1) it is the last harvest of the year. Samhain means “summer’s end.” This was a very scary time for the ancients, because the only food they and their animals had to live on all winter long was what was brought in by this last harvest. For this reason this was also the time when sick, weak or old animals were slaughtered, both so there would be more feed to go around for the healthy animals and to provide meat during the long winter. This is one reason why death and the dead are associated with this day.

2) it is a time for remembering, honoring and communicating with one’s ancestors who have passed over to the other side. Samhain is the Celtic New Year, and “between” times are very important and considered magical in the Celtic tradition. In ‘tween times and places the veil between the world of the living and the dead, and between mortal and fey, is thinner. So at dawn, dusk or midnight, as transition times between day and night or one day to the next, it is easier to contact other realms. But Samhain and Beltaine (May 1) are particularly powerful, because these are the transition times between the only two seasons in the Celtic Year, from Summer to Winter in the first instance, and from Winter to Summer in the second. And Samhain is the most powerful, because it is the transition from one year to the next. At this time more than any other time of the year the veil between the worlds is thinnest, so communication with the dead or the fey is easiest. This is why ghosts and various other supernatural beings are said to walk amongst the living on this night.

3) In Wiccan mythology it marks the descent of the Goddess into the Underworld to find her lover, the sun or corn god, otherwise known as the Summer King or Oak King. As a sun god He is generally considered to be at his full power at the Summer Solstice (June 21), the longest day of the year, after which he begins to age and weaken, until the fall equinox (around September 21 and the second harvest festival; the first is Lughnasa, August 1). On the equinox, day and night are equal and the sun king does battle with the god of the Underworld, the Winter or Holly King, and dies, beginning his descent to the underworld as the days get shorter than the nights. On Samhain the goddess strips herself of everything in her difficult descent into the realm of the dead, humbling herself to retrieve her lost love. The Holly King (who is really just another aspect of the sun god, two sides of the same coin) falls in love with the Goddess, impregnates her, and she carries the sun god back to the world of the living to give birth to him at Yule. (One well known descent into the Underworld story is the myth of Inanna, searching for her lover Tammuz; another version is the story of Persephone, either kidnapped by Hades to be his queen in the Underworld, or voluntarily descending to learn magick from the crone goddess Hecate…)

There are a number of subtle things you can do to mark these three qualities of the day. First, I’ll give you the “physical” stuff.

1) To mark the harvest festival and honor the bounty the dying god has made possible, you can eat seasonal foods, like corn bread or whole grain foods, apples, pomegranates (associated with Persephone), red wine (associated with Hecate) etc. It is also common among pagans to donate canned goods to a food bank or pet food to a local animal shelter to help the needy through the cold season ahead. It is also traditional to decorate the home with seasonal flowers, corn husks and corn dollies (the little husk dolls you see sold in quaint shops, dressed in mob caps and aprons, that sort of thing, that lots of people have just as a decoration with no spiritual significance). It’s also a good time to have a party, to celebrate your bounty with your friends by sharing food and camaraderie with them (which used to be all there was to do in the winter months, before radio and tv!) Handing out candy to the trick or treaters is symbolic, as well. Hospitality, especially at this time of year, was very important to the Celts, and leaving food set aside for the ancestors and the fey is the root of the trick or treating tradition. (It is traditional to offer the hospitality of your home to the fey for the long cold winter months at this time, and leave a plate of food or a glass of milk or whiskey outside your door for them. You should not extend such an invitation without the full knowledge and approval of everyone who lives in the house.  However, you can take a dish of food outside where it won’t be found and leave it by a tree or some such, as a gesture of friendship.)

2) To honor your ancestors, you can set up a “Day of the Dead” table. This doesn’t need to be anything terribly obvious, just a rearrangement of items you may already have into one particular place. Such tables usually include pictures of loved ones, friends or family, who have passed on; items that belonged to them or were loved by them; their favorite flowers, a candle lit in their honor, etc. You could set up your own without raising too many eyebrows just by putting a few pictures on your bureau in your room.

