My Spiritual Journey

Sarah’s Blog for Spirit Adventures.co.uk & Mystic-Resource.com

Smuging

Seeing as I wrote an article on smudging this week, I thought I would write a quick blog on it and extend what I have written.

Since running the store, the sale of smuge sticks has just gone up and up! What was a new-age/pagan/witchcraft ritual has crossed over to a more “commercial” market! Smudge sticks are most the biggest sellers and normally people order them because they have just moved into a new house and they want to cleanse any past energies from it.

Smudging is such an effective way to do this – sage probably being the best herb to use as it has great cleansing properties. It cleanses all negative energies in an area or around an aura and it smells amazing too!

I usually smudge my living areas once or twice a year. I particularly smudge my office quite a lot as this is where most negativity rises for me. When I feel particularly stressed or uptight for no real reason I will smudge. I usually chant whilst I am smudging and say something like:

“Let these herbs blow over free,
Cleanse all negativity,
Restore all that is pure and true
So I can start today anew”

If you are going to smudge, I recommend you hold a ceramic pot under the burning herbs so that you can catch any embers. I also recommend you do not smudge children or smudge if you are pregnant.
 

Don’t forget to visit my online shop where we have various smudge sticks or browse some articles at my support website!

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Tarot Readers are Like Wine…

…They get better with age!

I have been fascinated with tarot ever since I can remember and I have been reading tarot on and off now for ten years. I think my readings have improved since I started. However, I do not think this is because my psychic connection has become any stronger or I have mastered the traditional and mystic symbolism of each card. It is more to do with the fact that my life experiences have grown.

When you are reading the tarot, you are sometimes presented with a card you just cannot connect to and my own personal belief is that this card usually represents an aspect of life you have not experienced yet. I think this can be true in the sense that we are all walking a life path where we are growing and learning and forever being taught by past mistakes.

I will give an example of what I am trying to explain! When I was in my late teens/early twenties, one of the most popular tarot questions I was always asked was “Are we going to move house?” Because at the time I had never bought or sold a house, I never realised the emotional and financial strain that this experience could have on someone. Therefore, if, say the ten of swords came up in a reading, I would not be able to relate that to my own personal experiences.

I am currently in that position where I am moving house and can appreciate all the burdens that are associated with it. Last week I did a tarot reading on myself (which I hardly ever do as I find it hard to remain objective) and that ten of swords card came up. I read that it would take 10 setbacks for us to finally sell the house we are currently in. I interpreted that as meaning we would have 10 viewings before we would get an offer. Well it was our 10th viewing on Saturday and we finally accepted an offer!

What my example is trying to prove is that only through experiencing, appreciating and empathising people and life can we truly understand the tarot. The more I learn about life, the more I truly appreciate the “mechanics” of the tarot system and I am excited about what I will understand in the future.

People always ask me what deck I use. I learnt with and still always refer back to the Connolly Deck. This is a beautiful deck with simplistic use that does not use “scary” cards and is very soft and feminine. It is also easy to meditate with.

Don’t forget to visit my online shop where we have various tarot cards or browse some articles at my support website!

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In Search of the Goddess

Since I constructed my Wiccan altar, I have had a terrible struggle trying to find nice God & Goddess statues to place on it. I have just used red an green candles on my altar to represent the God & Goddess. However, any Wiccan expert will tell you that the connection you invoke with the right statues can be deep and powerful. And so my search continues….


There are 2 main problems I have had. First, I just cant seem to find something I can connect to and second statues are just so damn expensive (and I have the luxury of buying at trade prices and the nicest ones are still incredibly expensive.)

I happened to come across a beautiful rose quartz stone with a straight smooth surface so I got a permanent silver crafts pen and drew a goddess symbol on it and found it incredibly powerful and invoking… so I guess that cheap and simple sometimes is the best!

Well this is not a very good marketing ploy for the website so I also have to add that I am incredibly excited about some beautiful new candle stick holders I have coming in stock very soon (which I shall be personally using myself!) That should also invoke the God & Goddess and I can’t wait for them to arrive!

Don’t forget to visit my online shop or browse some articles at my support website!

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On the Move

Yes… I know I haven’t visited for a month, but what a busy month it has been!

My craft has been a little neglected lately, not out of choice. Other commitments have taken over which we all suffer from time to time. Anytime I feel like I am loosing touch, I will go to my altar and stand there for a while, light some incense etc. It helps me to keep my connection.

However, I have had the good news that my husband and I are moving to a bigger house, which is semi rural and has lovely country views – the sort of environment a witch craves for.

So my excuse that I have been so busy is doubly true at the moment because the move coincides with Spirit Adventures moving to a bigger office as well – 2 moves in the next few months is turning into a logistical nightmare (as well as trying to decorate the house we are in now to get that on the market.)

So please forgive me – I will be more blog active once I am a bit settled! I will try and take some photos of the new place we are moving to and add them to a blog.

