Interpreting the Messages

Are birds twittering at you everywhere you go? Or are you being dogged by other forms of nature ... dust devils, squirrels, or odd cloud patterns?

Don't have a clue what they are talking about?

Don't worry! Sorting out messages from the Universe can be a little difficult, but you will find that if you dive right in you'll soon sort the wheat from the chaff.



Messages and Their Meaning
If you have a cardinal chasing after you, hectoring you with a message, but you have no clue as to the content, what should you do? If you really want to interpret the content of the message, then you have a few options.

 1. Have a Dialog
If you don't get what that cardinal is trying to tell you, stop and just ask. Have a conversation with the cardinal, just as you would with any other being. You can say things like, "Sorry, I don't understand the message. Can you show me pictures or make the message clearer in some way?"

Then wait and listen some more. Don't be surprised if you hear the answers in your mind, even in your own voice. Nature beings are often able to project more clearly by using our own thought and speech patterns. You may find yourself having a dialog with the cardinal, but both sides of the conversation will be in your own voice.

 2. Ask for Different Signs
Cardinals don't speak your native tongue, perhaps, but communication is universal. Just ask anyone who "channels"--those people aren't getting blocks of English and spitting it out, they are getting thought forms that are automatically translated into their native English. People who channel are as much translators as any translator working for the United Nations!

If you can't understand your friendly cardinal, just ask the Universe to send you a message in English. Then look for signs. Look for anything that "pops out" at you in the conversations of others, in a book you flip open at random, or even written on the wall in a bathroom stall.

 3. Read source material
If your communicator has to do with animal beings, check in with the Medicine Cards. Need help interpreting Fairy-speak? There are tons of books on those. Ditto with other sacred beings in the Universe. Visit your local library, browse through Amazon, or just wander along your own bookshelf (or your friend's bookshelves). Let your intuition guide you and you will most definitely get the interpretation of the message you seek.

The Good News
Let's say you apply any or all of the above methods. What happens if you interpret the wrong message? It's really no big deal. There are plenty of "do overs" in this game. The Universe will keep sending you messengers (and translators) until you get the message clearly and truly. Your only job is to remain open to the message and be willing to keep on trying until the message is clear.

And really, how hard can that be when compared to a Universal two-by-four? A two-by-four is a giant lesson from the Universe that is bound to hurt on some level, and only occurs if you truly ignore the messages being sent your way. I'm all for being open to listening for messages ... how 'bout you?


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Double Booked Yourself? A Quick Way to Unwind Little Life Problems

If life is getting a bit crazy for you, a simple pendulum technique can help you clear life problems and even your own bothersome repetitive thoughts. This technique is one of the many presented as magic that works to help you in your daily life in our Psychic Development ebook. If you have never used a pendulum before or don't even have a pendulum, then don't add that to your list of life worries. Instead take a look at this article that gives you directions for making your own simple pendulum and this article that gives you some other information for beginning pendulum users.

Once you have a pendulum that you have either made yourself or obtained a pendulum and have cleaned it and done some training with it to insure you get accurate answers, you are ready to use it to help clear out the problem you are dealing with. Here's how:

1. Hold your pendulum in your dominant hand, letting it dangle while you visualize the problem you want to clear.

2. Ask your pendulum, "Can I, May I, Should I, clear this situation?" If you get a yes answer from your pendulum, then move forward. You can use an indicator plate with a circle that has yes on one side and no on the other to get this answer.

3. Begin swinging your pendulum in a counter clockwise direction, asking it to clear the situation. As you do this, "see" the situation resolving in your mind. Be very specific with your request and what you envision as to the situation being resolved.

4. Continue to focus on clearing the situation until your pendulum stops spinning in the counter clockwise direction. It will then either start moving along a vertical or horizontal axis, stop or start spinning clockwise. When it stops swinging on its own then the problem has been cleared.

Once a problem has been cleared you can of course always choose to bring it back if you really want to, but instead try trusting the power of your pendulum and your intent and release the problem from your consciousness. If you find it creeping back into your consciousness throughout the day, change your focus to something else.

You can use this same pendulum exercise to clear repetitive thoughts that you find yourself having. This is especially helpful in the case of negative thoughts which you want to clear out to avoid attracting those negative situations to you. Instead of visualizing a situation you want resolved just hold the repetitive thought in your mind and ask your pendulum to clear the thought from your life. After the process, you may still find the thought popping up in your mind occasionally, but it should appear far less frequently than before and eventually will disappear. Give both of these a try and see if you agree this is truly magic that works.

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Someone Bugging You? Try a Fireball for Protection Magic

Do you need some protection magic to use for someone who is bugging you or just not listening to you? Well, we've got a magical self defense technique for you that will help you get your message across. Use a fireball message! This is one of the techniques you'll find in our Magical Self Defense homestudy course.

