TIP OF THE DAY - CLEANING SPELL

Merry Meet to all!

Remember the Tip of the Day about spring cleaning?

Here is a lovely little spell I came across, which can help you to keep your home tidy after you have done all the hard work!

Collect some nice stones, one for each room in your house and put them in a bowl, covered with a green cloth. Then, holding your hands palms down over the bowl, say the following blessing, once for each stone:

Now I have done the cleaning feat,

bless this stone to help to keep

my lovely home smelling sweet

always tidy, always neat!

Place one of the stones near the entrance of every room and they act as charms to keep clutter and mess away.

Bright Blessings,

Ilona

PS. If you like to clean your home with natural products, for recipies to make your own household cleaners go to: http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm

Brilliant site!

TIP OF THE DAY - WILD GARLIC FORAGING

It's Wild Garlic season! These tender, juicy and garlicy leaves can be found pretty much everywhere in the British Isles this time of year. Get them now before they start flowering and the leaves get tougher.

Click HERE for information about the nutritional value of Wild Garlic. The main medicinal uses are the same as for ordinary garlic.

The bulbs can be eaten too, but please don't go digging them up in the wild as this will reduce next year's crop! If you plan on using bulbs for cooking or medicinal purposes, you need to grow your own stock.

Ilona and I went Wild Garlic foraging yesterday. She chopped some up and put in ice cube trays in her freezer for handy cooking portions to use in soups and stews etc. She also froze whole leaves for later use.

There are lots of different uses for these wonderful leaves. They can be used in salads and sandwiches, and as a pizza topping etc etc. I used all the ones I picked up in one go, as I wanted to try juicing them. It was absolutely delicious! Here's the recipe:

A few fist fulls of Wild Garlic leaves
1 small piece of ginger root

1 small red chili pepper

2 carrots

1 beetroot

1 red pepper

1/2 a cucumber

2 sellery stalks

I basically used what I had in the fridge. Experimenting with juicing this way can be really fun, and it's even more fun when you start foraging in nature's larder!

Bright blessings,

Lisa

http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com/

TIP OF THE DAY - BREATHING EXERCISES

Whether you strive to become an adept in magick, or whether your goal is perfect health, the foundation is the same: the breath.

Devoting 5-10 minutes to daily breathing exercises will start paying off instantly. It clears the mind, invigorates, grounds, centres and relaxes you.

From a health perspective, practising breathing exercises is just as important as making sure that your body is properly hydrated. When we starve our cells of oxygen, disease immediately has a foothold.

For the witch or magus, breath control is key to learning how to build and direct energy in magickal workings. The ancients of the Western tradition might have used special techniques for this, but sadly not much has survived.

There are, however, many different yogic breath exercises to choose from. One of the best breathing exercises to really wake your body up in the morning is the Kundalini yoga 'Breath of Fire.' Learn the Breath of Fire.

In the evening you might want to try something more relaxing like the alternate nostril breath (Nadhi Sodhana). Learn alternate nostril breathing HERE.

Bright blessings,

Lisa

http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com

TIP OF THE DAY - A GOOD BOOK

Merry Meet to all of you!

As a follow up of the Tip of the Day - Clear the Clutter, I would like to recommend a really good book to you, which gives valuable tips on how to create a holistic environment in your home.

It's called: "The Holistic Home" by Maxine Fox and was published in 2006.

It is a really comprehensive guide, taking into account all areas of your environment, from the very bricks and mortar of your home to your physical and spiritual needs within it. It gives tips on healthy living, how to use natural products for cleaning (not only your house, but yourself as well), how to integrate the principles of Feng Shui and how, in general, to create a positive balanced environment, which is in tune with the natural patterns and needs of your body and soul.

I can really recommend this book, it is easy to read and follow and most of the tips and techniques are practical in everyday life and not expensive.

So, if you would like to know more about how to create a holistic home, click on the link below....and get reading!

'>http://

Warm Blessings
Ilona

TIP OF THE DAY - WALK IN WONDER

According to psychic and author, Sonia Choquette, one of the best ways to develop psychically, as well as to increase your sense of happiness and wellbeing, is to maintain a sense of childlike wonder about life.

Try the following little exercise to develop eyes that see the beauty of the world in wonder:

Go for a walk in nature. It's ideal if this is somewhere you normally like to go walking, and where you feel familiar with the surroundings. It doesn't matter what time of the year it is or what the weather is like, your mission is to capture the beauty and magick of nature as it is.

