Llewellyn Publications's Blog, page 33

Gems for Careers and Professions

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Margaret Ann Lembo, author of Chakra Awakening; The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals, and Stones; Essential Guide to Aromatherapy and Vibrational Healing, Crystal Intentions Oracle, and the new Crystals Beyond Beginners.

Did you know that you can strengthen your success in your career or profession using mindful intention with gemstones? Crystals are powerful tools. Use them to enhance and awaken in all aspects of yourself, including your business life. Improve your potential for success with the vibrationally matching gemstone just right for you. Entrepreneurial skills improve with experience, education, and focus. The colors and shapes of crystals, minerals, and stones bring you messages to motivate, inspire, and support you in your chosen profession or walk in life.

Garner a deeper understanding of yourself in your work life and how to overcome potential challenges with the messages from the crystals, minerals, and stones to help to increase your awareness. Employ the crystals to help you to understand colleagues in fields other than your own by working with the crystal for their career. Understanding and good communication are key elements in personal and financial success. Excel in your field with gemstones in hand, on your desk, in your pocket, or in your jewelry.

If you are an actor or in the entertainment field, you will enjoy Peacock Copper or Channeling Quartz as an ally to help you attain your goals. Use a positive thought like, The manner in which I act fulfills my dreams and aspirations. It is easy for me to channel the energy of the part I play.

There are many more aspiring aromatherapists, and there is a crystal or two to help you align with nature and the plant from which the essential oils you use is derived. Two of my favorites as a practicing evolutionary aromatherapist are chlorite phantom quartz and green moss agate. The chlorite phantom quartz has the mineral chlorite, an iron, magnesium, aluminum silicate sometimes containing chromium or manganese included within it. It supports spending time in nature and developing an intimate connection with Mother Earth. Green moss agate has dendritic, or branch-like inclusions that are reminders of the loving gifts of nature’s pharmacy used to establish balance. These crystals are great stones for gardeners, arborists, landscape architects, pharmacists, and the like.

Whether you are a cardiologist (watermelon tourmaline) or a hospice caregiver (angelite) or an electrician (copper), there are gemstones you can utilize to amplify your ability to do your best and be the best you can be. And, remember, they also offer insights to have a better understanding when interacting with others who provide you with their services in their chosen profession.

To see an extensive listing of Careers, Professions & the Gemstone, take a look at Chapter 7 in my latest book, Crystals Beyond Beginners: Awaken Your Consciousness with Precious Gifts from the Earth.

Our thanks to Margaret Ann for her guest post! For more from Margaret Ann Lembo, read her article, “Awaken Your Consciousness with Crystals and Gemstones.”

Author DJ Conway Has Passed

It is with deep sorrow that we share the news of the passing of DJ Conway. DJ crossed over last week after a brief illness.

DJ authored more than 35 books and helped create several tarot decks—the majority with Llewellyn. She wrote on Paganism, Wicca, Druidry, Shamanism, and even some fiction. Most of her earliest books remain in print to this day (including her first book, Celtic Magic). Carl Llewellyn Weschcke was proud to have published her books and spoke of her fondly because she was an important voice in the community. Like Carl, DJ spent her time reading, researching, and writing. She is respected for her knowledge and as a teacher.

DJ’s work was also innovative and creative. Her popular Dancing with Dragons, Mystical Dragon Magick, and the Celtic Dragon Tarot (with Sirona Knight and Lisa Hunt) led us to affectionately call her the “Dragon Lady” around the office. DJ’s bio states that she studied the occult for over 35 years. In actuality, her experience went much deeper. In her latest book, Magical Folkhealing, she shares magical formulary that she learned from her grandmother. (As a young girl she copied down her grandmother’s recipes and spells to treat a host of ailments. She wrote them by hand in a flower-covered journal that she disguised by turning the book upside down and backwards.)

DJ had completed one last book for Llewellyn, Dragon Magick, that will be released in August of this year.

Expanding A Simple Spread

Learn more HERE.

Tarot Spreads is a book of spreads, and more. It includes discussions about how and why spreads “work” as well as ways to modify or create your spreads.

One way to modify a spread is to expand it. For example, here’s one way to expand a simple three card Past-Present-Future spread.

Divide your deck into three piles: Major Arcana, Minor Arcana, and Court cards.

Draw one card from each pile and lay in a row. This is the past.

Under the past row, draw one card from each pile and lay in a row.

