Time to swan-dive with Raven!

A special tip: Do check out Raven Mardirosian's new audio series, Swan-Diving into the Universe. Raven was co-host (with Georgianna "George" Boehnke) of Blog Talk Radio's entertaining Tarot Talk program, which has now concluded its weekly run. If you followed that show, you know Raven excels at bringing metaphysical and esoteric concepts right down to earth so you can readily grasp them and use them to your benefit. It's her mission.

Raven happily swan-dives into topics such as love and marriage, money and relocation issues, discussing how releasing constricting thoughts and developing a closer collaboration with Spirit can help us take right action and open to goodness, pleasure and abundance.

She's a wonderful, accessible teacher!

To listen to some samples and to order one or more of these mp3 downloads, click here. And tell Raven I sent you!

And here's my June 14, 2009 interview with Raven and George on Tarot Talk! I'll miss this show, and I wish both of these ladies all the best as they move forward in their lives and work!  Many blessings!

Magickal Earthiness Day

This magickal day is powered by the element Earth.

Earth appears to be the slow, solid, stolid element. But to the magick-minded, it is a combination of change within stability and stability within change. Bear that in mind today.

Touch an object. It seems to be all there, right, and reliably unchanging? But it is in motion, a slice of a larger reality.

And so are you. So, when you feel that you have a situation in your life that dominates you and that appears unchangeable, consider that nothing is really unchangeable, and you will begin to understand one of the essential principles of magick.

Have a truly Earthy day!

Eva :-)

(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

Magickal Flowing Day

This Magickal Day is powered by the element of Water.

And it really feels like it! The humidity, here in New York, is on the rise again. Rain is on the way!

I'm an Earth sign, but Water is my favorite magickal element. When I'm near a body of water, I usually dream more deeply and expansively. I'm more intuitive and psychic. There's something about water that, to me, says deep mind and Spirit.

Take the wateriness of this day and use it to get in touch with your inner depths and the deep ocean of mind that exists in all persons, places and things. It's a good day to meditate, to resonate in tune with someone you love, or to reach out across distance and time. Creative folks get an extra boost today, if they take the time to go into a place of quiet and open up their awareness.

Everything aligns for receiving and transmitting information that really matters. So, if you're a speaker, a teacher, a writer, a performer--anyone involved in communication--commit yourself to being fully receptive, to really paying attention, and to conveying what you learn. Don't forget that important piece: You must share some measure of what you receive.

I'm wishing you a beautiful day full of powerful learning and sharing!

Eva :-)

(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

The Holy Grail of the Unconscious

The long-concealed mystery of Carl Gustav Jung’s “Red Book” is about to be revealed. Read The Holy Grail of the Unconscious by Sara Corbett, The New York Times Magazine, September 20, 2009.

Magickal Airy Day

This Magickal Day is powered by the element of Air.

Without straining, breathe in as deeply as you can. Pause a moment. Let go and release as completely as you can. Rest. Breathe in. Pause. Release. Rest.

We all need more Air today--specifically, cleansing air and a buffering space of air around us, around our thoughts, intentions, speech and actions.

Every part of that exercise is important--the intake, pause, complete release and rest.

If you're feeling hurried or hustled, if you're feeling heated or overwhelmed, turn your attention to this breathing practice.

Put a few air pockets in your day--little spaces that you can escape into when what you see and hear and have to deal with are all too much. Or when you feel pressure to make a decision or take an action, and you need time to consider it. Or when you're tempted to mouth off. Recent events suggest that lots of us could use an air pocket of time to think things through before we say or do something that we'll come to regret! :-D

Put a little mental distance between yourself and the craziness. Fill it with cool mountain air and the exquisite songs of the creatures of air.

Your thinking will sharpen and will be infused with stronger insight. Your thoughts will be conveyed with precision and efficacy.

It's also a good day to turn your exhalations into magickal hums!

Thank you so much for visiting hummingwitch and for supporting this work. I hope you will continue to enjoy what you find here and share it with others!

Wishing you a bright day, a bright weekend and--if you're celebrating it--a beautiful New Year!

Eva :-)

(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

Magickal Sparks Day

This Magickal Day is powered by the element of Fire.

Perhaps you'll need a fire lit under you to really get going today.

Or you're overly sensitive and easily irritated, at the mercy of needling pockets of internal fire when something gets under your skin.

Or maybe your fire will come in the form of sudden, star-like flashes of awareness and insight.

In any case, Fire governs your day, and it represents an impetus to clear something out of the way so that you can move forward. Fire spurs you to take action.

Set a controlled fire--one that gives light and burns away what is no longer needed.

Set a fire for warmth or for enthusiasm. Keep it reasonably contained so that it does not run away with itself and so that it performs a specific job for you.

Set a fire that lights up and motivates others. Your influence can be positive, very strong and viral, as we like to say on The Internets.

