Ritual

New Moon in Aquarius with a Partial Solar Eclipse and how to make your wishes count!

Well January was certainly a month of releasing, letting go, dredging things up from the past and purging them out, even more so as we had two Full Moons and a lunar eclipse!

Eclipse time brings up buried emotions, old stuff and patterning – so if you have been feeling a tad overwhelmed, drained, a bit fragmented – don’t fret – it’s all shifting and changing now.

Remember last week we talked about the theme of this month being UNFOLDING (think of a flower and an openness and expansion), that’s very much the energy of this delicious New Moon in Aquarius and Partial Solar Eclipse. Also, as February doesn’t have a Full Moon in it, there’s even more of an invitation for planting new seeds, creating and expanding into the future. Thus this partial eclipse is a book end to the one we had in January.

“The energy surrounding this Eclipse is the air sign of Aquarius and carries a very gentle, hopeful, and loving energy. All of this newly created space that we have made in our lives since the start of the year is going to be perfectly filled with this loving, abundant, and positive energy from February’s Solar Eclipse.

This Aquarius energy also gets us to start thinking about the bigger picture and focusing on how our actions and words affect those around us. Under the influence of this Solar Eclipse, we are going to have to step away from seeing things through our own perspective and open ourselves up to see things from a higher perspective.

Under this energy, we all have the potential to awaken and to see how our actions, words, and our essence effects the world around us. We may also feel a sense of responsibility in regards to how our attitudes and behaviours are creating a ripple effect around the world. There is an opening or a doorway to higher consciousness through this energy, and the more we can open our minds and hearts, the more likely we are to get a glimpse of true oneness.”

If you are feeling any confusion around relationship or path, use the glorious New Moon energy as your ally to break through this temporary limbo and reconnect with your intentions. New Moons are such an amazing time to to touch in with your intentions to make sure they are still what you want. A new moon is a still point and this one is good one to experience the stillness that aligns right timing.

Taking time for yourself and having a little touchstone ritual on a New Moon doesn’t have to be long and convoluted, it can be exceptionally easy, delightful and extremely powerful. Here is a fun, easy and gentle way to reconnect with your intentions and to make strong New Moon wishes.

New Moon Wishes/Visioning

Supplies needed:-

Pen, or multiple coloured pens, paper (Journal), a candle (any colour will do) and a delicious cuppa tea! (Lol, in my world you should always include tea I have a divine one that is lavender/mint and locally sourced).

Before you start, light a candle and take a moment to feel gratitude for all that’s good in your life.
Put some lovely music on that makes you feel relaxed, special and calm.
Take a few long deep breaths, get comfy in your body and where you are. For me it could be sitting outside (but if it’s frigging cold then I am curled up in the corner of the sofa with a dog on my feet).
Think of the top 10 wishes/intentions for the coming four weeks. Also decide what you are willing to commit to doing, in order to help your wishes manifest.
Then just write. I always start my New Moon wishes with I AM……… as I AM is a very powerful statement to yourself and to the Universe.
Remember, you can’t write wishes for someone else i.e. I AM in a healthy, loving relationship with Doug – the guy at work. Nope. Not allowed.
You can write about being in a healthy, loving relationship with a wonderful male/female who you connect with on every level, but you really can’t wish for someone else. Make sense?
When you have written out your 10 wishes, go back and read them slowly and really, really visualise this as true, and present moment. Feel it, smell it, taste it and smile like a Cheshire Cat.
Then end the ritual by saying outloud “This or something better now manifests for me, under grace in perfect ways and in perfect timing. So must it be.”

Voila! Done. If you have kids and want to share this with them it’s very easy and quite fun. Light a candle, become the secretary and ask each person in your family what their top 3 wishes are, write them down and then come next New Moon review them together – I highly suggest over a delicious oatmeal chocolate chip cookie and a mug of tea. Yes?

Enjoy and Happy Visioning!

