thefierylotus

[thefierylotus]

Mindfulness is to be practiced with the thought, 'I'll watch after myself.' Mindfulness is to be practiced with the thought, 'I'll watch after others.' When watching after yourself, you watch after others. When watching after others, you watch after yourself.

~ Buddha

[thefierylotus]

The Now is as it is because it cannot be otherwise. What Buddhists have always known, physicists now confirm: there are no isolated things or events. Underneath the surface appearance, all things are interconnected, are part of the totality of the cosmos that has brought about the form that this moment takes.

Eckhart Tolle

[thefierylotus]

A Doorway Somewhere In The Mountains At Tibet

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[thefierylotus]

Sensuality is to be responsive to and in touch with your senses, to feel deep pleasure in the consistent shifting of life. Sensual people are in tune with the world around them, it is not only sexual pleasure. It’s a presence, an energy.

[thefierylotus]

I learned about the deity Palden Lhamo for the first time today and I’m amazed.

“Palden Lhamo means "Glorious Goddess" and can feature a wide range of wrathful female protectors and dakinis. Usually, Palden Lhamo refers to the Gelugpa version of her as a wrathful emanation of Saraswati, otherwise known as Magzor Gyalmo and Remati.

Magzor Gyalmo was said to be named Remati during the time she was married to the evil king of Lanka, both of them rakshasas according to one version. Remati vowed that if she failed to convert the king to Buddhism and dispel his wickedness, she would end his dynasty. She tried many times to convert him to avoiding the killing of dharma practitioners, but failed along with their son being raised to kill Buddhists. With no choice, she slaughtered her son while her husband was out hunting. She ate her son's flesh, drank his blood with his skull as a kapala or cup, and flayed his skin to make a saddle. Thus, she escaped out towards the north. Just as she left on a mule, the king returned and found out about his son's murder. Enraged, he shot the rump of the mule that Remati was riding. In response, Remati healed the wound and transformed it into an eye by stating, "May the wound of my mount become an eye large enough to watch over the twenty-four regions, and may I myself be the one to extirpate the lineage of the malignant kings of Lanka!" There, she traveled onwards through India to Tibet to China to Mongolia and was said to have finally settled down on the mountain, Oikhan in eastern Siberia.

When she died, she was reborn in hell and fought her way out of the hell, stealing a bag of diseases and a sword. When she escaped to the charnel grounds, she found no peace and prayed to the Buddha for a reason to live. The Buddha Vajradhara (tantric Shakyamuni) appeared before her and requested her to protect the dharma. Astonished, Remati agreed and thus arose as the dharmapala she is, only using her weapons against enemies of Buddhism. She was also appointed as a guardian of dharma by Yama, lord of death. Her retinue consists of the lion-headed dakini Simhamukha (Sengdongma) behind her and the Makara-headed dakini Makaravaktra holding the reins of the mule in front of Palden Lhamo. Surrounding them are the 4 Goddesses of the Seasons, the 5 Sisters of Long Life, and the 12 Tenma goddesses.”

[thefierylotus]

Be a true representative of the goodness in your heart, and don’t expect it to be easy or even noticed.

Adyashanti

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Magical stained glass

[thefierylotus]

Copal Incense

Copal is traditionally burned during Mexican Day of the Dead rituals but it may be used anytime. Its fragrance allegedly pleases, pacifies, and honors those who have passed on, while protecting and cleansing the living at the same time.

(from The Element Encyclopedia of 5,000 Spells by Judika Illes)

[thefierylotus]

"The higher up we are in the world the further we have to fall; it is safer to be nearer the bottom."

- Geshe Kelsang Gyatso, The Eight Steps to Happiness

[thefierylotus]

~ Naropa

The mind, deluded by the appearance of samsara,

Sees the faults of others with the senses.

It is darkened by the prison of samsara;

It is made intolerable by the fire of samsara;

It is caught in the spider web of samsara;

It is stuck in samsara as the bee is in nectar;

It is encased in samsara like a silkworm in a cocoon.

There is no substance to the hollow tree of samsara.

Samsara is like the moon's reflection in water, Without essence;

Samsara is like an animal chasing a mirage;

He who desires samsara falls into a pit.

Samsara is like being trapped in the jaws of a crocodile;

Samsara is like wandering in the land of the rakshas;

Samsara is like a poisonous snake which destroys anyone who sees or touches it;

Samsara is bordered by the precipice of karma;

Samsara is like a wave in water, or fog;

Samsara is tied by the lasso of karma;

Samsara is bound by the seal of karma;

Samsara is the density of darkness;

Samsara is the deep mud of the three poisons;

Samsara is the dance of impermanence;

Samsara is the enchantment of this life;

Samsara is the shadow of birth and death;

Samsara is a merciless hunter;

Samsara is snared by the hound of death;

Samsara is a vast, sorrowful field of grasping and fixation;

Samsara is the galloping horse of the eight worldly dharmas;

Samsara is caught by the iron hook of desire;

Why should I not search for the Lama While I have this precious, impermanent body?

