it's the most wonderful time of the year!

It’s that time of year, kids!  Autumn is officially here, the weather is finally changing, and Halloween is right around the corner!  This is the favorite season of many, and really, what’s not to love?  I remember my very first autumn as a Pagan, and suddenly, it was like seeing the world for the very first time!  New scents, new sights, new sounds – I still look back on that year fondly! 

During this time of transition and celebration, we have a lot to look forward to.  As the veil thins and the membrane between the worlds becomes more permeable, it becomes easier to gaze into the other sides.  This time of year has always been a prime-time for divination, for gazing into the past, present, or future – or maybe even different worlds all together! 

In celebration of this most wonderful time of the year, I’m offering a discount over at my Etsy shop.  I do tarot card readings in person, too, but Etsy has proven to be a great place for me to read for people who might not be local.

 

This year I’m offering discounted readings on two of my favorite decks – the The Zombie Tarot and the Halloween Oracle!  The Zombie Tarot was a birthday gift from my sister a few years ago, and the Halloween Oracle was a deck I picked up when I was working at a local metaphysical and occult shop.  Both of these decks have charm, sass, and great personality, plus the artwork is amazing, too!  The Zombie Tarot is a great combination of pop culture images mixed with classic tarot card meanings and symbolism.  The Halloween Oracle takes some of the most beloved images of this Halloween and autumnal season and combines them with oracular messages and beautiful, breathtaking artwork.

 

So mosey on over to my Etsy shop and get yourself a reading!  Readings will be discounted until November, and please, as always, message me if you have any questions or comments!  Until then, Happy Spooky Season, everyone!

(and don't forget - I'm teaching a tarot class over at EsotericMysticism.org with my friend Bryan.  Archetypal communication, divination, ancient religion and occult philosophy?  We're having a blast over there!)

Beltane, Etsy, and tarot... oh my!

Blessed Beltane, everyone!  Beltane is one of my favorite holidays – dancing, feasting, singing, flowers, merrymaking… what’s not to love?  This year I’m celebrating my hosting a viewing party of one of my all-time favorite movies ever – The Wickerman!  After cocktails and movies, I’m going to a concert, and then attending two Druid rituals (two different traditions) and later I’m hosting a devotional rite to Hekate.  Soon I’ll be teaching a workshop on runes at Unitarian Universalist Women’s Spirit, and after that my Circle will be hosting its own Beltane ritual.  As you can see, there’s so much to love about this month!

But not only am I excited about the May season, but I’m excited to finally get my Etsy shop revamped, redesigned, and up and running!  I started my Etsy shop many, many years ago, but never really had the time or talents to make it what I wanted.  I re-started the project a few months ago, and finally the stars aligned, and I’m all ready to officially roll out my little shop.

I’d like to eventually offer fun witchy things like oils, incense, and jewelry, but right now I’m just selling tarot card readings.  I’ve been reading the tarot since 2001, and since then reading for others has been one of my favorite hobbies.  I’m offering readings from a few of my favorite decks because I really like the variety, and more than that, different decks bring them own energy to a reading.  Some energies are more appropriate than others depending on the nature of the question being asked.  I’m offering a few different options, too, ranging from a one card oracle reading, to a full ten-card Celtic-cross spread, so there are possibilities for every question and every budget.

In addition, in honor of Beltane and of my new-and-improved Etsy shop, I’m offering a discount coupon for each and every purchase starting now (April 27) to May 31.  It’s my special way of saying THANK YOU and also, wishing you all a very blessed Beltane and May-tide season!  So, be sure to use the coupon code BELTANE if you purchase any readings from my shop.

In addition to offering a coupon discount, I’m offering half-off readings from Le Tarot des Femmes Erotiques.  Typically I offer one-card oracle readings from this deck at $5, but in honor of Beltane and for the next seven days, readings from this deck will be offered at half-price.  It’s such a fun deck, and it reads really well.  Do you have any questions regarding love, sex, or romance?  This is the perfect time of year to address such questions, and this is the perfect deck to do the job!  But don’t limit your questions to themes of sensuality and pleasure – there are no limits to what this deck can address!  It was a gift to me from a special friend, and it’s quickly become one of my all-time favorite decks.  It works great at one-shot, quick questions, offering deep insight and meaning with just one card (when sometimes other decks require a whole ornate spread to do the same job!)

So, please check out my Etsy shop, and stay tuned for when I post some witchy items, too.  Consider getting a reading for yourself or for a friend, and most of all, have a very blessed and merry Beltane season!  (And don’t forget the coupon code BELTANE)!

Stay lovely, my friends!

Pagan Blog Project – week 36 – R#2 – Runes

Pagan Blog Project – week 36 – R#2 – Runes

My group sometimes partners with a local coven, and for a few years many of us have been gathering once a month for a special study group.  We started with Chris Penczak and his “Inner Temple of Witchcraft” series.  But after two Penczak books, we knew we needed a break.

A member of the group suggested Northern Mysteries and Magick by Freya Aswynn.  One of the first books I had read about Northern Paganism was Leaves of Yggdrasil, an earlier edition of Aswynn’s book.  I had enjoyed it at the time, but promptly moved onto something else and then totally forgot everything I read.  (This tends to be how I function, unfortunately…)

A few years ago I decided to read everything I had about my Northern ancestors (I come from both Swedish and German ancestry, among others).  In college I had taken a class on Northern Myths and Legends, but I was finally ready for more.  So for about ten months I read books about mythology, folklore, epics, Eddas, magic, Asatru, runes, and anything else I had in my library.  My intention was to transition into contemporary Germany, the Arthurian cycle, and Druidry, but I never made it that far.  I had finally just reached a point where I couldn’t take it anymore, and I started graduate school shortly after, so my reading habits once again took a dramatic shift in focus.

