Tarot Study Group - First Meeting

Merry Meet!

During our first meeting we discussed the history and background of the tarot, tarot myths, and how to calculate your soul, personality and shadow cards.

It was a lovely morning and I'm already looking forward to next Thursday.

Here are some Tarot weblinks you might like to check out in the meantime:

http://www.aeclectic.net/tarot/ - the world's largest tarot community + hundreds of deck reviews, interviews with authors and tarot artists, competitions, forums, learning resources etc etc

The Gaian Oracle - try a free online 3 card Tarot reading with the beautiful Gaian Tarot!

Tarot and Personality Types - for those of you who enjoyed the brief Soul Card readings we did and who would like to know more about how the Tarot relates to personality types, the Enneagram and MBTI

Taroteca - Photo albums containing complete decks

Supertarot - A website dedicated mostly to Thoth studies but there is also loads of useful general information

Learning the Tarot - The perfect site for the Tarot novice to get started with free online Tarot lessons based on the classical Rider Waite Tarot

The World of Tarot Studies - Another useful tarot website with loads of free lessons

Tarot Journaling - How to use the Tarot to tell the story of your life

Hope you enjoy exploring these resources. See you soon!

Lisa

http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com/

PS. The picture above is the Star card from the Circle of Life deck, a quirky and beautiful round deck - I might bring it along to our next session ;)

LITHA - A REFLECTION

Merry Meet to All of You!

Here's a lovely video from You Tube as a reflection on Litha.

Hope you all had a great Midsummer's Eve/Day!!!




Summer Blessings,

Ilona

P.S. Foir another great clip click here

MAGICKAL LITHA

Merry Meet to All of You!

Midsummer is here!

Wishing you all a happy and magickal Litha and a great summer to come!

Midsummer Blessings,

Lisa & Ilona

Women of Witchcraft

CRYSTAL OF THE MONTH - AQUAMARINE

One of the main gemstones for Gemini is Aquamarine. This is a crystal that aids communication and alleviates medical problems relating to speech or breathing. It can also be used environmenally to purify the air.

The numerological correspondence for Aquamarine is 1.

Aquamarine used to be carried by sailors as talismans against drowning.

It's a stone of courage, clarity, and self-knowledge.

Aquamarine can be used in the treatment of glandular and autoimmune diseases.

Intolerance is counteracted by aquamarine.

Aquamarine is an excellent anti-stress crystal when things get on top of us - it helps us prioritise and do things logically.

It's a wonderful stone for increasing awareness of our responsibility to serve humanity with our gifts, and it can help clear confusion regarding our life purpose.

Zsuszanna Budapest - Dianic Wicca

NEXT MOOT

Image from the Herbal Tarot

Interested in:

* TAROT
* ASTROLOGY
* PAGANISM
* WICCA
* SPIRITUAL HEALING & DEVELOPMENT
* SACRED DANCE
* ANGELS & FAIRIES

Come and meet like-minded people for discussions, learning and fun!

No theme for this month’s gathering, just come along and enjoy the company!

On: 7th July,
At: 7.30pm

In: The Ralph Fitz Randall (Weatherspoons), RICHMOND

For more Information contact Lisa or Ilona

Tarot Study Group

TAROT STUDY GROUP

Thursday mornings at Wetherspoons, 9.30 - 10.30 AM

Start: 25 July 2009

Join us on a journey through the archetypal spaces of the Tarot - the most complete tool for self-discovery and spiritual development ever created. Methods of using the Tarot for group pathworking and divination will also be explored.

No previous knowledge necessary. Contact Lisa for more info.

Bring a tarot deck and a notebook, and come along for learning and fun!

THE WHEEL OF THE YEAR - LITHA

Merry Meet to All of You!

Nearly Midsummer, where is the year gone?!

With the Summer Solstice and corresponding Litha celebrations (21st June) coming up fast, Lisa and me are mapping out ideas what we could do for Litha, something meaningful but also fun, so our kids will enjoy it too.

Litha (Summer Solstice, St John's Eve, Alban Hefin) is one of the lesser Sabbats in the Wheel of the Year and marks the shortest night of the year, after which the hours of darkness will slowly start to increase again and the convergence of the Sun and the Moon, with the Sun being at its zenith but the Zodiac entering the water-sign of Cancer, the only sign ruled by the Moon.

Midsummer is a Fire and Water festival, traditionally marked by bonfires and ritual baths.

Midsummer's Eve is also known as the most magickal night of the year, again traditionally used for divination and to gather magickal and /or healing herbs and plants (fern seeds, for example, to be used in invisibility spells/potions, were gathered on this night and this night only). It is believed that plants are to be ideally picked at midnight or when the first dew forms.

