Llewellyn Publications's Blog, page 18

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Dr. Debbie Palmer, author of the new Mindful Beauty.

Sometimes just sitting quietly and reading a good book is enough to reduce anxiety and worry. However, sometimes it isn’t. And, ’tis the season for stress, which can lower immunity—making you more prone to colds and flu and disease. Stress can also wreak havoc on the skin, triggering breakouts, as well as eczema and psoriasis.

Be sure to take time out for yourself this season to reduce anxiety. Incorporate one—or all—of these proven stress-busters into your routine:

Take time out for yourself. When things seem to get out of control, it’s typically a sign that you’re doing too much—and your life, as well as your mind and emotions, are overwhelmed. Simply stop what you’re doing and switch things up: go for a breath of fresh air (without your phone, so you’re not distracted), find a quiet corner and read a book, or put your headphones on and listen to your favorite music.

“A change of scenery—even just a walk around the block—is helpful to break from the daily grind…and stress.”

Get out into nature. Study after study shows that nature has a way of calming the mind and refreshing the spirit. In fact, one study from Stanford University found that walking outdoors in nature for about 90 minutes showed—through brain scans that track blood flow through the brainȃdecreased activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex, an area of the brain associated with anxiety and depression. This study, the researchers say, shows that nature actually has the power to change the brain, for the better. The key is to get outdoors without your smartphone or camera and just to appreciate everything around you, with all of your senses.
Move your body. There’s no doubt in my mind that a good workout can take your mind off things—and make you feel great. There’s a reason for this: it’s during aerobic exercise that the body releases feel-good hormones called endorphins, which help to reduce worry and tension. The key with exercise is regularity: don’t add extra stress to your life by focusing on a particular amount of time you have to exercise. Instead, just get out and do something you love for at least 5 minutes. You may find that after the first 5 minutes, you want to keep going.
Set aside time to meditate. Meditation—particularly mindfulness meditation, which trains us to focus our attention on our inner and outer experiences with acceptance, patience, and compassion—has been proven time and time again to not only reduce stress, but also improve depression and pain (often a side effect of stress). What’s more: it can help your skin look years younger. Those of my patients who meditate regularly exude a calmer, more radiant, youthful glow.

“I am a firm believer in meditation because I’ve seen first-hand how practicing it regularly helps to reduce stress in my own life—and in the lives of my patients.”

Get enough sleep. Without enough sleep, everything seems much worse in life than it really is—and we all tend to be more emotional. What’s more: when we’re tired—and stressed—we tend to reach for sugar and caffeine to stay awake. But junk food can fuel the stress cycle. A good night’s sleep, though, can help. Sleeping gives the body a chance to relax and rest without being overwhelmed by worry. It keeps us healthy (by keeping the immune system strong) and keeps our minds sharp.

Discover more ways to reduce stress and stay happy, healthy, and glowing in Mindful Beauty.

Wishing you peace!

Our thanks to Debbie for her guest post! For more from Dr. Debbie Palmer, read her article, “5 Ways to Manifest Outer Health, Inner Peace, and Beauty.”

Fearless Tarot: How to Give a Positive Reading in Any Situation

Elliot Adam

 

The 3 of Cups is one of my favorite cards, so I wanted share an excerpt about it from one of my favorite new books, Adam’s Fearless Tarot. Enjoy the excerpt:

 

Three of Cups

“Personal charisma.”

The Three of Cups portrays the famous Three Graces from Greek mythology. The Graces are Goddesses of charisma. It was said wherever they walked, flowers sprang up, and joy and laughter abounded. The Graces (also called Charities) each stood for attributes you can embrace to elevate your personal energy, transforming it from depressive to jubilant. We get our word “Charisma” from the three Charities (Graces). Charisma is that magical energy which makes others like you. Charisma is a gift all of us can develop. Anyone can increase their personal charisma by embracing their authenticity, lightening up, and bringing positive energy to others.

