Happy Samhain!

Blessed All Hallow 's Eve to all the blogland. It is finally here, the most sacred of all days. Time for us to remember and honour the past, so we can embrasse it and move on. And is also time for us to throw in our bonfires our sumbolic obstacles to happiness and free ourselves. Have fun today and let the magick fill your hearts.

Zzzzz

Greetings to all the blogland.
As the nights grow longer, this is the time of the year we all enjoy sleep more than usual. I love everything about sleep.
I love the bed, the sheets, the covers, layers and layers of them, the fluffy pillows. I love warming my feet on P. and hugging him in the brief moments i wake up during the night. I love our bodies searching one another as pieces of a puzzle. I love all three of our pets on the bed, laying on our feet, leaving us no room to move. I love looking outside my window the yellow lights on the street, especially on a rainy night, before i close my eyes. I love looking at the big pine tree outside my window, especially on a foggy day, when i wake up. I love my dream catcher above my head rescuing me from the evil nightmares, but allowing all the beautiful dreams to fall through the feathers. And of course i love staying in bed as late as i want.
I believe we have great power in our sleeping state. Except for the obvious relaxation and recharging, we embrasse our unconscious and solve problems without even being aware of it. We work through our issues and heal. We travel between the worlds and around them. We have visits from spirits that once loved us. We are warned of dangers of the future so we can prepare ourselves. We are free of moral,social and physical constrains.
So it is only natural that i like every possible spell and ritual that has to do with sleep. I have done them all. Dream pillows, dream potions, love crystalls, sleep insences. But today i am just going to give you a herbal sleep remedy in case you suffer from insomnia or you just want to relax. For a cup of tea, you will just need one teaspoon valerian root, one teaspoon chamomile and one teaspoon of honey. If you like milk in your tea feel free to add some because it also helps induce sleep. If you drink this around half an hour before bed time you will enjoy a better and deeper sleep. Valerian root especially can provide you with vivid dreams, help with anxiety and -thankfully for me- menstrual cramps also.
So have a nice sleep dear bloggers because Halloween is only a breath away and we will need all our strength to celebrate.
Blessings and nighty night.

I won!

So today i am having a bit of trouble dealing with menstrual cramps and this day would normally suck but i won a giveaway at MrsB! I could not believe it! It was the first i ever participated! I am so lucky and i am extremely excited! The price i won is a blog makeover by Tara. You should go and check out the cool designs at http://blogmakeoversbytara.blogspot.com/
As usual you have to copy paste the url because i am so lame and i can not insert a link! But trust me it is worth the trouble.
Today when i woke up the first thing i did was to check out if i won! I knew it was a bit far fetched since so many people have participated but i felt lucky and i was! I want to thank both MrsB and Tara for this. You guys made my day! I am not wallowing in self pity anymore. Okay maybe i am a little but i would be a lot worse without you! I only say i am in pain every half an hour instead of constantly repeating it in a high pitched voice!
So fellow bloggers, prepare yourselves because i will own from now on, a very fancy and cute blog that i will be bragging about in a very irritating way!
On a witcy note, yesterday i casted a money spell although it was a Tuesday, not a very good day for prosperity spells, but i was desperate. Lately i had to pay some bills, which was normal and expected. But car troubles came up which also cost. Then my tooth is aching and it is time for a dentist appointment. And as you know i have some gynaecological issues to check out and i do not have insurance. It is also time for my pets annual vaccination. And the list is never ending. All those things are normal but they all came up spontaneously and now i am sort of broke! I am proud of myself for not freaking out. In the past in a similar situation i would have panic attacks and be afraid of jail time.
I know that all these things happen for a reason. Valuable lessons are to be taught(i have to manage my financial state in a better way and anticipate things like that, be prepared and maybe save some money?). Of course now that Saturn has moved on from Virgo to Libra we should all expect better days economically speaking. Virgo as an earth sign is all about organising and handling money(it is no coincidence that we lived a world wide economic crisis when Saturn was in Virgo). Now financially we are going to be a lot better but our love lives might go through a rough patch(since Libra is the sign of relationships and soulmates).
I have to leave you now, because my electrical warmer on my belly is making me sleepy. But i promise to be back soon before Halloween.
Blessed be.

