It is now time to make kind and generous energies feel “at home.” Make a wind chime of “shiny objects” such as old keys, bits of jewelry and other items from your decluttering. For example, I have a lot of “mateless” earrings which I love even though they are only one of a pair.These chimes abet gathering up the good energy of those unseen that can help protect you and drive away the not so helpful energy. Take a tree branch or a stick (a small piece of sea-smoothed driftwood is perfect); tie string around the shiny objects and attach to the wood. I go with 7 objects using that sacred lucky number and make sure they are close enough to touch and make the lovely, welcoming sound. Hang the chimes where they can tinkle gently in the breeze and make contact with your guardian angels for you. Hang it in a window in your home or wherever you want to make contact with the spirit world.
In the past month, we have seen thousands of people lose everything in the wildfires here on the West Coast. What to do? Ask for help. Ask your neighbors, local authorities, charities and also those who are less obvious. Calling guides and helpers is easy. Simply say, “Guardians from the light, please come to me and assist me on my healing journey.” You may choose to know them and can say, “Show yourselves to me; let me know your presence.” Sometimes a friend or loved one who has passed away will come, sometimes an old pet will appear, sometimes you may feel a touch on your shoulder or a loving presence. Trust these moments. You can always ask, “Who is with me from the light?” If you feel a strange presence that makes you uneasy or uncomfortable, ask who it is or simply ask the energy to go to the light and leave your space now. If you are unaware of guides or elders that work with you, there are some exercises later to introduce you to your helpers. Your higher self and other higher beings, such as angels, must be called. They are always present, but to actively work with you they must be invited. I call them like this: “Angels, Archangels, please come and be with me now. I would like your presence with me for this healing. Higher Self, please work with me now.” I also call all my guides and animal allies whenever I create my sacred space. After you have performed your ritual, make sure to express your deep gratitude alng with your goodbyes. I recommend doing this every so often so you know which guardians work best with you.
One of my yoga students approached me after class. She wanted to discuss a scene from a book I’d leant her.
“You know how the author is teaching a yoga class, and one of his students breaks down crying and he cradles her head in his hands and acts as her witness? And then he shows her how to be her own witness?”
This is an excerpt from the brand new Kindle book I just co-wrote and released with Ellen Dugan, Every Witch Way: Spells and Advice from Two Very Different Witches. In it, we explore different sides of a number of issues, including Angels and Magick. The first piece is written by, and appears courtesy of, Ellen Dugan - the second is by me!
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...
Janet Boyer
I love the idea of green burials! I first heard of Recompose right before it launched. I wish there were more here on the East Coast; that's how I'd l...