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callistolivia · 3 years ago

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Is there any divinatory Practice / spiritual communication that originated in Western Europe? I've heard runes Are historically originat from Roman occupation. And the use of runes Have no historical basis as a tool of divination. Don't want to steal anybody's culture but need a way to do Deviation / spiritual work with out cultural appropriation. Any ideas would be helpful and I would prefer something old as apposed to just make your own with no roots to anything.

I'm assuming this is in response to the article I shared on tarot, so here's a couple things I want to clear up,

the point of that article wasn't to say "no, you can't use tarot" nor was it a clear "yes"; the main point of the article was acknowledging that profiting off tarot, particularly when you're someone who picked it up because you thought it was cool or trendy to do so, may be unethical as it takes away from/harms a particular group of that ethnicity who has cultural ties to the practice. I also wanted to address, I think in general, that there are a lot of spiritual practices adopted by people not of that culture who put in minimal effort to really understand its background and the ancestral ties to them. I personally believe there is no place for ignorance when learning spirituality (or I should say particular practices and ancient teachings), you have to be open and welcoming to the full history to actually have a good grasp on a particular practice. Cultural appropriation isn't necessarily about "stealing" culture, as we as humans have been borrowing each other's culture since the beginning of time. It isn't cultural appropriation to eat sushi in America just because sushi is Japanese cuisine. Cultural appropriation is when people outside that culture decide when something is suddenly appropriate to be practiced meanwhile all the time leading up to that point or even thereafter, the people of that particular culture are being harmed for practicing THEIR culture. So that's the essential pain that comes from the women discussing tarot in that article, and honestly I hate bringing this up again because a lot of people got really pissed at me for sharing that article claiming I said a bunch of stuff I didn't say, but there is a reason why there's such mixed opinions coming from that community. There's a reason why huge portions of that community have completely rejected or disassociated themselves from tarot and its past and it's because of the way people outside their culture, particularly white people, harmed them and continue to harm them for practicing it (among other cultural practices, of course). It's so easy for us 21st century westernized people to look at tarot, for example, and just see it as a game. We are very comfortable in our freedom, and that's great, but remembering what got us to that point is also very important. You can use this entire framework with any spiritual practice you may delve into; just understanding its history and listening to people who have incorporated it into their culture for generations. So if you were a tarot user, read that article, and thought it was the authority to tell you to stop, it wasn't. You should continue to do spiritual practices that make you feel empowered and connected. However, if you feel absolutely compelled to stop for your own personal moral and ethical reasons, that's perfectly fine too. There's no shame at all in extending deep respect to people who you don't know personally.

If you want something really ancient and you happen to have the privilege of looking into your family tree, there were (and still are) several indigenous groups all over western Europe. You may have ancestral links to one of these groups and you can research into their cultural and spiritual practices. This may be somewhat difficult to uncover and link to yourself though, as these groups were targeted, pushed out of their land, or forcibly converted to Christianity. Runes were used long before Romans invaded Northern Europe by different tribes (though the runes we know quite well today are an evolution of those roots) so I wouldn't write off rune work. And I know you don't view runes as a form of divination, but the point of divination is to gain a deeper understanding of something (e.i you, God, the world) and one of the many ways some of these Northern and Western European groups would feel connected spiritually was through rune work (particularly carving runes into divination tools, bones, etc.) I don't specialize in runes, but I definitely recommend looking into books or people who teach rune magic (if it interests you, of course) because Wikipedia isn't going to give you good grasp on the history or proper use. Anything esoteric requires digging.

-Many cultures around the world, including parts of Western Europe, believe in fae and many people presently incorporate this belief as a part of divination (as it counts as calling upon some other being to give you knowledge, technically). You could look into fae magick.

-The Oracle of Delphi; the Pythia; priestesses of ancient Greece who would essentially get high off of volcanic fumes and do trance work. I'm not condoning drugs or altered mind states at all, but this is one example of many where cultures will use something to put themselves into an altered state to perceive the world differently. You definitely don't need drugs to do this either, breath work can put you into altered states too.

-I don't know much about this one either, but weather watching is also considered a form of divination.

-I know you want ancient over new, and technically this is ancient, but dream work/shifting. Like literally there's an entire community on Tik Tok doing that shit and probably don't realize the spiritual element to being in control of your dreams. To add onto this as well, you can develop your own symbol system (and this is what a lot of psychics do to sharpen their understanding of psychic visions). Symbol systems are literally anything from numbers to words to symbols to objects, literally anything, that represent something specific to you so that when they appear to you, you know what they symbolize. To give an example, a lot of psychics will incorporate numbers having specific meanings in their symbol systems. A number can represent a binary answer, a birth date, a month, heck even a zodiac sign. A symbol system enhances your understanding of information being presented to you; in a lot of ways its similar to tarot or astrology, but it's a system created in your mind.

-Not specifically western European, but Psalm and Angel magick/divination is considered an open practice. I recommend Ariel Gatoga on youtube for more information on this.

Finally once again, I know you prefer something ancient or old over new and created, but don't underestimate your abilities to be connected spiritually without well known tools. That umbilical cord is so strong in us as children, before even understanding or really knowing about divination tools; we let the wind hold our hand, stare deeply into the flame of candles, collect things outside and make pretend potions and spells, believe every creak in our houses are a spirit, pick petals off a flower for a "they love me, they love me not," and make wishes on shooting stars. Divination is innate; our urge to understand beyond. You don't necessarily need ancient tools, though the tools make us feel connected to everyone who gathered knowledge before us.

I hope this was helpful in anyway!

#ask #divination

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femmeconduit · 4 years ago

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Forecast for 2021

Note: This is a tarot and energy reading to forecast 2021 and should be considered a general reading, where it may not resonate for every individual. I’m a clairvoyant who woke up this morning with a weight like, “BING! Time to read!” and it knocked me on my ass so here I am, hoping the message will get to the person(s) it’s intended for. I don’t usually share collective messages on here because I’ve spent most of 2020 on my solo shadow work, but this message felt important so here goes.

Placing a cut for length (it’s nearly 2k overall):

Overall Vibe for 2021: Seven of Pentacles, Four of Wands

This brings me some relief as a reader because every New Year there’s usually a swell of jumping in with both feet and it can be a bit reckless. We don’t have that here. What we have for 2021 is cautious optimism, a sense of pause, to wait and see whether all the effort and emotional purging, all the hard work we put into 2020 is going to pay off this year.

The outcome of whether all the 2020 work is truly going to pay off is not clear to me right now. The energies are anxious on January 1st (at the time of this forecast), but one thread I’m picking up on is a sense of hope that all of the work we’ve done on ourselves in 2020 wasn’t for nothing--especially when it comes to connecting with others we love. Family, friends, and romantic partners who weathered through the worst of 2020 and bared their true selves together do show a strengthening of bonds in 2021. That will make the cautious optimism of waiting for the payoff easier to weather.

Overall, there isn't a blind expectation that everything is going to fall into place and that’s refreshing. I think it’s fair to say many of us had that in January of 2020, but much has changed and in 2021 many have moved away from that outlook. The hope for prosperity hasn’t fully diminished, but it’s more reserved and held closer to the chest than before. The strongest vibe is definitely, “We’ll wait and see” without fully committing to a view. It feels similarly to how sports fans feel at the beginning of a season when no games have been played.

Love in 2021: Four of Swords

Whoa! This is definitely not the hot & spicy vibes I’ve seen in other forecasts and I’m here quirking my eyebrow like, “ho hoo hooooo REALLY NOW?!?!” I resisted the urge to pull clarifiers since this is a collective reading. In a private reading, I would have jumped in this one. Anyways...

This is a sign that romantic standards have gone way up. Standards of lasting connection, what people are willing to put up with when forming partnerships, have raised the bar. And it feels like an ironclad “you’re in or you’re out” energy like someone would sooner slam the door than forgive and give second and third chances. I hear, “SHAPE UP!”

When the pandemic is over and there are more opportunities to date in-person, many will be going in with their guard up and their list of must-haves. Don’t get me wrong; connections can be made in the heat of finally having human contact again, but the choice of whether to be exclusive and commit will have a higher threshold to meet. New partnerships will form only after both parties are sure the other can weather the kind of storms we saw in 2020 and I don’t feel those standards slipping just because someone may feel lonely.

On a related note, I sense a lot of pre-occupation over physical safety being one of the forces behind the heightened standards. What if that hot stranger never wore the mask over their nose in 2020? It sounds a little silly but some of those thoughts will be floating around up there on the first date. The pandemic caused a lot of isolation where one may be stuck with a partner in limited space for a really long time. For 2021, people will want to make sure that the person that they're attaching to is someone who is going to truly be there in all of the ways that are needed and safe (hence the high standards).

I do feel a strong emotional yearning for love and connection (especially for singles), but it doesn’t feel stronger than the need to protect oneself. Even when the bars are open, some will be less willing to take the risks they may have taken in 2018/2019. I’m not picking up this risk in a physical sense like STIs, but more in the head & heart. Emotional risks will be considered more heavily when dating, especially for those who may have experienced a brutal wake-up call in their previous relationships in 2020. The partnered people who are still in unwanted relationships in 2021 will use that heightened standard energy to break things off, especially if the dating pool looks safer later in the year and they see the high standards paying off for their single friends.

Economy/Career in 2021: Page of Swords

This energy feels FRESH and forward-moving and I’m loving it. I see a lot of new business start-ups, especially home-based businesses that operate exclusively online. It feels like a rebirth of the cottage industry (any fellow historians who’ve studied labor history may be getting really excited about how this may impact other areas).

I see a yearning to branch out and make one’s mark, but it's not coming from a place of emotional fulfillment or sense of higher purpose. It’s coming from a place of, “This is what I need to protect my family and this is what I need to get what I want.” Feels heavy and I see earth and fire sign placements. Side hustles will grow to meet this energy, especially for those who may have endured a lot of economic challenges in 2020. The fear of potential loss in 2021 is going to fuel some of this, as many workers no longer feel protected and supported by their employers. Showing true colors in 2020 will have 2021 consequences. A lot of self-centering, self-protection energy means branching out to new jobs, new business, and new ways of earning (such as passive income).

Related to these changes, there will be new attempts to meet the growing demands of working from home. Will they all be successful? With the Page energy, I don’t think so. Some of this will be like throwing spaghetti and seeing what sticks and I feel embarrassed with this energy. Maybe someone comes out with an app that looks really tacky and fumbles hard. However, with the forward moving energy coming largely from the bottom in a decentralized way, I think there will be some successes. The ones who have been overburdened by that unfulfilling corporate job may just snap and run with that big idea they’ve been ruminating on all year in 2020. And with the Page, they’ll learn as they go along because they don't want to wait anymore.

