Litha Blessings

Today is the Summer Solstice, also known as Litha. It is the longest day of the year. It won’t get dark until very late into the night, there will be at least 14 hours of daylight. Litha means a stopping or standing still of the sun, and it is one of the 8 Pagan solar holidays throughout the year.This is a day of celebrations, the Goddess is heavily pregnant with the harvest to come, the Sun God, The Oak King is at the height of his power. But this is also a day of sadness because today the Sun God, The Oak King battles with the Lord Of The Dark Sun, The Holly King and the Holly King will win and start to take over the skies. After today the Sun starts to lose its strength, the days will get shorter and the nights longer, as we look to Autumn and Winter. The Oak King (The Lord Of Light) is born on Yule (the Winter Solstice) and he shines so brightly for 6 months of the year, but this weakens him. The Holly King (The Lord Of Darkness) lies in wait until Litha, when the Oak King uses his last ounce of strength to make sure the earth has enough power for the harvest to come. The Oak King (The Lord Of Light) will slowly descend into the underworld, but his journey will not be complete until Samhain (Halloween). That is when the Holly King (The Lord Of Darkness) will take over the skies.

Litha is a time of light, purification, and healing. It’s a time to reflect on the light and dark within each of us and within the world around us. It is a time to appreciate everything we have in our lives and give thanks for it. It’s a time to appreciate nature and all that it gives us.

Pick some flowers and put them on your altar to offer them to the Sun God and the Goddess, and thank them for their sacrifices. Adorn your altar with fruit and anything gold, yellow, or shiny to honor the Sun. Build a bonfire or light a candle. A fire lit on Litha is said to be very powerful and magical.

Write down your hopes & dreams and burn them in the fire. To do this on Litha night will bring you your desire.

This is the height of summer and it is one of the most celebratory days of the year. Enjoy it. Go for long walks, spend time with family and friends, and appreciate the beauty of the Summer and nature. Dance and be merry.

Have a Blessed Summer Solstice.

Written credit goes to Wicca Teachings. I did the content editing. 

Photos credited to Various. 

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Mars Sun Earth Alignment

Today marks a special event, the alignment of the Sun with Mars and Earth. Although all three planets line up with each other just over every 2 years, energetically speaking, today (April 8th) to the 14th, marks a time of shedding conflict, the sense of being separate from God (and others) and beliefs regarding victim-hood, blame, threat and feeling like your life is being controlled by anyone other than your Self. If you have been holding on to old stories of the past, especially concerning the ‘struggle’ it has been to get you to where you are now, honor yourself and the space you may hold for newly awakened souls around you, and let them go. Ascension may not be an ‘easy’ path to walk, but when we hold on to every challenge we have faced to bring us to this now reality, we are holding on to illusion and creating this template for others. 

Looking at the 3 planets:

Mars has long been associated as the planet of war after having been the battle ground for many conflicts throughout the cosmic ages. Yet, if shed this belief, we allow ourselves to feel in to its gifts of inspired action, strength, and the freedom to realize that we are the Creators of our own reality.

Earth is our home. She helps us to fulfill our Dharma and plays host to the most expansive spiritual growth unlike any other planet in our solar system. Earth holds the basic keys for ascension; the lessons that help us to Master the body, mind and spirit at and individual and collective level.

The Sun symbolizes the idea of ‘God’ created by human beliefs. Many still hold the sun in fear for what it may do to mankind. And even in the awakened community, many speak of solar flares and the chaos they bring. Perhaps another subconscious belief that we need to ‘protect’ ourselves from God, or more to the point, hide from the truth that we are God incarnate – an embodied Divine essence walking the physical plane. Yet the Sun is the giving force of life. It holds within it the keys for creating, sustaining, and transforming life – all the keys we hold within if we are ready to embrace ourselves as the Master that our soul recognizes.

I asked the Elohim for an affirmation to share with you if you feel ready to shed and be done with old stories to embrace yourself as the Creator of your reality, as these 3 planets are supporting today.

If you can, sit outside and first connect with the earth below you, the sun above, and take the energy of Mars in to your Heart. Feeling aligned to all three beings, repeat with your intention:

¸¸.•*¨*•*´¨)
¸.•´¸.•*´¨) ¸.•*¨)
(¸.•´ (¸.•` ¤ “I release all threat, fight and doubt that I am anything else, but God. I embrace who I AM. I embrace my Divinity and walk the path of my Soul. And so it is.”

*Written Credit in full goes to Calista- Ascension Writer & Teacher*

It Is Only In…..