Next, for some “internal” stuff that no one needs to know you are doing, because you can do it in your room in the dark when everyone thinks you have gone to bed. That is, meditation and visualization. There are a number of meditations or visualizations you can do for the season. Two examples: you can reach out to your ancestors and loved ones on the other side; or you can imagine yourself retracing the Goddess’ footsteps in her descent into the Underworld (if you get a book of mythology out of the library you can read up on Inanna or Persephone, etc. to get the details that will help you visualize the journey). Just make sure if you choose the latter your intent is clear, whether to honor the Goddess, understand her better, or find some wisdom to take back with you. Always have a purpose in your workings.

A Wiccan doing such meditations would do a whole ritual designed to set up the proper mood, provide protection and invoke divine and magickal energies to assist in the working, but if you can’t do such a thing in your current environment (burn candles, set up an athame, wand, chalice and pentacle, god and goddess image, etc.) without attracting attention, I would suggest that you instead make such elements part of your meditation. That is, when you close your eyes, visualize yourself in a temple or sacred space of your choosing, complete with all the implements that you would find useful in your ritual, and imagine yourself going through the motions of lighting candles, invoking deity, etc. You can use the complete form of a Wiccan ritual, if you so choose, but the important thing is that it is meaningful and helpful to you and your goal, so don’t be afraid to ask spirit for its assistance in helping you improvise — the most powerful symbolism is the most personal.

Having said that, there are 2 specific visualizations I strongly urge you to perform, even if you don’t visualize any sort of ritual before doing either of the two meditations above.

1) Ground and center. This will keep you from getting distracted, disoriented or light headed and help anchor you to this plane and your body while you “travel.” My favorite method of doing this is to imagine I’m sitting against a strong tree with deep roots. A column of light enters your body from above (sun, stars, deity, etc.), passes through your body and down your spinal column, and out through your rear and your feet into the ground, going deep into the earth and spreading roots all through. Energy then comes up from the center of the earth, through your roots, and out the top of your head, showering around you like branches or leaves. To center, imagine all of your body’s energy or aura being pulled to the center of your body, around your navel, and focus on that power center and source of strength.

2) Protect yourself. There are any number of visualizations you can do for this, but basically imagine that ball of energy at your center expanding to form a sphere around your entire body, glowing and pulsing with brilliant light (in whatever color you feel represents protection or safety) and being fed by the still circulating energy from above and below. You can visualize symbols in front of you (religious symbols or anything that makes you feel protected) or that you are wearing armor, an invisibility cloak, or carrying a shield, etc. Then you can further expand that sphere to encompass your entire room or even your house, recognizing that only positive energy will be allowed to permeate it and nothing negative can get through.

Once you have done these things, you can either start your descent into the underworld visualization or reach out to communicate with your loved ones. A simple visualization for the latter is to see blackness all around you, that starts to thin in one spot and gradually pulls back, like a curtain separating. Reach out not just with your thoughts but with your emotions, and periodically take inventory of what you are feeling to make sure you are fully aware of what can be very subtle sensations. From my experience I can tell you that contact may not seem specific, as far as getting a sense of a particular person, a name, a scent or whatever (although that does happen), but for me it is always an intensely emotional experience as I feel surrounded by warmth, comfort, peace, and immense love, like being surrounded by generation upon generation of blood kin who all know and love me.

When you are ready to return, thank the beings you have met and bid them a courteous farewell; bring yourself back to your tree and imagine the protective sphere gradually shrink until it is back inside you, and imagine the energy from above and below gradually dissipating, though some of it remains with you and you know the shield is always protecting you even without your conscious awareness. Then bring yourself slowly back to conscious awareness and open your eyes; if you feel really buzzed or overly energized or light headed, you can “ground” the excess energy by kneeling on the floor on all fours and imagining the excess draining down your arms and legs into the earth. You might also want to walk around a bit and eat something, to bring your awareness fully back to your body and this physical reality. As I said, you can do most of this alone in your room or wherever you can have a few uninterrupted quiet moments so you can concentrate, without anybody knowing what your doing other than “sleeping,” “thinking,” or “resting your eyes.

Good luck with your celebration, have a blessed Samhain and a happy Halloween!

