To Strengthen A Tarot Reading...

"Wisest Ashataroth, please send,
Your guidance and your wisdom lend.
Help me read with clarity,
And speak the truth,
-So mote it be."

(This is my oldest and very first tarot deck that I was ever to purchase, at the tender age of 14. The cards are stained, and bent, corners furling, over used, and much loved. The jewelry is a tiny little ethically sourced real bat skull, painted in a jade green.)

The tarot card was first invented during the 15th Century, originally as part of numerous card games. They did indeed begin life, as a simple pack of playing cards.
 First making an appearance in Europe, the cards were most commonly associated with France and Italy.

Later on in life, Romania took the art of Tarot as a form for trade.
It is hard for us to picture a gypsy clan, without a wonderful old woman, covered in shawls, at her caravan doorstop, beckoning you inside to have your cards or your palm read.

There is evidence in written form that some sort of divination was placed into these cards in 1540, But it wasn't until the 18th Century, they became a common symbol of the occult and began to be used in divination and magic routinely.

Some of the french free-masons make connections with the pictograms on the cards to the ancient egyptian gods. For example they believed the card we now commonly know as 'The High Priestess' was a representation of Isis.

They also believe that the very word 'Tarot' comes from the Egyptian words 'Tar' and 'Ro' - literally translating to the Royal Road of Life.

The Tarot deck has been used worldwide, and can be found in documentation dating back through many famous characters.
Casanova stated in 1765 that one of his Russian mistresses was constantly using her own deck for divining life's intentions.

A typical tarot deck is made up of 78 cards, and is split into two parts.
The Major and Minor Arcana.
There are hundreds of decks out in the world, and the best way to learn is to find a deck that suits you, read through the accompanying book, and then teach yourself the cards. Feel them out for yourself.

There is a lot of bad press for tarot, with cards such as 'The Devil', 'Death', and 'Judgement', unknowing people tend to see tarot and in fact divination as a whole, as communing with the dead. Which is not the case.

 Most divination is no more dangerous than reading your horoscope. Something most people (even the most judgmental of witchcraft) will do everyday, whilst reading the daily paper.

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Happy fortune telling, my gypsy sisters!

Feel free to share your decks with me, I love to see other peoples tools.

Crystals

Full Moons are the perfect time to get out my crystal collection, and charge a few of them. I have a basket of them on my nightstand, I have them strung around my neck, I have them hidden throughout my house in charm bags, I have them under my pillow, and in my lovers pillow. They give us strength, and protection, they can help us in tasks, and aid us in our daily life. Nearly as well as the use of herbs and oils.

 My favourite stone is Lapis Lazuli - it is just insanely beautiful.
Did you know that the ancient Egyptians used to bury lapis lazuli with their dead?? They believed it offered protection.
In early cultures it was valued more highly than gold! That's what a girl really wants!
For personal use, this crystal is great for opening up your chakras, and generally making you more acceptant to powers around you, makes things clearer for you. It is also thought to be a great crystal for friendship, so it makes a wonderful gift to close friends.

Rose Quartz is another key crystal to me. There are three on my altar at all times. One huge rough chunk, and two smaller cut crystals. Last Samhain they were used in my ritual to say goodbye to the pets I had lost that year. My two rats Bonnie, and Wolfey; and my old girl, Sheba. The dog I had from the age of 7 till I reached 20. I loved them all, and I felt a need to honour their memories. They all left me for the Summerlands at different times, but now those crystals on my altar are a daily reminder of my love for them, and bring forth happy memories. 

Rose Quartz is a crystal of unconditional love. And whilst it is often used to entice sensuality, it is also a calming and reassuring crystal; making it perfect for saying goodbye to loved ones, as well as blossoming romance. 

Do you have any special crystals?
Tell me your favourites?

Good Old Lavender

Lavender is probably one of the most common herbs/plants that everyday people know about and use. They'll have a lavender bubble bath to help them sleep, a lavender mist spray for their pillows.

