Major Arcana: The Magician

One of my favourite cards in the Tarot trumps is certainly the Magician. To me, this card is one I have always taken as signifying that one is in control of their destiny. They know exactly how they can attain their goals, using the tools the universe provided to them in this life. That sounds like a big job, yes, but you'd be very surprised how little external tools it takes to be successful compared with the gifts and talents you have right within yourself.
As much as I like and appreciate this card being called 'The Magician' amongst the English Tarot decks, when I actually think about the significance of this card as an archetype I tend to go more with the French title, 'Le Bateleur'. Translated literally, this gives the card the more mundane name of 'The Street Performer', as opposed to the more grandiose and macabre 'Magician'. Over the years of using and learning to read the tarot, I have often supposed the true intent of the card's archetypal name would be something like 'The Street Magician'- incorporating the image of an ordinary person doing extraordinary things, which to me, makes much more sense in the grand scheme of things. Don't we all wish we could be extraordinary? Have we not watched someone performing so-called "magic-tricks" and felt both awed and perhaps slightly envious of their talent? Maybe so, or maybe not. Regardless, a street performer of 'magic' is, as we know, not performing magic at all. At least magic in the metaphysical sense (I could elaborate on that statement quite lengthily, but that really is another post entirely of its own). The street performers 'magic' is in his tools, yes; they are specially made for that purpose. But give the spectators the same tools and see if they can work the same routines- the same 'magic'. It will never work. This is the essence of the Magician. A Magician is his tools of trade and his internal knowledge and talents. As you can see, it's more David Copperfield than Merlin. Each and every one of us could perhaps learn to be David Copperfield; not all of us can be Merlin. That's not to say that a Copperfield could never become a Merlin. The difference to me is the ability to use and control the material tools you possess versus the ability to control the cosmic elements and the ether around you. One is of external control and the other a more internal control. Pulling a rabbit out of a hat is true talent; using your own personal energy to manifest positive forces in your life is true magic.
To sum it all up- we all need to learn and teach ourselves how to be the best we can be in life with what we have been given as people, as unique and powerful human beings. The first step in the mastery of life is learning to be the street performer, but the ultimate test of life is learning how to be the magician.

Falling Between the Cracks

Wisecracks, that is. I told myself that I should just forget it and not be one of those bloggers that uses their blog to blast Fox News and voice their Pagan opinion on the comments that (unfortunately) surfaced on national television the other day. Then again, why should I not?
I've mentioned before, in passing, how I've felt about bringing my Pagan-self out into semi-public view. It was never an idea I was completely over-the-moon with, but coming out of one's shell is something that must be done when the time comes to advance in almost anything. Pushing yourself to go beyond your limits is the only thing that will enable you to show yourself just how capable you really are. So I'm more out there than I used to be now, and I'm still happy. I'm still the person I want to be and I like how other people see me, so, in a word, I have advanced. Hurray for me. Now Fox News, in their delightfully denigrading morning talk show, has spoiled some of my advancement into the big, bad world out there. I use the term 'some' because I honestly think they were just being their usual un-informed selves and not intentionally trying to be malicious. One would hope, anyway. I cannot fault them for their stupidity- it's not like they know any better. But really, they should. For the sake of their viewers, and social equality, they should know what the hell they're talking about. To say that Wiccans (Pagans in general, really) have 20 holidays is just absurd. Would they care to reference where they found this information? Even a quick glance at Wikipedia would have given them a pretty accurate answer. So shame on you, Fox News. I don't watch your morning show, and if this is the kind of quality of information I'd expect to hear on anything- morning traffic included- I will certainly not be watching in the near future. Or ever.

How's that for a Dungeons-and-Dragons-playing-twice-divorced-incense-burning-midwifery-loving Pagan?
You dolts.

If you are interested in listening to this drivel, you may find it here. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Okay, I'm done.

Aches and Snakes

It's that time if year again- Chinese New Year, that is! This year is the year of the Snake, so I feel somehow that this year will bring me to focus more on spirituality and the incorporating the Goddess into my daily life, as one of the oldest symbols of the Goddess is the snake. Snakes are symbols of transformation and wisdom, and of the active kundalini spirit that compromises ourselves within the chakra centers of our bodies. I have not devoted much time to chakra work as of late, but it's never too late to learn more and strive to keep everything in balance. To be honest, since the beginning of my learning to work with my chakras, I have become more adept at sensing my imbalances during certain times. I know that my recent anger and annoyance stems from my root and sacral chakras being out of wack, surely. My pendulum will certainly get a workout this week when I get started on clearing aligning my muladhara to my sahaswara. That's the root chakra and the crown chakra names in Sanskrit, and no, I'm not trying to be smart. It's true that I've noticed more often when my chakras are off-keel; at the same time I tend to have backaches. Taking that as a physical manifestation of misalignment, I know it's time to clear things up, metaphysically speaking. Not much of a backache right now, but I am having trouble sleeping and getting comfortable in bed- probably a sign of a backache to come. At least it's kept me awake long enough to write this post.
Gong Xi Fa Cai, and wishing you all much abundance and luck for the year of the Snake.

