Friday, January 25, 2013

Home Sweet Home

It's been a very long time since I've been back home, and finally getting the chance to come back for a two week break has been great. It's been five days since I've been home, and I cannot recall feeling this relaxed or calm in quite awhile. Not to say that coming back home after so long did not pose some problems, but they are fairly minor compared to those I left back in the city. I truly missed the peaceful sounds of the countryside amid the trees, deer, and rolling hills of central New Jersey. I missed my local farmer's market and quaint town centre, full of tiny locally owned shops and boutiques- though sadly many have gone out of business while I was away. Terrible how we can still see the remnants of the bad economy even so long after it has begun to improve.
Despite my occasional melancholia at the changes to my little town, I am so glad to see many of the same faces that I remembered from before. I am also glad to see that my altar in my room is still as I left it, candles, incense and all. That is definitely one thing I very much miss having around the house. Even at the beginning of my studies in the craft I had a (very) simple and small altar as my sacred space. Now that I don't have that present in my day-to-day, it does cause me to feel more disconnected to my spirituality than I felt before. Having a marked area as a reminder of my path gave me a greater sense of calm and strength. Not having a visual definition of the old ways has made living my life in accordance with my beliefs much harder. It is much easier to forget to be mindful than to remember mindfulness.

The full moon is here, so I must plan to get in touch with my sacred space before I leave once again. I will post again next week to let all of you, my dear readers, know how it is going.

Saturday, January 19, 2013

Back on the Etsy Bandwagon!

I finally have a new item listed in my Etsy shop with more to come in the following weeks.
It's been quite a long time since I was selling on Etsy, but I hope that this time around I can attract new followers with the help of my new friend, Social Media (Twitter is great), and my new YouTube channel, Saphira Blue Tarot.

To begin, I've decided to go slow and not list too many things at once. I want to try and have a nice variation of witchy-things to offer as well, just to keep things fresh. Fresh is good. Expect quite a few Tarot spreads to be available, and also crystal readings. Crystal ball readings are great for delving deeper into the psyche and hidden messages, and it would be wonderful to get to use more time in my scrying endeavours for others.
I may also offer some of my rosaries for sale again, this time perhaps for those that want a nice beaded aid for their Pagan (or non-Pagan, I'm not fussy) prayers. I may even offer some of my more metaphysically-geared soaps for sale as well. Still trying to figure it out as time goes by, though I'm sure I'll come to some kind of happy medium, no pun intended.

Stay tuned, and you can visit my Etsy shop anytime you like using the widget on my Blogger page and in the link here: Saphira Blue Tarot on Etsy.


Friday, January 18, 2013

What To Do?

I was talking to a friend of mine today, and I 'm pretty sure they may have been a victim of psychic attack.*

This is a bit of controversial topic from what I know of; some circles don't even consider psychic attacks to be a real thing in the (meta)physical world. My personal opinion on the topic is that it is real. In the past I have had experiences where I felt tired, sick, in pain, but could not pinpoint anything specific that was ailing me. I have also lived with psychic vampires nearly my whole life- I knew what that felt like before I even knew that kind of person existed.
My friend is facing the same problems now and for the last few weeks- a haze of unexplained malaise, lack of interest in anything, constant tiredness, and feeling impossibly forlorn, even hateful at times. I know my friend very well; for nearly a whole decade we've been like two peas in pod, so I know when their behaviour just does not suit their situation. They have no financial burdens, things are good in their relationships at home, they have a loving partner that would do anything for them and loves them unconditionally- so why the slump? My friend has even confessed that it's in their head, so why can they not break the depressive cycle?
I pondered, and pondered, finally coming to the conclusion that it may be a psychic attack. From what or whom I have no idea, but I do suspect that a Tarot reading could clarify this matter much further than I ever could just postulate.
----
Earlier this evening I did do a Tarot reading for my friend, to see what was up and how I could be of help to them. I will keep their cards private, but what I will say is there was a lot of emotion (water) coming up in their life, which means that they may still be living in the past, not to mention that the card I pulled on how to help out was the reversed (R) IX of Cups. Lots of water, emotions are running high, but in different ways. I cannot speak on their actually reading, but I will say that my friend and I do have a long history and we are similar but different. We have been there for each other in the past, and will continue to do so in the future. 
With the IX of CUPS, I see this to mean that I must be supportive towards my friend to help them reach their goals, but I cannot be passive. I must take an active role in order to facilitate change in their life for the better. Whether they were victim to a psychic attack or not, I must be there by their side to help them heal for the future, whatever that may bring. It will be a positive future, I noted, with friends and many people by their side. 

