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Herbs and this is a great opportunity for all to increase their knowledge
and skills by learning from Susun FREE !!!
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As you inhale, imagine that you are breathing in molecules from the air around you and
energy from the earth below you. You are like a sponge that absorbs all the energetic
particles from the earth where you sit and the air around you. Feel each molecule
absorb into every pore of your skin.
As you exhale, imagine there is a large balloon of light over your head. Breathe out and
fill the balloon with all the energy you absorbed on the inhale. The balloon gets larger
and larger, and brighter and brighter above your head.
It is dawn. I find myself in a forest filled with Aspen trees. I raise my eyes and look for
the sky, but the boughs looming overhead hide it from my view. As I look up, feel the
cool breeze of spring brush my face, and hear the sound of the rustling leaves. Blowing,
laughing from the east, Eurus brings thoughts of renewal and life.
I follow the wind further into the soft shadows of the forest, inhaling deeply the strong
scent of the trees. I smell, too, the wafting hints of fragrant incense. I follow where my
senses lead me and come to a small clearing circled by burning censers filled with
sweet-smelling oils. Toward the east end of the circle is a staff. I walk over to the place
and sit on the ground before it. I take the staff into my hands and close my eyes.
First come swirling colors of white then yellow then fading darker into lavender. Then,
out of the swirling fog of colors come dozens of small, lithe figures who swirl around as
if carried on the wind itself. They dance around my head and body, swirling around as
if caught in a dance to unheard music. Then, taking my attention from the spirits of the
air, I look up to find further figures emerging from the mist.
First comes a woman with the beauty of the dawn. As she steps forward, each of the
four winds, in turn, hasten from around here and fly, one to each of the four corners of
the earth. As she fades, there comes another whose form seems insubstantial, and seems
to constitute both the image of a woman and a cow at the same time. I look closely the
attempt to solidify one form, but I cannot. As this image fades, I am presented with the
forms of two women who immediately remind me of the nighttime sky. One glows
with the pale light of the full moon, and her eyes hold the fullness of hidden
knowledge. The other, whom also seems to radiate cool starlight, seems to embody the
possibilities of many lifetimes.
In due course, these figures too fade and I am left with only the mist of the elemental
world of air. Suddenly, three male figures issue from the mist. They seem to be three
aspects of one man, but each's attributes differ. The first glows with the light of the
moon, seeming to be its protector. The second and third appear almost identical, except
that one has a winged helmet and shoes. As I sit and study the sameness and difference
of the three, they begin to fade, as does the fog.
When the mist clears, I find myself sitting within the circle still clutching the staff in
my hands. I place the staff once again on the ground and rise. I thank the element of air,
and all it is associated with for sharing with me its wisdom, and leave the circle.
PALLAS ATHENA
Engaged Presence
Sacred attending is, perhaps, the most important aspect of my practical spiritual work
as a Druid, because it is something that can be done anywhere and at anytime but
furthermore, right here and right now. You, in front of your computer screen, take a
moment to attend. Notice the shape and color of the computer, the dust that may have
collected on it, the desk and its odds and ends, the creaking chair, the window outside
of which the rain is sometimes loud and pounding, the snow sometimes too soft to hear
above the buzz of fluorescent lights.
How did I learn to engage the present, and to make it such a natural part of my
everyday awareness? Honestly, Im not sure, though I have a suspicion that writing
poetry helped. Especially writing poetry while sitting in the back of my high school
math classes, recalling the weather, the smile of a boy, the lace slip peeking out
beneath the hem of an elderly, enthusiastic English teacher as she raised her arms for
emphasis, the smell and feel of chalk, the deathly activity of the eraser across the
black-gray board When youre a teenager trying to learn how to write poetry, what
can you turn to? Not long years of memory, not exciting experiences of foreign, exotic
places When your boredom forces your irresistible creative impulses into poetry
or doodling or playing the guitar what else can you do but attend to the dull but
bursting world around you? Im not sure you can learn to attend in any other way.
Maybe thats why mystics of the past have so often retreated for a time into the
boredom of the desert, the hermitage or the dark.
Meditation
The Eastern (and in particular, Zen Buddhist) tradition of meditation seeks to empty
and quiet the monkey mind, to burn away the false sense of self and attain to the
nothingness of Holy Void, which is itself not anything. Many people never quite find
the knack of this approach. Rather than being restful and revitalizing, they discover
that they have to exert a great deal of energy to keep themselves centered in anatman
(no-self). Druidry offers another approach to meditation, rooted firmly in Western
rather than Eastern spiritual practices. Well-known author and AODA Archdruid John
Michael Greer writes, In Druid meditation, by contrast, the more common path is to
train and reorient the mind instead of shutting it down. [...] In this form of meditation,
which is called discursive meditation, the thinking process is not stopped but
redirected and clarified; thoughts are not abolished but made into a vehicle for the
deeper movement of consciousness.