What to Watch Out For in 2021: 10 of Wands

Be careful not to take on too much at once. All the forward movement energy, especially early in the year, will increase the risk of overburdening people who don’t keep their wants and needs in balance. There hasn’t been enough rest, reflection, or recovery on the collective level so the chances of frying oneself are high. I see a blonde woman with dry hair having an outburst in a public place (looks like a Target) and pulling her hair out with crazy eyes. She’s snapped, not because she’s deranged, but because she hit her breaking point and didn’t maintain the tools to decompress that shit. Yikes.

With 2020’s emotional and psychological challenges, many will want to fire off with all engines in 2021, but I wouldn’t recommend that with this Ten of Wands. It feels like “I did too much, I thought I could handle it,” exhaustion when one bites off more than they could chew. It’s important to stress that there’s no way one can undo all of 2020’s damage in a couple months in 2021 based on what I’m feeling with this card. Ten of Wands can be emotionally unstable to the point of causing problems with one’s physical health. Energy-sensitive people especially vulnerable here if they miscalculate how much they can handle early in the year. Maintaining balance within the self (eating healthy, self-care, etc.) is everything while one works on moving forward. You don’t have to stay still and do nothing, but you can take and should remember to eat, you know?

What We Have to Look Forward to in 2021: Queen of Pentacles (Reversed)

No surprises here: a reframing of our collective beliefs about money. The value of money, how we use money, how we approach money is going to change in 2021. It’s coming through as a positive because it’s a lesson learned. I’m seeing a lot of headlines about funding and law enforcement flashing. Queen of Pentacles in Reverse can come through as a negative card, but in this forecast it’s an overall lack of trust that drives the forces of positive change. Collectively, there is an understanding that the support structures we need--especially economically--don't exist, at least not in the way we need them to. And it's going to force us to reframe and make adjustments to our economic structure, even if it’s something small like opening up a high-interest savings account.

On a small scale, this energy will change how we save money and build it. Given the economic forecast, I see this impacting small businesses and small investors looking to increase their revenue streams. The sense of distrust where money is concerned will compel us to innovate and make smarter decisions than we made in 2020. Saving money keeps getting repeated.

On a large scale, this energy may impact beliefs and access related to cryptocurrency and affect how tax dollars are allocated, with more oversight being demanded. Given the civil unrest, the government’s response, and how COVID relief was handled, I’m not surprised to feel collective anger where the “people’s money” is involved. It’s still there in 2021 and is aimed at the piggy bank.

What We are to Remember from 2020: King of Wands (Reversed)

Beautiful energy for a reversal. This card calls us to remember what we were able to accomplish when we worked together in 2020. The year was full of challenges and obstacles, and while we haven't overcome all of them, there were significant developments and innovation in the areas of medicine, telework, distance education, food service, etc.--all to meet the demands the pandemic created. Many of these changes occurred as a result of collaborative efforts to find solutions and significantly, much of that collaboration occurred remotely. It will continue to be a sorely needed requirement, as I see many more opportunities to work together to find solutions to problems in 2021.

The good news in this appears to be that the 2020 trial-and-error in the realm of collaboration will pay off in 2021. I’m seeing a tense but efficient board room meeting where people are quick to throw out stupid ideas and my chest is getting lighter seeing it. If an option didn’t work well in 2020, it looks like we won’t even consider it as an option in 2021. Sounds like a timesaver to me!

That’s all I have for now. Hope you all stay safe and cautiously optimistic in the new year.

#helen's musings #tarot reading #energy reading #2021 forecast #femmeconduit

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blondepomeranian · 6 years ago

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so, hear me out...

I’m not wholly convinced the figure at the end of the teaser trailer is Solas.

In fact, I’m almost convinced that it’s definitely not Solas.

(That said, I’m a baby at persuasive meta, so believe what you will, but here’s my reasoning.)

First, let’s get the purely aesthetic reasons out of the way.

Yes, the figure does seem to have a mage staff, the tell-tale fur, and appear to be bald. But that does not an egg make. What throws me most are the skin tones, the pattern on the outfit, and the staff.

So what the fuck is the white part on the head? At first glance it looks like a helmet, similar to the one the ‘canonical’ image of the inquisitor wears, minus the nose piece (which could be omitted at the right angle). If we are assuming the white part of the head is depicting a helmet, that does not match with Solas’ typical presentation (excepting Halamshiral but that was pure petty spite) nor does it fit with the fact that the figure is presented as a mage (staff) when mages typically wear crowls, hoods, or other headgear that is not a helmet. IF it is believed to be a helmet and the darker skin (inconsistent with Solas’ white-washed complexion) beneath it to be, well, just that, it does not explain necessarily why the hands are of a similar color besides ??gloves??gauntlets??. Artistically speaking, I think it was important to have the hands stand out and so to do those with a darker color given the bg may not have had as much of an impact, so I’m willing to give those an artistic pass, but the white of the helmet I’m not so sure on. If it is a helmet, it clashes not only with presenting as a mage but also what Dalish elf wears a helmet?? An alienage/tevinter/former slave elf, on the other hand... But if it’s not a helmet, then is it... hair? fenris? A representation of baldness in that manner would not be consistent with other representations, like that of the sentinels (which I have a theory that Solas modeled his hobo/Inquisition-appearance after, but that’s another post). For now, I’m gonna give a big ol’ IDK to what it is exactly, except to say that I don’t think it lends credence to the figure being Solas. If anything, its vagueness casts more doubt, and scatters credence to other theories, hence this post.

The pattern on the outfit: from the moment I saw it something pinged it as familiar. I cannot for the life of me find exactly what I’m looking for, but the patterns that come to mind are, particularly,

those of grey warden armor (mage armor close up, seen here). Although I will admit that could be a total crapshoot, as the style in the fresco gives more a noble, cloak like appearance while that is very much not the typical style of more functional grey warden armor. Still, there is no consistency with any of Solas’ attire except perhaps in the sleeve over the bicep (before it’s weirdly cut off by an armlet??) if compared to his outfit from the romanced tarot card. But I’m really just grasping at straws here to find anything that matches.

Lastly, the staff held there is, imo, a glaring error that that figure is probably not the Egg. While we do not see him wield a staff in Trespasser, the only time we see him canonically wield a staff (uninfluenced by equipment) is in his original (unromanced) tarot card, in which I will 100% admit that staff looks exactly the same as the one in the trailer. HOWEVER, given his duplicity and the artistic nature of tarot cards, I’m hedging my bets that that staff was used to [mis]guide the player into Solas’ leaning towards the Elven hobo Mage image, and hence why I’m more or less brushing it aside. Besides, the other time we see him wield an uninfluenced staff is in the journey to Skyhold, where he is shown to hold a very specific kind of staff that I am currently blanking on, but

that. Which, if anything, appears to be Tevene in origin, based on the heavy metallics and the dual dragon iconography. Either that, or it’s Elvhen sentinel, though in-game skins don’t entirely support it but the general style isn’t a far jump. And even if I’m wrong in what it appears to be, what I’m getting at is IT SURE AIN’T DALISH, which is entirely the style of the staff held by the figure. If anything it looks suspiciously like the staff a Dalish Keeper would typically wield...

Which brings me to my next point of contention...

The tree the figure stands in front of, in a protective stance. And not just any tree, a Vhenadahl, by the looks of it. The symbol of the [Dalish] people. Now I’m not saying Solas isn’t, in a twisted way, trying to protect his people (the Elvhen), but he’s outright stated how he’s willing to sacrifice the Dalish in order to bring back the Elvhen, so the imagery here would be a complete mismatch. (But you know what wouldn’t be? An alienage/tevinter/former slave elf...) And given that he’s doing so in opposition to the rendering of the Dread Wolf, it portrays a very Dalish image--unwilling to submit, even when everything you know and love is nearly lost, against the very villain of the Dalish folklore. IIRC, the imagery shown in places like the Temple of Mythal and other ruins from the time of the Elvhen always seem to have more of a grandeur with their warriors in aggressing stances, not the a ragged, last-stand, protective kind that threads through Dalish history (but that could be because I’m leaning heavily on (foggy memories of) the sentinel imagery from the temple of Mythal and in trespasser).

As for the overall composition of the piece...

I went to school for a degree in English and Psychology; I’m no art historian or critic. My weaknesses with his piece are that while I’m vaguely familiar with the symbolism of the circles behind heads and understand the general connotations behind certain colors, I have to say the pale red behind the figure leaves me a bit stymied. The only other instance of this in my tarot/fresco scan is in Blackwall’s original picture, which could suggest power, strength, conflict, blood, or duplicity. These could thematically fit with Solas as the Dread Wolf, but given the contradictions above and my bumbling guesses with what it’s supposed to represent at all, it doesn’t end up warranting much of a claim. There is also, of course, the obvious in this picture that it could be something to do with red lyrium, but I personally don’t have enough information to make any kind of real stab at incorporating that into a guess.

So anyway, leaving the details where they are, we see a mage-ly figure in front of a burnt tree standing up to a recoiling or circling Dread Wolf. The figure is clearly leaning forward, perhaps mid-step forward, while the Dread Wolf appears to be backing away or at least keeping an even distance from the figure (at least for the moment) as they encroach. Given Bioware’s set up for Solas/Fen’Harel to become the (currently known) villain of DA4, this figure opposite the Dread Wolf is set up in the composition as the protagonist of this piece. Who they are, exactly, is unknown for the moment, but I believe it is safe to say, at least, who they are not: Solas.

(please interact with this--I’d love to hear input or other opinions but pleeeease be civil and courteous. As said earlier, I am still a baby in terms of dragon age lore and meta.)

#dragon age 4 #dragon age 4 speculation #meta #solas #the dread wolf rises #in case you can't tell I have a strong Feeling on who-ish the figure is #but not an Opinion as strong as 'Not Solas'

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arcanalogue · 6 years ago

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I recent got out of a relationship that was... toxic and immature at best. I have a history of trauma and abusive relationships starting from childhood. And i finally wanna break the cycle. Where do i go from here? How can i finally take care of myself, and take the ownership of my life that has been long overdue? I do not know how to feel love for myself.

Hello, Querent. I’m squeezing in some time amidst my Patreon readings because this question is perpetually on my mind as well, and it’s one I’m sure many readers are searching for their own answers to.

I could fill a book with what I think on the subject (though hopefully I never will). That’s why it’s great to have cards to refer to in these cases – the wisdom comes from somewhere else. And while we’ll never know exactly where, it’s still somehow a more credible source than those around us who can relate and even sympathize, but are up to their neck in a different version of the same story.

