Finding Your Year Card for the Current Year

Your year card is the running theme for the entire year. It's the energy that will be present for the whole year. There are a few methods you can use to find your year card. 

The first is to simply shuffle the cards with the intent of drawing out your year card. You can do this with major arcana only, or with the full deck, in which case you will get the pips (numbered cards 1-10) and the court cards. Of course, you can always leave out the court cards if you desire. But the main idea is to simply use the shuffling method. This is the method used if you are using ORACLE cards instead of Tarot cards, since oracle cards don't have major and minor arcana cards. 

The other method is to use numerology. I learned this from the book "Tarot For Yourself" by Mary K Greer. However, I realized that the way I add up the numbers is different from the way she does it, and that in this case, yes, it really does matter. 

Her method is to keep the place values of three numbers. The month of your birth. The day of your birth. The CURRENT year or about to be current year (we are looking for the card of the new year after all). My birthday is 0ay 28th, and the year is for the year 2021. So you can line them up maintaining the place values of all the numbers like so: 

        1

        05

        28

+  2021

    2054

 Then you add the four numbers of the sum together as if they were all in the one's place. I often do it like so:

2+0+5+4=11

Or you can visualize it in a line with them all in the one's place like so:

      2

      0

      5

+    4

    11

11 is the Justice card, or, in some decks it's the Strength card. Which one it is depends on the deck YOU are using for this, but you can always decide to blend them together if you use both styles of decks. 

HOWEVER. I have realized that is NOT how I have been adding up my numbers! 

I have been treating each individual number as a single number! Removing the place values and putting all the numbers in the ones place. Like so:

5+2+8+2+0+2+1=20

|    \  /     \      /     |

|    10        4       |

\     /           \     /

 15               5

   \               /

     \           /

         20

20 is the Judgment card. 

I always add up the easy numbers first. 2+8 is 10, 2+0+2+1=5, 10+5=15 and then we have the last 5 to add to the 15, and you get 20. Of course, you can visualize it all as a line when you do this as well.

     5

     2

     8

     2

     0

     2

+   1

   20

I literally only realized the other day that I my doing it this way leads to a different result. Therefore, you choose what method you want to use. Maintain the place values for the three numbers and then at the end treat them all as single digits, or treat them all as single digits from the get go. 

The interesting thing is that the way I have been doing it has really resonated hard with me, even when I feel grumpy about the card that I get.

Now, so far, the two results for me have equaled a major arcana card, the only cards that matter in the numerology style of doing things. You will never get 0 as a result. Therefore the Fool is added at the end, as card number 22. In some older decks this is done anyway, so it still fits. 

Also. There are only 22 major arcana cards. So what happens if you get a number that's larger than 22? You add that sum together. 

For example, if that 20 end result using my method was 24 (which could happen if I had been born in the month of September, the ninth month) I would need to add those two numbers together since there is no major arcana card numbered 24.

2+4=6

That said, IF you are using a deck with extra major arcana cards, please feel free to include them.  For example, the Quantum Tarot 2.0 version has two extra major arcana cards which means there are indeed 24 major arcana cards if you were to choose to include those extra cards. That's what I would do, but you do what you feel is best for you considering the kind of deck you are using. 

Another option, also, is to combine these two numerological methods and take both cards as a pairing as a theme for the entire year. 

Another option too, is to decide when your year starts. Is it on your birthday or the day the new year starts? For me, so far, I have been doing the turn of the new year in our Gregorian calendar. However, this year, I may use the shuffle method to determine an extra card at Samhain, since I learned reading the book "Irish Witchcraft" by Lora O'Brien that Samhain was considered the beginning of the new year in long ago Ireland. That really resonated with me, so I'm going to try it. I will keep you updated on how I decide to incorporate that in 2021! ^_^

Note: here is where you can read about how to do a 13-card reading
https://www.ladyofradiantjoy.org/2021/01/13-card-year-reading-spread.html

The Reiki Principles and Tarot Elements.

This article was originally published on Reiki Rays: 

https://reikirays.com/82055/the-reiki-principles-and-tarot-elements/

This is something that came to me while teaching a Reiki lesson to students that have also been to my Tarot classes. One of my students then noticed how the Reiki principles also track with the four cardinal directions. 

For me, this connection provides an enrichment between these. 

These are the Reiki Principles. 
     🌛 Just for today, I will not be blinded by anger.
     🌛 Just for today, I will not be blinded by worry.
     🌛 Just for today, I will feel grateful.
     🌛 Just for today, I will do my work honestly.
     🌛 Just for today, I will be kind to every living thing.
                                          by Mikao Usui, I don't know who translated it.
                                              I added "be blinded by" and "feel"

The Tarot Elements are:
     🌜 Fire - represented by wands
     🌜 Water - represented by cups 
     🌜 Earth - represented by pentacles 

     🌜 Air - represented by swords 
     🌜 Spirit - represented by major arcana 

And now we combine them. 