When I first began working with this form of Druidic meditation, I quickly found
myself enjoying both the practice itself, and its benefits. Rather than a strain, it
became an exercise in unifying and harmonizing myself, working towards a more
complete spiritual integrity. In some ways, this method of meditation takes the
engaged presence of attending to the outside world and turns that attention to the
mind itself. Rather than trying to deaden or quiet the mind, one can watch its
processes, trace its pathways, and ride the activity of reasoning itself, learning to hone
and clarify it. While it is certainly beneficial to set aside time regularly throughout the
week for meditative sessions, the process of discursive meditation can be employed
fruitfully during the course of the ordinary day as well, whenever the mind needs a
boost of energy or a new perspective.
Creative Visualization
In some ways, having a visual-poetic kind of mind by nature, the practice of
discursive meditation led me into the technique of creative visualization. Many
people use this technique to visualize goals or positive outcomes, to go on prescribed
guided visualizations, and the like. I found these uses to be a bit too specific to
make for practical daily use (though I will sometimes take a moment over breakfast in
the morning to visualize or imagine myself having a stress-free, prosperous and
enjoyable day at work).
I most commonly use creative visualization for sensing or playing with energy.
When walking somewhere, I run my fingers over passing shrubbery, chain-link
fences, the bark of trees or even the brick walls of buildings experiencing the
changing energies each thing radiates.
When the wind is strong or the sun warm, Ill open wings out to gather in the
power, and when its cold outside, sometimes Ill send down roots seeking solidity
and warmth within the earth. And every once in a while, Ill be sitting at my desk, or
curled up reading a book, or even at work bustling around, when Ill open my hand,
palm upwards, as if to hold a gently glowing, floating ball of energy before me, as if
to concentrate and activate it before reabsorbing or dissipating.
To call these activities visualizations might be a bit misleading. I do not close my
eyes, I do not call up stark images in my mind as if looking at a movie screen behind
my eyelids, and I do not actually see anything other than the physical reality in front
of me. But in the same way that complicated philosophical ideas will sometimes
present themselves all at once in idea-maps charted in spatial relations which then
take paragraphs to delineate and describe, so too can someone experience this sense
of space, energy and movement that extends beyond the physical boundaries of the
body a sense of space that is not auditory or olfactory, but which seems very much a
visual sensation, though it is far from literal.
These experiences are what St. Theresa of Avila described in her work as intellectual
visions. Though her understanding of such visions were as revelations from God, the
principle of experiencing and cultivating them seems, to me, to be much the same.
They become daily reminders of the nonmaterial or transmaterial world, moments at a
stoplight or waiting in line at the grocery store when we can remind ourselves to
look for the interconnective energies we have believed in and experienced before.
Get a white candle -- either a plain one (offertory, pillar, or taper) or a figural one in the
gender of the person you want to bless. Carve the person's full name on the candle,
then dress it with myrrh or frankincense. For more power, you may place a name-paper of the
person, or a photo, or some personal item of theirs (such as a bit of hair or a snippet of
clothing) either under the candle or next to it. One easy way to do this is to place the paper or
personal concerns under an overturned saucer and put the candle on top of the saucer. Burn a
portion of the candle every day for seven days, pinching it out between burnings.
Magickal Dance
Posted by Whispr
Many sources site - before using the stones in magic, they should be "charged" or
"programmed" with energy for the specific purpose you need the from the stone. My
personal note on this is "programming" is simply wrong. It is as if you are willing the
stone to do something against its will - think of it as trying to potty train a cat.
Eventually, the cat can be trained, but your relationship with the cat will suffer in the
process.
"Charging" is a different matter indeed as you are encouraging or awaking the stone
to help you or someone else with the properties it already possess. By charging, you
are asking for a specific kind of help. You are letting the stone know which of its
powers you need the most. It is also wise to ask the stone if it indeed needs a "boost",
many do not need the encouragement to help - they share their knowledge and
powers willingly.
"Charging" is simply done by holding the stones in your projective hand (right if
right handed - left if left handed), visualizing your magical need, and pouring energy
out from your body into the stone.
Say for instance you have a Moonstone and need to get more sleep at night. Put the
Moonstone into your projective hand - visualize yourself sleeping - with that energy
pouring from you into the stone. Once you can feel the vibrations - you know that the
stone has been charged.
Simple Stone Spells
taken from the book "Cunningham's Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem & Metal Magic"
Money And Prosperity
New Year's Stone - At sunrise on the morning of the new year, go outside and find the
largest stone you can carry. Take this back to your house and put it in a place of
prominence. If you keep the stone in your house for a year, it will be one filled with
prosperity. Replace the stone every year.
Luck
On the Fence - Rise before the Sun on the morning of the Spring Equinox. Find
several stones and place them on the fence posts that surround your property,
visualizing yourself, your home and life filled with luck.
Love
Stone Love - Go to a place that contains many water-worn stones. Look for a large, flat
rock while visualizing yourself being involved with the perfect mate.
On this rock, mark with red ink two intertwined hearts. As you do this, keep
visualization in mind. When you are finished, bury the stone in the earth in an
uncultivated place.