Does the energy in your environment feel bogged down? Do you feel too distracted by stress to even think about lightening up? Did you know that you can lighten up your environment by embracing your own charismatic energy?

The Three of Cups depicts the three Graces in their unique colors: red, white, and gold. The names of the Graces are Euphrosyne, Aglaea, and Thalia.

The central figure is Euphrosyne, who is wearing a red robe. Her name means “to delight, cheer and gladden.” Essentially, the Three of Cups represents joy, happiness and celebrations. Euphrosyne shows that our environment becomes more vibrant when we embrace our humor. Any time we make someone’s day better with a smile or lift the energy with laughter we are channeling her gift. Euphrosyne’s message is “lighten up!” Use humor to diffuse what you are afraid of. Laughing at what brings you anxiety is a useful tool for overcoming it. Red is the color of courage, vitality, and passion.

On the left is Aglaea, wearing her white robe. Her name means “radiance, bright splendor and light.” Every time you share your inner radiance, you are embracing her gift. When you are embracing your inner light, you create a palpable positive force of energy around you that others will immediately perceive. Being relaxed in who you really are causes others to feel safe enough to be open with you. When you look into another’s eyes and see that their inner light is also sacred and radiant, you are touching Aglaea’s gift. White is the color of purity, truth, and Spirit.

Thalia is on the right, wearing her golden robe. Her name means “to warm, to foster and to bloom.” Her gifts of an abundant, fruitful harvest surround the three sisters. Each time you patiently nurture something (yourself, a talent, a dream, a child) you are embodying Thalia energy. Tending to your hopes and wishes makes life meaningful. Thalia brings success through the gentle tending of your goals. She also teaches that helping others with the things you struggle with, is the quickest way to boost your own feelings of self-esteem. Gold is the color of success, wealth and the warmth of the sun.

Everyone can elevate their personal charisma. Like any skill, the more you use it, the more natural it will become. Charisma raises energy. It also makes it much easier for you to get ahead in life. Sometimes we are taught that if we don’t fight, we won’t get what we want. This sets you up for a combative existence. It is so much easier to get through life if you tap into the gifts of the Graces. People love to help likable people! Charisma elevates the energy of any room as if by magic. That is why talented people exuding tons of personal charisma get top dollar. We want them to raise our energy, and bring us the same joy, through music, words and entertainment.

Today, tap into your personal charisma through humor, radiating your authentic light, and offering warmth and kindness to others. Watch your environment immediately improve with the gifts of the Graces. You’ll be amazed at how much easier life will feel if you bring positivity to this situation. The Three of Cups always symbolizes joy.

 

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Wendell C. Perry, author of the new Behind the Horoscpe.

I never thought of myself as a political person, but looking over my blog (at goodgollyastrology.com), I have to admit that in recent years the subject matter has become increasingly political. This got me wondering about what factors in the horoscope are most likely to be the source of an interest in politics. Since I recently completed a book of the astrological houses (Behind the Horoscope: How the Placement of the Sun and Moon Tells a Story About You), I was particularly interested in what is the most “political” house.

My first nominee for most political house in the horoscope is the Ninth House. The Ninth has to do with our ideology and the things we believe. It is where we find the basic truths that define our religion and our politics, as well as our attitudes toward government and public policy. However, the relationship between ideology and politics in this sector is rather abstract. It’s more about theories and political dogma than everyday life.

I associate the Eleventh House with what I call our “chosen” communities. These are the people we choose to be with because their ideas and aspirations align with our own. Obviously, this would include political ideas. Unfortunately, hanging out in our chosen communities with people who mostly agree with us tends to feed the intense partisanship that has recently become such a poison within our political discourse

The Sixth House is also a contender in this race. A legislator, governor, senator and even a president serves his or her constituents, and service is what the Sixth House is all about. When you campaign for a particular candidate, you are essentially choosing a servant. Of course, the service of our politicians is typically designed to please the majority and, if you’re not in that majority, you might not consider yourself well-served.