I hope that I can do this for my friend; that they will allow me the privilege to get close enough to their heart and soul so that these past wounds can heal. It will take some time and much active effort, but it can and will be done. I just pray that Goddess will guide me towards making the right choices when the time comes. 



*I'm not specifying he or she as to keep confidentiality on the part of my friend. 

Thursday, January 17, 2013

A Simple Prayer



(originally written October 10th, 2010)

Great Goddess, bless the moon and sun,
Our homes, our hearths-
Love all as one.

With courage I call to you
In merry meet-
Hear this prayer I doth entreat:

By Lord and Lady,
Bold and bright,
Watch over us both day and night.
Keep us from thirst;
Keep us well-fed;
Protect us whilst we're in our beds.

By the power of three
And the power in me,
This is my will so mote it be.



(c) Stephanie Ghanem, 2013

Major Arcana: The Fool

The first card in the Tarot is one we all know as being called, "The Fool". This card is the very beginning of the Tarot deck and the Major Arcana, and what I like to think of as the essence of the Tarot. The Fool card, from my understanding and intuition over the years I've used the Tarot, sends a message of choice and destiny. In  using the Tarot, we choose our cards for the spread, but perhaps we don't always realize that perhaps we are not really choosing our cards by choice, but by the destined outcome of our shuffling the cards before use.

How I see it:
The Fool card is the innocent, youthful, and unstoppable spirit that each person has inside of them, wanting to be let out in order to venture forward into the great beyond. The urge and desire to move forward is there with the Fool , yet there will be things to hold us back. These obstacles may be minor or great; they may even take longer to overcome than imagined. Even so, the Fool is not about over coming obstacles within a journey, it is about starting the journey itself- sometimes the most difficult part of the process.
Overall, the Fool card speaks to me as the start of a process that has a goal in mind, but no direction specifically, which is why sometimes we must have faith in ourselves to guide us instead of a map.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Tarot Journal Journey: A New Start

I didn't mention this in my previous blog post about my personal goals for this year, but I've come to the realization that I like to blog quite a bit. I do have a few more readers now, and, as I've always thought, the more the merrier. Seeing as expansion is on my list of things to accomplish for 2013 for numerous areas in my life (i.e. business endeavours, weight-loss and health) why not add the Tarot to my list? Improving one's skills has always been a priority, and the need will arise one day when I must step up my game. Might as well start now- stagnation never prospers.
To begin, I'm starting with every card of the Major Arcana in chronological order, and then on to the Minor Arcana. This will certainly be more than a year long process, but that's okay. Rushing is no fun anyways.

Along with my Tarot journal posts, I also think it's time to make my witchcraft journal more public. I do have a book that I've use these last three years as my witchie journal and partial Book of Shadows, and it's nearly full to boot, but I hate writing by hand. My handwriting is by default atrocious; it's not worth the effort of keeping a handwritten journal if I have no idea what's written in it half the time. This is where the magic of blogging comes in. Yes, it does draw some publicity, but I don't mind people reading about my experiences. Perhaps if ideas and experiences could be a bit more open between Pagans and witchcraft adherents people on the outside wouldn't feel so strange about us sharing their space. But I digress. I'm not here to debate keeping silent, but rather to promote my openness about sharing. Certainly if I have a spiritual experience that I found to be too shocking or inappropriate I wouldn't not volunteer to share it with the public, however this has yet to happen. Maybe some day when I'm older and more experienced with Astral projection perhaps.