About Fireballs
Fireballs are very effective as they contain a lot of energy. You can use fireballs as protection magic to get someone to leave you alone, to stop invading your sacred space, to return a stolen item, to repay a debt to you or any number of situations that call for magical self defense. Before constructing and using a fireball, consider the energetic colors associated with the 4 elements and decide which color will fit best for your situation. Practice using different colors in different situations to see which give you the best results in various situations. Here are some examples of how various colors can work.

• Sky blue is the color associated with the Air element on the spirit level. If you are sending a message to someone who is often mentally distracted or mentally busy, using Sky blue can break through their distraction to get your message through. 

• Water blue is a color that will affect someone on an emotional, subliminal or subconscious level. If your message is one dealing with feelings or that you want to send to a person's subconscious, this could be a good color choice.
   
• Dark blue is another water color which corresponds to a spiritual emotional level of a person. This color could be used to send a compulsive message. For example, if someone has stolen something from you or owed you money for quite a long time, a compulsive message that they cannot ignore and must act on might be appropriate.
   
• White is an air color that affects the conscious mind and may have to be repeated several times before the recipient takes action.

Pick Your Time
Another consideration when using fireball messages for protection magic is when you will send the message. If you know the person and something about how he or she spends the day, then you'll want to avoid sending the message at the busiest time of day for him or her. Pick a time when you think the recipient is likely to hear it such as a quiet time of day for him or her.

Constructing Fireballs
There are several ways to make fireballs. Here is one method called the Clapping Method.
1. Choose the color of energy you want your fireball to be.

2. Find a color source to pull this energy from and stand so that you can pull from the source from behind you through your shoulders.

3. Hold your hands far apart with palms facing each other and palms and fingers curled as if you were going to clap or catch a ball.

4. Pull the energy from your color source behind you in through your shoulders, down each arm and out your hands.

5. Once the energy is flowing in this manner, clap your cupped hands together forcefully and stop as soon as your fingertips touch each other. This compresses the flowing energy into a ball shape.

6. Keep your hands cupped as if holding a small ball without relaxing your palms or fingers and spin the "ball" clockwise as if you were shaping or packing a snowball.

7. Once the ball is spinning, visual the person's face that you will be sending the message to in the ball. If you do not know what they look like, you can visualize the person's name.

8. To put the message in the ball, either speak your message out loud into the ball or visualize a written message with electric white neon letters. Be sure to keep the message short and to the point.

9. Throw the fireball and it will go to the person that you have programmed it for.

By doing these steps you have now used a fireball message as a means of protection magic. The more you practice this technique, the better you will get at it. Practice with various colors, times of day, and simple messages to gauge the results you get for yourself. Then the next time you need some magical self defense, you'll be ready.

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Cleansing Rituals: A Basic Smudging Ritual

What is smudging? Smudging is the burning of certain herbs and using the resulting smoke to cleanse people, places, or objects. The smoke attracts the negative energy and sends it heavenward, where the negative energy simply becomes fire energy. Any smudging ritual is a form of fire magic, and is one of the most common cleansing rituals. It's a great place for beginners to start practicing cleansing rituals. All you'll need is a smudge stick (we recommend cedar and sage).

Cleansing Rituals: Choosing What to Burn
Whether you are doing a smudging or another type of cleansing ritual using a firebowl or incense, you will need to understand the elemental makeup of various herbs, resins or incense that you will be burning. This will allow you to pick the appropriate one for whatever type of ritual you are performing. Different kinds of incense, herbs or plant resins are chosen to create specific effects. Every type of incense, herb or resin has a particular scent or way of burning that can be classified by element. For instance, general-purpose incenses are usually high in Air and Fire, while incense candles are usually high in Water.

Always test herbs, incenses and resins yourself to determine what elements they represent. Many incense change drastically when they are burned in a firebowl. To test, burn a little piece in your firebowl, then smell the scent and watch the smoke. You can use these guidelines to determine the elemental makeup.

General Purpose Elemental Mix:
Have a good mix of the four elements, usually higher in air and fire. Good for general use and emergencies.
Smoke - Moderate amount of smoke, tending to rise and spread moderately rapidly. Smoke leaves a slight bluish haze.
Scent - Some "edge" or "stickiness" in the scent.

Air Element:
These are often pale in color, containing lots of white or transparent material. Good for studying as they will keep you awake and can be used to remember dreams.
Smoke - Rises quickly and dissipates rapidly, has a very light smoke that leaves the air relatively clear afterward and does not leave a blue haze.
Scent - Delicate, fast-rising scent or no odor.

Fire Element:
Often red, orange, or yellow. Good for studying as it will keep you awake. Can be used on gloomy days to liven up the energy.
Smoke - Light or moderate amount produced that rises quickly, and is red or yellow in color. It spreads rapidly and leaves a slight bluish haze.
Scent - Sharp scent that tends to "bite" the nasal passages and sinuses.

