Llewellyn Publications's Blog, page 45

Fate vs Free Will

Tarot 101

Kim Huggens

To learn more, click HERE.

Fate vs Free Will

This is a very important and sometimes controversial topic. Kim Huggens shares some of her wisdom in Tarot 101:

The issue of fate vs. free will is one that every Tarot reader must face in the course of their development. Your view on the matter dictates your reasons for reading and your approach to delivering a reading.

Do we act freely from our conscious decisions? Are we influenced by something else—other people, our genetics, our upbringing, God? And to what extent do these influences affect us? Some people believes that a destiny or fate has been planned for us or given to us at birth, or that it develops as we go through life. These people may believe that some force dictates how we get to our destiny as well as they destiny itself, while others may believe that we choose how we reach the pre-planned fate. There are those who don’t believe in fate or destiny at all, but hold that meaning is given to our lives through our interpretation and interaction with the world: we create our own destinies through our choices. Some people believe a mixture of these things, for instance the philosopher Voltaire, who said:

Each player must accept the cards life deals him or her. But once they are in hand, he or she alone must decide how to play the cards in order to win the game.

Personally I feel that in order to read Tarot it is useful to believe that choice and free will exist to some extent: this allows our readings to go beyond foretelling fixed futures that cannot be changed and therefore gives Tarot a purpose. It allows us to gain insight into our likely path so that we may change it if we wish. However, it is also important to see and accept that our past has an effect on our present, in various ways and to various extents depending on the action or situation. Effects always have causes. Similarly, our present choices and actions will affect our futures, and thus the future is always in motion.

Congratulations to our 2017 IPPY Award Winners

Congratulations to our Llewellyn and Midnight Ink titles on their IPPY Awards!

Our 2017 winners are:

The Awakened Psychic , by Kala Ambrose (Gold; New Age/Mind-Body-Spirit category)
How to Heal Yourself When No One Else Can , by Amy B. Scher (Gold, Self-Help category)
Delivering the Truth , by Edith Maxwell (Silver, Mystery/Cozy/Noir category)
Quiet Neighbors , by Catriona McPherson (Bronze, Myster/Cozy/Noir category)

The Independent Publisher Awards or IPPYs, are designed to bring increased recognition to the deserving but often unsung titles published by independent authors and publishers.

The 2017 Independent Publisher Awards (IPPYs) were revealed via an announcement on their website.

Discovering Our Psychic Abilities

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Melanie Barnum, author of several books, including Psychic Abilities for Beginners, The Book of Psychic Symbols, and the new Llewellyn’s Little Book of Psychic Development.

If someone had told me twenty-five years ago that one day I would be a professional psychic and author, I would have told them that they were crazy. Never in a million years would I have thought it possible. After all, I had a good job, a rational job; I was an accountant. The two careers, shouldn’t be compatible, right? That’s what I thought at least, because I discounted the interest I had in the metaphysical world. I didn’t think that my pleasure in having a reading would ever transform into anything more than occasionally playing with some tarot cards. Little did I know that would all change for me, and that’s also how I know that it can change for you!

It seems like another lifetime when it felt like I was hit over the head and I heard the words, “You need to do this work now!” I doubted the validity of this other-worldly message, but knew I had to investigate into the psychic world, so I began learning and taking classes. I discovered I was able to develop my natural psychic abilities. I realized they absolutely were an intrinsic part of who I was, and almost more importantly, I realized I could help others discover their psychic gifts as well.

So, that’s what I’ve done over the past couple of decades, shown people they can connect to their own abilities. Through readings, workshops, and books, I’ve shared what I believe to be integral parts of life with others. Developing your psychic gifts can be as demanding or as casual as you allow it to be. It’s entirely up to you. When you open yourself up to your core, your fundamental essence, you will realize you’re connected to the other side and that your life will feel more fulfilled as you grow psychically.

Recognizing that you have already begun your journey, bonding with your intuition, will allow you to deepen that connection. One of the easiest ways to use your psychic abilities is to just begin opening to the possibility that you can do it. The next step is almost as simple: practice!

Understanding and defining what each gift entails can help you to develop them. Keep in mind that often, when tuning in, it will feel like your imagination rather than your psychic abilities. This is normal! Don’t worry! Just keep practicing and you will soon learn the difference, for the most part anyway. I’ve been doing this for almost twenty years, and I still question my own visions at times.

To assist you in diving in, here are some descriptions of what your potential psychic abilities are. Clairvoyance, or psychic sight, can present as seeing images in your mind’s eye. Clairaudience, psychic hearing, will allow you to hear sounds, songs and words internally. Feeling things psychically is clairsentience, and just “knowing” things you have no reason to know is claircognizance.

