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Jazz’s Gems
A Quick Summary on Jade Typically when you think of, or see jade, you see green jade. Although it does come in other colours, I will be touching mainly on the green variety. It is best for abundance, soothing nerves, prosperity and helping one achieve their goals and dreams. It gives you an existential pick-me-up in a way. It is a softer stone so you need to be cautious when wearing it or cleaning it, but jade is a great addition to any home, work or as a piece of jewelry. Green jade is an abundance stone that brings harmony and happiness to your relationships and also your…
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Witch & Popcorn
The Exorcist Bright Blessings film lovers! Classic horror film, The Exorcist has terrified people for decades with the demons, acrobatics of the actress playing a possessed child, and ingrained beliefs in demonic possession- and it’s one I just can’t get enough of. Watch this trailer here: You wouldn’t know it to talk to me today since I am such a horror fan, but this film literally scared the ever living hell out of me when I was in high school. I was awakening psychically and had gone on a starvation diet that increased my imagination. Seeing the backwards crawl down the steps in that fateful…
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Tarot Talk
Comparing The Hierophant & The Devil Let’s look at an interesting pairing this month, and compare The Hierophant with The Devil. Not everyone is comfortable examining at The Devil, but there are interesting similarities between these two cards. First, let’s review some terms. If you’ve read my column before, you can skip the next two paragraphs. There are 22 Major Arcana cards in a Tarot deck, with numbers from 0 to 21; the Majors usually deal with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in our lives. An archetype (pronounced “ark eh type”)…
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Notes from the Apothecary
Notes from the Apothecary: Heather Heather or ling, Calluna vulgaris, is a short, evergreen, bushy shrub with stalks of tiny purple, pink or white flowers, prolific on moorland or heathland. It’s native to Europe but has been introduced to many countries across the world. It often indicates areas of deforestation, where trees have not been allowed to grow back, so the heather and other shorter plants take over. I asked my three-year-old which plant I should explore for this month, and she said, “A pink one!”. After some pondering, I showed her some pictures of pink, purple, and white heather stretching across the moors, and she was delighted. So,…
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Mabon/Autumn Equinox Correspondences
Fall/Autumn Equinox, Wednesday, September 22, 2021 (artwork: Card – Mabon Meditation – fantasy art printed on sustainable paper by Maartje from the shop MaartjevanDokkum on etsy.) Michaelmas (September 25th, Christian), Second Harvest Festival, Witches’ Thanksgiving, Harvest Home (Anglo-Celtic), Feast of Avalon, Wine Harvest, Festival of Dionysus, Cornucopia, Equinozio di Autunno (Strega), Chung Chiu (China), Night of the Hunter, Alban Elfed “The Light of the Water”(Caledonii/ Druidic-celebrates Lord of the Mysteries), Winter Finding (Teutonic, from Equinox ’til Winter Night or Nordic New Year, Oct 15th.) It is the equilibrium of day and night and this represents the light and darkness in our lives. The long summer nights…
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As Above So Below (How the Stars Became Our Hearts)
Confessions of a Dark Witch The Bourne I decided to write this in response to many different people suggesting to me that I have a hard life because I call myself a “dark” witch, and many of those same individuals also added that, if they did not fully understand, I should clarify to people what I mean exactly. Also, as is obvious, I’ve returned to narrative format, as when talking about deep personal things like your own inner experiences in relationship to you own spiritual beliefs and practices, it should always be made clear that these are opinions and beliefs, not scientific truths. The realm of spirituality…
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Jazzs’ Gems
Citrine (Image by Dieter Staab from Pixabay) Citrine is a very useful crystal with a multitude of properties. It is a yellow variety of quartz and can be orange, brown or yellow. It is a birthstone for November, and also is connected to Aries, Gemini, Leo and Libra. Its element is Air and its planet is Jupiter. Citrine is also known as the Merchant’s Stone and is also sensitive to heat so it is best not to put it where there is too much light or heat. One tip to know if your Citrine is real vs something like heat treated Amethyst is looking at it in the…
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Tarot Talk
Comparing The King of Wands & The King of Swords We haven’t looked at the Court Cards of the Tarot for a while, so it is a good time to compare two Court Cards. This month we will compare two Kings, the King of Wands and the King of Swords. If you have been journeying with me already, you can skip the next paragraphs that offer some foundational information. The 78 cards of a Tarot deck consist of 22 Major Arcana cards (dealing with broader and more far-reaching life experience issues, and archetypes that are easy for us to identify with and connect with at some point in…
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Ostara Correspondences
(Photo by Ilona Frey on Unsplash) (oh-star-ah) – Lesser Sabbat – Spring/Vernal Equinox, March 20-21st – when the Sun enters Ares Other Names: Ostre, Oestre, Eostre, Rites of Spring, Eostra’s Day, Lady Day, First Day of Spring, Easter, St. Patrick’s Day, Alban Eiler, Bacchanalia, Mean Earraigh, Pasch, Caisg, Pess Date: Spring Equinox March 19–23 in Northern Hemisphere. Symbolism: The beginning of spring, new life and rebirth, the God and Goddess in Their youth, balance, fertility Goddesses: all love, virgin, and fertility Goddesses; Anna Perenna (Roman), Aphrodite (Greek), Astarte (Canaanite, Persia, GrecoRoman), Athena (Greek), Cybele (Greco-Roman), Blodeuwedd, Eostre (Saxon Goddess of Fertility), Flidais (Irish), Gaia (Greek), Hera, Ishtar (Assyro-Babylonian), Isis…
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Tarot Talk
Eight of Swords (The Eight of Swords card is from the artist Ciro Marchetti http://www.ciromarchetti.com/)** By my calculations, this is the 78th card that we are discussing, which means after this month we have made it all the way through the entire Tarot deck! Congratulations, all of you who have stayed with me through this journey. This month we are going to talk about our final card, the Eight of Swords. As always, here is a bit of basic foundational information about the Eights of the Tarot Minor Arcana, and in particular our Eight of Swords. A Tarot deck has 78 cards. There are 22 Major Arcana cards,…