A Leo Bellybutton ring.                                                      
And a cancer into Eastern Spiruality with an “Om”

And finally for today, A Christian piece in Black and grey.

The Incense Waiting in Your Spice Rack

When I walk into my kitchen, I see several things. There are the obvious things: a microwave, fridge, sink & a window. My juice machine, toaster & half-empty box of Cheerios. But, it’s not only that.

I also see countless meals being prepared, recipes read, messes being made & good morning kisses by the espresso machine.

I see things waiting to be created. I see my spice rack… jars & bottles of herbs & oils with untapped potential. I see incense.

Sure, you could just go buy some of those industrial incense sticks at the store… but there’s likely something more interesting in your own kitchen.

When I make incense at home, I need a few supplies:

- Mortar & pestle
- Charcoal tablets
- Cauldron
- Matches
- Jars or bottles

One of the things I like so much about making incense is that the possibilities are endless.

A romantic dinner… how about a Love Incense? Put a little ground ginger, marjoram & cinnamon into your mortar & pestle. Grind it up, drop it on your charcoal & let it burn in the room.

Obviously, you don’t want to do this right on the dinner table. Smoke in the eyes, coughing & choking is not sexy, no matter how hard you try.

Not sexy.

Sometimes I want something more than what is sitting in my cupboards, or in my spice rack. Adding resins such as Frankincense or Dragon’s Blood is a great way to bind the other ingredients together & they smell wonderful.

Speaking of Frankincense… whatever it is that you call that holiday in December – “Yule”, “Christmas”, “Noël”, or simply the “Winter Solstice” – it doesn’t matter much, if you ask me. Tossing a bit of Frankincense & myrrh in your mortar & pestle along with a bit of cinnamon & a wee bit of dried apple will put together a festive scent – no matter the festivities or ritual that you might have planned.

You can even add a small bit of pine needles to the mix, but come on… use your head. Don’t go bonkers with highly flammable ingredients. We’re going for a festive, winter atmosphere, not freaking Burning Man.

Using essential oils is another fantastic way to not only bind your dry ingredients together, but to give your incense a kick. Just add a few drops when you’re mixing your herbs or resins together. Easy.

Something else that’s fun when making incense is playing with correspondences. An example: mix together some clove, cinnamon, saffron & cedar. Add a few drops of jasmine oil. Put your incense in a purple or royal blue container along with a small gemstone of amethyst or lapis lazuli… voilà! Let’s call it “Jupiter Incense”. Hey… why not?

My favorite book to consult when I’m doing incense is: “Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Magical Herbs”. Llewellyn Publishing also puts out a great herbal almanac every year. If you don’t already have information in your home library pertaining to magical correspondences, these are excellent references. Of course… one could also peruse the webternets for information, but sometimes I prefer to flip through pages as I mix ingredients together.

One of my favorite things to do with incense is to make different blends corresponding to the elements. A mix of jasmine, vanilla, sandalwood & lavender make a fabulous water incense. Allspice, orange peel, clove & black pepper with a bit of ginger & nutmeg burn together for a spicy fire incense.

But, the best thing that I have found about making incense at home – sitting at the table, surrounded by jars & bottles of herbs, oils & resins, slowly smelling each one, adding bits of this & that, mixing them together like a bit of a mad scientist… just throwing together whatever I think smells the best.

Occasionally, when I’ve pulled what I think is a stellar incense recipe out of my ass, I’ll add to a notebook that I use exclusively for my incense blends. Now & then, I’ll put some in a pretty jar or bottle & give it as a gift along with some charcoal tablets.

The only limit here is imagination. It’s fun to do & the results are always satisfying.

Besides… what else am I gonna do with all of these weird herbs & spices that I bought for one recipe that I’ll likely never make again?

It’s Only the Good Friday!

What is it?: Only The Good Friday

When is it?: Every doggone Friday
What do you post?: Anything you want, as long as it’s “good”–meaning “not negative.”

How do I join? Write a post. Link back to Only the Good Friday at This Eclectic Life

Pick up a banner made by yours truly here, if you want!

What’s good at The Eclectic Witch today?

Well, what isn’t? Haha! As bitchy and snarky as I can be, Friday’s I grab that halo and toss it up there to tip on those horns! Really, a positive outlook can change the way we view

things, can’t it?

On March 28 and 29 folks all around the globe flipped a switch for their Mamma! One

hour without electricity. This year 4,000 cities from 88 countries all around the world

along with countless individuals turned off their lights and TVs and computers and settled in for some dark-time fun.