Wicca and Samhein

Greetings to all the blogland!
I hope everyone is doing well and preparing for Samhein that is only a week away. Samhein is the witch's New Year so it is resolutions time. I love Wicca because it allows us to incorporate modern traditions to our practices and to marry the new with the old. Which brings up the ultimate question. Is Wicca new or old?
Many Wiccans out there are trying to prove and make arguements about the antiquity of our religion, as if the integrity of their spititual beliefs depends on it. I am not one of them. I believe Wicca is as new as it is old. It unites ancient traditions and beliefs from all over the world with new ones. That does not make it less valuable, it makes it more. Scientific discoveries,techological achievements alter our way of life and the basis of our thinking. But we still appreciate meditating and praying(actually now we have scientific proof that it has many health benefits). Our religion walks side by side with our times. It grows as we grow.
It is only natural that we combine different practices in this world of infinite information. I believe Wiccans are eclectic in their core even if they are not eclectic pagans. We choose things that feel right and that does not mean we "do only the easy stuff" as many accuse us of. Which makes no sense because Wicca is a religion based on freedom of spirit and not on restrain. We are not believing because of quilt or because of the fear of damnation. We believe out of love and out of the desire to move into higher spiritual realms. We do not hide from the darkness while searching for light. We embrasse it. At least we try to. We are not perfect but we believe in perfect love and perfect trust.
The fact that Samhein is arriving in seven days just reminds me of how fast this year went by and how small and valuable our lives are. Samhein is the time to honour the past and the loved ones that have crossed over. The veil between the worlds is at its thinnest which makes it perfect time for getting in touch with the spiritual realm. It is time to bring out our quija boards and to cast invocation spells. This is the time when our altars may carry the photos of our deceased as well as black, white and grey candles and a plate of food for the spirits of those who will visit us in this magickal night.
Our altars will be different. Some of them will be simple, some of them will be more elaborate but they will all have something in common. They will be blessed with love, memories and hopes for the future. And as we teach our future generations of honouring the past we embrasse our humanity. Samhein is the night when we celebrate death as a part of life.
I will love to hear of all your preparations, special foods and oils, candles and incenses,rituals or walks to the park, meditation and prays.
Be blessed, be well and have a wonderful weekend.

Psychic's ramble!

Being special like every other thing has two sides. One that makes you feel good and one that scares you and causes you pain.
Growing up as a psychic in a family of psychics was fun. I remember small things like buying a hotdog becoming extraordinary with a vision that made me see exactly how much it would cost. Or after a break in school going to a math class and knowing that we are going to have a test. I told my best friend we are going to have a test and she said"no way, we had one last week". I told her that our math teacher will first teach us the next chapter and then test us on the previous one. And she did n't believe mostly because it was crazy. Apptitude tests come before teaching a new subject so this was making no sense. As the rest of the class listened to the teacher i was studying the previous chapter. And then suddenly he says :"Take out a piece of paper". My best friend looked at me with her eyes wide open. She kept asking how did i know. So that was fun. Acing that test was also fun. I felt unique and talented and proud. Once i saved my family from a fire and that felt also nice and relieving of course.
Then my teens came along and i could practice it every now and then in my mom's office. My accurate readings and the reactions of the clients made me feel like a star. Vanity comes with youth. I saw difficult things like sicknesses and death and i had no problem saying those things. It was a piece of cake. It was n't my fault those bad things would happen. I learned that very early.

People seem to remember a cute little girl in her pj's with a doll under her arm, suddenly saying weird, intimate things that were going to happen. One lady said:"it was so scary". Meaning, i was so scary.

