Llewellyn Publications's Blog, page 71

 

It is with heavy hearts that we sadly mark the passing of Donald Michael Kraig, noted occultist, author, and lecturer. His book Modern Magick has been the world’s most popular step-by-step guide to working real magick for the last two decades, with tens of thousands of individuals and groups using the course as their primary instruction manual. The book has been translated into many languages as well.

Don was diagnosed last fall with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer, and was determined to fight valiantly. Unfortunately, according to a Facebook post from his wife Holly, “the type of cancer he had was just too aggressive for us to do any more treatments and his body finally gave way. He did not suffer. He simply slipped away in his sleep.”

Don’s reach through the magickal community was extensive, spanning friendships with Scott Cunningham, Carl Llewellyn Weschcke, Silver Ravenwolf, Chic & Sandra Tabatha Cicero, Nick Farrell, and countless others.

Don has been an important part of Llewellyn for over 40 years, and has been a tremendous colleague, teacher, mentor, and inspiration to many. Don first started his journey with Llewellyn as an author, when he submitted Modern Magick with encouragement from his then roommate Scott Cunningham. Shortly after he was hired as a writer and moved to St. Paul to work at Llewellyn headquarters.  He eventually became the editor of FATE magazine as well.  Later, he moved back to California but continued on as a writer and editor of New Worlds magazine and as an acquiring editor, where he continued using and sharing his extensive subject-matter knowledge.

Don has touched so many lives and will be dearly missed. We are grateful to his life lived, and for his teachings and words that will continue to live on through his many books. Our thoughts go out to Holly and their friends and families.

For more information on memorial services and how you can contribute, please visit Don’s GoFundMe page.

Editor’s Note: As the magickal community is likely aware, our dear friend and colleague Donald Michael Kraig is currently undergoing some difficult health challenges. While Don works on his recovery, we will be sharing some guest blog posts from friends, authors, and other noted community figures. Please enjoy this guest blog post by Lon Milo DuQuette, author of Low Magick: It’s All In Your Head … You Just Have No Idea How Big Your Head Is and the forthcoming Homemade Magick: The Musings & Mischief of a Do-It-Yourself Magus (August 2014).

 

I bet you’ve always felt special, haven’t you? Be honest with yourself. I’d wager that even as a child you you were haunted by the uneasy feeling that you were different from everyone else around you. You probably felt (and still feel) profoundly alone with a host of naughty feelings, secret fears, disturbing dreams, curious passions, and desires that are uniquely yours and yours alone. Compared to everyone else, you might consider yourself quietly odd, different, perhaps even defective or incomplete.

Nevertheless, even though all of us to one degree or another secretly believe ourselves to be profoundly and fundamentally flawed, we simultaneously believe we are the most special, most interesting, most fascinating person in the universe—the super-star of our own movie, the protagonist of our own novel, the most important actor in the great drama of existence.

Am I right? Don’t worry if your answer is “yes.” You’re probably not too crazy. And you’re certainly not alone in your megalomania. Everyone feels that way—and for good reason.

Because it’s true!

Each of us is special; each of us is defective; each of us is supremely unique and important. In truth, each of us is the center of the universe: the perfect reflection and focus of the supreme consciousness that is the source and the expression of existence and being. Each of us is the perfect epicenter of the mind of god. Most of the world’s population doesn’t give this positioning a moment’s thought. But for the writer, this is the best seat in the house.

When a writer sits down to write, he or she seizes their birthright and consciously observes life from this central vantage point of consciousness, and then converts our observations to words. Once on paper, the words become nothing less than a written confession, the voice of our own self-awareness (however flawed and distorted it may be). As an artist the writer speaks because he or she must. But who (or what) is the ear that hears? Who is the audience? If a tree falls the woods and there is no one to hear it does it make a sound?

Theatrically, when we gain supreme enlightenment we will all realize that we are both the voice and the ear, but until that epiphany comes upon us, until the scintillating instant just before we sizzle blissfully into limitless godhead, we will need to think of the writing process as if there is someone actually speaking our words and someone actually listening; someone worshiping and someone being worshiped; someone loving and adoring and someone being loved and adored. For the artist, for the writer, that someone is our Muse.