What a treat! Talk about GOOD! Stop in at the official Earth Hour home for more info on how you can make a difference and do some good for our Mama and lower your ecological footprint by shutting down the juice for an hour a day.
That’s OtGF for Ol’ Auntie for today!

Peace, Out!

What’s good in your world? Remember:

Ol’ Auntie wants to know!!

So Shelly’s idea for this positive posting meme is:

Fear feeds upon itself. It’s like a contagious virus. I’m tired of adding to it. I want to start another kind of “virus.”

You see, I think that optimism can be contagious, too. If we consciously try to look at the good in the world around us, it will become easier to see.

Won’t you join us?? Help spread the good love for Only The Good Friday!

Share your good with me here or leave the link to your good in comments and I’ll repost it here! Thanks for participating!

Despite the many books, articles and sources by which you may study tarot, learn to read tarot, or memorize tarot, and despite the fact that I have a freaking ridiculous number of tarot books on my Occult shelves, I believe that the very best way to learn Tarot and to learn to open oneself to the creative process necessary to read Tarot, is to develop a personal relationship with the cards.

Every single one of them.

The way to do this is to spend time with them. To consider and meditate on them. To listen to the story they have to tell you, and then to tell a story about them. If you’d care to join me in this journey through the Tarot, pick up a deck that you absolutely love. A deck that sings to you, shouts to you in it’s rich beauty and symbolism, or one that sits peacefully and gently on your eyes.

For now, put the book away. Look at The Emperor. What color jumps out at you first? What is the first image or symbol or detail of the card that speaks to you? Do you get an overall impression from the image as a whole? Do you get random (seeming) flashes and thoughts? Does your mind or vision keep returning to a certain area or thought pattern?

Write these things down. Any and all thoughts that come to you, regardless of what you think The Emperor should mean, or what you have learned or studied of it.

Beginners will most likely have an easier time of this than those who consider themselves well versed in Tarot. If you have memorized someone’s book interpretations, you are going to have to reach outside of your logical mind a bit to find the card’s personal message for you, but keep trying. It will come.

Keep the card and a small notebook either with you, or in a conspicuous place where you will see and consider it often for the next week. If you have very busy days, place it next to your bed and consider it a bit before sleep and upon waking. Jot down notes. Think on what the image is telling you. What relevance does it have in your life today?

The second image is from the Mystereum Tarot , by architect Jordan Hoggard.

If the meaning seems to shift and change from day to day, go with it. Are you getting a repeat message from the card? Something important that you need to hear? Or is there a new message every day as your world shifts around you?

Resist the temptation to turn to the book for your answers. Write your own stories.

On Monday evening, or before you return for the next edition of Tarot Tuesday, see if you can put the week’s meditation on The Emperor into a story; a story of your life for the last week. After you have done this, go ahead and crack the book.

Hello Kitty Tarot.  Okay, this one is just for fun because it is too cute!  You can download these cards at Pop Art Machine.

Now, after you’ve pulled every bit from the card that it has to offer you directly, now is the time to turn to definitions of symbolism, Qabbalistic correspondences, and traditional interpretations. See what this adds to your understanding of the card and your story. Edit and add to it as appropriate. Follow your heart-

* Ol’ Auntie is playing along for Tarot Tuesday , a new meme. Join us in posting your tarot thoughts, images and ideas on your own blog or in comments here or there for this weekly meme hosted by chameloeon’s dream at Tarot Tuesday Home . Check back and see who is playing and visit others posting for Tarot Tuesday!

Don’t forget to visit the Tarot Tuesday Archive here at The Eclectic Witch each week for my interpretations for the cards from the previous weeks. Come back to either this post or to the Tarot page and share your thoughts with Ol’ Auntie. Remember:

Ol’ Auntie wants to know!!

It’s Only the Good Friday!

What is it?: Only The Good Friday
When is it?: Every doggone Friday
What do you post?: Anything you want, as long as it’s “good”–meaning “not negative.”
How do I join? Write a post. Link back to Only the Good Friday at This Eclectic Life

Pick up a banner made by yours truly here, if you want!

What’s good at The Eclectic Witch today?

Well, what isn’t? Haha! As bitchy and snarky as I can be, Friday’s I grab that halo and toss it up there to tip on those horns! Really, a positive outlook can change the way we view things, can’t it?

Today Auntie Thorne wants to talk a bit about that quirky lil catchphrase that I toss around so often here at The Eclectic Witch-

As Above, So Below.

