Explore Wicca with me!

Merry meet everyone! I hope you are all well.

Today’s topic is Asrtral Magick. :)

The astral world, or astral plane as its sometimes called, is an important place for Witches to become acquainted with. It is conceptualized as an invisible otherworld that parallels and interpenetrates our own, but remains unseen in our normal states of consciousness. On this plane all thoughts, deities, and magick live, waiting to be called into manifestation. All types of magick and ritual can be done in the astral with great efficiaency, since this is where your energies must go before manifesting. While there you can find a likely place to cast a circle or work a spell, or you can also travel to other places to work astral magick, such as appearing in your astral body at the bedside of a sick friend who has requested your help in healing.

Astral Magick takes high concentration and visualization. Start off with visualization techniques and lean how to “jump” into your astral body.

To begin, visualize any simple fruit. One you can recall the texture of, as well as the scent, taste, shape, and sound when bitten into. Examine it fullt for as long as you need. This may take days to pick a favorite fruit.

Once you feel you know that fruit inside and out, set it aside and try to create a mental image of it (from top to bottom and side to side). Then try to grab it and feel it’s texture (if you’re working with a fruit that peels, notice the inside texture as well). When you are able to do this, take a bite out of it. Notice the taste. Begin to feel your mouth water as if it were really there. Notice the sound it makes as your teeth bite into it as well. Last, take a piece, or the whole thing and bring it up to the nose.

This may take a bit of time and practice but well worth it. The last step is to open your eyesw and see if the fruit you are eating is there in your hand.

Next, you should learn to jump into your astral body. At first the body should be visualized as either naked or that of wearing all one color, unless you feel your visualization skills are able to handle a lot of imagery thus far. But to not overwhelm yourself, keep things simple at first, and keep practicing. And you must remember to know where everything in the room your working in, because that is needed to be visualized as well.

Once you have succesfully been able to jump into your astral body, you may then wish to construct a temple for ritual work; a basic or starter, and a more advanced one.

You may begin the basic with meditation, but it is recommended to meditate before a harder technique. Visualize yourself on open land, with nothing in sight as far as you can see. Instead of a temple, use a cirlce. The cirlce should have no way of entrance from anything once inside, so nothing may enter it. Set the cirlce aflame and begin.

For an advanced one, begin to meditate with just focusing on your breath and regulating it. When you have found a suitable breathing technique, take yourself to an empty fiel with no signs of life. The sky can be any color, and surroundings anything you wish. Construct 4 walls, a sdesired floor texture and a ceiling. here you can place any symbols or writings you may wish to meditate upon. There should be no visible entrace or exit in your temple, so that nothing can get inside and corrupt or break your concentration. Anything inside your temple should be remembered and anything you wish to add should be created while inside of it. Be creative and remember everything, even the way you came in. After you have finishedm leave the way you came, and open your eyes. Do not leave anything unfinished.

Once you have finished you should begin to expiriment with ritual. See how it differs ising astral prjection and without.

Let me know if you try it, and how it went!

Blessed Be

Tana

Also known as Wolfsbane, it can be used to make a wash for ritual tools & space.
Note: Poisonous, do not ingest

Overview:

These herbaceousperennial plantsare chiefly natives of the mountainous parts of the northern hemisphere, growing in moisture retentive but well drainingsoilson mountain meadows. Theirdark greenleaveslack stipules. They are palmate or deeply palmately lobed with 5–7 segments. Each segment again is 3-lobed with coarse sharp teeth. The leaves have a spiral or alternate arrangement. The lower leaves have long petioles.

The tall, erect stem is crowned byracemesof largeblue,purple,white,yelloworpinkzygomorphicflowerswith numerousstamens. They are distinguishable by having one of the five petaloidsepals(the posterior one), called the galea, in the form of a cylindrical helmet; hence the English name monkshood. There are 2–10petals, in the form of nectaries. The two upper petals are large. They are placed under the hood of the calyx and are supported on long stalks. They have a hollow spur at their apex, containing thenectar. The other petals are small and scale-like or non-forming. The 3–5carpelsare partially fused at the base.

Thefruitis afollicle, a follicle being a dry, unilocular, many-seeded fruit formed from one carpel, and dehiscing by the ventral suture in order to release seeds.