Your magickal tool for this exercise is your camera. Pause where you feel guided to pause along the way and use your eyes to truly see, the way you did when you were a child. Is that a couple of shrubs or is it a faery portal? Observe the play of light and shadow. See the beauty in the smallest flower or oddly shaped stone. Capture it!

Don't be surprised if the fairies have left a gift for you, but don't come empty-handed. Bring something to leave in return. You may come home with new insights, but whether you do or not, the only thing that matters is that you experienced a sense of wonder and connectedness.

Make an illustrated journal entry of your magickal walk. If you make a blog entry of it, please feel free to link to it in the comments section below.

The great thing about seeing everything with a childlike sense of wonder is that it automatically makes us completely present and aware. It's a bit like meditating without meditating really... and this is the reason why children see things that adults have long since forgotten how to see.

The images in this post are from my own magickal walk by the river Swale in January this year.

Bright blessings,
Lisa
http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com/

TIP OF THE DAY - CLEAR THE CLUTTER

Clear your house, clear your head!

This is the time of the year for a good spring clean, to blitz your home and get rid of all the unwanted and unused items that mounted up over the last 12 months.

The old saying "A messy house means a messy head" really is true, so a good clean out will not only make your home more inviting but also clear your thoughts and mindset.

If it seems a too big a task, just tackle one room at the time, best beginning with your bedroom, because a clutter-free, serene bedroom will aid good sleep and thus boost your energy levels.

When you finished the physical clean, why not add little extra touches for your mind and spirit, like a bunch of fresh lavender in the bedroom or a bowl of rock salt on a sunny window ledge. The lavender will, again, aid good sleep, and the rock salt will warm up in the sunlight, emanating particles in the process, which act like a natural ionizer, adding to the quality of the air.

Also, for a clear head you need fresh air, open your windows wide for at least 15 minutes a day, to allow a total exchange of air in your house. Not only is this cheaper than shop-bought fresheners, it is also kinder on the environment.

So, get in the spirit of spring, be inspired by the sun and rejuvenate the soul of your home and in the process your own spirit!

Bright Blessings,

Ilona

TIP OF THE DAY - TAROT MEDITATION

Merry meet everyone!

I usually do a 'card of the day' first thing in the morning, with either one of my tarot decks or my Medicine Cards. This card then serves as my meditation focus for the day.

You can easily incorporate a 'card of the day' meditative focus in your daily morning meditation.

Personally, I like to start by lighting a candle, as the candle represents all the elements and is said to draw angels near. You can also light some incense to further raise the vibration.

Sit comfortably and with your back straight, shoulders relaxed. Make sure that there is nothing to restrict your breathing. Take a couple of deep breaths and sigh deeply to let all the old, stale air out of your lungs.

Ground your energy, visualising roots going out from the soles of your feet on the out-breah, all the way into the core of the earth. On the in-breath, draw the red earth energy up into your body, all the way up through the top of the head. Just above the top of the head, the scintillating red earth energy meets the white light of spirit. Breathe this white light in, and on the out-breath send it all the way down through your feet and down into the core of the earth. You are now grounded and centred.

Shuffle the cards while asking God/dess, your spiritual Master and/or the angels for daily guidance. Pull the card you feel drawn to. Sometimes this is the top card and sometimes a card will jump out all by itself. Always pay extra attention to the 'jumpers' as the most definitely contain a message/lesson from spirit.

If you've got a book that goes with the deck and you feel like reading about the card you pulled, this makes a wonderful form of meditative study. If you prefer to work strictly based on what your intuition brings you while gazing on the card, then this works equally well.

Whichever way you choose to absorb the message, make sure you note your impressions and ideas down. You can keep a special Tarot journal for this, or you can use your Book of Shadows. Personally, I prefer to blog about my daily draw. If you don't feel like sharing your thoughts online, but still prefer typing to longhand writing, you can just create a Word document for your daily card reading and keep it safe in a folder. The advantage of keeping digital copies in a special folder is easy retrieval. Label each of your entries with the name of the card and the date of the reading.

Don't forget to give thanks for the insights you've received in your meditation. The best way to come back to reality if you've floated off on a psychic cloud during your meditation is to stand up and stamp your feet a few times.

Remind yourself of the archetypal energy you're working with throughout the day and keep your senses peeled to messages relating to the card.

Not only will this way of working with the cards help your personal/spiritual development, but you'll find that you bond with the cards on such a deep psychic level that eventually are able to produce brilliant intuitive readings for yourself and others.

Bright blessings,
Lisa

http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com/

TIP OF THE DAY - OSTARA INCENSE

Spring is finally here!