The long-shot in this race is the Fifth House. The Fifth rules the things we do, not for money or prestige, but because they ignite our passion. There are people who follow politics simple because they are passionate about certain policies and causes. They want to see their ideas advanced but winning and losing is less important to them than the inspiration they draw from their cause. This can sometimes lead these people to look at the give-and-take of politics as a game and lose track of the impact their ideas can have on the lives of real people.

Those are my nominees for the most political house. Those of you with significant placements in one of them should be warned. You might find yourself hopelessly addicted to CNN or Fox or the political memes that come at you though Facebook and Twitter. However, each of these houses can represent many things that have nothing to do with politics. Keep that in mind. Maybe (after the next election) you might want to give some of those other things a try.

Our thanks to Wendell for his guest post! For more from Wendell Perry, read his article “Lifting the Lid on the Eighth House.”

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Wendell C. Perry, author of the new Behind the Horoscpe.

A lot of astrologers are looking at the chart for Election Day 2020 (Nov. 3) with trepidation, mostly because Mercury will be retrograde for much of the day. (It goes direct at 12:50 PM EST.) They remember the Mercury retrograde election of 2000 and that long, exhausting recount. However, we’ve had elections with Mercury retrograde in which the mechanism of voting worked without a hitch. The most recent was the 1980 election. What has me worried about the 2020 election is not so much what Mercury is doing, it’s what I see in the chart for the Full Moon on Oct. 31.

On my website (goodgollyastrology.com) I look at the charts for the Full and New Moons and try and determine what each has to tell us about the next two weeks. Some of these lunation charts are more dramatic than others, and my readings of them range from “right smack on” to “boy, I missed that one.” However, the chart for the Full Moon before the 2020 election seems to have a clear and rather alarming message. (Click on Full Moon to see the chart.)a>.

First of all, we have the Sun in the Eleventh House and the Moon in the Fifth. (I’m using Koch houses, but these placements are the same in several house systems.) The Eleventh House has to do with our allegiance to certain groups and organizations. In that sense, it relates to partisanship in politics. Uranus is conjunct the Moon and opposed to the Sun. The aspects are extremely tight. This in itself is a promise of instability and explosive events, and those events seem likely to involve our politics.

This is just the start. The real centerpiece of the horoscope is Mercury, which is square Saturn, Jupiter, and Pluto. Mercury, of course, rules communications and voting is all about communicating. The square to Saturn is the closest. It indicates that the process of voting will be somehow blocked or impeded. The square to Pluto tells us that these blockages will involve powers beyond our control. This could be COVID-19 or something else. The square to Jupiter is wide but, since Jupiter rules the chart, it seems to further describe a thwarting of the message that the polls convey.

All of this sounds pretty dire, and it supports some of the scary scenarios about this upcoming election that have been put forth in the media. However, there’s another way of looking at this chart. If we take the Moon as representing the “people,” then its conjunction to Uranus could describe an unprecedented energizing of the public will. Also, Venus in this chart is conjunct the Midheaven. This could mean that the election will be, in some way, good for women. It could also be telling us that, despite all the struggles and surprises this election is likely to entail, the ultimate outcome will be peaceful, and that we emerge from it a more united nation.

Our thanks to Wendell for his guest post! For more from Wendell Perry, read his article “Lifting the Lid on the Eighth House.”

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Dr. Manisha Singal, author of the new The CBD Skincare Solution

Several years ago, I suffered from a painful and embarrassing skin condition. As a critical care doctor, I’d always tried to avoid drugs—even aspirin. But the pain and unsightly condition of my skin forced me to try steroids and other powerful medications that I was uncomfortable taking. I “made the rounds” of traditional doctors, including President Clinton’s allergist. Nothing seemed to help. One doctor even suggested that I soak in a diluted solution of bleach as a treatment. For a physician who dislikes artificial anything, that was the last straw.

