The Contemporary New England Witch

The Contemporary New England Witch
Author Ms.Faith

Thursday, March 29, 2012

Surrounded by negativity? Some simple ways to protect yourself





Good Evening,

Tonight I wish to discuss with you some simple ways to protect yourself from any harmful, negative energies you feel might be floating around you. Now I'm not talking about evil spirits or demons, they are far less likely to be around you than typical negative energies from other people you surround yourself with. Do you have a co-worker that's always pessimistic and a real downer? Is there someone in your life that is always spouting off about the worst that is to come? Someone who is a master at seeing the worst in every situation? Perhaps you just feel that you have bad luck?

If enough energy, negative in this instance, is built up over time, then what seems to be a 'cloud' of negativity will seem to hover over you, darkening the area of your life and making it seem as if only bad things happen to you. Well, you can do some simple things to make your day brighter, to make your luck seem better and your outlook more positive.

Witch Balls:

Witch balls have been used for over 6 centuries to help trap negative energies and to keep harm from befalling a person. In medieval times, when witches were considered evil and harmful, witch balls were used to 'trap a witch' inside the orb thus preventing her from causing harm. Hmmmmmm, funny . . . I surround myself with witch balls and have never found myself trapped inside of one? But legends are curious creatures, are they not?

In Victorian times witch balls were signs of wealth and good fortune as only the wealthy were likely to be able to afford them. Today they are used primarily for decoration, but I still hold that they have magickal powers which help keep the air around a person or in a home clear and free of harmful energies. Once the energies are trapped inside of the witch ball you can eliminate them completely by wiping any dust off of the ball and keeping it clean. Some names for witch balls over the centuries are Fairy Orbs, Pond Balls, Spirit Balls, Friendship Balls, Good Luck Balls, Globes of Happiness, Gazing Balls, and Butler Globes.



Black Salt:

Black salt is common salt that carbon has been added to. Note it is NOT salt that spices such as black pepper has been mixed with, so beware of unscrupulous dealers passing off knock offs. Black salt should look just like that, black crystals of salt. This can be used to sprinkle around doorways and placed in corners of your house to keep negative energies away and it is also reputed to keep harmful spirits at bay.

Black Candles:

Now, there's always been an association with witches and the burning of black candles. People seem to want to assume by burning black candles we are up to something nefarious and evil! Nothing could be further from the truth. We burn black candles to keep harm and evil away from us. To keep bad things from getting too close. For protection and banishment is why a witch burns a black candle. Take a black candle, size doesn't really matter and burn while visualizing yourself surrounded by a glowing orb of love and protection. Remember the first time we saw Glinda the good witch of the North in the 'Wizard of Oz'? She appeared in a big round bubble floating over Munchkin Land, and this bubble is the type of sphere or orb I want you to imagine yourself floating in while burning your candle. This visual is very powerful and will bring strong protection to surround you.

Brick Dust:

Used in Hoo Doo a magickal practice which originated in the American South East, brick dust is used similarly to black salt to keep harm away from you and your home. It is reputed to keep evil and harmful energies in any form from crossing over a line of brick dust, thereby keeping those energies away from you.

Blessed water:

Take a few pinches of salt and place in a small bowl of spring water. Put your right index finger (left if left handed) and trace the sign of a five pointed star in the water and ask the Goddess/God to bless this water. Then you can sprinkle this water around your home to eliminate unwanted energies. Trickle a small line of this blessed water across thresholds and with your finger, dip it into the water and mark on windows and doors a five pointed star surrounded by a circle for protection against intruders and harmful people.


These are just a few ways you can simply and inexpensively bring a lighter energy to bear in your home, office and other surroundings. I hope you find comfort and peace in these tips and tricks!

Peace and Happiness




© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Tuesday, March 27, 2012

Another past life regression I experienced, I'd like to share with you!







Good Evening,

The Past Life regression seminar I am hosting at Enchantments is coming up in just a couple of weeks, on Saturday April 14th to be exact. I thought I would share with you another past life regression I have experienced and which helped me get over my fear of heights.

You see, phobias, likes, dislikes and fears that come from past lives seem to generally develop in ones late teens and early twenties and can grow and get much stronger over time. I had no fear of heights when I was younger and even have a photo of myself standing next to the chimney on the roof of my parents house! I was 16 years old at the time. Don't ask me why I was on the roof, I can't even imagine! But it was obvious heights didn't bother me at all. But as I grew older they seemed to take on a new life and little by little I developed an intense dislike for heights, and a fear of being up too high.

