Book of Shadows... Chapter 7

My best friend Irish Goddess and I have been working out way through The Book of Shadows by Phyllis Curott. She has been blogging about each chapter, and now I am taking over for a few chapters.
In this chapter, she talks about different methods of divination: runes, tarot cards, the I Ching, etc. What I found most interesting in the chapter is how she describes learning about these, and realizing that the idea that life was predetermined is not true. Many people think these methods of divining the future and past are just that, insights into a predetermined future. But the words she uses to describe it are more perfect than any I can come up with.

"These oracles, these divining tools, are like a lighthouse to a ship at sea. They tell you where the shore is, where the rocks lie, offering guidance in a storm or on a dark and starless night. But, ultimately, the decision as to how to chart our course is your own. Your choices, your free will, your expectations, fears, longings, beliefs all affect the outcome of events."(pg 147-8)

It is interesting that this stood out to me, because Amanda and I were discussing tarot cards just last night. We did a reading a while back, each of us reading for the other, and we both felt so touched by it. Since then she has gotten herself a tarot deck. I've also started using a daily tarot card app on Facebook, with uncanny results. I have been touched more and more lately by the tarot, and hope to learn much more about my decks. Have any of you had any great experiences with tarot? Please share if you have!

Comfort Drawer/Medicine Bag

Sarah Ban Breathnach writes in her book Simple Abundance about a Comfort Drawer. This is meant to be a special drawer that you outfit with all the beautiful things that soothe your soul and make you happy. A place you can escape to: nibble your favorite candy bar, light your favorite incense, draw a bath of the most sensual bubbles, etc. She recommends lining the drawer with beautiful shelf paper and tucking in sachets of your favorite scent as well. This is such an amazing idea. I have started a comfort drawer and hope to keep filling and sweetening it.

Goddess Leonie has an idea that is very similar to this. A medicine bag. This is a bag, real, or psychological, that you fill with the things that heal your aching heart. For me this is a list of things like: eat Nutella, hang out with my bestie (Irish Goddess), and a list of other tried and true methods of healing myself. There is a page included in the 2010 and 2011 versions of the Creating Your Goddess Year workbook and I filled mine out last year. Here is my page filled out for 2010.
There is one more resource that I would like to share with you, to tie this whole crazy blog post together. Allison, over at BrocanteHome wrote about the Comfort Drawer idea. Her take on it was that before the new year we should empty out our Comfort Drawers and take those beautiful things we save for ourselves, and indulge in them on a daily basis, not relegate them to something only for the hard rainy days. I say we should do that with our Medicine Bags as well. Dump them out on our beds, slather on that lavender lotion, eat that dark chocolate, brew that cup of special tea, call our best friends, watch movies that we normally feel guilty about, meditate, hold that beautiful moonstone crystal that almost glows, and more. These are the things that fill my Medicine Bag and Comfort Drawer, but yours might be very different. If watching Star Trek in your snuggie and eating cold chicken is how you find your bliss, then by all means do it! The point here is that beauty and comfort and indulgence don't have to be special occasion events. If you have always wanted a ruffled pillow to rest your feet on while you watch tv, then by all means woman get yourself one!

12 Days of Sick-mas

I had this amazing idea to do a 12 days of Christmas series of posts. And I made it to day 5. Then I got a nasty cold and a stomach flu, which I still can't completely shake. Soooooo I am basically abandoning the commitment I made to myself, so that I wont feel I failed to follow through. I am forgiving myself for this (see previous posts on forgiveness) as I would normally hold onto this and feel awful about it, and myself. But life is life, and the stomach bug is nasty. So we move on and let it go. This might be my body's way of purging itself of the past as well. (I just thought of that right now, and it actually strikes a chord for me!) So with my body purged, and my heart lightened by having forgiven myself for things I had been hoarding away....
the new year should be a beautiful one!

On the Fifth Day of Christmas

On the Fifth Day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Five hilarious E-cards, so I can giggle hysterically
A day off,
3 Lovely linkies to help me be me,
two lovely books that never fail to inspire,
and a beautiful golden mirror so I could truly see!

From the endlessly funny Bluntcard.com





Happy Holidays!!!

On The Fourth Day of Christmas

On the fourth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

A day off. Which is why this post is a day late! :)
Sometimes we need a day off....

On the Third Day of Christmas

On the Third Day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

3 lovely linkies to help me be me,
two lovely books that never fail to inspire,
and a beautiful golden mirror so I can truly see.