Water Element:
Often pink, blue, dark red or brown material that often feels damp. Useful for meditation, introspection or to remember dreams.
Smoke - Thick smoke that rises and spreads slowly then dissipates slowly.
Scent - Often has a fruit or flower scent or a heavy, sweet, wet, thick and cloying scent that lasts for days.

Earth Element:
Often brown or green and useful for stabilizing an area.
Smoke - Tends not to rise, but to "boil" out and settle to the floor, spreading slowly.
Scent - Heavy, not sweet, not wet, "earthy" scent that can last for days. Also dry with a slight "edge" to the nasal passages and sinuses.

Smudging Ritual
Smudging a person is one of the most important cleansing rituals and a good one for beginners to start with. Here's how to do it.

• Light your smudge stick and get a good column of smoke coming off it
• Start at the person's crown and circle the person clockwise 
• Use your breath or a feather fan to push the smoke toward the person 
• Anywhere the smoke bounces off, go over the place again until it sticks 
• Have the person breathe the smoke in lightly at the end

To smoke an object, dangle it in the smoke. Smoke an area such as where you will do a tarot reading, by circling the smudge stick or sweetgrass clockwise over the area. A smudging ritual can be used anytime you need to clear negative energies from yourself or others, such as before rituals, when feeling down, or after a negative encounter with another person. Some people smudge themselves everyday before mediation to prepare themselves to go into their sacred space.

So next time you need to "clean up" or give yourself a lift, grab a smudge stick and do this simple smudging ritual.

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Want to REALLY Learn the Tarot? Wear the Cards Around

The word Tarot is a disguised word. Originally it was spelled "Rota" meaning wheel. This came about because the Tarot card deck represents all phenomenal experience, the wheel of life. The Tarot is used as a living form tied into the existing Universe which makes it like a simulacrum of the Universe.

The Modern Tarot
The underlying symbology and concepts in the Tarot go back thousands of years. The modern Tarot was revised by the Order of the Golden Dawn for the purpose of working more intimately with the Tree of Life and for spell work. The modern Tarot was created by people who were members of the Order of the Golden Dawn. They designed the Waite-Rider, Morgan-Greer and Thoth decks. The tarot cards that we use at the Esoteric School are the Waite-Rider deck. This deck was created by Arthur Edward Waite with the artwork by Pamela Smith. All three of these decks however were created by magicians for magic. They can be used for:

• Straight divination
• Spellwork
• Working the Tree of Life (for doing a great work)

Other decks may serve one of these functions, but only these 3 decks were designed to do all three.

Minor and Major Arcana
The Tarot is made up of Minor Arcana cards in 4 suits and Major Arcana cards which are not in suits. The 4 suits of the Minor Arcana are Wands, Swords, Cups and Plates (or Discs). These match the 4 elemental tools. These cards are also numbered in each suit from Ace to 10 plus the court cards of Page, Knight, Queen and King. Major Arcana cards represent principles, concepts or ideals while Minor Arcana cards represent the many ways those principles manifest in the mundane world.

Wearing the Cards
Whatever you have learned about the Tarot from books and other sources may not be useful when working with the Tarot because the meanings are in the cards themselves. Don't try to memorize meanings of the cards. The Tarot originally was an oral tradition so the writing down of the meanings in some ways defies the tradition. Looking at written down meanings can be useful as a place to start, but you also need to strive to see the meaning of the cards as they pertain to specific readings. One way to practice this is to "wear" the cards. In other words take a card, possibly one per day, and really explore it and get in tune with it. Here's an exercise to get started:

1. Pick a card out of the deck. Spend a few minutes really looking at the card. 
2. Notice the symbols the card contains, the pictures in it and the number of each. Compare what you know about the 4 elements and what symbols show up in the card associated with a particular element. For example, if you see cups in the card, you know to associate that with the element of water and that water is the element dealing with emotions and feelings. 
3. Really focus all your intention on the card. Listen for the card to "speak" to you. You may see or feel it "come to life", see movement in it, hear words in your mind associated with it or notice changes in the brightness of the colors.
4. Absorb the energies of the card and carry this energy around with you for a day. 
5. At the end of the day note your observations as to how it affected your thoughts, feelings, behaviors and interactions.

This simple exercise will give you a more personal experience of the cards and their meanings and help you establish a relationship with them. You will find that creating an understanding of the cards in this way will allow you to see far more and deeper meanings when you do a reading instead of being stuck with a memorized definition and trying to make it fit into the reading. With a little practice and experience in doing readings you will find the Tarot magically come alive for you and through you.

Ready to learn more about the magical uses of the Tarot? Check out our Tarot Homestudy Course.

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