It Is Only In…

“It is only in the darkest of nights, at the moment when we know true despair, that our star shines brightest and leads us onward, because when the sun shines and we are happy, we do not look for stars.” -Laurell K. Hamilton

May The Wings…

Blessed Samhain & Happy Halloween

Today is Samhain. It is one of the most important of the 8 Sabbats as it is the Pagan New Year. The wheel of the year has turned full circle and a new year begins. The word ‘Samhain’ means Summers end. It is pronounced ‘Sowin’. Samhain is the third of the harvest festivals, only this isn’t a harvest of crops or grain, it is the harvest of flesh. It was the time of year when farmers and families would slaughter cattle and preserve the meat to last through the cold winter months. Samhain is a festival of death as it is the death of the year and of the waxing Sun. It is also the death of the earth when Plants, seeds, and acorns are now slowly descending underground to ready themselves to be reborn in Spring. Animals will start to hibernate, and the earth will appear barren as it sleeps through the winter months.

Earth energies are being pulled inwards at this time, and this is the time we should also be looking inwards at ourselves. Contemplate the year we have had and the lessons we have learned, whether they were good or bad, what can we take from them and use in the future. The God of the waxing Sun descends into the underworld opening up the veil between the two worlds of the living and the dead. At Samhain, spirits can commune with the living and visit us. We remember our ancestors, the people and pets who have died, and we honor them by placing pictures of them on our altars (you do not need an altar to be Wiccan) and invite them to join us. We should also adorn our altars with seasonal fare such as fallen leaves, twigs, acorns, nuts, turnips, and pumpkins and offer these as gifts to the Triple Goddess who is now in her crone phase. She is the wise, dark mother of knowledge and days past.

Although a time of death, Samhain is also a time of fresh starts and new beginnings. It is a time of ‘out with the old, in with the new’, to start looking forward to our future. On Samhain we should light a fire, as this is primarily a Celtic fire festival where the villagers and townsfolk would light giant bonfires to say goodbye to the God of the waxing Sun, and to thank the Goddess for her gifts bestowed upon the earth. There would also be big feast with stews, corn, and breads, and we would give thanks for people in our lives and show gratitude for all that we have, and give thanks to the people who are no longer with us and invite them to join us at the feast.

Light a candle tonight and put it, safely, near a window facing West to light the way for our lost loved ones and invite their spirits to visit us.

Today is a great time for divination, for doing tarot readings, looking to the future, and asking ourselves how we can improve our lives and move forward for the coming year.

Have a Blessed & Safe Samhain/Halloween.

*Written credit in full goes to Wicca Teachings*

Vitamin D & Bipolar Disorder

Vitamin D & Bipolar Disorder

http://bphope.com/bphopeblog/post/Vitamin-D-and-Bipolar.aspx

As many of you know, I am 100% anti-sun. Not only do I hate it with every fiber of my being, but it’s just too damn bright for someone with extreme photosensitivity. Every single day one of the first things that goes on my face and neck is Josie Maran Argan Daily Moisturizer with Broad Spectrum SPF 40. During the summer when the sun is even more intense and I will be outdoors for more than an hour, I use the first product over this one: BareMinerals Advanced Protection SPF 20 Moisturizer, just to be on the safe side. I use an SPF 50 spray sunscreen on all other skin that will be exposed and I put sunscreen in my hair as well, which protects the color and also protects the delicate skin we often forget about. I can’t forget, because I’ve had two horrible sunburns on my scalp in the past, which were extremely painful and lengthy in terms of the healing process. I protect my eyes with dark sunglasses that have UVA/UVB protection in the lenses.

I eat a balanced diet. I know I get vitamin D from the foods I eat, but I also know I am Vitamin D deficient despite all the precautionary measures I’ve taken for years and years. I take Citracal Petites a few times a week, or daily when I can remember. As women, we stop building bone after age 35, so the calcium is crucial to our future health. After age 36 we can continue to build muscle to protect our bones, but I know far too many people who ended up with osteoporosis really young, so I’m not willing to take the risk. As for the Vitamin D, I’ll stick with supplementing it, as opposed to destroying my skin.

Anyone else experience Vitamin D deficiency?

If You Live In …

If You Live In The Dark…

“If you live in the dark a long time and the sun comes out, you do not cross into it whistling. There’s an initial uprush of relief at first, then-for me, anyway- a profound dislocation. My old assumptions about how the world works are buried, yet my new ones aren’t yet operational. There’s been a death of sorts, but without a few days in hell, no resurrection is possible.” ―Mary Karr

Where Your Book Begins

Where Your Book Begins

A wish……

A wish…

May the sun bring you new energy by day. May the moon softly restore you by night.