Imbolc – Simple Hearth Blessing and Cleansing Ritual

Jenny Heston · 8:18 pm ·

Ahhhh, February is here and even though you can feel Spring tickling around the back of your being, often you are looking at snow, rain or something that doesn’t invoke the feeling of creation and expansion. (That’s when I plant a Hyacinth bulb or bring some Forsythia inside to bloom earlier than normal, or just grab a bunch of daffs from the supermarket).

In most areas of the Northern Hemisphere, the month of February can be the coldest time of the year. In fact in my little town we do have a “Coldest Night of the Year” walk to help raise funds and support for housing, homeless people and food for everyone. So February to me invites me to curl up with a good book in the safety of my home and hearth. Which brings us to Imbolc, which is the celebration of the growing light but also all things hearth and most certainly the glorious Celtic hearth and fire goddess, Brigid.

Now I know the phrase “hearth” can be confusing for some people. “But I don’t have a fireplace, I don’t have…..”. Most certainly in days of yore there was a hearth, a fire and when building a home one of the most important stones was the hearthstone, the stone in front of the fire. But we are 2018 and I don’t know that many of us have great big fireplaces and a huge hearthstone to gather around.

However, think about it – you have a gathering at your home, food, games, friends – and where do people mainly hang out? I am guessing the kitchen – yes? I have had to shoo people out of the kitchen so that I can move around quickly and efficiently so that we all get fed, but yet, they all dribble back to that place. So if you have a stove, a kitchen and prepare food for loved ones and yourself that can be considered a hearth. Maybe it is the dining room table where you all gather, share your stories of the day, that is a hearth. It could be the coffee table that you lounge around as you chat and drink tea together, or it could be your altar.

Don’t get fixated on the word “hearth”, but realise that hearth is more than a physical location it is the feeling and has its own spirit. Does that make sense?

The spirit of the hearth is more important than the physical manifestation of it. The spirit is about feeling safe, loved, nurtured and cosy and to honour the spirits of the home. For example, every night I fill my nebuliser with water and the essential oil that I want to work with, light a white candle and say a blessing over it to hearth, home, health, happiness and harmony. Very simple. (Also makes my home smell fabulous and the candle makes it feel cosy).

Another one I love is from Blake Blair and it is a quick and simple ritual honouring the spirit of home and hearth, designed to raise the vibes and fill it with the blessings of the season and create a welcoming environment for you and those you love. Because of the rite’s simplicity, it is easy to personalise and embellish.

All you need to gather is a small white candle, and a simple offering to the spirits of hearth and home that conjures a cosy feeling, such as fresh baked cookies, a mug of a favourite drink, favourite incense or in my world, essential oil. Go to the place you consider to be your hearth. Light the candle and focus on calling in the spirits of hearth and home, invite Brigid in. Ceremonially place the offering (whether it’s a mug of tea or a cookie) near the candle as a gift to the spirits. Envision the purifying and radiant light of the candle growing, filling, and permeating your entire home.

Then say:-

Spirits of hearth and home, with this light may your presence here be grown. We ask to bless and protect our/my cosy home; with this offering our gratitude be known.

Hold the vision of the growing, radiant light bestowing the requested blessings upon your household. When you feel it’s reached its peak, clap your hands together three times and conclude the simple rite. If you feel inclined after this, make a list of your goals, both expansive and mundane and pop them under the candle and everyday until Spring Equinox light that candle. (It doesn’t have to be for a long time).

May you experience all the warmth and cosiness of the hearth in this delightfully chilly time of year.

It’s New Moon in Capricorn tomorrow! (I love New Moons) – Weekly Reading January 15th.

Jenny Heston · 1:00 pm ·

Happy Marvelous, Magical, Magnificent Monday! How are you? How has your week been? Have you decided what your Word of The Year is going to be. It has snowed, and snowed here for the last week, so my way of dealing with winter is to dose up on D3 and get outside and play – which ties in with my WOTY – Delight. So I had a glorious weekend of play, lots of skiing between the trees and alongside a river (which was deliciously magickal), sledding with the kids and hounds. Albeit I found out that my Akbash feels he needs to try and rescue me when I am whipping down a steep slope on my flying saucer by trying to grab onto me, or throw himself in front of me. It made for some interesting adventures!!