A question that haunts abuse survivors – regardless of how recent or distant their experience was – is this: Will there be a turning point in my life, after which the past will officially be safely in the past, making way for a newer, wiser, more capable version of myself to discover what they truly want, and chase after it? Or is this wounded, half-formed version all I’m going to have to work with, for better or worse, for the rest of my life?

I believe we ask that question because of the enduring presence of hope in our lives: whenever we feel glimmers of it, we want to set a practical limit on our expectations. What is it safe and realistic to hope for? Tough question, since many of our hopes lead back to the very conditions that put someone else in charge of our fate. Who/what can we really trust, especially when we’re not sure we can trust ourselves?

The cards presented here offer guidance, not answers. The Ace of Swords appears is of central importance, with cards on either side framing it with questions, heralding its arrival.

The Queen of Coins wants us to know that we can work our way toward – or away from – anything we set our minds to, transforming ourselves to adapt to our surroundings, and vice versa. But can we trust her, knowing that at one point this maxim was applied toward survival in relationships we wish we’d backed out of sooner?

Instead of judging your potential based on past outcomes, look instead at the qualities you discovered in yourself that transcend any one relationship. Are you loyal, are you ambitious, do you believe you can improve the lives of others less fortunate? Are you capable in an emergency? Are you practical when it comes getting important shit done and keeping up pretenses of normalcy?

These are impressive qualities, Querent. Why do they seem more accessible when another person needs taken care of?

It’s the same game with the Four of Cups on the other side, where we see the disenchantment that sets in when your life is objectively full of blessings, but the feeling of being nourished by them still eludes you. Knowing you have it better than many other people keeps you in a prison of feeling like you’re not entitled to complain. In the meantime, since you’re not making the most of those blessings, it seems far easier to spread them around to other people, who appear more deserving of them than yourself.

Generosity of spirit and the counting of one’s blessings are impressive qualities, and necessary to succeeding in life – how can we apply these without using them as a scorecard that always places us last?

The Ace in the middle points the way to your future. While change is guaranteed, it’s not your essential components that will be different – just as your past is also something that can never change (though we may discover things years later that seriously alter our interpretation of those events).

Rather, it’s all about embracing and reconfiguring these elements, seeing the good they can do when new understanding is properly applied. A blade can cut any which-way, and a matter of a few degrees can make a huge difference in what (or whom) is pierced, or whether a mark is left at all. A few millimeters can mean life or death.

We hate thinking like that, because generalizations can be so comforting, even the awful ones, because they offer a one-size-fits-all logic. However, every new person you meet is just that, a new person. Every new job is a new job. The only constant you have is yourself, which is why you have to love yourself, and provide yourself with everything you need, every day, to set yourself up for greatness – and believe deep down that you’re worthy of that gift from yourself.

There is nothing else, which is why you have to keep trying; there is nothing else to try.

Remember, that great big sword is just a tool, like a rake or a screwdriver. And everything you’ve learned about yourself through this godawful process has set you up with an entire range of new tools to apply to the superlative task of Taking Care of Yourself First.

That’s a mission that the Queen of Coins and the Four of Cups can definitely be an asset to – they simply have to be applied in ways that transfer the fruits of this labor directly back in YOUR hands. And then once your needs are covered, you can decide what (if anything) is to be handed out to others.

The central presence of the Ace suggests a powerful set of thoughts, opportunities, and revelations on the horizon that will appeal to your strengths and send you off in a new direction. You’ll still be you, but thanks to certain adjustments and ongoing maintenance, the machinery will function so differently, you’d swear you were someone else altogether.

Even then we’re not in the clear, and maybe that’s why we the fear the success and freedom we crave, Querent. We don’t trust ourselves with power, because we’ve seen how we’ve squandered it, and witnessed how others have wielded it against us.

This time around, that choice and that power will ultimately be placed in your hands, not someone else’s. Do you love yourself enough to give yourself another chance – and another, and another, as many as it takes? Go where the sword points, and find out.

It took me a long time, but eventually I found that I did. Is everything magically fixed? HAHAHAHAHA no. But it turns out I am worth the wait, Querent, and even if you don’t know how to receive that love from yourself yet, I know you must be too.

A long and rambling answer for you, but I hope there’s something here that guides you to the next foothold.

Have a tarot reading request or tarot-related question for Arcanalogue? Ask here. Tips accepted (but not required) via Venmo, @arcanalogue. Or support my Patreon? I’d love that.

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dangerousdragonflies · 6 years ago

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The Harmoninomicon

Book 1 : WATER

Chapter I Cognitive Dissonance

Part I

The entire world shook, the sky was red. A mighty wash of roiling water struck the boat. Several people were attempting to swim back to the log raft, a second and third raft was just barely visible through the chaos. A man bellowed calling out to the ocean, the words were lost beneath the waves. A wall of water that touched the sky came roaring overhead. Hold on everyone! The man yelled. The massive glowing object in the sky loomed over like a promise, two of the boats had now gone under the waves. No! You can’t! The man screamed at the ocean. Something glowing and red like a wall of liquid fire was bubbling up through the waves, the sound was hideous like a red hot sword slowly cutting though butter. The last of the log rafts splintered apart when the wall of water and the glowing bubbling horror met. A figure woke with a scream, are you ok Hun? A woman said in the dark. It was just a bad dream, go back to sleep I’ll be fine.

We have an old saying on the island, If the island does not like you it will spit you out. What does that even mean exactly Jules questioned? Well you know its probably all the movies I’ve been watching and I haven’t been getting enough sleep, it just seems like the universe doesn’t want me to feel rested. Well maybe you should try something a little more esoteric man, like a Ouija board (it was pronounced Wee Gee Board) or tarot cards! Jules had his thumbs up in the air like some sort of 80’s car dealership commercial. Dude I had a weird dream and that’s it, there’s no such thing as ghosts or demons and don’t get me started on the whole heaven or hell thing that makes less sense than those flat earth guys. Come on Will we don’t just rot in the ground and that’s it once we die man there’s so much we don’t know but we are proving a lot of the occult things are real! Real? How can we prove anything about that, you said it best yourself we don’t know and there is more evidence that leads us to think this is it. But Science is proving it and Science is fact! No Jules Science is fiction, you are living in a fantasy land and I am sorry to be the one to tell you Santa Clause isn’t real, its time to wake up and see the world for what it is. With a heavy sigh Jules punched will in the shoulder. Fine, I see there’s little I can say to convince you Will. I have to get back to work here in a few minutes I really think you should look in to these things and see if it helps any. I know you don’t believe in any of that but whats the worse that could happen, I’ll send you some links. Laughing and with a smile “Sure, try to have a good day dude ill text you later”.

The Rain poured like a blanket drenching the land to the bones. Thunder crackled and off in the distance a bright flash of light lit up by its after effects on the human vision. Something in the shape of a Dog was cowering and shaking, trying to hide under the two people. Margret I told you it was just a dream, I am ok! No you aren’t you’ve been up the last week having these nightmares and now im worried for you, Honey if you aren’t sleeping neither am I, You are to heavy to sit there Cassie; The Dog was trying to sit on the woman’s lap. Doctor Sanchez said one session with him and we will be able to tell whats going on with these dreams. Wills Sigh was exasperated, Ok if it means this much to you then ill go do this thing, Jules was trying to convince me to use; and I will use his words “A WEE GEE board” they both laughed. Well his heart is in the right place Will maybe a Ouija board isn’t what we need but I have some old tarot cards, How about we break them out? They guided my life pretty well until we met honey. I don’t know Margret I don’t think those cards will help me. William Edwards! I am sorry you had a few bad experiences with this sort of thing but im only trying to help. Where are those cards at? I think I have them upstairs in one of the closets. Ill go grab ‘em, the Dog nearly tripping the woman as she went up the stairs made a yipe, Fuh! Damn it dog! Go to daddy!

Sit right there, Margret pointed at the carpet right outside the closet. Right here? Will said grinning. Yes right here! Come on Love lets see what the Spirits have to tell you!! As the rain came down like great buckets from the gods the couple sat pouring over the cards. What do the spirits say for Gemini? The words echoed off the walls. Both people yelled at the same time, Cassie! The dog had walked over the cards laid out on the ground. Picking up one card Will handed it to the young woman sitting across from him. It’s backwards, what does this card mean? Oh Hun, The four of cups in reverse reminds us to see all the good things being offered to us in the present. Thinking too far ahead, or dwelling on things long past can rob you of the now. What are you dwelling on love? Is everything alright? I don’t know Margret, I’ve been stressed due to lack of sleep but I don’t think there’s anything I’m dwelling on I mean I can’t think of anything I might be stuck on.

Alright Mr. Edwards this is a safe place where no judgement happens just make yourself at home and try to relax. Honestly Doc I’m not sure about all this. Will looked around the room, I don’t know if this is the right thing for my insomnia plus I don’t think i can be hypnotized I mean I have a hard time even convincing myself to go to work some days. The clock was ticking so loud Will thought he would go insane if he had to sit here for too much longer. You would be surprised as to how many of my clients say similar statements, Mr. Edwards I assure you my practice is proven and sound. You are in good hands. Now one of our policies is we collect some information from our clients do you mind if I ask you a few questions pertaining to your physical and mental health? I guess, what kind of questions are we talking about? Our first question is would you say you’re a generally happy man? Happy? Y-yes I suppose, I have a great job a wonderful wife and a Pit-bull. My life has never been better, what does this have to do with my dreams Doc? My list has specially been designed to help for this circumstance Mr. Edwards I assure you, Alright Question two. Do you have any history with psychotropic drugs? Would a Antidepressant count as psychotropic? In most cases yes, don’t worry we don’t report any findings to any authority. Question three. How often would you say you brush your teeth? Will looked puzzled, Excuse me? Please Mr. Edwards these questions are important, Answer them as best you can. Alright I brush before bed every day. An eye brow raised a little bit, Doctor Sanchez adjusted himself in his seat. And how much Fluoride would you say you and your wife…? I assume, are in taking daily? The Doctor peered over his clipboard waiting for a reply. Margret’s allergic to fluoride so we found a place with a well and as for our teeth we use fluoride free toothpaste. The Doctor straightened, I think I’m beginning to have an understanding of the situation Mr. Edwards. These are a sedative for those who have a harder time going under the pendulum so to speak. The Doctor was standing there smiling but to Will it wasn’t a friendly gesture. Um do you think we can do this without the medication first? I’m not a fan of taking pills to be honest. Please Mr. Edwards these are all natural sedatives, they wont fail you on a urine screening and also they are hypoallergenic, anyone can take them even children newly born. Grabbing the little paper cup with the pills in it Will looked at them. I guess its OK, will I be able to drive when I leave here? The Doctor handed Will a glass of water. Here you go please drink the entire glass of water Mr. Edwards and yes you will be fully clear headed and able to drive when you leave from here. Alright Doc Will said with a face as he swallowed the medication, when will this hit me? Just lay back Mr. Edwards you should be feeling the effects almost at once, can you tell me how many fingers I’m holding up? As his vision began to blur Will started panicking, Doc whats going on? I-I cant move! At this time two other men entered the room, as the darkness enfolded around Will he heard the Doctor say tie him down.