Stay in touch,

Tana

Uruz
Oor-ooze

Strength
Masculine and Feminine Principles

This is the Rune of endings and new beginnings. It is a Rune of transition indicating that the life you have lived until now must change to make room for a new form. You might suffer the loss of something or someone with whom you hold strong emotional links. However, Uruz reminds you that it is an entirely natural process: death, fertilization, gestation and rebirth. The ashes fertilize the ground for future crops. Learn to adapt to the moment, using the strength of your masculinity or femininity as support, and look for the opportunity that hides behind the loss.

The Magician’s number is One, the number of creation and individuality; his power is transformation through the use of his will. In his manipulation of the basic elements into all the substances and materials of life, he shows us that from a foundation of the mundane can emerge all that is to come. He can take the Nothing from which the Fool emerged and shape it into Something, making one out of zero. Clearly this is power of a divine sort, and it is true that the Magician is a conduit for a higher power, which commands all of the material world. Since all that we can see in the physical world is the conduit himself, the acts he performs often seem like magic.

The Magician may seem like a strange title for someone who holds real power, because the word “magician” tends to conjure up pictures of illusionists and escape artists, whose power involves sleight of hand and misdirection. The Magician, however, is similar to the stage illusionist in many ways. He is confident in his skills and his ability to produce the effects that he wants. His real power comes from sources outside of him, and he is powerless without these sources, just as an illusionist depends on people “behind the scenes”. Both magician and Magician, however, are as important to their powers are the powers are to them. Without a conduit, power itself is impotent and useless.

With his powers the Magician holds influence over all - theory and practice, logic and emotion, thought and action. Almost every modern depiction of the Magician includes one or more symbols of infinity to denote his limitless power; the snake eating its tail and the lemniscate (horizontal figure-eight) being chief among these. This limitless power comes from sources outside his body yet under his control. And as long as the Magician remembers that this power is his to command, even if he loses all of his worldly power and skill he can never truly be called powerless. For his Will is a power that, while it can be subdued, it can never be destroyed.

Another nearly universal association with the Magician is the red-and-white color scheme. This theme recurs throughout the Tarot and it is very symbolic that it starts with this card and not the Fool. For while the Fool was the potential for positive and negative, the Magician is the union of positive and negative. He creates and he preserves; he destroys and he redeems. His true power is that he not only knows what he must do, but he knows how he must do it, and why he must do it. Then he does it. The Magician reminds us that a wish alone will change nothing, but a decision can change everything. A desire to create is nothing without an ability to create, and vice-versa.

When the Magician appears he shows that you are ready to become a conduit for power, like he is. The forces of creation and destruction have always been at your command but now you have the wisdom and confidence needed to use them constructively. Now is the time to act, if you know what is it you want to accomplish and why. Since the powers of transformation are at your command, change your desires into objectives, your thoughts into actions, your goals into achievements. If you have recently met with failure, now you can change that failure into success as easily as the Magician changes fire into water. The only limits you have are those you impose on yourself.

The outward manifestations of such power are as numerous as they are varied, but the most common outer effect of the Magician’s influence is unswaying and total confidence. The realization that the world is under your control is what inspires this kind of confidence, and with good reason. So go out into the world, set your mind to whatever goal you are interested in, and then just stand back and watch as everything falls into place under your command. Ultimately, the message of the Magician is a simple one despite his limitless and infinitely complex power. Your life is under your control. Your life is what you want it to be. Your life is what you make it.

Stay in touch,

Tana

With one thought constantly following another, your mind might start to feel claustrophobic. This meditation will help you clear your mental ‘space’ and give you a much-needed mental holiday.

Benefits:

• Gives your mind a rest from over thinking
• Helps you feel more calm and compassionate
• Provides mental spaciousness

Our minds are filled with memories, desires, plans, worries, and other mental impressions. Our constant thinking adds to the disarray. This meditation will help you clear your mental clutter and create a peaceful, open, spacious mind. By creating mental spaciousness, you will realize that you have much more control over how you feel and think than your imagined. You will discover your thoughts and problems take a back seat as you experience a reality that is larger and more compassionate than your ordinary mind. With pratice you can experience this mental spaciousness and whenever and wherever you want.

