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We live in the age of anxiety. There is so much stress, bad news and soul-crushing chaos; it is hard to know how to get through each day. But here’s the thing; ancient wisdom is the best way to approach to deal with modern troubles. Try the following tried and true rite.
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Our minds are our most powerful tool. It is with directed thought, your intention that you create enchantment and create outcomes in your spellwork. By this same token, the consciousness management that is at the core of meditation is the connecting thread in body, mind and spirit wellness. I think of meditation as “mental magic” and you can and should harness the power of your brain to deal with stress and difficulty and achieve a higher state of awareness. Many of us start our day with some kind of grounding practice and I begin with an intention-setting meditation immediately upon rising. Cultivating a calm inner state is instrumental to realizing your deepest goals and intentions. By starting your day grounded and centered, you'll experience more balance and flow throughout your day and into each evening. The practice of meditation helps you raise your energy and self-awareness. By expanding your consciousness, you create a clear, inner space that allows you to move towards the center of your creations. It's from this place of grounded awareness that you'll really focus on what's most important to you. Through guided meditations designed to help you relax and center, you'll have an opportunity to hone in and refine your inner vision |
Nothing is more relaxing than a massage and it is so good for you- healing and energizing, to be sure.Massage bars should be look, smell and feel yummy, lush and soothing to the skin. Cocoa butter is beloved for the delicious chocolate sweet scent. I also recommend shea butter, grapeseed oil or mango butter as other options for they are also delightfully sumptuous.
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If you suffer from stress-induced symptoms, try these calming crystals: Lapis lazuli has been used to treat headaches for millennia. My dear friend Abby suffers from migraines and cluster headaches. I gave Abby some earrings with lovely blue lapis settings to help her with this chronic condition, and she has reported great success. These headaches can have many causes and triggers; my beloved amber essence oil was one until we figured that out! The main causes are stress, anxiety, and various food triggers. Oddly enough, amber in crystal form alleviated Abby’s heinous headaches, seemingly absorbing the negative energy. Amethyst and turquoise are also good for this. Several stones are good for stomach illness; citrine and moonstone create calm. There is certainly no shortage of stress out there in the world so do yourself a favor and pick up these soothing stones to have at the ready. These crystals are a vital part of your sacred self-care.
When you feel pain somewhere in your body, it is a small voice that needs to be listened to. It could be old energy that needs to be released or a blockage or imbalance. I was in a hit-and-run auto accident where I was hit by a drunk driver who plowed through a red light and totaled my car, and very nearly me. As I hit the brake, my foot and ankle were shattered, rather like a porcelain teacup thrown with great force. The doctors wanted to amputate my leg, but I managed to talk them out of it. I had to learn to walk again, but I can walk and even dance and run again after lots of physical therapy and healing. But nowadays whenever I hit the brake too hard, I feel pain because my body remembers. The tissue and bones old the memory imprint of that awful day and the terrible trauma.
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Continuing with my first post’s examination of the significance of the hearth in a home, we’ll look at the lore regarding the healing and protective powers of the hearth, its fire, and an important hearth implement, the chimney hook. Unless cited otherwise, the information below comes from Claude Lecouteux’s excellent book on household lore, The Tradition of Household Spirits.
Before we can appreciate ancient and medieval European traditions of healing, it’s important to understand what ancient and medieval Europeans believed about the nature of illness. In Witchcraft and Magic in Europe: the Middle Ages, it’s stated that:
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Spirituality, an intimate relationship with the spirits; a love of life and respect for all its sacred forms; the use of practical magick and powerful prayer; and the holiness of the Earth, are all the fuel and form of my life and everything that flows out from it. It has been this way as far back as I can remember in my 53 years of life, and it is the lens through which I see my life now, and in the unfolding future.
I am a Traditional Witch, conjure-man and faery seer. I am a well-travelled lecturer and author of several books on those topics, and creator of a multi-year apprenticeship program aimed at core spirituality, mystical living, eco-spirituality, and the practice of real magick for real change; or, as I call it, “Magick with Muscle”. The intense soulfulness of my message is a direct result of being born into and growing up in Appalachian and Southern culture that was highly influenced by a romance of the land, the legacy of the Civil War and the African slave-trade, and the looming presence of racism and poverty. I was born with the veil (the second sight) into a family where the folk lore and customs of this gift were still alive in both my family and community culture. These elements made the living presence of Spirit; the spirits; and the powers of: prayer, spirit-doctoring, faith-healing, charms and spells, and other forms of "magick", very real and very necessary in a world with a lot of injustice and inequity.