Just for today: 

🌕 I will not be blinded by anger - Fire🔥🜂 - Wands|

🌕 I will not be blinded by worry - Water🌊🜄- Cups🍶 

🌕 I will feel grateful - Earth💎🜃 - Pentacles✪ 

🌕 I will do my work honestly - Air🌪🜁 - Swords⚔

🌕 I will be kind to every living thing - Spirit☥∞ - Majors💀

In knowing these, when I do a Tarot spread to help with a conscious, I can be mindful of where I may need to strengthen a Reiki principle in my life in relation to the question. Or even tell me that I'm doing better than I think I am! Some examples: 

1. If I'm getting a lot of wands maybe instead of stewing in anger or blindly acting out in anger I need to work on setting a boundary and choosing to transform that anger into a drive to make things better, transmuting it to purpose and hope. 
2. Or perhaps I am getting a lot of cups as an indicator that perhaps I need to transmute worry into faith hope and trust. 
3. Maybe with pentacles I need to remember to enjoy what I do have, to feel and be grateful for that. 
4. With swords maybe I need to see what justifications I am making in making choices for someone instead of empowering them, or being dishonest with myself about myself. 
5. And with spirit, I need to always remember who I am and who I want to be  and to allow all things to exist, honoring transformations. All the stories must be told. A tree can only grow so fast even in the most ideal conditions. 

Here are some reading examples.

A quick one card reading, "What do I need to keep in mind today?"

I pull a Queen of Swords. 

Swords is what I call the "cutting through the BS" suit. It's also about transformation, thoughts, reasoning, truth, and ethical logical behavior. The Queen of Swords is a logical person who gets things done, and is meticulous, but can be quite stern. This card could be reminding me that part of doing my work honestly is stay true to my personal code of ethics and not let others pressure me into doing something that's a bit underhanded. So I could say, Ah, swords, a reminder to do my work honestly, and to be sure that I see things clearly and logically. 

Here is a spread for Body Mind and Spirit. What are things going to look today (or this trip, or this visit, etc) for my Body Mind Spirit?

1: Body 

    5 of Pentacles, ah, pentacles, I need to remember to feel grateful for what I do have. My physical self will needs some tender loving care because its gonna feel impoverished about something, maybe from lack sleep, or sleeping wrong, or over exercising, etc. Now I am prepared, I can talk softly and kindly to my body and remember to be grateful and feel grateful for my body as it is, no judgments attached.

2: Mind

    Wheel of Fortune, ah, major arcana card, spirit, I will be kind to every living thing, including myself. Wheel of Fortune, okay, the rolling-with-the-punches this-too-shall-pass card. I need a  "I got this kind" of attitude and help from guides to make things run more smoothing. Just roll with it. In this way my mind will be sharp and accepting and thus able to feel kindness no matter what is going on.

3: Spirit 

    10 of Cups. Spiritually, I'm rocking it, all is well and wonderful! Look at that rainbow of 10 of cups. So much joy and hope right now! I don't even have to worry about being worried. Just for today I will not be blinded by worry will be EASY, like it's not even there at all! Awesome. 

All three taken together we have, in short:  gratitude of body, kindness of mind, easily worry-free of spirit, no matter what's going on during this challenging day; simply rolling with it all in good humor - calm of heart, and clear of mind.

Smudging, White Sage, Palos Santos and American Indians,

As you all know, I am always doing my best to be thoughtful and inclusive, and to be aware of my white privilege in relation to marginalized groups. I am part of a wonderful Facebook group that has many different American Indians* and the subject of smudging and burning Palos Santos came up. In an effort to amplify Native voices I asked Ilea if I could quote them, and I am so happy they said yes!

Ilea Wakelin speaks on smudging!

"Actually *pushes up nerd glasses*, smudge is an Old English word that means Smoky fire.

"When early English Anthropologists came to North America they treated the indigenous peoples as homogeneous (which they are not). There are several different types of smoke cleansing ceremonies across many different tribes, and each has its own unique word in that tribe language. However the English decided to blanket name them all "smudging".

"So it would be more correct to say that smudging is actually several different specific cultural practices which all share the same name. And you will find Native Americans from different tribes who all do it in different ways. From the very deep and personal smudging ceremony which involves a ritualistic exchange of tobacco to the sage plant before cutting it yourself and then specific hand movements, and specific ways to light the sage etcetera, all the way to a native American who will wave around a sage wand inside used car they bought on Kijiji. And ALL are valid uses of the word.

"Some Native Americans sell white sage, others find that practice taboo. There is no consensus as Native Americans are not a hive mind nor are they from the same tribes.

"Overall it's preferable to leave the choice up to the individual doing the practice, and listen to your local tribes voices when making that personal decision. For example my local tribe of the lower Kootenay band highly encourages the purchase, and use of white sage as well as calling it smudging when you do so. They wish for these Traditions to be kept alive, passed on, and more importantly normalized. So I listen to my local band on this matter.

"Take away from all of this is that everyone's personal spiritual path is their own, and it is up to no one else to tell another person how to practice spiritually."

Ilea Wakelin speaks on Palos Santos:

"...my father's side of the family is actually from Venezuela, and they also have sustainable Palo Santo Industries. They only use Deadfall for harvesting, one because it's extremely taboo to cut a branch from a live tree, and two for the wood to have the proper maturity with its resins it needs to sit for about 4 to 10 years.

"In the dry tropical reasons it's actually the dominant tree and extremely abundant, but you get performing allies running around saying that it's endangered, or worse yet saying that it's a closed practice. My family actually has friends in Venezuela who harvest and chop the wood. The work sustains their family, and again it's done sustainably. All the woke people running around saying that the wood is endangered, or is the practice is closed is actually hurting the local indigenous people."

