Want to Be a Psychic Seer? Start With This Simple Game

 

We all have psychic abilities, but most people don't practice using them in their everyday lives and aren't aware that they have this ability. Being able to get psychic or energetic information from others and the world around us can be a great magical tool. If you aren't naturally gifted in this area, all you have to do is commit to a little practice and skill development to wake up the psychic abilities you naturally possess. Our Psychic Development ebook can help you do this. Here's a simple game that you'll find in this ebook to get you started in practicing how to be psychic. 

The Perimeter Game
This simple, basic game lets you practice shutting off one of your five physical senses so that you can concentrate on receiving information energetically. In this game you will be shutting off your access to visual data to focus on reading the psychic information around you. You can later turn off others of your 5 basic senses, but this one starts with tuning out visually. Here's how to play. 

1. A minimum of once a day at a time you are able to sit and focus only on the game, choose a space for an energetic perimeter around yourself of about 10 – 20 feet. It is best to do this in a public place where you will have access to lots of other people – ie. – a mall, park, or amusement center. 

2. During this game you want to make sure you are able to focus only on the game because you will be closing your eyes. So you don't want to be responsible for supervising children or driving or any other activity while you are engaged in this activity. 

3. Close your eyes and in your "mind's eye" see a circle of energy surrounding you. 

4. Focus on becoming aware of when someone enters your perimeter area. 

5. When you sense that someone has entered your area, open your eyes to confirm it. 

6. Once you play this psychic game enough that you are getting accurate at sensing someone entering your area, you can increase the diameter of your circle or take another sense out of the equation. For example you might pick a noisy area so that you don't have your sense of hearing. 

When you begin playing the Perimeter Game, let go of results and don't get discouraged if your results are not accurate. The reason for playing the game is to practice and wake up your psychic abilities. If you were spot on every time with the results then you wouldn't need this type of practice. For some people accuracy will come quickly and for others it will take longer, so hang in there. Just like anything else in life, the more you practice, the better you will be at it. Just relax and have fun with the game knowing that it is all part of a process and a journey for you. 

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Find Yourself in a Spiderweb Situation? Cut Those Lines Magically!

When you find yourself in a sticky situation that you want to let go of or unattach from, the athame is the perfect magick tool to use. You can cut psychic "lines" attached to yourself or others with the athame which is the magick tool to conduct Fire energies. The athame has a wide variety of magick uses that you can learn about in our Athame: Fire Tool ebook. The technique of using a fire energy beam for cutting lines is a way to release unhealthy relationships and situations by severing the psychic attachment they have to you. Cutting lines on a person will not affect healthy relationships or situations, only unhealthy ones. Some of the ways to tell if these psychic lines exist on a person are:

• sore spots on the back, neck or shoulder blades
• bad dreams
• being sick several days or longer without reason
• brooding over a broken relationship

Cutting Lines with the Athame
When cutting lines with an athame, be sure to hold the athame tightly with both hands so that it does not bounce off a tough line. Make sure as you make the various cuts that you overlap them so you get all the lines on every side. Don't cut directly in front of a person as they have a lot of shielding in the front of the body. Some people notice that they are a bit dizzy or feel tired after this procedure has been done. They may need to sit for a while or rest and you may want to sweep them with a flare of Sun Yellow energy off the athame from head to feet to add back energy

Here are steps to follow to cut psychic lines on another person:

1. Stand in the south facing north and have the person you are cutting lines on stand to the north of you facing away from you.

2. Have the person close their eyes and ask them to relax.

3. Load your athame with the fire energy color of electric blue from a candle flame or color chip and project a beam of electric blue off your athame 3 to 5 feet beyond the person. This beam will be used to cut through the lines.

4. Standing at a right angle to the person, make the first cut directly behind them by starting with aiming the beam at a level above their head and making a forceful downward cut. The beam should be about a foot away from the person's back.

5. The 2nd cut is made to the right and slightly behind the person in the same way as the first.

6. The 3rd cut is made to the person's right again, but closer to the front of their body (remember to not make the cut directly in front of them).

7. The next two cuts are made on the left side of the person's body, reflecting the two positions of the cuts you made on the right side.

8. Finally, make a horizontal cut above the person's head from right to left, and below the person's feet (you can extend your beam into the floor to make this cut). The blade edge of the athame faces left as you make these two cuts.

The diagram at the top of this article will give you a visual representation of the lines and the order in which to cut them.

So the next time you find yourself in a spiderweb situation with lots of psychic lines sticking to you, just have a magical friend whip out their athame and cut those lines right away. More quick, fun and easy magick that you can learn to do.

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Fascinated by Tarot? How to Make the Tarot Personalized to Your Life

The tarot is indeed a fascinating study that can be used in a variety of magical ways. Tarot spreads can be thrown for divination purposes to address just about any situation or question you have. You can also pick a card each day as a daily ritual to learn tarot card meanings, "wear" the card for the day to take on the characteristics it represents or as a way of getting messages from the Universe by studying the tarot card meanings you select daily. Tarot can also be used in creating Tarot spells to bring about changes and co-creations in your life.