Repeat for the future row.

You now have 9 cards.

Here’s how I interpret them:

 

Past

Major Arcana: Major influence

Minor Arcana: What happened/what you experienced

Court card: How you reacted/responded

 

Present

Major Arcana: Major influence

Minor Arcana: What will happen/what you will experience

Court card: How you might react/respond

 

Future

Major Arcana: Major influence

Minor Arcana: What will happen/what you will experience

Court card: Advice on how to react/respond

3 Ways to Enhance Tarot Readings with Reiki

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Melissa Tipton, author of the new Living Reiki.

Reiki is a great way to activate your psychic awareness and connect more deeply with your tarot cards. Use these techniques to get acquainted with a new deck or to supercharge your connection with well-loved cards.

Communicating With Your Cards

When it comes to connecting with your tarot deck, Reiki is a lot like that social maven at parties whose witty introductions turn strangers into fast friends. Reiki enhances your ability to speak the language of the cards, leading to clearer insights and, if you’re reading for someone else, a more dynamic exchange with the querent.

Take a few minutes to breathe deeply, calming your mind and finding greater presence in the here and now. Holding your deck in both hands, close your eyes and envision your crown chakra unfolding like a many petaled flower. Feel a current of Reiki entering your crown, flowing into your body, down your arms and into your hands, streaming from your palm chakras into the cards. Ask Reiki to open a channel of communication between you and your cards, and breathe here for a few minutes.

Feel the spirit of the cards awaken and respond, and invite it to share any messages it has at this time. You might ask your cards for tips on how best to use them for readings, and don’t be surprised if you get different answers from different decks! Even if you don’t receive any direct messages now, trust that you have opened the door to a deeper connection that will serve you well in future readings.

Meditating With Your Cards

Each tarot card is like a universe unto itself, with layers of insight waiting to be revealed, and one potent inroad to these mysteries is meditation. Choose a card on which to focus, and come fully into the present, opening your crown to Reiki, as described above. Gaze softly at the card, allowing the images to pervade your awareness. Close your eyes when this process feels complete.

Using Reiki like paint on a canvas, create the image of a doorway in your mind’s eye. If you use Reiki symbols, you might trace one on the door. Set the intention that this door will take you into the tarot card, giving you access to hidden meanings; open the door and step into the scene. Take in the details, noticing how the scene is like and different from the card image. Create a light source, such as a lantern or flashlight, from Reiki, and shine it on any aspects of the scene that you wish to know more about. Explore; ask questions. When the process feels complete, exit through the same door, and let its image fade from your mind’s eye as you return to normal consciousness. Journal any insights that arose.

Sensing Your Cards

Establish the crown chakra flow of Reiki as outlined above, drawing Reiki into your hands and feeling its energy pulsing in your palm chakras. Ask Reiki to guide you to the cards that are correct and good for this reading, and tune into the sensations in your hands. Do certain cards “jump out” as you shuffle? If you splay the cards out and pass your hand slowly over them, do certain cards feel hotter, tingly, or otherwise more energetic? Use Reiki to help you sense the subtle cues from your cards to enhance your readings.

Learn more ways of using Reiki to enhance your intuitive abilities and create a life you love in my book, Living Reiki: Heal Yourself and Transform Your Life.

Our thanks to Melissa for her guest post! For more from Melissa Tipton, read her article, “4 Ways to Practice Dark Moon Magick with Reiki.”

Tarot Magic to Brighten Winter

Learn more HERE.

Sasha Graham’s 365 Tarot Spells is like opening a magic box of wisdom that you can apply to your life. And bonus! You get to use your tarot cards.

This spell is for January 25, but you can use it anytime you need to chase away the blues.

Brighten Winter’s Doldrums Spell

Ingredients

Strength card

The Sun card

Yellow flowers

If you have a case of seasonal blues and spring feels too far away, perform this spell to lift your spirits.

The Strength card reflects the courage to bear any plaguing issue. The Sun card represents the full glory of summer energy.

Place yellow flowers in a vase of water. Inhale their scent deeply. Place them on the table before you.

Place the Strength card on the table below the vase. Enter the card. Hold the great, powerful lion by the mouth. Feel the bone and muscle beneath his fur, his hot breath in your hands, the moistness of his tongue. You are unafraid. Hold him like a kitten. You know how strong you are. Personal strength has brought you to this exact moment. You are strong, capable, and have the power to override any emotion that drags you down.