No one can define the Muse for another person. The idea, at least in my mind, is akin to the concept of the highly personal spiritual being known to students of the Western Mysteries as the “Holy Guardian Angel.” Whatever you might choose to call it, the Muse is the god (goddess) we pray to, the lover we wish to move with our poetry or songs, the beloved who inspires us, and the target we need to inspire. The secret, therefore, to finding our Muse lies in our ability to fall hopelessly in love.

In fact, lovers (past, present, would-be, or fantasy) already are the perfect stand-ins for your Muse! As you sit there writing you next masterpiece, you might think to yourself, “I wonder if [insert old girlfriend or boyfriend's name here] would think my book is funny … or wise… or inspiring …or irresistibly witty.”

The Muse can be as real or imaginary as you need it to be. Nothing is too corny when it comes to Muses. Don’t be afraid to reach back in time to mushy adolescent moments…re-wooing high school sweethearts, summer loves, or hunky firemen with your writer’s wit and brilliance. Of course this process is blushingly personal and painfully private, and attaches itself uncomfortably to all manner of other sticky psychological issues that make of the complex and colorful uniqueness of you… i.e., “If mom or dad were alive I’d show ‘em.”

But, to tell the truth, finding your Muse is not something you need to over-think. Your Muse is with you right now. You need only whisper something truthful from your heart…and notice who listens.

Our thanks to Lon for his guest post! Visit Lon Milo DuQuette’s author page for more information, including his books.

More information on Donald Michael Kraig and how you can help can be found at the Heal Don Kraig Facebook group.

“Live for Today” seems like good advice, for today is where we are—but tomorrow’s energies are already a factor in today’s realities. “Had I only known” might be a familiar refrain after the unanticipated event that did happen.  It’s not the BIG predictable things that affect everyone like tomorrow’s weather (and next week’s, too), not the mostly unavoidable things like major foreign conflicts, not the predictable things like comets and asteroids or disease pandemics, but the unpredictable LITTLE things that may directly endanger (or benefit) you individually, like fire, robbery, winning the lottery, a car accident, a new job opportunity, a sudden tornado, etc. that you have no control over or ability to avoid—unless you can see them in advance!

Yes, the BIG things are mostly predictable as to the potential effects on you and your neighbors and are forecast in your daily news; it’s the LITTLE things that are not predictable but can be foreseen as to the danger or opportunity for YOU through the attainable psychic skill we call Clairvoyance.

Some people are born with Clairvoyant or other psychic powers, well developed into useful skills—as carried over from previous lives or intentionally developed early in the current life. True Clairvoyance is an innate human potential evolving naturally “according to plan” that you can now purposely develop into a powerful skill to both foresee those coming personal events and understand the causal relationships with Past and Future, and possibly then avoid harm.

Yes, you can quickly learn to foresee both the BIG and the LITTLE future elements already present today as tomorrow’s manifestations. The Past is always the foundation of the Present, but Future trends and energies are already shaping the Present. TIME is a dimension that, like SPACE, exists in a continuum discernable through your focused awareness and elevated consciousness.

Never underestimate the power of the human mind in its infinite potentials, but those potentials are innate powers that can develop into psychic and spiritual skills readily applied to meet your needs and fulfill your goals to become more than you are and all you can be.

Clairvoyance is easily SELF-LEARNED in this New Age as is well symbolized in the zodiacal sign for Aquarius, which shows a human standing in the world of Consciousness, pouring forth Information and Knowledge upon all the Earth. Contrast that meaningful image with the sign of the passing old age of Pisces, symbolized by two fish blindly swimming in opposite directions in the sea of the Unconscious, and getting nowhere.

Click cover to order or for more information

Information becomes Knowledge through access and application as progressively developed in the complete and encyclopedic presentation in our book, CLAIRVOYANCE FOR PSYCHIC EMPOWERMENT (also available as an eBook through your favorite retailers, such as for Amazon Kindle and Nook). You learn by reading and doing, perceiving and growing, through practicing the programs and procedures, and studying the case examples. As you read and do, your power evolves naturally but at an accelerated rate facilitated by the rising energies of the Age of Aquarius and the expanding conscious of the New Age—both coming together at this momentous, and critical time in our planetary history.

