Sacred Tree Profile: Black Locust’s Medicine, Magic, Mythology and Meanings

Black locust in bloom

Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) is a spiny, scraggly tree that is found abundantly along the US East Coast. Very little is written about this tree from a magical or mythological perspective, although certainly, anyone who works wood or practices permaculture is aware of the more tangible benefits this tree provides. In today’s post, we explore this amazing tree and start building some more specific magical knowledge to incorporate this tree into local druidic or nature-spirituality practices.

My parents’ land in Western PA, land where I grew up, consisted primarily of old potato fields. We had two sets of tree lines where the farmers had let the trees grow; these lines were full of huge cherry and maple trees grew. In between those tree lines as the land sloped down the mountain were open areas populated with blackberry bushes, hawthorn, and black locusts–several acres of them…

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Full Crone Moon | Heart Opening Cacao Ceremony

Happy Full Crone Moon & 11/11 Gateway!

The energy has been building in intensity over this entire month leading us to this fabulous Full Moon in Taurus.

November is providing us with so many astrological and cosmic lessons!

On 11/11 this month there is what is known as a “gateway” or cosmic portal opening up. This 11/11 gateway is meant to expand consciousness, upgrade our intuition, heighten our abilities, bring about self healing and gives us access to new spiritual wisdom.

On the 11th, Mercury is in conjunction with the Sun. Mercury, our innermost planet of the solar system will pass right in front of the Sun. It will even be visible to many in North America. This event rarely happens and won’t happen again until the year 2032.

Mercury represents the mind, communication and the intellect, passing in front of the light of the Sun will bring us new awareness, answers to big questions we’ve been asking and gives us access to other new information the entire planet has been asking for. The fact that it happens on the 11th is huge!

11 is a very powerful number. In Numerology there are 3 master numbers, 11, 22, and 33. 11 represents intuition, instant karma and manifestation. There is a reason we make wishes when we see 11:11 on the clock! This number represents access to the higher realms, connecting the subconscious to the conscious and manifesting our goals and dreams into physical reality.

Full Moon in Taurus 11/11 gateway cacao ceremony Spirit de la Lune

This 11/11 gateway lining up just before the Full Moon on the 12th is a very powerful occurrence! Some say it’s the most magical day of the year. 11/11 acts as a doorway that we choose to “walk through” whenever we notice it.

Earth is currently going through a mass awakening. You might be noticing repeating numbers 1111, 222, etc. You might even notice sequential numbers like 1234. This is a sign that you are currently “walking through” these gateways, downloading new information, and being given access to new gifts, upgrades and a higher consciousness.

This clears out old programming and helps you step into a new and better version of you. Be aware, this can trigger the ego a bit… in order for you to notice what needs clearing.

This portal/gateway lasts a few days and the energy can be intense. One of the best ways to access this portal and step through the “gateway” is actually through the heart chakra, and staying in your heart.

With the New Moon in Taurus on the 12th, we wanted to do a heart chakra ceremony for this special event using the earth medicine of Cacao.

Read complete article at: Spirit de la Lune ~ Full Crone Moon | Heart Opening Cacao Ceremony

The Energies of November 2019

Good Witches Homestead

The last couple of months have brought forward some decidedly intense, transformational currents of energy for us all to negotiate. Hopefully, you are now becoming skilled at riding the waves of change that these energies tend to promote because November’s energy flow seems to have a focus on promoting further evolutionary growth. This is a month to allow everything that you are not, to dissolve with as much ease and grace as you can manage so that you can integrate more of your true self.

The energies incoming through the 11-11 gateway will as always, contain positive high-frequency light codes that will stimulate soul alignment and greater connection with our divine self. Mercury will be retrograde and conjunct the sun in Scorpio over this period which will provide exactly the right energetic focus to help us go within and connect with what is important for us at an inner level…

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What is the Devil?

Awen, Bardic Arts, and the Ancestors

The Druid's Garden

The time between Samhain and Yule is always a time of deep reflection for me. As a homesteader, this represents the end of the season– the first frost happened in the week I was drafting this post, making everything curl up and die. By the time late November comes around, any major outdoor projects are complete for the year. We anticipate, even embrace, the winter months when snow carpets the ground and all is frozen and still. While in the light half of the year, I spend most of my spare time gardening, doing various permaculture projects, or just being outside in the summer. In the dark half of the year, this is when I turn to more inward-focused bardic arts, more intense practice of my magic and journeying, and learning from books of all kinds. So as we move into the dark half of the year, I’ll be spending…

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ALLOWING FEAR TO BE YOUR TEACHER: CRYSTAL HEALING FOR THE SCORPIO NEW MOON

We entered the Scorpio new moon phase last night at 11:39pm ET, and I had trouble sleeping.

Anxiety, fears, shadow aspects coming up.

Scorpio is all about the dark places, the hidden and unseen, our innermost motivations and desires. It’s intensity, death, lust, magick, psychism, power, deep emotions, and manifestation.

Scorpio moons tend to have a powerful effect on me, but especially the new moon which occurs here in the North during what’s considered the descent – the dark time of the year – before the reemergence of the sun’s power at the winter solstice.

It’s a time for introspection and preparation – but for what? For an inevitable healing and growth period.

