Sometimes you just gotta feel...

One of the books I am reading was talking about trusting your intuition and learning to understand and interpret the signs our bodies send us in relation to maintaining health. And a point it brought up is that when dealing with dreams or memories, sometimes you don't have to understand what the symbols mean, but you need to open yourself up to what emotions it brings up in you, and through working through those emotions, you can address the core issue, even though the particular symbols you were shown might remain a mystery.

There are so many ways that we can interact with signs and symbols around us. Through divination, omen's, inner work, dreams...the ways are countless. And while I am a big fan of looking into the history and intellectual connections behind symbols, I think that sometimes I focus too much on this and not enough on the visceral reactions that the symbols bring up in me.

I am somewhat used to flashes of intuition...sometimes I just 'know' things, and I don't have a problem with accepting that information without any supporting knowledge. What I don't always do is listen to my gut. But as I was reading this concept, I got to thinking that it was a powerful message that I should heed. Thought and emotion are often so intertwined, it is easy to overlook one because we are listening to the other.

I think that it can be a vulnerable thing to open ourselves up to our emotions...without relying on the crutch of intellectual justification. To just let ourselves feel whatever we are going through, and really BE in the moment, and just let it was over us in whatever way it will is absolutely letting go of control. You will end up doing things you probably wouldn't normally do. You might yell, you might cry, you might completely embarrass yourself. But this kind of emotional experience is also very cathartic. It can let you move beyond something that is holding you back. It can let you face parts of yourself that you dislike or fear. It can release you from pain and bring you back into balance.

Dinner and A spell all rolled into one!!!!!

Tk’s Magickal Chili!

A yummy Pick me up spell so good you can eat!

Need a little extra push to get motivated? Feeling weighed down by life? Need to dust off your mojo? Just plain Hungry? Well then here is the recipe for a handy dandy little spell you can eat!

List O’ stuff ye be a needing

1 ½ pound lean ground beef

2 cups chopped onion (about two large onions or one giant sweet Vidalia onion)

1 cup chopped green pepper (one normal sized pepper should do it)

4 cloves worth of minced garlic (I so cheated and used the organic minced garlic in a jar ((about 2 tablespoons)

1 15-16 oz. can of Red Kidney beans drained or untrained (it’s up to you! Although if you do not drain add a little less water)

1 15-16 oz. can of Black beans drained or undrained (it’s up to you! Although if you do not drain add a little less water)

2 14.5 oz. cans of Chili Ready diced tomatoes un-drained

1 15 oz. can of tomato sauce or two 8 oz. cans

I cup of water

2 tablespoon of Chili powder

1 teaspoon dried basil or four to five fresh chopped leaves

½ teaspoon Black Pepper

Shredded cheese (I used finely shredded Mexican Blend)

Sour cream (If you want to I passed on the white stuff and it still turned out super yummy!)

What?

You want to know how chili is magickal?

How is this a spell?

Well keep reading I’m getting to that part, Gosh your soooooooo impatience.

Okay so everything in the above list has magickal properties to them, take beef for instance. Sacred to the Egyptian mother goddesses Hathor and Isis and it was thought to excite those who ate it, causing them to enter blissful states. Some people have even suggested that due to the inherently aggressive and excitable qualities of red meat, the Catholic Church started encouraging the eating of water elemental meats like fish to foster calm docility to counter act the fiery passion of red meat. Hmm makes you think huh?

Next on our list is the wonderful multi-purpose Onion! Onions were worshipped in ancient Egypt for their ability to absorb impurities; they even swore Oaths upon the mighty onion. (Every time you read the word Onion I want you to say it in your head like that old Cajun cook on TV from back in the day). OOOo fun fact about onions! Did you know that early American colonists hung onions over doorways to protect their families from infectious diseases, and onions are still used in exorcism rituals, also esoterically, onions stand for both physical and spiritual health and protection?