Clairvoyance simply means “Clear Seeing.” But that clear seeing brings insight into the nature and cause behind events and things; it enables the seeing of the human aura (and the auras of animals, spiritual entities, and the individualized powers of Nature and Nature’s Power Places), facilitating the understanding of character traits, perceiving potential disease in the making, working with the energies of the chakras and psychic pathways, seeing events at a distance, and much more.

There is a distinction made between “natural clairvoyance” and “cultivated clairvoyance,” just as there is between any potential power and a developed skill, whether physical, mental, psychic, or spiritual. Bruce Lipton (Unleashing the Power of Consciousness, Matter and Miracles) described “natural clairvoyance” this way:

All organisms, including humans, communicate and read their environment by evaluating energy fields. Because humans are so dependent on spoken and written language, we have neglected our energy sensing communication system. As with any biological function, a lack of use leads to atrophy. Interestingly, Aborigines still utilize this hyper-sensory capacity in their daily lives; for them there has been no “sensory” atrophy. For example, the Australian Aborigines can sense water buried deep beneath the sand and Amazonian shamans communicate with the energies of their medicinal plants.

We can think, then, of “cultivated clairvoyance” as the intentional development of  natural abilities in the same way as we do in any developmental program—like physical therapy to strengthen particular muscles, like the training and practice necessary for any sport or gymnastic skill, like the self-training in concentrated and focused mental attention needed to master any academic or professional skill, like training the imagination in the practices of visualization, and combining that with the ability to project movement of psychic energies into that visualized image to cause physical movement. In other words, we recognize a natural power and cultivate into a powerful skill and learn the ways to employ that skill to practical advantage.

Your Cultivated Clairvoyance, along with that of Astral Projection, are the two most powerful extensions of personal empowerment that can be employed in every manner of human endeavor—supporting all other human powers and skills.

Clairvoyance is more than just a potential power that can be developed into a skill—rather it must be developed. It is a vital Next Step in human and personal evolution. We need all the power, knowledge, understanding, and trained psychic skills we can muster to meet the immense challenges of these times.

They are environmental, and planetary in dimension. They are the problems of climate change worsened by continued man-made factors. They are the consequence of human greed and paranoia projected upon whole populations. They are the challenges of our world population expanding faster than our ready capacity to produce food and energy to meet their needs. They are the result of myth believed to be history and of short-sighted and ignorant ideologies that promote conflict, deny human rights, that inhibit education, and ignore the consequences.

Each of us can become psychically and intellectually empowered to do more than “our fair share” to transform impending disaster into the Great Glory of the First Global Civilization, into the Full Realization of the New Age of Human Maturity, into the Integration of the Powers of Human Consciousness and Realization of our Spiritual Potential to take our place in the Cosmos.

Yes, you can do something about it by becoming Clairvoyant and using that ability to become more than you are and all you can be. Yes, You Can.

Editor’s Note: As the magickal community is likely aware, our dear friend and colleague Donald Michael Kraig is currently undergoing some difficult health challenges. While Don works on his recovery, we will be sharing some guest blog posts from friends, authors, and other noted community figures. Please enjoy this guest blog post by Chic Cicero and Sandra Tabatha Cicero, Chief Adepts of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as re-established by Israel Regardie and authors of a vast number of books, including The Essential Golden Dawn, Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition, and Tarot Talismans.

 

In one of the higher grade ceremonies of the Golden Dawn, the Aspirant is told the story of Christian Rosenkreutz, legendary founder of the mysterious fraternity known as the Rosicrucians. One of the “rules” that a sincere Rosicrucian was expected to follow was, “to profess nothing other than to heal the sick, and that freely.” This is usually interpreted metaphorically to mean that the knowledgeable Adept had a spiritual obligation to combat ignorance in the world. However, the Rosicrucians were said to be masters of the healing science of alchemy, so they were also thought to be able to cure actual disease and illness.