Just some other website news. I have removed the forum from mystic-resource.com now – it was not that active and I was unhappy at the amount of spam and pop ups that were coming up each time it was visited so if you want to add anything you can comment on any of these blogs – I will respond to them where necessary and please feel free to comment on anything I have to say or others do (-please be respectful!)

So I know this not a very spiritual blog – but I thought I should let you know I am still existing and what was going on!

Don’t forget to visit my online shop or browse some articles at my support website!

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My Karma

One of the traditional rules of Witchcraft is the Rule of 3. This rule literally means that whatever is sent out in magical energy will be returned to the recipricant three-fold. There are many opinions on this rule and its actual existence.

Some say it is a warning not to place curses or hexes on others as the affects of these negative acts will come back on you three-fold. Others say it is not a law at all – If it were the case we would see only bad things happen to horrible people and only happiness and success for good people and we certainly cannot measure the affects of our actions by the number 3!

Being Wiccan means this is a subject that I philosophise about a lot. I have concluded that I am quite sceptical about this rule. We hear and see bad people doing bad things to good people all the time and not only do we see them escape justice – they certainly do not get the bad effects of that three fold! (Literal or otherwise.)

That’s not to say that I would curse or hex someone – (If this is how we are applying the rule of 3) I am definitely a believer in Karma and my own personal ethics is to treat and respect all people the same way as I would want to be treated and respected as your actions and words will come back and bite you in the end – whether this be the next day, 10 years down the line or even in another life time!

I recently have suffered a bad case of credit card fraud with my online shop. Fortunately, I am insured so I have not at a loss financially! However, it upsets me to think that there are people out there who cheat and steal from others, just to get something for nothing.

Even though I am in this situation of helplessly knowing that I can never get justice against these individuals. (Past experience and research has taught me that the Police do not exactly come running in cases such as this.) I get quite a lot of comfort out of knowing that Karma will get them in the end!

Whatever side of the three fold fence you fall on, I personally think that this rule is not a bad one to live by. If we all treated each other the way we would like an ought to be treated ourselves, perhaps our world would be a little kinder…

Don’t forget to visit my online shop or browse some articles at my support website!

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Am I going Crazy?

My blog entry this month is a little later than usual. Mainly because I had little to talk about. (Unusual for me!) However, if you look out for the signs, you always find something to discuss.

I was talking to a customer on the phone today and we were sharing our psychic awareness experiences. What striked us both was how similar our stories were and I thought I would share some of this with you tonight.

I think it is a good idea to share psychic experiences when you are in the early stages of psychic development. Although most of the time these experiences are exhilarating and fantastic. Sometimes they are unnerving and you are left asking yourself “Am I going crazy?”
So I thought you may like to compare notes if you are going through that “Am I going crazy?” stage.

I started going to psychic development classes when I was 18. At that age I had an interest in the paranormal and the subjects of clairvoyancy and meduimship. However, I felt at the time I had no natural psychic skills and a school friend and I went just for something to do. However, as time progressed, I started to really tune into something – perhaps now I would call it a natural psychic ability.

I had a good teacher who showed me how to see and sense energies, taught me how to meditate and I started to do readings. Meditation is certainly a key in all psychic development as it shifts you conscience to feel and experience things you would not usually experience in normal day to day life. I remember when I first saw an aura – an explosion of colour suddenly appeared before my eyes as I studied the area above another students shoulder! The readings were not so easy to grasp – not because it was difficult to do a psychic reading per se. It was having the confidence it takes to actually read for someone else!

I am not really too sure how other psychics would describe how they get their information during a reading – perhaps they hear words through their guides or see images. I don’t personally have that sort of psychic link where I can hear or see my spirit guide as if they were standing right next to me. I guess the only way I could describe how I get information during my reading it that it just comes out of my mouth. I don’t think about it or try to analyse it, I just say what I get. As I said though, I suffered (and still do suffer) from a lack of confidence – you wonder if and how you can distinguish normal daily thoughts from actual messages.

Unfortunately, I never advanced any further than this as my father stopped me going to classes. (I think he thought I was trying to raise the dead or something.) After that, I lost my connection with spirit and went back to the normal day to day way of thinking.

A few years later, my father suddenly passed away which took a good a year or so to get over the shock and initial grief. It was after this period that I began looking into the whole psychic area again as I was interested in mediumship and making contact with my father in spirit. I was very lucky to have this experience as my dad visited me on more than one occasion in my dreams to let me know he was ok.

I started my development again and this time developed myself without going to classes. I joined a few internet support groups and bought a few psychic development books and began to reconnect. I began to feel and see my guides in coloured energy and started to just “know” things without any good reason. I bought my first pack of tarot cards and began to learn the cards and do sample readings. I found that tarot boosted my confidence in my readings, the cards gave me a focus to direct the thoughts and feelings I was receiving.