Wake up. My son, Wake up! Class is about to start so wake up! What? Will sat up and looked around, what? Stop saying what young man and get to school! The woman demanded. Whats going on? Who are you? The woman's stance assumed that iconic stance that all woman get when patience is running thin. I am not playing games and neither are you! Get up! The woman yanked the bed covers from the young man. Hey! What are you…looking down Wills legs had tanned quite a lot since he remembered seeing them last and they were quite a bit smaller. What the!? A million thoughts raced through his head. Arawakan! Don’t make me get your older brother to grab you and drag you to class again and you know he cannot be bothered with this, he is going through Melody training today. Huh? What did you call me? Will was yanked from bed by what looked like a seven foot tall bronze god, help!! Oh there is no help for you today remarked the incredibly tall young man holding Will by the arm pits.

Arawakan your late, why don’t you give us the reason why? The man at the head of the class said with hands on his hips. Um…? I don’t think I should be here will stammered. The giant escorting Will pushed him so hard that he fell hitting his shoulder on the podium at the front of the class. I had to drag him down here out of bed because he thinks sleep is more important said the giant. Standing up Will looked around, why is all of this so familiar? Wills shoulder throbbed. Go sit down little Bro and learn something useful said the tall young man. Will walked down the aisles of seats and sat down, looking around his eyes met with a young man a few rows back. His face said a lot but it was as if he didn’t belong here either. The older man at the head of the class Boomed “We have an old saying on the island, if the island does not like you it will spit you out.” But? But? Exclaimed a girl near the back, then why are there so many people I don’t like!? By then the entire class had erupted into laughter and crude remarks. QUIET!!!! Bellowed Wabeno the teacher of the day and today the kids got the head of the fishing fleet. Alright class I suppose I could share the super-secret reason why Penutia seems to not like anyone. Wabeno says with a grin. Oh! Oh! A young man near the back of the class erupted, hand high in the air waving frantically. Its because she was out after curfew with Athabaskan doing naughty things!!! Please just once can you be serious? No class its because…. Both of you, eyes and ears up front! Penutia and another girl were whispering back and forth snickering. Watching this for as long as she could an older woman in the doorway chuckled to herself, stepping out of the warm noonday rain, Kids! Kids! She lowered her head and waves of thought hit the classroom as soundless as a small field mouse breaking wind and as powerful as a blue whale breaching, Wills head suddenly started to buzz. A presence filled his head and even though there were no words he felt a wash of calmness radiate over him. alright class please inform your parents and guardians there is a village gathering tonight and its wet outside so don’t forget your rain covers! Will was hit with a head ache so bad he almost fell out of his seat, Wills head swam with a flood of memories that weren’t his but felt like they fit. I must be going crazy! With a warm smile and open arms some of the girls ran over and embraced the woman. Alright children this is important, don’t forget about the gathering tonight, you are dismissed! The woman had almost yelled over the almost preteen crowds ramblings. Will was astounded. He remembered getting up this morning, this morning in his home with the Tv and his computer but now he also remembered going to bed last night in his home made from grass and bamboo, he had never been hunting in his life but now he remembered two days ago when him and his older brother successfully hunted down and caught and wild boar with their dads lucky bow. What the hell is going on he thought?

Part 2

When I woke up this morning I never would have thought I would be saying this, but I believe we have found him. And what makes you think this? The voice on the other end of the line asked. We have had an eye on this one for quite some time Sir, we have him in custody and right now we are doing several tests to verify this. Doctor Sanchez I am not sure you are aware of how important this is, there is a lot riding on this and you have no idea how much I have personally invested in you and your, The voice on the other end of the line cleared his throat. Methods and if you aren’t correct one hundred percent about this one the ceasing of your funding will be the least of your concerns. Do not let me detain you, the phone beeped marking the end of the call. The man’s posture relaxed a little. Two men who were mumbling outside the door while he was on the phone knocked and came in the door, Sir we have a situation with subject number seven. As the three men rushed down the hallway the sounds of screaming and banging became louder and louder. Noooo!!! The voice of a young man bellowed. The banging intensified, I need 15 ccs of Benzodiazepine now! The two other men were in the process of tightening the tie downs that held the young man. The figure of a nurse came shuffling in from a side room, hold her down! No! No! No! The young man tried to flail, Nooo!!! He bellowed again but this time the voice rasped. The two men jammed a cloth gag in the young man’s mouth. There we are just breathe Daniel everything will be fine. The young man’s movements became sluggish and his eyes drooped. There we are see? Isn’t it easy to relax now? Get him hooked back up the Doctor demanded, why is the machine disconnected? Get this thing going and crack it to sixty five percent! Doctor he was going into cardiac arrest we had to disconnect him and administer an epinephrine injection, Doctor his nervous system can’t handle this level of stress. Breathe, just breathe. See isn’t it easy to relax now? The man’s voice echoed in Daniel’s head.

A sound like a yak making its last noises before it died trumpeted right outside his window. Daniels eyes sprang open and he bolted upright. With eyes that were full of globs, he had guessed he had he had been drinking the night before and had a few bad dreams. What the fuck? A rather large pinkish courts crystal started to pulse when he looked at it. Am I still drunk? He said out loud. Holy shit! Looking around his eyes started focusing on objects in the room. He was really confused by this point, well whatever I did last night ill try to make it up to whoever lives here and I hope they will forgive me for using some of these clothes till I can find mine. A mirror made from what appeared to be like hammered and polished copper looked back at him, what did I drink last night?? He almost screamed. The face looking back at him was so young maybe twelve or so with a tan that almost matched the copper mirror, what the hell!! What is going on? The level of panic was at a whole new level and Daniel stopped cold. His head was starting to clear now. Walking over to the crystal he reached out and the pulsing intensified. The urge to touch the crystal was demanding him forward. The crystal flashed, the light was blinding. A second set of memories faded in to his thoughts. Sitting down on the bed he rested his head in his hands, his thoughts revolved around getting another drink or at least a drink if those weren’t dreams. It felt to Daniel like he was receiving a data download to his memories. I was born here he said to himself with tears in his eyes, this is my room. Well, I had better get to class I guess Daniel said with a grunt getting up. I miss pizza already.

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grishae · 7 years ago

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500 FOLLOWERS.. !?

Once a upon a time… — well, the blog thing started in London, where I lived for four months with @crisegna because of Erasmus and someday I said out loud: “I want to make aesthetics. More of them.” and she told me: “so do it because you can, obviously” (i love you okay). And I started doing then, and what’s more important: sharing them on tumblr. But I took a break and this summer I decided to start making them all over again. I don’t even know how it started precisely, but some of you people are so damn nice and this blog is getting bigger since then!!!! And that gives me strength and a lot of motivation because I can edit for a public and improve myself everyday. Also @monnsoul followed my edits and I followed hers back, when we were mundanes out of sight. Because before being THIS noticed I was a fan (i’m still a fan) of a lot of artists who also follow me back

The thing is that I enjoy editing and someday I’ll try writing (because I already write in spanish but english is international.. okay you get it, maybe i’ll translate most of them). AND ALSO, for thank you all I remind you that I can accept more make me choose requests ♥

To sum up, I want to write several facts about me because I want to break the ice and idk I think i’ll work.

name’s Silvia, from Spain (Barcelona) and I’m struggling with being bilingual (which means spanish and catalan and now english and french *cries*)

i’m studying translation and interpreting (here comes english and french)

I LOVED LIVING IN LONDON. SUCH A COSMOPOLITAN CITY. The National Gallery and Soho were my fav places.

i’m ginger (not naturally, because i’m dark blonde) and my father so (but he’s naturally redhead and I envy him for that), so they call me ginny and ginger and some beautiful nicknames

i’m 21 but i don’t like like….like a girl of 21s okay

i love dancing but when nobody’s watching

my first literary crush was Jace Herondale (FIRST WAS JACE LIGHTWOOD, HI THERE 15 YEAR OLD SILVIA)

I have two tattoos: one in my shoulder (my brother’s birth date) and a piscis constellation on my ribs. and they didn’t hurt at all

i’m cancer and that means i’m temperamental, susceptible and emotional af, but also implies i’m creative and i have a heart of gold OKAY

my hands are always cold

i like things to be said clear: i hate misunderstandings

i can read book after book. I HATE THE LACK OF BOOKS ON MY HANDS, I FEEL SO LOST

love writing as well.. I participate in several contests but guess what, BAD LUCK

i’ll never stop writing even though it hurts me when i’m blocked

I’M ALSO A GAMER. play station (mostly) or pc games

I cosplayed a few characters (including Arrietty from Ghibli, Iris from FFXV and Priscila from The Witcher 3)

my hands are ridiculously small….

i eat like a bird which means: nothing

because I drink so much i can’t help it

pineapple in pizza YES

not pizza crust are allowed

my actual hollywood crush (and over a year ago) is Sebastian Stan

I wear glasses to read, when i’m in front of a screen.. but i do not really need them (strange thing, so long to explain it)

I strongly believe that four-handed writings are incredibly awesome

when i have an idea on mind i have to write it down immediately, even if i’m already in bed oops

i’m the queen of post-its: every book i read has a post-it

funko pops are lovable

i express myself through memes

i believe in karma and i’m not catholic 100% but i do feel there’s.. someone

i have an angel

i’m superstitious and i respect tarot

scrapbooking YES

panic at the disco!, halsey, maroon 5, you me at six, against the current are my top bands/singers

fav colors: orange, blue, purple (in that order)

i’m very close to my father, and i think i can’t live without him

i travelled a lot thanks to my mother but i hate flying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

i can’t stand with lazy people and those who break promises

i believe in the power of words???

if i had been a science girl, i would have studied genetics

i mostly read in spanish but i can obviously read in english, it’s just a little fear of not understanding 100% the plot

in classes i leave like 5 minutes earlier before they finish because — don’t ask why

japanese culture freaks me out ♥

I love making phone jokes…. BITCH, NOBODY CAN RESIST MY FICTIONAL CATALAN ACCENT

i hate when people talk to me when i’m with my earphones…. I PREFER LISTENING TO MUSIC AT THAT MOMENT, OKAY?