Protection
The Five Pebbles - Go to a moving brook or stream. While standing in the water and
facing downstream, remove five small pebbles from the stream bed. As you do this,
visualize your need for protection.
As your hand closes over the pebbles, see them beaming out protective energies. Just
as the pebbles are hard and have weathered for eons, so too will they strengthen your
protective shield.
Now carry them at all times for protection. If you wish, place them in a small pouch
or a fold of cloth, or incorporate them into some form of jewelry.
Magical Intentions
Carry the stones in your pants pocket or place in a cloth pouch and carry with you.
Astral Projection - Tourmalated quartz crystal, opal
Business Success - Bloodstone, malachite, Green tourmaline, yellow zircon
Dieting - Moonstone, Topaz
Dreams - Amethyst, Azurite
Gambling - Amazonite, aventurine, cat's eye
Happiness - Amethyst, chrysoprase, yellow zircon
Healing/Health - Agate, amber, amethyst, aventurine, azurite, bloodstone, calcite,
carnelian, cat's - eye, celestite, chrysoprase, coral, quartz crystal, diamond, flint,
garnet, hematite, holey stones, jade, jasper, jet, lapis lazuli, peridot, petrified wood,
sapphire, sodalite, staurolite, sugilite, sulfur, sunstone, topaz, turquoise, red zircon
Love - Agate, alexandrite, amber, amethyst, beryl, calcite, chrysocolla, emerald, jade,
lapis lazuli, lepidolite, malachite, moonstone, olivine, pearl, rhodocrosite, sapphire,
sard, topaz, pink tourmaline, turquoise
Money, Wealth, Prosperity, Riches - Aventurine, bloodstone, calcite, cat's-eye,
chrysoprase, coal, emerald, jade, mother-of-pearl, olivine, opal, pearl, peridot, ruby,
salt, sapphire, spinel, staurolite, tiger's-eye, topaz, green tourmaline, brown-greenred zircon
Physical Energy - Beryl, calcite, rhodocrosite, selenite, spinel, sunstone, tiger's-eye,
red tourmaline, red zircon
Reconciliation - Diamond, selenite
Sexual Energy - Carnelian, sunstone, yellow zircon
Sleep - Moonstone, peridot, blue tourmaline
Success - Amazonite, chrysoprase, marble
Travel - Chalcedony, orange zircon
Wisdom - Chrysocolla, coral, jade, sodalite, sugilite
FREEDOM QUOTES
Posted by
BZ
Freedom is not what we achieve from others but from our silent heart Freedom
means to bring love & peace everywhere
The Actual freedom is made of noble thoughts of a man
Freedom spread its wings where the silence flows
There are no bad thoughts, where the freedom dances
Those who love freedom they do not invite the war
A man who is trapped due to fear, he can never see freedom around
Freedom lies in abundance but we cease to get it
Freedom is wonderful & beautiful
Freedom never puts anybody in chains of blind-faith
Dont blame anybody until you see with your own eyes and believe fully
QUOTES BY PUSHKAR BISHT
Courage
Posted by Deraji Snowfox
Nancy Anderson
I chew the seeds and also make them into a tea form.
Fennel is one of my most used Kitchen Medicine Goto items. These
are the basics on how to utilize this wonderful seed. The entire plant is
edible and nutritious but I find it is easier to obtain the seeds.
Fennel Tea ( Tisane) with Honey
Boil 2 or 3 cups of water
Crush 2 teaspoons of Fennel seed with a spoon and add to boiling water.
Turn off heat and steep for 5 to 10 minutes.
You can strain the seeds or leave them in the tea. Add honey for taste.
This tastes good and is a great digestive aid. Also good for colds and
bronchitis.
This information is intended for your general knowledge only and not a
substitute for professional medical advice or treatment specific to
medical conditions. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, have a chronic
or serious illness, and /or have many sensitivities and allergies check
with your doctor before using Fennel.
SNOWFLAKES
Posted by
BZ
Snowflakes
Snowflakes spill from heaven's hand
Lovely and chaste like smooth white sand.
A veil of wonder laced in light
Falling Gently on a winter's night.
Graceful beauty raining down
Giving magic to the lifeless ground.
Each snowflake, a falling star
Smiling beauty that is spun afar.
Church On A Winter's Night
Snowflakes spill from heaven's hand
Lovely and chaste like smooth white sand.
Till earth is dressed in a robe of white
Unspoken poem the hush of night.
By Linda A. Copp
THE FOREST
Posted by
BZ
The Forest
by Leonard C. Mayer
The trees stand tall and stately,
surveying their domain----The first to glimpse the sunrise;
the first to feel the rain.
The flowers add some color
to mostly brown and green.
Their fragrance bathes the air
and makes it smell pristine.
The wind sets all in motion
and makes things come alive.
It brings the rain and pollen
that lets this world survive.
The sun lends warmth and comfort
to all the things that grow.
It's perfect for their needs,
high noon or evening glow.
The earth provides nutrition
and serves the mother role----Even the air that's needed
comes from her heart and soul.
An affirmation to yourself
Posted by Mistsofavalon