Take a few deep breaths and close your eyes. Relax and just be. Using your various psychic gifts, tune into the following questions—be honest and don’t censor any of the information that flows in!

Imagine yourself in five years. Where are you and who are you with? (Use all of your psychic gifts)
Visualize yourself in your ideal career. (Clairvoyance)
Listen to the song that best describes your current situation. (Clairaudience)
Feel the energy of your best friend. (Clairsentience)
The next time you turn on the television, what will you see? (Claircognizance)

After you’ve answered everything, open your eyes and write it all down. Do your answers make sense? Was one question easier to tune into, one gift easier for you to access than another?

To continue developing your psychic abilities, create questions for yourself to answer or have a friend write some down and tune into them using all of your gifts. You may find that one becomes or is naturally stronger than another. This is normal!

Play with your psychic abilities and have fun with it! You can and will develop them this way!

Our thanks to Melanie for her guest post! For more from Melanie Barnum, read her article, “Ways to Recognize and Develop Your Psychic Abilities.”

Protective Crystals in the Workplace

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Cassandra Eason, author of The Magick of Faeries, and the new Everyday Psychic Defense.

I have worked for the past forty years in workplaces that include schools, department stores, clinics, publishers, universities, television studios, and major New Age festivals. Defensive crystals have kept me calm and focused, even in the most pressurized, hostile, and over-competitive work environments.

If I know I will be in the public gaze, the following morning crystal ritual protects throughout the working day or week against workplace tension and stress as well as deliberate unpleasantness.

Choose one of the following deep-colored crystals to set on your desk or in your work space, bag, or pocket: black jet, black onyx, black obsidian, grey or brown semi-transparent smoky quartz, or black tourmaline.

Hold the crystal between your open, cupped hands before leaving for work. Blow softly three times on the crystal, saying after each breath,

“Be a shield for me

Against negativity,

Malice, and hostility.

Allow only harmony

To reach me,

So I ask that it shall be.”

Set the crystal in your work space and repeat the words in your mind whenever you feel vulnerable, touching the crystal at the same time if possible.

If you drive a lot in connection with your job, keep the crystal in a small bag or purse in the glove compartment of your vehicle.

Cleanse and re-empower the crystal at home weekly, by spiraling a sage or cedar incense stick over it counter-clockwise.

Additionally, the following crystals are especially useful in the workplace:

Deep green and red bloodstone protects against psychological bullying by individuals and organizations who seek to intimidate you, or if you are pressured to achieve unrealistic targets.
Yellow citrine deters cliques, factions, and workplace rivalries, cheating, dishonesty, and lies. It guards you against human snakes, ageism, religious or racial intolerance, spite, gossip and workplace envy, theft of ideas and credit for your work, or even someone trying to take your job.
A small clear crystal quartz sphere in your work space, especially if it is near natural light, absorbs negative or hyperactive energies and transforms them into a sense of well-being and purposeful calm.
Metallic, Shiny Grey Hematite protects you from those who emotionally drain you or who are constantly creating dramas. Called the lawyer’s stone, hematite is good for winning any industrial disputes, unfair dismissal or compensation claims.
Blue and gold flecked lapis lazuli or deep or rich blue crystals such as blue quartz, turquoise, blue sapphire, and sodalite repel ill-wishes and guard against the effects of an over-critical or lazy manager, favoritism, unfair rivalry, over-competitiveness and pressures to compromise on principles and standards to meet deadlines or official targets. Put one near the phone or computer if you deal with difficult phone calls or complaining e-mails.
Green and black malachite guards against the adverse effects of modern technology, cyber-hacking, and industrial sabotage. Have one at each of the four corners of your computer at home and one near any fax or copier close to your work space.
Orange carnelian protects you against accidents if you operate machinery or are involved in utilities, building, or construction industries. It also protects against sexism issues, especially hidden ones.
Four crystal points in a deep color (such as smoky quartz or deep purple amethyst) should be directed points outwards in the four corners of your desk or workbench to repel unfair criticism, interference, interruptions, and intrusion of your work space and privacy.

Our thanks to Cassandra for her guest post! For more from Cassandra Eason, read her article, “Personal Protection Against Cursed Objects.”

Guidance Is All Around Us

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Sherrie Dillard, author of several books, including Develop Your Medical Intuition, You Are a Medium, Love and Intuition, Discover Your Authentic Self, and the new Sacred Signs & Symbols.

As a professional psychic and medium, people are often surprised that when it come to personal issues, I often look to sacred signs and synchronicities (or meaningful coincidences) to confirm my intuitive impressions and receive messages from the spirit realm.