I also discovered in that same thread that there is a Scottish for smudging called saining. Pronounced sane-ing. To me that sounds like "to make sane." Well then. That's just hilarious and great, so I think I will use the Scottish word from now on; and considering that I am part Scottish it seems extra fitting. 

*note: I use the term American Indian because it appears that is what is preferred by those who live on reservations as it makes clear that we are talking about the first peoples of the USA. See cool video no it also supplied by Ilea: https://youtu.be/kh88fVP2FWQ

"Weird" Prompting. Followed it anyway.

Having that intuitive prompting to do something is really interesting sometimes. I saw that a crystal seller based in Canada was doing a live sale on Instagram. I felt like going to it. Then I was doing a few things and then I was like oh, she is still going, so I popped on. 

I thought it odd since, I have already spent plenty of cash on Settara Stones, a crystal seller on IG based here in CA. 

Anyway, I popped on, and then she shows Vanidinite. She was asked the metaphysical properties but wasn't sure and said if anyone knows to comment. So I looked it up in my Encyclopedia of Crystals book by Judy Hall. Some cool zen things, and accepting being here on earth in dense matter. Nice! 

And then there is a note. That it's TOXIC and to HANDLE WITH CARE. 

The seller did NOT mention this at all! So, I said all the cool metaphysical things, and then mentioned THAT.  

Lord have mercy. 

People were like whaaa!? And the seller was like oh yeah, be careful. And we cracked jokes about not licking crystals and no water elixirs for this one, and stuff. 

If I had not been there. Someone might have been hurt. Or a pet. Or child. Now everyone who bought one knows. 

I wasn't guided there to buy anything, I was guided there to protect lives. 

I had no idea. I almost didn't listen. I'm so glad I did.

Vanidinite

Tarot Reading Etiquette - Absolute Positive Regard

The relationship between the reader and the readee/querent/inquirer/client begins before the official session starts. With people you don't know, it begins with your first interaction, and that may be with hearing about you from someone else, or reading an offer you are making online, or a smile at a fair you are working at. 

Fundamentally though, the etiquette of a reading, from start to finish, even before you officially begin and are working out the nuts of bolts of when to schedule a reading or working on how to phrase the querent's question, is holding the querent in absolute positive regard. 

This means: 
     ∞ setting aside your own judgments, biases, and opinions.
     ∞ accepting the person for where they are at right now.
     ∞ allowing your Divine Self to See their Divine Self. 
     ∞ erring on the side of compassion.  

And all this begins before you even start shuffling the cards. 

If someone is asking you about a love reading and is dating one person but appears to be using another person as a back up in case that goes awry, you must set aside any judgments and opinions you may have on the situation. It's not for you to say. It's for the cards to say, and for you to be a vessel of divine wisdom to help that person with where they are at. Yep, this is a real example.

If you feel a querent is being rude, refrain from getting snarky. Now, it's easier to do this in person than it is to do it online. But no matter what you must maintain professionalism, a sense of proper decorum by holding them in absolute positive regard and refrain from taking things personally. 

I once had someone cancel three times on me for an in-person reading, something she said she preferred over distance in our first interaction. Well, I offered to do a distance reading through a phone call and sending her a picture of the cards since she was having such a hard time meeting in person. She was so offended by this that she thought I was being rude and not listening to her needs. I stayed polite and civil the entire time I was dealing with her. I knew that part of her problem was that she was avoiding the question. She wanted answers but was afraid of them and was using classic self-sabotaging tactics. She never got that reading from me. However, holding her in absolutely positive regard was a key factor in staying out of judgment and holding space for myself to not allow her personal problems hook me into unnecessary drama. 

Moreover, you never know what someone is going through. I have done readings before and never gotten a response, and this has happened with free readings as well. I don't like it, but I don't know what someone is dealing with. Maybe it slipped their minds? Maybe they don't like the reading and are avoiding confrontation. Maybe they just lost their job, or dealing with family BS. Maybe they are dealing with a cyclic mental health issue. Or as simple as being really sick, or god forbid, any combination of these things. You just don't know. And it's better to err on the side of compassion than it is to get snippy, or lash out, or sarcastic, at the person you are reading for. Your reputation is on the line.

Now, if you know that you are unable to maintain absolute positive regard, then it's okay to say, even in the middle of the reading, "You know, I don't think I'm the right reader for you." Then you give that person the names of other readers who might be a better fit for them. Or, if you need a moment to breathe to be able to set aside judgments, it's okay to do that too. We are human and imperfect, and it's not so bad to hold space for someone in absolutely positive regard temporarily. 

And remember, it's not the information that people have a problem with. 
It's the judgment.

Also, here is an awesome news story of a Tarot reader who discovered during a reading that someone had committed murder. She maintained professional decorum, kept him talking, and even got the address of where the body was, and everything. Now that's some badassery! An extreme example of what I'm talking about, but sometimes it's helpful to hear about the extreme so you know how to be in the happy middle. https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-36400912/clairvoyant-man-confessed-to-murder-during-card-reading

Note: To learn more about absolute positive regard please look up Carl Rogers' research on it, though he calls it unconditional positive regard.

