Llewellyn Publications's Blog, page 20

An ENORMOUS thank you to our LlewellynCon presenters today: Sasha Graham, Philip H. Farber, and Margaret Ann Lembo!

Unable to watch their presentations live? Click on their images below to watch the recording! And, be sure to follow our YouTube channel, where we’ll be sharing the recordings of each presentation!

Watch Sasha Graham: Shadow Self Work with the Tarot

 

Watch Philip H. Farber: Cannabis Spirituality

 

Watch Margaret Ann Lembo: Meeting Your Everyday Angels

Thank you again to all who presented and attended!! We’ll see you tomorrow!

Tarot Healer: Using the Cards to Deepen Your Chakra Healing Work

Leeza Robertson

At the time of this writing (late-March), the world was in a shaky place. Maybe we still are in June. In any case, having a strong foundation makes getting through daily life easier and is essential for surviving the larger challenges we face. One way to achieve that is to have a healthy root chakra.

In her forthcoming book, Tarot Healer, Roberston gives us a complete system for assessing and nurturing your chakra system with tarot. In this excerpt we have an exercise that is just one of a series of exercises working with the Root chakra. Even this part, though, provides plenty of food for thought.

Muladhara – The Root chakra Exercise

This first energy center is central to us feeling safe, secure, stable, connected, present and aligned to the material world. It is the very foundation in which we build our body, mind and spirit.  What happens here in the root chakra affects every other energy center that sits on top of it. Have issues here and you are guaranteed to have issues all the way up your chakra system. That is why it is crucial to have an open dialogue with your root chakra. The easiest way to do that is to give it a significator, which is a card that will represent the chakra. For me, I always think about the Emperor and the Queen of Pentacles when I am working with the root chakra, as they both are about building, growing and supporting, but your significator may be very different.

For this first exercise grab your tarot deck and place the cards face up. Spread them out and see which image best represents the energy you want to see radiating out of your root chakra. Take your time, really make sure the card you have selected will stand up to the strain of holding up the rest of your chakra system. Make sure it is strong, stable and able to hold you in place even in the most difficult of times, but that it is fluid enough to move and flex as you stretch, dance and grow. Once you have your card, open your journal, and do some automatic writing around this card and your root chakra.

1. Foundation

The root chakra is the foundation of your chakra system. Think of it this way; it holds up the walls that support the roof to the temple of your body. Nobody wants to build a temple on a rocky, cracked or shoddy foundation, which is why it always shocks me that so few people pay attention to their energetic foundation. They seem perfectly happy to have it filled with holes, torn at the seams, and crumbling to pieces, and then wonder why their bodies don’t seem to do what they want it to do. Bad foundations create bad buildings and ones that tend to buckle, collapse and ultimately fall apart. I don’t know about you, but I would never build a house to live in on such a disaster of a foundation, nor would I expect something built on fault conditions to hold it together for very long. Imagine having the walls crashing down on you or having the roof cave in on you while you are sleeping. These are nightmare scenarios, yet so many people believe that it is okay to build their bodies and lives this way.

So why do we think allowing this to happen to our root chakra is acceptable?

It is mainly because people believe they can’t see it. However, take a look around your health and your life, and you will have plenty of evidence of how strong your foundation is. Your life is either moving along nicely, and you feel confident about your growth and the direction you are headed, or you feel blocked, unsure and shaken at best. Your foundation is evident in every decision you make, every step you take or don’t take and every fear or doubt that whirls around your head. Spend two minutes listening to someone, and you will be able to see how strong their foundation is. People speak the conditions of their lives all the time. So be mindful of the words you are using to describe your life, your choices, your circumstances and your abilities as they are all either building on your foundation or shattering it. Your body is a mirror of all the decisions you have made at a foundation level, and it is easier than you think to get a picture of what is going on with you at that level.

Exercise

Grab your journal and your tarot cards, as its time to dive deeper to your foundation. Shuffle your deck and read over the following questions pulling a card as your answer.

Card One:  Where does my foundation need assistance?

Card Two:  How can I make my foundation stronger?

Card Three:  What do I need to do to make sure my foundation is flexible enough not to

crack?

Just pull one card for each of these questions, and then spend some time with these cards in your journal. Consider what elements showed up here, as the foundation elements are important. Water could mean you need more flexibility and give in your foundation. The best foundations are the ones with a bit of flow to them. Air could mean you need to cleanse more often, literally blowing away blocks and cobwebs, or it may be showing you where cracks are forming. Fire could mean you need more action and movement in your foundation, and of course, earth means you need to compact the base and strengthen the foundation.

