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As a kitchen witch and gardening enthusiast, I am always seeking to learn more about the power of herbs, plants, roots and flowers can be used in the craft. Grow your wealth, literally with these handy herbs:

Allspice berries bring good luck; gather 7 berries and place in a small pouch to carry in your pocket or purse for a week, On the 7^th day, burn them with cinnamon incense while making your wish for whatever you want.

Finally, found a peaceful moment to take time to myself and write. I often push aside these moments to get other things done that seem more important. I teach, lecture, mentor and suggest the importance of self care, but so often neglect to take that time for myself.

I envy a friend of mine who takes time every morning to talk to her fairies and to sit and pray, send Reiki, and whatever else she needs to do to get her day started and centered. 

Welcome to 2020 + the first Full Moon of the year. This is one of my first paintings of 2020 inspired by intuitively chosen words from my favorite book. I'm painting bigger now (9x10") but on the same Montreal-made paper. May the colors, themes and words brighten your day and provide you with insight, good luck and messages to guide you in the coming year.

The Future (pictured)
Inspired by:
"The Night Speaks" by Steven Forrest.

About Kathy Crabbe
Kathy Crabbe has been an artist forever and a soul reader since awakening her intuitive gifts at age forty after five years painting with her non dominant left hand. This awakened her intuition in a big way. In 2008 she created a Lefty Oracle deck and started giving intuitive soul readings. Her second deck, The Elfin Ally Oracle was published in 2019 and a third deck is planned for release in Spring, 2020. Kathy lives in sunny Southern California with her two dogs and architect husband in an adobe style home they built themselves.

Sparkly Blessings!
Kathy Crabbe
Artist, Soul Reader, Astrologer
p.s. Check back at the New Moon for my usual 3 card oracle spread.

For a long time, I wondered what on Earth possessed the Minoans to paint women as white (not Caucasian-toned, but the color of a sheet of paper) and men as dark-dark red. After all, DNA evidence shows that, like their ancestors in Neolithic Anatolia, the Minoans all had skin in various shades of brown. So why the weirdness in the art, like the Bull Leaper fresco above?

Then I began to learn about Mediterranean folk dance. Dance ethnography isn't a subject I ever really thought about before, to be honest. Then a talented dance ethnographer began to share her insights with us, and a lot of things began to make sense. (Check out her book The Ancient and Martial Dances for some fascinating info.)

I don't normally watch much television, but a while back I saw three shows at a friend's house. What dismayed me so much was not to hear dicks mentioned on every single one of them—I'm gay, I enjoy talking about dicks—but to hear how they were mentioned.

Not once were dicks mentioned as a part of the body. In every single instance, they were used as metaphors. In every single instance, they were used as a metaphor for something bad.

Don't be a dick. Translation: Don't be a jerk.

Dick-measuring contest.Translation: Being needlessly competitive.

Dick-waving.Translation: Pulling rank to get what you want.

Now, using television as a cultural barometer is a fraught and risky enterprise. But all of these metaphors are in general, real-world use, and to my gay, pagan ear they suggest a culture that finds maleness problematic.

And that really is a problem.

Lavender is beloved and for good reason; it is one of the best and most commonly used "adaptogenss" that appears to adapt to any mood. An instant refresher, the sweetly serene and floral aroma is relaxing and calming. Applied topically, lavender oil is excellent for mental concentration, reducing stress tension, calming upset and alleviating insomnia. 

 From the Breath to Your Brain:

The Old Norse idiom for “celebrate Yule” means literally “to drink Yule.”

Where did you drink Yule this year?

To the ancestors, Yule was synonymous with, and unthinkable without, the special Yule ale that was brewed in quantity for the great Midwinter feasting each year. Most people drank beer throughout the year, but the Yule ale was always distinctive from the day-to-day brew, specially rich, dark, and high in alcohol. Medieval landowners were required by law to brew enough Yule ale to keep their families and retainers well-drunk for the entire Thirteen Days, and woe to the stingy farmer who tried to short his people of their Yuletide due.