For thousands of years, healing the sick has been one of the main goals of magic. In ancient times, disease was believed to be caused by harmful spirits that entered the body. Ancient shamans and priests dressed in the skins of lions and other powerful totem-animals in order to cure illness and exorcise the offending spirits. Magic was an important part of medical treatment and the sick were brought to the temples to be healed either by incantations and exorcism, and drugs and herbal remedies. Priest-magicians often used a combination of physical as well as psychical therapeutics.

Of course advances in modern medicine have greatly increased our understanding of the human body and the various causes of disease. One should always consult a doctor whenever a health issue is involved. And yet, more and more doctors are beginning to appreciate the benefits of what has been called “energy psychology” or “noetic therapy,” such as the healing effects of music, imagery, touch therapy, and prayer. These techniques are nothing new­—Albert Szent-Györgyi, the 1937 Nobel Laureate in medicine, stated that that, “In every culture and in every medical tradition before ours, healing was accomplished by moving energy.”

Ceremonial magicians specialize in moving life-force energy (often called prana, chi, or the “astral light“) to effect change. We do this through the faculties of willpower, visualization, and imagination, aided by the various tools of magical correspondences such as color, astrological attribution, names of power, and so on.

So how does one go about doing this? There are several ways, but here are a few of them.

Israel Regardie taught that the Middle Pillar Exercise of the Golden Dawn was a perfect ritual for healing one’s self as well as others. Based on the Qabalistic Tree of Life, a Middle Pillar Healing Exercise uses the energy centers of the Sephiroth by visualizing them superimposed over the sick person’s body and then imagining a brilliant Divine Light flushing out all signs of illness. Added focus can be given to the Sephirah corresponding to the illness and various colors assigned to the energy centers can also be visualized.


Another method employs the therapeutic qualities of Tiphareth as embodied in the Golden Dawn’s Rose Cross Lamen in order to restore the health and vitality of another person. One version of this technique, called “A Rite of Healing,” can be found on the HOGD blog.


Finally, you could make a talisman for the specific purpose of healing a friend or loved one. A talisman can be made from virtually anything, including a ring, gemstone, crystal, piece of artwork, tarot card (etc.), so long as it is ritually charged after its construction. Our book Tarot Talismans explains how to pick the appropriate cards for a healing, create a ritual tarot spread, invoke specific angels and archangels, and perform a ceremony to restore good health.A talisman could also be constructed in a traditional fashion on paper, parchment, wood, or any other convenient material and painted yellow for Air, the element often associated with health and healing. Divine Names, magical figures, healing affirmations, and the name of the sick person could be added in the flashing or complimentary color of violet. (One favorite affirmation from the Golden Dawn’s toolbox for this purpose is, “The Light hath Healing in its Wings.”)

Today people seek out doctors and nurses rather than shamans and priests for medical advice, ­and rightly so. But healing is best done when body and mind work together. Therefore it is only natural that we as magicians and “energy movers” should be called upon in times of need by friends and family to use our knowledge to “heal the sick and that freely.”

Our thanks to Chic & Tabatha for their guest post! Chic and Tabatha are Chief Adepts of the Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn as re-established by Israel Regardie (www.hermeticgoldendawn.org). The Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn, of which Chic is the Imperator and Tabatha is the Cancellaria, is an international Order with temples in several countries. Tabatha is also the Imperatrix of the Societas Rosicruciana in America (www.sria.org).

Chic and Tabatha share an enthusiasm for Ceremonial Magic and the Hermetic arts. Their books, which are published by Llewellyn, include The Golden Dawn Magical Tarot kit, Secrets of a Golden Dawn Temple, The Essential Golden Dawn, Tarot Talismans, The Babylonian Tarot, and Self-Initiation into the Golden Dawn Tradition. They have also edited and annotated new editions of Israel Regardie’s classics The Middle Pillar, The Tree of Life, A Garden of Pomegranates, and The Philosopher’s Stone.

Visit their author page for more information, including articles and books.

More information on Donald Michael Kraig and how you can help can be found at the Heal Don Kraig Facebook group.

