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The individual who is unable to control his mind will be its victim. — Manly P. Hall

Honestly, I’m pretty tired of the “10 Things to Ask Your Tarot Cards Before You Pee in the Morning” type of posts.

“Charging” a candle means instilling it with magical intent. A candle that has been charged fills your personal space with the intention of all four elements.

Once you clarify your intention, cleanse your candles by passing them through the purifying smoke of a cedar bundle or some incense. This stage is especially important if you have purchased new candles for your rituals from a store or metaphysical shop. Cleansing will rid the candles of any odd energies they may have absorbed from other places or people.

The best way to prepare for personal ritual is to center yourself. I call this “doing a readjustment,” and I believe this is especially important in our overscheduled and busy world. Doing a readjustment helps pull you back into yourself and gets your priorities back on track. Only when you are truly centered can you do the true inner work of self-development that is at the core of ritual. Centering takes many forms. Experiment on your own to find out what works best for you. One excellent way to center is to light a candle and meditate on it. By focusing on the flame, you bring your being and awareness into focus. You can take this a step further with this spell for new insight into your life.

Step 1: Place one candle on your altar or “centering station.” Light your favorite meditation incense. For me, nag champa immediately sanctifies any space and creates a sacred aura.

Now you have been initiated into the art of crystal and magic. You can make yourself a true-love tiara, a seductive toe ring, or a bewitching bracelet, to name but a few of the crystalline projects you have in your new bag of tricks. Gem magic is a merry way to make magic, but it is, in essence, all about improving the quality of your life. These gorgeous gems and sacred stones are all around us, with enhancing energies that you can apply consciously to bring a sense of well-being to your job, your family, your friends, your love life, and your deepest spirit and psyche. Use this special kind of magic to create wonder, fun, fantasy, and fulfillment in all areas of your life.

Did you know that 90% break their New Year's resolutions by the time February rolls around?

Totally true.

Card images used in this article are from the exciting new Midcenturian Tarot by Madam Clara. Visit her Etsy shop here to snag your very own copy.

Tarot can be used for so much more than just divination. In fact, my favorite use of the cards is for focused intention and manifestation. Want to expand a particular energy in your life? Enhance an area? Invite more? Then consciously choose the card/s that represent whatever it is you want to attract; don’t rely on randomness or blind “Card of the Day” pulls to guess what it is you really want. (That’s a bit like wanting to make a specific recipe, going into a grocery store blindfolded and then pulling things off the shelves for your order!).

Tonight's New Moon is in Sagittarius. Archer energy is always fun -- Sagittarius, while the philosopher's sign, is also always up for anything. As a Sag myself, I often say my philosophy of life is, "What? I'm too busy dancing!" When the New Moon is in Sagittarius, we're invited to look at our Shadow side and discover what spark of light we can generate or find to illuminate the darkness. Coming as it does in the darkening days before Winter Solstice, the Sagittarius New Moon also reminds us that there is always dawning after the night, and also that night will inevitably follow day. We need to ride the tides of this cycle, trusting that all darkness will eventually be dispelled by light -- even if it means that darkness must come again eventually.

The focus this new moon is on relationships -- with each other, with the world, with our communities, and with ourselves. Awakenings happening to us and around us as well -- some of these are painful, some are jarring, but all are necessary. There is a sense that the world is waking up from a long sleep, or shaking itself out of complacency.