Over the course of my medical career, I had learned about CBD’s palliative properties as they related to pain management. I wondered if it could help my skin. Readers should know that I came to the study of CBD with a lot of training in science and medicine. I graduated from the University of Pennsylvania and from George Washington University Medical School. I wasn’t about to get sucked into the hype about CBD. But if I wanted to feel better, I knew that I needed to invest the time to learn everything I could to help myself, and potentially help others.

Ways You Can Use CBD Products

CBD products can be used to treat Acne, Eczema, Psoriasis, Rosacea, and many other skin irritations and diseases. Since you’ll be buying a plant-based product, it’s nice if you can find organic CBD products.

What to Look for When Purchasing:

Topicals treat mostly the surface layer of the skin, and are used for simple outbreaks
More penetrating formulas are used to ease joint soreness and connective tissue, inflammation inside your body
Look for or request the product’s COA (Certificate of Analysis) that determines product potency
Check labels for trace amounts of chemicals
Buy American because hemp sources are more reliable and contain fewer pesticide residue
CBD should come from flower and leaves, not stems and seeds. Look for label clues. If the label says “hemp seed oil,” try another product. Read up on other CBD terminology.

Once you’ve purchased a topical formulation and/or ingestible forms of CBD, using them consistently is key to getting the most benefit for your money. Do not stop and start usage with CBD or any other supplement. Decide on the proper dosage, and then take or apply it on a regular schedule (taking a brief few days off every few months). Only by standardizing the use of CBD can you measure its effectiveness and adjust accordingly.

Buy a reputable product in the ideal form for the condition you’re treating, and use it on a schedule that makes sense, and CBD can offer tremendous benefits to your skin and beyond.

Remember…This Isn’t the Summer of ’69

It truly is high times for CBD, but not in the way that you think—CBD has none of the high-inducing chemical properties. New plants have been bred without THC, which is the component that causes people to become high. It’s from these newer strains of plants that CBC is then extracted.

Taking care of your overall health with a diet rich in vitamins and nutrients, exercise, and other stress reduction techniques goes a long way toward achieving a healthy glow.

Our thanks to Manisha for her guest post! For more from Dr. Manisha Singal, check out her new book, The CBD Skincare Solution.

Experience the Mystery of Tarot: Ceremonies, Spreads, and Meditations to Deepen Your Connection to the Cards

Katalin Jett Koda

In Experience the Mystery of Tarot, Koda gives us interpretations, meditations, spreads, and ceremonies that deepen our connection with the cards and with ourselves. As readers, many of us relate to the High Priestess. This excerpt shares some of Koda’s insight into the card as well as a ceremony for connecting with your intuition.

 

As the number two, the High Priestess stands between one and the other. The point of division indicates the moment of reflection, when we look back upon ourselves.  She is a bridge: between the worlds of conscious and unconscious; dark and light; masculine and feminine.  Her number is two: a sprout producing two leaves from the one seed. Two reflects and we see the High Priestess standing between two pillars, one black, one white. In between lies her wisdom, her crystal ball of insight above her head and resting upon the crescent moon of the Goddess. The two is the seed which sprouts its first two leaves and is tender, full of life and potential and growth.

Now the path becomes a dance and will become more complex as we wind our way onward. Here the Fool encounters oneself in the looking glass; it is the Universe eyeing itself, the eye, the gaze, the peering into a crystal ball or mirror to divine our path and where we are headed. The High Priestess stands between two worlds: the conscious and the unconscious, the dark and the light, the seen and the unseen. The High Priestess is the liminal space between what was and what is to come, the moment of transition and crossing over.

While the Magician offers us the brilliant visionary perspective, the High Priestess is the wise, shadow counterpart which may help us in the more troubling times of our own soul’s journey on the path. Oftentimes we seek out help during times of transition, pain, trouble or fear. Intuitive readers, diviners, mediums and seers rest at the crossroads comfortably offering wise counsel only because they themselves have delved deep into the subterranean of pain, darkness and sorrow and transformed it into wisdom, light and compassion. They are imbued with the gift of seeing into the non-ordinary or unseen worlds.