Personalized Divination
Using the Tarot for divination gives you a direct method of obtaining information not available to the physical five senses by psychic or magical means. Magical divination is mainly used to direct our fates. By throwing tarot spreads for various situations in your life and interpreting tarot card meanings, you can discover the influences, energies and probability lines active in your life that pertain to the specific situation the tarot spreads are about. Having this information allows you to see what influences are affecting your situation and know where you can make changes to affect the outcomes in your future lines if you so desire. This is why the Tarot is such a valuable tool. Since the future is not pre-destined, you can change the future any time before it happens and using tarot spreads gives you the information you need to decide if and what you want to change.

Personalized Signifier
Many people using the Tarot today do not use signifiers. In our classes, we teach throwing Tarot spreads using a signifier. We feel this makes the reading more precise as well as more personalized to a particular person. The signifier card is a card selected to represent a person or a specific issue, question or situation. Signifiers are keyed to the person the tarot spread reading is for or to the situation or issue. This serves to make it even more personalized in addition to picking a signifier card for people based on chronological age and sun sign. Below are some guidelines for picking a signifier for a person, but you can't always pick a signifier based on the chronological age of the person. Also take into consideration how they act or behave. If you are doing a tarot reading for a child for instance who is particularly mature for his or her age, then you might want to use the knight instead of the page. We use the Waite Rider deck in our classes, but for those who use a Crowley deck, instead of using the page card, you can break it down further into sex by using the prince or princess. That deck also uses the knight as the adult male because according to Crowley there are no adult males as males never reach maturity.

Sun Sign Signifier Selection Guidelines:
Air (Wands):
Gemini
Libra
Aquarius

Fire (Swords):
Aries
Leo
Saggitarius

Water (Cups):
Cancer
Scorpio
Pisces

Earth (Discs):
Taurus
Virgo
Capricorn

Age Signifier Selection Guidelines:
Page – Conception to teenager
Knight – Teenager
Queen – Adult female
King – Adult male

So for example, if you are a Taurus who is an adult female, you're signifier might be the Queen of Discs and if you are a teenager whose sun sign is Leo then the Knight of Swords might be a good signifier for you.

Personalizing Your Tarot Deck
Another thing that makes the Tarot personalized to you and your life is taking the time to key each of the cards and the other magical tools you use to key the cards and in doing tarot spreads. Keying your own Tarot deck attunes it to your own personal energies. To key the cards in your deck you need a keyed Plate and to key the plate you need a keyed Chalice. That's a lot of keying admittedly, but taking the extra time to do these magical steps will make your Tarot experiences much more personal and create a connection between you and the cards. Using a keyed plate to key the cards sets up a magical shield for each one to protect tarot spreads from any outside interference including any doubt or negative factors you might have about a particular reading.

If you find you are fascinated with the Tarot and its many uses, you can learn more about it in our Tarot homestudy course or as a part of our Basic Magic class. Divination can empower you to take control of the direction your life is taking and give you the information you need to make decisions about where you want your life path to lead and what you want to attract to your life. And after all isn't that one of the many great reasons we choose to have magic in our lives?

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Stuck in a Rut?

Do you feel stuck in a rut, trapped by your routine and unable to make a break? If you are so practical and responsible that you are unable to make progress on things like items on your bucket list, then chances are you are an Earth element personality type. People with Earth types of personalities tend to have birth visions like be, build, or improve.

On the plus side, Earth types of personality are practical and down to Earth type people. They have strength, are able to endure and are patient. They also tend to value structure, boundaries, loyalty and permanence. Those with Earth personality characteristics are great manifesters and anchors of the world who are often very serene people. But these types of personalities can also easily get stuck in ruts as the tendency towards permanence and stability can make them stubborn and inflexible. If you are an Earth element personality type facing this type of challenge, here are a couple of tips that can help.

Solutions

• The flower essence Walnut is great if you want to make a big voluntary change in your life. It can help you develop an overall sense of well-being and be able to face new conditions. Walnut helps with stabilizing, establishing good boundaries, transition, and protection and is excellent for all kinds of life transitions, clearing out old habit patterns, and helping  you find your direction free from the influence of others.
   
• Walking in the rain by running water is another way to help get you out of a rut. Water was often used as a cleansing source in tribal times to release the old and bring in the new. Old ideas and beliefs were carried away by the running water and fresh new ideas were brought in from above through the rain. You can do this exact same thing out in nature or you can turn to your shower for fresh water from above and running water below.  Either of these ways can help with letting go of preconceived notions, judgments, and old beliefs that no longer serve so you are able to accept new ideas and beliefs.
   
• You can also wash away your stuck energy and shift yourself out of your rut by using the shower litany.

Whichever of these techniques work for you to break up stubbornness and clear out the old that no longer serves, learning more about your predominant element that has such an effect on your personality will also be helpful. You can gain an in-depth understanding of the Earth element in our Magical Element Earth homestudy course. Learning all you can about your predominant element will help you with the struggles it brings, help you find areas that you will naturally be more successful in and teach you how to keep your energy balanced.

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Pendulum Divination Part I: How to Make Your Own Pendulum

Pendulum divination is a great magical technique for accessing information from the Universe and unlocking your own native wisdom. A pendulum is a magical tool that consists of a lightweight object suspended from a string or chain. It becomes a natural extension of yourself and as long as you know the right questions to ask, you can get any and all information that exists in the Universe. Pendulum divination can be used for dowsing as well as to answer your questions

Making a Pendulum
You can certainly buy a pendulum from a new age store or many sources on the internet, but you can also make your own just as easily. First you need a lightweight object. A paper clip, earring, pendant or talisman can all work for this. You can also use a small crystal. The best crystal to use is an amethyst crystal. Just be sure to store any crystal you use in a pewter box. This will protect it from taking on negative energy. Do not use Aurora crystals treated with petroleum as these do not work well.