Lean the Sun card against the base of the vase. Focus on the radiant, life-giving sun. This yellow star holds the power of all life on earth. Should you require rejuvenation, look above. See it everywhere. It is expansive, all encompassing. The energy of the sun warms your body. Feel the heat on your face, on your hair. Life-giving energy—making flowers bloom, babies grown, and love possible—is around and inside you.

Take a single flower from your bouquet. Thank it for its git of beauty. Remove all the petals and place them in your palm.

Whisper the incantation and scatter the petals in the wind.

Incantation

Sun of sun

Moonlight at night

I seek your warmth

I feel your light

Fill me with

Sustaining grace

And bring a smile

To my face.

A Witch’s Ritual of Dedication

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Laura Tempest Zakroff, author of The Witch’s Cauldron, Sigil Witchery, and the new Weave the Liminal.

For quite a few Witches, studying or working in a formal tradition or other kind of group is just not in the cards. Maybe there are none in the area, or if there are, it’s not a good match in terms of personality or accessibility. So instead, they walk a solitary path, learning from books and personal experiences. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this approach at all!

Yet figuring Witchcraft out on your own can sometimes lead to a feeling of lacking in “officialness.” There is a sense of validation that comes with having the title of “Witch” bestowed upon you through formal training, and being recognized as such by other practitioners. But in actuality, the only person who can truly make you a Witch is you.

One way to instill this sense of being within you is to perform a ritual of dedication. The word dedicate comes from the Latin dedicat, meaning “devoted, consecrated.” So, you can look at this ritual as marking your devotion to following this path—a transformation of self and spirit.

A rite of dedication is an oath that you make to yourself. It does not have to involve anyone else, be that gods, spirits, or humans. However, you can call them as witnesses to your ritual.

Lunar Schedule: Shortly after the New Moon, when the Waxing Crescent is in the sky. This is a good time for new beginnings.

Time of Day: Evening, preferably when you have 2-3 hours alone and can go to sleep afterward.

Gather Ahead of Time:

An oil for anointing: can be a special blend, a favorite essential oil, or simply olive oil poured in a little bowl
A white candle, holder, and matches
An outfit/jewelry that inspires and works for wherever you plan to do you ritual (indoors or out)
Bless/consecrate the above before your ritual

Preparations: Eat lightly. Take a cleansing bath or shower, dress in your chosen attire, and have the oil and candle ready. Head to your chosen location (in front of your altar, a mirror, or perhaps a favorite spot in nature).

The Ritual:

Take three deep slow breaths in and out. Cast a circle if you wish, calling in any witnesses.

Light the candle and say: May the path before this Witch be illuminated and the shadows known.

Taking the oil, anoint yourself:

(forehead): May my mind accept wisdom and be open to learn always.

(near eyes): May I see clearly the work before me.

(lips): May the words I speak be rooted in the power of truth.

(hands and feet): May the work I do honor and inspire the world.

(heart): May my heart guide me true.

Standing with feet and arms outstretched: I seek to connect the threads and weave my magic in the world. As I stand in this place, in the presence of the sacred, I declare that my body, my blood, my spirit—are that of the Witch. From this day forth, this Witch is known.

Take a few moments to listen and feel around you, noting any changes or visions. When ready, open the space and prepare for bed. Record your dreams in the morning.

Ultimately, I think the best rituals are the ones you create yourself, so consider this a guideline for inspiration. Feel free to add or subtract to it as you need.

Our thanks to Laura for her guest post! For more from Laura Tempest Zakroff, read her article, “5 Ways to Improve Your Witchery.”

10 Things You (Probably) Didn’t Know About Brujería

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Katrina Rasbold, author of the new Crossroads of Conjure.