These darling links are some of the plethora that I have found online. I am in love with things I can download and print and play with. One of these links is actually something I made to contribute to the global online society, and something I hold dear to my heart.

The Artists Survival Kit by Keri Smith

Pocket Goddess Gratitude Diary by Goddess Leonie ( I will be saying so much more about Goddess Leonie soon as she is one so amazing and I will be doing an extra special giveaway as well!!!)

Forgiveness Workbook by Domesticated Gypsy (My own creation)

For the first and second days of Christmas click here and here

Have a beautiful Holiday my lovelies!

On the Second Day of Christmas

On the Second Day of Christmas My true love gave to me:

Two darling books that never fail to inspire,

and a beautiful golden mirror so I can truly see.

Today I have two wonderful books to share with you, written by one of the sweetest women I have ever known! The author is the amazing Melissa Placzek Melissa Placzek

and the books are "Chin Deep in Bubbles: Little Luxuries for Every Day" and "Welcome Home: Simple Tips for Turning Your House into a Luxurious Retreat."

She hand wrote and illustrated these lovely books... and I have been in LOVE with them from the very first time I saw them. The style is so beautiful and inspiring! She has recipes for food, beauty treatments, decor, etc. I keep these books very close and slip into them with a mug of tea on misty mornings when I am feeling dreamy. She has a blog as well, where she continues to share sweet little luxuries and her personal adventures. Do stop on by there as well!


For the first day of Christmas, click here

Have a lovely day! XOXOXO

On the First Day of Christmas

On the first day of Christmas, my true love gave to me:

A beautiful golden mirror, so I could truly see.

My Golden Mirror

This is taken from one of my all time favorite books, from one of my all time favorite authors. Simple Abundance by Sarah Ban Breathnach.

" Today, find a few minutes to get quiet and journey within. Close your eyes. Visualize a beautiful, large golden mirror surrounded by white shimmering light. This light is Love and it surrounds you, enfolds you, enwraps you, and protects you as you look into the mirror. See the reflection of an extraordinary woman. She is beautiful and radiant. She possesses a strong, healthy, vibrant aura. Her eyes are sparkling and she is smiling warmly at you. Do you know who this woman is? You feel as if you have known her all your life. And you have. She is your authentic self. Spend a few moments with her now. What is she doing? How is she doing it? Visit her as often as you life. She is waiting to help you find your way as you make the journey of self-discovery.
There are days when we all fear the harsh glare of the looking glass, but there is never a time when you should hesitate to encounter the woman in the golden mirror. She is the highest reflection of your soul, the embodiment of the perfect woman who resides within and she sends you Love to light your path."

Mystery Giveaway over At Irish Goddess

My very dear friend Irish Goddess is having a sweet mystery giveaway over at her blog "Irish Goddess." She is celebrating a personal milestone, and wants to spread the love. The contents of the Goddess Mystery Box are just that... a mystery. Hee hee hee. I have to tell you though, I know some of what is going in (and I'm contributing a few sweet little Goddess goodies I've created) so who ever is lucky enough to win is going to be very very happy! Click on over to her blog and enter this giveaway!

Welcome December.... Month of Forgiving Myself

Hello December... how bright and white and shiny and covered in snow you are! I am open to the new possibilities that you offer! I have had a rough year, and I really need to feel that magical Christmas feeling this year to remind me.

So here are a few things that this month has to offer:

CSN Stores (online purveyors of everything from briefcases to bedroom furnishing sets) has offered to let me do a product review. They are who facilitated my blog giveaway in October with a gift certificate for $45. This time I get to pick out a product of my choosing, and review it. With over 200 websites, I am sure I can find something I will love! Look for an honest product review later this month.

Forgiveness: something that I find hard to come by when I look in the mirror. I started the 31 Days of Forgiveness project for that very reason. Click here to read my original post on it and to download the sweet little workbook I put together. I am hoping to post every day about this, but I will forgive myself if I am not perfect! :) See how easy that is!

I have a bunch of information that I have found online about forgiveness that I want to pass along to you. I know it isn't an easy thing to do, but it will be so worth it! Trust me! Click here for a great series of articles on Rituals for Forgiveness. Yes, it's from Oprah.com, and yes I think she is fabulous. Girl Powah and Oprah are practically synonyms of each other!

XOXO