I'll post old entries from my Book of Shadows as the weeks go by, keeping my posts relevant to the seasons and Sabbats. Imbolc is coming soon, for example, so I will post some of my writing about Imbolc or experiences I've had during that time. My journal was not a daily one, so my written entries are a bit helter-skelter throughout the year. I'm not good at consistency at times, but I try my best.

Now for you, my readers, I ask if you've every tried journal writing on the Tarot or have you ever kept a Book of Shadows? I always admire those that create beautiful ones with fancy handwriting and personal drawings and such. At least with my blog I can order a print out of my posts, so that's my answer to the Book of Shadows- works for me.



Tuesday, January 15, 2013

100th Post Fun!

Heaving reached my 100th post here on Blogger, I thought the best way to celebrate would be with a video on the crystals I have and use in my Tarot readings and during the Esbats, Sabbats, spell work, and meditation sessions.

I don't have much with me right now (the rest of my collection is in New Jersey at the moment), but since I usually have my crystals with me most of the time I thought it would be fun to do a short 'show and tell' video on my crystal stash at the moment. I tried to put out as much information as I could on they type of the crystals and their uses, but I'm not that versed in crystals, so I would suggest looking further if you want more information on something specific relating to crystals and their use or a type of crystal for a specific intent.


I hope you like my mini-collection, and don't be afraid to comment about your own, if you have any crystals, as well!

Thursday, January 10, 2013

Taking Care of Business

Hello Readers! Once again, Happy New Year, and I hope you've all had a relatively relaxing holiday season. Mine was a whirlwind of activity, but now comes the fun stuff (real work). After the holiday cheer wore off
I had to dig my car out of 3-4 feet of snow, which I'm still not done as of yet. Almost though.
It's tough, hard work, and for a 5'5" chubby girl with short legs it's even harder. Believe me, I wish I had much longer arms and legs. Sometimes I can't throw the snow far enough out of my shovel, and it lands on my face...Pretty pathetic.

Yet, as much as I complain, I must admit that those hours of digging out the car in the driveway gave me much time to think about what I want to accomplish over the course of the coming year. Things that I previously was doing relatively okay with, but want to improve. Like my health, my weight-loss, my businesses, and my relationship with my boyfriend (not the actually relationship between us, but the long-distance relationship aspect of it), my online endeavors, and so on.

My number one on the 2013 "to-do" list is actually not what I expected. Most people would put their health first, which I probably should, but seeing as my health is an ongoing process I've decided instead to put focus on my business instead as a major priority. Having spent the last 1.5 plus years doing almost nothing for myself and nearly everything for others, I cannot stand this anymore. I know and recognize the fact that I need to start doing things for myself to further my life and my career (what's that, hmm?).

So my resolutions for 2013 are as follows: get my business performing outside the scope of what it is now (not really much at all), improve my business potential, post on my blog at least twice a week, get myself doing more videos on Tarot for my YouTube channel, and bring back my Tarot Etsy shop and maybe open my soap shop online as well (but perhaps not on Etsy). I love Etsy to bits, but there is too much going on there for me to get properly noticed. I'm still having an inner debate on this issue, though. As I always say, we'll see.

If anyone is interested, I'm posting a widget for my Etsy store on this blog. I'll have a few readings up soon for purchase so keep watch here on my blog. My next post will be the 100th, so I'm planning to write up something fun and interesting for you guys.

Okay, better get down to business! I'm off.

For a Tarot reading and other types of readings, you can visit my shop, Saphira Blue Tarot, here.





Thursday, January 3, 2013

Yule Giveaway Reading is Done and Posted!

