New Worlds of Body, Mind & Spirit Since 1901
Today kicks off National Garden Week. That means this is a great time to do a garden blessing. Collect five quarter-size stones, crystals, or glass drops to represent air, fire, water, earth, and spirit. Select five points in your garden marking east, south, west, north, and center. This is where you will deposit your markers. You can leave them showing or bury them if you're concerned that someone may wander off with them. Start in the east and place the air stone. Say: Air, bring easy ...
Today is Oak Apple Day, which is tied to the English legend of King Charles II hiding in an oak tree to escape capture and then being able to return to the throne. Some theorize that the image of the oak-leafed "green man" is inspired by his story. To celebrate this day, folks would adorn their bodies and decorate buildings with oak leaves. The oak tree emerges from a tiny acorn and is a symbol of strength, honor, and wisdom. This connection makes for some powerful magic to tap into. There are ...
May 14 is David Byrne's birthday—yes, the David Byrne of Talking Heads musical fame as well as a writer, visual artist, and filmmaker. He's said quite a few fascinating and inspiring things over the years, but today we're focusing on this quote: "We don't make music—it makes us." Sound is an often-underused element in ritual and magical practice, yet it can be incredibly powerful and transformative. Archaeologists have uncovered instruments that were part of our earliest human ...
When we think of spoken spells, we tend to think of charms and phrases that are rhymed. But all words have the potential for magic, especially if we consider their structure and balance. They don't always have to rhyme to have power. Today, try playing with a different format for your spoken word spells, meditations, and blessings. A haiku is a kind of Japanese poetry that is non-rhyming and consists of three lines with a syllable pattern of 5-7-5. What if you thought about those three lines ...