My fear became very real several years later, when I was helping with some roof work on a two story house and clambered up the ladder with no worries. While sitting on the roof and handing tools over, I lost sight of the ground and my equilibrium became compromised and I got slightly dizzy and a wave of nausea and fear flashed through my body, like I've never experienced! I couldn't move and was stuck on a roof! Seriously, I wanted someone to call the Fire department and I was told they only come out for cats! I said "tell them I'm a cat!" But it didn't work.

No one was in a position to help me,as I was closest to the roof than anyone else, so over what seemed like ages I slowly moved to the edge of the roof where the ladder was and slid my foot to the first rung. I slowly made my way down, again it felt like hours, my legs weak, knees buckling and trying very hard not to hyperventilate. I finally got to the ground and just shook for what felt like hours. O.K. definite fear of heights, check!

I found over the following years, even going a few rungs up a ladder or standing on a step stool would be unnerving, and I wanted to do something about this. I'm not the kind of person who can live with fear in my life. I need to do something when faced with fear, whether its education on the subject matter, such as learning about what something really is so that there is no fear necessary, or training oneself as I did for several years in the martial arts, or in this case finding out the cause of my sudden and inexplicable fear of heights. And, that's what I did.

Again, I sought out my friend, Dr. Norton Berkowitz a past life regressionist and we worked together to find out the cause of this new phobia of mine. I started to drift back into the past and found myself in a time and place several centuries ago. In this past life I was in Wales, United Kingdom, and it was sometime in the 1600's. I was a little girl living with my mother alone on the edges of the cliffs that border the Irish Sea.




I was only about 5 years old, and unfortunately my mother was not of sound mind. I don't know what caused her insanity, perhaps living in so desolate a place alone with just a small child to keep her company, but I had visions of her taking me by the hand and dragging me to the cliff edges and threatening to throw me over if I didn't behave. Seeing this in a past life regression can bring up feelings and emotions but they are not as strong, typically, as the true life experience. You can see these things almost as a bystander. Well, I reincarnated a short time after and even though I did not experience in my past life regression being thrown off the cliffs, and I truly do not know if that is how I perished in that life time, I know I did not grow to adulthood. I needn't have been thrown off the cliffs, just the dragging to the edge and threatening of so small a child would be enough to cause a trauma that could resonate through subsequent lives and it did.

Working with Norton, he had me leave the fear and paralyzing feelings in the past where they belonged and to gently separate from that life to this one. I came out of the past life feeling refreshed and very good. It would take a few years before I would realize how very effective that session was in reducing and eliminating my fear of high places.

A few years after the regression I was training in the martial arts academy I belonged to and a fellow student asked me if I wanted to go with a group of people to a local air strip where every weekend people would sky dive. My first reaction was "Are you crazy? No way would I want to do such a thing!" and I started to walk away. After only about five feet I stopped and I started to shake my head, because I knew. I knew I would do it! I couldn't live with the fear and this was the Goddess's way of taking the fear away. When would this opportunity ever present itself again? I knew I had to do it. And I did.

A few weeks later, at considerable expense, skydiving is not cheap!, right before my 38th birthday I strapped myself to a trained, experienced sky diver (tandem jumping its called) and I barrel-rolled out of a plane at 15,000 feet in the air. It was crazy, exhilarating, scary and mind blowing all at the same time! I tried to stay present and be away of everything I could see and experience on the way down and it really was an incredible experience. But as I said after I got up off the ground after the landing, "I will never do that again" and I won't. Simply, because I have no need to.

I no longer have a fear of heights and I remember that Norton was the first person I called when I got home, and I remember him saying "well, I guess you don't have a fear of heights anymore!" and I don't. I have a serious respect and caution for heights and am not about to mountain climb or bungee jump anytime soon, but the paralyzing and mind numbing fear is gone. I attribute it to the past life regression I experienced and the fear I left in the past where it belonged.

Now, you needn't have a fear or disease like my arthritis I spoke about in my last discussion (March 13, 2012) on past lives to experience a past life regression. In fact most people experience simple, interesting past lives out of curiosity and interest with nothing more serious than that and that's o.k. I don't believe everyone brings traumatic things with them into this life from past lives, but I think we bring little things with us. For every life adds to the person we are today.

I find those who have a keen and sudden interest in different eras, places, historical events like the American Civil War, Ancient Celtic occupied Britain, Egypt, to name a few, often have a past life in these areas that seem to fuel their continued interest in these subjects during this lifetime. There's so much to experience and learn about ourselves from past life regressions that to have a session or two seems to help people understand more about themselves.