When: Any time you are feeling stressed and hemmed in by worries or constant thinking, use this meditation.

Preparation: Before meditating, relax by stretching out on your bed or on the floor. Starting at your toes, move up your body and relax all of your muscles. Rest and breathe deeply for five breaths. Get up slowly and begin the meditation.

Practice:

1. Sit cross-legged on a cushion or a straight-backed chair with your feet flat on the floor.
2. Begin by focusing on your breath, counting on the out-breath to ten. After about five minutes, stop counting your breath and simply focus on the out-breath for another two minutes or so.
3. Become aware of the clamness and space that arises at the end of the out-breath. Let yourself float deeper and deeper into that feeling and space. Imagine your breath flowing out into a vast area filled with light.
4. With each breath, let the space get larger and larger. Allow yourself to rest and be in that space in the present. If a thought appears, gently refoucis on the spaciousness you have created.
5. Tell yourseld that it is ok to just be. Remain in this calm space as long as you like. When ready, take a deep breath and end your session.

Stay in touch,

Tana

All information was taken from The Meditation Bible by Madonna Gauding

Recently at my school, there was an agriculture fair, and I learned I LOVE plants. :) So I think it would be good for me to start studying herbs!

Each hers has it’s own natural properties and strengths and they also have the benefit of offering dual purposes.

In addition to their natural properties, you can further empower the herbs, defining their purpose and adding to the strength they display spntaneously.

It is inadvisable for anyone to use any herb in large quantities or over prolonged periods with out first taking medical advice to ensure that it is safe. This applies particularly is you are pregnant or breast feeding.

Herbs are used in magick for their “vibrations” or “essences”. What does this mean? Herbs, like people, have gender, are ruled by a planet, an element, and are often sacred to a God or Goddess. This is known in Wicca as the herbal correspondence, and it is an important element in Wiccan Magick Spells. Growing and nurturing herbs in your own magickal garden can give you the advantage of having your own energies already influencing the plant. A plant such as Angelica, ruled by the Sun, will then have all of the influence of the Sun and fire, along with your personal energies.

Charms and sachets - Fill a small bag, of the correct color or material, with herbs to make a charm or sachet. You can carry the charm with you, hang it in the house or car, or bury or burn it, depending on the purpose, and the spell you are performing.

Incense- Herbs can be burned as a ritual incense, such as the sage smudge used to clear negative vibrations from a space.

Bath - Make a sachet, and place it in your ritual or healing bath. Fragrant herbs like lavender make a very relaxing bath, and you can use certain herbs to alleviate skin and other conditions, such as using eucalyptus in a bath when you have a cold or flu.

Oils - Place herbs in an oil, let them steep for a few days, then strain. You can make annointing oils for you ritual work, beauty oils for your hair, skin and nails (try coconut or jojoba), or flavor oils for cooking and seasoning, such as steeping rosemary in olive oil.

Teas- Use herbs to make teas for healing illness. Some herbs can be used to mildly alter consciousness, such as valerian or kava kava which can facilitate trance like states.

Smoking- You can make herbal smoking mixtures which will also facilitate altered states of consciousness.

In spellwork, herbs can be sprinkled or placed around or within boundaries (such as your home, altar, or magick circle) to define a “territory” for your magick to work. Of course, you can always use flavorful herbs in cooking and seasoning your food. There are many healthful benefits, and they taste great! Always give all plant life respect, where ever you are- remember, the word “weed” is simply a value judgement! Dandelion, for instance, has many, many healing and nutritional qualities which are extremely beneficial not only to the wildlife which feeds on it, but to you, too! Learn to recognize the herbs around you- even in a city, there are many wonderful herbs growing wild, which you can gather and use. Herbs are Nature’s gift- use them with wisedom and joy!

Stay in touch,

Tana

Fehu
Fay-hoo
Possessions
Nourishment
The Common Wealth

This is the Rune of realization: an ambition satisfied, a love conquered, a reward received. It often signals the presence of abundant nourishment of all kinds, physical as well as spiritual.
Nevertheless, it reminds you that in moments of good fortune we run the risk of getting carried away by success, thus behaving imprudently. Fehu advises you to be aware of this so as to not let it happen.
Enjoy your good fortune and don’t forget to share it: the good will of feeding others is a sign of a well-fed being.