I believe this same concept is expressed by Christian folk as

Faith Without Works

and by Hindu’s as

Shakti

The basic concept is the same.  I interpret it to mean that if we want something to change, if we pray for it or cast a spell or chant or whatever it is we do to ask or entice the Gods to help us out, we can’t just sit on our asses and wait for them to rescue us or shower riches or blessings or happiness on our heads. Prayer and magickal action need to be backed up by action here on the material/physical plane.  Here on earth.  You can’t do a spell for prosperity and then not pick up the classifieds, or make something to sell or give something away.  You can’t cast a love spell and then hide in your house.  You get the point.

For today’s Only the Good Friday post I’d like to point out how this idea of Shelly’s, this good posting meme, epitomizes the concept of As Above, So Below.  In her description of the meme, Shelly says, “If we consciously try to look at the good in the world around us, it will become easier to see. But from where your Ol’ Auntie is standing, we’re doing magick.

By participating in this meme, we are forced to get our heads out of any negative place at least long enough to think of something good to write about.  This is true whether we choose to share a bit of personal good from our own lives, like Nana and Sheila and Betmo have done today,  or whether we write about people who are doing good like Shelly and I have (over at Thorne’s World), or about good ideas and good programs like Mo and Jaime have.

So we first think good, then we write good, then we read the good that others are putting out there.  All the while, we are perpetuating positive thought patterns, positive words, positive energy-magick and positive action.  And it just keeps going, this good.  It circles and cycles through the Universe, and the blogosphere and cyberspace, along ley lines and airwaves; phone cables and satellite connections, fios and cellular transmittors.

As Above, So Below!

That’s OtGF for Ol’ Auntie for today!

Peace, Out!

What’s good in your world? Remember:

Ol’ Auntie wants to know!!

So Shelly’s idea for this positive posting meme is:

Fear feeds upon itself. It’s like a contagious virus. I’m tired of adding to it. I want to start another kind of “virus.”

You see, I think that optimism can be contagious, too. If we consciously try to look at the good in the world around us, it will become easier to see.

Won’t you join us?? Help spread the good love for Only The Good Friday!

Share your good with me here or leave the link to your good in comments and I’ll repost it here! Thanks for participating!

So welcome to the ad hoc TT. Thirteen whatevers. Got 13 ideas?  13 things you want to do?  13 images or links… let your imagination go! Let’s have some fun and get to know each other a bit. Don’t forget to leave your link at the site and leave a comment here. Auntie Thorne loves TT-ers!

Let’s talk about love spells today.  There are as a wide variety of kinds of love spells as there are ways and means to cast love spells.  Want a fast love spell?  An easy love spell?  A Voodoo love spell? A sex love spell or a true love spell?  Do you want your lover fast and hard and damn the consequences, or do you want a life mate?  Do you need to get rid of a lover, or keep one you already have?  These are just a few of the varieties of love spells at your disposal.

Now, all issues of so-called “Black Magick” or “White Magick” aside, let’s first consider these kind of spells from the most personal perspective.  I always attempt to ascertain my True Will before doing magick that involves bending another’s will to my own, so that would be my first bit of advice to you.  In the absence of knowing your True Will, you may at least want to consider carefully the possible results of your love spell.  Think along the lines of

“Be careful what you pray for, because you just may get it!”

Okay! Ol’ Auntie has done her ethical duty.  Where you take these love spells is entirely up to you.  Good luck!

 The Generic “I want a mate” love spell.  You really can’t go wrong with this one.  Since you aren’t picking on an individual person, but rather asking that a person manifest in your life who will love you,  you’re not quite as likely to be in desperation of a counter spell in six months.

1) A simple version of the above love spell is to write a list of the qualities you want in a lover or mate.  (You should remember to include gender if you’re picky about such things.) Put it under your pillow or in a magick bottle.

2) Burn it in a sacred fire under a full moon and let the smoke carry your desire to the Gods.

3) Consecrate and anoint (in whatever way seems best to you) a pink or red candle with rose attar, cinnamon, anise, almond, cloves, clary sage, or any combination of 3 of them. Use the glass 7 day candle and leave your list folded beneath it.  Before the candle burns out burn your list in the flame and bury the ashes.

4) Use body fluids to inscribe the list.  Women, menstrual blood is excellent; Men, use semen.  Of course, saliva, urine or blood are reasonable substitutes, as well.

Fast and Hard and Damn the Consequences Love/Lust Spells

5) Take a photo of your desire (with your cellphone…  yippee for modern magick), send it to your home email with a statement of Will such as Mine for now, until we see how our passion and love may be. If it hasn’t worked before you return home, print and burn, bury, anoint, or empower in what way seems best to you.