“Ya Gotta Believe!” thunders the preacher as he leans into your face. “Follow the Lord!” intones the priest as he swing his incense censer your way. “Support your Leader!” chant the amplified voices of the cheer-leading Advance Guard over the beating drums. “Defeat the Enemy!” yells the politician. “Buy this Now!” shouts the headline. “Place your Order within the next Ten Minutes for Double the Benefit!” promises the fast-talking sales person. “Do it! Do IT! DO IT!” sings the swaying dance chorus.

These are all examples of mass hypnosis—used just as it was practiced by Hitler, Stalin, and other “popular” (to their targeted audiences) dictators, and as is practiced today by politicians, church leaders, elected officials, and successful entertainers. Hitler even admitted that he learned his technique for dominating mass audiences by studying American advertising and the Catholic Church.

Whether done in a mass rally, a theater, a church, or in front of a TV, radio, newspaper or magazine pages, or even your computer, the techniques are all the same: dominate the senses, limit any competition during a dedicated time span, include a subtle promise of benefit in exchange for your money, devotion, support, or vote—until the next time! There is always the promise of continuity, a time when once again the “magic” will be repeated—the sensory overload that produced degrees of ecstasy ranging from the joy of being together, the security of belonging, the excitement of stirring music and the cheers of the crowd, and knowing you are supporting the “winner” for that is part of the promise.

So, what’s wrong about going to Church on Sunday, or traveling across the country for a concert with your favorite band? What’s wrong with supporting the cause or ideology of a promising politician? What’s wrong with buying any advertised product promising benefits of beauty, health, success, and happiness?

Nothing, or Everything!

The problem, or the question, is the extent to which your decisions to give your money or your support was intellectually rational, or emotionally manipulated. Manipulating emotions is a way to seize control over your body, mind and soul. And in most of the examples given above, the “victim” has voluntarily entered in a “submissive” state in which the senses are exalted or stultified to give the “hypnotist” the opportunity to manipulate emotions and control the conscious mind.

Yeah! It feels good to be excited, to be one with the crowd of excited people, all focused on one thing, person, idea, or sensation. But, it’s like lemmings following their leader over a cliff and into the ocean—in this case, the ocean of the Unconscious above which the conscious mind is dominated and controlled to perpetrate the commands of the leader. It’s the same technique used in involuntary possession during a Voodoo ceremony in which the victim is “ridden like a horse” by a spirit force. The result is the same mass psychosis following the sensory overload of an evangelizing political or religious rally or a days-long musical and entertainment event after which many, feeling victimized, say “I didn’t know what I was doing, or what was happening to me!.

IT DOESN’T HAVE TO BE THAT WAY!

Like everything else, Knowledge Brings Power, and—in this case—Self-Control and Self-Empowerment. What is this knowledge? The more you know about Hypnosis, and in particular, Self-Hypnosis, and the more you understand the Subconscious Mind, the greater your ability to control your own destiny, to always make rational decisions, to defend yourself from Mind Control and Emotional Manipulation by others, and to act consciously and decisively with Knowledge and Understanding, and tap into the same powers of the Mass Hypnotist described in the first paragraph above. But for your benefit, not his; for your success, not his; for your enrichment, not his; and for your empowerment, not theirs!

DON’T GIVE AWAY YOUR POWER for you remain morally responsible for how it’s used.

It’s your right, and it’s your obligation, to understand the nature of your power and to know how to use it and how to defend yourself against abuse and the greed of others. You are a person, not part of a herd; you are the heir to millions of years of evolutionary growth and development; you are a citizen in your own right, not a subject of another; you have the right and the ability to become more than you are and all you can be!

Asserting your Power knowingly is more than self-defense against mass hypnosis and its abusive use by others to benefit from your unwitting “gift” of your power, your wealth, your energy and time. Understanding the Sub-Conscious Mind, and using Self-Hypnosis you become able to improve and empower yourself as you desire. You can efficiently learn new skills, another language, eliminate unhealthy habits, and program yourself to better use of your time and innate powers (including natural strength, psychic powers, and spiritual potentials).

