Kitchen witch

Samhain, Stories and Scorpio New Moon Eclipse!

Happy Marvellous, Magnificent, Magickal, Manifesting, Miraculous Monday!!

How are you delicious one?

What I am absolutely pig wiggly tickled about is, Samhain is almost here!!! (You may know it as Halloween) and I love, love, love Halloween. The smells, the leaves, the costumes, the decorating – the whole nine yards!

At the time that most of us celebrate Halloween it is also the festival of Samhain, the third and final Harvest festival where we celebrate with fire, eating and honouring the dead.

In many places, Samhain coincides with the end of the growing season. Vegetation dies back with killing frosts, and therefore, literally, death is in the air. This contributes to the ancient notion that at Samhain, the veil is thin between the world of the living and the realm of the Dead and this facilitates contact and communication.

This is also the Celtic New Year. Now I know some people get a tad tweaky when we talk Death, but death represents a release, whether it’s a release of breath, a release of habit, a release of a relationship. That’s all it is.

So to help you with one of the most important celebrations on The Wheel of the Year, and to share with you rituals to celebrate your ancestors, I have created a fabulous Book of Samhain (fondly referred to as BOS). 43 pages of lore, magick, stories, rituals, crystals, guided visualisation and all sorts more. This Guidebook is jam-packed with everything you need to create a sweet, simple ritual & personal practice to celebrate Samhain. It also helps you feel deeply connected with nature & the Divine, and in tune with your Authentic Self – by creating a personal practice rooted in the seasons. And as I love to give gifts – I have made it 70% off!

Last week I was honoured and blessed to be officiating a celebration of life. It was the first one I have done since my sister died 3 years ago, as to be honest I didn’t feel ready, it all felt still rather raw.

However, the other month I was approached by a family who had lost their dear father/husband and asked if I would help them craft a ceremony to honour his death. I felt into it and came to the decision that yes, I could.

Now when I help a family create a memorial I work with the philosophy of “Let that person’s life speak”. It’s not just about what they did or how old they were, it’s about sharing the stories of the person, the memories, the anecdotes, the love, adventures, mishaps, funny sayings, hobbies – all of it. And in doing the interviews there are so many amazing stories, tears, laughter and memories that flood to the surface, it’s quite amazing.

So at this memorial there must have been 200 people there, it was incredible! All of them there to honour and celebrate a man they loved and missed. Many friends and family got up to speak and share their memories, even if their voices cracked, there was laughter, music and a beautiful video clip of this wonderful man sharing his wisdom.

To me that is a huge part of the energy of Samhain. Honouring the dead, the stories of your ancestors, whether they be blood or choice. The stories of your heritage whether it be blood or choice. The stories of the past that support you and inspire you.

And beyond reaching out to passed loved ones, make time to acknowledge the “deaths” both great and small in your life. There are so many things that have “died” this year, so honour the ones that matter most to you, even if they are a little painful.

Look to nature for guidance, as it is always showing us how it dies and rebirths itself again and again.

So a question for you.

What are your stories?

Just prior to Samhain, on Tuesday, we open up the second Eclipse Portal of the year as we have a New Moon Eclipse in the delicious sign of Scorpio!

Now if you’ve been with me a while you will have heard me say – Eclipses uncover things you may have not been looking at or totally procrastinating about. So with this Eclipse on a New Moon, what have you stuffed in your closet that you really want to plant the seeds for?

Also, remember, the Eclipse season really ramps up the energy and not just for the day but for the weeks and months to come……. Just saying.

Eclipse Season is always a highly transformative time. You can think of them as portals that fast-track you to the next chapter of your soul evolution. On this fast track, we tend to undergo abrupt transformations that can be life-changing.

All Eclipses will affect us differently, some we may feel intensely and others we may barely notice. But if there is a big soul upgrade that is needed in your life, if you have been nearing the end of a journey or looking for a leaping stone to take you to a new one, Eclipses very often bring the bridge you have been waiting for.