BB,
Vivienne

If you purchase the e-book, On the Care and Feeding of Spirits, at it’s page on this website, you will be able to participate (for free) by phone and/or by chat, and if you can’t make it, the call will be recorded so you can go back to listen and download at any time by visiting the page url that will be sent to you along with the pdf of the book and the other free bonus materials.

Hope to talk with you on the 11th!

BB,

Vivienne

P.S.: As always, if you find this post helpful, please spread the love by clicking on the “share” button below. Thanks so much!

Meet Your Spirit Guides

Topic ‘SPIRIT GUIDES’

Jamie Southworth: empath, energy healer, psychic Medium, palm and tarot reader and educator on Spirit Guides will be giving a talk on spirit guides and how they influence our lives. Jamie’s readings at previous events have been stunningly accurate and her entertaining style and passion has made her a valued speaker who gives of her time freely.

Jamie will give a brief talk on what the Spirit Guides are and how she found her own followed by a group reading were she will be talking, through her guides, to your own Spirit Guides, answering questions and informing you what your Spirit Guides are trying to tell you!

Jamie is also a talented artist whose new record “Love is Easy” can be heard on her website.

These cover memetics, psychology, paganism, magick, psychic self defense, spiritual cleansing, and more, and make a great resource for further study to supplement On the Care and Feeding of Spirits.

Happy reading! If you have any questions about any of these books or the topics they cover, please do not hesitate to ask, either by commenting here or emailing me at vivienne at persephoneshaven.com.

As always, if you find this post helpful, please spread the love by clicking on the “share” button below.

Thanks so much!

BB,

Vivienne

Sunday, May 24, 2009 2:00 to 4:00 pm

By Reverend Peter KenNell, Psychic and Medicine Man of Cassadaga FL

$20 Offering (No one will be refused for Lack of Funds)

Andrew Jackson Davis Building (Stevens Street, Cassadaga, FL)

Who are my guides? What direction should I take?

Learn how to communicate with your guides,

get answers, and receive Spiritual guidance.

Lecture, practical exercises, and guided meditation will be use to assist in guidance.

The Universe wants to help!

Psychic Readings, Past Life Regressions, and Healings are also available by Peter

For more information Call Reverend Peter KenNell 407-417-1679 peter@cassadaga.biz www.cassadaga.biz

P.S.: If you enjoyed this post, please share it by clicking on the “share” button below. And if you attend this class, please let Peter know you saw it here. Thank you!

Feel free to download to your mp3 player so you can listen at your leisure.  If you like the audio, please hit the “share” button below, re-tweet, or leave a comment to this post.  I would love to hear your questions and comments!

Have ideas for the next podcast?  Email me at vivienne at persephoneshaven.com, and let me know what you would like more information or lessons about.  I’m here to serve!

BB,

Vivienne

– ghosts (deceased relatives or other spirits of the dead)

– discarnate entities (beings that have never been human and never had a physical existence on our plane)

– fey (otherwise known as fairies, Fair Folk, Good People, Elementals; these are entities that have never been human, but may or may not have a physical existence on our plane.

– Angels and demons (two sides of the same coin – the difference is the emotional energy they resonate with. E.g., angels prefer to emit and be around, love, joy, peace, etc. Many demons, prefer fear, hatred, jealousy and so forth. However, when it comes to grey areas, like sexual desire, pleasure in food and other creature comforts, intoxicants, etc., the boundary blurs.

– Servitors, watchers, astral familiars – discarnate entitles created by a a magick user such as yourself, or by the collective consciousness of a segment of the human race (these can come from myths, legends, folklore, fiction, urban legends, and from your own fertile imagination. The possibilities are literally endless.

– Deities and demigods – many people believe these fit into the “watcher” category above. Others believe they had an independent existence prior to humanity and influenced our myths and religions through their interaction with us. Which they are is a conclusion you have to come to personally based on your own experience.

Top 10 reasons to start working with spirits right now

10) they can protect you from danger and warn you its coming

9) they can inspire you to great deeds and give you wonderful ideas

8 ) they can help you find creative solutions to your problems and help you discover options you may have missed

7) they can make you more self aware, so you see how you treat other people with new eyes, and wake up to the appropriateness (or not) of their behavior toward you.