How I Find Your Spirit Animal Guide and Other Answers.

A common question I receive  is how do I find someone's spirit animal guide (SAG). The answer is, your spirit animal guide reveals itself to me. My spirit animal guide, Bells, initiates contact first. After that I feel and see whatever is meant to be felt and seen that the person they are guiding is ready to see and feel. 

You must be ready for whatever information comes so you don't reject your guide out of a false sense of what makes a proper SAG.

What makes a proper SAG is an animal spirit that has undergone spirit animal guide training and have transcended mortal sensibilities. For example, one of the hunting tactics of the orca is to separate babies from their mothers. One woman I knew HATED orcas for that very reason. However, it turns out her son's SAG was an orca, but as an elevated being, or higher being, or one that has transcended mortality and lives in a more light-filled way, doesn't do that. Of course, before she could accept her son's orca she had to get over her bias first. 😉

What will I see in a vision? Typically what the animal looks like first. Sometimes this is great, I know exactly what animal it is, and sometimes not so much because I'm like WTF is this? I have never seen this. That's how I discovered the pyrosome (sea cucumber) and the tuco-tuco, and long-tailed sylph hummingbirds.

As you can see, I get specific. The reason is, I want people to be able to visualize as much as they can what I am seeing, and I discovered that breeds matter beyond that. For example, foxes are solitary creatures. However, I had a vision of the fennec fox for one person, and I saw a whole FAMILY of them living together in a pack and I was like whaaaaa!? So I looked up the habits of the fennec fox only to discover that yes, indeed, they are pack oriented unlike other fox breeds. That family aspect was super important for this man. 

Also, let's be real. You can't just say dog. What kind of dog? A chihuahua is totally different from a Tibetan mastiff. What're we talkin' here? Wouldn't you wanna know? You can't just say fish. A guppy is totally different from a rainbow trout. Stingrays sting, manta rays don't. 

Ah, and this leads to, wait, why would you ever see a stingray SAG sting? BATTLE MODE. I may receive a vision of your SAG in BATTLE MODE. Super cool. Bells, (Charolais heifer, a cow) grows really long horns, that are just freakin' amazing. 

Sometimes I am told their names, or at least, a name for you to call them by, but often not. I often receive messages of love and reassurance that you are worthy of having them around. I also get a flavor of their personalities. Sometimes they end up matching yours, sometimes they are complementary. Usually they are the same gender (or non-gender) as you, but sometimes not. Someone's panther made themselves known to during a Tarot reading once and they were quite clear that they were non-binary! I was surprised as all get out. Didn't know that was a thing until then! 

I may see a symbol, like something from pop culture or from fairy tale. Someone once had three different types of birds as theirs and they were like, thinking of us like the three good fairies from Disney's Sleeping Beauty. You might think that's nonsense, but to the person I was reading it was absolutely significant to them. 

Of course, I always use the list of general wisdom originally by Diana Roth as my first go to once I know what animal I am looking at. 

I am often guided to read up on different animals to learn more about those animals in general which later helps me understand someone's SAG later. For example, knowing the difference between crows and ravens has been useful. Knowing that the only hawk that makes that piercing cry everyone loves is the red tailed hawk, and that the eagle actually has a very sweet sound. It helps me know them more clearly and in turn helps me be a better vessel for receiving, so I'm big on learning details so I can understand the bigger picture. 

I essentially absolutely trust 100% that when I communicate with your spirit animal guide, that one way or the other, I will be able to give you the information you need to receive. And it's awesome. 💚

What Is A Spirit Animal Guide? Different Names and Definitions

What is a spirit animal guide (SAG)? 

An attempt at a definition without using the words spirit, animal, and guide; a disembodied light being in a form that is neither humanoid nor plant that is qualified to aid you on the other side of the veil. Or, in other words, a spirit, that is an animal, that guides you in this life for your highest/most/best good. They are qualified to do so because they got spirit animal guide training to do the job! 

Many come and go, but usually one always stays with you for your whole life. The statistical chance of someone not having at least one for their whole life is so infinitesimally minuscule as to be moot.

What counts as a spirit animal guide? 

Anything that moves. Insects, such as the honey bee, counts (though I suppose you could put them in their own category) but they are rarer, especially as beings that are with you all of your life. Arachnids count (I had a tarantula SAG that helped me with my fear for a while). Arthropods, and crustaceans count. So do extinct species as Tasmanian tigers, passenger pigeons, and dinosaurs. All manner of sea creatures, such as pyrosomes, count. 

What are the differences between a spirit animal guide, an animal spirit, a power animal, a familiar, and a totem?

These terms are often used interchangeably, but I don't use them that way. The reason is because as a white woman I need to be sensitive to indigenous populations that have been hurt by colonialism. The white man has a lot to answer for. 

This isn't to say that white people don't have spirit animal guides, of course we do. We have our own historical traditions and mythos connected to animals, and of course, we all have the right to become more connected to the land we live on and the nature around us. Yet, we need to be compassionate to those who came before us, who once lived here, and to their descendants. Doing so requires us to deal with cultural shadow work that we have inherited from our forebears, and is a topic for another post. 