i also hate when people talk to me when i’m reading because i can’t read with music or voices but on the train/underground it’s licit, yeah

i enjoy a lot going to the cinema!!!!!!!! and also talking a lot in the middle of the film :)

i use to give books to my friends in their birthdays… and they always expect that

i use the ‘gay’ word all the time

my friends and I used to play a game in london - until now: we shout GANSEY BOY when we’re on the street, randomly (or not so randomly)

i loved my latin/greek teacher, the way she explained myths and also grammar and she was very important to me, because she believed in me a lot and helped me with existential crisis (fuck high school)

art history matters to me, a lot, and my teacher was so great too

my town is…. like Henrietta, and i invite you all to come here and visit the woods, best guide ever here *smiles*

i don’t know what to say but thank you very much again ♥♥♥

the girl in the pic it’s me…. hi there, this is ridiculous but I wanted to be a freak, just a little bit…

i don’t know either if i’m missing something, but when i got more followers (mehehehe) i’ll improve this for sure *sends help*

#500 followers #thank you alllllllllll #karouss #personal

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acegiak · 7 years ago

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Narrative Belief

I talk about myself online a lot. I write a journal and I tweet aplenty and one of the things that is an important part of my life, which people have asked about, is Narrative Belief. I was raised in the Uniting Church and then left in my late teen years, evolving into an angry atheist by the time I was in university. Since then I’ve grown in a lot of ways, including coming back to seeing the value of the religion I had, even if I cannot convince myself to believe in its dogma. These days I try to use the ideas, practices, and tools available to me to not only make my own life more meaningful but also to help those around me engage in their own lives in ways that are meaningful to them. Narrative Belief is a key element of that, especially considering the primarily secular nature of the communities I engage with. So I thought I would put together a little primer on Narrative Belief for those who are interested. Narrative Belief is a belief or form of belief that you engage with intentionally for the purposes of enhancing your own life with narrative despite knowing and understanding that it is not factually/logically/empirically true. While my wife and I know that Santa Claus does not exist, we act as if he does at Christmas. While I see no reason to think that a higher power actually exists, I still pray to one in times of distress or times of comfort. My wife does not think that tarot cards can predict the future but she still draws one every morning to prepare her for her day. This is specifically distinct from faith, which is continuing to believe that something IS true in the face of evidence against it or a lack of evidence for it. Narrative Belief is also distinct from Nominal Belief; belief held for the purposes of identity, which a person might not consider to be literally true if pressed but of which the person considers themselves a believer regardless. Because they are primarily held for the purposes of identity or community membership nominal beliefs don’t need to be deeply questioned by the holder. In this way the function of the belief, and the understanding that the belief is not true, are implicit in Nominal Belief whereas they are explicit in Narrative Belief. Unfortunately the implicit nature of Nominal Belief also leaves it open to manipulation either intentionally or unintentionally by members of the belief community. The explicit statement of recognising the functional purpose and the lack of truth within Narrative Belief is what makes it both useful and safe. By choosing to say, “I know this isn't true but I'm going to treat it as if it is for now,” we open ourselves up to the benefits that those beliefs might convey to us without compromising the ways in which our rational mind is capable of protecting us and preventing us from harming others unintentionally. We already rely on the rationality of our minds to protect us in these sorts of ways almost constantly. We use it to try to make sense of the world as it truly is, because to be unaware of threats or to assume safety where there is none often leads to harm. To this end we have shaped the rationality of our minds into tools like mathematics and the scientific method which allow us to make ever more precise judgements about the world; what is boon and what is bane. But to assume that our minds are purely rational is to fail to examine ourselves critically. Rationality itself is just one of the evolutionary products of a brain that is structured to find and match patterns. There are plenty of other irrational modes of thinking that we employ all the time in our day to day lives as well. We employ them because they take less energy than the high level processing of rationality. We personify and attribute minds to all sorts of complex systems such as the weather or technology. We see faces in random patterns of light and dark. We create stories of victory, defeat, solemnity, and celebration around yearly seasonal cycles. Our brains are shaped in ways that recognise certain kinds of patterns much more easily than others. Over millennia the thousands of distinct cultures across the globe have worked out innumerable ways of thinking about the different parts of their lives and held on to the ones that were either useful or made their lives richer. Many of these are purely or partly rational. We don't tend to attribute to gremlins that which we can see is the result of gravity. We don't say it is our lack of faith that causes us to fall to the ground when we lose our footing from high up. However, the complex physical interactions that caused us to lose our footing in the first place might be opaque enough that we place blame for that onto our old buddy Lucifer. While it's tempting to dismiss these non-rational beliefs or parts of beliefs as being inferior, we should actually look at why these ideas survive in the memetic pools of culture. Some are simply defensive; they survive by attacking other ideas and defending themselves from retribution. Those tend to be the least valuable to the Narrative Believer. However, many other irrational beliefs serve those who hold them well. They might be a helpful simple model for a complex system that doesn't need to be fully understood. They might make the lives of those who believe them fuller, more exciting, or more pleasant. They might provide support for some of the psychological needs of the people who believe them who cannot find that support elsewhere. They may provide a powerful placebo effect that is actually effective in changing the believers for the better in some way, such as the removal of pain or anxiety. Just because these beliefs aren't necessarily based on empirical evidence does not mean they are of no value to secular people at all, in fact, the opposite is true. Learning to recognise the value of certain beliefs regardless of their rationality and to be able to engage with them opens up a world of possibilities for those who choose to do so. The childish joy of receiving gifts “from Father Christmas” without having to engage in the usual politics around festive gift giving, the separating of troubles and blessings into those within and outside our own control through prayer, the mental preparation and framing of the day that comes with drawing a tarot card are all tangible benefits that I see around me from engaging in irrational beliefs within the safety of a mental sandbox. The point is that I can engage in these beliefs and reap those benefits while still consciously knowing that I can nope out if they push me in a direction that I’m not comfortable with. I’m not going to take any actions that assume that a higher being will hear and respond to my prayer, my wife isn’t going to go out and hurt someone because she thinks that’s what a tarot card says she should do, and no one is going to make stock market investment decisions based on artificial flooding of the toy market by a jolly old arctic hermit. This has come naturally to me as a person with a long history with roleplaying games and might do too for actors or writers or anyone else who already engages with the process of thinking through someone else's eyes. For others it may take some practice, but we are powerful empathy machines. The same mechanisms that allow us to benefit from these sorts of stories allow us to learn other stories from those around us if we’re willing to listen and try on their shoes. We don’t have to walk a mile in them, but we can take a few steps and see what it feels like. The practice of Narrative Belief doesn’t happen in a vacuum, however. One of the important restrictions I place on myself in my practice is to respect the beliefs of the people who do understand them to be true inasmuch as they are not bringing harm to others. When I attend a church service there are certain parts of the proceedings that I do not engage with. Elements of the Christian faith and its practice are specifically centered on the importance of the integrity of the belief and membership in the community of faith. In my practice I would consider taking part in those elements to be disrespectful to those who genuinely hold these beliefs, especially those who I know and care about in that faith community. Additionally, as a Scottish Australian woman I specifically make a point to only borrow directly from cultures that are within the broad European mixing pot of which my heritage is a part. I avoid borrowing directly from parts of other cultures because I usually don’t know enough to understand which parts of those traditions should be off limits when practising this form of belief. The times when I do engage with traditions, rituals, or beliefs from other cultures are when I am invited by members of that culture and I do so with an open intent to genuinely learn enough to understand where those lines are drawn. Similarly, it is important to make sure you’re not misrepresenting your narrative belief as genuine belief. Lying about what you understand the truth of a belief to be is is not only disrespectful to the people who do hold those beliefs genuinely but it’s also pretty obviously stepping into the realm of charlatans and hucksters. I think it’s important to talk about these limits and boundaries on how we practice Narrative Belief because the whole idea is one of moderation. The entire point of the exercise of Narrative Belief for me is to enjoy enhancing my life with the spices of superstition, religion, spirituality, and tradition without allowing them to hurt me or those I engage with. I love my narrative beliefs and I’m thankful to have a way to engage with them safely and I really hope that this way of approaching things might help you to safely enrich your own life with the full depth of thousands of years of human culture. In fact, I pray that it does. - by acegiak.net

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mybookofbitchcraft · 8 years ago

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witches, let’s talk spell books.

this is such a huge part of our craft, and i think its about time we talk about it.

a side note before we start, there is an amazing video that personally inspired me by a witch (herspeak) that you can watch here! i will include some of the information she gives in her video in this post for those of you who don’t have the time to watch!

first off… grimoire? book of shadows? whats the difference? what on earth even is a book of mirrors?? wait… there’s even more??

well first lets quickly talk about the different types of books!

grimoire: a textbook of magick, a reference book filled with anything you desire or need to remember (lists, correspondences, how-to’s, spells)

book of shadows: for wiccans/pagans, this can be seen as more religious, but it is typically more known for its personal/spiritual journal aspects (religious or not); some may use it for references also

book of mirrors: a book of reflections, for recording experimentation and its results including successes and failures (some like to keep their book of shadows pure with only successes)

book of light: a book used usually by wiccans/pagans that is used by eclectics, referring to light as knowledge; used for notes and information often to be shared whereas a book of shadows is personal and private (sort of makes me think of a less organized/personal grimoire)

the tree: a seax-wica (an anglo-saxon paganism) version of a book of shadows

book of ways: a devotional book for wiccans/pagans

(of course all of these things are up to further interpretation!)

back in the day when witchcraft was more ruled by covens, only one spell book was required for each coven, but now that witchcraft is often a solitary and/or personal path, witches are often encouraged to have their own! most witches will have either a book of shadows or grimoire. some witches will have both, and some will have one book that includes the aspects of both and call it one or the other.

let’s start with the basic thing nobody talks about… the book itself!

what should you use? well first off, you don’t need some big, expensive, and fancy leather book straight out of hocus pocus. if its so fancy that you aren’t going to work in it, don’t use it! you could use…

a sketchbook

you could make a book (a traveler’s notebook is a great idea)

an online book

a binder and insert pages

an old thrift store book and paint over the pages

you could even write and paint on paper and paste all over your walls and work space and make a room your ‘book’

you could choose something that relates to your field of magick if you have a defined one, get creative!

make sure your book a reflection of you. but remember, we are what makes books come alive. reading is what makes languages have purpose. without you there to read it, your book is meaningless. the connection between you and your book is beyond special from the first moment you begin working!

so where on earth do i start? if you already have one, what’s holding you back from working more?

well what interests you? if you don’t know yet, here is a wonderful masterpost of types of magick! find what you like, what sounds cool to you, what resonates with you, research it! (maybe make an entry about it and your discoveries!)

once you know your interests, don’t waste time on things you aren’t interested in. if you don’t care about herbal magick, don’t write down a seven page list of all herbs and their properties. i personally had to retry creating a grimoire a few times in order to learn that lesson.

so how do i bond and grow comfortable with my book? how do i create a connection? how do i give it my personal touch?

do what makes you happy.

