Horoscopes

I was reading a book about Feng Shui, and it was talking about qualities that people have based on their birthday. I have always looked at such categorizations with a grain of salt, it seemed a bit odd that everyone born in the same month or year would have such similar characteristics. My husband and I are born with a month of each other, on the same year, and in many systems we fall into the same grouping, and yet I see more differences than similarities in how we think and how we approach life.

However, I also know that almost always, when I read the descriptions of the groups that I fall into, I find myself agreeing with a lot of the descriptions. Sometimes I agree with descriptions of groups that I don't belong to, and sometimes I find very little that I can identify with unless I make some very big stretches.

I know that a lot of people dislike horoscopes, especially those that you might find on a website or in a newspaper. Often these horoscopes are very general, and sometimes aren't even really an attempt at fortune telling at all, but a piece of solid advice that almost anyone would benefit from following. Similarly, many systems that group people by element, birth month, birth year or any other type of category give such a broad range of descriptions that everyone finds themselves identifying with some of the characteristics.

Because of this, it is quite common for the entire thing to be considered a fraud, a joke or just completely useless. I think that the problem is not the horoscope, but the way we feel we need to interpret them.

I don't look at a horoscope as a guarantee. It is not a picture of my future, nor a mirror in which I can see my true inner self. Instead, I think about what the horoscope makes me think about myself. If it is telling me about my personal qualities, which ones do I agree with and why? I think that it is so very easy to take our selves for granted, to not really appreciate the things we are good at, the things that are meaningful to us or even the things that we might be lacking in.

And more than just what they make me think, how do those thoughts effect what I do? Many times, I'll get into a personal research project, start reading up about something and get near obsessed with it. I'll want to go out and do everything I read about, change myself to become the picture of me I saw in my mind when I read or thought about something new. This can be a great thing, but it can also be a bad thing. It is easy to go over the top, to focus on the sensational instead of the substance.

When it comes to horoscopes that intend to predict the future, what I find interesting is to see what I pay attention to as the time described by the horoscope comes to pass. Do I find myself focusing on things I might have otherwise overlooked because the horoscope said these things would find their way into my life? This can provide a lot of opportunities, both to emphasize the good and avoid the bad. If I am told that I will meet a new friend today, I am more likely to pay attention to strangers I may meet instead of paying attention to my shopping list or the other things I need to do in the afternoon. If I am told that I should beware while in cars, I will probably be more focused in my driving.

I think that horoscopes have the potential to be really great tools, if we learn how to use them. Dive beneath the surface and see what your horoscope really says about you, and reap the benefits that they have to offer.

Twelve African Love Spirits By Doc Hava/ Papa Oloyade

The most common spells asked for are those of love, but love is more then a simple spell it is a planted seed that has to grow.   Sex and Lust are easy spells they come with little work and sometimes huge sacrifice.   Love is a seed that takes time to grow, with the emotion of water, the passion of fire, the communication of the wind, and the earth to stabilize its roots.   When understanding love you must come in contact with the three brothers, the three queens, the three sages, and three dames de la nuit.   You must understand that love is not a spell, but it is an understanding, you must find yourself and find the spirit of the one you love; to connect is a celestial unity.

The first brother is Ellegba, the playful heart he is the heart of a young man with the soul of a traveler.   He is uneasily tamed but he will always return to the beginning; he may have a traveling heart but his heart is young and filled with adventure.   The second brother is Ogun he is the strong silent type, he has the heart of a fierce warrior and the emotions of a soft creature of the forest.  Ogun is a very trusting spirit, but always wants to be or feel in control of his surroundings.   When he feels that his surroundings are jeopardized he will usually lash out and become fierce.  The last of the brothers is Chango, he is the Strong man, the King , he is the fierce warrior and the fierce lover, but he also has a fire cracker like temper. . .he can be rash and temperamental.   

The three queens are very strong women, women who know what they want, and women who know how to get it.   Beautiful and majestic they stand, and with honor they demand the energy of their mate.  The First Queen is Oya, she is a fierce warrior and Queen of the winds and the storm her love is strong and embracing, she is the spirit who believes the way to ones spirit is through his stomach, keep the household warm filling and inviting.  Her heart is not one to be tried, because she will very easily over power her lover.  The second Queen is Oshun, the Queen of the pure waters, her heart is that of young love and healing the wounded lover.  Her love dances and cleanses the life of old love, scorn her and she will use her currents to suffocate you.   The third Queen is Yemaya Queen of the deep ocean, all waters of love flow into her and she is the mother of all life.  Her love is that of a strong protective lover and mother, she nurtures and cares for those who she loves.   To cross her is a trying task, since all energies are touched by her she has the ability to counter and then drag you into her depths.

The three sages are the men who think with the deep hearts, the souls that have experienced the love of the ages and gained wisdom from its lessons.  The first is Obatala the wise spirit of creation, is love like the warming blanket, he is the lover who cares and nurtures you knowing of the cold times.   He is the over protective energy, he knows that things can go wrong so he has the ability to over prepare.  His over preparedness can be a smothering experience and often overwhelm people, but as his love creates; if scorn his love will reverse all that he has made.  The second of the sages is the silent mystic Orunula he is the guardian of what is and what is to become, this lover sees you for your past and sees you for your future.  He sees the pure qualities in all he touches; he usually guards this knowledge with a tight lip, unless asked for the knowledge.  His spirit will be the dark silent type, but if treated with disrespect he will see it coming and move away quickly and call you out on your short comings.  The last of the sages is Babalu Aye, the love of a healer and the love of the scorned one.   He understands the one whose heart and body have been broken, his spirit embraces and bandages up wounds from the past.   His love is strong and his heart yearns to heal his beloved; betray his love and sickness and anger will fall upon you, do not betray his nurturing spirit for naivety. 

The three dames de la nuit, are the ladies of the night, they are free moving female spirits who walk to the beat of their own drum.   The first being Obba the queen of the sweet waters and river berries.  She is the warrior spirit, and the spirit that keeps the fresh water reserves like the spring and the lakes.  She strives with her energies to keep families together, and will sacrifice herself at the altar for the one she loves.  Her love nurtures and is a sustaining love, but if her sacrifice is rejected she will dry up her wealth of love and starve her lover of the nurturing waters that kept him filled.  The second of the ladies is Pomba Gira, the woman who needs no man.  She is a strong woman who is extremely passionate and sexual.   She loves to be loved and doted upon, she loves finer things and enjoys for the energy focused on her.  Pomba Gira’s energy is that a traveling soul and a gypsy in the night, she is the woman who will return to the man who can be the most giving and the most loving.  The last is Maman Brigette the lady who walks among the gravestone; she holds her love for those who have fallen into darkness.  She embraces those who are sad and lost.   She is a staunch woman who will smoke and drink and sing bawdy songs with her lovers.   Maman Brigette will stay  strong to her lovers and keep them comforted moving them from the darkness into salvation, treat Maman Brigette wrong and she will allow you to fall into the depth of darkness were light seems unseen.

When dealing with love these are the basic seeds, a human body can hold either a male or female spirit; ones specific gender is not the rubric for the African Spirit one may hold.   Understanding the divine energies that dwell in our love paths, is the basis to a successful relationship; these are the spirits that make or break ones heart and soul.  Use these energies to your benefit and gain the blessings of “Happily Ever After”.  Ase Doc Hava or Papa Oloyade on Facebook