Animal spirit:

To me, an animal spirit is simply a spirit that is in the form of an animal. Some indigenous cultures use animal spirit, or spirit  animal in a way that is very specific to their culture and belief set. I can only speak to my belief set and the way I relate to these beings. When I hear the term "animal spirit" I have to take into account the context of how it it's being used, because for me just because a spirit is of an animal doesn't mean it's a being you can trust. Even spirits of animals can become earth bound and have difficulty moving on. I have helped

Power animal:

Often when I hear people discuss a power animal they are specifically calling on a specific trait or ability attributed to an animal; kind of like the DC superhero character Vixen who uses an amulet to summon the strength of a gorilla to beat down an enemy, or to the sharp eyes of a bird of prey when scouting. While sure, there are spirits of animals who respond to this, it doesn't mean that they are your spirit animal guides. What it means is they are temporarily lending you their power on behalf of your spirit animal guide to help with a specific event. 

Familiar:

The dictionary definition is that a familiar is the spirit of an animal that helps and guides someone. However, I usually see people use it to mean a living animal. This is especially so with pop culture TV where a magic user has a real flesh and blood animal as their familiar. As a result, I often see people assume that their beloved pets are familiars.  

While yes, often animals have extrasensory perception in the spiritual realm it is actually rare for a living animal to be your spirit animal guide. That would be like having an ascended master or Bodhisattva living with you in the flesh. Also, it puts an unfair expectation on your pets. Our pets are wonderful, they are family, but we shouldn't expect them to be more than what they are. 

Totem:

The term "totem" is indigenous specific. Therefore I refrain from using this terminology, since I am of Celtic descent, not  Native American or other Indigenous culture. Totem, as I understand tends to be about someone's tribe or ancestral roots, that you can have a tribal totem, and a personal totem, etc. 

Because of my Irish and Scottish ancestry, I would rather use the word clan. It respects my roots and the roots of indigenous cultures. Win-win! I encourage you to research your own ancestral history to have a conscious access to your ancestral spirit animals guides. Of course, just because your ancestors believed in something doesn't mean you have to, but I have found it personally edifying. 

You can also have spirit animal guides as a result of a God or Goddess or other Divine Being that you call upon. Example: The Goddess Brighid has crows, cows, ravens, swans, salmon, boars, sheep, badgers and serpents associated with her. Jesus has sheep, serpents, doves, donkeys, and Mediterranean fish associated with him. 

The land you live on, of course, has animals associated with it by the fact that animals live on the same land you do! Are there hummingbirds where you live? If so, the spirit of the hummingbird can be seen as a local spirit animal guide as a positive trigger to remember certain spiritual truths. You can use the country or state animal used to represent that state or country as a power animal you can access. For example, California has the brown bear on its flag, so the energy of the brown bear can be seen as a power animal available to all who choose to live in California (again, I'm refraining from using the word totem since it's so indigenous specific).  

My Spirit Animal Guide Journey

How did I get into spirit animal guides and finding them for other people? 

I was a part of a Mormon group about developing your spiritual gifts. Mormonism, the religion of my birth, talks about us all having diffferent spiritual gifts from God. It's also spoken of in the New Testament. Someone in that group mentioned spirit animal guides. 

My very first reaction to this was OH GOD FALSE DOCTRINE. 

But, I took some deep breaths. And immediately prayed about it. A moment later I heard a voice blossoming in my mind say, "They're Holy Ghost helpers."

OH! And just like that, I was fine. I had already come to the conclusion reading scripture that the Holy Ghost had Holy ghost helpers, considering visions of angels, ascended being, etc. 

Later, someone offered to the groupu to find theirs. It was one of their spiritual gifts they had developed. I chimed in with a yes, please, completely certain that I know what my spirit animal guide was, and with that in mind, I also said to do me last. Well, the poor woman got so many requests she had to cap it, and that meant I got left out, except surprise surprise, a few days later she said that someone anonymously paid for me to get a spirit animal guide reading! I was floored!

Of course I accepted, and she told me that mine, who has been with me all of my life, was a charolais heifer with a lovely message and her name was Bells. She had presented herself as shy and showed a vision of a wide variety of bells and chimes. And a message, part of which is to stay grounded and connected.   

I had two simultaneous reactions. A powerful spiritual gut reaction knowing that this is true. I even saw her image flash through my mind. I also thought, a cow, seriously? We eat those. 

Eh heh. 

And thus it took me about three months to get over myself. No wonder she appeared shy. Because she knew I had animal bias against cows! I had no idea. 

But the weird thing is, when my ex-boyfriend talked about going cow tipping in the middle of the night and how funny that was I was incensed. I told him it was mean to the cows and they didn't deserve that. During a three day hike at Girl's Camp, I saw a cow on the trial, so close, no fense, and I stopped and just looked at it. I was so close that I could reach out with my hand and touch the cow's face. I wanted to. But my leaders yelled at me to get a move on and to not touch it since it might attack me. To this day, I don't think it would have. 

But yeah, three months for me to get over myself and my animal bias. Once I did though, it has been wonderful knowing her. We are such good friends. I didn't realize it before, but there were times when she was the one helping me and directing me and I didn't even  know it was her. She was just "The Spirit" (aka:  The Holy Ghost). 