And what a wonderful first day it has been so far, with the sun being out and the air mild and fresh!

Lisa and me (and our own little sprites, called Miranda and Liam, 7 and 9) have been at the banks of the River Swale at sunrise for our own little Ostara celebration, complete with candle, flower seeds, painted eggs and incense. It was just a wonderful, serene entry into spring and we all (kids included) enjoyed being in midst nature, seeing rabbits and our first Easter lamb.

As I said, we took incense with us for our celebration, which really added to the mood.

If you fancy making your very own special Ostara incense, here is a little recipe out of Scott Cunningham's book "The Complete Book Of Incense":

OSTARA INCENSE

2 parts frankincense

1 part benzoin

1 part dragon's blood

half part nutmeg

half part violet flowers

half part orange peel

half part rose petals

charcoal block

incense burner or pot (fire-safe)

Grind the materials in a mortar and pestle to a smudge, burn in an incense burner.

Hope you have a great Ostara and enjoy the lovely weather!

Bright Spring Blessings

Ilona

TIP OF THE DAY: KITCHEN CUPBOARD MAGICK

You don't need to buy expensive and exotic ingredients to add a little bit of natural magic and holistic approach to your lifestyle.

Just have a good look in your kitchen cupboard (and garden, if you have one) and you'd be amazed what you can do with the 'everyday things' in there.

Here, for example, is a really nice recipe for herbal bath sachets, which are very simple to make and will give you an invigorating, 100% natural bath experience, which puts the spring back in your step.

All you need is:

4 cups of dried lemon verbenna *

2 cups of dried thyme

1 cup of dried peppermint

fabric, like muslin or organdie, which can be easily penetrated by water

*lemon verbenna is a common garden herb (see picture), but if you can't get hold of it, you can use dried lemon rind

Take to needle and threat and make little sachets of the fabric, which you fill with the hers - that's all there's to it!

When running a bath, hold the sachets under the tab or simply float in the water. A filled sachet can be used twice, and the sachets themselves can be refilled with fresh herbs again and again.

Enjoy! Ilona

OSTARA - THE SPRING EQUINOX

Merry Meet to all of you!

Following the Wheel of the Year, we have a Sabbat coming up this weekend, The Spring Equinox, the festival of Ostara, celebrated around the 21st of March (depending on the exact time of the equinox).

The name Ostara is derived from the Germanic goddess Ostara or Eostre (Teutonic/Anglo Saxon names) and was later adopted by the christian church into Easter. Ostara is pictured as a beautiful young woman with flowers in her hair, accompanied by her male consort in form of a rabbit. Sacred attributes of the Goddess are children, rabbits and painted eggs, two of which have been integrated into the 'christian' celebrations of Easter.

Ostara is in essence a spring festival, falling on the first day of spring, celebrating the rejoicing of nature after the long winter and the triumph of light over darkness, as day and night finally reach equal length.
The Spring Equinox often represents the beginning of a new year, in the zodiacal calendar for example the sign of Aries starts on this day, the first sign of the Zodiac.

In wiccan ditheism Ostara marks the rejoining of the Mother Goddess with her male consort who spent the winter months in death or the returning of the Goddess to her Maiden aspect.

There are different ways to celebrate Ostara, which in folk tradition was done with singing, bell ringing, flowers and new fires being lit at dawn.

You may want to celebrate with a traditional wiccan ritual, an example of which can be found in "Buckland's Complete Book of Witchcraft" (Raymond Buckland), which happens in a coven based environment.

You don't have to be a member of a coven to pay respect to Ostara though, a simple celebration on your own or with friends, in which you include what feels right to you is as valid.

As Ostara is a spring festival, if you have the opportunity, go and have your celebrations outside, to be close to the reawakening nature. Song, dance, prayer and meditation can all be part of your festival, as well as little rituals you can devise yourself. For example, take some painted eggs (the decorating can be part of your celebration, or prepared beforehand) and visualize your dreams for the year to come while holding one of them, imagining your wishes to enter the egg, ready to be hatched. Then bury the egg, so your dreams can grow from it.

Another thing you can include is an Honouring ofVenus, like the one described in our Tip Of The Day earlier this week.

However you decide to celebrate Ostara, make sure it feels right for you and makes you happy doing so!

Enjoy your Spring Celebrations!