6) they can perform tasks for you, from punishing someone who has wronged you, to watching over someone you love, sending messages in dreams, bringing money and good fortune your way, and more

5) they are a limitless resource for information, knowledge, and wisdom

4) they can interact with you to make every part of your life more fulfilling, from comforting you in your grief to filling you with joy and bliss

3) they can boost your magickal spells and rituals to make them exponentially more powerful and effective

2) they can open up a floodgate of blessings and divine energy to fill your soul and give your spirit wings

1) you can actually experience what it feels like to be a GOD – magickal techniques such as “God Form Assumption” teach you to merge your being with deity and resonate with their energy so you can experience their level of divine vibration or frequency.

With all the wonderful feelings and benefits that can be at your fingertips, no more than a thought away, why would you want to wait another moment to experience this bliss? Learn how to access this marvelous spiritual resource today. You never need to be lonely, ever again.

click here to buy On the Care and Feeding of Spirits now; you can find out more information here; or

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Why?

Because NONE of it, absolutely none of it, is necessary. You do not need anything other than what you were born with to communicate with “the other side.” Your mind, heart and soul are absolutely the only things you need to communicate with spirit. You don’t have to wait for a special time of day, you don’t have to remove jewelery, you don’t need a ouija board, you don’t need special incense. You ABSOLUTELY DO NOT NEED someone else to do it for you. Would you honestly use a phone to call someone who is standing right next to you? (well, text them, maybe… ).

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Are mediums useless? No, mediums can serve a very important role: CONFIRMATION. We all have doubts sometimes, and going to a neutral third party to get the same information helps us accept that the message is real and not just “wishful thinking.”

But contacting the other side costs nothing!

Ouija boards actually slow down the signal, like trying to download a movie from the net with a dial-up phone connection — it’s very slow going, the system can crash, and the signal is too garbled to be able to enjoy watching the movie.

You want to know the secret of all those things? Why people write reams of articles about twisting yourself into this knot and that to create “the proper atmosphere” and “an open, receptive frame of mind” and whatnot?

The Secret of Communicating with the dead, ghosts, spirits, and the “other side”

THE SECRET IS: they are all Dumbo’s feather. Remember Dumbo? Sweet elephant, had a great gift that everyone made fun of him for (yeah, so what if his ears were bigger than everyone else’s? They allowed him to FLY! In your face, “little ears!”) But Dumbo was so insecure after being emotionally, mentally and physically abused all his life for being “different” (i.e., more talented than the other 99.99999999% of the schmucks around him) that he didn’t know what he could do, or the amazing feats his gift made him capable of.

So what did his friend do?

1. He gave him a “maaaaagic feather… !”

2. He told Dumbo this feather could make him fly; and — this is the IMPORTANT PART:

3. He managed to convince Dumbo to believe it was true, and that he could in fact fly! (er, ahem, ah, at least as long as he had that feather….)

So Dumbo is flying up a storm, thrilled at what he can do, except he doesn’t yet believe that it’s him doing it, see? He thinks it’s the FEATHER that’s important, not him or his talent. So what happens when, inevitably, he loses that “maaaaagic feather?” He starts to fall. His friend has to do some fast talking to keep Dumbo from going splat, by giving him a newer, truer belief:

THAT IT WAS DUMBO’S ABILITY, AND WITHIN DUMBO’S POWER, TO FLY ALL ALONG.

Anytime. Anywhere. Without anything or anyone whatsoever helping, except his own big ears and his will to fly.

PRESTO! No more need for a crutch, and Dumbo’s been flying high ever since.

So I ask you: Do you still really believe that you need any of these crutches, like mediums and ouija boards, to talk to spirit? Or are you ready to learn how to flap those great big ears and start soaring, baby! (If you are, click here to buy On the Care and Feeding of Spirits now and I’ll show you how).

Because here’s another important secret….

(c’mon, come closer, don’t be shy - let me whisper it in your ear)

When it comes to communicating with spirit —

WE ALL HAVE BIG EARS!

If you let me, I’ll prove it to you by making you aware of the messages you’ve been getting all along. You don’t need a feather, you just need to take the cotton out of your ears so you can hear! (click here to buy On the Care and Feeding of Spirits now and I’ll show you how).