Divination Moon Ceremony

The art of divination is as old as humans themselves. Used primarily to assist in finding water, resources, tracking animals and to connect with non-humans and the unseen world, this craft still has its place in many indigenous cultures as well as modern day issues around money, relationships, career and love. One way that people used a natural method was to scry or gaze into water or a crystal ball to determine the future. When we take time to do this, we activate our intuitive centers and open ourselves to non-ordinary reality.

For this practice, you can look at the moon reflected in water. Go out into the nature to a lake, river or pool of water on a full moon night and practice gazing into the water. If this is inaccessible, simply set up a bowl of water on a moonlit night and sit outside with you bowl.  You may wish to set up a simple altar like the one you worked with in the Magician card. Visualize a bright, vivid sphere of light surrounding and protecting you before you begin.

Before you begin, it is helpful to set an intention or ask a question about something that is troubling you. Take a few moments to close your eyes, focus on the breath and feel into your question. Then slowly open your eyes and gaze into the water before you. You can do this several times, closing the eyes and then looking into the water. Allow impressions, images, thoughts to move across your mind’s eye opening you up to your more intuitive self. Do not be concerned with receiving a direct, immediate answer right away! Simply allow yourself to have this experience.

When you are finished, thank the waters and the moon for their presence and guidance. You may want to make an offering at the water’s edge or pour your bowl of water with intention before closing this simply divination ceremony. Before you go to sleep, ask to receive further guidance in your dream state continuing the process of connecting to your intuitive and wise self.

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Rachel Patterson, author of the new Curative Magic.

Anxiety can be triggered by a specific reason or event, such as an upcoming exam or interview. But, it can also be a constant feeling that takes over your everyday life. Having these anxiety issues on occasion is quite normal. If it really has started to take over your life, I offer some magical assistance here. (But, please do go and see your doctor about it!)

Spell to Combat Anxiety

This spell has the purpose of focusing your mind on something relaxing and calming, and channeling the anxiety out through creativity. Just the actions of sitting and focusing on your breathing and working on controlling those anxiety feelings should help. Then following that with the creative activity will give your anxiety an escape route. The action of throwing away some of the spell ingredients at the end should also aid in letting go.

You will need:

A flat dish or tray
Sand, soil or small seeds (sesame work well) to fill the tray
Several crystals of your choice (or taken from the list in Curative Magic ) or a selection of small pebbles or shells
Music
Incense (optional)

Gather together all your items and find a quiet space where you won’t be disturbed. Put some of your favourite music on, preferably something positive and happy. If you have a favourite incense, you can light that, too.

You will need to sit comfortably with space in front of you for your items. Place the tray down and fill it with the sand, soil, or seeds, and level it out with your hand.

Place your feet flat on the floor and just close your eyes for a moment. Try and focus on your breathing (I appreciate that this isn’t always easy when you are anxious). Ground yourself.

When you feel as calm as you can, open your eyes.

Now allow the sound of the music to wash over you. Go past the lyrics and the main tune; delve deeper and find the base notes.

Then allow your intuition to take over, and using your finger (or fingers) draw patterns in the tray of sand (soil or seeds). Swirls, lines, circles—it doesn’t matter what and it does not need to be a work of art. Let your fingers do the drawing.

Take your crystals, shells, or stones and place them in the tray to add to your creative pattern. If you feel the need you can smooth the surface over and start drawing again; do it as many times as you feel the need to.

Let your anxiety drain from your body, through your fingers, and into the sand.

When you feel ready, remove the crystals if you used them (they will need to be cleansed before being stored to use again).

The sand, soil, or seeds will need to be disposed of. If you have a compost bin, then pop it in there; you could also throw it on the earth (although be careful where you throw it if you used seeds). Or it can be thrown into running water, such as a river or the ocean. Alternatively, dump it in the trash.