Yesterday I felt that a good cleaning of my home and an energetic cleanse had to happen. So I cranked up the music and went to work. I did the windows, had a little dance break, bopped around as I did all the laundry, then pretended to be a fairy as I dusted, vacuumed and searched out lurking dust bunnies that were trying to hide in the corners. I decided to lovingly polish all the wood furniture. As I was gently rubbing oil into my dining room table that I inherited from my parents, and it’s about 65 years old, I had a massive flashback to when I was little. Every Sunday one of my chores was to polish the same table and I loved making it gleam and I would scramble around underneath it to make sure all the legs were polished and shiny. So funny to see how that ritual has stayed with me as an adult (although I don’t tend to hide under the table anymore). When everything was all cleaned, sorted and glowing I then smudged the whole house setting new intentions for the energy of our home, trust me it makes a huge difference and with New Moon in Capricorn happening on Tuesday, it seemed like the most natural thing to do as New Moon is a glorious time to plant the seeds of something and to set intention.

At the time of this New Moon, there will be a lineup of the Sun, Mercury, Venus, Saturn, and Pluto all in the sign of Capricorn. This rare alignment is known as a stellium. Having a line up of so many planets indicates that this New Moon is going to bring a lot of earthy Capricorn energy for all of us to play with.

This is the perfect time to take action in your life and begin making small, practical changes in order to bring more joy, abundance, love, success, and whatever other ways of being you would like to have more of in your life. While this is a great time to take action and express yourself outwards, there is also this energy pulling us to go deeper within ourselves and to really connect to that heart center.

The good thing about this Capricorn New Moon is that it has a lot of energy, which means that you can use this energy to serve you in any way that you need. Tune in to yourself and ask- “What is something I could use support with? What would I like this New Moon to bring into my life?”

Then set your intentions, plant your seeds for the future and what you want to grow and flourish in your garden and then give your wishes up to the night sky.

Thus, with all that being said let’s get on with this weeks reading. Now normally when I do these readings one deck bounces around calling loudly to be used. This week there were 3 decks and none of them were willing to back down, so for the first time this reading is done with a card from each deck. Also interesting to see was who else vied to come play and actually pushed the crystals out. Wood, A Sand Dollar and a glorious rock from a beach I found years ago. So think about it – we have 3 decks, wood, water and earth. Most interesting! (Love it when the Divine takes over).

So take a moment. Just stop and roll your shoulders up back and down and feel your shoulder blades fall down either side of your spine like glorious wings. As you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth envision a golden light coming out of the bottom of your feet and down, down, down into the earth into the warm, brilliant lava centre and as you take another breath feel the energy of earth move up that golden cord – up, up, up through your body and out through the top of your head as a silver light reaching up and connecting you to the Divine. Keep breathing in this way and allow the light from the Divine to come down, through you and into the earth, then up from the earth, through you and into the Divine. Ahhhhh, you are a glorious conduit for connection. When you are ready, gently pull the energy back into your body, give your hands and feet a little shake and pick the card or cards that are calling to you.

Ready to go have a little look – see?

FAIRY OF THE DIVINE HAND

I am here to reveal to you what will tempt you. It is delightful, this thing you are being offered. And surely a little won’t hurt? I am Fairy of the Divine Hand, and I appear to you when you are blinded to what you must see. You know how it is….you start having a piece of candy, some soda, maybe a little junk food, then before long, you have more. It may be another habit, such as judging yourself or others way too harshly, thinking negatively, or giving up too early on exercise and good healthy practices, that you are indulging in. Gossip too, falls under my domain. While it can be wickedly delicious, it always leaves such a sour aftertaste.

Come and truly examine what is being offered to you. Underneath this apparently harmless fun, spending, partying, distraction, or giving up too early on exercise and good healthy practices, and temptation lie disorientation and fear, and things may appear to be quite different than how they truly are. But here……look and look closely. Do you begin to see what will take place if you continue down this path? Do you sugarcoat the possibilities of where this may end? Do not push down the feelings and warnings you have; instead come a little closer, and look.