My daughter soon found hers, and discovered that it was so easy for her to know what other people's spirit animal guides were. However, she was only 11 years old, and people, myself included as I was the go between and the  one talking about it, would ask her to find theirs. She found it off putting because to her it was private and she didn't wanna know, and she was a child! She needed to be a kid and nto play and we weren't really respecting that very much. I was too busy showing off of my child. 

And then as requests came in, I was like, what do I do now? And Bells told me to do it. I was like whaaa!? Bells told me that I could communicate with her just fine and that she would help me do the job. 

Interestingly enough, as this all happened the lady who found mine stopped offering it as part of her services.

In doing the work with Bells' guidance I found Diana Roth's website (that no longer exists but I saved the content which you can view when you click on the tab labelled spirit animal guide), the most comprehensive easy to read website out there on the subject! And sometimes discovering ones that weren't on her list, and it has been wonderful.

I love the natural world, and I love helping people find this connection. It's all done pro bono, and by donation, because I want to honor Diana's legacy and the legacy of all Spirit Animal Guides.  

Discover and Meet your Spirit Animal Guide

I have had a few requests to make a meditation for you if you have never met your spirit animal guide before. Well, it is done! I hope you enjoy it and find it edifying. It is raw and unedited. 

If you have any questions please feel free to contact me. 

Ancestral Prayerwork - a personal experience

I wasn't sure where I should write this, here or on my Asychronous Healing blog which is about my healing path and is way more personal, since well this is personal, but it relates so much to what I talk about when it comes to psychic protection, discernment, and faith in my classes.

So, without further adieu. 

I felt impressed to purchase three bundles of white sage from Hayley, owner of Earth Source Essentials on Instagram (Black owned!), while at the Love Is A Verb local concert last year (an event put on by Hella Famous.) I had no idea why, but I just had to. And I didn't know what to do with them. Because, well, my family does not like the smell of burning sage. 

About nine months later, in January of 2020, I was in a class about ancestral grief taught by Shauna Janz (on sacred-grief.teacherable.com, highly recommend). So ancestral healing was on my mind. I had also created my own planner for this year, and saw a quote I had put into it. "Understanding is a three edged sword... your side, their side, and the truth." (Spoken to the Vorlons in Babylon 5 by Captain Sheridan). 

I suddenly new what to do. 

Use each sage bundle for a massive ancestral healing. I did those on the balcony on the evening of January 21st. 

For size this was about the size of each sage bundle, only two of three shown.

One at a time, I burned them.* The first for maternal side, the your side in the quote.

And the bowl broke during the burning. 

Let me tell you, hearing the sound of the bowl breaking was quite startling. 

I had to finish the burning in the second bowl. 

(and here is when I got the idea to take pictures!)

It burned well, and then I burned the other bundle for the paternal side, the their side from the quote.

And that bowl ALSO BROKE. That sound of it breaking and I was like okay, this is getting ridiculous. 

Talk about some serious resistance from both blood lines! 

And it also burned my table. -_-

I now had a bit of a stubborn attitude. Like oh hell no, you ancestors are breakin' my stuff! No way am I gonna quit. 

Look at my charred table!

And I then took the rest of that sage and put it in the third bowl and burned it. 

It burned well. 

And then I burned the final bundle which represented me and the truth from the quote. I was like, this next bowl had better not break, but if it does, holy hell, some serious work is gonna need to be done.

This one took some time to burn well. It went out a few times and I had to relight it,  sign of needed patience and to keep it up. And here it is. Burning. 

And the bowl did not break.

The truth prevailed. 

And so did I. And so will I, and so I am. 

I then took all the ashes that was left over from all the bowls, and buried them in a little corner of my apartment complex's property. 

I still felt indignant about my ancestors on both lines breaking and damaging my bowls and table. So. I saved the pieces and a few months later, end of May, beginning of June, I finally got around to sanding down the table. It looks nice!

And after that, I did some DYI kintsugi, and Behold! my bowls are healed!

Aren't they beautiful!? The perfect dishes for crystals or magical potpourri. 

Ancestral healing can be very dramatic and intense. That's their crap. So if you rely on your ancestors make sure you are working with the ones who aren't holding to their BS. You want to work with the healed ancestors, the truly wise ones, the elders or sages or elevated ones. Basically, the ones who won't come from a place of personal ego, but the ones who will truly help you in a way that is truly best for you. 

This was such an interesting experience to see how much resistance to healing their was in my bloodlines. 

But I know now, of a certainty, that truth prevails.

*As a point of interest the way I would light the sage bundles was with a burning candle that was on my ancestral altar. 

Let It Be Known! That Sometimes I'm Not So Bright!

I was looking back at the month of June, reflecting, and looking at the reading for last month and. 

And I was like oh, oh eff me. 

Someone friend requested me on Facebook. Someone who was told not to contact me but that I would make contact if I wanted to. But I had been told something cool about them and I was like, oh did they make a change? So when he friended me, I friended him back and started talking to him to see if the change was not only real, but deep, because if it were deep . . . 

Well, it turns out, while yeah, some change has happened, they were mired in muck and I had to unfriend for my mental health. And I started startling easy, and having trauma dreams again. 

My child saw me talk to him on FB and was like Mom NO. 

My husband was like, you're talking to you! Girl, that is NOT a good idea!