6) Write a statement of Will and transcribe it into a sigil.  Memorize then burn the sigil. Visualize the sigil design clearly in your mind.  Masturbate and release the vision into the Universe at orgasm.  Think on it no more. (This method works for the other types of spells as well)

7) Pluck a strand of hair from your desire as you pass him/her.  Pluck one of your own.  Tie them together in one, two or three knots, (depending on the strength of your desire and the strength of the attatchment you desire).  Tuck the knotted hair somewhere against your skin or urinate or spit on it and discard.

8) Write a statement of Will and transcribe it into a sigil.  Memorize then burn the sigil. If you can touch your intended in a playful manner, inscribe it upon his/her skin with a sharpie.  If not, trace it with your finger on his/her drinking glass or bottle, in a footprint or other item or mark belonging to your intended desire.

To Keep a Lover or Strengthen a Relationship

There are different ways to do a spell like this as well.  Best of all I think, is when both partners enter into the ritual together with mutual intent.  If your partner is willing I’m sure you can alter these spells to work for 2.

9)  Get your undies in a knot.  Hee hee!  One pair belonging to each of you, preferably already worn.  Knot them together and stash them under your mattress smack dab in the middle.

10) Write a statement of Will and transcribe it into a sigil.  Memorize then burn the sigil. Visualize the sigil during a time of preparation for a romantic evening.  Stir it into a special dinner.  See it in the flames of candles, and rising on the smoke of the incense you light.  Trace it invisibly on your lover’s body as you give her/him a sensual massage. If a continuing or renewed sexual relationship is part of your desire, trace it upon your lover’s body with fingertips, toes, and tongue as you make love.  Release at the moment of orgasm.

11) Only if the person is already your partner and only if you are both healthy and in no fear of exchanging body fliuds (ie: you have unprotected sex, kiss, and are monogamous): put a couple drops of urine, saliva, semen or menstrual blood in your partner’s coffee or tea or other beverage.

12) Get 3 candles.  One in red or pink, and one each in whatever color best represents you and your lover.  Anoint the red candle in a selection of the oils mentioned above in #3. Anoint your candle and your partner’s candle in either your astrological oils or a scent that is particular and pleasing to each of you.  Each of your favorite perfume or cologne will do in a pinch.  Place all 3 candles close together or in a vessel that will contain them all.  You may also tie them together with red cotton, strands of braided hair or whatever seems best to you.  Light the red candle first, then yours and your lover’s.  Make daily offerings of food (salt will do, or bits of meals and special treats) to nurture and feed your relationship; offer water in a beautiful goblet, chalice or glass, incense and romantic items such as rose petals or smallnotes and charms, while the candles burn.  This is a lovely spell to do together with your partner if you are both so inclined.

A Spell for Self Love

Sometimes the only love spell we need is something to help us love ourselves.  We are unlikely to attract a lover when we have no self worth, or we think we are ugly, too fat, too thin, etc.

13) Plan a day completely around loving and nurturing yourself, by yourself.  Start your day with a brisk shower!  Wash and condition your hair, shave if it’s something you do, exfoliate and use a pleasing body scrub.  See your worries and cares and self doubts being swept from you and circling down the drain.  Spend the day doing things you love, whether that’s puttering in the garden, taking a nature walk, seeing a movie.  Take yourself to dinner at a favorite restaurant, pick up some special treats at a small shop- something you don’t often indulge yourself in and bring them home or if you enjoy cooking prepare yourself a special meal.

After dinner have a romantic evening for one.  Wear something sexy; something that makes you feel sexy. Light red or pink candles and burn incense, (something sexy or musky) drape your bed with a silky or other fabric that is pleasant and sensual on the skin, scatter rose petals. Stand before a mirror and say “I am lovely.  I am sexy and desirable and I love me!”  Disrobe as you will and love your body.  Explore it and make love to yourself.  Don’t just go for the quick relief type orgasm, rather make slow, sweet love to yourself.

When you love yourself, you will be ready to attract your mate!

That’s my TT. Thanks for stopping by.

I’m off to visit now!

Ol’ Auntie wants to know!

Peace, out!

Despite the many books, articles and sources by which you may study tarot, learn to read tarot, or memorize tarot, and despite the fact that I have a freaking ridiculous number of tarot books on my Occult shelves, I believe that the very best way to learn Tarot and to learn to open oneself to the creative process necessary to read Tarot, is to develop a personal relationship with the cards.

Every single one of them.

The way to do this is to spend time with them. To consider and meditate on them. To listen to the story they have to tell you, and then to tell a story about them. If you’d care to join me in this journey through the Tarot, pick up a deck that you absolutely love. A deck that sings to you, shouts to you in it’s rich beauty and symbolism, or one that sits peacefully and gently on your eyes.