Do you begin to understand that what seems such a small thing may indeed change lives? Take a moment. Look. Think. Connect with your deeper wisdom. Decide whether you will join in with what is tempting you, or whether you will watch a while longer and make the wise decision instead.

You know when this temptation comes that you do not need to flee, you do not need to indulge, you do not need to curse and berate this lovely, very earnest fairly with her clear message to stop, and truly look at what is taking place. You know you simply need to pause. Be quiet. Clear. And know now that one of your fiercest addictions is seeking you out, and you are wavering, caught in its delirium. This is not an opportunity to escape. This is your chance to break free!

RED COUNTESS

Deep within, you know what is true and what to do (or not do). Yet there is so much noise and distraction in the world, and even at times in our own minds, that listening for our inner wisdom can seem like trying to hear gentle birdsong in the midst of a rock concert. Even so, you are hearing an inner truth, and deep down, you know it. Can you trust that it is safe to not only hear your inner voice but act on it too?

There is something that you know. You’ve felt, sensed, heard or realised this truth more than once. Even if others see or feel differently, you just know what you know, even if you don’t quite know how you know it!

Give your truths value. Hold your feelings and insights in high enough esteem to pay attention to them, to give yourself time to process what you think, feel and sense. Know that they’re worth acting on, even if that action just means to trust more and stop worrying. If you cannot figure out what your inner truths are, or you feel confused by conflicting thoughts and feelings, torn between head and heart, then you are in a state of information overload. You need to switch off, discharge some excess mental and emotional energy and take a break. Give yourself some time out from the crazy noise and constant distractions of the world so you can get in touch with what is true for you.

THE PENDRAGON

I am He who is the hunter, the sage, the father, the provider, the protector. I am he who watches over his people and does his best for his family. I am He: your brother, your father, your husband, your son. I am sheer powerful masculine energy and I am the lover of the Goddess of the Dragonfae. Together we create wholeness, apart we wander alone and are more easily wounded, even destroyed. I have a role: to care for others, to use my physical strength and to use my attributes to fight for those I love. And I will do that. I am King and Emperor and God…and I care for you. Do not fear me: I would not hesitate to sweep you into my arms and hold you.

I love you, but know that my role here takes me away many times from all the love and playfulness that still lives inside of me. Trust in my actions. See the truth and choose a partner who is in action a strong and caring manly man. Think of some of your positive experiences with men this lifetime: from moments with your father, to times when a man has acted honourably. Now, from those examples, begin to allow more of that version of masculine energy into your life.

Gradually, let’s change your ingrained and sometimes negative beliefs about men…and when Pendragon walks in, he demands that you treat the men he sends your way with respect and honour….just as he will treat you in return. You will notice that ignoble men no longer have a place in your life and that you are no longer attracting them. Indeed, Pendragon wonders why you would waste your time with people who do not behave in a noble fashion, and he does not want you to be involved with men who behave deceitfully, who are fearful of their own power, or who take advantage of members of their own family or their partners.

Holy Hannah, the cards had a lot to say this week about where we can get lost in our addictions, that we need to get quiet and allow our inner voice to speak to us and to celebrate and welcome in healthy masculine. How did that feel for you? Even more interesting to see that the three decks worked together and that the elements that came to play totally tied into the message of the cards! Sand Dollar representing water is Spirit and that’s what the card asked you to do. Love, love, love it. Anyhow gorgeous one, wishing you an amazing week – remember to take a bit of time tomorrow to set your intentions and seeds with this lovely New Moon. See you next week and remember – you are awesome and to smile (it looks really good on you). Huge hugs.

It’s All About the Balance Baby – Autumnal Equinox and 8 steps to harness this energy.

Jenny Heston · 5:28 pm ·

There are 8 spots on the wheel of the year and these are called Sabbats. 4 are major and 4 are called “lesser” in other words they are the mid point between 2 of the major. So this Equinox, which is also known as Mabon (named after the Welsh god, Mabon, son of the Earth Goddess Madron), is a lesser Sabbat as it is mid way between the summer solstice and the winter solstice. Does this mean it has less energy – heck no!