Blessed be xoxox

Post-Imbolc Thoughts

This year I (thankfully) was able to celebrate my Imbolc ritual to honor the goddess Brigid on the night of February 1st. As opposed to lat year when I was so stressed out it took me two weeks to finally get enough peace and quiet to centre my thoughts and take a breather for some Brigid-centric fun, though it felt a bit chore-like in the beginning. This year was not that bad, but it did take some time to get my mind off the present state of my home environment. At least a few moments of grounding in front if my altar gave me peace of mind and the relaxation I needed to get in the mood. It's so hard to be happy when others around myself are stressed or upset, I've noticed. Otherwise, I managed to set up my sacred space and cast my circle well enough. I'm still working on a natural rhythm to my rituals, but I need more time with my written rituals, which right now I'm making do without. Oh well. Such is life when you are living between countries.

Essentially, this Imbolc was the third year in a row that I have reaffirmed my connection to Brigid. I have always felt a strong connection to her, as mentioned in my last post, but this Imbolc I had the feeling that I was missing something. I'm not a Dianic sort of practitioner in my craft, but I do get the feeling that I've been leaving the God-aspect out of my rituals too much. Not on purpose, but because there isn't much of a God-focus at times than there is a Goddess-focus in the Wiccan/Witchcraft material I find myself absorbed in at times. Realizing this gap in my spiritual practice had led me to want to learn more about the male side of Wicca and witchcraft, and the male aspect in paganism in general. Hopefully I can find some practical and enlightening reading material on the subject- perhaps a good look online through various websites can give me some more ideas.

Otherwise, this Imbolc was great for my mental and spiritual well-being. I feel recharged and ready for the coming spring. Hopefully I can find more inner strength to empower myself for the coming months until I have the freedom I need to move forward with my life.

Preparing for Imbolc (More on my Altar)

More on my altar space before I started the Imbolc festivities. It's really just me gabbing and going off on a few random things; being home again makes me reminisce like that. 

My Lovely Altar

 

After a year away from my sacred space I did some freshening up and decided it was a good opportunity to do a video. Have fun watching and leave comments if you like. 

Brigid's Day

Already we have reached the month of February; a month of love, the coming end of winter, groundhogs, and leap days. For me, the month of February has not only been about those aspects, but has also been about the Goddess, specifically the goddess Brigid. I was drawn to the goddess Brigid during research about traditional triple goddesses. Her name came up during my studies and I was intrigued at how she was a triple goddess symbolizing poetry, metal smithing, and healing with a connection to the element of fire. As a Sagittarius that loves to get creatively inspired by writing, crafting, and natural remedies, I figured Brigid would be right up my alley, goddess-wise. She certainly has become a source of inspiration to me over the years, and perhaps I am now a little wiser for it.
Working with Brigid, whether in an esbat, at Imbolc/Candlemas (also known as her feast day in the Catholic Church), or in meditation, has given me a sense of freedom of expression always with a burst of creative energy. On the first Imbolc I actually celebrated I wrote my first Sabbat ritual. No joke. The ritual was conceived and written out in about 30 minutes, right on my laptop during a small ice storm. It was the most exhilarated I'd been in ages and amazingly, I performed the ritual that same night feeling a creative spark that continued well on for the next two weeks. My Book of Shadows took a turn for the better, getting filled up with more than twenty pages of material in just over two weeks, which for me was a milestone.
Still Brigid continues to inspire me, even in the hardest of times. As a thank you I dance for her, to send some energy back into the universe in return for Brigid as a divine muse to my creative self. Whether that energy really gets back to her, I do not know, but what I do know is that I feel better for doing it and maybe, in some miniscule, obscure way, it does give back something I may have taken from the ether of our universe.
I love the goddess Brigid, and I hope to know of her and the fire that fuels her positive creation capabilities she may bestow upon myself for many years to come. Hopefully all that wish to understand her and gain knowledge from her fiery wisdom may do so with much happiness and, as the French say, "joie de vivre".