As Forever shares,

“As this Solar Eclipse falls in the sign of Scorpio, we may find ourselves connecting to a higher level of our soul, understanding ourselves on a deeper level, and peeling back some layers to really reveal a new truth.

With Venus very active at this time, we can use this Solar Eclipse energy to expand our hearts, the giving and receiving of love in our lives, and to think about what we truly value. We may find it easier to love, easier to give, or easier to focus on what is truly important to us.

Under this heart-expansion energy, we may even gain the clarity that is needed to help navigate any challenges in our relationships. We may decide that our heart no longer wants to be involved in a certain dynamic, or we may find that our heart is ready to open and move into that next chapter.”

So, when I went to the cards and asked who would like to guide and teach this week I nearly snorted tea out of my nose when I saw who was most adamant. (Seriously you can’t make this shit up!) The cards that chose to guide this week are Les Vampires (seriously!)

Now if these guides are new to you, please let me introduce them.

These are the glorious denizens of a realm of mystery, legend and power.

These lovely guides come to those who are undergoing a test. If a shadow has fallen over your life, if you are confronting the unknown, you may feel abandoned and lonely, as if there is no light, no guide, and no path to follow.

These guides walk the hidden paths of the Dark Forest, the ones who have made the Night their home, the guardians who can help you find your way back to the Dawn. They are abundant in all that you need at this time – rich in messages to offer, lessons to teach, and wisdom to share with you.

Oh my giddy Aunt! Perfect!

So are you ready to play? Hope so! Take a moment, actually take more than one and just take a Breath. Not a shoulder high breath, but a slowing, calming breath.

Breathe it in through your nose and out through your mouth like a shoulder dropping sigh. Keep breathing this way and invite into your minds eye your stories. Don’t judge them, just let them swirl there like watercolours. Don’t attach, just let them Be. Then when you are ready and that energy has settled, pick the card or cards that invite you in. They have something to share with you this week.

Did you remember to pick?

Are you curious?

WITNESS

To have seen what you once thought was only a rumour, or only hearsay, or perhaps even made up, means you have changed. You have experienced the dream that comes true in the weeks after you saw faces in the night, you have spoken with the nature spirits and you have come to know there is more than what so many humans wish to admit is true and alive in the world we all share.

Vampires like us, we are said not to exist. But you know there is more here on this planet than anyone can even begin to dream of.

You may have witnessed something of late that others still deny is “real”. But you are now a witness and having seen, you cannot un-see. Knowing, you can no longer deny. It is not that we wish for you to tell all of your new knowledge. It is that we wish you to not lie to yourself, to no longer agnoise over questions of whether what you saw and felt and understood is true or untrue.

There is so much on this planet of ours. Think of it. Who are we to deny the truth of the wonder that is this planet and all the manifestations of life upon it?

Know that what you have seen and felt is true. Another may deny that you have witnessed a true thing. But having seen or felt it for yourself, and now knowing, you have a duty to never again lie to yourself.

You need not make this truth your entire life. But never again lie to yourself.

Accept the evidence of your experience, and honour it within your heart, and within your words when wisdom demands you speak freely.

The veils of illusion and deceit have lifted. While this can be painful, it is also a great blessing to know the truth. Do not doubt your experience. And when you speak of it freely and share your experience, you will find that others too resonate with what you are sharing.

FAITH

The belief that something will take place, or is right, or is a particular way, can be called faith. Faith is quiet and hopeful, offers contentment and calm, it has not bravado, and it need not insist on its rightness.

Faith is something we have too, and we observe it in the best of those we call humans, the warm-blooded ones of whom you are one.

It is a beautiful gift that you humans have to be believers in this quiet, gentle way. Faith is not always beautifully expressed. Faith is a loving amazing quality, but it must be attached to something that is worthwhile.

What do you have faith in? What is faith to you? Were you taught faith as a child, and did you lose faith at one point? For you are often taught to believe in things that do not deserve your faith.

It may be time to relearn what it is you have enduring constant hope for – what you know will come to be, even if your eyes may never see. To have faith is to remain loyal, but in a truly heartfelt way. Tender, moving and full of grace, your faith may soon return to you. Choose wisely in what you place this gift of your faith.