Brujería is the sacred practice of Mexican and Mexican-American Witchcraft, but how much do you know about it? Here are ten facts that lend texture and flavor to this fascinating path:

Brujería embraces gender equality. Male witches are called “Brujos” and female witches are called “Brujas.” In the past, there were generally more Brujos than Brujas, but the recent surge of Brujería as an expression of feminine power resulted in more Brujas than Brujos.
Brujería has an unbroken lineage tracing back to the pre-historic magical practices of the Mexica (Ma-shee-ka) civilization that formed what we now call the Aztec or Maya.
Brujería did not “come to” America. It was always here in the practice of the people living in states that were once Mexico and became part of the United States through the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848.
In addition to its Mexican and Spanish roots, Brujería absorbed components of Judeo-Christianism, European Witchcraft, Greek philosophy, Hoodoo, Haitian Vodou, and Arabic healing practices. It does not follow Wiccan concepts of harming none or the three-fold law, but instead judges a magical work as “justified” or “not justified.”
People often confuse Brujería with Curanderismo. Both are Mexican healing traditions that use magic. Curanderismo closely equates to the herb witch or naturopathic healer. A Curandera (female) or Curandero (male) views a physical condition and wonders if there is a spiritually-based cause (such as a crossing or curse). The Bruja/o views a spiritual condition and wonders if there is a physical or mental cause (such as a toxicity or injury). Brujería views all magical work as a form of healing for the client.
Whereas Curanderismo is a respected practice within Hispanic communities, Brujería is often feared and maligned due to the power the Brujas/os hold and misinformation spread by the Catholic church, which does not formally endorse Brujería.
Although many Pagan people practice Brujería, it is not itself a Pagan path. Brujería has been a Catholic-based practice for approximately five hundred years, since the Spanish conquest. Technically, it is a Christian system of folk magic.
Brujería is a path of service to the community and to the clients who come to the Bruja/o for care. It is not about magic for personal benefit.
Brujería judges a practitioner by ability and results rather than ethnicity, gender, or age. Most Brujos/as generally welcome those who are called to the path provided they work with integrity and produce quality results.
Little written information exists about Brujería, especially in English, because it is an orally conveyed practiced learned experientially through apprenticeship rather than academically through text. As such, Brujería presents differently for individual practitioners because each apprentice is learning a non-standardized practice from their own mentor.

Interested in Brujería? Check out my new book, Crossroads of Conjure: The Roots and Practices of Granny Magic, HooDoo, Curanderismo, and Brujería.

Our thanks to Katrina for her guest post! For more from Katrina Rasbold, read her article, “Glitter, Glass, & Flame: The Power of Candle Magic.”

Winter Tarot Ritual

Learn more HERE

In Jaymi’s new book we find all sorts of ways to inspire our lives with tarot and to infuse tarot with life. In addition to practical tarot reading techniques, Jaymi also gives us ways to connect on a deeper level. In fact, you can live a sacred year of tarot using her guidance.

For example, as we settle into the deepest, coldest heart of winter, try this Winter Ritual as a way to live the season fully. Since we’ve already gone through the first month, read that card retrospectively.

Winter Ritual

Winter is the coldest season. Snow, going sledding and snowshoe-ing, the cheer of the winter holiday season, and bundling in warm hoodies reminds me of this season. Winter is about resting and being close to friends and family and sharing yummy foods to tide us over until the first plants peak up from the cold soil of Spring. I associate the Pentacles to Winter since the cards depict a lot of cold scenes and barren areas. Just look at the Five of Pentacles — two people walk in a visibly cold, winter scene.

Here in the Pacific Northwest we get a lot of rain. Therefore, I associate this season with rain, the disappearance of the sun from the sky, and sharing good stories with my friends during the long evenings. Winter is about resting and being close to friends and family and sharing yummy foods to tide us over until the first plants peak up from the cold soil of Spring.

Winter has us going deep within ourselves (and staying inside), to stay warm and safe until the Spring picks up again. As our last stop on season ritual tour, it happens during December, January, February. As Autumn winds down, you’ll remove the altar dressings and Autumn cards and decorate your Tarot table in the colors and symbols of Winter:

Colors: white, black, green
Animals: bears, arctic foxes, wolves
Flowers: holly, poinsettias, mistletoe
Scents: hot chocolate, yule logs
Stones: moonstone, obsidian

These colors and items are used to decorate our altar table so when we work on our Winter ritual we have reminders of the season surrounding us. Dress the table with your chosen color of winter. Use a lot of candles to brighten the space up. Add a few twigs and maybe place a bowl with water or snow on the table. Place other trinkets (stones, statues, etc) around the space.

When you finished decorating your Tarot altar table, use the following Winter Tarot Ritual to draw inspiration. Separate the Major Arcana and the Pentacles from your deck. Draw a Major Arcana from the top of your deck. On the first day of each Winter month, pull a card from the Pentacles pack. Record your thoughts and meanings for each card in your journal.