Lavender is definitely not one of my favourite scents, but I cant deny it's properties.
I bathe in the stuff, literally.
In summer I put lavender in my lemonade.
And when I'm stressed nothing is more soothing than cooking up a batch of Lavender biscuits. (Look below for the recipe.)

Part of this trust in Lavender has to come from my nan. Any ailment, and illness; "Put Lavender on it!"

Lavender is the most recognized smells in the world. And is known mostly for it's aids in sleep and reducing stress.

 It's even good on a biological level, as it attracts lots of bees, due to it's excess pollen. And the worlds bees are in serious crisis right now.

It has amazing skills in reducing migraines and headaches.
It soothes and calms the nerves.
It aids in all types of skin problems; burns, insect bites, sunburn, acne, abscesses...
It's an antisceptic.
It's great for depression, and anxiety.

The flowers are the part of the Lavender plant that we used, the dried buds and flowers. These flowers should be collected between early summer and early fall, just before they open. It's then very easy to dry them at room temperature, so they're ready for you to make into an oil, make a tea with, or pop into these delicious biscuits below.

Recipe for Vegan Lavender Biscuits

Ingredients;

2 tbsps homegrown Lavender buds

100g Plant Based Butter

50g Caster Sugar
100g Plain Flour

Directions;

Mix your butter and sugar together, like a normal cake batter.
Pour in your flour a little at a time, and getting your hands in there, mix it in.
Now add your lavender, and give it a thorough mix. 

Get 2 spoons and dollop the mixture onto grease proof paper.

This size recipe will make about 6 - 8 biscuits.

Chuck the biscuits into the oven, on a medium heat, on the center shelf.
Cook until slightly browning.
Roughly 15 minutes.

And it's that simple!
Aromatherapy in a biscuit. And a quick healing fix, for those tough days.

Money Magic

I think it's safe to say, that most of us have been experiencing financial difficulties.
We're told on a nearly daily basis, that our country is in a crisis.
We are broken.
Broken Britain, is a catch phrase slung around constantly.

But I'm not here to talk about politics.
I'm here to give you some magical tips to get some money flowing in!

We could all use some aid from the otherside with wealth...
So let me tell you how to ask for this help.

Shockingly, my tips focus around your wallet/purse.

Lets take a look shall we.

Firstly, chuck out all those receipts
Hoarding them in all those nooks and crannies, represents all that money going out. Creating negativity, and promoting financial outgoings.
So get rid of them!

Now, what should you have in your wallet?

Peridot Gemstones vibrate towards frequent increase, which makes them handy for money magic. It is also said to protect any existing money in your possession.

Green Adventurine is thought to be the luckiest stone, and is often referred to as the 'Stone of Oppurtunity'. By carrying it in ones purse, you are optomising the chance of money being given to you. It helps us move through lifes obstacles, and aids us in motivation.

Tigers Eye is a great stone for wealth and money manifestation. It brings luck, but is also grounding, so we don't get carried away with our income. And as an added bonus, it's a wonderful talisman for protection.

Citrine is also known less commonly as the 'Success Stone' - what else do you need?! It is the crystal of abundance! It brings about feelings of generosity to those around you and to you yourself, so that new abundance can be rightfully shared. It is the chakra crystal for the solar plexus, and is used often for personal power to be increased. It helps us focus and achieve our goals.

And for an extra umph! add a clear quartz aswell. Quartz is a boost for any other crystals, so it will enhance their effectiveness.

Pick two or three crystals that work out for you, and store them in with your coins.

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And lastly you can get some fresh mint.
Dry it, and then sprinkle it into your purse.

Mint is the herb of prosperity, and is often used to aid money growth, along with it's more common uses for headaches and digestion.

Give it a go, and try and balance out your bank balance.

Love and Light to you all.

Jade

xx

Let's talk about tarot...

...discussing my tarot decks, how I store my decks, and some pointers on choosing your own.