An ENORMOUS thank you to our LlewellynCon presenters today: Debra DeAngelo, Linda Yael Schiller, and Madame Pamita!

Unable to watch their presentations live? Click on their images below to watch the recording! And, be sure to follow our YouTube channel, where we’ll be sharing the recordings of each presentation!

Watch Debra DeAngelo: The Elements of Horse Spirit

 

Watch Linda Yael Schiller: Healing Nightmares

 

Watch Madame Pamita: Roll Your Own Spell Candle

Thank you again to all who presented and attended!! We’ll see you tomorrow!

An ENORMOUS thank you to our LlewellynCon presenters today: Kerri Connor, Ethony Dawn, Emily A. Francis, and Phoenix LeFae!

Unable to watch their presentations live? Click on their images below to watch the recording! And, be sure to follow our YouTube channel, where we’ll be sharing the recordings of each presentation!

Watch Kerri Connor: Cannabis Meditation 101

 

Watch Ethony Dawn: Building Your Tarot Reading Confidence

 

Watch Emily A. Francis: Whole Body Healing: What Is Your Body Trying to Tell You?

 

Watch Phoenix LeFae: Awakening the Beauty Pentacle

Thank you again to all who presented and attended!! We’ll see you tomorrow!

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Gus diZerega, author of the new God Is Dead, Long Live the Gods.

My first experience with the Wiccan goddess came during a 1984 Midsummer Sabbat in Berkeley.

That encounter was both the greatest blessing of my life, and its greatest challenge. I had just completed my PhD in Political Science, a field based entirely on secular science, and now I had encountered a being I experienced as more powerful than anything I had ever imagined, more loving than I could have imagined, and more real than I was. And in scientific terms, She could not exist.

That afternoon in Berkeley’s Tilden Park led to decades of living two lives while trying to be loyal to both. I continued to publish in refereed academic journals and teach college and university classes. I also became a Wiccan who explored other compatible spiritual practices. Occasionally I would write on these spiritual subjects as well. But I had no idea at all how to connect them.

In my new book, God Is Dead, Long Live the Gods: A Case for Polytheism, I think I have found a way. I use two strategies, and I think they pay off.

First, I start from the bottom up, rather than the top down. If consciousness exists in even the simplest material, as seems to be the case, how might we get to the Gods? And beyond. This approach integrates physics, biology, and the social sciences with spiritual realms, rather than working from those realms down into the world of matter. One approach is not intrinsically better than the other, but a bottom-up approach sheds light on some issues less explored traditionally. Including our individuality.

Second, the “meme” connects the physical world on which modernity focuses with the world of gods and spirits. In secular terms, the meme is any word or behavior that transmits meaning from one person to another. Memes are independent of particular individuals even though they depend on people to spread them. Intriguingly, scientists find themselves forced to use animate terminology to describe them. The Western occult tradition has a similar concept, the “thought form,” a psychic entity given its meaning by disciplined adepts. But the rough equivalent can arise unintentionally, and are called “egregores.” In a sense, memes are wild thought forms.

The chief difference between memes and thought forms is the former supposedly exist entirely within minds, while thought forms exist somewhere outside our heads. In exploring their connection, I examine evidence consciousness does not exist only within our heads, as any experienced Witch would know from personal experience. I do not argue the Gods are thought forms. They are far from it. But thought forms/memes enable us to integrate secular science with a living world all the way up and all the way down.

Along the way I demonstrate that monotheism, polytheism‘s great competitor, is always polytheistic in practice, because the term makes no sense and never has. I also show that a mouse possessing a common bacteria is smarter than the same mouse without it, and that plants learn and remember.

Our thanks to Gus for his guest post! For more from Gus diZerega, read his article “God Is Dead, Long Live the Gods: Polytheism in a Living World.”

Here in the northern hemisphere, the Summer Solstice is almost upon us, but for our southern hemisphere friends, it is time for the winter solstice. To help you celebrate, we’ve rounded up our best rituals, spells, books, and more!

Winter Solstice Pumpkin Soup:

Celebrate the Winter Solstice with this festive golden soup, warmed with fragrant nutmeg and allspice. This velvety soup is elegant and deceptively simple to prepare.

