Illusions

Today I am in Paris. The sun is shining and I am struck by the mass of people all busy on their way to somewhere else. Few seem to notice the beautiful weather. Even fewer seem to be aware of their surroundings. Almost none see the other people - other than as obstacles impeding their way. I, on the other hand, watch people. I watch how they move and how they carry themselves in this crowd of other people.


I watch and learn about people. 


Much of what seems to be magically inspired knowledge is simply the by product of genuine observation. Some learn it through pain and difficulty in childhood, and become the watchers who have learned to predict the behaviour of others through fear. Others learn it instinctively, and use this knowledge in their work. Therapists, teachers, writers. They are all able to step into the thoughts of the others without them understanding how much information they give out without speaking a word.


True magic begins by using your senses fully. You need to do this before synthesizing this understanding into a sixth sense, one which will attract magic to you, and one which will give you the power and knowledge to understand how to use magic when it comes into your life.

What do you think you are looking at when you view this image - and how does it make you feel?

A ritual to enhance sensory awareness


Train yourself to look into the eyes of those you encounter on a daily basis. People on the street, in shops, wherever you go. Really look at them and see the person. You will find this hard at first. Persist. When you can look into the eyes of the others you can learn to read them.


Cicero is quoted as saying: "The face is a picture of the mind and the eyes are its interpreter".

It is time to start truly observing the knowledge available to you, and through this access deeper understanding of The Source.

Birthday

Today is my birthday - and I celebrate it. It has not always been that way. Before I learned to love myself I found birthdays torture. Now I have learned self-respect I can enjoy a day that is all about celebrating who I am.

It is one of the few days of the year that is completely about the self, and I embrace this knowledge. To experience the day as fully as possible, I appreciate everything that other people do for me. I call my mother and remember that it is her day too. I read the cards sent to me, and appreciate the gifts which have been made for me, and are given with love. Above all I appreciate this day as a connection to those who love me and want to show their love.

To know yourself fully is to appreciate yourself warts and all (apologies for the old-school witchy connotations!). To love and respect yourself is part of celebrating the day you arrived on this earth in this shape.

Birthday rituals are important. Eat special food, light candles and make wishes. Most of all use it as a time to celebrate the days between now and the next birthday, and use it to create the self you wish to be.

Birthday ritual

On your birthday, start by remove from your space anything which offends your sense of beauty. Give to charity, or freecycle it. You need to start your new year with clarity, and this will help.

Dress beautifully and with care on this day, regardless of where you are of who is around you. It is time to celebrate the potential that is you.

Then, take time out and go for a walk. Make it into a walking meditation by starting to think of who you were last year, and who you wish to be for the next year. Allow your footsteps to carry you away from the negatives, and forward to the positives.

Then, later on, light a pure white candle. White in this instance is to signify new ideas. Meditate on the flame and project into it  the thoughts which came to you during your walk. After a while, blow it out and  make a wish for a fulfilling and healthy year, one in which you grow as a person, and do not repeat your mistakes. There is plenty of time for new ones next year!

I wish you joy on this day of birth and rebirth. I wish you spiritual health to create the person you always wanted to be and to live within the light. 
 

To celebrate a life ended

Setting a spirit free

A few short months ago, my Aunt and namesake died. From diagnosis of cancer to her death took three months, and in that time I watched her eaten away by the illness. When events like this happen to those we love, it becomes harder to remember good times. When she died, I was left to clear her home, deal with her affairs, redistribute her possessions and prepare a funeral. There was no-one else to do this, all other family being too ill or distant. My time, therefore was fully occupied 'doing things'. I had little time to think or feel. Now most of this is passed, I have made time to say goodbye in my own way. A ritual to give me peace and free her spirit.

Last night, I went into the farmer's field at the top of the hill. There wasn't a breath of wind. I lit a chinese lantern and said my goodbye to Ursula. I watched the light until it ascended into the clouds, and then I gave myself space and time to cry for the love which she had shown me all my life, and I would miss.

Adding words to the ritual

When a loved one dies, it is important not to get so caught up in the practicalities of death and dying that we forget to mourn the person. When they die, a ritual which helps is to light a candle before a photograph of that person and to talk to them in your mind. Do this whenever you need them. Do this for your connection with them. You will notice after a few months that you no longer need the candle or the photograph to focus your mind on the objective of the ritual - that person is now with you in spirit. With you in your heart and you can still hear and talk to them when you need to. When you can do this you will know that you have allowed them to move on to a new way of being, but your relationship with them remains.

Comment on my clothing. Yes, I know I look like a mad pixie, but hey, it would have amused my aunt to see me look like that.


Respect your ancestors. They are part of your story too.

Lunatics

So what is the big deal about the moon? Why do so many rituals make reference to lunar phases, and not just wiccan and pagan rituals?

An awareness of the moon means a number of things, the main one being that you are conscious of the changes in your environment, and how this environment can work differently for you at different lunar phases.

Just as Shakespeare's Julius Ceasar made note that "There is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads to fortune..." there are many quotes in literature about the connections between lunar phases and mans emotions and luck. This is no literary conceit, but a reflection of events as man saw them manifest in their surroundings.

As we live progressively in a world of light which masks the sky, we lose our connection with the phases of the moon, and with it our ability to wait for the right time to make things happen. Being aware of the lunar phases helps you prepare for change, prevents you from making rash decisions, and allows you to harness the power of your environment in making magic happen for you.

Lunar phases

• Dark moon - a psychic moon - but be wary of its predictions
• Waxing moon - a time of preparation for change
• Full moon - a time of manifesting events
• Waning moon - a time of release and letting go of the past

I am interested in your relationship with the moon and her cycles. 

Keep looking up at night - Mother Moon is there waiting to help you. 

Friday 13th

Today is a day associated with bad luck here in England. There are many ideas as to the origins of this superstition, most of them with Christian derivations. There is also anecdotal evidence that more accidents happen on this day, with a statistically significant increase in hospital admissions on this date as opposed to other Fridays of the year.

I know that Friday 13th is a lucky day for me. I made that decision when I was a child, and have always found it to be true. The fact of the matter is that superstitions, (especially those with a negative outcome) tell us more about people than they do about events. If you want to buy a red car, you see red cars everywhere. If a woman wants to get pregnant, she sees babies everywhere. The environment has not changed, but our perception of it has. So. If you decided that this is a day of bad luck, you will project this belief onto your surroundings and create this reality. If - like me - you decide that it is a good day, then that is your outcome.


Becoming magical starts with perception, not extra-sensory but sensory. Use your eyes and your ears to tell you what is around you and with this you can and will create your own luck. 

Superstition is as dangerous as you choose to allow it to be.