If you have lost faith in a person, project, or humanity itself, it’s time to examine the source of your faith.

Know that it can be revived, and this time, you may choose where you place this most beautiful and tender of faiths.

REASON

I am the one who comes to you now so you can see clearly! You feel others have had problems in this area, but if you simply think positively and send out waves of love the way will be cleared.

But no, this is not how this particular power works, my friend.

There is an obstructive force around you at present, one that will not allow you to pass, unless you strictly meet all criteria. This force, in the form of a person, or institution, or corporation requires you to do everything that is required to pass through the gates.

So, although you may consider yourself to be more charming, more well-liked, able to convince others, and worthy of inclusion, there is tedious paperwork and criteria that must be met – and we Vampires have this too. You must do this perfectly, if you wish to pass the test, and gain what it is you seek.

In the past it was the Church who controlled, now it is large companies and government institutions with their digital records and officious ways. Whether it is tax time, or when you must fill out a form of endless length, read, and read again, the agreements you sign.

Do not consider yourself different or better than others – for when it comes to matters like these, we are all subject to laws that are tedious at worst, punishing at times, and cruel at others. The list goes on and on – there is a cruelty to the faceless conformity of bureaucracy – and to the negligence that can stifle your plans, and sometimes even threaten your very future.

It’s time to sit calmly down, clear your mind, then begin to work your way through the details of a dilemma. Trust us, there is a person about you who is able to advise you – please ask them for their assistance, and listen and act when that good advice is given with love and no strings attached.

Your mind is powerful, and will be used for your soul’s highest purpose. Accept excellent advice, and see the results this can bring.

Wowzer, wowzer, wowzer. What fabulous messages for this time, with Samhain approaching, New Moon Eclipse and where we are at this moment in time. So most gorgeous bean, I wish for you a stupendous week filled with ease, tears and laughter. Be gentle with yourself and those around you, treat yourself to the glorious Book of Samhain, carve a pumpkin or two! And get ready to really practice your magick and release the old year and welcome in the new one. Big hugs and squeezes!

How to Make the Goddess Laugh! The Magickal Book of Samhain is Here and the Doors are Open!

Jenny Heston · 5:03 pm ·

Happy Miraculous, Mysterious, Magickal, Mystical, Melancholy, Magnificent, Misty, Merry, Manifesting Monday!

So have you ever heard the saying “How do you make the Goddess/God laugh? – Tell her what your plans are!”

Yup, that basically describes my last week! The plan was to have the Magickal Book of Samhain out by Friday of last week and the doors open to the amazing community in The Creatrix Circle, but guess what?

First it was food poisoning, followed by intermittent power outages (that lasted hours), mixed in with an upper respiratory thing that slammed my sorry arse and delightfully topped off with winds of 120km/hr! Can you say – are we having fun?!!!!!

So I surrendered into the energy of Samhain, as it’s very clear things have turned inward. You can see it in the trees & the gardens, and you can feel it in your spirit. We’re drawing inward and our inner lives want our attention. This is the time of year to get comfortable with your inner life. This is where the work is for the next few months. So that’s what I did.

And guess what?

Here we are today with a magnificent Magickal Book of Samhain ready to go. 45 frigging pages of lore, stories, kitchen witchery, crystal witchery, rituals to do solo or with others, a guided visualisation where we witness The Wild Hunt and ways to celebrate your ancestors and step into the warm darkness that is unfolding! And as you know, I love to give gifts, so this gorgeous one is on sale for over 70% off her normal price!

And yes, (thank you for all the emails) the Doors to Creatrix Circle are Open! They haven’t been open for 6 months, but it is time. It is time to step through the portal, deepen into yourself, discover an amazing like minded tribe of incredible women and join us for our Samhain gathering (and all sorts of other amazing events and workshops that are coming up!) Are you ready?

For those who are joining Creatrix Circle these bundles will be free to you for the year (there are 8 – 10 bundles of marvelousness)!