The greeting of the sunrise is a major part on Midsummer's Day, so with Midsummer's Eve conveniently falling on a Saturday this year, why not stay out all night to celebrate, greet the sun in the morning and then roll into bed?!

This is certainly something Lisa and me have in mind (we're sure the kids will love it!) so we will be going out for a picnic or barbecue on the evening and then make merry through the night with games, music and magickal/divination activities.

As the colours of Litha are golden yellows and oranges, together with gold for the God and red for the Goddess, you could theme any food and drink you bring along these lines, for example colourful salads with carrots, oranges or sweet potatoes, washed down with a nice glass of golden Mead. For the kids you could make your own home-made lemonade or ice creams, which are really easy to make and so much nicer than shop-bought ones (for lovely recipes see: http://theherbalchalice.blogspot.com/2009/06/recipe-of-week-midsummer-goodies.html ).

Fun activities could include a tug-of-war game (symbolising the battle of the Oak and Holly Kings). You could get everybody involved to find natural materials, like twigs or pebbles and flowers) to build a face of the Sun, or make their own Midsummer flower-wreaths to wear.

Midsummer is also the perfect time to open the doors to the Faerie realm, so go out and find yourselves an elder tree (see: http://theherbalchalice.blogspot.com/2009/06/tip-of-week-magick-elder.html )!

If you want to do divination work on Midsummer Nights Eve, why not try a love-oracle:

1. On Midsummer's Eve, place a piece of wax in an unwashed sock and sleep with it under your pillow.

2. In the morning, remove and melt the wax.

3. Pour into a dish of cold water - the shape the wax takes as it cools will reveal something about your future love life.

(from: The Element Encyclopedia of 5000 Spells, Judika Illes, 2004, p.319)

Whatever you plan to do to celebrate Midsummer, have fun and enjoy yourselves as this really is one of the most joyous, happy festivals about!

For official midsummer celebrations go to the bottom of:http://theherbalchalice.blogspot.com/2009/06/midsummer-nights-dream.html

Summer Blessings,

Ilona

Charge of the Goddess

Now listen to the words of the Great Mother,

who was of old also called among men Artemis, Astarte, Athene, Dione, Melusine, Aphrodite, Cerridwen, Dana, Arianrhod, Isis, Bride, and by many other names. At her altars, the youth of Lacedaemon in Sparta made due sacrifice.

Whenever ye have need of any thing,

once in the month,

and better it be when the moon is full,

then shall ye assemble in some secret place,

and adore the spirit of me,who am Queen of all witches.

There shall ye assemble, ye who are fain to learn all sorcery,

yet have not won its deepest secrets;

to these will I teach things that are as yet unknown.

And ye shall be free from slavery;

and as a sign that ye be really free,

ye shall be naked in your rites;

and ye shall dance, sing, feast, make music and love, all in my praise.

For mine is the ecstasy of the spirit,

and mine also is joy on earth;

for my law is love unto all beings.

Keep pure your highest ideal;

strive ever towards it, let naught stop you or turn you aside;

for mine is the secret door which opens upon the land of youth,

and mine is the cup of wine of life,

and the cauldron of Cerridwen,

which is the Holy Grail of immortality.

I am the gracious Goddess,

who gives the gift of joy unto the heart of man.

Upon earth, I give the knowledge of the spirit eternal;

and beyond death, I give peace, and freedom,

and reunion with those who have gone before.

Nor do I demand sacrifice;

for behold, I am the Mother of all living,

and my love is poured out upon the earth.

Hear ye the words of the Star Goddess;

she in the dust of whose feet are the hosts of heaven,

whose body encircles the universe.

I who am the beauty'

of the green earth and the white moon upon

the mysteries of the waters,

I call upon your soul to arise and come unto me.

For I am the soul of nature

that gives life to the universe.

From me all things proceed

and unto methey must return.

Let My worship be in the

heart that rejoices, for behold,

all acts of love and pleasure

are My rituals.

Let there be beauty and strength,

power and compassion,

honor and humility,

mirth and reverence within you.

And you who seek to know me,

know that the seeking and yearning

will avail you not,

unless you know the Mystery:

for if that which you seek,

you find not within yourself,

you will never find it without.

For behold,

I have been with you from the beginning,

and I am that which is attained

at the end of desire.

The Wiccan Rede

Bide the Wiccan Laws we must,

In Perfect Love and Perfect Trust.

Live and let live,

Fairly take and fairly give.

Cast the Circle thrice about,

To keep the evil spirits out.