In personal matters we are rarely objective. Our expectations, desires, emotions, and beliefs often get in the way of accessing clear and unbiased intuitive guidance. To successfully receive helpful and accurate intuitive information we need to be in a neutral and receptive state. Unfortunately, when we most want our intuition to come through for us, our emotions and expectations may create a fuzzy static that prevents reliable receptivity. An invaluable source of guidance and insight, sacred signs and synchronicities are a form of intuition expressed through the external world.

My love for using signs started at a young age. I remember kneeling in the grass and pulling off the petals of a daisy on at a time, while reciting, “He loves me, he loves me not.” However, I was more fascinated in this simple daisy oracle than I was in knowing if my third grade crush, Billy, truly loved me.

A few years ago I felt intuitively led to create an oracle divination system, but was not sure where to begin and what it would entail. Then, while walking my dog one afternoon, I noticed a hawk feather lying on the steps of an abandoned church. The next day I found a yellow northern flicker feather, and the day after this, a blue jay feather. Although, I wasn’t sure of the meaning of these feathers, in my heart I knew that they were a sign. As I pondered their significance, I had the realization that sacred signs and synchronicities can be used as a divination oracle system. Although they seem to come and go and randomly appear, they can be invoked and better understood and interpreted through a specific framework.

With this awareness, I got to work, and with the help of my spirit friends, created a system to invoke signs and better understand their message and meaning. Similar to using a tarot card or rune spread, the sign oracle can reveal unknown information and bring more understanding to a sign’s message and meaning. Like other divination systems, a sign oracle can also guide you in current issues; help you to make more informed decisions; empower you to know your purpose; reveal insight into a relationship; and strengthen a connection with a loved one on the other side, an angel, or other spirit being.

Our thanks to Sherrie for her guest post! For more from Sherrie Dillard, read her article, “4 Ways to Identify a Sacred Sign.”

Ritual to Connect with Summer

June 1

365 Tarot Spells

Sasha Graham

To learn more, click HERE.

Here is a ritual, with plenty of time to prepare it for June 20, to tap into the glorious energy of summer!

Ritual to Connect with Summer

June 20

Ingredients

The Sun card
Favorite summer items and symbols
Method, Visualization, and Meditation

Working with the seasonal energy is like working within the moon’s phases. The energy surrounds us; we need only to be open to it in order to access its gifts. The energetic qualities of summer include expression, vitality, harmony, contentedness, and celebration.

Gather seasonal energy like a weaver gathering silken strands. Sultry night, plump stone fruits, wildflowers, fresh vegetables plucked from the garden, lazy days of swimming and frolicking, and tangerine pink sunsets support you and your magical intent.

Collect your favorite summer objects to place around the Sun card. You might select your fresh-picked flowers, suntan lotion, scattered flower petals, seashells, glitter, lemons. Place all items around the Sun card and then enter the card.

The warmth of this card is echoed in the warmth outside your window. What is the child looking at in the card? Turn your attention around so you can see the lush bounty blossoming behind you. Examine the stone wall; run your palms across it. This wall is the natural barrier of what you have known and experienced in your life. You see the sunflowers growing beyond it. This is the undiscovered, uncultivated possibility that exists for you. Walk to the flowers and hold them in your hand; stroke the inside of them with your finger. Acknowledge the wild magic of the unknown and unexpected that will burst forth in your life by keeping an open mind and heart.

This space is the result of your passion, work, and personal exuberance. Bask in the glory you have created. Explore into the card as far as you can go on your own.

 

Pathworking with the Queen of Pentacles

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Leeza Robertson, author of the new Tarot Court Cards for Beginners.

It is no secret that I use many and varied techniques to deepen my relationship with the The Karmic Family Tarot Spread.”

No Nonsense Interpretations

Kitchen Table Tarot

Melissa Cynova

Learn more, click HERE.

Melissa is quickly becoming well-known for her no-nonsense, practical reading methods and interpretations. Here is a taste.

Four of Wands

Walking through the chuppah and ready to join the party. This is about celebration, joy, silliness, and the excitement of completion, union, family, and friends. This is one of the happiest cards in the deck and also one of the simplest. Four sticks, flowers, and a party. I like the balance of the wands, the flowers, and the feeling of joy that resonates from the people in the town.

If you look at the position of the bower and the party in this image, this is the beat before the music begins. The client has not approached the bower yet and still needs to go up the hill, around the path, and to the castle. There is so much potential here, but we’re not moving yet. This card is a reminder to enjoy the moment.

Cups and Cauldrons

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by Laura Tempest Zakroff, author of the new Witch’s Cauldron.