So even though the Goddess threw lots of little challenges in my path as if to say – you sure you want to do this? Once I surrendered the time line things unfolded beautifully! Lol.

So besides being pig wiggly excited about all of this, I am absolutely pig wiggly tickled about the fact that Samhain is almost here!!! (You may know it as Halloween) and I love, love, love Halloween. The smells, the leaves, the costumes, the decorating – the whole nine yards! In fact Danu (the dog) will even be dressed up as a shiny red dragon! (She is not impressed, lol).

The festival of Samhain begins on the night of the 31st and is the first winter festival where we celebrate with fire, eating and honouring the dead. In many places, Samhain coincides with the end of the growing season. Vegetation dies back with killing frosts, and therefore, literally, death is in the air. Now I know some people get a tad tweaky when we talk Death, but death represents a release, whether it’s a release of breath, a release of habit, a release of a relationship. That’s all it is.

And if you think about it, why do we decorate our yards with skeletons and ghosts?

This contributes to the ancient notion that at Samhain, the veil is thin between the world of the living and the realm of the Dead and this facilitates contact and communication. If you remember, last week we explored what The Thinning of the Veil means and You might say the veil is the place where the everyday illusion of separation brushes up against the divine truth of eternity and universal interconnection. The place where form meets spirit, seen meets unseen, known meets unknown.

This means Samhain is a transition: a doorway between the season of life and the season of death. Beneath this realm of constant change, there is a wide open space of eternity. A place of stillness in which the appearance of change arises. A serene openness to which we will always return, and with which we are one, even at this very moment.

So do you see how potent this time is?

And it only gets stronger and stronger for the next few months! Whoot!

Okay, I have chuntered on so let’s crack on with the reading. When I went to the cards and asked who wanted to guide I giggled when I saw the glorious guides of Oracles of Shadow and Light were front and centre. Now if these guides are new to you, please let me introduce them (as it would be rude not to) Wisdom for Misfits, Mystics, Seekers, and Wanderers. Bittersweet…Unheard…Unconventional…Rebellious…Cheeky…Whimsical…Invisible. They’re not the words you often hear associated with the spiritual world, are they? Nevertheless, some of the most spiritual beings who have ever lived are those who have been most at odds with what we call the mainstream. They do not fit in. They have had moments of despair. And they know being truthful, and being real, is one of the greatest strengths and spiritual paths of all! They ask you to step out from the shadows, to no longer hide your light away, and to consult with an oracle that acknowledges your individuality and strange genius!

How’s that for a warm welcome?

The crystals that wiggled and jiggled are:- Black Moonstone – a powerful connection to the Divine Feminine, Black Madonna, helpful to the oversensitive. Moonstone – mystery, self discovery. Mystic Merlinite – can awaken those parts of the mind that are dormant and activate the full potential of the mind.

Woosah. So darling one, take a moment, or two or three. Allow yourself to just BE and with the energy of the inward journey, the ancestors and the warm darkness swirling in your mind’s eye breathe into that space. What do you need to release? What words do you need to hear? What fears need to be allowed to drop like leaves from the trees?

If you want to go deeper there is the amazing Wild Hunt visualisation available for you.

Did you remember to pick?

Let’s go see shall we?

GHOSTS OF THE PAST

At a masquerade ball, you see a beautiful young woman who has taken off her mask. The second she did so, people from her past invaded her party. Some are teachers, some are friends, and others are people she’d rather not see again. One reminds her of being sick once, and others remind her of many other challenging moments in her life. Why is this beauty surrounded by so many reminders at this present time?

She speaks and shares: “All about me are ghosts of the past, come here, perhaps, so I can finally lay them to rest! I have taken off my mask, and I know who I am, while they are still wearing theirs and still very much as I left them so long ago.

It seems I must turn and face them and make peace with them, perhaps even going over some old ground before I can move on to fresh fields. I have an urge to put my mask on, and mingle with them as I was….butI will not. I will be who I am now, and meet them without pretence, and show them who I have become. I am no longer afraid of the shadows in my past. I am at peace with all that I have been and all that I am.