There are a lot of differing opinions when it comes to most things magic related, so go with what feels right for you.

   These are just my experiences and my opinions.

Any questions feel free to drop me a message.
xx

A beginners beginning to tea leaves

Today, I'm going to show you the very basics to doing a reading for yourself with tea-leaves.

If you have any questions, or want to know more feel free to ask me in the comments,

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The first thing to talk about is the cup itself.
Obviously this type of divination has to be done in a teacup, preferably one with a wider rim.

The top or rim of the cup, represents the present. Any shapes here show your current situations and events.
The middle of the cup, is the near future - things that will soon come to pass.
And the base, is your distant future. And yes we can literally be talking years here.

Symbols seen closer to the handle tend to represent you (or the person being read for)
And when symbols fall close together in your teacup they will probably be correlated events.

 The Method.

Brew yourself a pot of loose-leaf tea. Earl-grey is a great one to use. My local occult stockist recommends loose green tea. But find what works for you, something that doesn't hugely unfurl into giant leaves.
 Once brewed, without using a strainer pour yourself a cup.
You may have to repeat this process, and drink through a few cups, to get a generous amount of tea-leafs in your teacup.
As you drink meditate on a question - or just try and clear your mind.

When only a small amount of liquid remains, take the cup in your dominant hand.
Swirl what remains clockwise, three times.
(Remember 3 is a magic number!)
And now upend your cup into your saucer.

Now....here, some diviners will rotate the cup whilst face down to the saucer, three full turns - again clockwise. It is not done by everyone, and again it's about what feels right to you.
Personally I find it very noisy, and not necessarily the best way to treat your china. If you have done these steps correctly, and measured your liquid and tea-leaf amount effectively - this does come with practice, so stay patient my pretties - you should be left with leaves stuck to your cup, when you turn it up the right way again.

This is what you read from.
If you become more experienced, you can branch into reading the remains of your saucer aswell.

It is up to you to find the shapes and symbols in your cup.
There are plenty of books and online resources to help you find the shape meanings. But, I wouldn't look at these, until you have found the shapes.

Otherwise you might end up seeing what you want to see.
Someone craving a relationship might see a heart in the cup that is not really there.

Sometimes there might be a lot of symbols in one reading, sometimes it might be a solitary shape...and sometimes it might be nothing at all.
 Don't force yourselves to find things. Wash your cup out and try again tomorrow.
It might not be the right time for a reading.

Like with tarot it is worth keeping a journal of tea-leaf reading to see how your reading pan out in reality.
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This is one of my readings.

(I use the Edwardian Divination cup. The markings on the cup are for an old party game used in the early 1900s. You don't have to use these, and your everyday teacup will work for divination just fine.

I enjoy the markings though - and it makes the divination seem even more magical.)

There was only one shape I could find here.

A Dog.

Do you see it?

 The dog means 'Loyal friends and associates will support you in everything you do, so don't be afraid to ask for help.'

The dog is at the very base of my cup, pertaining to my needing this 'help' a long time in the future. However the dog is also very, very close to the handle. This would suggest that whatever happens, is going to affect me directly and personally.

The trick with tea reading is that it relies a lot on your own intuition. This can make it a bit daunting - the rules are not as clear cut as with tarot of palmistry. You will see what needs to be seen.

Let me know if you give this a try,
I'd love to see how you get on.

My All Hallows Eve In Pictures

My little altar set-up.

Featuring images, and representations of the dead who've passed. Mulled Cider to toast the Gods, dedicated Samhain Candles, loose incense, and an apple to share.

In the woods, lit only by candlelight - I segmented my apple in thanks for the harvest we've received. I ate some slices, and buried the rest, as a gift back to the earth.

"As above, so below!"

Every Samhain I end the night with a 12 card Celtic New Year Spread - I pull a card for every upcoming month, October to October. Making sure I write down what I've pulled in my tarot journal.

I hope everyone had a wonderful and magical Samhain, however you celebrated.

Blessed Be!