I saw things i could n't understand, like death. How was i to know that those bad things would not happen to my mom and dad. And how was i supposed to know that i was n't causing those bad things. I said so and it happened. Would n't that make me bad? So night terrors came along. My mom had a hard time explaining to me what i was going through. Why i knew things about people i had never met. And everything calmed down a bit.

Then my mom and i played games like "what is this man thinking about"? and "do not try to think it. Feel it". "No logic just feelings". Card readings,tea leaves, hypnosis and magick. But of course all should be kept quiet. No one could ever know. It was a secret. Which was confusing. If it was n't something bad why could n't i talk about it with my friends.

The response was the same every time. Other people will not understand. Other people are not like us. So, all these explain the arrogance of my teen years. I was special.
If someone asked for a reading, they should be prepared. It was n't my fault if anything bad would appear. Everything was clear. Everything made sense. What i did made sense.

Then i moved out. I had my own practice now. And i knew what i was doing. I would just have to keep doing what i did. But then person, after person came.. They were n't strangers anymore. And what i said matter. But most of the times i had to convience that i was for real and that i was not a crook. Then i had to explain that my job was n't to sooth people's minds or tell them what they want to hear.The beauty is still there but sometimes i get so caught up doing those two things that it frustrates me.

I guess now it is more real. I am attached to people and care about them and what is going to happen to them. I just have to accept that it is human nature to not want to hear the "bad stuff". But it would be nice for once to feel like i am indestuctible again. Feeling makes you vulnerable. My old self would say weak. But strenght comes from feeling not the lack of it. I should keep that in mind.

So this was pretty much my life story. I hope i did n't bore you. Be Blessed, be happy and love.

What is wrong with the world?

Good morning, afternoon or evening depending on where you are and when you are reading this. I am sorry yesterday i messed up with the comments while changing the template. I am much better now, able to enjoy the beautiful Sunday. This day is megnificent. I should be out breathing in some sunlight but i have an appointment in half an hour. My usual problem with my period is back, so i feel a lack of energy since this time is lasting more than two weeks and keeps going. I know i have to check it out in a medical way and fix it, but i can not deny that there is something spiritual behind it.
Our period is the core of our womanhood, even the severity of premenstrual syndrome is sometimes a warning bell. It means it is time to ask ourselves "am i taking good care of myself?", "Do i supress my female side?". Most of us have to, so we can stay on top of things. And most of us are made to because we are bombarded with insane, unnatural information of the way we should be and we should act.
Yesterday i watched an episode of "Who 's the most smartest top model". They had a challenge. If the model answered a question wrong he or she had to eat something with a lot of calories like a piece of chocolate cake or a twinkie. The reactions of the models were similar with the guys in Fear Factor when they had to eat worms or scorpions. They were gagging. A girl denied to do it. Another one kept saying it is too sweet. And a guy afterwards said he was feeling lightheaded and nautious. I swear! After a piece of chocolate cake (that looked yammy by the way). One of the guys there, had a bit of a belly(meaning he was n't as skinny as the others) and he cried! For Pit's shake it is a cake!!! One girl was told she is too thin and she worries the judges and she seemed as thin(as ready to collapse) to me as the rest of them!
We all know that the Media do not promote a healthy body image, but when a piece of cake raises similar reactions with worms, i think there is a bigger problem there. Anorexia and bulimia are tearing apart the youth of the world and every single one of us gets scared in the process. Even if we put logic first, and analyse it as a social phenomenon we are still affected. Those images are being imprinted in our subconscious. I had a weird dream-nightmare that i had to eat a candy last night for the love of Goddess.
With food we nurture ourselves. We learn food is bad. We learn to hate ourselves for needing it. As simple as that. The economy is fueled by low self estim. Pharmaceutical companies, weight loss centers, gyms it is a list never ending. They benefit from this while we lose ourselves, our identities until we are all made to look alike. There is no room for being different. And in the meanwhile the western civilisation grows fatter and fatter. The guilt and shame force us to overeat. The controversies become stronger and more obvious. People do not feel fit enough to go to the gym or to order healthy food as if they are judged!
Men go through that too but women are more affected by this situation.
Feel good in your skin. Love yourself the way you are.