Next you need something to hang the pendulum on that will allow it to swing. This could be a chain, a string of natural fiber like cotton or silk or leather. If you use a metal chain, silver is the best as it is the most magically stable metal.

In the next article in this series, we'll talk about how to train your pendulum, so stay tuned. If you can't wait, check out our Kindle Book on Amazon.com entitled Learn How To Do Witchcraft Rituals and Spells With Magical Tools. You'll find all this information and more about pendulums there.

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Getting Mad? 3 Magical Rituals to Avoid Flaming Out

The mortgage payment is due, the kids have gone nuts, and the dishwasher just leaked water all over the floor.

Feeling mad or upset yet?

These days there seem to be endless reasons for us to lose our tempers, everything from small annoyances (like the cell phone battery dying in the middle of a good chat) to the really big stuff (like job loss).

But wait, don't flame out! There are simple magical rituals and solutions to help you avoid getting mad or, if you are already mad, to keep you from staying mad.

3 Magic Rituals to Keep You from Flaming Out!
There are actually many magic rituals that help deal with the "fire energy" of anger, and here are three of my favorites: the ground out, the Apache tear, and the big burn. Fun stuff ... and useful, too!

#1: Ground Out Your Anger Magically
This magical ritual involves large appliances, like your refrigerator or your stove. Whenever you are angry, run over to your refrigerator, smack both palms on it, and just flow that "mad energy" right into the fridge. It will chill you out, quickly.

Now why does this work? This magic ritual works because anger, volatile as it is, is nothing more than one of the four elemental energies of the Universe: fire energy. The Universe is comprised of air, fire, water, and earth energies. Anger is just fire energy. The reason anger doesn't feel good is because when we are angry we have an excess of fire energy. It literally blows our circuits, which doesn't feel so great.

So when you flow all of that energy into a large appliance, like your fridge, you are magically dumping that excess fire energy into a safe, grounded source that can handle fire energy. Once the excess fire energy has left your body, you feel more balanced, and you will no longer feel angry. This also works with other grounded electrical sources such as light switches and electrical outlets, but don't try this on sensitive electronics like computers or radios. You will fry them in an instant! This is a fun magic ritual so give it a try the next time you are flaming mad!

#2: Send Your Anger to the Half Worlds with the Apache Tear
The Apache Tear, also called Grandmother's Tear, is the black obsidian stone, also called volcanic glass. Magically, the Apache Tear is known as a doorway to the half-worlds, a place from which you can move anywhere in time and space. While you can't get into the half-worlds with the Apache Tear (you need a black mirror for that), you can send any unwanted energies, like anger, into the half-world through this stone.

All you have to do is hold the stone in your dominant hand (the hand with which you point) and flow all of your anger into the stone. With this magic ritual, the stone will send the fire energy of your energy into the half-worlds, where it will be recycled again. Remember, anger energy isn't a bad thing, it is just an excess of fire energy. Fire energy can and is easily re-used in the half-worlds.

The beauty of the Apache Tear is that it is a doorway, not a storage receptacle. That means you can flow energy into this stone over and over without being afraid that it will store up your anger and, at some point, overflow. Pretty nifty, right? With other stones used in magical rituals, like hematite or quartz crystals, energy gets stored in the stone, and the stone has the be magically cleansed periodically. You don't have that kind of problem with the Apache Tear.

#3: The Big Burn Magic Ritual
I love this one because it matches the energy of anger so well: it burns! Plus, it's really simple to do, not to mention highly satisfying. All you need for this magic ritual is a pen, some paper, some matches, and a safe place to burn stuff (sometimes a giant metal cauldron works great!).

When you are mad, sit down and write everything that is making you mad. Pour it all out on paper, as fast and furious as you can. Write as many pages as necessary, and feel free to repeat yourself as many times as you want. There's no limit. Write until you literally run out of steam.

Now for the good part of this magic ritual--the big burn! Grab your papers and matches and move to the spot where you can (safely) burn the papers. Before you light up, take a moment to do whatever you need to move the anger out of you. Ask for help from angels, ask for guidance, or just have a moment of silence. And then, light up the papers and watch your anger go up in smoke. You can light each sheet individually (that's what I like best), or wad up the whole mess of papers and light the entire thing.

Whatever you do with this magic ritual, enjoy the heck out of it. Be safe about your burning, and then enjoy, enjoy, enjoy! It's not often that we have permission to do somewhat destructive acts like this, so go ahead and milk it for all it's worth!

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Relationship Issues? Could Elemental Differences Be Causing Problems?

If you are having relationship issues, the problem could be that you and the other person (or people) are not a good elemental match. One of the basic tenets of magical studies is that everything in this Universe is made up of some combination of the 4 elements: Air, Fire, Water and Earth. Having an understanding and knowing how to work with the 4 elements allows you to understand (and create) anything you desire. This includes an understanding of relationships that will be compatible with us. Our personalities reflect the characteristics of the element or elements that are dominant in each of us. If our elemental balance is not compatible with another person's then communication problems and other relationship problems can exist.