In The Witch’s Cauldron: The Craft, Lore & Magick of Ritual Vessels, my main focus is obviously the cauldron. But the subtitle might make some folks may wonder about the lack of chalice chat. I do mention a few here and there in terms of mythology and usage. However, cups are more of an accessory to the main subject of cauldrons. So I thought this would be a great opportunity to consider what makes them different!

First, let’s look at what makes them similar. Most obviously, they both can be used to hold liquid. You can also find rebirth, regeneration, transformation, or eternal life myths associated with both. You could consider them both “feminine” in nature, if you’re intent on connecting their “container” aspect with a vagina or uterus. (Note: I’m not a big fan of gendering my tools.)

So what makes them different? In terms of usage, the cauldron is far more of an “active” tool. It’s where brewing, cooking, mixing, purifying, and conjuring can take place, as well as divination and spellcraft. It is the matrix of creation. The cauldron is not designed or meant to be directly drunk from. That’s the job of the cup—to help dispense the brew of the cauldron. The cup assists and aids, almost passively.

Similarly, when you look at the transformation myths involving cups and cauldrons, there is a correlating theme. To reborn of the cauldron, you must be immersed in it—the brew doesn’t matter. For instance, the Cauldron of Dyrnwch the Giant was used to reanimate fallen soldiers by placing them inside of it. For gifts of the cup, it’s more often about the liquid that it holds: sacred wine, ambrosia, a poison brew, etc. For example, let’s consider the Catholic rite of Transubstantiation. While the chalice symbolizes the holy grail—the cup from the Last Supper, that may have caught the blood of Jesus (depending on the mythic variation)—the spoken words focus on the transformation of wine into blood.

Furthermore, while you could mix things in a cup, it’s not designed to be cooked in. You can certainly bless the liquid contained within (such as some variations of the Wiccan Great Rite where the athame is brought down into the chalice), but it’s largely a symbolic transformation. The cauldron is able to transcend being a symbol because it is designed to take on fire to change the contents within physically. It embodies both the physical and metaphysical easily.

Lastly, we find one more key difference in the practical function and accessibility of these two vessels. The cup is meant to be easily held, shared, and transported. Meanwhile, the cauldron is often stationary: a place around which to gather, an altar, or communal focal point. Through the cup, we can share our brew, but by the cauldron, we share in the company of one another.

Our thanks to Laura for her guest post! For more from Laura Tempest Zakroff, read her article, “Tending To Your Spiritual Cauldrons.”

Pagan Prayers – A Daily Round

Readers, please enjoy this guest blog post by John Beckett, author of the new The Path of Paganism.

One of the most universal spiritual practices is prayer. Whatever else it may or may not do, prayer keeps us connected to that which we pray and that for which we pray. It serves as an affirmation of our values and our priorities, and at least when it’s done thoughtfully and reverently, reminds us that much of what we enjoy comes to us as a legacy from our ancestors and by the grace of the Gods.

My usual routine is to pray four times a day: before starting the day, before lunch, before dinner, and before going to bed. These are times when it’s easy to stop what I’m doing for a few minutes—I’m much less likely to forget about it than if they were scheduled for arbitrary times during the day. It also lines up nicely with the four elements and directions.

A full prayer life has room for both scripted prayers and extemporaneous prayers. Choose a mixture that incorporates the traditions that are meaningful to you while allowing room to express the yearnings of your heart on any given day.

Here’s my daily round.

Morning: Face East and Invoke Air. I offer Peace to the Quarters and the Druid’s Prayer (both from the modern Druid tradition) and pray for justice. I’m not a morning person, so these are the shortest and most scripted of all my prayers.

Noon: Face South and Invoke Fire. I pray for my family of blood and my family of choice. I pray for my health and safety, and for inspiration in my writing and speaking.

Afternoon: Face West and Invoke Water. I pray for my ancestors, those whose names I know and those I know only by where they’re from. I give thanks to the spirits of the place where I am and to the spirits of Nature.

Though I have a separate meditation practice, here I pause for a moment to listen. Most days I simply hear the background noises, but occasionally I pick up a bit of inspiration…or an instruction. I follow this up with a prayer to accept that which is and to do that which must be done.

Evening: Face North and Invoke Earth. I pray to each of the deities with whom I have an on-going relationship: Cernunnos, Danu, Morrigan, Brighid, and Lugh. These prayers are extemporaneous, but they usually focus on thanksgiving and on the work I am doing for and with them. I pray that I may be a dedicated and effective priest.

I end my daily prayers by toning the Awen three times, another part of my Druid tradition.

Our thanks to John for his guest post! For more from John Beckett, read his article, “A Pagan Framework For Discernment.”