Hi there,
I have updated this photo album to include pictures from yesterdays ritual to Papa Legba and St. Anthony. It was such a wonderful experience and the energy was awesome. And we get to keep on going all month working with Papa 😉 Hope your experience was as splendid as mine! Enjoy the photos.
In Service,
Sister Bridget
It
is time for our free Papa Alegba rituals to be done in our
Spellmaker offices! We will do this ritual in our office on June 13,21,
and 29, 2010. You can be included in this ritual in many different
ways: You can send in an email and ask for your petition to
be presented in our rituals. There is no cost for this! You can also
choose to do the ritual below on that to tap into the group energy of
the days we will be working or on any other day you desire – also free!
You can also choose to use Papa's Ritual Pack on any or all
of his special feast day or any other day you desire! You can use his
special bath on these days! You can use his special oil and
incense and do a ritual of your own to honor him! There are lots of
ways for you to participate at this special time of year when Papa
Alegba is being honored all over the world! The choice is completely
yours!
For details please click here!
Its not too late to join in! Hope to "see" you there!
Perseverance seems to be a theme near and dear to me lately. When I came across this poem by Maya Angelou, it really spoke to me….I hope you find some inspiration in it as well.
In Service,
Sister Bridget
by Maya Angelou
Does my sassiness upset you?
Why are you beset with gloom?
'Cause I walk like I've got oil wells
Pumping in my living room.
Just like moons and like suns,
With the certainty of tides,
Just like hopes springing high,
Still I'll rise.
Did you want to see me broken?
Bowed head and lowered eyes?
Shoulders falling down like teardrops.
Weakened by my soulful cries.
Does my haughtiness offend you?
Don't you take it awful hard
'Cause I laugh like I've got gold mines
Diggin' in my own back yard.
You may shoot me with your words,
You may cut me with your eyes,
You may kill me with your hatefulness,
But still, like air, I'll rise.
Does my sexiness upset you?
Does it come as a surprise
That I dance like I've got diamonds
At the meeting of my thighs?
Out of the huts of history's shame
I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise. I rise.
Here are some photos about a new skill I learned on my last trip to visit Marran and Parran.
Enjoy!
In Service,
Sister Bridget
“The things you want are always possible; it is just that
the way to get them is not always apparent. The only real obstacle in your path
to a fulfilling life is you, and that can be a considerable obstacle because
you carry the baggage of insecurities and past experience.”
~~ Les Brown
Baggage. We hear
that term tossed around alot, dont we? …. but what is it? How do we get it?
Most importantly, how do we get rid of it? As we go through our daily
lives, stuff happens. Sometimes its big, bad stuff. Hopefully, that does not
happen very often. But it does, and it leaves it mark on us. Or it can leave
its mark on a loved one. How this *stuff* effects us might not be readily
apparent right away, but with time we may see some behavior pattern or reaction
or even overreaction to something that might raise an eyebrow. Sometimes, we
might feel like the picture above, dragging our past along into our future.
That slows us down and can keep us from achieving our goals.
Not all
baggage is relationship based, by any means. But many of us here are working on
relationship issues, and it seems to be a common topic.
Almost everyone today who has
experienced a failed relationship is carrying around some degree of emotional
baggage. The problem with these left over feelings is that they are usually
negative in nature, causing fears and
doubts that carry over into future relationships. This can very well sabotage
relationships that would otherwise have long term potential. The tricky thing
about emotional baggage is that most of us do not realize that we are carrying
it even after it has presented itself time and time again within our romantic
relationships. It is essential to learn how to recognize our own emotional
baggage in order to enjoy healthy and happy relationships in the future.
Emotional baggage occurs when we experience a hurt within a
relationship and that hurt is not resolved or dealt with. We then internalize
those negative feelings and develop fears that we may or may not be aware of.
When we then go onto the next relationship, these same fears and negative
emotions trigger negative or irrational thoughts and behaviors within us. These
behaviors then have a negative impact on the new relationship. Instead of
protecting you from having the original hurtful experience repeat itself, these
behaviors can actually cause that experience to recur time and time again. The
fears and hurt feelings only then grow and now become justified within your own
mind as correct. This creates a cycle that you then feel unable to escape from
in your romantic life.
How can we stop the cycle? Lots of ways….there are traditional
ways, like therapy, self examination, journaling, talking to a close
friend or relative. Really becoming aware of recurrent thoughts, feelings and
actions can really help. But, since you are here reading the blog of a Voodoo
Sister, I am going to assume that some magickal advice is being sought as well
😉
The Lady Samantha Hex Removal Kit is the first and most powerful option
we have. This kit is an extremely powerful spiritual cleansing, and while you
may not have been hexed, this kit is also very appropriate for cleansing away
what holds us back emotionally.