I am sad!As simple as that.

Today i am trying to stay on top of things. Not freaking out is a major task along with not hyperventilating! My dad did some tests and he has some serious kindey problems. His kidneys are failing and there is not a medicine for reversing that. He is also diabetic and has heart problems. So to help the kidneys they are cutting him off his heart medication. Right now i am searching the web for herbs that could help out. I know everything is going to be okay. And everything happens for a reason. But i am still sad and worried.
This is not the day i thought i was waking up into. I thought i had the day for myself. I have a massage scheduled and i was going to meditate, drink herbal teas and detox. Maybe hit the gym. And in a split second everything changed. My dad is sick. He is really sick. How do you cope with that? And why in Goddess's name i feel guilty for crying? Earlier in the phone i was trying to sound cheeper(it was kinda scary!). It is okay to be sad. It is okay to be scared. I do not want it to be true but it is. It is not a matter of perception. Which ever way i choose to see it he is still sick.
If you know any herbs that could help please tell me.
Love and blessings to all.

100th post

Today it has been raining all morning. Since i did n't have to work until three pm i could sleep as late as i wanted. So around 9 am i decided to sleep some more and finally woke up at 12 o' clock. It was still raining and i spent some time in bed watching the rain through the window and listening to the sounds of the storm. Beautiful feelings. Now almost three hours later, the sun is out and the street, the leaves, the trees, everything is glowing under the light. Everything is more beautiful after the rain.
This is my centennial post. When i started blogging i never thought it would come that far. And now with a coffee on my hand(one of those that have more calories than your lunch and smell like hazelnut) i feel like celebrating. I am so thankful for blogging. I really am. Although i do not hide my spiritual practices in real life and i am definitely out of the broom closet i do not have people around i can share experiences, thoughts and feelings.
A new moon is coming this Sunday, so it is time to get rid off some unwanted energies and cleanse our homes from negativity. So you could use the salt water potion i posted or smudge the house around. Of course most of you know that you begin at the East and end North so you can cast a protective circle, but i just mention it anyway. The most usual smudges are sage and rosemary. But these are n't the only herbs you can makes smudges of. You can use lavender for serenity and peace if there have been fights lately in your family. You can use eucalyptus for healing physical or emotional wounds or damiana that induces euphoria(it is said that it has a similar but milder effect with cannabis if smoked) and is also an afrodisiac as a tea. You can use lemon verbena smudges for health, beauty and lust, which is a great herb. The tea of lemon verbena helps you release the toxins and helps you to manage your weight by enhancing and stimulating your metabolism. I had drunk a cup a day for a week and i went down half a size without changing anything in my diet(although i should!). Plus it tastes great! I will start drinking it again. Other herbs that help with weight loss are flaxseed and anise.
I am considering of writing the physical information of herbs and plants in my BOS as well as their magickal attributes. Sometimes the natural and magickal attributes of a plant are alike. This happens in the case of eucalyptus. Breathing the steams of eucalyptus helps with asthma and colds. In magick eucalyptus has healing powers.
I think i have collected all the herbs i need for the section in my Book so i should begin writing them down.
Blessings to all...