Understanding the 4 Elements
The first lesson in understanding how the 4 elements might have a role in your relationship issues is to have a basic understanding of the characteristics of the 4 elements themselves. As you read through the following descriptions try to see which fits the type of personality traits you exhibit and other people that you know.

Air Element – corresponds to seeing, breathing, speaking, hearing, planning, thinking, believing, memorizing, communicating, learning, teaching, information, ideas, wisdom, understanding, worry, sensation, awareness, opinions, data, memory, mind.

Fire Element – corresponds to energy, power, will, desire, anger, pain, motivation, radiance, passion, initiative, aggression, limitation, endeavor, activity, creative, willingness, urge, inspired, excitable, courage, bravado, compulsion, fanaticism, frustration, resentment, rage, freedom.

Water Element - corresponds to emotions, feelings, intuition, compassion, empathy, sympathy, knowing, devotion, quest, aspiration, intention, appreciation, integrity, harmony, beauty, balance, serenity, fluidity, grief, apathy, joy, love.

Earth Element – corresponds to strength, money, foundation, endurance, structure, mundane world, serenity of beingness, solidity, boundaries, permanence, land, commerce, products, confidence, loyalty, persistence, stubbornness, fortress, security, anchor, barter, substance, body, base, possessions.

How the 4 Elements Relate to Relationship Issues
Now think about how each of these elements react to each other. For example, you know that you can blow out a candle so too much Air can smother Fire. Let's say you as a predominantly Fire Element person are in a relationship with a predominantly Air Element person. You can see how applying the 4 element characteristics can predict that relationship issues are bound to occur. Another example of a pairing that could be difficult would be in the case of a predominantly Water element personality matched with a predominantly Air Element person or predominantly Fire Element person. Water cannot accept air alone or fire alone easily. Water accepts air that is carrying fire. This case demonstrates how a Water Element person would probably have less relationship issues with a person who is an Air/Fire mix rather than predominantly Air or Fire.

How to Determine Your Elemental Make-up
The elements that dominate your personality play a key role in determining how you deal with life issues. That includes how you deal with relationship issues. Knowing your elemental make-up can help you determine the type of people you want to establish relationships with and help you know when to take on more of or dump excess types of elemental energy when you have to deal with someone who is not a good elemental match for you.

So how do you know what your elemental make-up is? As mentioned above, first look over the characteristics above. Are you a planner, a worrier, or a person who spends a lot of time engaged in mental processing or thinking about things? If so then you probably are predominantly Air. Do you anger easily or are you a very passionate person? Then you more than likely are a Fire person. Look at each of the elemental correspondences above and see which fit you the best.

A way to get a more exact answer as to which of the 4 elements you are most dominant in is to take our 4 Element Personality Test and to study the 4 elements more in-depth. You can learn more about the 4 elements in our Basic Magic Course or our Four Element Short Courses. The Four Element Courses are now available with a free offer. Just email info@shamanschool.com and ask for details. You can also take our 4 Element Personality test for free by clicking HERE.

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7 Protection Magic Rituals You Should Practice

When it comes to defending yourself against a variety of forms of attack, protection magic is very effective. However, magicians must be careful when using protection magic because we have considerable power and force. The inappropriate use of that power and force can cause Universal backlash. We therefore must be careful to control our tempers and not use magical protection from attackers in a reactive manner. When it comes to protection magic a good rule of thumb to remember is that you have the right to exist and follow your own path and by extension, your right to defend yourself against those who might seek to prevent you from walking your path.

Protection Magic: 7 Techniques
There are basically 7 protection magic techniques that can be used either separately or in combination. They are:
1. Rooting and Grounding – used with excess noise, aggression, anger or general fire energies in your space.

2. Hand Lightning – used to stop someone invading your space or preventing an attack.

3. Lightning Rod – used to send back an attacker's energy or to boost your own energy.

4. Fireballs – used for self defense from attack and to warm a cold room.

5. Fireball Messages – used for sending extremely severe messages to an adversary.

6. Fire Half Shields – used as energy shield to protect yourself from attack.

7. Sonic Self Defense – used to stop attackers in their tracks with the use of your voice.

Protection Magic: Grounding Exercise
Here's an exercise you can try out on Grounding for magical protection from a person who is angry and directing that anger towards you or using it to disrupt your space.

With Grounding you pull excess fire energy from another person or the environment, flowing it through your body and pushing it into an electrical ground.

• Find a source of the energy color you want to pull (anger is red-orange) to look at as a reference
   
• Locate an electrical ground like an outlet, light switch or a sink (uses water pipes running into earth). This is where you will flow the excess fire energy to for it to be safely grounded.
   
• Put your output hand (hand you point with) or your foot on the electrical ground if possible. If that is not possible, you can point your output hand toward the electrical ground, but make sure no living thing comes between you and the ground.
   
• Pull excess fire energies in through your input hand, through your body and out of your output hand into the electrical ground.
   
• Keep pulling until the anger is gone. This usually takes two minutes or less according to how angry the person is, thus how much excess fire energy they have.

