas / Lugnasadh

The word ‘Lammas’ originates from the Old English words ‘hlaf’ (meaning loaf) and ‘maesse’ (meaning mass or feast) and was celebrated on August Eve as a harvest holiday by the early English Church. Loaves of bread baked from the year’s first grain harvest were blessed in Church.

The most popular theory for the origin of this feast day is that the creation of the Lammas holiday was an attempt by early Christians to integrate the Celtic festival of Lugnasadh into the Christian calendar to aid the spread of Christianity through the region. Lugnasadh is not only a harvest festival,  it’s primary focus is honoring the Celtic solar deity Lugh, who is the spirit of Craftsmenship, Light, Victory & War.

Lugnasadh is typically celebrated the last 2 weeks of July & the first 2 weeks of August, with the pinnacle of the holiday celebration being August 1st. At this time of the year, the sun is in Leo, the sign that belongs to the sun and personifies the sun’s power. The three days prior to Lugnasadh Day were considered very sacred by the Celts, and they were devoted to purification.

Lugnasadh is a celebration of the harvest, although it is also a sacrifice of the Harvest King, John Barleycorn. John Barleycorn must die if the people are to eat, live, and prosper and the festival was held to insure a plentiful harvest. During Lugnasadh Lugh fights the Evil Lord of Blight for possesion of the harvest. Lugnasadh is a time for harvesting & blessing botanicals for the upcoming year.

Lugnasadh is also a fire festival, with fire being understood by the Celts to be pieces of the sun brought down to earth.

Lugnasadh literally means ‘the marriage of Lugh’, so this time is also considered to be highly romantic because Lugh, the sun, and the Earth Mother renew their wedding vows annually during the full moon in August and invite all to gather and revel with them. Lugnasadh honors the consumation of their marriage, and precedes the spring holiday of Belatine that celebrates rebirth & light returning and occurs 9 months after Lugnasadh. To the ancient Celts, Lugnasadh is the day the solar deity weds the earth, literally, and it is for this reason that many pagan celebrations throughout the region mimic this divine union with the community’s high priest and priestess enacting the yearly wedding of Earth & Sun.

Lugnasadh is considered one of the eight major sabbats, however because the roots of this festival are so agricultural in nature oftentimes modern pagans are unsure of how to properly celebrate the holiday. Modern celebrations mostly focus on the romantic aspects of this holiday, as Lugnasadh is an excellent night for love magic, as well as for enjoying what has been reaped from the first harvest.

This week’s Moonday recipe

Van van oil is a conditioning oil that is made from a blend of 5 Asian grasses. It is a very versatile oil that draws luck, love and prosperity while repelling negative magic directed to you. Van van oil’s versatility also stems from being able to use the oil to anoint just about anything from candles to protective charms to yourself, depending upon what you’re using it for.

Van van oil

• Mix lemongrass, citronella, palmarosa, gingergrass & vetiver dried botanicals or essential oils into a base of jojoba, sunflower and/or safflower oils
• Patchouli can be added for extra power

While lemongrass is the predominant ingrediant of this oil, any mix of oils and botanicals can be used.

This week Sunday is spell day

Because…

Tonight is the Moon of Next Chance, according to my calendar, and after the void of course opportunity is hilighted so it would be a perfect night for this spell. The moon is full at 9:38pm edt. And void of course is between 10:29am – 3:39pm edt. Hope you enjoy the spell. I had such an amazing experience when I did it.

This was one of the first spells I worked with a hoodoo orisha. I grabbed my supplies and headed out to a large tree in my back yard. While setting up the offerings to Ochossi I began to meditate on the job I would like to get, which is the job I currently have at Citi. I visualized Ochossi, the divine hunter, standing behind me lending me his strength to have a successful interview. I visualized him standing behind me while I was working in the department I currently work in. Luckily I had already interviewed once before for a different position in this department, so I knew what it looked like in there which helped me visualize it better.