A bit of happy rambling and a protection spell

This is an extremely peculiar time for me, peculiar but in a good way. I realised yesterday that some of my darkest thoughts no longer dwel in my consciousness. Some of my greatest fears seem to no longer affect me. And although the pain of the past is not to be forgotten so this tiny victory is not to be misinterpreted or ignored.
There were times that i thought i could n't make it, that i was neither strong nor patient enough to prevail. I am so thankful for the magick in my life,for those who love me and whom i love, for the Goddess and those who guided me through what seemed as an endless night. I know the fight is not over yet. There are still obstacles ahead. But now i know i can do it. Now i can have faith again, faith to myself and to my future.
Tears are burning my eyes. Happy tears, tears of relief. All these overwhelming emotions are welcome. Such power those emotions have, that i feel i should put it in good use. As a thank you to all my wonderful readers and followers here goes one of my favourite protection spells for the home. You will only need a glass, a spoon, water and some salt.
Mix the water and the salt in the glass until the water seems clear.
Go to the room in the East side of your home and say this chant over the glass.
Water and Earth wherever you are,
no curse could ever be held,
in the home where i reside,
i have the Goddess(or God) 's blessings
Νερο και χωμα οπου βρεθει
καμια καταρα δεν κρατα,
στο σπιτι οπου ζω εγω
εχω την ευλογια απο τη Θεα.
Make sure to cast the spell in every single room of your house as you move clockwise. When you are finished a proctective circle is casted. Leave the glass outside, either to a balcony, or to your garden, but hide it from the evil eye. It is not to be seen by anyone but your family. It will protect your home for as long as there is water in the glass. When it is gone you can do it again. Works better on a New or a Full moon.
Be blessed and love yourselves for who you are.

Book of Shadows and herbs.

Merry meet to all the ladies and lords of Blogland. Today i am in a much better physical shape. I can walk. I do n't cough so much anymore, i do not feel tired all the time, but the best thing of all is i sang today. My voice was gone for so long and i missed it so bad. I sang two arias, not very good, but still i can sing again. I do not think i appreciate my voice enough. It brings me so much pleasure, it alters my state of consciousness, it helps me cope when i have to and it relaxes me.I have to remember that, and cherish it.
On a more witchy kind of note, there is something i have been postponing for way too long, writing down on my BOS the most important herbs in my craft. I have been avoiding it mostly because it is time consuming but also because i am afraid i will forget something.I will not keep them in an alphabetical order so i can work on this "chapter" for a while and add whatever i want to in the process.
Although, i strongly believe in having real books as BOS, it is difficult to add or change something on them. But they worth it. Every time i see my BOS i feel a rush of power, just like my box of ashes. The rest of my tools are n't as important. My athame, my bell they can all be replaced. But my BOS and my box of ashes are staying in the family, hopefully long after i am gone! So i have to do it properly without mistakes. Of course, the book is growing as i am growing but i still feel i should be really careful. Have you written down your most important herbs and their correspondences on your BOS? Have you categorised them?

Grrrrr!

Since i am the non smoker of the family, everybody seem to take from me my lighters(steal is kinda harsh word hah?) and i can not have my ritual. This is the second time this week.For the love of Goddess, what 's a girl to do? Bang rocks together? It is a shame too, because i have picked up like a million pine needles to burn!
By the way we have a new government. Lets hope to some big changes in every single thing, and less corruption. Crossed fingers for this wish!
I sprung my ankle. You can say this is not my week! I knew that my box of ashes on the floor was a bad omen! In our whole garden there is a teeny tiny hole and of course, i stepped into it! If I was n't in pain i would kick myself in the a..! How clumplsy can a person be?
Petros has my lighter-s and i can not have my ritual(i wish i have figured it out before decorating the whole frigging living room with a limp!). So instead i will write my wish on a leaf and let it fly to the wind, because by the time he is back i will be sleeping! Do you have any idea of how i could celebrate without fire? I have done the leaf spell in the past and it was beautiful, but still, there were candles burning. I can not operate ike that people! Woooo! I am pissed off! Inhaling happy thoughts exhaling negativity, anger, frustration, need to swear, need to yell. Oh the list is big.
Happy Esbat to all of you who have a lighter around!

The Esbat and some protection tools..