You can use this technique discreetly and the person you are pulling the fire energy from need not be aware that you are doing it. All they know is that the anger subsides in them. To develop your own magical self-defense arsenal using magical protection and self defense techniques, check out our homestudy Magical Self Defense course.

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Magic That Works: What to Do If Magic Has Failed You Before

People often confuse magic that works or real magic with fantasy or fictional magic and then wonder why their magical acts have failed. There have been many books, movies and TV shows lately that involve magic and witchcraft as the main themes. The Harry Potter books, Practical Magic, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, and Charmed are a few of the more popular ones. These fictional offerings have been really good at getting more people interested in magic and witchcraft, but the practices these fictional characters employ are not all factual. For example, Harry Potter and his friends and foes use their Wands as multi-purpose tools to conduct all four magical elements – Air, Fire, Water and Earth. In reality, to make magic that works, the Wand is only useful with the element Air. The element Air is associated with messages, communication, thinking, or planning. A wand on the other hand is not good for conducting fire energies mainly because it is made of wood and wood burns.

What is Real Magic?
Magic that works consists of practical, proven, and effective spells and rituals that follow Universal Laws and is very real. Magic and witchcraft have been around for thousands of years and are a precise science. These practices used to be taught and were considered as important as math, science or the arts, but sadly this is no longer true. Everyone has the abilities, but they are not nurtured as in the past nor are we instructed on magical techniques. The practices are still the birthright of every planetary citizen and the information is still available to those who seek it. In our new Kindle book series, our mission is to make this ancient wisdom available to all those that wish to claim their birthright and use magic that works in their lives.

What Will Real Magic Do For Me?
Those who already have a magical practice in their lives can attest to the amazing changes magic and witchcraft can make in their lives. Magic as a precision science allows for deliberate creation, effective prayer, manifesting Higher Will on energetic and material planes, heightened awareness, selective perception, dynamic harmonious relationships and the study of intention. Aleister Crowley, one of the greatest magical practitioners of all time, was a master of using intention and through his work we learn that every intentional act is an act of magic. Magic and witchcraft are the study of intention and a creation system, not coercion. A misunderstanding of this is where some people believe magic has failed them. If your goal is not in alignment with the Universe or you are performing a technique based on fictional principles rather than real principles, it may seem to you that magic has failed you. Through the study of magic you can come to understand the actual workings of the Universe through direct experience thus gaining the ability do things like communicate with beings on all levels, begin on a path of spiritual growth, balance your energies for healing and manifestations, change old beliefs, defend yourself against physical and psychic attack, heal yourself and others, find hidden information and see possible futures, psychically communicate with other beings, create sacred space, find lost objects and people, and manifest what you want and need in life.

Hopefully you now see the difference between fictional or fantasy magic and the real thing and understand what a real magical practice can add to your life. If you're ready to get started learning about witchcraft and magic, a good place to start (that won't break your budget) is our new Kindle book series. The first book in the series is Learn How to Do Witchcraft Rituals and Spells with Your Bare Hands and available now HERE. So check it out and let the magic begin!!

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Spells and Magic: What Happens When the Rubber Meets the Road? Rules of the Road

When it comes to spells and magic, nothing that we teach is more important than Rules of the Road--the rules that govern esoteric practices. Rules of the Road are the universal laws that will affect any practitioner of spells and magic, regardless of whether that practitioner knows about the rules or not. That's why the first, middle, and last thing we teach in the Esoteric School are the Rules of the Road. Not sure about these rules? Check out the version created by George Dew, one of our greatest teachers, HERE.

When the Rubber Meets the Road -- Stage One
Safety is the most important factor when we teach people about spells and magic. Hence, we stress the Rules of the Road over and over, ad nauseam (just ask some of our students!). So what happens when "the rubber meets the road," so to speak, at first? As a new practitioner of spells and magic, what happens first is that you practice the Rules of the Road exactly as given. This keeps you safe and prevents any negative "side effects" or "karma" from bouncing back to you.

For some practitioners, learning Rules of the Road requires that they print out a copy and read them over and over again. For other practitioners, being safe according to Universal law means using only spells and magic that have been created according to the Rules of the Road. For more advanced practitioners, following Universal laws means checking new spells or rituals against Rules of the Road before performing these spells or rituals.

You'll have to decide for yourself the kind of role that Rules of the Road will play in your magical practice. For instance, you have to decide whether Rules of the Road are true ... and whether you would rather be safe or risk negative side effects to find out. That's stage one.

When the Rubber Meets the Road -- Stage Two
Then there is stage two, in which you codify your own Rules of the Road. In other words, the "road," as defined by the Rules of the Road, is a pretty wide road. The Rules of the Road define the very external boundaries you don't want to cross in your practice of spells and magic. But on that very wide road, there is quite a bit of latitude. In the second--or more advanced--stage of your magical practice, you may want to define a more specific or tighter set of rules for your own practice. This may include specific interpretations of the general Rules of the Road, based on your direct observation and experience. Or you may wish to include rules that are meant more for daily practice or everyday use--something not covered in the broader Rules. Still other practitioners may include rules that only apply to specific areas of spellwork and magic, such as the use, keying, and protection of objects used in simulacra (or Voodoo) magic. See the Voodoo Ebook for more details on this practice.