For now, put the book away. Look at The Empress. What color jumps out at you first? What is the first image or symbol or detail of the card that speaks to you? Do you get an overall impression from the image as a whole? Do you get random (seeming) flashes and thoughts? Does your mind or vision keep returning to a certain area or thought pattern?

Write these things down. Any and all thoughts that come to you, regardless of what you think The Magician should mean, or what you have learned or studied of it.

Beginners will most likely have an easier time of this than those who consider themselves well versed in Tarot. If you have memorized someone’s book interpretations, you are going to have to reach outside of your logical mind a bit to find the card’s personal message for you, but keep trying. It will come.

Keep the card and a small notebook either with you, or in a conspicuous place where you will see and consider it often for the next week. If you have very busy days, place it next to your bed and consider it a bit before sleep and upon waking. Jot down notes. Think on what the image is telling you. What relevance does it have in your life today?

The second Empress image is from a traditional deck that was left to me many years ago.  It’s an antique deck which the name of and artist, for some insane reason, always escapes me.

If the meaning seems to shift and change from day to day, go with it. Are you getting a repeat message from the card? Something important that you need to hear? Or is there a new message every day as your world shifts around you?

Resist the temptation to turn to the book for your answers. Write your own stories.

On Monday evening, or before you return for the next edition of Tarot Tuesday, see if you can put the week’s meditation on The Magician into a story; a story of your life for the last week. After you have done this, go ahead and crack the book.

Victorian Romantic tarot

Now, after you’ve pulled every bit from the card that it has to offer you directly, now is the time to turn to definitions of symbolism, Qabbalistic correspondences, and traditional interpretations. See what this adds to your understanding of the card and your story. Edit and add to it as appropriate. Follow your heart-

* Ol’ Auntie is playing along for Tarot Tuesday , a new meme. Join us in posting your tarot thoughts, images and ideas on your own blog or in comments here or there for this weekly meme hosted by chameloeon’s dream at Tarot Tuesday Home . Check back and see who is playing and visit others posting for Tarot Tuesday!

Don’t forget to visit the Tarot Tuesday Archive here at The Eclectic Witch each week for my interpretations for the cards from the previous weeks.  Come back to either this post or to the Tarot page and share your thoughts with Ol’ Auntie. Remember:

Ol’ Auntie wants to know!!

Now, I’m not sure what kind of misconceptions about the High Desert of Southern California I might be able to dispel, and honestly, why would I want to?  If  thoughts of the California and Nevada deserts turn you toward stuff like Area 51, UFO’s and Nuclear Test Sites, sacred native people’s sites, ghost towns and haunted hiways I might be actually confirming your prejudice!  But really, don’t we witchy folk just love that kinda thing?  I don’t know about you, but when I travel I’m not just about hitting the tourist spots.  I mean, some of those are fine, especially if their art museums, historical places where I can tune in to the energies of the ancestors or visit with somelingering spirits, orreally good palces to chow, of course!  But what I really enjoy is finding the magickal spots.  Little known temples, places where ley lines converge, hot springs and other natural and magickal manifestations.

So if you happen to be traveling out this witch way, and are in the mood for something quirky and fun, or something ancient and artistic, or something thought-provoking and spiritual, I just might be able to point you in the right direction.

The Integratron

The Integratron is the creation of George Van Tassel, and is based on the design of Moses’ Tabernacle, the writings of Nikola Tesla and telepathic directions from extraterrestrials. This one-of-a-kind building is a 38-foot high, 55-foot diameter, non-metallic structure originally designed by Van Tassel as a rejuvenation and time machine. Today, it is the only all-wood, acoustically perfect sound chamber in the U.S.

Kinda trippy lookin’, huh? This place is amazing and interesting and historical, too. There’s some great articles at the site all about George Van Tassel, the creator of the integratron and how it came to be, articles on how after he retired from a long career as an aeronautics engineer for Lockeed he moved his family to 4 acres at Giant Rock, near Landers, California. Giant Rock is a 7-story high, freestanding boulder formerly sacred to the Native Americans who lived in the area. It was here that he received, from a spaceship full of aliens visiting from the planet Venus, the instructions and plans to build the Integratron, which was to be, in Georges own words, “a machine, a high-voltage electrostatic generator that would supply a broad range of frequencies to recharge the cell structure.”

