A 21st Century Wheel of the Year: Release at Samhain

The Druid's Garden

Samhain. The time of no time, the time of the ancestors, the time of the wild hunt. The time when darkness blankets the land, the frost covers the landscape, and many things die. Here in the hemisphere, this signals the end of the fall months and the beginning of the long and dark cold of the winter. I always feel like Samhain is when we get our first hard frost. The first frost cuts through the land, tearing through tender annuals like tomatoes and basil, freezing the tips of the last of the aster and goldenrod, and hastening the annual dropping of the leaves. It leaves a wake of brown and death in its stead, and signals clearly that summer is over and winter is soon to come.

Nature Mandala

In my first post on this series (Receptivity at the Fall Equinox), I made the case that the…

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How to Let Go

secretsoftheserpent

I have told people you before I am not much on meditating. I have nothing against it, but I see it as wasting time. Well in the sense that the western world meditates. Meditation in the western world is an escape mechanism. People concentrate on something, someone or some event and think it is making them present to the moment when all it is doing is letting them escape their problems temporarily. It will help you concentrate but not make you feel better. If you really want growth you must use mindfulness. Instead of trying to forget your problems you need to focus on your problems directly.

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The Glass Floor and Ceiling

secretsoftheserpent

Every human being is trapped above a certain floor and below a certain ceiling of success. It is an invisible prison. Whenever you venture below that floor an invisible force pulls you back up and when you venture above the ceiling that same invisible force pulls you back down. You think you have free will and you think you are free, but you are only free as long as its not above this ceiling and below this floor.

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Nasty Plants and the Reasons to Love Them

The Herb Society of America Blog

by Erin Holden

Scrunched up faces. Tongues sticking out. Sounds of choking and disgust. Unfortunately this is the usual reaction when I’m finally able to coax someone into trying medicinal herbs. When we move past the more pleasant plants like lavender, chamomile, and peppermint and delve into the deeper waters of herbal medicine, not everything is so user-friendly. Many plants taste bitter, smell like old socks, or even feel slimy. But often, it’s these same nasty characteristics that provide the therapeutic benefits we’re looking for. Let’s take a look at a few plants and see what makes them so “nasty” as well as useful.

Valerian (Valeriana officinalis)
Many people may be familiar with the distinctive aroma of valerian root; old socks, wet dog, and horse manure are just a few things to which the odor has been affectionately compared. In fact, the constituent responsible for the smell, valeric…

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Self Esteem

secretsoftheserpent

As human beings we are always scanning our environment and assessing where we stand. On the totem pole of value we want to know if we are near the top, near the bottom or somewhere in-between. Based on what you think, you are going to have a certain amount of inner resources. You will have certain amount of confidence, charisma and expression and it is all dictated by where you think you stand in a certain environment at some point and time. Here is the secret. People are run by this. Depending on the situation they have a little more or a little less of the internal resources. This is the life of everyone on this planet.

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Druid Tree Workings: Intuitive Tree Sigils and Tree Sigil Magic

The Druid's Garden

Nature provides incredible opportunities for us to work with her magic, through symbolism, sacred geometry, and meditation. Today, I wanted to share a technique I’ve been developing for land healing purposes–tree sigil work.

A potential tree to work with for tree sigils

Sigils have many different purposes. In classic Western Occultism, some of the most well-known sigils are found in the Lesser Key of Solomon and are used to identify and evoke a particular spirit or entity. Another more recent use of sigils is through the practice of Chaos magic, where sigils are often used to set an intention and use the image to focus on that intention. I covered bardic intuitive sigils some time ago on this blog; this use is in line more with the second intention. Sigils can be meditated upon, carved into wood or stone, energized and blessed, burned or buried, or placed in key areas…

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Live Life Like a Myth

secretsoftheserpent

I have made it a mission lately to observe other people and see what kind of energy they are addicted to. Talking to teachers they are telling me this is the worst time of their career because of the young kids coming off of virtual learning they have been doing for over a year. It’s not just the young kids it’s everyone. The teachers are just having to deal with the apple not falling far from the tree. Whatever someone’s energy addiction is to them then their quality of life will be aligned to it as well.

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CRYSTAL HEALING SUPPORT FOR LOSS & GRIEF

I lost a very dear friend a couple of weeks ago – my oldest and dearest friend.

For a child who was often bullied, abused, and rejected, her friendship was a safe haven and great blessing that was so deeply needed and cherished by me.

We’d been friends since the age of 13, and she was the one who first drew me onto the spiritual path and opened my mind and heart to mysticism.

There are kindred souls who weave themselves inextricably into the fabric of our lives – they join us on our path, and no matter how far some may stray, they never leave us.

Until they do.

I know many of us have lost people in the past year, and many more are carrying a sense of grief from all that has happened, and continues to happen, in this world.

In many ways grief in such a tender and sacred thing. We carry it with us like a fragile egg that breaks over and over again with a deep in-welling, and then outpouring, of pain and emotion.

Read original article at: Krista Mitchell ~ Crystal Healing Support for Loss & Grief

DID YOU KNOW Dr. Lee Ostler Published A Critically Important Book?

DID YOU KNOW that Dr. Lee Ostler has just published a critically important book?

We are so excited about this 358-page thorough introduction to and overview of Redox Biology, including foundational redox principles, redox signaling molecules and the science behind them, and practical redox applications regarding health and disease.

“Dr. Ostler has hit the sweet spot of explaining the science of redox to both health professionals and the science-aware public. There are many in both categories who will embrace this book with the same enthusiasm as I have.”~ Dick Walker MD

Go to https://redoxmatters.com/ for a book summary and for ordering Redox Matters: Connecting the Dots Between Redox Biology and Health. You will find a link for placing your order where you can also view the table of contents!

DR. LEE OSTLER received a bachelor’s degree in Biology/Zoology with an emphasis in biochemistry and physiology. He earned a Doctor of Dental Surgery degree and also received training in Advanced Dental Studies. He is a founding member, past President, and executive board member of the American Academy for Oral Systemic Health, an international organization focusing on co-management of oral-systemic healthcare for health professionals. He is the founder and program chair for the Eastern Washington Medical-Dental Summit, an annual gathering of physicians, dentists, and allied health professionals, and is the author of several books.

Sacred Actions: Doing our Bit in the World

The Druid's Garden

Sacred action is all about us learning how to align our outer lives with our inner core of nature spirituality and connectedness, and ultimately, help us live more regeneratively and with care. Sacred action is about doing small, slow things in our own lives to better align with our sacred nature-based spiritual practices and the living earth. It is through these seemingly mundane changes that we create a better today, a better tomorrow, and a better world.

Sacred Actions – A new graphic for the Sacred Actions wheel of the year

Sacred refers to things that are connected, meaningful, reverent, or somehow tied to our sense of the spiritual or the divine. Most of the time, this word is used in relation to things that are not part of mundane life: these are the special moments, ceremonies, or spiritual insights that impact us deeply. When we experience a sense of…

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