I opened the bottle of Mount Gay rum a friend had given me from a trip she had taken to the Caribbean,  took a mouthfull & blew it on the altar and offerings I had set up during my meditation. Then I called on the divine hunter himself. And the wind picked up, blowing from behind me and I knew I was not alone. Every hair on my body stood on end, and I dare not turn around because of what I might see behind me. Somehow I knew if I saw him there that would wreck the spell. I had to rely on my faith that he was there.

Knowing Ochossi was behind me I began to speak to him about how badly I needed the job at Citi, how I wasn’t making it at my current job and was absolutely miserable because of the sweat shop environment there. I spoke to him about the offerings I had for him, and praised him for his prowess at the hunt. I thanked him for attending me & listening to me, and closed the spell stating that it was my will that with Ochossi’s aid I would get this job at Citi. Every cell in my being knew this spell had worked. Within 3 weeks after performing the below spell I had my start date at Citi, and was putting in notice at my current job.

Ochossi’s Employment Spell

Ochossi, the divine hunter, may be petitioned for assistance with locating & bagging employment. Traditionally, an altar is created for him within a forest; an offering laid before a tree is an alternative to building an altar. Get comfortable before the tree, set up your altar and offerings to Ochossi. Picture the divine hunter in your mind and visualize the job you want with Ochossi’s help while getting into your ritual state of mind. My visualization was of Ochossi standing behind me while I was in an interview situation. I also visualized him behind me while working in an corporate type of environment.

When you’re ready:

1. Fill a small terracotta bowl with honey
2. Place seven silver-colored coins around it (the coins do not have to be real silver)
3. Offer Ochossi an entire bottle of rum (it can be a small airlinje sized bottle). Open it for him. Take a mouthful of the run (without swallowing any) and blow it onto the altar.
4. Add some honey roasted peanuts
5. Speak with the Orisha; tell him what you need.
6. Thank Ochossi for attending you.
7. Leave the offerings and altar before the tree until you get your job then dispose of them by either burying them or offering them to the earth in some other way.

A note about working with Orishas –
Orishas are strong deities. If you have not worked with them before, I recommend being very respectful of them. I recommend being very respectful of them even if you’ve frequently worked with them. Also, be sure you have the specific offerings listed above to insure the orisha is satisfied as that impacts the level of help (if any) that the orisha gives you.

If you find that you are not being very successful in drawing the orisha’s attention, you may need to make an offering of candy or a cigar (or both) to the orisha Papa Legba, as he controls the door between the spirit world. Papa Legba may need to be placated in order for the orisha you are calling to come through. Many hoodoo spells begin with an offering to Papa Legba for just that reason.

Above all, be open to and enjoy your experience working with this spell. It is a very powerful spell that worked for me, which is why I am sharing it today on this Full Moon of the Next Chance day auspicious for spell work to perceive and best utilize opportunities that may arise in your life.

My 7 Favorite Books

A book of my Mom’s started me on my journey on the path of paganism, and all these years later I still rely on books for reference and to continue learning. I’ve included a list of my current favorite books, with brief descriptions of each. All of the links below are to the books on Amazon.com, which is typically where I purchase my books from as the prices (even from Amazon itself) are really, really good.