I have no idea why I can never find all of my YouTube videos here on Blogger to post, but I'm putting the link here for everyone to click on

Check out Brittany's Reading (part 1)

Check out the rest of Brittany's Reading (part 2)

I have a feeling this is happening because I have two Google accounts, but they're not linked, so I'm contantly running into problems. I'll find a way to solve this eventually.

Thanks again all for being part of my giveaway- I hope to have another soon!


UPDATE: Here are the videos! I finally found them; I'm sure it has to do with how long ago I uploaded them to my channel.

Part 1


Part 2

Tuesday, January 1, 2013

One Year And A Full Cold Moon

Just coming out of the December full moon and the last full moon of 2012 has given me some food for thought to reflect upon for last day of (now!) last year. At first I wasn't sure what to write about, but I remembered that this blog is not here just to look pretty; it has the function of being my gateway into the outer world. So I must occasionally write the more hidden aspects of my life out of the shadows and into the light.

As a witch I know and understand that there must be a balance between positives and negatives, and so one must take the good with the bad. 2012 wasn't bad, per se, but it wasn't exactly what I wanted it to be. I learned that what I wanted didn't matter- the Goddess had other plans for me in 2012; she wanted me to understand what I needed, not what I wanted. I can honestly say that she did one heck of a job getting that message out there to me in the last twelve months loud and clear.

That being said, the year 2012 as I experienced it was a roller coaster of emotions, disappointing events, and hard situations. I don't think I would want to relive the entirety of 2012, but certainly some moments I will remember fondly for the rest of my days- and some not so fondly. Definitely not fondly.


This year that has now passed was also a year of change for me and my spirituality, and the changes that I felt in my life also gave rise to deep changes of my inner-self; the dormant part of me came out of hiding and the fear I had felt in the past gave way to anger and some resentment. Not intentional, I assure you, but strong emotions can't be hidden under the surface forever. The time must come when you have to either let go and free yourself, or explode suddenly into nothingness. I did a tad bit of exploding, but nothing major. On the other hand, I did let go of a lot of baggage. Nothing is more freeing that pushing your worries and anxiety off your shoulders without looking back. It was a very hard thing to do and I could not have done it without the help of Hekate. She was looking out for me this year like nobody's business during the times of my inner trials and tribulations. I owe her a good amount of karmic debt for helping through the dark times I went through after the passing of my grandmother up until now.

2012 was also a year for enriching what I've known for so long in my craft. I've been practicing seriously for almost four years now (this coming Ostara will mark the anniversary), and I was feeling all the signs that I needed to step up my game somewhat, so I took a small foray into ceremonial magic. It was very interesting to read about and learn historical facts about its origins, but its not really my cup of tea. I'm a very quiet and introspective person by nature, which does not allow for grand spectacles of circle casting and angel invoking pentagrams, hexagrams, and so forth. I was never so self-conscious as I was doing the Greater Banishing Ritual of the Hexagram. I now know that ceremonial magic and Thelema are not my cup of tea, and possibly out of my league, Witchcraft and magic-wise. I was never into magic that much to begin with, so I'm not too bothered about it. I did, however, enjoy doing the Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, and if need be I would certainly do it without any inhibitions whatsoever. There's a good story to go with that, but next time.

In other news, my cold is almost gone and I'm heading back to making Tarot videos post-haste. My channel on YouTube has quickly grown to 13 videos, and I hope this month I can add more in depth and interesting topics here on my blog as well. I'm also thinking about making my blog my unofficial book of shadows. I'm not super keen on the idea, but since starting my blog I've almost totally ignored my BOS. I feel bad about that, because I do enjoy writing about my spiritual experiences and my craft. However being on the shy side does not make it easy for me to put such personal information out there for others to read. But yeah, I'm thinking about it for now.


It's Finally Here...2013



Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind ?


Should old acquaintance be forgot, and old lang syne ? 


Never. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

HERE'S TO A JOYOUS AND BLESSED 2013
MAY ALL YOUR WISHES AND HOPES BE GRANTED
WITH NEW FRIENDS AND FUN IN ABUNDANCE

Love you all xoxox