create your own aesthetic. maybe ask friends around you what your aesthetic seems to be if you don’t know yourself. don’t follow that big ole leather book stereotype unless you like it. if you do, another great idea for aging your pages are coffee and tea stains on your paper.

sleep with your book under your pillow! bond with it like you would your tarot deck. carry it around throughout the day. let it become a companion.

your book isn’t just a place to write about your craft, infuse your craft! if you like lunar magick, bathe it in moonlight. if you like herbal magick, spray your pages with an herb and water mix.

don’t stress about organization or a table of contents yet. you can put an index at the end when you know you’re done. its your book so you’ll probably have a sense of where things are anyways, but if you’re forgetful like me, use some labelled bookmarks!

in fact, don’t stress about it at all if you can! your book shouldn’t stress you out. mistakes happen. keep negative energy away. you and your book are a conjoined, powerful force! you can paste over pages, paint over them, or even just rip them out. in the wonderful words of herspeak in the aforementioned video, nothing is special until you say it is.

remember, it might take a couple tries to get it right, and that’s okay! you might have to make a couple throughout your lifetime to hold all the knowledge you learn, so no worries.

don’t just copy and paste other peoples’ information into your book, that isn’t how you learn. take note of things that are important to you. are you memorizing or understanding? allow yourself to understand. if it shines and you find it important, write this information in your own words and in a setup you enjoy.

you don’t have to be an artist to make a beautiful book! your book is already beautiful, unique, and magickal because its yours!

here’s some ideas for pages in your book!

correspondence lists. i definitely think color correspondences are important for just about every witch! what do these things mean to you? how do they make you feel and what do you relate them to? do this with other things you find interesting!

devote a page to your sun and moon sign or maybe you and your partners signs and how they interact.

create a protection sigil just for your book.

make a page about your totem animal/spirit animal. please don’t appropriate these terms though, you can also use daemon, patronus, eomkin, or even just your personal corresponding animal.

you could make a page for each holiday, its history and dates, and add a paper pocket into the page filled with recipes.

you could collage things that make you think of a deity you like whether you’re secular or whether you participate. if enjoy and appreciate a deity, give em a page! if you worship or work with one or many, dive in much deeper and show how that relationship affects you.

paste in pictures from books or parts of posters that show what magick means to you.

practice spirit work? draw the spirit! collage the spirit. find art that makes you think of the spirit and pop it in there.

press plants you find, tape them in, bring a little greenery into your book. label them if you like. give them your own names if you don’t know your plants well.

write your dreams out, decorate in a way that feels right, use colors according to how it made you feel.

draw out the ingredients you want to use in a spell/potion/oil. dab a bit of the creation on the page.

make a page for your familiars. list any spells for them, where you found/adopted them, their breed and things about them, what’s their favorite snack, and if your familiar is cooperative, maybe try to get a paw/nose print!

make a pendulum chart.

find one of those adult coloring books. tear a few pages and stick them in either randomly or maybe in a page about meditation. when stressed, use it as a meditative practice.

chakras, what they mean to you, correspondences, and which you may need to work on. here is a fun test you can take that tells you if your chakras are under-active, over-active, or open.

any fictional/real witches or wizards that stood out to you? why?

write about magickal experiences you had as a child you can’t explain today. what about imaginary friends and were they imaginary?

get geeky. make spells about video games! inspire spells based on favorite characters and abilities or get inspiration from your favorite playable mages! get really creative with this one.

make a page about past lives if you know of any.

what do the elements mean to you? what are your favorites? which do you feel connected to?

stick envelopes in there and put recipes, spreads, all sorts of things in there to save some pages! utilize fold out pages for long chunks of information.

do you cast circles? what do you use? what do you think the energy looks like? the color? the shape if you don’t see it as a circle? draw the seen and unseen.

make a page about your spiritual or psychic gifts. how did you discover them?

make a list of things to research. cross them out as you do.

print out aesthetically pleasing pictures you find portray you and your craft. collage your personal aesthetic/witchy moodboard

i could list on and on, but i hope i’ve given you some creative inspiration! make your book what you want! keep researching and gain inspiration from others if you’re ever lost. feel free to message me if you ever have questions!

happy casting!

#witchcraft #grimoire #book of shadows #book of mirrors #book of light #book of ways #the tree #wicca #paga #wiccan #witchy #spell book #ideas #g #magick #beginner witch #baby witch #my post

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violetsandloveletters · 5 years ago

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A very long Q that’s taken a while to pass some time...