If you are interested in experiencing a past life regression, please contact Enchantments at 860-791-6033 and give us your name and contact phone number and you can reserve a spot for the 14th of April, 2012. There are only a couple of spaces available, so if you are interested please call as soon as possible. The seminar goes from 1 - 5 pm and refreshments will be served. Everyone is asked to bring a pillow and notebook and pen with them and you must know we have cats in residence. The kitties will be spending the seminar in another part of the building that day, but if you have severe allergies you might not wish to participate in the seminar. I will conduct two group regressions where everyone is talked through several past lives and you will be brought into the light. Then everyone will be able to witness one person experiencing and speaking about a past life as they go through the process. The cost for the seminar is $65.00 per person, and is payable that day. The cost is non-refundable if anyone fails to experience a regression, but in my experience just about everyone sees something.

We can answer any additional questions you might have when you call. Please call Enchantments Tuesday 10 - 4 pm or Wednesday through Saturday 10 - 5 pm at 860-791-6033 to reserve your space. Thank You, Ms Faith



Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.


If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Thursday, March 22, 2012

This really upsets me! The deliberate starving of cats in St. James parish in lower Manhattan, NYC





Good Evening,

Tonight I'm upset! I tend toward trying to be fairly even-keeled and reasonable, but this situation has my fur standing on end! Let me tell you about what has been going on. There is a Catholic Church in lower Manhattan, NYC, St. James church to be specific that has decided that they need to starve a small group of cats to force them to leave the church grounds. This is a small colony of feral cats, eight total, that have taken up sanctuary on the grounds of the church. The city of NY is teeming with thousands of feral cats (cats that have gone wild or been born and raised by wild parents thereby always being wild). Most of these cats are descendants of domesticated house kitties that people have abandoned or have run off to fend for themselves, some many generations ago. Don't kid yourself, the feral cat population in NYC and elsewhere has always been encouraged by humans who couldn't be bothered to fulfill their responsibilities towards the animals they once called pets.

There are organizations of volunteers who routinely (TNR) feral cats, "trap, nueter and release" because an adult feral cat can't usually be tamed and then they check up on these colonies and provide food and assistance as needed. These volunteers are truly angels in my opinion. Well, this story started when the priests from St. James Church contacted the NYC Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Community Outreach Coordinator, Mike Phillips and had this colony of eight cats TNR'd. The cats had several kittens, approximately two dozen, that Mr. Phillips told me were trapped, vaccinated, fixed, tamed and then adopted out and the original eight returned to the secluded, cloistered grounds of St. James. To be left off elsewhere they would have found their way back to St. James, as feral cats will keep going back to their 'territory'.

Now, the Priests of St. James, Father Lino Gonsalves and Father Walter Tonelotto according to "Out of the Cage", have locked out caretakers and routinely remove any food left by caregivers in a cruel and heartless effort to starve these poor animals off of church grounds.




What I found fascinating is that a feral cat colony will defend their territory and keep outsider cats from coming in, and the colony should remain at approximately eight cats. Since they are fixed and vaccinated they are a better alternative to a new, possibly larger colony moving in should the eight cats be permanently removed. Any new cats that move in would not have been fixed or treated and would again have numerous kittens and the situation would just escalate. What is typically done once a colony of feral cats has been treated and returned, is they are monitored and provided any care that's necessary.

The Priests at St. James, although having initially, done a good thing by having the Mayor's Alliance, NYC Feral Cats Initiative TNR this colony, it now makes little sense that they would choose to deliberately starve them, in my mind this is akin to torturing an animal, in an uneducated attempt to starve them out. They will starve them, but not where they will leave the church's property, but TO DEATH.

My research shows that Pope Benedict XVI, is known to adore feral cats, and has defended their care on the grounds at the Vatican. Knowing this, the decision by the Priests of St. James to starve out the cats makes even less sense! This is the article I read, it is from "Out of the Cage" The Blog of the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals and you can read that article here:

http://www.animalalliancenyc.org/wordpress/2012/03/priests-starve-cats-at-st-james-church/

This article gave the following contact information and I contacted both St. James Church at (212) 267-8376 and Joseph Zwilling's office, Communications Director for the Archdiocese of New York, at (212) 371-1011 x2997, and expressed my outrage and sadness at such cruel and inhumane treatment of these poor, helpless animals. I was initially told that there was a resolution taking place, but they couldn't tell me what it was.