YOU HAVE THE POWER, but you have to learn to use it. The Power is innate: it’s your birthright. But it is not a skill you can beneficially use without knowledge and understanding of the What and How. You don’t need a university degree and arduous training because an innate power is easily self-learned and self-developed into applicable skills. That is the Magick of Books. Everything you need to know is within these two books: Self-Empowerment through Self-Hypnosis and Self-Empowerment and your Sub-conscious Mind. Either book will start you on the journey of growth and development—but like so much in life: Two Together is Better.

With the first, you will learn to Harness the Enormous Potential of the Mind, and with the companion you will understand the Sub-Conscious Mind as your Unlimited Resource for Health, Success, Long Life & Spiritual Attainment.

Editor’s Note: As the magickal community is likely aware, our dear friend and colleague Donald Michael Kraig is currently undergoing some difficult health challenges. While Don works on his recovery, we will be sharing some guest blog posts from friends, authors, and other noted community figures. Please enjoy this guest blog post by Donald Tyson, author of a vast number of books, including The Serpent of Wisdom, The Demonology of King James I, and Necronomicon.

 

There’s been a lot of chatter on social media recently about the use of occult symbols by prominent entertainers at major venues, such as the Superbowl Halftime Show and MTV’s Video Music Awards. Madonna was notorious for using such symbolism. More recently, Lady Gaga has taken away Madonna’s crown and outdone the Material Girl at her own game. Other entertainers, such as Beyoncé, Marilyn Manson, Lil’ Wayne, Ke$ha, Miley Cyrus, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and Eminem, to name but a few of them, have jumped on the bandwagon and incorporated esoteric symbolism into their stage performances.

What does it all mean? Should we be concerned about it? Are these performers members of a secret organization known as the Illuminati, as their critics claim? Are they Satanists? Or are they just attention seekers, using and abusing symbols they don’t understand for their shock value? You may think you’ve read enough on this overworked subject already, but let me give you a few thoughts from the perspective of a magician working in the Western traditions.

The first thing I notice, when I study the photographs and video clips of these popular performers, is what a small set of occult symbols they actually use. There are less than two dozen symbols that appear regularly. This is not very many, considering that Western magic has hundreds of symbols potent with esoteric meaning. The limitation on the number of distinct symbols used is probably due to the need for recognition from fans.

What are the symbols? The most common among them is the hand sign of horns, with the index and baby finger extended; the eye in the triangle; the eye of Odin (one eye covered by a hand), the hand sign of the number 6, with the thumb and index finger making a circle and the other fingers extended; the inverted cross; the so-called Satanic cross or alchemical symbol of sulphur; the inverted and upright pentagrams; the Egyptian eye of Horus; an eye set in the palm of the hand; skull and bones; the goat; the serpent; the lightning bolt; the figure of Baphomet.

If you consider these symbols, you will see that they fall into two categories: symbols of general use in magic, and symbols considered to be chaotic or Satanic. There is no attempt by entertainers to differentiate between these two categories. Many people regard any symbol connected with the occult to be inherently evil. Those of us who study magic know that this is incorrect. Just the opposite is true: no symbol is inherently evil—but the general audience for these entertainers does not know it. To them, occult symbols are mysterious, intriguing, powerful, and dangerous—everything likely to fascinate the mind of a teenager.

Popular singers have turned to occult symbols for shock value because they have exhausted the possibilities of sex. They can go no further with sexual suggestiveness unless they have actual sex on stage. They most look elsewhere for something that will spark controversy, and they find it in the occult. This is unfortunate, since that occult symbols have a more profound meaning that is debased by their exploitation. But no one should assume that the entertainers who abuse these symbols know what they are doing, or that these individuals belong to the Illuminati or any other serious occult current.

Our thanks to Don for his guest post! Visit Don Tyson’s author page for more information, including articles and his books.

More information on Donald Michael Kraig and how you can help can be found at the Heal Don Kraig Facebook group.

“You won’t find a better teacher than Rana George.”

~Mary K. Greer

Rana George is one of the premier practitioners and teachers of Lenormand in the US. Her long-anticipated book is now available.