This is the second harvest, the fruit harvest, late July we celebrated the first harvest festival which was Lammas. With this festival, you are being invited to look at the seeds that you sowed in the Spring, on every level, and reflect on how they have manifested. Most crops are in and the fields are beginning to look brown and are slowly going to sleep for the winter (unless they are filled with gorgeous orange pumpkins). I personally have pulled up all my soft and tender zucchini plants and am almost done harvesting my tomatoes, but I am going to leave my carrots and beets in the ground until first frost (it makes them far more juicy!) In my wanderings with the hounds I also found a gorgeous old, old abandoned orchard filled with apple trees and have been harvesting apples galore (although the bears have had something to say about that!)

What you need to appreciate is that Mabon is the balance point, the place where there is equal amount of day and night. While we harvest and celebrate the glorious gifts we are receiving we have to accept that the soil is dying, and release. We have food to eat, but warmth is gently tucking behind us and cold and dark lie ahead. Now if this if making you gulp a little, don’t! Remember you can’t experience light without the dark and vice versa. When the day and night are of equal length, it offers a powerful vibration and harmony between the time of creation (night) and the time of manifestation (day). This allows the flow between creation and manifestation to be more seamless and flows with ease and effortlessness. There are no limits on what you can manifest during an Equinox, however, for a Spring (Southern Hemisphere) it is a time of new beginnings and for us in Autumn it is a time to harvest, release and let go.

So how do I mark this time and celebrate it and harness this glorious energy you may be asking. Good question and there are a myriad of ways, so pick whichever resonates for you. You can do more than one most certainly, but if it feels like a chore – put it to the side!

Create An Altar

Now if the word altar makes you uncomfie, call it a celebration nook or a gratitude space. It could be on the dining room table, a kitchen counter a dresser – you name it. Gather up leaves, acorns, seed pods, rocks, twigs – whatever calls out to you and put them in a lovely spot and enjoy them. Take your kids or friends on a Nature walk. When you have gathered and placed give them a little blessing and thanks. It’s the ritual of taking time to acknowledge that’s important, not the objects per se.

Clean House!

With the longer nights soon approaching and most of us spending more time inside than out, this is a perfect time to do a fall version of spring cleaning. Gather together the things that no longer serve you, it could be clothes you don’t wear anymore, books that you aren’t going to read again, those random arsed odd soxs that you hold onto just in case…… Release them. Gift them to a charity shop (not the odd soxs), take them to your library, but give them a little pat and thanks and pass them on to someone else who will enjoy them. Give your house a good clean and then do a smudging. Decorate your home with symbols of the harvest season. Buy or pick a gorgeous bouquet of orange, gold and green and have it somewhere where you can see it daily.

Celebrate Your Abundance!

When we say abundance, it doesn’t necessarily mean material or financial gain — you may be abundant if you have friends who love you, a satisfying family life, or a rewarding career. Think about that things you have for which you are most grateful. I get Notes from the Universe, every morning (and I love them) and today’s was – “If you’re reading this right now on a phone or computer, you’re rich. If you have somewhere to go today, you’re connected. And if there is anyone anywhere for any reason knows where you are at this moment, you’re loved.“

You can turn it into a game with your family at dinner time and everyone takes turns to share what makes them feel abundant (it’s very cool to hear all the various responses).

Play With Your Food

If you have access to berries, apples, pears or whatever fruit is around you right now. Gather it all together and create an abundance mandala. In other words, play with your food! Get your most favourite dish out and arrange the fruit in any way that you like that resembles a mandala and have it for dessert (or your main course). Involve your kids, have friends over, but celebrate!

Apple Magic

Apples are the perfect symbol of the Mabon season. Long connected to wisdom and magic. The apple has figured significantly in many sacred traditions. It is known as a symbol for life and immortality, for healing, renewal, regeneration and wholeness.