• Seasons of the Witch 2010 Weekly by Victoria David Danann – From the moment I was introduced to this book I was hooked! Not only is it a daily planner, but also shows daily energy correspondences, moon phases, when & what is in retrograde, and more! OMG, I sound like an infomercial! But seriously, this book is a must-have every year.
• Llewellyn’s 2010 Witches Spell-a-day Almanac by Llewellyn – A really good friend introduced me to this book, which has a spell for every day of the year, as the title states. The book contains simple spells that can be crafted from items you already have at home, as well as rituals & celebrations from a variety of pagan belief systems.
• The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells – Unfortunately, it looks like this one is out of print, as I had a difficult time purchasing mine a couple of years ago, and heard that it was out of print at that time, although it was widely available on Amazon.com & at Barnes & Noble. It amazes me that it could be out of print because this book is absolutely fabulous and I recommend it to everyone looking for a serious spell book to base their spell-work on. I have an extra copy that was my Mom’s that I may list on Craig’s List or e-Bay should I find out that it is indeed out of print.
• Crystal Bibles 1 & 2 by Judy Hall – If you have even the slightest interest in crystals & their energy check out these two books by Judy Hall. The book is organized alphabetically, with multiple photos of very good quality for most crystals to help you identify the crystals you already have, as well as any you may purchase. Book 2 expands upon some of the crystals from book 1, in addition to many more crystals not in book 1.In addition to information about specific crystals, there is a plethora of information about crystal lore, how to use crystals, how energy flows through the body, how to choose crystals, cleanse them and maintain them.
• The Encyclopedia of  Crystals by Judy Hall – Another great book about crystals by Judy Hall with excellent photos of the crystals which are arranged in this book by color, then alphabetical order. There are also many types of crystals listed in this book that are different than those in the  Crystal Bible, although there are some repeated crystal types and photos between the two books. With that said, I found it to be a worthwhile purchase as the ease of finding crystals by color makes it worth the price.
• Chakra Bible by Patricia Mercier – Another great recommendation from a friend containing a wide range of information about chakras, how to cleanse them, energize them and (my favorite part) yoga poses that help balance and unblock them. Anyone with even the tiniest bit of interest in chakras would find tons of information of interest in this book.
• Idiots Guide to Tarot by Arelene Tognetti & Lisa Lenard – The single BEST book on learning tarot that I’ve ever, ever found. This book is another recommendation from a friend who I am forever thankful to for sharing this book with me. I had pretty much given up on learning how to read cards when I was introduced to this book, and was amazed that I actually could learn how to read them from what I learned in this book! The book is separated into chapters with lessons in each one that take you from learning how to examine and receive impressions about the card to several different spreads you can use to read for yourself and others. I found this book very easy to follow; in fact, it held my interest so much I finished the book (exercises and all) in about 1 week! I definitely recommend this book to anyone and everyone with an interest  in reading tarot cards – especially those of you that, like me, thought you’d never be able to learn to read them.

The books in this list I’m recommending based on the plethora of knowledge each of them contains. There are many more books I recommend but the books in the list above are those I use on a regular basis in my practice. If there are any must-have books you’d like to share, please post a comment & share them!

Moonday is recipe day!

Below are two recipes for Florida Water, but there are many, many different ingredients you can add to your Florida Water to make the recipe your own.

Florida Water

– 3 oz bergamot oil
– 1 oz lavender oil
– 1 oz lemon or orange or any citrus oil
– A few drops of clove oil
– A few drops of cinnamon oil
– A few drops of neroli oil
– 6 oz Essence of jasmine or jasmine oil
– 2 oz Essence of musk or musk oil
– Alcohol 8 pints (I typically use vodka)
– 1 pt Rose water
– 1/2 pint rainwater

Florida Water (2)

– 2c vodka
– 2 tbsp orange flower water or hydrosol
– 1 tbsp tumeric powder
– 1/4 tsp ground orris root
– 12 drops of bergamot oil
– 12 drops of lavender oil
– 6 drops of may chang oil
– 3 drops rosemary oil or a sprig of fresh rosemary
– 2 drops rose attar
– 2 tbsp rose water
– 2 drops of neroli oil
– 1/4c rainwater

Mix ingredients together in a clear bottle or jar and allow to sit in the sun for at least one week, preferably 2 weeks. Once your Florida water is ready, strain it, bottle and cork it tight.

All of the above oils and waters should be fairly accessible, either at your local or online witchy shop! Remember, the ingredients do not have to exactly match what is above. Using the supplies you have on hand can strengthen the cleansing properties of your Florida water by adding the energy of you!