Now let’s spice some things up with some Pepper! Pepper is made from the crushed peppercorns of a tropical vine, while black pepper comes from immature peppercorns that are baked. It is used to break hexes and to promote fidelity in family members. Another neat thing you can use pepper for is motivation! Sprinkle some red pepper under a dead beat roomies bed and watch him either vacate the building or start to clean up his act! By the way within minutes of eating red peppers, the body releases gratifying, morphine like endorphins into the blood stream and all powdered peppers have a known effect of breaking up congestion in the lungs and sinuses, relieving allergies and increasing your metabolism!

MMMM Garlic! Known and used at least as far back as 3000 BC. In the old days, it was sacred to the goddess Hecate and left at crossroads as a sacrifice to her. The pungent cloves were also used for protection against evil and to break curses and hexes, and psychic cooks are known to rub garlic into their pots and pans to remove negative influences that might contaminate the food. When eaten, garlic stimulates the immune system to protect the body, although it is said to induce lustful behavior in some people. Garlic is a proven antibiotic, cholesterol reducer, blood pressure reducer, and general heart remedy. Plus did we mention super yummy? Past the mints please…..
Beans, beans there good for your heart …. And they were also thought to contain the souls of the dead in ancient Egypt and Greece, Not where you thought I was going with that did you? He he For those ancient Egyptians and Greeks it was taboo to eat or crush this musical fruit. No one wants to eat their grandma’s soul. According to another Greek legend, Pythagoras met his death when he refused to escape his assassins by cutting through a bean field. Because they contain the wisdom of ancestors, beans promote correct decision making and are used in the divination of future events.
Tomatoes were called Love Apples when they were first introduced into Europe from the New World and were used to solicit romantic attention. Nothing says love like a nice firm ripe tomato! I’m sure there is an innuendo in there somewhere. Europeans placed them on windowsills to repel negative energies. It seems that nobody thought of cooking with tomatoes until the nineteenth century, and today, the once lowly tomato is the basic ingredient of many sauces, soups, and salads worldwide. It also adds a yummy component to our dish!
Water is a primary component in cooking, as well in most alchemical transformations. Good chefs insure the high quality of the water they use, (But I’m cheap so I just use tap water).Here is a neat trick to charge it! Water or tea allowed to sit in the sun for 4-6 hours is considered psychically discharged or "balanced." This element and essential cooking ingredient is also considered the ultimate life source and universal solvent.
Next up in our line up is the leafy Basil, Which was once consider sacred to the Greeks, who being the very sexist males that they were did not even allow the little old women folk to pick it. But don’t let that stop you, this yummy herb soothes away anger and hard feelings by encouraging feelings of love and is thought to simultaneously simulate the Heart and Sacral Chakras, thereby harmonizing stressful emotions while releasing sexual energies. Basil adds an outdoorsy, mint-like flavor to dishes, and is best used raw. It also strengthens the immune system and is known to kill germs.
Chili Peppers are the fruits of tropical shrubs and carry creative energy. Chili peppers turn from green to yellow to red as they ripen, and both hot and sweet varieties promote vitality and growth. For full esoteric benefits, chilies should be eaten fresh, pickled, or slightly roasted, never steamed. But powder works in a pinch…..get it a pinch……..okay moving on.
Cheese is one of the oldest foods on the planet! Pots for separating curds from whey have been found dating back to 6000 BC. Cheese was sacred to the Greek god Apollo and symbolizes things coming to fruition. In cooking, cheese is used to raise the vibrational level of meals, adding a positive or joyous energy.