We all have life themes, and we all have challenges and patterns – but the trick is to move through them quickly and to learn from them permanently. These ghosts with masks are here to show you what or who needs an adjustment in your life. A clearing, where you make peace with people you feel you may have wronged, is in order. None of us is perfect. All of us need to forgive and be forgiven.

This is the cause of the indecision you are now facing: the ghosts of the past are haunting you. The time for hiding who you are and pretending to be “normal” and “just like everyone else” is done!

LANTERN FAIRY

This sweet fairy is showing you a way through a barrier you have reached in your life. This may be in any area of your life – but it does feel that you have come up against a very solid obstacle. This gentle fairy, with her bright lantern, can take you to a place in this wall that has already come down, so you can move through this obstacle without force or fear. Your only requirement is to trust this fairy and then to take down several bricks after you have moved through so the wall between this world and the next, your love and your life, becomes slowly less and less solid. The wall is coming down: this is the fairy’s role, to help you move beyond the wall. Trust her. She will guide you.

Sometimes, people say you should be cautious about where information is coming from. And that is indeed true. I am simply holding up the lantern I carry and gently letting you see the likely outcome of the decisions you are making and offering a clear solution to the problem at hand. Something has come to an end. A true end, and you have, as they say, hit the wall. You could try digging under it, or climbing over it, or you could try taking down the wall brick by brick. But if you follow me, I can show you a place where the wall has already come down, and where you can move through this obstacle without pain. My guidance is safe, clear, and gentle. I am here to clear the way and light the path. It is up to you whether you make it harder than it needs to be.

Old patterns are being removed, little by little, but will need your trust. Old shielding against certain energies needs to be replaced and reworked, as it is no longer in line with what you wish for and in fact may be proving to be a barrier, which is keeping you isolated instead of protected. Trust where the light leads you – go where you can feel true love, kindness, and freedom. Avoid all that comes from anger, hatred, judgement, blame and ridicule.

SHALLOW GRAVE

This beautiful young woman is missing someone deeply, and she knows, perhaps for the first time, what it is to lose someone. Missing someone can be very hard. It feels like a physical ache, and our hearts can indeed be broken, because we humans have the capacity to connect like no others in the universe: we love, and we love so deeply that that love can continue even when the form we loved is no longer with us.

It is time to acknowledge just how deeply you have yearned for someone’s return, and how much that person’s loss has affected you. That being could be a friend, a pet you loved or a grandparent or parent who has left, and missing this is so strong it sometimes is a physical hurt. There is a deep sadness here, and it cannot be eased by denying its presence. And once this is done, you can put what is missing to rest, and visit from time to time, but know that you have been truthful with yourself, and that your sadness will change and be a part of your life’s beauty, not its pain.

She shares with you: “It is time to let something go, but before you do, let’s take a moment to acknowledge what this was to you, know that this meant so much, and that by returning it to the past, rather than yearning for it in the present, you are creating a future that has greater freedom to it.

There are opportunities for fresh starts all the time. Every day, in a sense, gives you a clean slate. For you, this sense of starting over is immensely important after you have grieved. You need to feel that something has been laid to rest and will no longer trespass on the present. Life is kind of like that – so much of what happens isn’t about what’s actually happening – but thankfully, you will blossom and grow with fresh relationships and love after mourning this lost one.

Working with the element of earth is most beneficial. You may wish to plant a memory tree: something earthy and growing, that changes, to commemorate your lost love. As it grows and changes, you will heal, and memories will be sweet and sad, without bitterness and pain. The earth takes forms, and changes them, and gives back to us what we let go of in new forms.

Wowzer, wowzer, wowzer. What fabulous messages for this time, Samhain, the inward journey and where we are at this moment in time. So most gorgeous bean, I hope you join us in The Creatrix Circle, download the Magickal Book of Samhain and really connect to yourself, your ancestors and the season that is unfolding in front of you. Be gentle with your gorgeous self and know that you are magickal! Take some time on Samhain to release the old year and welcome in the new one. Big hugs and squeezes!