Mahasiddha Naropa

[thefierylotus]

Hand painted fan signed Marie Grivaz, Rodien Paris, 19 ThC

Hand painted fan signed Marie Grivaz. The guard stick is engraved mother of pearl, gold and silver. The leaf is paper lined skin, it is painted with gouache and signed Mr. Grivaz. Two young couples, putti and doves follow a putto musician in a flower garden. A guitar is placed on the ground next to beautiful Iris, in the background a sculpture representing a putto. On the back a beautiful monogram, and the signature of the famous Parisian fan maker “A.Rodien”. The fan measures 32.2 cm closed and 61.5 cm in open diameter. It is in perfect condition. France, late nineteenth century.

[thefierylotus]

“Four thousand years ago, in the ancient Near East, women were poets, drummers, scholars, dancers, healers, prophets, and keepers of sacred space… From Enheduanna the poet-priestess of ancient Sumer to the oracle at Delphi, from the weavers of Athena in Greece to the prophetesses of Hathor in Egypt, from the vestal virgins of Rome to the drumming-priestesses of Crete, from the bee-priestesses who served Demeter to the warrior-priestesses of Scythia, women were facilitators of the connections between human and divine. This has been true all over the world in all times.”

— Rabbi Jill Hammer, PhD, The Hebrew Priestess (via arthistorywitches)

[thefierylotus]

Baneful magic ingredients and their correspondences

I got a LOT of these from @afledglings-guideto-witchcraft when they answered an ask I sent in, that blog is a fantastic place for information whether you've been practicing a few days or a few years imo.

I've been posting a lot about trying to find information on this subject and now I've gotten a good list compiled in a google doc and figured I'd share it with y'all, feel free to add on your own notes or just any commentary you have or experiences you've had using certain ingredients. I'm using some of these to make a hex jar to try and help a friend out with a shitty abusive household, which I might post more about if y'all would be interested in it, or if I just feel up to it.

Black pepper: bad luck, punishing negative energies

Pickle juice: to bring sourness

Broken glass: cutting ties, warding off negative energies, pain

Black salt: banishment

Thumb tacks: pain and suffering

Rotten tea/anything moldy: for detriment on their life

Hot peppers: pain, irritation, burning, anger

Garlic: disgust and repulsion

Dead matches: to drain energy

Salt: to intensify wounds, to sting, to keep someone away

Mustard seed: strife and discord

Onion: breaking relationships/habits/etc, strife

Lemons: causing pain (think lemon juice on a cut), souring a relationship, or any good luck the target has been receiving lately.

Rusty Nails: can be stabbed into lemons, or added to sour jars/hex jars. Pins the hex/curse to the target.

Vinegar: souring, dissolves relationships

Poppyseed: intoxication and confusion

Alum: stops communication/speech.

Small pickles: male impotency

Beet pickles: female hormonal problems

Thick mud: darkness, suffocation, feeling trapped

Feces/urine: to make their life nasty

Black candle wax or strings: binds the curse to the target

Coffee: insomnia

Tea: lethargy/oversleeping

Gravel: Being crushed and stepped on by life and the people around you

Don't ever let anyone tell you you are a bad person or you're going to get hurt if you practice baneful magic at all no matter what. The threefold law is a rule that Wiccans follow, no one else is obligated to believe in it, I respect people who believe in it and they should respect people who don't. Always make sure to judge a situation very carefully and use this magic appropriately.

And, very very important, research on how to protect yourself from a spell backfiring (because you can get hurt), make sure that your intention is very focused on your specific target(s), and, if you're doing something similar to what I'm doing, do something (protection jars, spells, etc) to protect other people around this person or people from the effects of the jinx, hex, or curse. Oh and if you're casting a spell on someone else who practices witchcraft, make sure you know the signs if they deflect the spell back onto you and try and do what you can to prevent that from happening.

[thefierylotus]

[thefierylotus]

“Buddhist monks begin each day with a chant of gratitude for the blessings of their life. Native American elders begin each ceremony with grateful prayers to mother earth and father sky, to the four directions, to the animal, plant, and mineral brothers and sisters who share our earth and support our life. In Tibet, the monks and nuns even offer prayers of gratitude for the suffering they have been given: ‘Grant that I might have enough suffering to awaken in the deepest possible compassion and wisdom.’ The aim of spiritual life is to awaken a joyful freedom, a benevolent and compassionate heart in spite of everything.”

— Jack Kornfield 

[thefierylotus]

Tarot Tip

Shuffle the deck and pull three cards. If the majority of the cards are upright the answer to your question is yes. If the majority of the cards are reversed the answer is no. The cards themselves will tell you more about why the answer was given.