Stay in touch,

Tana

Without the notion of Zero, our system of mathematics becomes meaningless. Similarly, the Fool is an essential part of the Tarot because he is the spark that sets everything else into motion, the divine breath that gives life and inspires the first step towards fulfillment and completion. Though the first step down a long path may often seem small in comparison to the journey, that first step is vital because without it there would be no journey at all! The Fool is the cause behind all effects, the power behind all manifestations and the seeds of the end sown in every beginning.

The Fool is unmounted potential, pure and innocent, neither positive nor negative yet containing the possibility of both. He is the unconditioned soul about to come into manifestation for the first time to start learning the lessons of the world. Though everyone calls him a Fool, he does not pay them any attention, and he simply goes on his way. Certainly what they say can be justified, since his ignorance of the world can lead him to do things that more experienced people would never imagine. But in these things he can find knowledge and enlightenment. He does not care what others think or say about him, because he knows that what he is doing is right for him.

His approach to life is a strange, unconventional one, because he does what is comfortable to him. This is a viewpoint not often supported in our modern world, in which “do as I say” is the commandment most followed. To those who have lived their life under this philosophy, the approach of the Fool may be extravagant, shocking, even frightening. But this approach is all that the Fool knows, and because the only approval he requires is his own, he will continue to live this way, despite what all others think of him. He has total faith in himself. Perhaps he is not such a fool after all.

The Fool does not hide himself from the light, because he is the light - the wonderful light that shines out of every child before they see the world and are forced to build so many walls and barriers to protect themselves. The innocence of a child, sadly, is something rarely found outside of children, even though a lot of people could use it these days. With this innocence comes perfect trust, fearlessness in others, and total self-reliance. It allows you to see the world with new eyes and learn new things every day of your life. Think of how much better the world would be if everybody acted this way! It’s a shame that only children, and the Fool, see this light.

The Fool almost always stands for new beginnings, new experiences and new choices; the first steps along a new path and the first words written onto a blank page. Like the Aces of the Minor Arcana, such beginnings are like the Fool himself - neither positive nor negative, but with the potential to turn into either, depending on the choices you make and the path you follow. But this must not be your concern, because when a journey begins no one can know (or should know) what will happen on the way to the destination. Never let another person control your life. Live in the present and trust in your own abilities - this is the way of the Fool.

Such journeys always imply a degree of risk, and hence the Fool is pictured walking toward the edge of a high cliff. With any new experience there is always the risk of failure and the certainty of change; it is the degree of change, and how that change will appear, that are undeterminable. But the Fool has no qualms about taking chances, so why should you? It is through the first steps that we learn how to walk, and it is through changes that we learn how to live our lives in harmony and peace. So jump head first into the abyss of the unknown, and know that even if you eventually fall to the ground, for a while you will soar.

Stay in touch,

Tana

Centering yourself.

Watching your breath.

This is one of the simplest of all meditations, yet one of the most powerful and rewarding. Meditating on the breath on a daily basis provides a sold foundation for all other forms of mediation.

Benefits:

• Reduces anxiety
• Lowers blood pressure and heart rate
• Reduces mental chatter
• Promotes ability to focus on the mind
• Helps you concentrate on whatever you choose

The practive of meditating on the breath is thousands of years old. Acient Hindus and Buddhists meditated in this way to tame incontrolled thinking, reduce negative thoughts and actions, and gain an understanding of spiritual truths. Basically, you meditate on your breath in order to give your mind something to ‘hang on to’ when it starts to jump from one thought to another. Training your mind in this way helps you focus on one thing at a time, and develops your powers of concentration. It had a caling influence on your body and mind and is beneficial for reducing anxiety, lowering heart rate and blood pressure. Whether your interests is in spiritual development or mental and physical halth, breath meditation is one of the best all around meditation practices.

Meditation -

When: Meditate daily, morning and evening for ten minutes. Build to longer sessions.

Preparation: Fine a quiet place at home where you will be undisturbed. You will need a cushion or a straight-backed chair. Wear loose-fitting, comfotable clothing. Creat soft lighting and keep the room draught-free and at a comfortable temperature.