The key in stage two is to define rules that are appropriate and specific to your more advanced magical practice. Don't worry, these rules will continue to grow, evolve, and change as you do. You will keep adding, modifying, and perhaps changing these rules, and that is exactly what you should do. The difference between a priest and a magician is that a priest merely performs rituals while a magician performs and creates them. So as you continue to create and grow in your practice, your own personal Rules of the Road should change to accommodate. Just be aware of this as you deepen your knowledge of spells and magic so that you can be aware of when and where your own personal Rules need to change.

As always, enjoy the magic!

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Magical Element Fire: The Action and Will of Manifestation

Everything in this Universe is made up of some combination of the four magical elements: Air, Fire, Water and Earth. The fire element is associated with will, personal power and creativity. Fire is also the actional and motivation part of any creation and manifestation.

Magically speaking, once you've developed the idea of what you want to create (and done the planning part) in the Air element, it's time to move into Fire, where you take action and endeavor to bring your creation into being.

Fire is associated with the direction South, which is also the direction in which we perform all major spellwork and creation. Fire elementals are called salamanders and reside in campfires, woodstoves or anywhere there is a fire. Specifically, Fire corresponds to:

... energy, power, will, desire, anger, pain, motivation, radiance, passion, initiative, aggression, limitation, endeavor, activity, creative, willingness, urge, inspired, excitable, courage, bravado, compulsion, fanaticism, frustration, resentment, rage, freedom ...

If you want to affect any of these areas in your life, then you need to work with Fire. Unlike Air, which has only three colors, Fire has six major colors:

Sun Yellow - Spirit fire, creativity, radiance
Yellow-Orange - Motivation, excitability, activity
Red-Orange - Anger, pain, fever, aggression, drive
Bright-Red - Courage, bravado, will, endeavor
Deep Red - Passion, flow
Electric-Blue - All bands, initiating force on galactic or universal levels

As with the element Air, you can use the element Fire to adjust various aspects of your life. For instance, if you consistently wake up with the "Monday morning blues," try adding Sun Yellow to your environment. For instance, you could start dressing in Sun Yellow, burn a Sun Yellow candle or put a Sun Yellow spread on your bed.

All of these sources of Sun Yellow will nourish and feed your spirit, increasing your Spirit vitality and chasing away feelings of gloom and doom. Sun Yellow also feed any "hole in the soul" feelings you might have (and which you might otherwise try to fill with food, sleep or other numbing pleasures). Sun Yellow is literally a spiritual "jump start."

+++ More About Salamanders +++
Harry Potter played with salamanders in his movie … and so can you! Salamanders occur around fires, such as wood burning stoves or campfires. They are ball-shaped, pick up the energy of the fire, and become visible. You will see a ball shaped dome in certain parts of the fire, and ashes will fall around them, not on them.

They are useful to have around as they increase the level of heat, making the fire hotter with less wood. If you leave an inch of ash at the bottom of the campfire, it will encourage the salamanders to stay in the campfire, which makes it easier to restart when you return. To keep salamanders around, bed down your coals with layer of earth, it provides an air insulator that they can burrow into. You can dig them out later, and easily restart your fire. A candle flame will spit out little sparks called sprites, which are actually baby salamanders. You can catch them in baby food jars and they will stay glowing in there for 30 or 45 seconds. If you open the jar during that time, they will jump back into in the candle flame. Have fun!

More Ways to Play with Fire
If you want to get "hands on" with the element Fire, try the Fire Home Study Short Course.

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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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Got Questions for the Universe? With Real Magic It's Just as Easy to Ask Yourself

"Look inside yourself for the answers - you're the only one who knows what's best for you. Everybody else is only guessing."    -Charles de Lint

According to the esoteric perspective, we have created all the problems we experience so that we can discover the answers. Through the process of daily life we discover ourselves. Our interactions and experiences on a mundane level give us opportunities to self observe and to find those things that we are resistant to or themes of problems that hold life lessons for us. We each have the answers we need inside ourselves. The trick is to access that information. If you find yourself hitting the same roadblocks or having the same problems arise with different people and different situations then it is time to ask yourself what the lesson is you need to learn and what information are you missing. In learning magic, we study many ways of accessing information from higher powers and from the knowledge we have stored within ourselves. Here is one real magic technique you can try out.

Ask yourself one or more questions with your dominant hand and answer them with your other hand. For example, if you are seeking knowledge about what the lesson to learn is from a particular situation, write the question "What lesson am I to learn from [state situation]?" on a piece of paper using your dominant hand. Then switch to your other hand to write the answer. The important thing in this ritual is not to think about the answer. Just write. Whatever your hand feels moved to write, write it. You may be surprised at the answer.

At first your answer may not make sense to you and that is OK. Don't force trying to make sense of it. Just hold what you wrote in your consciousness for a few days and see what happens. Sometimes answers will come in pieces so that they are easier to comprehend. The answer you wrote may be only part of the picture and other events in your life may fill in the missing pieces.

Be patient and enjoy the process of watching the knowledge and understanding unfold. With this ritual we can demonstrate to ourselves the true pleasure in waiting for the knowledge we seek. In esoteric work, the key is to enjoy the journey, not necessarily arriving at the destination. We will always receive in accordance with our ability to process and use the information.

You can learn more rituals to help you achieve your magical goals in our Daily Rituals for Attracting What You Want in Life ebook.