Van Tassel referenced the Biefield-Brown Effect, the works of scientists George Lakhovsky, George Crile and the works of Nikola Tesla in relation to his work at the Integratron, and you can read all about the sience here if you like, (that Tessla was somethin’ else- wasn’t he? Pretty amazing stuff!), and about sacred geometry here, (the likes of which the pyramids and many holy buildings and tabernacles were designed with, not to mention Phi aka: the golden mean) but what I really want to tell you about is the experience of the place, and the two sisters who run it now.

We go out there at least a few times a year, for the sound baths and occasionally for special events. We went out a couple years ago for their “Unplugged Goddesses” event, which was a weekend of awesome women camping and meditating and doing some energy work together. We went with a group of several friends, the GirlyBoi’s mom and my daughter went, too. Some of us slept in the Dome, while others camped in tents or under the stars. A sound bath before bed the first night and another the next day; a trip to play along the ley lines at Giant Rock.  We did some past life work and storytelling, and had a video meditation of a sand mandalla that began with molecular images of a single grain of sand and then moved through the entire mandalla.  It was projected onto the side of the dome late at night.  So incredible and magickal and gorgeous! The entire event was so excellent!

If you are ever out here in the High Desert of Southern California you will love this place!  Even if you’re not here when there is a special event scheduled, the Integratron is available by appointment almost all the time year round.  You can book nearly any number of people, even book the whole place for gatherings, or you can just call for a sound bath and swing on by.   Have you ever heard a crystal singing bowl? Of course you have!  Duh!  This is my magickal blog. You know they are all pitched differently, but every one I’ve ever heard seems to sort of resonate in your body and mind and sounds at once sweetly melodic and somewhat haunting. They make the kind of sounds that seem to grab at your heart strings and fill you up.

 If you love the sound and vibration of one singing bowl… just imagine 9! The Sound Bath is the Integratron’s signature experience. It’s simply amazing.

The Sound Bath is a 30-minute sonic healing session that you can experience while resting comfortably in the Integratron’s highly resonant, multi-wave sound chamber. We play 9 quartz crystal singing bowls live, each one keyed to the energy centers or chakras of the body, where sound is nutrition for the nervous system. Imagine lying on comfy mats in the center of this relaxing and resonant high-energy field, while having your body bathed in exquisite sound for 30 minutes. The results are waves of peace, heightened awareness, and relaxation of the mind and body.

After being greeted by the sisters, Nan and Jo and enjoying a little visit that includes a bit of Integratron backstory in the charming courtyard, we head to the dome. Nan and Jo are  amazing, bright, magickal women who are so warm and friendly and always happy to chat and encourage visitors too look around.

The first thing you notice when you enter the dome is the beautiful wood interior, and the pegs upon which copper wires are strung that radiate outward from the central post. It looks like a big round harp.  If you can see your circle or coven doing ritual in here, just wait til you get upstairs!  The entire Dome is constructed of wood; there’s not a nail in the place. It’s so warm and welcoming. There are couches and chairs for lounging, a small library and scads of reference materials and articles on George and Tessla and Giant Rock. After wandering the downstairs a bit we head upstairs to the sound chamber of the dome.

Upstairs Jo will tell you about the special acoustics of the dome, and we always have to take a moment to enjoy the “whisper chamber” effect. Seriously; no matter how often we go, we’re like kids playing with a new toy; we can’t get enough of it. Have you ever been in a whisper chamber? It’s such a trip. I can’t say I understand how it works, but who cares?? Haha. If I stand on one side of the dome between the vaults and you stand across from me and I whisper… you will hear it as if I were right next to you. Somehow the sound travels along those arches or something.  And Oh my Goddess.  Just sit in the center and feel the energy as you Om or do a Ma or other chant. Your own voice resonates inside of you straight up your spine and comes out of you as if it’s amplified by a micraphone!  When you sit or stand over the core, you can feel the energy generated by the multiple crossing ley lines and especially the unique experience of a verticle ley line.  Seriously!  it shoots straight up!  It’s incredible!

Nan and Jo also have an assortment of percussion instruments available.  The drum jams in that Dome are intense!  Hehe.  I digress.  Back to the sound bath.

The mats and pillows are all arranged for you, whether you’re doing a private or group Sound Bath. We always stop at the small, multi-cultural altar and pay our respects to the local spirits before we have our meditation. We leave an offering and we like to look at the offerings others have left. Photos, saint cards, crystals and stones, tiny pyramids and sobriety coins, among other personal mementos.

Let me tell you that in all my travels (astral or otherwise… Hahaha!), I have never experienced anything like it. The sound of those 9 crystal bowls gets right into your body as well as your mind. It completely fills you up! You can feel the energies move between the chakras… the sound seems often to shift from one ear to the other and then blend and meet in a sort of vibration in your mind… you feel blockages in your body open, the sensation of a cooling breeze in the high heat of summer, warmth in your toes during winter… I almost can’t even describe it. It’s been described as:

“Kindergarten naptime of the Third Kind.”