Practice:

1. Sit cross-legged on a cushion with your bottom slightly raised. If you cannot sit on the floor, sit on a chair. Keep your back straight, your shoulders level and relaxed and your chin parallel to the floor. Lower your eyes and focus about three feet in front of you. Rest your hands gently on your knees.

2. Breathe normally through your nose, using your abdomen instead of your chest. Check your posture and relax any part of your body that is tense.

3. Begin counting your breath on each exhalation; when you reach ten, begin again. Thoughts will intervene and when they do, simply let them go and return to counting your breath.

4. After ten minutes or so, end you session. Try to bring focus and concentration into your daily life.

Tana

All information was taken from The Meditation Bible by Madonna Gauding

Apollo

The Greek god Apollo was the god of light, order, arts and muses, reason, prophecy. He was the son of Zeus and Leto and the twin brother of Artemis. He is represented as a young and handsome man, sometimes in a chariot, given to him by his father, Zeus.

Apollo

Pietro Perugino

When Hera found out that her husband had had another affair, she sent a monstruous serpent, the Python, to follow Leto day and night, so as she could have no peace to have her children (she was bearing twins).

But Leto made it to the island of Delos, where she gave birth to Artemis. The mother was too tired to have the second baby, but precocious Artemis helped her to give birth to Apollo. The father gave both children bows and arrows, as gifts.

The Greek god Apollo was a precocious baby, too. He was only four days old when he followed and killed the Python as a revenge for having given a hard time to his mother.

But the Python was the son of the goddess Gaia, so Apollo had to pay for his crime. He had to become king Admetus’ servant for one year. King Admetus treated him well, so Apollo told him that, when time came for him to die, he could continue to live if he could find someone else to die in his place (now if you ask me, I think this is a very selfish thing to do, ask someone else to die in your place).

One day, Niobe, the queen of Thebes, started to laugh at Leto, who only had two children, while the queen had seven girls and seven boys. Leto was offended by all this, so she told her children about it. The revenge was scary: the Greek god Apollo killed with his arrows Niobe’s seven sons, while the goddess Artemis killed the daughters (ok, so Niobe had a child-like reaction, but the other two were gods, they should have been above all these small human things).

One of the Greek god Apollo’s surname was the Musagetes, that is “the leader of the muses”. In the paintings below, he is represented together with the nine muses.

Amphitrite

In Greek mythology, Amphitrite, goddess of the Sea, was one of the fifty Nereids, that is a daughter of Nereus and Doris - that’s what Hesiod writes in his Theogony (but Apollodorus says her parents were Oceanus and Thetys). Her Roman equivalent was Salacia, god Neptune’s wife.

Her name means “The third one who encircles (everything)” (because the ancient Greeks thought the whole world was encircled by a river-god, Oceanus).

She spent most of the time singing and dancing with her sisters. One day Poseidon, god of the sea, saw her near the island of Naxos and fell in love with her. He kidnapped her and made her his wife.

In another story, Amphitrite, being a shy girl, fled away and hid somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean. Poseidon wanted desperately to find her, so he sent all the marine creatures to look for her. Delphinus, a dolphin, managed to find her and convinced her to go back to Poseidon and marry him. That’s what made Amphitrite goddess of the sea. (By the way, the dolphin who found her was turned into a constellation by the grateful Poseidon).

Amphitrite goddess of the sea has no special attributions (but sometimes she can calm the waters), she is just the mistress of the sea (and sometimes she is considered the mother of the marine creatures, but they existed even before she became queen of the sea). Some even say that she is just a personification of the sea.

She also appeared briefly in the story of Theseus. King Minos asked the hero to prove that he really was Poseidon’s son. A ring was thrown into the sea and Theseus had to bring it back. The sea creatures found the ring and gave it to the hero, while Amphitrite goddess of the sea received him in her underwater palace and gave him a golden crown, which he took to Ariadne as a wedding gift. (As you can see, Amphitrite was the ideal wife, as she was never jealous of her husband’s love affairs.)

Amphitrite and Poseidon had a son, Triton (a fish-man or a he-mermaid) and a daughter, Rhode, and maybe another daughter, Benthesicyme.

In art, she was usually represented with her husband, together with many real and imaginary sea creatures, as you can see in the following picture of Amphitrite goddess of the sea.

The Triumph of Neptune and Amphitrite

by Nicolas Poussin