Make space for play, for humor and merriment, sometime today. You may revisit something connected to your youth that is a happy or a silly memory. It's amazing what lives on within you!

Wear one item of clothing in a fire color--red, orange, gold or yellow.

When you feel low in energy or when you have to present yourself in front of others, call up the energy of Fire. Visualizing and internalizing the feeling of one of the Fire colors can help with this. Keep a strict, low limit on the amount of time that you do this, as too much Fire can easily set your nerves on edge and unnecessarily disrupt your environment and your interactions. I find that gold is the safest color for the purpose of self-presentation, and yellow is very good for clear mental energy, writing and speaking.

However you address this magickal day and its transformative element of Fire, make it a good one and remember to give something back.

Have a wonderful day!

Eva :-)

(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

The Directness of Pluto

Astrologer Pamela Cucinell has some wisdom to share on Pluto Direct. She recommends that we use the energy of this time to release our resistance to change and allow ourselves to shapeshift into new possibilities. As an outer "planet"--well, the astronomers have demoted it from planet-status, but the astrologers pretty much still love it--Pluto is thought of as the sort of thing we don't have a whole lot of control over. But we can take action to use its symbolic influences to our benefit.

When I use the Planetary Layout in readings--that is, when I read an arc of Tarot cards where the positions represent the archetypal meanings and energies of the Sun, the Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto--I read Pluto as the grand, mythic journey of life itself, with its peaks and valleys, its bright, open meadows and its darker stretches. While Pluto Retrograde might mean a journey back in time--a sentimental journey, if you will, or a horrific one, if that's what's in your past--Pluto Direct suggests steadily moving forward.

Pluto went direct yesterday on September 11. Like Cucinell, I feel that we have an opportunity here to make a future for ourselves as individuals and as a society based on true courage and the resolve offer and to support the best that we have within us. In recent months, we have certainly seen numerous examples of the opposite, the crud and toxins rising to the surface--and they will continue to surface into clear light where we can see them for what they are.

It's our choice: Do we want to cling to the old, hobbling beliefs and ways of acting? Or do we want to create a profoundly healthier future for ourselves as individuals, for our society and for our world?

As you contemplate Pluto Direct/Mercury Retrograde, consider how these two processes conspire to dislodge hidden energies that hamper healthy growth, to bring these things up for closer, courageous inspection, to help us to be discriminating and to take appropriate action for our future.

Wishing you every blessing,

Eva :-)

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(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

Op-Ed Contributor - After the Storms, an Island of Calm — and Resilience

via nytimes.com

Posted via web from Eva Yaa Asantewaa's posterous

Magickal Can-Do Day

Today, let's celebrate the ability of Tarot's Magician to perform not only magic tricks but serious magick as he/she wields a set of finely-crafted tools. Some of these tools are material items; others are made of mind and energy. Since Mercury is retrograding, now through the end of this month, we find the Magician applying every available tool to dig for buried or overlooked truths and bring them into light.

Have you begun to make a list of the types of things you hope to uncover in this retro period? If not, take some time to do so today. You might find that some of the information you're seeking will be a little easier to dislodge today and will lead to other, deeper revelations in days to come.

I'm wishing you light!

Eva :-)

PS: Just in case you wondered: Why do folks like me use these odd spellings--magick and magickal--instead of the more customary magic and magical? To distinguish stage magic (think David Copperfield and Penn and Teller) from ritual and ceremonial practices (spiritual and transformative).

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(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

Magickal Mercurial Times

I have always believed we practice astrology backwards (you know, by focusing more on the effects of certain astrological influences in our lives, rather than the universal purpose for them).

-- Marguerite Manning in "Mercury Retrograde: Above the Hype and Beyond the Spin," on Astrology on the Web (first published by The Llewellyn Journal)


Well, it's our old friend Mercury retrograding again, and doing so through September 29 (with the usual pre- and post-overflow, or shadow periods, of course). After reading through one Web astrologer's truly depressing prognosis, I followed this gloomy guy's link to an article that, paradoxically, offered a refreshing, positive look at what Mercury Retrograde can mean. So, of course, I wanted to share it with you.

Do check it out Manning's "Mercury Retrograde: Above the Hype and Beyond the Spin".

A few more quotes from her article will give you an idea of what I'm talking about:

Mercury retrograde is the astrological influence that “cosmically” revisits, retrieves, and reveals everything that managed to elude our conscious awareness in the preceding 88 days...

...in my humble opinion, there is really no better time to uncover elusive information, find lost articles, or learn what you absolutely need to know than when this little planet is doing it’s dreaded "backstroke" through the universe.

And Manning's remarks about how Merc Retro is a great time to find a romantic partner are a hoot!