It was two days. Two days of talking to him that was a horrible mistake.

And now, here I am, reflecting on the month, and I saw again the reading. 

KgS Ⓡ - Do not trust this person. They pretend to cut through the BS but they are in truth unethical. 

Message Bible Verse* "Hold your tongue." (Isaiah 23:1)

from the Modern Witch Tarot deck

I had thought it was talking about some random dude on FB that I had never met before. I thought holding your tongue was about being polite and also allowing others to speak (sometimes I get so excited I talk too much).

But no. 

I felt anxious and unsure about allowing the friend request and talking to him. I just really really really wanted to believe that the change was deep. And deep enough where post-traumatic stress didn't get triggered (I have a diagnoses of this, something I write about on my Asynchronous Healing blog).

Did I go back and look? No. 

Did I do a reading? No.

Did I pray about it? No. 

Did I ask a trusted friend or loved one for advice? No. 

Did I use a pendulum? No. 

So many avenues to know, and I didn't use them. 

And I was warned about it back in January when I initially did my reading for the whole year. Damn. 

I feel dumb. 

But, I was able to honor my boundaries again. 

I made a mistake. 

But it's okay. 

I learned from it, and I'm not broken. I'm still a whole me. I don't have to be perfect to be a whole me (I'm a recovering perfectionist). 
And it's kinda funny. LOL

So if you feel dumb for not listening to yourself, or the cards, I hope you forgive yourself and learn from it. We're all here doing our best.  💚

In love and light and shadow,

Ruth ~ Lady of Radiant Joy

*My Mother-in-law inspired me to do some Bibliomancy for my year reading this year. 

Practical Psychic Protection

Psychic protection is more than shielding yourself from spirits and entities with ill intent.. It's not just the spiritual aspects of protection that we need to concern ourselves with. While yes it is important to protect yourself, to guard yourself and be aware of any possible malevolent or wounded spirits in your midst, it is far more important to guard your psyche and personal well being in the here and now.  

This kind of protection, the protection of the Heart and Soul, of body, mind and spirit, of our thoughts and emotions, and our loves, passions and joys. 

This is NOT the kind of protection that walls you off from authentic connection, from being the real you and finding your tribe. If you have to pretend to be someone else in order to feel love and belonging that's maladaptive protection. So what's it about?

Psychic protection is about resiliency, authenticity, and healthy boundaries. 

Part of this is patience, allowing yoruself to grow at your own pace. If you keep "raising your frequency" without doing the soul work needed to increase your capacity you will eventually become undone like this bead of water: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKMf7PCkoZQ (video is only 1 minute long) A bowl of water wouldn't come undone so easily, nor a lake nor an ocean of water. 

Practical ways to help with this actually come from some of the hand outs I received in group therapy. I have included the handouts below. Click on the image to get a full sized view. If you have a hard time downloading hte images directly from here you can view them here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1rSplcb5cNRviQZhD53xykeYhP-QHCQbN?usp=sharing

Radical Acceptance

One thing that needs to be made clear here is that radical acceptance does NOT mean you continue to allow someone to abuse you, it means accepting that you cannot trust that person to be anything other than what they are toward you. 

Radical acceptance does NOT mean you don't do anything to change the world and make it a better place. It means accepting what is so you can make actually make a difference in changing the world for the better. 

My Reiki Master said that the way to heal the pain is through the pain. 

My Sacred Grief teacher said that you don't need healing from your grief, you need your grief to heal. 

Self-soothing

For me this is more about self-care. I don't like the term self-soothing since it has been misused as a way to neglect the emotional needs of others, particularly infants and children. That said the contents of this handout is good, particularly for practical grounding methods when your imagination is running away with you, catastrophizing everything.  

These methods employ the five basic senses, such as watching candle light, or listening to soothing music, drinking your favorite tea, smelling flowers, or running your hand along smooth wood. Humming a tune incorporates physical sensation as well as hearing. 

On music, what is soothing to you will be different for osmeone else, and what's soothing now may not be soothing later. While writing this to help me focus (since I'm embarrassingly on a time crunch), I'm listening to Sonata Arctica, a power metal band. At other times I'm listening to Celtic music, or the Interstellar movie soundtrack, etc. It all depends on what I'm doing and what's needed in the moment. 

Improving the Moment

Sometimes, things suck, right now, and you might be like Miles Morales in Into the Spider-verse "I am in the moment! It's a terrible moment!" 

We have a habit of saying things that are self-defeating like "I can't take this, I can't stand this" etc. But yes, you can, because you have to, because if you don't the results will be worse. So you talk to yourself in a better way. I can do this. Or you be like Wonder Woman in the Justice League cartoon who would always "Hera! Give me strength!" 

Other ideas you can use: "Goddess! Give me strength!"

"Lord! Help thou my unbelief!" This is one I have used several times. It comes from a story in the New Testament where Jesus healed a man's son but at first didn't believe but just the hope of belief was enough to heal. (I grew up with the King James Version so it has the funky language.)

My Legitimate Rights

This is about setting healthy boundaries, allowing yourself to grow, to change your mind, to not always be beholden to others. You are allowed to say no, you are allowed to change your mind, you are allowed to parent the way you see fit (unless you are abusive then you need some serious help to heal so you can be the kind of parent you really want to be).  