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You Won't Believe the Simplicity of Making Your Own Real Magic Flower Essences

Flower essences truly are a wonderful addition to your real magic healing toolbox. Many people resist making their own flower essences thinking it will be difficult and time consuming. You may be surprised how simple it is to make your own flower essences.

What Are Flower Essences?
Flower essences use the natural healing properties of flowering plants to create healing effects primarily in the subtle or non-physical bodies. This can include the auric, mental and emotional bodies. Flower essences work well for emotional upheavals, spiritual disconnection, depression, recurring life issues, mental distress, chronic conditions and as first aid in an emergency situation.

Principles of Flower Essences

• We were born as a part of nature and all parts of nature come together to form a whole.
• The plants that are natural to our environment were given to us as companions and healers.
• We are One together in nature, and our relationship is intended to be one of co-operation in the experiences we create and call "life"
• Flower essences make available to us the vibrational frequencies and individual qualities of plants. The vibration associated with a plant is the personality of the plant or energy signature. Each plant has its own unique signature. 
• Flower essences are subtle, making them especially suited for healing our subtle bodies (non-physical bodies that occupy the same space as our physical bodies). The subtle bodies are where many diseases begin.
• Flower essences provide excellent emotional support for anything you want to achieve in life, especially personal goals and aims. They can help support and facilitate the shift in vibrational frequency needed to accomplish the changes you need to have happen to achieve your goal.

Making Flower Essences
The process of making flower essences itself can be both peaceful and refreshing and a way to reconnect yourself with the Nature around you. The items you use in making your flower essences should be reserved only for this purpose so as to avoid other energetic vibrations cluttering up your flower essences. You will need:

• Tweezers
• Distilled water
• Clear glass bowl
• Alcohol (80 proof vodka) or organic, unfiltered, apple cider vinegar
• Quart size cobalt or brown jar
• Several 1 or 2 ounce brown dropper bottles

Steps in Making Flower Essences
1. Communicate with the plant first by sitting quietly by the plant, breathing deeply and opening yourself and your heart. Be in silence and ask the plant Deva for permission to use the plant's blossoms for healing. Speak to the plant the same way you would to anyone, but even more gently. You can either speak out loud or project your thoughts toward the plant. Wait until you hear a response.

2. Say to the plant Deva, "Please infuse this water with your divine essence." You can also leave an offering at the base of the plant so that there is an even exchange of giving and receiving energy. Appropriate offerings can include beautiful rocks, consecrated tobacco or cornmeal or a strand of your own hair.

3. Pour the distilled water into the glass bowl.

4. Use the tweezers to gently remove each blossom at its base and respectfully place it in the water. Another method suggests bending the stem of the plant so that the blossom rests in the water, but not to remove the blossom itself. This method is thought to preserve the integrity of the plant. If you use the blossoms, follow your intuition as to how many and choose only those that are in their prime or just coming into their prime.

5. Place the bowl with water and blossoms or petals in the sun or leave it sitting at the base of the plant for 1-4 hours. Again use your intuition for the amount of time. Also pick the time of day to make the essence depending on the type of energy you want for your essence. For example, dawn energy is good for initiating or beginning energy.

6. Remember throughout the process to remain quietly peaceful, not in a hurry and don't allow your actions to become mechanical. This is a process of communing with nature.

7. Next add alcohol to the mixture to prevent external bacteria from contaminating your essence. The mixture should be 50% alcohol and 50% water. Add the water into the cobalt or brown glass jar, then add the alcohol. This mixture is the "mother tincture". The brown or cobalt glass protects the tincture against light which has its own vibration and can cause the tincture to decompose.

8. Store the mother tincture in a cool, dark place such as a dark closest, freezer, or root cellar.

9. When ready to make your actual flower essence, fill a small brown dropper bottle with distilled water and add one dropper full of the mother tincture to it. Succuss the water by striking the bottom of the bottle on the palm of your hand about 50 times. This mixes the mother tincture with the water and excites the molecules.

To learn more about flower essences, and how to make and use them, look for our Energy Healing for Self and Others ebook in the school store.



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Do You Have a Traveling Magickal Toolkit?

Have you ever wished that you could carry your magickal tools with you wherever you go? While that would be nice, most people feel that carrying around a large Athame (magickal knife) or even a long Wand to be a tad awkward. And if you are traveling by plane, airport security is certainly not going to allow you to bring a knife of any size on the plane. So what's a practitioner to do?

Easy... Make your own traveling magickal toolkit with ordinary objects. So long as the ordinary objects fit the requirements for the magickal tool, and are properly cleansed and keyed for your personal use, you won't ever have to go anywhere without your magickal toolkit.

For instance, the Athame, or magickal knife, simply needs to have a point, a blade-like shape, and a handle. The Athame also needs to be made of a single piece of metal. Any object that fits this criteria can be used as easily as a regular Athame. So what could you use? How about a flat pie spatula made of metal? The spatula has a tip (even if it is a rounded tip), a triangular blade-like shape (with no offensive cutting edge), and a handle. A flat spatula like this can be cleansed with the four-elements of the smoke from burning sage and pine resin in a Firebowl (Air and Fire cleansing), plus sea-salt and spring water from a Chalice (Water and Earth). Once cleansed with all four elements, and then keyed so that the energies are aligned in the correct direction (from handle to tip) and personalized to your own energy signature, your pie spatula Athame is ready to go!