Good morning. Happy Esbat to all. I hope that we will all have tonight the opportunity to celebrate and admire Her beauty. Here we have elections and the whole country is hoping for better days to come. I am optimistic. The election day falls on a full moon. It must mean something.
Today i woke up with a horrible headache. Aspirin's effect has n't kicked in yet. So celebrating will start as soon as i stop seeing dots. I am probably not doing the best possible thing by "inhaling" coffee since i woke up, but i can't help it, i need my coffee. Maybe on the new moon i will wish for the end of this addiction, but screw it! It is too good!
As i already told you we have elections here. What i have n't told you is that because i keep postponing to bring my papers closer to home i have to do a road trip today. I am trying so hard to see the bright side here, but the roads today will be crazy full and traffic jams with headaches don't mix very well. Although, i have n't left the house since i came down with the cold, so hopefully i will have a good time.
The weirdest thing has happened yesterday. When i walked into my office i saw my box of ashes lying on the floor face down. It creeped me out since my fur babies did not have access to it(door was closed) and even if they did they could not reach it(my altar is a shelf on my bookcase, and the box was behind the other items, but the only thing down on the floor was the box.If up there, which is pretty hard, he would have to drop everything else first) . I am trying to find a reasonable explanation, but i can't. No matter what happened my family heritage on the floor could not be a good sign. So although tonight i was planning for a prosperity spell, i will dedicate my ritual to protection. For incense i will use rosemary, thyme and sage. Instead of gold candles that i was originally going to use, i will burn red ones. And a great spell that translates something like
We are light, our love is stronger than you, you can not hurt us, darkness go away from our home, not even shadows can live here.
For those of you who can read greek here it is:
"Ειμαστε φως
ΕΙμαστε πολυ δυνατοι για εσενα
Δεν εχεις πως
να μας κανεις κακο κανενα
Γυρνα πισω αναμεσα στις σκιες που ανηκεις
Εδω ειναι αγαπη δεν εχεις ελπιδα νικης"
In greek sounds so much better. For starters it rhymes.
Anyhooo, if you want to protect your home the best tools are rosemary and sage for smudges or incense. Plant common rue in a pot and keep it on a balcony of your home. It drains all the negative energy from a house and the intense smell is supposed to keep away malevolant spirits. On the other hand, bay leaves are great for protection, but also enhances the power of your other herbs, like mandric root does. Mandric root and ginger make great protection potions if you boil them with water. But do not ever drink it, cause mandric root is toxic! Just keep it in a small bottle on a window, or bury it in your garden if you are lucky enough to have one. Last but not least red candles are very powerful, but they are ruled by Mars, so be extra careful what you wish for. If you have not mastered yet your visualising skills prefer white candles.
Have a blessed Esbat.

Still down..

Greetings to all the blogoworld. I am still sick but i have my voice back and i do not sound anymore like i recently had a sex change operation. Fever is down, i breathe through my nose(yeeiih)and the antibiotics seem to be working just fine. But i hate missing out on Autumn especially because the weather this week has been great. I feel the forests inviting me to walk them. But i can't! I am stuck here. So i tried crafting again. I cut paper(lots of it) into leaves and i painted some of them in a soft golden brown colour and some of them in a soft red colour. Then i scotchtaped them to a light pink wall in the living room. Originally i wanted to put them on the wall above the fireplace but it is painted in a dark colour and they did not look good.
Until recently i only thought seasonal decorating is something you do before Christmas but i have been following jaz 's blog for a while, and well, she inspired me..a lot. I love the way my house is changing like the season does. Petros says if i keep on doing it, that it will end up looking like a cafe. But what is wrong with that?
Anyway, an Esbat is arriving. I plan on celebrating Her beauty with some cleansing both body and house, some meditating, incense burning, chanting and spending time wih Petros. I will make a pop roast and a pie. And i am going to have a ritual Autumn bath,with a mix of herbs like lemon Verbena, rosemary, lavender. I will prepare some lavender sea salts as well. I can't wait for the Esbat to arrive. It is going to be so much fun.
I was thinking of adding some new practices to my craft. I do not use many shamanic tools so i will give them a shot. I am thinking of drums and humming. Maybe i will record something for meditation. Does any of you have any shamanic potions that i could make?