 

Winter Solstice Wishing Candle:

There is a tradition of making a wish at the Winter Solstice, of burning pieces of paper with wishes or affirmations written on them. Craft these homemade candles infused with your wishes.

 

Solstice Light Spread for Tarot:

Use the Solstice Light spread to strengthen your hopes for the future. Plan, make wishes, raise your spirits—knowing that the creative fire of spring is promised to you at Yule.

 

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?

 

 

Winter Solstice Spells:

Browse our spells to find your perfect Winter Solstice ritual or incantation.

Books:

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

An ENORMOUS thank you to our LlewellynCon presenters today: Tess Whitehurst, Patti Wigington, Durgadas Allon Duriel, and Mat Auryn!

Unable to watch their presentations live? Click on their images below to watch the recording! And, be sure to follow our YouTube channel, where we’ll be sharing the recordings of each presentation!

Watch Tess Whitehurst: Magical Housekeeping and Living Magically at Home



Watch Patti Wigington: Setting Up Your Ancestor Altar

 

Watch Durgadas Allon Duriel: Setting Healthy Spiritual Standards for Ourselves

 

Watch Mat Auryn: Witchcraft Without Tools

Thank you again to all who presented and attended!! We’ll see you tomorrow!

An ENORMOUS thank you to our LlewellynCon presenters today: Dr. Debbie Palmer, Lilith Dorsey, Melissa Cynova, and Elliot Adam!

Unable to watch their presentations live? Click on their images below to watch the recording! And, be sure to follow our YouTube channel, where we’ll be sharing the recordings of each presentation!

Watch Dr. Debbie Palmer: The Habits of Healthy and Mindful People



Watch Lilith Dorsey: Water Magick

 

Watch Melissa Cynova: Kitchen Table Magic

 

Watch Elliot Adam: Tarot Without Fear

Thank you again to all who presented and attended!! We’ll see you tomorrow!

An ENORMOUS thank you to our LlewellynCon presenters today: Cyndi Dale, Kristoffer Hughes, Najah Lightfoot, and Gwion Raven!

Unable to watch their presentations live? Click on their images below to watch the recording! And, be sure to follow our YouTube channel, where we’ll be sharing the recordings of each presentation!

Watch Cyndi Dale: Releasing Trauma During This Time of Crisis



Watch Kristoffer Hughes: Death, Dying, Bereavement, & Mortality Salience

 

Watch Najah Lightfoot: It’s Okay to Spiritually Protect Yourself

 

Watch Gwion Raven: 5 Easy Steps to a Magickal Kitchen

Thank you again to all who presented and attended!! We’ll see you tomorrow!

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sasha Graham, author of several books and decks, including the new Dark Wood Tarot.

The Dark Wood Tarot brings you into darkness so you can find your light. According to NASA, 68 percent of the universe is made of a mysterious force called Dark Energy. Dark Energy counters gravity and causes the universe to expand. Could it be there is an accessible energy inside a tarot spread that we’ve been ignoring all along?

Einstein pointed out that empty space is not empty. Space holds more space. Space is not diluted as is expands, like a growing flower reaching to sunlight, space itself becomes more space. This means the space between your cards in a tarot reading is as potent and full of potential as the cards themselves.

The point of reading tarot is to widen our perceptions. It is helpful when reading tarot to keep in mind that invisible, unrecognizable things often stood in front of us before we recognized them. Just as humans all once thought the earth was flat, we may discover the most wondrous possibility was in front of us all along.

Make use of all the space inside a tarot spread. The field your cards appear in, the space between those cards, is anything but empty. It is chock-full of possibility.

Move deeper into any tarot spread by adding three cards to the spread when you are finished interpreting the cards. Perform this exercise at the end of any of your tarot readings and spreads:

Examine your tarot spread as a whole and make note of the spaces between cards. Remind yourself that there is more at play than you can currently see.
Place one card face down to the left of your spread and one card face down to the right of your spread. Turn them over at the same time. These cards are read as the polar extremes, the dichotomy of the invisible yet potent field surrounding everything in and around your current situation. Re-examine your spread in the context of these two polarities. Is the field evenly balanced? Is it erratic? Are the two cards compatible or are they at odds with one another?
Finally, pull a last card to reveal and invisible yet present possibility you have not yet seen.

Cast your cards well!

Our thanks to Sasha for her guest post! For more from Sasha Graham, read her article, “Three Shadow Tools to Use with the Dark Wood Tarot.”