The Milk of Damballah White Bath kit is another option. An excellent
spiritual and emotional cleansing bath.
White image candles, white seven knob candles, a Cosmic Voodoo Healing
Egg for yourself are also very good choices. And would work wonderfully
as a follow up to the Hex Removal Kit or the White Bath, to allow you to
continue to slowly and gently release issues one layer at a time.
Whatever method you choose, traditional or magickal (or best yet a
combination of both) addressing baggage and healing from it will definitely be
worth the effort put forth 😉 Remember, the most powerful healing we can do is for ourselves.
In Service,
Sister Bridget
"Your vision will become clear only when you look into your heart.
Who looks outside, dreams. Who looks inside, awakens."
~~Carl Jung
Hi There!
when coming into a reading, as a client you will have things you desire
clarification on. Knowing how to phrase
questions well will help you get the most possible benefit from your reading.
Here are some basic guidelines.
The Tarot
will give you an overview of a situation and let you know what will happen if
you choose to either do nothing and continue the way you are going, or take
another path. The tarot itself is more about insight and guidance that black
and white answers. Open ended questions seem to work best. Here are some examples:
Can you give me insight into …
What do I need to understand about …
What is the meaning of …
What is the lesson or purpose of …
What are the circumstances underlying …
How can I improve my chances of …
How might I …
What do I need to know about . . . ?
What internal and external influences are affecting my goal
to…?
What is the next step I need to take to achieve . . . ?
What is standing in the way of my . . . ?
How can I best overcome the obstacle of . . . ?
How can I be a better . . . ?
Which is the best choice between . . . ?
Asking closed
ended questions limits the scope of advice that the cards can lend. Yes and No questions can be asked, but that
then leaves us asking yet another question about what to do next. The cards themselves do not give specific
names, places or dates. Although,
general time frames can be interpreted by a skilled reader 😉 (We can address timelines
in another post!) And always, if you are having trouble framing a
question, just describe what it is you
wish to know about, what information you are seeking, and we can work together
on phrasing your question. No worries!
Keep in mind
that there are always challenges and obstacles in life and the Tarot never
gives an inevitable outcome but, rather, a possible
one based on the circumstances presently surrounding your question. Readings of any kind should be used as a tool to help you in
deciding what to do next, what you can work towards changing, and what you
decide to accept as your destiny. In other words, if you get a reading
that doesn't seem particularly good, what can you do to change that?
If you couldn't potentially change your future, then we at Spellmaker wouldn’t
be here working so hard for you and with you!
Light and Love
Sister Bridget
~ Gary Zukav ~
Hey There!
Those of you who wrote in with your favorite songs for Ogoun, Thank You!
I know there are several of you, and there were comments posted in several places (here, FB, etc)
Those who wrote (and you know who you are!) please write me directly at bridget@spellmaker.com to get your prize 😉
Light and Love
Sister Bridget
What is life without happiness and contentment? Full of stress. Meditation is one of many ways to deal with stress. Meditation cannot be well described, it can be experienced, tho!
While medications bring in side effects to any problem, the side effects of meditation only include confidence, positivity, self-belief,
contentment, patience and sorry to pause but they are really countless
(many which you may never be able to express to anyone).
For beginners, there are some simple steps to help you reap the immense benefits of meditation:
Counting your Breaths
This is perhaps the simplest meditation technique for beginners.
Concentrate
on your each breath that goes in and out. This helps you tap its
rhythm, it is in fact but natural to find it hard to concentrate. So,
do not be disappointed and start tapping the rhythm of your breath
again. Do not stress your mind by trying too hard to regulate your breath.
Try
breathing initially without counting for a few minutes and when you
believe your breathing is at a regular pace and cycle, then start
counting it.
Set targets on the basis of the duration or number of breaths and gradually increase them.
Important
Note: After you are done, the process of opening your eyes, accepting
the surroundings and getting up should be slow and gradual.
Visualization Method of Meditation (Essentially for tension and stress)
In
this method, sit down, close your eyes and start breathing like in the
previous form. Now, start visualizing your each breath going in through
your nose, filling up your lungs and as it goes out.
Start to visualize all the positive thoughts coming in and the negative thoughts going out with each breath.
Then visualize an image or situation that instills a feeling of calmness and serenity in you.
Gradually visualize all your senses like smell and touch.
Flame Mediation
In this method, light and place a candle at eye level in a semi dark room.
Prior to focusing on the candle, sit down close your eyes and do deep breathing like in the previous methods.
Next, open your eyes and focus on the flame while breathing deeply.
Do not think of anything but the flame.
Now, close your eyes and visualize the flame for as long as you can conveniently.
When the image of the flame disappears while your eyes are closed, open your eyes and focus on the flame again.