If we follow the wheel of the year, we’ve spent the first three quarters working towards our goals and harvests, actual or symbolic. It’s an active time of doing, achieving, failing, succeeding, and continuing on. Sometimes we stay on track, sometimes we stray. And sometimes, we discover that what we’ve been working towards isn’t quite what’s working for us or making us happy.

This time of year forces us to pause, reflect, and take a good hard look at what’s in the darker parts of ourselves. Our fears, shames, insecurities, ignored intuitions, lack of attention, are all things that are part of what make us human, and also the building blocks for what holds us back.

We like to avoid these things, and yet, if we approach them as teachers, they are enormous healing allies.

Crystals that help you to face and converse with your fears isn’t as popular a topic as crystals that help you to diminish your feelings of anxiety, or protect your energy. Let’s be real: we like to avoid what feels like sh**.

Read complete article at: Krista Mitchell ~ Allowing Fear To Be Your Teacher: Crystal Healing For The Scorpio New Moon

Third Moon of Autumn

New Moon in Scorpio: Crone Moon Energy Update

We are officially in Scorpio Season! The New Moon joins the Sun in the watery sign of Scorpio, and in a few short days… Mercury will be going retrograde in Scorpio as well!

This will bring us all a series of events and developments that we didn’t even know we needed to help awaken our potential.

This New Moon in Scorpio is bringing us in highly charged energy to assist us during our rebirth this season. What has been hidden will be uncovered, and what has been asleep will be stirred awake.

Prepare to dig deep! Unhealed wounds, childhood traumas and other unaddressed scars are likely to come up as we move through this “underworld.”

Don’t be afraid to step into this and to feel your feelings fully. This is coming up for a reason. Much of this is to help fully heal these past wounds and integrate the lessons of the year so we can move into 2020 with a new perspective, no longer weighed down by our past.

Read complete article at: Spirit de la Lune ~ New Moon In Scorpio ~ Crone Moon Energy Update

Crystals for Protection during Spirit Communication and Divination

Samhain, All Hallows Eve or Halloween, whichever term you use for it, it is a time of year that can be truly magical and mysterious. Costumes, candy, parties and fun on October 31st is how many pagans celebrate their New Year. It is also the time of year when seances, card reading and divination of all types are attempted as the veil between worlds gets thin so we can reach out to our ancestors and loved ones for guidance. And whether it is cards, runes or spirit boards, being protected from unseen harm is important. So let’s check out some crystals that are helpful for spirit communication and protection.

One of my very favorite crystals for any type of divination is Labradorite. Labradorite can be used to protect the aura from attack or shield it from unwanted energies. It is also connected to the Third Eye and Crown chakras making it very good for connecting to guides, spirits, ancestors or your higher power. It has an excellent balance of protection, transformation, intuition and strength helping you to be open to receive messages from beyond the veil. I use Labradorite with a Clear Quartz point when I am doing card readings. The Clear Quartz, which enhances the properties of crystals used with it, helps to boost my intuition and strengthen the bubble of protection around me.

If being open to connect with spirit is what you want, you could try using some Lapis Lazuli. Lapis Lazuli has long been a stone associated with mystery, divination and for thousands of years associated with the Divine. It is also connected to the Third Eye, Crown and Throat chakras making it wonderful for communication, inner power and intuition. Meditation with Lapis Lazuli can open us up to our higher self or power creating a strong bond to help us move forward in our spiritual journey.

There is also a crystal most everyone is familiar with and is readily available at most shops, Amethyst. Amethyst encourages communication with the divine, spiritual wisdom and can help us bring out our natural psychic abilities. What some consider to be a simple healing crystal, is also a powerful protection stone for blocking negative energy, guarding against psychic attack and helping to keep the aura pure. Connected to the Third Eye and Crown chakras it helps to bring about protection, spirituality and purification.

I always consider protection to be a high priority when I am reading cards or using other forms of divination. I try to use a stone that is connected to my Root chakra to keep me grounded, protected and calm, so my choice for protection is Black Tourmaline. It can block all negative energies on both sides of the veil, clear blockages so that communication can be facilitated easily and protect against psychic attack. I like to imagine a shield of Black Tourmaline around me while holding it in my hand as I prepare for a card reading session.

These are but a few crystals that you can use during divination and there are many more to be explored. Always trust you instincts when choosing crystals to assist in your divination work and you can never go wrong!

Many Blessings
Terreasa Burgess, CCH and owner, Enchanted Thyme Gift Shop / Facebook Page

New Moon in Scorpio for 2019 | Durgadas Allon Duriel

Good Witches Homestead

Note: Astrology forecasts are inevitably generalized because they can’t account for each individual’s birth chart and how it interfaces with the current planetary positions. This post focuses primarily on the new Moon. Each week, Modern Witch creator Devin Hunter writes a magical astrology forecast for the week as a whole that I encourage you to check out! Also, this post refers to the pure, archetypal forms of the zodiac signs, not what we see in actual people, who each have complex birth charts.

On Sunday, October 27 at 8:38 p.m. PST, the new Moon in Scorpio will rise. New Moons occur when the Sun and Moon conjoin, occupying the same degree of an astrological sign. In a nutshell, this means that our core identity (Sun) and emotions and feelings (Moon), align. They communicate fluently and provide us with greater clarity about ourselves. As the Moon begins a new cycle…

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