I'm going to follow her suggestion and sit down and think about the kinds of hidden or overlooked information and goodies I'd like to uncover over the next few weeks. I suggest that you do the same. Set these retrievals and discoveries as your special intentions. Meditate on them and hum them into being.

Have a remarkable Mercury in Retrograde period!

Eva :-)

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(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

Magickal Hummingwitch Day

Why call this blog hummingwitch?

Because humming is something we all might tend to do--say, when we're cooking a meal or washing the dishes. As such, it evokes the age-old kitchenwitch way of life, one that utilizes what one has close to hand, the everyday magick of everyday household tools and resources pressed into service, at times, for a little something extra-special.

Humble. Earthy. Practical. There when you need them.

Moreover, humming can be a kind of secret, wordless chant that anyone can do, a sound vibration with magickal and healing effects for the vocalizer, the listener, the environment and all within it.

The hummingwitch, then, musically conceals the nature of his/her verbal intention (spell) while powerfully building, projecting and transmitting it.

So, for today, I invite you to explore the power of intention, of humming and of humming your intention.

Form a specific intention in words and, if possible, vivid imagery. Check in with your feelings. How do you feel? What is the energy of your intention? Can you now allow those words, images, feelings and energy to generate a musical hum?

You need not hum any actual song. Just allow a simple melody of any kind to come through. If there happens to be a specific song that sums up what you're experiencing and intending, then go right ahead and hum it. But the best hum is the one that arises from deep within you.

You can start softly and let your volume gradually increase. Or do just the reverse: Go from a louder hum to a quieter one. You can start with and maintain a nearly inaudible but, paradoxically, powerful hum just under your breath. Or you can do a silent hum in your mind alone. Try different approaches to your humming practice, and see which feels right and most effective for you according to your immediate needs and intention.

Remember, when you hum, no one will suspect that you're doing magick--unless they subscribe to this blog! :-D

Have fun and, as you try this practice and others, write in and let me (us) know how they're working for you! Thanks!

Eva :-)

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(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

Dance your spirit!

Sharing with you a couple of wonderful quotes from Judith Jamison's autobiography, Dancing Spirit:

"You have to be desperate, as though you were catching your breath. Dance has to be that way to you.... You want to eat life, so you have to be famished all the time, not physically, but in wanting to know and in wanting to absorb and in exploring and stepping out over the edge, sometimes by yourself."

"If you lose the step, turn inside. When you get lost, focus. Believe that the gift is in you. Accept it. If there are mistakes, so be it. God is in you. Let your light shine...."

Magickal Time-for-Self Day

Keep your magickal mirror and listening practices and journaling going.

What's that you say? You haven't started them?

I know...time...privacy...the usual.

So, take a look at that. Slow down, take a deep breath, and look at things exactly as they are in your life, and see what emerges from that attention. Let that be your meditation for today.

Wishing you a transformative day!

Eva :-)

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(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

Magickal Listening Day

Keep practicing your mirror work from yesterday. Commit to at least five minutes per day when you are very busy and fifteen minutes of serious attention to this practice just one day per week when you have more time.

For today, though, we will begin working with a different powerful sense/mode of awareness.

Set up your stereo system or mp3 player with one track of music (instrumental or vocal) for three rounds of repeated listening. Keep a pen and paper nearby. Sit or lie down with your eyes closed, breath deeply and steadily, clear your mind and open your awareness to listening as closely as you can without an agenda, without projecting anything into the music or its lyrics. Just be open and receptive.

When you have listened for three times, sit in silence for a few minutes and let the experience set. When you feel ready, write anything unexpected that you have experienced or learned. Even if you selected a cut of music that's very familiar to you, you may have heard something new in it. If you're listening to a singer, you may discover that you now know something about the singer that you did not know before. Or, perhaps you've found an answer to a question that's been circling around within you for a while.

Deeply enjoy the sounds of your day!

Eva :-)

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(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com

Magickal Mirror Day

So what if you don't own a Tarot deck? You have any number of divination-ready devices close to hand, and one of them is frequently right in front of your face!

Look into your bathroom mirror, a wonderfully portable pocket mirror, any mirror or suitably, clearly reflective surface; size does not matter. Breathe deeply, steadily and evenly. Clear your mind and take a few steps back from the emotional heat of whatever might be preoccupying you.

Spend some moments just gazing into the mirror. You will see yourself, of course, but--with practice--you will eventually begin to see beyond your physical self and to sense the energies that course within you and around you. You may begin to sense--or even see--aspects of yourself that do not belong to this current time or place but that hold significant information about your current concerns.

You can ask a question and receive an answer in various subtle ways, some of which might not manifest right away (for example, a later dream or, perhaps, a conversation with a friend). So, stay alert!

Have a beautifully reflective day!

Eva :-)

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(c)2009, Eva Yaa Asantewaa, hummingwitch, http://hummingwitch.blogspot.com