Of course, none of this means you should be a jackass. Of course not, but you can say, "Now is not a good time" without justifying it. I have cancelled things purely because my mental health was bad and I just couldn't deal with people (which is saying a lot since I'm an extrovert). 

All feelings are legitimate. Even if it turns out you were mistaken. You were acting the best you could with the knowledge that you had, and once you know better you can do better. That doesn't make any feelings more or less important. 

You are legit just as you are. Give yourself the growth space you deserve! 

Questions/comments on these practical aspects? Make a comment below. :)

The Burning and Eating of Sage

Smudging has become so popular now, that you can find mini-smudging kits at Sprouts (a sort of holistic grocery store). Smudging is when you burn sage to cleanse the environment, and to cleanse the energy of themselves and others. I have purchased sage for burning and while it smells nice, it's odd that we don't think to eat it to cleanse ourselves. 

Sage is a spice that tastes great on all sorts of foods. I have had it with pork, poultry, fish, etc. I have used it in making vegan chili If you bless the sage and have the intention for it to be used to energetically cleanse you, then the sage we eat is just as effective as the sage that is burned, and bonus, it tastes so good. 

Actually, I believe that sage is better to eat than to burn. After all, sometimes, the best thing we can do for our homes and energy, is to internally cleanse ourselves, and to include our physical bodies in that cleansing. Too often we leave our bodies behind. Your body is your vessel that allows you to be in this very dense physical world, so we can experience things we cannot experience as formless beings. We need to directly include the body in our spiritual practices. Eating sage that you have blessed, and other energetically cleansing foods such as basil, cinnamon, peppermint, etc, actually produces greater results because it includes our atoms, our cells, our bacteria. The nutrients end up feeding our entire body, and with the cleansing blessing added in, it cleanses the tiny energetic "spores" (for lack of a better term) that get in the way of our highest good. 

We are all doing our best. We look outward to help us with our inward selves, such as decluttering our homes (the Kon Marie method anyone?), and we have so many beautiful  external rituals. However, sometimes, it's nice to go from inside out, and what better way to do that than to bless and cleanse all of our food? You can bless everything you consume, but we know that sage is particularly helpful. >

When I bless food I do something like this:

• Breathe deeply and call on the Elohim, of Light and Truth and Love. (or God/Goddess Source)
• express gratitude for the food, and to 
• ask for anything not for my highest good to be cleared, and to 
• cleanse it of any accidental curses, and 
• cleanse it of any other unhelpful energies. 
• I also ask that if there is any oppression somewhere in the process of getting the food onto my table that those beings who are oppressed may find relief; my intention is to include human, plant, animal, soil, etc. 
• I ask my angels for healing energy to be given to the plant or animal whose lives were ended so that I might live.  
• I bless the food to nourish and strengthen my body, mind, and spirit. 
• When I use sage as a spice, and other foods known for their healing properties, I bless it to also energetically cleanse my body.
• I give thanks and gratitude again. 
• I often end in the Name of Jesus Christ and Brighid, Amen (Or All That Is Good, Holy, and Sacred.)

Do what works for you. 

Effectively, it's using food to do energy healing. However, ethically, if I am making food for other beings to consume, I just ask for the food to be neutral and make it with my own love involved. It often involves many of the things I already normally would pray for, but without the specifics of any cleansing or healing involved on the part of the person consuming the food. We need to do energy healing only with permission, and to be sure to leave room for the Wisdom of our Heavenly Parents, the Wisdom of that person's soul to do what is in their highest good since we are mortal and don't know the full context of anyone's lives (and sometimes even our own life)

I hope you will try eating sage to cleanse rather than burning it. Lemme know how it goes! Feel free to ask me any questions in the comments. :)

All blessings, great and small, Ruth ~ Lady of Radiant Joy ^_^ :)

NOTE: for whatever reason the link to this post was misnamed and it bothered me so I am reposting this, with some minor edits. Originally posted in June 2019.

A 7 card spread - Obstacles

This spread is from the Keepers of the Light Oracle cards by Kyle Grey. 

1[] 2[] 3[] 4[] 5[] 6[] 7[]

Handling Obstacles
1. You and a strength that you have (you can make this two cards if you wish)
2: What's happening in your life right now?
3: Something that supports your happiness.
4: The obstacle, the challenge, you are overcoming
5: What do your angels want you to know?
6: What do your guides want you to know? (feel free to use ancestors instead)
7: What does your heart want you to know?

You may recognize the two of the last three since they are in one of the three card spreads I shared. I found that it's really nice to just have three cards, of what do you need to know what right now, what's the most pertinent in this moment for you to know from your angels and your heart. I changed it to your wise healed ancestors because I have found that the people I tend to read for find it it confusing to have angels and guides separate. 

This is a very nice spread that can help you see yourself a little more clearly and receive a direct message. When I did this spread for myself I was shocked that I got a card talking about a strength being focus, because I felt very unfocused and scattered. It turns out I had to change my focus a little is all in order for my "sight" to clear up, so to speak. 

Got questions about this spread? Ask in the comments!

Note, this originally only had two really bad pictures that I tossed up quickly in the middle of a Tarot class I was teaching. It now, no longer "ghetto" but the name of the link still includes it. Ha!