During the last week of the last month, I’ll look at the cards, write about what message each one brought me. I then put the cards back into the deck and begin creating Spring’s altar design.

1

2   3   4

Card One: The topic of the Season

Card Two: What insight does the first month of winter bring me?

Card Three: What insight does the second month bring me?

Card Four: What insight will the last month bring me?

 

4 Benefits of Experimenting with the Tarot

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Jaymi Elford, author of the new Tarot Inspired Life.

Tarot comes from a rich tradition of correspondences, spreads, schools of thought, and magic. One can spend a lifetime focused around the deeper exploration of a single methodology. I’m here to buck that trend. As a tarot experimentalist, I hope this advice makes you one, too.

Experimenting with cards has many benefits:

Create Innovation. Integrating tarot into your passions fosters innovation. Tarot is a tool that can lend support to many aspects of your world. Select something you are passionate about and list ways the cards can enhance it. As you work on various projects, where can you insert a reading, or deck imagery, to help achieve success? When you create innovation with tarot, you challenge the status quo and introduce new insights into the rich tradition of tarot.
Learn New Skills. Experimenting with tarot can lead to learning new skills. Tarot was the reason I learned how to sew and crochet. I stack my tarot decks on a shelf in a way that requires them to have nice tuck boxes. Since many decks do not come with boxes, I needed to find ways to provide structure myself. While I could have had my fabric-creative friends help me, I didn’t want to monopolize their free time. I now have three different styles of cases I can sew or crochet on my own and have been known to give them as gifts.
Redefine Reading Habits. “Tarot meaning rut” is real and it happens often. You’ve spent time to learn several tarot meanings and tend to use them over and over when giving readings. It’s happened to me and it can affect you. Habits are easy to fall into. Experimenting with card meanings and how we see the cards can breathe new life into our repertoire. The cards teach us how to interpret them, and our readings become more organic.
Have Fun! Playing around with tarot is fun. In fact, it’s the whole basis of my book, Tarot Inspired Life . I’m not suggesting you use a scientific method to prove your experiments. Instead, head into tarot with a playful “what if” attitude when you read the cards and view their usefulness throughout your life.

Have I motivated you to incorporate a little bit of trial and error into your tarot life? How has breaking from tradition helped you integrate the cards into your life? Let us know in the comments below.

Our thanks to Jaymi for her guest post! For more from Jaymi Elford, read her article, “How to Use Tarot in Your Daily Activities.”

The Chakras and the Mind/Body Connection

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Trish O’Sullivan, author of the new Chakra Wisdom.

As the title indicates, my book, Chakra Wisdom: Healing the Mind of Negative Thoughts, Feelings and Beliefs with Yoga, Meditation and the Traya Process, focuses primarily on the impact the subtle body chakras have on our emotional well-being. The chakras also affect our physical health. Using the example of the common cold to which we can all relate (as virtually no one lives untouched by it), we can clearly see the mind/body connection.

If a map of the chakras in the subtle body were overlaid on the physical body it would match the “map” of the endocrine system. That is, each chakra is in the area of a major endocrine gland. If a line were drawn through the chest from the front to the back, the line would pass through the anahata (heart) chakra and also through the thymus gland. The thymus gland regulates the proper functioning of the immune system. When the immune system is fighting a cold it “pulls” subtle energy from the anahata chakra. When we wake up feeling sick with a cold or flu, we notice that our mood is down. Our language even reflects this reality. When we are becoming ill, we say that we are “coming down with something.”

Why is our mood also affected? This phenomenon is explained by the interaction of the mind/body energy at the anahata chakra, which also governs mood regulation. When the body is using some of anahata’s energy for fighting a cold, our mood goes down.

This sharing of energy between the mind and body may be more familiar and recognizable when we think of eating a big meal. The digestive system pulls energy from the manipura chakra, located at the diaphragm, to aid in digestion. Manipura also governs the thinking or rational mind and we know to avoid intellectual activity after a meal because our thinking mind is just not as sharp.

It is best to try and remember that when we get a cold and feel down it is due to a mind/body reaction and not to what is going on in our lives. Some, when feeling down, have a tendency to bring to mind everything that is going wrong in their lives and then feel even worse. If we understand what is happening, we have a better chance of keeping a positive outlook, and that in itself will help us get better by taking some of the stress off of anahata.

Our thanks to Trish for her guest post! For more from Trish O’Sullivan, read her article, “Relationship Energy.”