Warm Blessings

Ilona

TIP OF THE DAY - HONOURING VENUS

The Roman goddess Venus (also known by her Greek name, Aphrodite) is commonly known as a goddess of beauty and love. However, in her aspect as Venus Columba she is a goddess of peace (symbolised by a white dove). Venus Felix is 'lucky Venus' and Venus Verticordia is the 'changer of hearts'. It is Venus Verticordia who turned into a spring goddess, since her festival, the 'Veneralia' was celebrated on the 1st of April in ancient Rome.

Venus is a goddess of fertility, both for women and for nature in general, so it is appropriate to celebrate her around the time of the spring equinox. Why not do something in her honour as part of your Ostara celebration?

In 'The Book of Goddesses' by Roni Jay, I found the following simple little ritual to honour Venus in her own element - Nature:

Put some flower seeds in a scallop sea shell and sprinkle the seeds where you want them to grow. The scallop sea shell is associated with Venus, and any flowers associated with love, such as Love-in-a-Mist (Nigella Damascena) are good to use for this ritual that can be performed either the first day you 'smell spring in the air,' on the day of the spring equinox or on the 1st of April.

Bright Spring Blessings

Lisa

http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com/

TIP OF THE DAY: ST PATRICK'S DAY

Today is St Patrick's Day !

St Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland, who was born in the late 4th century to Roman descendants in Britain. In 403AD, he was captured by Irish raiders and brought to Antrim in Northern Ireland, where he was sold into slavery. It was there, while looking after his masters herds, that he first learned to pray.

After being able to flee on a ship to Gaul, he became a disciple of St Germanus of Auxerre, and for 15 years, he lived and studied in France, before returning to Ireland as a missionary and consecrated bishop, in 432AD.

At Tara, in Meath, St Patrick confronted King Laoghaire with the Christian Gospel and in the process, converted the King's daughters.

In 444AD he established his bishop's seat at Armargh and from there founded a strong foundation of the Irish church.

St Patrick died in 461 AD on Strangford Lough, Downpatrick.

With it being St Patrick's day, why not learn something "Irish" today, like this lovely Ancient Irish Love Binding Spell?

As you probably know, binding spells, including love bindings, can be a double edged sword as far as free will and benevolence are concerned.

In love bindings, there are two main categories of spells.

Mutual Bindings: spells cast on each other by a loving couple as an affirmation of their feelings for another. These are entered into with free will and the desire to do so.

One-sided Bindings: spells of this nature are cast by one party over another, often without their knowledge or consent. They are desperate attempts to save relationships and force the other to stay, a way of gaining 'ownership' of the other person. As these spells ignore the free will and consent, they very rarely work out happily for either party involved.

This little spell firmly belongs into the group of mutual bindings and should be seen as a romantic affirmation of each others feelings.

For this Ancient Irish Hair Binding Spell, give your partner a bracelet woven out of your own hair (or, if you are not in posession of a floating mane, make one from wool or leather, in which you weave a few strands of your own hair which you can pick from your hairbrush for example).

The power which lives in someones hair and comes with being in possession of it is widely known through a variety of sources (Samson in the Bible, anyone?). As such, the giving of your hair to another person represents an act of trust and love.

This binding will only be activated, if the gift is accepted and the spell itself is agreed to by the person of your choice - it cannot be imposed on another!

Warm St Patrick's Day Blessings

Ilona

TIP OF THE DAY - LEMON WATER

This is an ancient Ayur Vedic tip to help you start your day the right way. It's one of the best ways to cleanse, detox and energise quickly in the morning.

Squeeze the juice from half an organically grown lemon into a cup of warm (not hot) water. Drink up! Ideally you should do this first thing in the morning to revitalise.

Lemon is an acidic fruit but it actually helps your body become more alkaline, which is very positive for the immune system. Other benefits of lemon water are:

* Improves digestion
* Cleanses and stimulates the liver and kidneys
* Contains the minerals calcium, magnesium and potassium

* Contains vitamin C
* Cleanses the skin from within

It is always good to start the day properly hydrated, and don't forget to keep drinking plenty of water through the day to keep your energy levels up!

Bright Blessings,

Lisa

http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com/

The Wheel of the Year

Hello and Merry Meet everyone!

As the wheel of the represents the idea at the heart of our group, we thought we would post a little summary of its history and main events.

The idea of the wheel of the year as a representation of the changing seasonal and solar aspects of the year constitutes a very ancient common heritage of humanity, with its origins possibly reaching as far back as the neolithic era. Depictions of wheels in stone are quite common, and may as well represent the turning of the times (their intended meaning is not known to this day).

So, as part of an underlying earth-based spirituality, the idea of the wheel of the year has accompanied humanity for thousands of years.