Which is somehow apt; I mean, do you remember those kindergarden naps?! Haha! They were so great. So refreshing and revitalizing. After a lil nap I could get up and play in the sandbox all day! So, if you’re ever out here in my sandbox, go check out the Integratron! You’ll love it!

*For more history on George, Giant Rock and the Integratron check out labrynthina.

What kind of magickal places can be found in your neck of the woods?  Remember:

Ol’ Auntie wants to know!!

So welcome to the ad hoc TT. Thirteen whatevers. Let’s have some fun and get to know each other a bit. Don’t forget to leave your link at the site and leave a comment here. Auntie Thorne loves TT-ers!

It’s Thursday again and I’m just tickled!  This ol’ witch just loves making lists in witches’ dozens.  There are a whole lotta ways to predict the future.  Divination has been an art of witches and women and seekers since time immemorial, and surely long before Tarot cards were around.  The I Ching is probably the oldest formal tool of divination, although it is a complex system.  Today your Ol’ Auntie is going to share 13 simple forms of divination, or fortune telling.  13 ways to predict the future, to divine answers to your every question using stuff you can find around the house or, if you’re a secret witch who can’t shop at occult stores or have obviously magickal tools around the house where people can see them, these ordinary household items will never be noticed.

13 Common Household Fortunetelling Tools and Methods

1) A needle and thread.
Did you ever do this to determine the sex of a baby in a pregnant woman? Thread a needle with at least 6 or 8 inches of thread and hold the end of the thread above a reclining momma to be’s belly. The needle will begin to move. If it moves in a circle, it’s a girl in there. If it swings back and forth in a straight line, it’s a boy.
This simple pendulum will work for divining yes or no answers as well. For me, the line is a “no” and a circle means “yes”, but it’s best to see how a pendulum will work for you by sounding or testing the pendulum. Holding it again by the end of the string with the needle above your opposite hand ask it to show you yes, then no.
2) Almost any pendant type necklace may be used the same way. Try using a piece that is special- a gift from a loved one or an heirloom.

3) Dowsing for lost items.

Use any wire coat hanger for this. Some people say a plastic hanger will work, but I don’t seem to be able to connect with plastic.  I like to straighten the hook first, but if you’re in a hurry, (you know; when you’ve misplaced your car keys and are late for an appointment) don’t bother. Hold the coathanger loosely by the points (where the shoulders of a shirt would rest) with  hook or straightened hook pointing in front of you.  Focus on the lost item as you walk around the house with your dowsing hanger.  The end will point you in the direction of your lost item.

4) Bibliomancy, Chartomancy or Stitchomancy.

Pick up a book; any book.  As your question as you open the book at random and read the passage or paragraph of the first word or line to catch your eye.  It is your answer.

5) Cromniomancy
This is a form of divination that has been historically practiced across Europe, Asia and Africa. There are a number of ways to do it and all you need is a couple of onions and a knife or pointed tool. Having trouble deciding between 2 lovers or 2 or more courses of action? Inscribe an onion each with the name or choice and place them on your altar or a kitchen basket. Watch them for a few days. Whichever one sprouts first and most is the one that indicates your answer. Cromniomancy may also be used to check on the health and well being of distant loved ones. Inscribe an onion with your loved one’s name and again watch for the sprouts. Fat healthy and numerous sprouts are a sign of your loved one’s good health and well being.

6) Marbles, buttons or colored glass globs.
Choose 4 items of identical or very similar shape and size, but 2 each of different colors and place all 4 in a closed container like a bag. Assign a value of yes and no to each color. Meditate for a moment on your yes/no question. Pull 2 items from the bag. 2 of the same color is a firm yes or no, while one of each is a maybe or unclear/unknown answer.

7) Scrying with water method #1 (for any of the water methods one may use tap water, spring or rain water (I love rain water), sea water or water left under a full moon to charge.)
Choose a bowl without decoration.  A single, solid color is best. Glass or ceramic is good and so is wood. Fill it with water and gaze into it past your reflection while concentrating on your question or the person you wish to divine.

8) Scrying with water method #2
Take a small mirror without an enclosed backing on it. Pour enough water on the mirror to wash across it. Discern your answer there.

9) Scrying with water method #3
Ice scrying. Use an ice cube. This method is much like crystal gazing. You can also freeze water in a bowl for a larger scrying surface.

10) Scrying with fire method #1
A candle flame is small, but serviceable.

