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Color is a form of energy that can be broken down by individual vibrations. We use colors in our homes and at work to affect moods. The right colors can calm, energize, or even romanticize a setting. Colors promote many desired states of being. Anyone using color is tuning in to the vibration frequency of that particular color. Some psychics have the skills and training to read your aura; they can literally see the energy radiating out from your body.

 Other colors not in the spectrum or chakra exist in crystals and stones, and are significant in their own right: brown, gray, black, white, silver, and gold.

I haven’t used store-bought cleansers since the year 2004 when a health challenge awakened me to the importance of ridding my environment of any toxins or potentially harmful chemicals. I think it is a very good idea for all of us to consider as our health is precious. I know this made a difference for me and my loved ones. And the smell of a home freshly cleaned with lemons and scentful natural oils feels wonderful. This magical floor wash rids your home of negative and unhealthy energy and will shift things to the positive. The scent alone is enchanted.

Gather the following: 

Sweetgrass: Native Americans have burned braided sheaves of sweetgrass for centuries. It is so scentful, it can also be wafted around as a wand to clear energy without lighting it. Native folks also brew a tea from it to use as an astringent body and hair rinse; you can do this by steeping a tablespoon of the dried chopped sweetgrass for five minutes in a standard teakettle or four cups of boiling water. .It is also used as an adornment woven into braids or as a crown. They go by the philosophy that “strong hair means a strong mind.”  This power herb cleanses both body, soul and your home but the highest use is for rituals when you burn it to call forth the ancestors and send away anything unwanted.

Copal: Mexican and South American tribal healers and modern shamans gather this tree resin to employ as ceremonial incense throughout the year. You will still smell the sweetly pungent smoke of copal on Day of the Dead as it helps us connect with our ancestors and loved ones who passed to the other side.  While burning it is part of the ritual, it is also believed by shamans and healers to help tap into the spiritual realm. Copal also has the power to bring about total relaxation.

I'm preparing to receive my Reiki II attunement, and I've been thinking a lot lately about anger.

There are countless things in my life that make me angry right now. My kids drive me up the wall. My husband leaves messes in the kitchen. I don't particularly like my day job, but I haven't yet figured out how to quit it and still pay the mortgage. My back hurts a lot. Also, we're in the middle of a late capitalist apocalypse.

The very best way to prepare for this brand new year is an energetic decluttering. In order to do any ritual work, you must clear the clutter that can create blocks. Banish the old, bad energy from your house by following this spell. Make a tea from one part dried lavender and one part dried mint. Draw fresh water and boil, and then steep a teaspoon of each herb for five minutes. Once it cools, dip your finger in the tea and sprinkle it throughout your home. If you feel the need to clear out any remaining cloud of psychic clutter, add diluted lavender mint tea water to your cleanser when you wash floors or surfaces. Make your energy-clearing tea by bringing 4 cups of water to a full rolling boil; remove from heat and add in 4 sprigs of fresh lavender and 4 sprigs of fresh mint. If it is winter and there is no access to the fresh herbs, one tablespoon each of dried lavender and dried mint will do nicely. Steep the herbal tea for at least 4 minutes and as long as ten minutes if there is a lot of energetic clutter. The scent of calm and clarity will lift the spirits of all who enter your space. The purpose of incense is to release energy into the ritual space, not to create billows of smoke that can cause respiratory problems in the circle. If you or someone else finds incense smoke irritating or worrisome, consider using another symbol of air instead, such as potpourri, fresh flowers, feathers, or a fan.

We are perfectly free to think of our everyday life as mundane and label only those moments in which we are doing something out of the ordinary as magical, but that would be based on an illusion. I call it "the illusion of mundane." It's quite a pervasive illusion in our current cultural climate, and it's one that we're all bound to be seduced by now and again (like when we're washing the dishes or standing in line at the DMV), but it's still an illusion. In truth, there is no such thing as mundane: this life experience is completely and utterly wondrous. What's more, it's mysterious, magical, magnificent, astonishing, and transcendent. Yes, we will forget that sometimes, but that doesn't mean that it's not always true.

In essence, this is the heart of my spiritual path: to recognize the magic in everything and to express and channel the power contained within this recognition as much as possible, all the time. This means that not just our obvious magical workings, but also everything we do - no matter how habitual or commonplace - is an opportunity to celebrate the Great Holy Mystery, to express our power to create positive change, and to honor the enchantment in each moment and in everything.