To bind the spell every time,

Let the spell be spake in rhyme.

Soft of eye and light of touch,

Speak little, listen much.

Deosil go by the waxing moon,

Chanting out the Witches' Rune.

Widdershins go by the waning moon,'

Chanting out the baneful rune.

When the Lady's moon is new,

Kiss the hand to her, times two.

When the moon rides at her peak,

Then your heart's desire seek.

Heed the North wind's mighty gale,

Lock the door and drop the sail.

When the wind comes from the South,

Love will kiss thee on the mouth.

When the wind blows from the West,

Departed souls will have no rest.

When the wind blows from the East,

Expect the new and set the feast.

Nine woods in the cauldron go,

Burn them fast and burn them slow.

Elder be the Lady's tree,

Burn it not or cursed you'll be.

When the Wheel begins to turn,

Let the Beltane fires burn.

When the Wheel has turned to Yule,

Light the log and the Horned One rules.

Heed ye Flower, Bush and Tree,

By the Lady, blessed be.

Where the rippling waters go,

Cast a stone and truth you'll know.

When ye have a true need,

Hearken not to others' greed.

With a fool no season spend,

Lest ye be counted as his friend.

Merry meet and merry part,

Bright the cheeks and warm the heart.

Mind the Threefold Law you should,

Three times bad and three times good.

When misfortune is enow,

Wear the blue star on thy brow.

True in Love ever be,

Lest thy lover's false to thee.

Eight words the Wiccan Rede fulfill:

An ye harm none, do what ye will...

Click HERE for an explanation of the Wiccan Rede.

THE FULL MOON SPREAD

Merry Meet to All of You!

As the Full Moon is here, Lisa and me thought about what we could do to harness its power magickally (our first ever proper ritual - exiting!).

I also devised a new Tarot spread for the night of the full moon, hence 'The Full Moon Spread'.

The aim of this spread is to see what you would like to manifest in your life and how you can go about it physically and spiritually. It also pays attention to the long term effects of such manifestation.

This is a sixteen card spread, which goes as followed:

1. The current Inner You - where you are right now in yourself

2. The current Outer You - how you are perceived by and project yourself onto the world

3. Desired outcome - what you would like to manifest in your life

4. The South Node - roots in the past, how your current status came about

5. Inner Influences - your own contributions

6. Outer Influences - contributors/-ions from the outside world

7. Western Shores - physical manifestation

8. Outer Influences - what you can harness from the outside world in order to physically

manifest your desired outcome

9. Inner Influences - what you can do in yourself to achieve manifestation

10. Wisdom of the East - spiritual manifestation

11. Higher Pathways - positive steps toward manifestation

12. Lower Pathways - inner blocks to overcome

13. North Node - the projected outcome

14. Manifestation in yourself - how the outcome affects you on the inside

15. Manifestation in the world - how the outcome affects the world around you

16. The North Star - how this manifestation may affect your further life path / long term future

The layout goes as followed:

*****************************************************16*

************************************** *13*

***********************************14*******15*

******************************8******************11*

***************************7**********(1)3(2)********10*

******************************9******************12*

**********************************5**********6**

****************************************4*

Lisa and me tested the spread for each of us and it worked really well, both of us didn't even ask a specific question, so you may use it for general guidance as well as specific needs.

So if you like to celebrate the Full Moon, feel free to use this spread and have as much fun with it as we had (feedback on how you got on with it would be very welcome!)!!!

Full Moon Blessings,

Ilona

TIP OF THE DAY - GOLDEN GORSE

Merry Meet to All of You!

I don't know about you, but I am a big fan of the River Cottage programme on Channel 4.

When I watched it on Wednesday night, I picked up a great idea from it:

how to make your own gorse wine!

It sounded really delicious and relatively easy to make and with all the gorse in our region, I will definitely have a go!

To get the recipe, go to:

http://www.channel4.com/food/recipes/chefs/hugh-fearnley-whittingstall/gorseflower-wine-recipe_p_1.html

You will need to get some Demijohns for it, which are available at reasonable prices on the Internet, e.g. at:

http://www.art-of-brewing.co.uk/acatalog/AoB_OnLine_Catalogue_Fermentation_Equipment_________27.html

So, get out there, forage, brew and be merry!

Summer Blessings,

Ilona

LAST MEETING INFORMATION

Merry Meet to All of You!

If you would like to see the handout about kitchen herbs and their properties we gave out at the meeting on Tuesday, go to:

http://theherbalchalice.blogspot.com/2009/06/kitchencupboard-magick.html

Warm Blessings,

Ilona

THE WITCHES' CREED

The Witches’ Creed by Doreen Valiente

Here Now the words of the witches,

The secrets we hid in the night,

When dark was out destiny's pathway,

That now we bring forth into light.