Rana’s practical approach includes teaching the card meanings and building your skills step-by-step, including looking at the cards in pairs and groups, so that you can master the Grand Tableaux, a spread using all 36 cards that provides tons of practical information about your life. She peppers the book with personal anecdotes that help bring the cards into clear focus and shows how clearly they represent life events. She also includes contextual meanings so that your readings have laser-sharp focus. Whether you want to do a three-card reading for a quick, clear answer or a detailed Grand Tableaux, Rana walks you through, helping you build your confidence along the way.

Here is a story from Rana’s book about the Tree, card 5, which is associated with, among other things, health and longevity (or things taking time).

Rana writes:

The story took place at the end of the summer of 2011. I was out on the town with family, all primped with heels and all. While walking to the restaurant, my hell got stuck in a crack in the asphalt and my body went forward, resulting in a nice clean break across my toes.

After I got home from the ER, one of my boys pulled Rider + Scythe + Tree. Looking at me with wide eyes, he said, “Look, Mom. It says you broke your foot.” Gee thanks!

Rider (movement, feet) + Scythe (cut, break) + Tree (it is going to take time to grow back) = it took six months to heal and still is not back to normal.

Another reading I remember clearly was after I hurt my back cleaning my boy’s closet. I pulled Whip + Tree + Coffin–a chronic problem (Whip) that will keep me flat in bed (Coffin). I didn’t like that. I ended up in bed for three months.

I have a client in the corporate world. During his latest reading, the Tree card sprang up relating to a complicated organizational chart with managers and direct reports. He was experiencing some stress over it, trying to figure out whom to move and where. His dilemma showed up in the cards with Man + Cross + Tree + Bear + Garden. Man (my client), Cross (stressing over and struggling with), Tree (the organization chart), Bear (the managers), Garden (his team).

 

Pisces, The Fish

February 19 to March 20

Modality: Mutable

Element: Water

Ruler: Neptune

Keywords: Creative, romantic, sensitive, self-indulgent, lazy, intuitive, dreamy, artistic, sympathetic

As a Pisces you are flexible and adapting to just about any situation (though this can be both a positive and a negative). Sensitive and compassionate, you take pains to ensure the welfare of others, though sometimes to the detriment to your own welfare. You have great creativity, which can manifest itself in any number of ways, from art to ideas. You inspire others. You are idealistic and trusting, looking for the best in everyone; just be careful not to be taken advantage of.

The home life of a Pisces is often chaotic, filled with unexpected visitors and friends when you wanted peace and quiet, but this is due to the fact that your home is a center of communication. As a parent you may be a tad over-protective, and may need to learn how to step back and let children have their own experiences, however imperfect. Pisces individuals dislike being alone and seek out lasting romantic relationships, though for this reason you may hang on to a relationship longer than necessary. You could do well with a Virgo (your opposite sign) or with one of the other earth signs, Taurus and Capricorn. Fellow water signs Cancer and Scorpio could also make good matches, but life with a Gemini or a Sagittarius could upset the stability you crave. Instead of a large circle of acquaintances, you prefer an intimate circle of close friends, who will stand by you throughout the years.

When it comes to careers, Pisceans aren’t likely to be happy sitting behind a desk, unless you have the opportunity learn and travel. You may need to come to terms with the fact that there is no “perfect” career, and that constantly searching out new opportunities is not the answer. You can have a positive impact on may people in your day to day work, bringing out the best in yourself and your coworkers. As a manager, you may be too trusting, however. You have excellent earning potential, but also a tendency to splurge. Lean to conserve and budget, as these skills will serve you well. You could benefit from an inheritance or other major gift from friends or relatives.

Your creative outlets and artistic pursuits keep you centered, and a hobby could always turn into a career.

For the year ahead:

Affirmation: I rise above petty issues by seeing the big picture.

Jupiter began the year in Cancer, your fifth house, where it will be until July 14. During this time you may notice a host of domestic blessings and happiness. Once Jupiter enters Leo (and your sixth house of work) in mid-July, the focus will shift to your job/career.
Uranus continues its seven-transit of Aries, your second house, where it will be until 2018. This means that there will be a lot of attention paid to your personal finances and your spending habits. Uranus, planet of the unexpected, could trigger both expenses and windfalls when you least expect them.
Saturn spends most of 2013 in Scorpio, your ninth house. This brings attention to travel, learning, and possible career changes and advancement. This is a good time to take a class or learn about a new culture.
Neptune, your planetary ruler, continues its long transit of Pisces (through 2025). This will be a period of regenerating your faith and self-esteem, though you do need to be careful so that you are not taken advantage of.
Pluto spends the entire year in Capricorn, where it will transit until 2024. This emphasis on your eleventh house will make your friends a prominent part of your life during these years. This planetary influence is also positive for creating change.