If you cut an apple widthways it reveals a pentagram containing seeds. The five points represent the elements of Earth, Air, Fire, Water with Spirit at the top, and thus also the directions of East, South, West, North and Within. The circle of the apple around the pentagram represents the eternal circle/cycle of life and nature, and of wholeness.

So if there are apple trees nearby, or a local pick your own orchard go get some apples! Then think of the pies, crisps and crumbles you can make with your glorious fruit. You could also dehydrate (dry) the apple circles and make them into an edible wreath.

It’s All About the Balance Baby

As I mentioned earlier, Mabon is the perfect time of balance between light and dark. So why not give yourself the gift of balance. Take a few moments or longer and just sit and breathe slow and deep and meditate on balance. Reflect on how you handle pressure, how you manage your emotions and other people’s. Is your life in balance? Do you make sure you get enough rest, water and play or are you pushing and striving and feeling a tad overwhelmed? What little shifts and changes can you do to create more balance in your mind, body, work, home life, family? Do you need to practice saying No more or do you need to practice saying Yes more? Get it? So just take some time and if you feel inclined write down a few small tweaks that would make you feel more in alignment and balanced.

Decorate with Sunflowers

As I have said repeatedly, I love, love sunflowers! Their big bobbly heads that track the sun, their glorious cheerful faces that waft in the breeze. But as with all things, that changes. The petals are starting to drop off and the seed heads are beginning to curl back a bit and the leaves are drooping. So I’m gently going to trim the heads off the flowers, save one and dry the seeds (so I can’t plant my seeds at Spring Equinox) and with all the rest (and there are quite a few), I’m threading them on fishing line and hanging them in the branches of the trees for the birds. That way the birds and the squirrels can stock up on seeds before the winter comes.

Light ‘Er Up!

Get a candle or candles and as you light them you can ask for blessings on your home, hearth and self. This doesn’t have to be complex or over the top (although if you want it to it can be). You can just simply take a breath, light your candle and say “Goddess or Green Man, I ask for your blessing on this special day. Bless my harvest, my home, my hearth and my self. Keep us safe and warm, the winds away from the door, harmony and health abounding. I give thanks and so it is.” Voila! Remember though, please don’t leave candles unattended and most certainly don’t go to sleep with one burning.

If you like ritual there are two gorgeous ones here – one is for Autumnal Equinox (Mabon), and the other (if you’re in the Southern Hemisphere) is for Spring Equinox.

So delicious one, that is how to celebrate and harness this potent time of Equinox. I hope you give yourself the gift of doing something to mark this special day.

Enjoy!

Spring Equinox Ritual

Jenny Heston · 5:11 pm ·

Ritual for Spring Equinox

This ritual is wonderful for manifestation, protection and a clear creative mind.

What you will need:

About 10 brightly coloured flowers

A candle – preferably pink, yellow, purple or white

Your favourite crystal and here I would recommend Citrine if you have it.

Pen and Paper

A willingness to get creative and clear

Find a little space and a spot for your ritual. Personally, if the weather is half decent I go outside.
Hold your crystal to your heart and envision that as you breathe in long and deep you are breathing in through both the crystal and your heart.
Pick up your pen and paper and write down what you want to create, attract, manifest or bring into form into your mind, body, life, work, home. When you have finished writing, gather up your flowers and arrange them in a circle leaving one for later.
Pop your candle and the paper you wrote on into the circle, but keep hold of your crystal.
Say your manifestation aloud 3 times and then light your candle.
Just sit and take in the energy of your sacred circle. Just breathe and enjoy.
When you feel ready, release what you spoke aloud out to the Universe by picking up your flower that you put aside and tossing it into the air. Feel the Universe grab your words and whisk them off on a glorious Spring breeze.
Take the piece of paper you wrote on and burn it in the light of the candle. Then gently gather up your flowers and pop them into a vase so they can remind you for the next few days.

Awesome! You have just set the wheels in motion for creation.

Ritual

jennyheston

Release Anxiety And Claim Your Power