I soon got to the stage where I began to freak myself out – it scared me how accurate my card readings had got and found it harder to switch off from the sights and sensations I was experiencing. I think this was my “Am I going crazy” part of my experience and began to doubt my own gifts. I locked down and cut off my abilities for a good couple of years – and this ironically was when I was running the business! I was going to Exhibits and was told on numerous occasions that I should practice Wicca, since I had all the tools and supplies about me! I started to study the craft and this gave me the focus I needed to start developing again.
I still don’t think I am at the level I was when I was freaking myself out. However, I feel a lot more grounded with my development now and I think when I get to that stage, I will not be afraid or have the doubt or lack of confidence I had before. I have experienced too much and seen too many “coincedences” to blame circumstance and there is too much good magickal energies in this cosmos to let them go to waste!

Don’t forget to visit my online shop or browse some articles at my support website!

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So What do you do for a Living?

As my poor little lap top ascends to the great PC spirit in the sky, I bring you this blog a little later than planned and on a different computer.

The season of the Chritmas Dinner Parties will soon be upon us and I await the gasps and sudden cease of conversation when I answer the all-time favourite question; “So what do you do?”

Hmmm.. Where do I start?

I usually tell people about the website and the goods I sell. Of course, you then get bombarded with the following questions; “Are you a Witch?” “Are you psychic?” “Can you see dead people?” “Can you read my aura?” Etc. Etc.

I tend to test the air with how much personal information I freely offer – When I was a little younger and more naïve, I thought that everyone was OK with discussing spirituality and most people had some knowledge (if only limited) of the new age phenomena. However, quite a private conversation with the person sitting next to you at the table, usually turns into a full blown circus of drunken dinner crowds wanting you to perform “tricks” for them.

So now I am quite quiet about my own personal spiritual beliefs and practices. Sometimes you will meet a like minded individual who can freely share experiences with. However, it can be quite hard to not to discuss things further after telling people what your occupation is.

My occupation is one that I am proud of admitting – Running an online new age website is certainly more interesting than the run of the mill jobs (I won’t mention any examples – I don’t want to offend anyone!) Some closed-minded people may think I am a freak of devil worshipper when I tell them what I do – that’s up to them. However, most people are genuinely interested.

Don’t forget to visit my online shop or browse some articles at my support website!

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Keeping Busy (and that’s just when I am asleep!)

I sometimes feel I am losing control of my life when the days, weeks and months seem to fly by as they do at the moment. I feel as if it should still be Summer and yet I am already preparing the website for the Christmas rush.

I always feel a bit of a hypocrite when people ask me how they can develop their psychic abilities. I advise them to take time out to meditate each day. Yet do I get time to do this for myself? No! I think my spirit guides take it upon themselves to visit me whilst I am dreaming as it is the only quiet time they get to communicate and guide.

The funny thing is, I never usually remember what I was dreaming about in the morning! Sometimes I wake up exhausted and I know I have been participating in some sort of spiritual activity in my sleep. However, when it is important, I remember exactly what I was dreaming. This is what happened to me on Friday night.

I woke up Saturday from a dream where I met my new Spirit Guide called Raena (Rae for short.) She is a young Indian girl with a pink and purple aura about her. I can’t really remember what we were talking about. However, I woke up really surprised that a guide had introduced themselves this way as I have never remembered them visiting me in a dream before! I look forward to working with her in the future and I shall keep you posted of any updates!

On another note, one of my spells successfully worked this week on the day it was meant to. I was very happy about this but I shall perhaps go into detail on this in a later blog as I am sleepy now. (LOL! I know you will be just waiting in anticipation about that one dear readers!)

Don’t forget to visit my online shop or browse some articles at my support website!

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The Celtic New Year

The end of October represents the beginning of the Celtic New Year and so it feels apt to reflect upon the old and commence with the new and that’s why I am excited about this new blog! I hope that it gives a few of you a place to connect and communicate with others who are on similar spiritual paths!

People tend to look at me funny when I say that I love Autumn – yes its is cold, the weather is unpredictable and it is a constant reminder of the harsh winter just waiting round the corner. However, I find Autumn the ideal excuse to light the fire, drink hot cups of tea and look forward to the Halloween festivities (or Samhain if you are a witch!)

I am already preparing for Samhain and I am going to go across to the farmer’s shop to get some nice big pumpkins to make Jack O’Laterns for Halloween and the Sabbat. I like to support our local farm shop and their pumpkins are usually huge compared to the ones you get in the supermarket.

We usually exhibit at Witchfest around this time of the year. However, this year, we were disappointingly unsuccessful with our application. I do enjoy Witchfest – such a brilliant atmosphere. I hope to still attend, even if I am a shopper rather than a merchant! At least I can enjoy Samhain this year as well – I usually am under so much pressure with exhibit preparation, I do not have the time or energy to celebrate properly!

Well if you have read this – I hope you have enjoyed my first blog entry – feel free to leave any comments! Also, don’t forget to visit my online shop or browse some articles at my support website.

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