Do you actually love your grandpa? Grandad, of course, I love them both so much. Do you actually love your grandma? Nan & yes, again, I love & value them both so much, i’m very close to the grandparents on my mums side & honestly both my nan & grandad on that side are both my favourite people. Do you have Facebook? I do & I hate it, I only have it to see pics from my family in America & Spain tbh. What was the last thing you posted on someone’s wall? I wished someone a happy birthday but can’t remember who... Do you have MySpace? I did but haven’t used it in years, sucks that I lost all of my pictures on there. Loved that site tbh. What is your favorite kind of music? I love such a huge range of music tbh, like 80′s, Fall Out Boy, Arctic Monkeys, I listen to Motown when I clean... Honestly a bit of everything. Favorite soft drink? Pepsi Max is my everything quite honestly. Favorite food? Five Guys, chicken teriyaki from Yo Sushi! Krispy Kreme doughnuts, a decent cake- I love food so... Have you ever felt replaced? Of fucking course & it fucking sucks. Have you ever worn false eyelashes? I have & they are a bit of a pain. Do you ever regret making a friend? Yeah for sure. Can you cure mental illness? I don’t think you can cure it, learn to cope somewhat I yeah but I know for a fact that the shit I suffer with on a daily basis will never be cured nor will the trauma/shit just go away. Is God good? Athiest... Cats or dogs? I love both. I have a cat called Hades & would love a dog too someday. Do you play video games? Sims 4, I’ve loved Sims forever! Do you take medication for mental health? Yes I do. Can you really be racist to a white person? You can be racist to anyone... Do you have a favorite hair accessory? What does it look like? I’m boring so either a black scrunchie or the plastic spiral hairbands that don’t kink your hair & I have so many of them. What’s your favorite type of insect? Erm Dragonflies, caterpillars or bees. What’s your LEAST favorite type of insect? Maggots or spiders & moths are a love/hate. Who was the last person you Facebook messaged? What did you say? What’s his/her favorite food? My friend Skye, can’t remember & I loved with her for a while so I should know this but she’s part Italian & an amazing cook so anything she cooks for herself i’m sure. What was the last song you listened to? Does it mean anything to you? Apart from the stuff we have at work which I kinda shut off from unless it’s something decent, Billie Eilish ‘Ocean Eyes’, i’m in love with it. Have you ever slept in a water bed? Nope. How do you feel about having sex during your menstrual period? I mean if it’s not heavy it doesn’t bother me tbh, you just can’t do much fun stuff lol. Does your ex have a job? Yeah. Have you ever slept in a car? On car rides yeah, I think I have with an ex once before though when we were supposed to camp but it was cold. What was the last term of endearment you used (babe, hun, dear, etc)? No idea, babe? How often do you use Flickr? Not for like 10 years. Have you ever been on a blind date? No. Do you have a crush on the last person you texted? No. Have you ever got into an argument with the last person you kissed? No. Have you ever liked somebody who was nice to you, but horrible to everyone else? Not sure really. How’s your appetite atm? I’m not hungry, I feel like i’ve just been eating for the sake of it since being ill the other week. Out of all the conversations you’ve had recently, which one has made you smile or laugh the most? No idea, can’t think of once honestly. Do you look decent in your most recent photograph? No idea what it was. What is one vacation destination that many people think is just fabulous but which you personally have no desire to visit (or revisit)? Ooh tough question, somewhere like Turkey or Germany. If you were five years younger but knew everything at that age that you’ve actually learned over the last five years, what is one thing you would definitely do differently? Be stronger & don’t put up with any shit from anyone. What serves as the greatest motivation for you in your daily life? My cat & that is literally it & the chance to have a child I guess but Hades for sure. What activity that you have to do every once in a while that you dread the most? Travelling to my mums, she lives about 5 min drive away but I don’t drive & it takes like 40mins by bus or longer by train. When people hear what you do for a living, what is the most typical question or comment they give you regarding your job? Idk, they like the shop but I hate having to explain why i’m on lower hours because of my health cos it’s kinda shitty at 27 when I used to work full time as a store manager. If you were left alone for one hour with nothing more than a pen and a notepad, what would you be inclined to draw or write during those 60 minutes? Not sure, it depends on my mood at the time I guess. If you could witness anything at all in super-slow motion, what would you want to see? No idea. If someone were looking for you in a bookstore, in what section would they be most likely to find you? The art history section or the bit with tarot cards & astrology & stuff. What do you forget to do more often than anything else? Take the bins out when I leave the house so I have to go back up to get them or leave post on the side & forget what they are about. If you could teach everyone in the world one skill, what would it be? How to important it is to make sure that just because you don’t agree or understand what someone else has said/is going through, doesn’t mean it’s not real/irrelevant. You’ve been offered the chance to paint a billboard along a highway with any message you choose, as long as it’s only 10 words long. What is your message? No idea, something inspirational I guess. Would you ever travel to Africa? Nah, don’t fancy it. Whose house were you last at? Mums. Have you ever had a near-death experience? Overdose I guess. Have you ever met anyone who was overly addicted to a computer game? My brother is obsessed with PS4 & I love Sim 4 & can be on it for hours. Have you ever been fingered? Lol. What do you do the most when you are online? Youtube, research random shit, Tumblr, look for stuff to buy/can’t afford or look for places to live in my home town as I wanna move back. What video game have you played the most? SIMS 4 how many times do I have to mention this game :| Do you have scars you don’t like to talk about? I don’t have anything to be ashamed of if that’s what you’re asking. What is something you and your significant other do that may seem weird to others? No idea really. When and why did you last cry? Earlier, I cry literally all the time lately. When was the last time you drank? Alcohol? A long time, after being with D & his issues I hate it even more than I did before. Do you wear jewelry a lot? Earrings, belly bar & nose ring I never take out, I have a anklet I wear pretty much every day as well as my Tiffany ring & Tiffany bracelet from D & a necklace from my mum that says ‘Love you to the moon’ or an amethyst pendant on suede. I have like a small selection of random valuable jewellery I switch between rather than loads of costume cheap stuff apart from the 20ish chokers I have... Who in your household do you not have a good relationship with? None? Who in your life are you scared to lose more than anything? D, honestly I would die, same as Hades, they are my family. I nearly lost my mum in April & it was horrendous, but any close family really or my best friend. Honestly, would you rather be single or in a relationship? A relationship for sure. Do any of your friends not get along at all? D & my best friend possibly? What are your 3 favorite internet sites? Youtube, Tumblr & maybe ASOS haha. Have you ever gotten anything autographed, if so by who & what was it? No idea, can’t think of anyone. Do you prefer Walmart or Target? I’m in the UK so neither. Who is your favorite model? Anyone male with long hair & a nose ring ha. What have you done that is out of character for you? I’m not sure really, i’ve changed a lot over the last few years & don’t take shit & will say exactly how I feel & have become very angry whereas before I used to be shy & bite my tongue a lot more than I used too. But physically I went to a concert on my own last year which was the ultimate ‘fuck it, i’ve gone mad’ moment as I was on the train there & tbh it was traumatising. What do you feel strong enough to protest about? So many things, I feel very strongly about a lot of things I just have never had a chance to actually go to a protest. What’s the biggest blooper you’ve never lived down? Fuck knows, probably getting drunk years ago & blacking out. What is the best thing you have done just because you were told you can’t? I mean it’s not saying I can’t, more shouldn’t, but me & D getting Hades. What are you most thankful for? My family, D, Hades and the NHS. How do you feel about thrift shops or flea markets? You can find some good shit. What do you like to put gravy on? Anything I possibly can! My fave midnight snack atm is yorkshire puddings & gravy or another of my faves is jacket potato with cheese & gravy. Have you ever gone canoeing/kayaking? Yeah, for a school trip once & I loved it. What one thing in particular makes you feel good about yourself? Compliments of how I look & compliments on my boobs haha & also how much of a nice person I am & that i’m always there to listen & just nonjudgemental. What is priceless to you? Love & the good people I have around me. What is one thing you know about your family history you’re proud of? I’m not sure really. Do you keep a budget? Yeah I do, I use an app cos that’s waht you do when you’re an adult with many bills & your own place haha. What makes you feel rested and refreshed? Having CFS/ME it’s hard to say because it’s a bit of a roll of a dice tbh, some days I could have an amazing night sleep or a relaxed day off but the rest & refreshed feeling could be short lived/non existent. A massage or a relaxing bath with Lush products helps clear my mind somewhat though. Who depends on you the most? My cat, & I guess my mum since she’s been unwell over the last few months. Could you ever be someone’s bodyguard? Im petite & 5ft with size 2 feet... Has one of your biggest fears come true? Yeah, being cheated on. Have you ever let your mom or significant other fight a battle for you? No. Did you create a checklist for your ideal spouse? No lol. I like what I like. Have you ever ridden on a subway or train and what did you like about it? Yeah quite often, I love getting the train into London cos it’s just chill. Do you have to experience something to fully understand it? Somewhat. What embarrasses you instantly? I’m so easily embarrassed & so self conscious so literally anything. Do you think you could be a firefighter, why/why not? No, same as the bodyguard thing, i’m too small & have ME so the fatigue stops a lot. What do you think should be censored? Can’t think tbh. Are you related to anyone famous or historical, if so who? William the Conqueror which means the Queen too & Danny Dyer, Alexander the Great. Would you ever donate a kidney to anyone, and who? I would & family I guess, haven’t really thought about it Have you ever fired a gun? No. What is the main quality you think makes a great parent? Hard to choose just one, just being a great teacher & loving & caring for them & helping the kid grow into a great person & always being there to guide & listen. Who is a female role model in your life? My nan. What childhood dreams have you neglected? Not really childhood but I wanted to be a dermatologist & I regret not training to do that, What do you have trouble seeing clearly in your mind? My future, when you loose the will to live a bit or suffer with trauma/suicidal thoughts or have a botched life/childhood it’s very hard to see anything clearly. The way I perceive people or myself or life will always be tainted I think. Would you travel to space if possible? Would be very cool, though space food looks rancid. Are you an optimistic person? Depends on the circumstance, I like to think im optimistic when it comes to relationships or D or whatever but in general im not. Im a logical person. Do you consider yourself more realistic OR idealistic? Bit of both. Have you ever felt bi-curious? Never, I like dick & dick is all it’ll ever be. Are you a fan of U.S. President Donald Trump? Not really. Do you know anyone with autism, mood disorders or learning disabilities? Erm me, hi! I suffer with multiple mood disorders. Are you green-eyed? Bluey green I guess. Would you consider UFC fighting and WWE real sports events? Not sure. Have you ever had an immediate relative pass away of cancer? No. Would you rather work in an office, warehouse or on a retail shop floor? I currently work on a retail shop floor, but i’d prefer an office I think. Do you have a favorite wild animal? Why? I love wolves & tigers because they are both stunning & bats. Do you have any unusual, uncommon phobias? Mould, im terrified & me & my brother have trypophobia which is holes. Do you prefer Android or iPhone? Iphone. Are you a fan of sweet, sour, salty, or savory snacks? All, depends on the time of the month & mood, probs sweet & savoury are top. Do you believe climate change is real? 100000000% Do you believe in evolution OR creationism? Evolution! Do you think people can really predict the future? Hmmm, idk, I do believe in tarot & shit so... Have you been to a lot of shrinks? We don’t call them that here but psychiatrists & psychologists or councillors, yeah. How often do you clean your room? I have a whole flat to clean & once a week, usually Mondays are my ‘get my shit together for the week’ days. Any movies coming out soon that you want to see? It’s out now but Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. What was the last fear you overcame? Not sure. Have you ever hurt yourself trying to crack a body part? No. What’s the worst part about winter? My bedroom gets freezing so forgetting to put the heating on & freezing my ass off in the morning. Or when you layer up but have to travel on the tube or in shops & it’s fucking boiling. Also when it’s icy & trying not to trip over. Summer? Our houses in the UK are made to keep heat in not out so when it is a hot day we don’t have aircon & shit. Spring? Hayfever & the days where it’s warm enough to wear sandals. Fall? I love Autumn. Are you allergic to anything? Quorn & grapefruit & avocados/nuts can give me migraines. How many times have you changed a diaper in your life? Lots when my little brother was a baby. Which country has the most fascinating culture? Japan is crazy but I love anciet history so does ancient Greek & Rome count?. Who does your favorite song? Fuck that’s the most difficult question ever. When was the last time you wore makeup? Today. Do you prefer males or females or both? I have men issues but females apart from my best friend & family annoy me & most of my friends are men & so’s my cat so... Where in your town do you go when you wanna chill with a few friends? Me & my bestie would go to London. Where’s the best place to get coffee? I don’t drink coffee but I love a Costa. Have you ever seen someone struggle with an addiction? D, it was hell. In May I lost a friend because of addiction too & it really struck something inside. When was the last time someone gave you flowers? My nan brought me pink roses for my birthday this year & roses are my favourite. Do you like cranberry juice? Only in a Woo Woo cocktail.. Do you play any zombie-killing video games? No. What is the dominating genre on your mp3 player/iPod? 80′s everything! Do you have a book shelf? No. What website do you spend way too much time on? Youtube or Netflix or Now Tv on the telly. Do you like wind chimes? Yeah. Do you have a fetish? Maybe... Do you have a pet fish? No, I’ve had a few in my time though, my first pets were goldfish called Michael Jackson & Bubbles. Do you like kettle corn? Popcorn? Yeah. Do you enjoy classic rock? Looove! When was the last time you went for a walk, just cause? Never lol, probably the last time I went to my grandparents house as they live practically on the seafront & it’s just lovely where they live. Do you listen to Type O Negative? No. Do you have any fillings or cavities? No. Have you gotten your wisdom teeth taken out yet? No & hopefully don’t ever have too. Do you actually read privacy policies when signing up for new things? I skim over yeah. Did you have a lot of birthday parties when you were younger? If so, did you invite everyone in the class? Yeah, my first party was the class but after it was friends. Do you like when things are color coordinated? YES & i’m very OCD about it. Have you ever participated in one of those “guess how many jelly beans, mints, etc. are in this jar!” contest? if so, have you ever won? Yeah, and no. Can you juggle? No. Have you ever mistaken a ringing phone on TV or in a movie for your own? Yeah, How often do you use bobby pins? Whenever I do a messy bun so often. Do you live on an avenue, road, drive or something else? Street. What are your school colors? The first was blue, the 2n’d was red & the 3rd was green. Have you ever taken a picture with Santa when you were little? Yeah. Have you ever rolled down a steep, grassy hill for fun? Yeah when I was younger. Do you like Nerds candy? Never had them!

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rosalesivey2-blog · 7 years ago

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Satisfying Psychic Readings

Tarots are a pack of special cards utilized by psychics to read the future. Nevertheless, in ancient Europe tarots were also used as playing cards. It was much later in the late 1700s that tarot reading started to be utilized for psychic and magical functions. It is still an incredibly popular method of reading the future and many individuals declare to gain from psychic readings. Today, the art has actually evolved into online tarot reading with many sites employing professional and skilled fortuneteller in their list of staff members. For circumstances, a couple of years ago I was surviving on just $900 a month and had 5 kids to feed, costs to pay, and so on. I titled one page: Ways to generate additional money. I noted as many things I might think about to make money without needing to go out and get a regular 9-5 job and leave my kids alone all day. (I house school my kids.) I'm a passionate book collector, so I figured I might offer them on Amazon. I also went to library sales and purchased books for pennies on the dollar and sold them on the website as well. And, I started using Psychics Careers on eBay. Excellent! That got me from the financial hole I remained in! Of course, each of those ideas had their own little actions such as creating ads on eBay, but those 2 concepts were the quickest, most convenient, and most affordable method to begin generating cash. Warning # 2: THE "YES AND NO LAW." Psychics Work SHOULD IN NO METHOD just respond to "yes or no" queries. An authentic psychic can provide you responses to any open ended concerns you have. But naturally, do not expect that the psychic will let you know the winning lottery game numbers! Performing a pendulum ritual while on trip is a great method to maximize the psychic strength of a common pendulum reading. When work tarot reading are away, it is a lot easier to stay alone and undistracted in a peaceful and relaxing area, be it in your hotel room or on the beach. Plan ahead and book a hotel that markets itself as a tranquil retreat or is known for its privacy. A lot of people reside in a "bad reality" state of mind. All it takes is turning that little switch in your mind. Whenever I feel down or wish to throw in the towel in regards to my life course and dreams, I understand that it's just my negative thinking switch that's on! Believe me, sometimes it remains in the on position for a long time! However, I also know that thoughts are just thoughts and in no way reality unless I make them so. That allows me to turn the switch the other method and start thinking positively which keeps me moving forward. Do some research study if you are going to get a psychic reading online. Find a respectable psychic. Many psychics who are world-renowned have sites where they will provide readings for a cost. Specific psychics are extremely great at forecasting your future, or even communicating with loved ones you have actually lost. have a peek at this web-site from these websites are typically extremely detailed and really precise. Even specialists lack the knowledge to speak about every subject in the world. my company of History, for instance, may be a strolling encyclopedia when it concerns the important things of the past. He might likewise have a lot of info about the art of the period. Nevertheless, to anticipate him to likewise be a lover of modern art is anticipating a little too much. A pendulum reading makes you more open to a psychic reading and is fantastic for enhancing your psychic powers within the unfolding of your own individual story.

