Your personal altar is the ideal environment to incubate your ideas and can be a touchstone for daily conjuring and contemplation. By preparing your home and sparking your inner flames, you can clear away personal blocks and invite in friendly spirits who will aid you in personal pursuits, no matter what your line of work is.
On a low table or chest, place an orange or gold scarf and the following elements: yellow, orange, and gold candles for stimulating intelligence and clarity; bergamot oil for energy; and vanilla incense for mental power.
In this fast-paced world, we are so accustomed to instant gratification—high-speed internet connection, same-day delivery. We are multitasking ourselves to death. Slow down and enjoy your life. It is worth it, I assure you. Here is a quick way to simply relax and enjoy the little things of life: Wear a pearl. Pearl earrings and necklaces are the best, as they calm and clear the mind.
I recommend growing a pot of hardy sage so you can always clear energy and increase your psychic potential. Another useful herb is mint, which comes from the Latin mentha, and literally means “thought.” It is called the flower of eternal refreshment. Woven into a crown, it bestows brilliance, artistic inspiration and prophetic ability. Burned, it is especially potent.
Here is a wonderfully simple tool for awakening the mind and attuning to the high powers. Take dried mint stalks and dried sage in equal parts and roll together into a wand. Bind with multi- colored string, and before any ritual, tarot reading, or spellcrafting, “smudge” your house with the wand by lighting the leafy end and passing the smoke around. This will purify your space.
Erin Lale
Fellow faculty at Harvard Divinity School posted an open letter to Wolpe in response to his article. It's available on this page, below the call for p...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. The Wild Hunt has a roundup of numerous responses on its site, but it carried this one as a separate article. It is an accoun...
Erin Lale
Here's another response. This one is by a scholar of paganism. It's unfortunately a Facebook post so this link goes to Facebook. She posted the text o...
Erin Lale
Here's another link to a pagan response to the Atlantic article. I would have included this one in my story too if I had seen it before I published it...