So now that I’ve explained the magickal properties to our ingredient list it’s now time to explain the actual workings of the spell. So in case you haven’t gathered yet all the ingredients have cleansing and up lifting properties along with a few to get your blood boiling in other ways. Ahem…Hey it was surprise side effect, Not complaining in the least bit ;) Any ways, So back to business,
Step one:
In a pot at least 4 quarts large ( I used the same pot that I use for noodles) Take your thawed ground beef, onions, bell peppers and garlic and throw them all in their together, Now here’s where the magick part comes in. As you add each ingredient envision each of them glowing with a soft light. Each item pulsing with its own light, letting the energy embedded activate so to speak. Turn your oven burner (you know the stovetop thingy) on high, and cook stirring constantly, browning the meat until onions and bell peppers are soft. (you’ll noticed that they get all limp and relaxed looking). Drain all the fatty grease off the mixture. While doing this imagine all your worries and stress dripping off you as the icky grease goes down the drain or container you set aside for your grease. DO NOT RINSE!


Step Two:
Next take everything else besides the cheese and sour cream and add to the pot. While envisioning each items magickal properties releasing as they heat upheats up. The glow getting stronger as the chili gets hotter. Now place a lid on that bad boy so all the magickal goodness stays inside and let it simmer for 20 minutes. Stirring occasionally.
Step Three:
Now this is the most important part. Ready? Here you go! Top with cheese and/or sour cream and proceed to get your grub on!!!!

Yummy!

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Symbols: A cow isn't a cow..except when it is

I absolutely love symbols and symbolic texts. I think that symbol language speaks to a part of us much deeper than words. Any given symbol can have a dozen meanings making them powerful tools both for understanding and making connections and for creating magic.

Symbols can be tricky though. For every symbol, for every color, animal, letter, herb or stone out there, there are dozens of lists explaining what they mean. The weakness of these lists is that often they don't explain why things are connected. It is the why's that make connections strong. But more than that, we each have our own wealth of personal history and memories which can create very personal connections that no one can tell us about except ourselves.

I've done a lot of reading, thinking, meditating and research on several different symbol systems. Many of us are familiar with tarot, and each card has a lot of symbols on it. I've also been working with the runes, and that was a particular challenge as the symbols are simple but the meaning behind is complex.

One thing that becomes quickly apparent, when looking into the why's behind a symbol, is that it is very beneficial to look at the symbol through the eyes of the people who created it (as well as the eyes of people who used it throughout history). If the symbol is one of a cow, that would have a vastly different meaning to someone a hundred or two hundred years ago. When we interpret symbols, we look beyond the surface for the connections behind something. When we see the symbol of the cow, we don't assume that a cow will be coming into our life, but perhaps prosperity, perhaps an end to food shortage, perhaps a way to get work done around our house.

But sometimes...a cow is just a cow! I think that this is something that sometimes gets overlooked. It IS definitely important to look behind, to look for what things mean. But it is also important to not forget that sometimes symbols are very straightforward. Sometimes when we see something, it is exactly what it looks like.

Deepak Chopra's Seven Spirtual Laws of Success

My life has beginning to feel like it is spiralling out of control for the past several weeks.  Often when my life feels like this, I dig out my Seven Spiritual Laws of Success book by Deepak Chopra and try to get myself re-aligned. 
My copy of this book is quite worn from much use.  I found the original copy I had of it quite by accident 17 years ago in a small bookstore in Ridgway, Colorado.  My life was terribly out of control at that point in my life, although you would not have thought so viewing it from the outside.  To everyone else, I was just a housewife and mother raising two little girls while my husband ran his drywall company.  Inside I was lonely, frustrated and terrified by the emptiness I felt. 
The kids were at school and I was strolling aimlessly through this bookstore looking for something but I wasn't sure what, then the Seven Spiritual Laws of Success jumped out at me.  I had never heard of Deepak Chopra and I had no knowledge of India beliefs, Hinduism, or any other religions except the basic information the majority of people have.
After I read this book and started applying the principles in my life I began having peace.  I also began changing my attitude, something my husband did not like.  The book mysteriously disappeared one day.  I immediately went out and bought another copy but kept it hidden.
Now, many years later, divorced and in another relationship, and living a completely different life, I still find many times of emptiness and uncertainty of direction that lead me back to this book and it's simple direction.