Over the years I’ve picked up a few sets of runes, tried to make my own, made rune sets for others, studied a few books, played with them a bit, and even taught a rune workshop.  But I’m not a rune master by any means, and the Cosmology and function of runes is still pretty foreign to me.  I mean, I understand all of the theory behind the runes, but when it comes to actually using them and reading them and understanding them on an intuitive level?  I’m still lost.

A good friend of mine has shared a similar opinion of the runes, talking about a rune workshop she went to and how frustrating it was to her.  But she said that at the end of the workshop, they all dropped into a meditative state and the runes were chanted by one of the workshop facilitators.  She said that’s when she finally realized and understood how powerful the runes could be.  (Though, like the rest of us in the study group, she keeps on saying “It’s all Greek to me!”)

So, like I did when I did my intensive Northern study, I try to draw one rune before bed.  I make notes in a journal.  I read the books.  I make notes in the margins.  I write runes on my hands and on my desk.  I try to remember them and recall them.  I try to chant them, or at least recite them.  And sometimes, just sometimes, connections are made.  I have dreams about them, or I randomly remember something.  I’m pleased to report that their names and shapes aren’t as hard for me to recall as they once were, but still, runes are a challenge for me.

But out of respect for my Northern ancestors, out of comradery of my study group, and a few other reasons that I won’t share here, I’ll keep on studying the runes and hopefully, one day, the runes won’t be Greek to me.

 

Do you read the runes?  Do you have a favorite book about runes, Northern myths or legends, or even modern Heathenry or Asatru?  Do you have another preferred form of divination that you use?  What helped you to learn and study the runes or another system that you enjoy?  Please feel free to share your thoughts or experiences in the comments!  As is clear with this post, I could use all of the help I can get!  Until then... clear skies and runic blessings!

Pagan Blog Project – week 30 – O#2 – Oracular Spectacular

Pagan Blog Project – week 30 – O#2 – Oracular Spectacular

When it comes to oracles and divinatory methods, people have dozens and dozens of options.  Tarot cards probably come to mind most often, but there are also runes, the ogham, and oracle cards.  You can scry with crystals, water, or fire.  You can watch birds or read tea leaves. 

Many years ago I was surprised to find that some people came up with their own oracular or divinatory methods.  There is indeed power and energy behind something like tarot or tasseomancy, but a self-made oracular system can also tap into those same external and internal energies.

A few years ago I came up with something I call “Oracular Spectacular.”  I started with a large jar decorated with magical symbols and sigils.  Next I printed off lyrics from my favorite songs.  Some of the songs were ones that I had loved for years, and some of them were ones that meant a lot to me at the time of the jar’s creation.  I took my favorite lines from the song (or in some cases, the whole song) and cut them out in words, phrases, or verses.  All of these slips of paper went into the jar (along with a generous splash of glitter for extra magic and ooomph!)

I have a little method and ritual I usually do every time I use Oracular Spectacular.  I shake the jar a pre-decided number of times and I recite a little incantation.  When I first started using this oracular system, I was shocked at the immediate results I received.  But I shouldn’t have been surprised at all.  Picking songs and lyrics that held a particular significance to me, as well as intention, trust of the cosmos, and my own inner mental and emotional situations created an incredibly powerful combination of power.  The Oracle draws from one’s own energy, as well as tapping into the cosmos, and it’s incredibly effective and meaningful.

This system is very easy to use.  You can use it every night, or every morning.  You can use it before an important event, or just when you have the need for some advice or guidance.  There is no limit.  It’s not a lengthy, time consuming process.  There is no set-up, preparation, or clean-up.  Whenever the urge comes to you, you can consult the Oracle, and get your answer.

I would consult Oracular Spectacular with specific questions a lot of the time.  I’d ask my question and draw the Oracle, and if I needed clarification, I’d draw a second.  If it was still confusing or I was dissatisfied with the answer, I’d ask a different question or put the Jar away for a different time.  Some systems let you keep on asking and asking and asking, but this one definitely has its limit.  If you ask too much, the system gets muddled and confusing, and I feel as if the answers lose their honesty.

Or, of course, you could just ask generic questions.  “What should I know about today?  What should I know about this morning?  How will I do on the test?  What should my focus be right now?  What should I know about my relationship with this person?”  There really are no limits on the questions you could ask when consulting an Oracle like this.

After I’ve consulted the oracle I either paste the slip of paper in my book of shadows or my journal, or I put it back in the jar.  It really depends on my intuition at the moment.  Sometimes I know deep down that the Oracle has spoken, and that particular slip of paper needs to not return to the jar.  But sometimes I’ve gotten a strong sense that the Jar wasn’t done with that particular message, and so back into the Oracle it goes.

I used to use this system a lot, but recently I’ve been studying the runes and the Greek Alphabet Oracle, so my attention has been diverted.  It’s hard for me personally to devote much time to too many divination systems and methods.  I tend to focus on two or three (tops!) at a time.

When I have a new favorite song (or remember an old one that has come back to me with new meaning) I add those lyrics to the jar, too.  Repeat songs and lyrics are also okay.  That way the jar is always being refreshed and renewed, and it will never run out of lyrical and oracular options (in theory.) 

I’ve seen lots of self-made oracular and divination systems over the years, and I’d encourage my readers to explore devising their own systems as well.  I still rely heavily on my tarot cards, but there’s no reason why a witch can’t have many tools in her box!  Plus, exploring divination systems can be a lot of fun, and making one of your own can be a good exercise of imagination, as well as an expression of inner will and power.

And of course, if you come up with or already have your own system, share it here!  I’d love to see what all of my cosmic brothers and sisters are coming up with!

Until then, clear skies!