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amberwoy · 7 years ago

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witches, let’s talk spell books.

this is such a huge part of our craft, and i think its about time we talk about it.

first off… grimoire? book of shadows? whats the difference? what on earth even is a book of mirrors?? wait… there’s even more??

well first lets quickly talk about the different types of books!

grimoire: a textbook of magick, a reference book filled with anything you desire or need to remember (lists, correspondences, how-to’s, spells)

book of mirrors: a book of reflections, for recording experimentation and its results including successes and failures (some like to keep their book of shadows pure with only successes)

the tree: a seax-wica (an anglo-saxon paganism) version of a book of shadows

book of ways: a devotional book for wiccans/pagans

(of course all of these things are up to further interpretation!)

let’s start with the basic thing nobody talks about… the book itself!

a sketchbook

you could make a book (a traveler’s notebook is a great idea)

an online book

a binder and insert pages

an old thrift store book and paint over the pages

you could even write and paint on paper and paste all over your walls and work space and make a room your ‘book’

you could choose something that relates to your field of magick if you have a defined one, get creative!

so where on earth do i start? if you already have one, what’s holding you back from working more?

so how do i bond and grow comfortable with my book? how do i create a connection? how do i give it my personal touch?

do what makes you happy.

sleep with your book under your pillow! bond with it like you would your tarot deck. carry it around throughout the day. let it become a companion.

your book isn’t just a place to write about your craft, infuse your craft! if you like lunar magick, bathe it in moonlight. if you like herbal magick, spray your pages with an herb and water mix.

remember, it might take a couple tries to get it right, and that’s okay! you might have to make a couple throughout your lifetime to hold all the knowledge you learn, so no worries.

you don’t have to be an artist to make a beautiful book! your book is already beautiful, unique, and magickal because its yours!

here’s some ideas for pages in your book!

devote a page to your sun and moon sign or maybe you and your partners signs and how they interact.

create a protection sigil just for your book.

make a page about your totem animal/spirit animal. please don’t appropriate these terms though, you can also use daemon, patronus, eomkin, or even just your personal corresponding animal.

you could make a page for each holiday, its history and dates, and add a paper pocket into the page filled with recipes.

paste in pictures from books or parts of posters that show what magick means to you.

practice spirit work? draw the spirit! collage the spirit. find art that makes you think of the spirit and pop it in there.

press plants you find, tape them in, bring a little greenery into your book. label them if you like. give them your own names if you don’t know your plants well.

write your dreams out, decorate in a way that feels right, use colors according to how it made you feel.

draw out the ingredients you want to use in a spell/potion/oil. dab a bit of the creation on the page.

make a pendulum chart.

find one of those adult coloring books. tear a few pages and stick them in either randomly or maybe in a page about meditation. when stressed, use it as a meditative practice.

chakras, what they mean to you, correspondences, and which you may need to work on. here is a fun test you can take that tells you if your chakras are under-active, over-active, or open.

any fictional/real witches or wizards that stood out to you? why?

write about magickal experiences you had as a child you can’t explain today. what about imaginary friends and were they imaginary?

get geeky. make spells about video games! inspire spells based on favorite characters and abilities or get inspiration from your favorite playable mages! get really creative with this one.

make a page about past lives if you know of any.

what do the elements mean to you? what are your favorites? which do you feel connected to?

stick envelopes in there and put recipes, spreads, all sorts of things in there to save some pages! utilize fold out pages for long chunks of information.

do you cast circles? what do you use? what do you think the energy looks like? the color? the shape if you don’t see it as a circle? draw the seen and unseen.

make a page about your spiritual or psychic gifts. how did you discover them?

make a list of things to research. cross them out as you do.

print out aesthetically pleasing pictures you find portray you and your craft. collage your personal aesthetic/witchy moodboard

happy casting!

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travelingtarot · 7 years ago

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Tarot the Week!

Week of June 12th - June 18th 2017

Card: The Lovers (Reversed)

Quick Analysis: The Lovers card means a soul connection between two people. It can have sex as its primary focus. But more often than not it’s a deeper meaning. Two people who connect to each other and communicate with each other in perfect harmony. Two people whose union is not only blessed by one another, but blessed by the Universe itself. When it’s in the reverse position it can mean a break down in communication between two people. It can mean a focus on one area of the relationship to the detriment of the rest. It can mean an adjustment of roles within the relationship. It can mean a disconnection and therefore an imbalance in the relationship that may need time, focus, commitment and work to bring back into alignment.

In-Depth Analysis: There’s an imbalance in your personal life right now. If you’re with someone, communication has broken down. If you’re single, the quest to find a life partner has taken up a majority of your free time and energy.

What I’m getting from this card in particular is if you’re with someone, as lovely and as beautiful as it may seem on the outside, things aren’t what they seem. You and your partner have stopped communicating. You and your partner have stopped talking about things that really matter and have relegated conversation to the routine. The mundane. The things that need to be done throughout the day to keep your household running smoothly. Other than that, all in depth conversations have stopped.

And there could be good reason for that. If you have children, children have a tendency to take up a large chunk of your time and energy. Getting them through each day as intact as they were when they started the day is truly a full time job. Not to mention all the extracurricular activities that take up children’s lives nowadays. Soccer practice. Dance practice. Music lessons. Birthdays. Sleepovers. PTA meetings. The list is endless. And by the time you fall into bed at the end of the day the only thing on your mind (after discussing the game plan for the next day, of course) is to roll over and go to bed. It’s understandable.

And then there are the couples that have literally run out of things to say to each other. You’ve been together long enough where you know each other inside and out and through and through. There’s is absolutely no stone unturned and no topic or life experience that hasn’t been examined thoroughly. Twice. You’ve reached the comfort zone of your relationship. Where you’re not only comfortable with each other but save for the occasional sexual liaison you’ve basically turned into roommates. This kind of thing happens all the time to countless couples. So please do not feel alone if you are in this situation.

And then there are the single people out there who’ve made it their life’s mission to find someone and get married. A noble goal to be sure, but a goal that has the possibility of turning into an obsession. You wake up in the morning and it’s the first thing on your mind. You make your way through your day and every time you see someone who turns your head you immediately look to see if he or she is wearing a wedding ring. You come home at night and binge-watch movies and television shows where romance is found and the couples live happily ever after. And as you lay down to sleep your last thought is of marriage.

Again, this is something that happens all the time to plenty of people so please do not feel alone in your single-mindedness. Somewhere along the way you, along with millions of other people out there, have been told you’ll only find true happiness in the arms of a soul mate. And you, along with millions of other people, have bought into it. If you look around at media, tv, movies, radio, the images are all around us. Everyday. Like a never ending neon strobe sign that says, “You’ll never be happy until you’re married!” So it’s very clear why you would think along those lines. We’ve been fed those lines forever and a day. And some of us have made it our daily diet. So it’s understandable.

What I would say to those of us who are married and find ourselves in a place of imbalance due to communication issues is going to sound REALLY obvious: Talk about it. I can already hear it: “My husband doesn’t like to talk.” “My wife and I are too busy to talk.” “My boyfriend makes every uncomfortable conversation into an even more uncomfortable confrontation.” “My girlfriend refuses to believe anything is wrong and thinks I’m being silly.” And I get it. Sometimes trying to talk your way through something may not be the best route to go. If it works and you can get somewhere with it, do so. But if you can’t, I have another idea:

Take a renewed interest in your partner’s life. It may seem really weird to your partner at first. He or she may wonder what the hell you’re up to. But if you stick with it, eventually your partner will grow to appreciate you taking that interest. And it will open up all sorts of communication avenues.

And should your partner really not be interested in making football or girls night out a plus one endeavor with you, see if there’s something you can have fun doing together. I remember reading a story about a couple who was literally on the verge of divorce. They’d stopped communicating with each other and were basically leading separate lives, except they shared a house and kids and a history together. Otherwise, they really didn’t connect with each other in a meaningful way, and it was about to tear their marriage apart.

They’d gone to counseling and were about to make divorce a reality when their counselor asked them to take up a hobby together. Just to try it to see what would happen. Even though the couple had grown apart, they did still love each other and decided to try cycling. And because they did, because they chose to do something together that required communication and alone time, they began to take renewed interest in each other’s lives, communicate better, and eventually reconnect with each other in a way they hadn’t in years. According to the article, they’re still together after all these years and they cycle together everyday.

Now as for my single brothers and sisters out there, the first thing I would recommend you doing is stop drinking the Kool-Aid. When it comes to marriage the most important thing for us single people to remember is marriage completes no one. Having a partner doesn’t mean that person is the missing puzzle piece that will make us a whole person. A partner isn’t the key to our happiness, we are. The sooner we understand that lesson the better off we’ll be.

The second most important thing we single people can remember is we should stop trying to find the perfect mate. Because the truth is, if we’re looking for perfection we’ll never find it. There is no such thing as perfection. No one person has every quality desirable wrapped up in a total package. And the other harsh truth is even if we did happen to find the perfect person, it doesn’t mean that person would see perfection in us. Nor does it mean a long lasting relationship would result in finding the perfect person.

We would better spend our time instead focusing in on ourselves. I always say “Never expect of someone else something you can’t provide yourself.” As hard as it may be, it’s for the best if we put aside looking for the best person and start being the best person. Instead of focusing outward, focus inward. Make sure you’re the best possible version of yourself at all times. And I don’t mean putting up a front, or being someone you aren’t. I mean actively focusing on and working towards being a better person from the inside out everyday.

Like attracts like. Which means if you’re attracting the wrong kind of person in your life on a consistent and continuous basis, unfortunately in this situation you’re the common denominator. There’s something inside you that is attracting the wrong kind of person in your life. And it needs attention. Conversely, if you’re actively working on being the best possible version of yourself, that attracts that kind of person in your life as well. Which means you’ll be attracting people, potential partners and otherwise, in your life. And who doesn’t need good people in their lives.

Bottom line: Working on communication and tending to soul connections are what is necessary when the lovers card is reversed. If you’re single and wanting a life partner, work on being the best possible version of yourself first and trust the best possible person for you will eventually come.

Have a great week!

Be blessed.

Ella Fitzgerald - Hooray For Love

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#tarot #tarot reading #the lovers #forecast #communication #soul connection #imbalance #single #single life #marriage #married #married life #family

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