As you dispose of the spell ingredients, say:

Anxiety that overwhelms me is now gone

Anxiety you are not wanted, be done!

Our thanks to Rachel for her guest post! For more from Rachel Patterson, read her article “A Witch’s Tool Kit for Self-Discovery, Care and Healing.”

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Craig Spencer, author of the new Aradia.

Traditional Witchcraft has become a rapidly popular subject within our community; this is largely due to the fact that it is readily accessible to a wide audience. However, one of the main components that is not often discussed is what defines this branch of witchcraft as traditional. The answer is simple: traditional witchcraft is regional witchcraft. It is a practice founded in the landscape of its practitioners. The tradition then is local tradition.

One of the best ways to start out on the road of Traditional Witchcraft is to build a relationship with the spirit of the land. By connecting to this spirit you are opening yourself up to the mysteries that are locked into the energetic landscape that surround you every day. Growing up in the Northwest of England I was privileged to have been raised with a rich culture and magical tradition which infuses every aspect of my Craft.

My favourite local myth is about the spirit of the land: the Lancashire Dragon.

Tale of the Two Dragons

In the distant past, as the story goes, the people of Lancashire where working the land ready for construction when they discovered a large stone object buried deep in the ground. Working hard to uncover the object they discovered a large stone coffin or chest; thinking that they had discovered a great treasure the townspeople decided to open the stone structure.

Once the lid was removed the people were awestruck as two large dragons, one red and the other white, emerged from the stone vessel. The two creatures flew high into the sky battling as they went, causing great destruction upon the land. Legend says they were fighting over the unclaimed land in which they had been buried as it was a neutral space not truly belonging to either Lancashire or neighbouring Yorkshire.

In the end it was the Red Dragon of Lancashire that came out victorious and the two dragons returned to the space under their respective lands to rest. Shortly after the battle was over roses began to grow over the two counties, marking the territories of each dragon. In Yorkshire the white rose grew and in Lancashire the red rose was seen. This, it is said, is the origin of our counties’ rose symbols, which are still used today.

Connecting to the Spirit of the Land

To build a connection to your local spirit, find a flower or tree that is considered a symbol of your area. Is there a spirit-being that acts as the personified guardian of the land? Those who live in countries with surviving indigenous cultures should also look there for information of the local land guardian. Bring these symbols into your rituals or include them on your altar space. Make this process personal to the spirit that you are connecting with. By honouring this vital force you acquire a powerful protector and teacher who can reveal information to you that will deepen your magic and Craft.

Our thanks to Craig for his guest post! For more from Craig Spencer, read his article “Aradia: 5 Facts Every Witch Should Know.”

Here in the northern hemisphere, Lammas/Lughnasadh, the first of the harvest festivals, is almost upon us, but for our southern hemisphere friends, it is time for the Imbolc/Candlemas. To help you celebrate, we’ve rounded up our best rituals, spells, books, and more!

Using the Tarot for Sabbats and Esbats: Imbolc: Celebrate Imbolc with a spread and other tarot-inspired ideas.

 

Ritual: An Imbolc Celebration: Use this Imbolc ritual to release old wounds in order to create fertile soil for new ideas and possibilities.

 

Traveling Deeper with the Wheel of the Year: We are all familiar with the Wheel of the Year and its celebrations. But what if we take a deeper look at the Wheel and the lessons it offers, seeing not just eight festivals of celebration, but a parallel of the waxing and waning of our lives?

Imbolc/Candlemas Spells: Browse our spells to find your perfect Imbolc ritual or incantation.

Books:

Imbolc
Llewellyn’s 2021 Sabbats Almanac
Rituals of Celebration
Supermarket Sabbats
Sabbats
The Witch’s Wheel of the Year

Llewellyn’s Little Book of Tarot

Barbara Moore

This is such a delightful little book, especially when you want to do a quick one card divination (the book is designed to be used that way!) or to enjoy a quick tarot tidbit. Because the design is such an important part of the experience, enjoy these pages on The Star card.