11) Scrying with fire method #2
Be careful with this one. A cast iron pan or dutch oven may be placed on a fireproof surface. Choose a pot with a tightly fitting lid or have some baking soda nearby to extinguish the fire if needed. Pour a half cup of rubbing alcohol into the vessel and light. (Some folks say that 151 Rum or other strong spirits work well.  Ol’ Auntie doesn’t drink these days, but when I did  I would have called that alcohol abuse!  Hee hee) The smokeless blue flames make for very meditative and trance inducing scrying.

12) Scrying with fire method #3
Hold a piece of parchment (or copier paper) above a candle flame, close enough to become discolored with soot, but not close enough to burn. Discern your answers in the smokey sigils left on the paper.

13) Ol’ Auntie’s Random Handful Tried and True method of divination for any situation.
Got pasta? Macaroni, shells, spaghetti. Beans? Dried pinto, lima, split peas or lentils. A pinch of thyme? A handful of sand or dirt in the garden, the shed hair pulled from your own hairbrush or your dog brush… you get the idea. Toss it. If it’s a lively sort of material like dried beans you might want to toss it on a big platter or cookie sheet. I use this one often while cooking as I toss a couple pinches of herbs into the pot.  Check out the shapes, the symbols that your toss makes. if you have trouble visualizing or telling your stories from the shapes, take a piece of paper and write words or symbols on it and then toss. See where things land. Get your answers.

That’s my TT. Thanks for stopping by.

I’m off to visit now!

What common household items do you use for divination? Remember,

Ol’ Auntie wants to know!

Peace, out!

Despite the many books, articles and sources by which you may study tarot, learn to read tarot, or memorize tarot, and despite the fact that I have a freaking ridiculous number of tarot books on my Occult shelves, I believe that the very best way to learn Tarot and to learn to open oneself to the creative process necessary to read Tarot, is to develop a personal relationship with the cards.

Every single one of them.

The way to do this is to spend time with them. To consider and meditate on them. To listen to the story they have to tell you, and then to tell a story about them. If you’d care to join me in this journey through the Tarot, pick up a deck that you absolutely love. A deck that sings to you, shouts to you in it’s rich beauty and symbolism, or one that sits peacefully and gently on your eyes.

For now, put the book away. Look at The High Priestess. What color jumps out at you first? What is the first image or symbol or detail of the card that speaks to you? Do you get an overall impression from the image as a whole? Do you get random (seeming) flashes and thoughts? Does your mind or vision keep returning to a certain area or thought pattern?

Write these things down. Any and all thoughts that come to you, regardless of what you think The Magician should mean, or what you have learned or studied of it.

Beginners will most likely have an easier time of this than those who consider themselves well versed in Tarot. If you have memorized someone’s book interpretations, you are going to have to reach outside of your logical mind a bit to find the card’s personal message for you, but keep trying. It will come.

Keep the card and a small notebook either with you, or in a conspicuous place where you will see and consider it often for the next week. If you have very busy days, place it next to your bed and consider it a bit before sleep and upon waking. Jot down notes. Think on what the image is telling you. What relevance does it have in your life today?

The lovely High Priestess image above is courtesy of ©Stephanie Pui-Mun Law,  Shadowscapes Studios. Her deck is a work in progress of ethereal images with mythic, shamanistic and fantasy images combined.

If the meaning seems to shift and change from day to day, go with it. Are you getting a repeat message from the card? Something important that you need to hear? Or is there a new message every day as your world shifts around you?

Resist the temptation to turn to the book for your answers. Write your own stories.

On Monday evening, or before you return for the next edition of Tarot Tuesday, see if you can put the week’s meditation on The Magician into a story; a story of your life for the last week. After you have done this, go ahead and crack the book.

Tarot of the Dead
I love these Dia De Los Muertos colors and imagery. I think I need this deck.
Now, after you’ve pulled every bit from the card that it has to offer you directly, now is the time to turn to definitions of symbolism, Qabbalistic correspondences, and traditional interpretations. See what this adds to your understanding of the card and your story. Edit and add to it as appropriate. Follow your heart-
* Ol’ Auntie is playing along for Tarot Tuesday , a new meme. Join us in posting your tarot thoughts, images and ideas on your own blog or in comments here or there for this weekly meme hosted by chameloeon’s dream at Tarot Tuesday Home . Check back and see who is playing and visit others posting for Tarot Tuesday!

Don’t forget to visit the Tarot Tuesday Page here at The Eclectic Witch. Come back to either this post or to the Tarot page and share your thoughts with Ol’ Auntie. Remember:

Ol’ Auntie wants to know!!