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Jodi Foster, author of Forgotten Burial.

Hi my name is Jodi Foster; I am a single mom and now an author. The story of my paranormal experience was featured on the SyFy Network show Paranormal Witness (the particular episode is titled, “The Apartment“).

I’m so excited to finally bring my story and spiritual awakening to a greater audience. It’s been quite a journey to get here. While I’m certainly proud to see my book, Forgotten Burial: A Cry for Justice from Beyond the Grave, published, a much greater satisfaction comes with the realization of a promise I made to a lovely young woman—a promise to tell her story.

When I moved into my new apartment, in the year 2000, I had no idea that my family and I were going to be catapulted into the middle of a thirty-year murder mystery, and that our beliefs would change forever.

This spiritual journey began with a haunting. And yeah, I know that sounds crazy, and frankly, at the time, the thought of insanity did cross my mind. However, I soon realized that there was a reason for the haunting.

Shortly after moving into my new apartment, I started to have nightmares of abduction, murder, and a secret burial. At the time, I questioned my sanity and reality. To be quite honest, during that point in my life, I didn’t even believe in the paranormal.

You see, I was raised in a Christian household, and was taught that the devil lurked around every corner. Looking for answers, and with no other place to turn, I went to my Pastor. I remember sitting in my Pastor’s office filled with anxiety, explaining my dilemma to him, when he looked deep into my eyes, and a with stern voice said, “Jodi, what you’re experiencing is of the Devil. He is trying to steer you away from God.”

Darn it, I knew that was going to be his answer, but the knowingness in the pit of my stomach told me that somehow it wasn’t going to be that simple. I knew that there had to be more to spirituality, and so my spiritual search began.

I read, talked and prayed, and was given this answer: There is more to life, death, and reality. This is just the beginning; we are here to help each other find our way back home. Back to God, Source, Higher Power. And sometimes finding our way back home starts with a haunting.

I am still amazed at how many people this story has touched. It is a multi-layered, continual spiritual journey, and much more than a simple ghost story. Please join me on that discovery and know that you are not alone.

I am currently working on two other books, It’s a Matter of Perception (a follow-up to Forgotten Burial) and Haunted Chico: Mysteries, Folklore, and Rumors.

I’d love to hear from you, about your spiritual journey.

Blessings, Love, and Light to you on your spiritual journey.

Our thanks to Jodi for her guest post! For more from Jodi Foster, read her article “Embracing Spiritual Gifts and the Mystery of the Paranormal.”

Using the concept of Houses from an astrological chart for not only its inspiration but also its shape and content, this is a fun spread to use on birthdays or at other milestone events. It is a simple one to interpret, as you simply go around the circle reading each card separately. Each position represents an astrological “house.” Each house governs an area of a person’s life. You can add depth to the reading by comparing houses that have cards sharing the same suit or number.

1. First House: Your self-image, personality, ambition, drives, and body.

2. Second House: Your value systems, material possession, and financial attitudes.

3. Third House: The way you communicate, think, and learn; siblings and neighbors.

4. Fourth House: Your mother and father, your roots, your domestic life and family.

5. Fifth House: Creativity, affairs of the heart, fun, hobbies, social life, and children

6. Sixth House: Your job, responsibilities, work habits and relationship, and health

7. Seventh House: Business and romantic relationships; how you interact with people.

8. Eighth House: Jointly controlled money and assets, taxes, inheritances, obligations.

9. Ninth House: Spirituality, religion, morals; higher education; long distance travel.

10. Tenth House: Your public image, and career; relationships with authority figures.

11. Eleventh House: Friendships; memberships in groups; hopes, goals, and wishes

12. Twelfth House: Your inner self, dreams, secrets, the past; subconscious; karma.