How do I know this? Because I’ve been studying and practicing it all my life. I have used and discarded many feathers and crutches, and I wish there had been someone to teach me what I will teach you.

I’ll Teach You:

* What Spirits Are And Why You Would Want to Work With Them? (hint: you’ll never have to be lonely again; helpers and guides are always there, anxious to benefit you, and to help you prosper and grow)

* Precautions to Take When Working With Spirits (it’s not at all dangerous to contact the dead, as you may have been led to believe).

* Protecting Yourself (all you need is your mind and Will; there are no magic amulets, arcane spells, salt and candles, or anything else required).

* Psychic Self Defense And Shielding Exercises (got a good imagination?  That’s not only all you need, it is your greatest asset).

* Distinguishing between Deities, Angels and Demons, Ghosts and Spirits, and Fey and Elementals (yes, you’ll want to know exactly who you are talking to…)

* Testing Entities: Distinguishing Between Your “Self” and “Other” (no, you are not crazy!  You really did hear/see/smell/feel/know that, and it wasn’t just wishful thinking).

* How To Get Started with: Evocation, Feeding, Invocation, Drawing Down the Moon/Sun, God Form Assumption, Creating a Spirit (or, “how to win friends and influence entities.”)

* Cultivating The Connection and Reaping The Rewards — and there are LOTS of rewards: material, spiritual, emotional, intellectual, life changing, mood altering, bliss inducing rewards!

click here to buy On the Care and Feeding of Spirits, or

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If you want to contact deceased loved ones, meet your own personal spirit guide, improve or enhance your connection to spirit and deity, or even create your own servant on the spirit plane, On the Care and Feeding of Spirits can show you how – quickly, simply and safely, with easy-to-follow, step-by-step instructions.

On the Care and Feeding of Spirits

by Vivienne D’Avalon

A Persephone’s Haven Publication
Copyright (c) 2007 by Persephone’s Haven
www.PersephonesHaven.com

Upon purchase customer will immediately be directed to the document url for download

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Guarantee: If you are not completely satisfied with your purchase, just ask for a refund within 60 days and you will receive a complete refund.

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With your order, you receive:

• the digital file of the book instantly downloaded to your computer
• a free subscription for one year to the On the Care and Feeding of Spirits newsletter, which will include more articles and information on the topic as well as seminar schedules
• access to the newsletter archive page, with links to back issues of the newsletter
• NEW BONUS AUDIO files: also on the Archive page are two new meditations from Kim Wade’s current class on “Spirit Guides”
• lifetime access to the audio archive of the On the Care and Feeding of Spirits teleseminars, so you can listen to the ones you can’t attend, at your leisure
• additional bonus materials also available for instant download!!! (But hurry – some of this material will only be available for a limited time, so definitely order now..

Buy Now! For a limited time only, you will also receive two free white papers.

The first free white paper is “Yoruba Religions in the New World – Voudon, Santeria, and Candomble”:

• Get an explanation of the syncretistic religions formed in the new world by the combination of the African, Yoruban beliefs with Catholicism and Native American practices
• Learn some of the differences between Voudon, Santeria, and Candomble
• Have misconceptions shattered and Hollywood claptrap debunked
• Learn the influence these faiths have had on social movements, art and culture in the New World, including the U.S.
• Find out some of the methods for communicating with the orishas and loa, or spirits, of these faiths, including spirit possession
• Get a free glossary of terms and historical timeline

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Bonus white paper 2 is a paper that I presented at Phoenix Rising, a literary symposium held in New Orleans. It has been published in that symposium’s compendium, found here at Persephone’s Haven’s book store.

• Learn about the orisha Eleggua and his importance in the Santerian pantheon;
• Find out about the many similarities that Eleggua and other orisha share with characters from the Harry Potter novels by J.K. Rowling;
• Understand plot points from the final Harry Potter book in the context of the predictions made in this paper (written after book 6 but before book 7 was released, all of which proved to be accurate);
• Enjoy multiple parallels drawn between passages in the Harry Potter books and African stories about Eleggua and his friends: Ogun, Ochosi, Osun, and the Ibeyi, or Divine Twins.

All for just $19.95!

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