Healing spell with the Celtic Lenormand

Yesterday was the day of the full moon and inspired by Chloe from Inner Whispers, I decided this would the perfect time to create a healing spell for myself with the Celtic Lenormand by Chloe McCracken and Will Worthington. 

Chloe has been talking and writing about how to implement magic into our daily life. Her approach is very down to earth but with lots of room for mystery and enchantment. After having read about her ideas about magic and watched her video’s, I thought performing this spell  would be a beneficial and proactive approach to my current situation. For me a Spell is something between a prayer with props to focus on and an affirmation made visual. I believe there is something magical about intention combined with ritual, words and representations of the intent.

Before I started creating my spell I first performed my own little ritual to break in a brand new deck. First I set  up sacred space with a few items to represent the elements and then I divided the deck in nine stacks and put it back together again. I repeated this three times while thinking of my intent for the usage of these cards.

Then I flipped through the deck to find  some appropriate cards for my healing spell:

Situation (left) – Mountain (21) and Clouds (6)

As of late I am feeling depressed and weighed down. It is very difficult  for me to move from this clouded and obstructed place

What do I want? (right)- Sun (31)and Lily (30)

I want to life a happy life; to feel  more confident and good about myself ; to let my inner light shine . Also I seek inner peace and harmony

How do I bridge this gap? (middle)– Heart (24),Burial Mound (8) and Owls (12)

With lots of Love (including self love)and inner wisdom I will enter that dark place to learn what is hidden and let go what no longer serves me.  I will come out more compassionate, happy, loving  and a lot wiser

I will leave this spell on my altar until the dark moon when I shall revisit it, see how I’m doing and maybe make some changes for the new moon.

Brat Bride update

I've just hung my Brat Bride in a shrub in our back garden. It felt very special to perform this little ritual. The sky was clear so the moon was visible which added  a little extra touch of magic to it.

M was so kind to take a picture of my Brat Bride with her DSLR camera.

A Brat Bride Tarot spread

On the evening of January 31, the day before the Feast of Brigid, women in Ireland put a piece of cloth  on a shrub or hedge and left it  outside all night. This is the Brat Bride. The piece of cloth symbolized the mantle of Brigid, a Celtic goddess who brings healing and protection.

The dew and perhaps the snow that falls on the night of January 31, is Brigid’s and has healing properties  for body and soul. The cloth was kept throughout the year in a special place and came out when someone was sick as a tangible prayer for healing.

I’ve made my own version of the Brat Bride of a white handkerchief which I decorated with a little clover charm to give it a Celtic touch

I’ve done the following  three card tarot reading  with the Gaian tarot to put my intent into it before putting it outside this evening

1: What is my wish to imbed in my cloth?

The Gardener. What an apt card for this reading  since Brigid is the Goddess of creativity.  The wish I imprint in this cloth is to express my creativity freely and abundantly.

2: In what reoccurring situation, is it beneficial for me to call Brigid for help?

Whenever I feel insecure if I am on the right path, I can call on her for guidance and wisdom

3: How is Brigid’s healing dew offering me help and guidance during the year?

She will teach me to be patient and to see nature as a metaphor of the Divine. Nature is our most precious healer so it will be very beneficial to my health to go outside and find God(dess)

Dedicate the cloth with these words 

(they will transform your reading in a kind of tarot spell/intention):

I dedicate my Brat Bride to Creative Freedom. (name the wish, card 1).

I call on Brigid for help when I feel lost (the situation, card 2).

The healing dew Brigid offers me will help me by developing  patience and reconnecting with nature...... (card 3).

Tonight I will lay down my cloth on a shrub in our garden and be patient……

Source: Berthevan Soest

Yule contemplation with the Wildwood tarot

The Hooded Man

About two months ago I’d decided to observe the turning of the wheel according to The Wildwood Tarot. I have the feeling this deck can teach me a lot about the hidden influences of, and help me find deeper, more spiritual and psychological meaning in the seasons and the holidays. I've tried before to be more structured in observing these yearly changes but as with so many things I am passionate about in the beginning, I have the obnoxious habit to let things slide and worse forget all about them.

This is one of the main reasons I've bought this tarot deck. To have a structure, a backbone to rely on when I am a little bit lost in the Woods J

So the first holiday  to study with this deck is Yule or Midwinter. The time of the shortest day and longest night, my favorite holiday (in combination with Christmas). I feel  a bit like The Wanderer starting my journey into the unknown….

The first archetypal energies, associated with midwinter, I encounter are:

The Great Bear

The Hooded Man (Hermit): A healing silence, withdrawal, inner light and wisdom. He is just about to enter through the door into the illuminated inside of the oak tree. There he will find the most  profound knowledge. This is a time for stillness, for listening, for regaining strength for the coming year. The light of his lantern will cast away the darkness, the fear.

 The great Bear(Judgement):  you reap what you've sown, rebirth , new beginning. This card represents a time for further waiting, transforming and contemplating but more focused on the coming spring

The Moon on Water (The Moon): reflection, intuition, the unconscious,  initiation, potential, creative energy, darkness. This is the major theme for the dark half of the year. The energy is inwards and full of possibilities waiting to be injected with intent and action.

The Moon on Water

Only by looking at these three cards I can understand why I have such a deep love for this time of year. The blues and grays are just stunning. I love the silent peaceful energy and the relief of letting go of old and outworn habits and idea’s. I love to reflect and write down my findings and feelings. For the first time in my life I have evaluated this year which has almost come to an end and I am going to write down my intentions and goals for the coming year too. In doing so I think I can connect better to The Great Bear card. And I must say it is so much fun to make these lists. I have subdivided them in all sort of categories: personal, financial, spiritual, creative etc. In whatever way you like, you can write everything down which comes to mind.

I know there are lots of workbooks on the market which are excellent, but I've just opened a Word document and started typing; Easy does it J! Perhaps I will add pictures of tarot and oracle cards which represent the intentions and goals I can think of. When I have finished them I will print them all out and put them in my journal.

My midwinter ritual will be small and simple. I will light one white candle, visualize my circle and meditate with these three cards. Nothing less nothing more.

I wish everybody  a very happy Yule and a merry Christmas