In this context of earth-based spirituality, as in Wicca or paganism, the Wheel of the Year represents the major events in the natural year, such as the seasons, solstices and equinoxes, which are celebrated in eight Sabbats, the four greater and four lesser ones:

In general, the Wheel is divided in two main parts: summer/light and winter/darkness. The two major deities of paganism and Wicca, the Goddess and the God, rule superior at specific times, with the Goddess dominating the summer months (the growing season) as the goddess of fertility and abundance, while the God dominates the winter months as the god of hunting and death (with hunting having been the major source of fresh food during these times).

The eight Sabbats divide into two categories, the seasonal and solar festivals.

The four greater Sabbats celebrate the natural shift of the seasons, with Beltaine and Samhain representing the main divisions between summer/winter, light/darkness. Imbolc and Lammas mark the midpoints in between, recognising specific occasions in the agricultural year, Lammas for example being a celebration of harvest.

The four Lesser Sabbats are solar festivals, marking the events in the solar calendar, the solstices (Litha and Yule) and equinoxes (Ostara and Mabon).

There is no singular way in which to emphasise or celebrate these Sabbats in the wiccan or pagan community. Some groups, for example, may concentrate on the seasonal (Greater) Sabbaths, while others put their emphasis on the solar festivals.

As you progress on your spiritual journey, you may be intuitively drawn to certain Sabbats and decide to only celebrate those important to you, or you might choose to treat all eight with equal reverence - the choice is yours!

As we are progressing through the Wheel of the Year, we will blog on each of the upcoming Sabbaths in more detail, giving you an overview of their meaning and tradition as well as ideas on how they might be celebrated, so do stay tuned for the blog on Ostara, coming shortly.

Crystal of the Month - Amethyst

Merry Meet!

This is our first blog post about crystals. We will focus on one crystal every month, in order to learn a bit about its healing properties as well as how it can be used in magick. We start with Amethyst since this crystal is related to the sign of Pisces, which we are in right now. Amethyst is also highly benefical to people born in the signs of Capricorn, Aquarius and Virgo.

Amethysts come in lots of different shades, ranging from a light lavender to a deep purple. They are also produced synthetically but as amethyst is quite a common crystal all over the globe, you don't need to worry about the amethyst you bought in your local metaphysical shop being a fake. It's the deep purple ones found in gold and silver jewellery that can be synthetic.

Amethyst is a wonderful healing crystal that aligns the energy centres (chakras) of the body and creates unity between spirit and matter. Amethyst is one of the few crystals that doesn't need cleansing, as it instantly transmutes negative energies into healing energies, and can therefore be used to cleanse other crystals. You could, for instance, place any crystal that feels a bit 'tired' on an amethyst cluster to cleanse and recharge it.

The main energy centres affected by the amethyst are the third eye (just above and between your eyebrows), the crown (top of your head) and the root chakra (base of the spine).

Placing an amethyst on the third eye increases intuition, and sleeping with an amethyst under your pillow (or wearing amethyst jewellry in bed) greatly augments dream recall. Just holding an amethyst in your hands during meditation eases the process and helps clear the mind. The amethyst raises the vibration of its bearer and shifts the mental focus to spiritual matters. It creates a sense of peace and oneness with the All-That-Is.

On the physical level, amehtyst is great for headaches and migraines. It also prevents inebriation and helps break addictive patterns. It's a great all around cell healer and regenerator as it helps the person working with the crystal vibration to see clearly what is out of alignment and thus creating the 'dis-ease' in the body. Amethyst is also an excellent blood purifier and is one of the main healing crystals for arthritis. It has a positive effect on the nervous system in general and on the brain in particular.

The numerological vibration of amethyst is 3.

Amethyst makes a wonderful elixir and is not toxic, so the crystal can be left to soak in water for as long as your intuition guides you. You can either drink the water straight away (don't forget to remove the crystal first!) or add some kind of preservative (brandy, vodka or vinegar are commonly used.) There are many different ways of making your crystal elixirs and there is plenty of information about this in crystal books and online. Just like when you choose crystals, choosing the method that works for you will simply be the one that 'feels right'.

Magickally, amethyst is the 'seer stone' and would be ideal to keep with your divination tools (tarot cards, pendulum, I-Ching coins etc) to cleanse and recharge them. Some even use the amethyst itself for scrying (crystal gazing). For this a 'dragon egg' shape would be ideal. The dragon egg has a polished 'window' on one side, and the seer gazes through this window.

There will be general information posted on how to work with crystals a bit later on, so watch this space!

Bright Blessings,
Lisa
http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com/