Mysterious water and fire,

The earth and the wide-ranging air,

By hidden quintessence we know them,

And will and keep silent and dare.

The birth and rebirth of all nature,

The passing of winter and spring,

We share with the life universal,

Rejoice in the magickal ring.

Four times in the year the Great Sabbat

Returns, and the witches are seen,

At Lammas and Candlemas dancing,

On May Eve and old Hallowe'en.

When day-time and night-time are equal,

When Sun is at greatest and least,

The four Lesser Sabbats are summoned,

And Witches gather in feast.

Thirteen silver moons in a year are,

Thirteen in the coven's array.

Thirteen times at Esbat make merry,

For each golden year and a day.

The power that was passed down the ages,

Each time between woman and man,

Each century into the other,

Ere time and the ages began.

When drawn is the magickal circle,

By sword or athame of power,

Its compass between two worlds lies,

In land of the shades for that hour.

This world has no right then to know it,

And world of beyond will tell naught.

The oldest of Gods are invoked there,

The Great Work of magick is wrought.

For two are the mystical pillars,

That stand at the gate of the shrine,

And two are the powers of Nature,

The forms and the forces divine.

The dark and the light in succession,

The opposites each unto each,

Shown forth as a God and a Goddess:

Of this our ancestors teach.

By night he's the wild wind's rider,

The Horn'd One, the Lord of the Shades.

By day he's the King of the Woodland,

The dweller in green forest glades.

She is youthful or old as she pleases,

She sails the torn clouds in her Braque,

The bright silver Lady of midnight,

The Crone who weaves spells in the dark.

The master and mistress of magick,

That dwell in the deeps of the mind,

Immortal and ever-renewing,

With power to free or to bind.

So drink the good wine to the Old Gods,

And dance and make love in the praise,

Till Elphame's fair land shall receive us

In peace at the end of our days.

And "Do What You Will" be the challenge,

So be it Love that harms none,

For this is the only commandment.

By Magick of old, be it done!

Eight words the Witches’ Creed fulfill:
If it harms none, do what you will.

TIP OF THE DAY - ELDERFLOWER

Merry Meet to All of You!

It's the time of the year again, where the elder trees start to bloom, and there are some good reason to go foraging for them.

Apart from being of lovely taste, elder flowers, and later the fruits, are full of natural goodness.

The flowers contain tannins, potassium, phenols and flavanoids, while the fruits are packed with folic acid and vitamins A and C.

Elder is a good choice to treat colds and flu, because it promotes sweating in the body and so helping it getting rid of toxins (summer detox, anyone). Elderberry extract has been medically proven to inhibit certain strains of the flu virus and if taken in the onset of colds and flu, can noticeably speed up your recovery.

You can simply make an infusion from 5mg of dried elder flowers to one cup of water, leave it to infuse for 5-10 min and drink three cups a day.

Apart from being great flu fighters, elder flowers also make a good anti-inflammatory mouthwash to sooth painful gums and inflamed throats.

Simply put 50g of flowers to 1 litre of boiling water, boil for another 5 min and use 4-6 times a day, especially after meals.

On top of these health benefits, elder is also a plant steeped in magick, which I blogged about on the Herbal Chalice Blog:

http://theherbalchalice.blogspot.com/2009/06/tip-of-week-magick-elder.html

Go on, get out there, go mad for elder!

Summer Blessings,

Ilona

UP IN THE AIR

Merry Meet to All of You!

Isn't there a strange feeling in the air at the moment?!

When we met for our meeting last night (which was brilliant, a really good exchange of views and experiences), we all said that we felt really strange over the last couple of days, a mixture of being charged up to the brim and at the same time being close to tears.

It was actually quite reassuring that other people are experiencing the same mood, because, to be honest, Lisa and me both felt like we were loosing it slightly.

We reckon it has to do with what's going on in the heavens right now, being in the sign of Gemini, which is pure Air, in conjunction with certain planetary alignments, can give you a distinct feeling of not being grounded, like floating aimlessly, even more so if you are an Earth or Water sign.

If you are feeling overcharged and a little lost, you might want to try burning some incense mix of cedar, chamomile and lavender, which can all help you to calm and ground yourself.

Lisa published a blog on the subject aswell, see: http://tarothealingbylisa.blogspot.com/2009/06/just-deserts.html

So, lets all be reassured that this mad phase will not last forever and just try to keep our feet on the ground.

Warm Blessings,

Ilona