Mother Teresa once said: "I will never attend an anti-war rally; if you have a peace rally, invite me." How is this statement relative to Paganism and Esoteric practice? On a level with her own spirituality, Mother Teresa understood that "your energy follows your focus". If your focus in on getting rid of something, or something you are against. Then your energy goes to that. This happens on both an energetic level and a psychological level. You can't put energy toward manifesting what you need / want, if your focus is on removing what you don't want. "Energy follows Focus". Psychologically - your subconscious always answers YES to you. It doesn't recognize negative grammar. It supports what you focus on. Changing your mindset, affirmations, magical workings, aren't about always being/thinking POSITIVE. That is a misunderstanding and not realistic. It's about changing your focus, because your energy and subconsious follow your focus. Try changing your focus from what you "don't want" to what you "do want". We go deeper into this understanding in "Stepping Stones to Magical Practice". What is one small way that you can change your focus today? I'll go first in the comments.

This is the theme for July. During the summer months the natural world is experiencing growth, transformation and the promise of abundance to come. 🌷🌻🌹 Flowers are either changing from bud to bloom, or from flower to fruit or eventual seed. There is a lot of change and transformation going on behind the scenes. It happens slowly. It's a process. The result of change/transformation is growth. This is the time of year we tend to what we planted in the spring. How's it doing? Do we need to water more, or less? Does something require a bit more attention? Do i need to just let it be and trust it to do it's thing? (trust the process). Our tending now, determines the abundance of our harvest just as much as our planting in the spring. This isn't active, forced tending. This is slow, contemplative, assessment. Observation. A nudge here, a little more/less support there. A favorite saying for this time of year: "The mill of the Gods grinds slow, but it grinds exceeding fine." During our work this month, take time to quietly observe the intentions you planted for this year. Listen and feel for what tending is needed. In what ways do you need to change/transform and grow to help those intentions manifest in your life?

Today is a very low energy day for me. Last week was crazy busy getting ready for vending (one reason why i only do 1 event a month), then driving 2 hrs each way for a 10-6 vending event (that was AMAZING). Yesterday was spent driving my son out of town to pick his new (to him) car. So today is the first day in a bit that i've had to just chill and have a me day. Knowing when to take time for yourself is so important. I've said many times, you can't pour from an empty cup. So today i'm just puttering around the house doing odd chores, I'll probably get into a video game, netflix. Maybe do a crafty thing, check out how my garden is doing. A fun manifestation spell you can do when you are doing any type of work, like chores, etc: (I used to do this with my kids when they were young) Before you start your work, light a candle. While you are working (at whatever) focus on sending the energy raised to your candle. When you are done your work, hold your candle and focus on what you want to manifest in your life. Then blow out the candle with the intent of sending that energy out to manifest your goal. State an affirmation that supports that goal. Then finish going about your day. If you decide to give this a try, please share your results in the comments.

This simple spell can be used to protect your home from unwanted energy. It can also be carried on you. Step 1 - Get a mirror. Any mirror. Size doesn't really matter. For your house, you want it to fit on your door. If you want to carry it on you, something smaller of course. Step 2 - Cleanse the mirror with water containing salt and hyssop. Step 3 - Charge/consecrate your mirror using the smoke from Frankincense, Myrrh and/or Patchouli. While doing this focus your intent on the mirror reflecting any negative energies or influence back to their source. Step 4 - Attach the mirror (reflective side to the outside) on the back of your door. So it looks like you have a mirror on the inside of your door facing backwards. If you choose to keep a small protection mirror on you. SImply put it in your pocket, purse, or wallet.

This is a little more complex home protection spell that has a long history dating back to the 17th century atleast. This spell is a form of SYMPATHETIC MAGIC, common to Low Magic or Folk Magic practices. How to make a Witches' Bottle: Items: Glass Bottle/Jar with lid Protection Herbs Black Salt Vinegar Small Sharp Objects (nails, broken glass, thorns, pins etc) Bits of Knotted String Gather your ingredients and cast a circle in whatever method is familiar to you. Start by Cleansing the bottle you are using. It can be any size you like. 🌿 Add protection herbs to the bottle. For this spell you want stronger protection herbs such as stinging nettle, cayenne and/or black pepper, devil's shoestring, angelica, bay leaf, etc 🧂⚫ Now add Black Salt (amount depends on the size of bottle, up to a teaspoon is enough). This adds another level of protection and is a general booster for protection based workings. 📌🪡 Add Sharp Objects - This also repels any unwanted energies and influences. Think of a barbed wire fence, but in a bottle. 🧵🪢Add Knotted String - Knots trap unwanted energies and influences that can then be dispersed into the earth and grounded out. Bodily Fluids - Traditionally bodily fluids would also be added, such as urine, saliva or blood. This can serve one of two pruposes depending on who's fluids you use. 1) Using your own fluids bonds the protection to you. 2) Using the fluids of another provides protection FROM that person. This is helpful when their is a direct known threat from a specific person. This does do any harm to that person. It merely traps their unwanted energy or sends it back to them, preventing if from affecting you. This step can be left out depending on your own comfort level. Add Vinegar - This burns away unwanted energies and influences and also "sours", making your home an unpleasant place for them to be. Now it's time to seal the bottle. Use whatever method you choose. Simply securing the lid is sufficient. Take time to raise energy.