The same type of adaptations can be made for any of the most common magickal tools. These include the Firebowl, Wand, Athame, Chalice, and Plate. When you think about how to adapt ordinary objects for use as magickal tools, consider the following characteristics:

• common items found in any household
• smaller in size than the same magickal tool used at home
• only needs to be large enough to be an extension of your own body
• no offensive points or blades that would prevent air travel
• materials that are sturdy and difficult to break when traveling

When you think of the above characteristics, more than likely you will find items that are usable to create a magickal toolkit that looks like nothing more than a collection of ordinary items. Properly stored in cotton, separated with some protective packing, and stored in a common pouch such as a messenger bag, and voila! You have traveling magickal toolkit that no one will look at twice.

Thinking in this way, can you see how a small silver goblet, found in almost any thrift store, can become a traveling Chalice? Cleanse and key it, and then wrap it up a bandana or scarf made of cotton, and you are ready to go. A Wand does not need to be a giant branch. How about a small piece of ironwood or even polished coral? Neither of these is likely to break when traveling, while an ordinary twig made of ordinary wood will. Hopefully this will give you some ideas of how to make a wonderful magickal tool kit for traveling and everyday use. Some practitioners make up several of these traveling toolkits and keep one in the car, their purse, and even on the bedside table.

To find out more about magickal tools and how to properly create, cleanse, and key them, check out our Magickal Tool ebooks. And find out more about using magickal tools in our Learn How to Do Witchcraft Rituals and Spells with Magical Tools Kindle book.


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Give the Gift of Magic this Thanksgiving!

Thanksgiving is a time to count your blessings, of giving and of gratitude. If you have been developing a magical practice that has blessed your life, this is a good time of the year to spread the joy. Nothing makes a better Thanksgiving gift than a magical toolbox filled with useful magical tips and techniques that will make anyone's life easier and more fun. These techniques help anyone access universal helpers, understand how the universe works in magical terms, and how to use magical techniques to smooth the way over life's bumps. This series of books starts simple and moves on to more advanced techniques to handle more complex situations. Examples include...

• contact rituals
• working with angels, totems and other higher spirit beings
• scrying and sending psychic messages
• walking meditations
• rooting
• weather working with clouds
• candle blessing and spells
• relocating unwanted spirits in your home
• getting answers from Spirit helpers and own Spirit
• grounding out negative energies
• preventing nightmares
• clearing negative energies with the pendulum
• sending psychic messages with a chalice
• using the firebowl to get rid of the unwanted
• healing with the wand through Touch Assist

Here is a sample of one of the techniques you'll find in this series of books.

Preventing Nightmares
This ritual uses standing water to magically clear negative energy and prevent nightmares. Since Water is the element connected with Spirit it is good for soaking up the Spirit's terrors. Using a magically programmed glass of water next to the bed before going to sleep will help many people avoid having nightmares by the water absorbing any negative spiritual energy throughout the night. For this ritual you will need a Sun Yellow candle, paper or wooden matches, a compass, a glass that is preferably a bright blue color, spring water and sea salt. After collecting these materials, you will need to program the glass of water each night. For this ritual follow these directions.

1. Locate the cardinal direction of West with the compass. (West is the direction of the Spirit).

2. After locating West, sit in that direction and face that direction.

3. Charge Sun candle (if you have not done this before see how HERE)

4. Wait until you have a tall working flame on your candle.

5. Fill your glass halfway with spring water.

6. Add a sprinkle of sea salt.

7. Cup both your hands around the glass and flow Water Blue (bright blue, not a light or sky blue which is Air energy) energy through the glass in a clockwise direction from left hand to right hand and through the glass.

8. Continue flowing Water Blue energy into the glass this way for about 30 seconds. Don't think about the process just do it.

9. Move the glass so that it swirls the water in it gently in a clockwise direction while you breathe Water Blue energy in to the water in the glass.

10. In a voice of command say the following verse aloud. You will blow Water Blue energy into the glass before you begin to say the verse, after each line of the verse and at the end of the verse. As you say the verse continue to swirl the water in the glass in a clockwise direction.

11. The verse to use that programs or "charges" the water to prevent nightmares is:

"Water and Earth where you stand,
Let no spell nor adverse purpose land,
Not in accord with me.
Keep nightmares far from this space,
Far from here send baneful trace.
Thus my will, so it be!"

12. Now place the glass of water on a table or nightstand next to the bed close to where the person's head will be.

13. Blow out the candle.

This water that is now "charged" will absorb thoughts and emotions that are released during the night and will block any nightmares coming from an outside source. When we sleep we are more spiritually open and this standing water is able to more easily absorb the negative energies that are responsible for nightmares. The next morning just pour the water out of the glass and down your sink drain. Do not drink it since it is now full of negative energy that you certainly don't want to absorb. People particularly troubled by nightmares may need to repeat this ritual for 40 nights in a row to make it a permanent solution.

If you suffer from nightmares, give this ritual a try and we hope it gives you one more thing to add to your gratitude list this Thanksgiving. If you know someone else that could benefit from this ritual, pass it along. If you want to really give a gift of magic this Thanksgiving, consider sending one of our magical Kindle books to friends or family and let them discover what magic can do to enhance their lives.

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