Fearing the worst, I then contacted the NYC Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, Community Outreach Coordinator, Mike Phillips, because reports had stated that the church's groundskeeper was just going to poison the cats! I was very wary that this was the 'resolution' they had come to as they couldn't 'divulge any information regarding the resolution', the words of the person at the church who answered the phone and refused to identify himself. Mike Phillips was awesome, let me say. He talked with me, explained a lot of information I hadn't realized was involved with the care-giving to a feral cat colony, and told me that he was having a difficult time getting the church to schedule a meeting so a kind, humane resolution could be reached. I then called the Archdiocese of New York and was told that it was completely up to St. James church to schedule a meeting or to choose to do anything, that the 'Archdiocese would not be getting involved in this matter.' End of story . . . or was it?

Again, I contacted Mike Phillips and left a message as to what I had been told. I also posted the article above on Facebook and many of my friends on Facebook called to voice their concerns and outrage at this cruel and unnecessary treatment of these animals. I thank everyone who supported these poor animals by taking the time to speak out!




Mr. Phillips continued to make follow-up calls and then called to inform me that a meeting has been scheduled for next Tuesday, March 27th and that a representative of the Archdiocese will be present and supervising the meeting. THANK YOU MIKE!! I can only pray to the Goddess that in the meantime the church will allow volunteers to feed these poor creatures as they have been starved, by all reported accounts, for over two weeks now and this is unacceptable.

Now, this may be a blog written by a Goddess worshiping witch, and it is! But I do not cast any aspersions on the Christian or Catholic community, I simply feel that these two men, Priests of St. James, are uneducated, ill-informed or just downright cruel and heartless in their treatment of some of God/Goddess's most helpless of creatures. I sincerely hope that Mr. Phillips and the Feral Cat Alliance can help these two Priests understand that harm and cruelty are never an answer for any of life's problems.

I would like to thank Mike Phillips for the work he does on behalf of so many forgotten cats and kittens and I send him bright blessings for his work to go on and to be supported by many. I would also like to say kudos to the Mayor's Alliance for NYC's Animals!! There should be a branch like this in every community in the country, and I'm very impressed that NYC has such a program. There are so many good people out there that wish to help in so many ways. If you'd like to help please read the article, contact the people in charge and let them know, this is not O.K., the way we treat an animal can only speak to how we would treat one another. For how can we be selective in our compassion, our love and our empathy for other living things? I know, I can't be.

I hope you will help spread the word as the more people witnessing this event, I want to believe, the less likely that further harm will come to these cats. Thank you for taking the time to read this.



Peace and Happiness






© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Happy Ostara! Our second Spring Celebration!!





Good Evening,

Ostara is upon us, our second Spring ritual and Celebration. Our first was February 1st, Imbolc. For this celebration we welcome in the greening of the grass, the new chicks and baby birds being hatched and the baby bunnies and lambs being birthed in the fields. Of course all of this new growth and burgeoning life screams fertility! This Sabbat is a celebration of fertility. The fertility of the earth is celebrated along with all of its creatures, the warming of the soil and the new shoots of plant life poking through the ground. Fertility is simply bringing 'new' into the world. Birthing that which we desire, and sometimes things we do not desire, but we are responsible for everything in our lives. Let's use this Sabbat and season to give birth to things and concepts we want and desire, for we are the ultimate creators.

This year my focus for this Celebration is 'What Will We Plant This Springtime?' I mean this metaphorically in reference to our lives, rather than the actual planting of seeds and seedlings. But I believe much of our lives can be compared to the agricultural world around us. As if our lives were gardens where we plant seeds that we later nurture and tend, we weed, then harvest in the proper time. The seeds that will in turn make up the flowers in our lives.




What do you wish to harvest later this year? Maybe not even this year, but what will you plant that will in turn grow, get stronger, blossom and then allow you a harvest that feeds your soul, makes you happy, fulfilled and complete? You can start this Ostara by planting those seeds.

For example, if you wish to bring more like minded people, friends, into your life you can start by planting the seeds that will allow you to harvest this down the road. Join a group of like minded people, take a class, invite those you would like to know better, out for a few drinks and put yourself out there. I've met so many Wiccans, Pagans, and magickally minded people who desperately wish to meet others like them. I recommend they do this by frequenting those places where like minded people gather. Go to Pagan festivals, open circles, Ostara festivals (or the Sabbat that is closest) and be friendly, open and welcoming. You can find these in Pagan peridicals, on the Internet. Its much easier these days. Be sure to bring a Quartz crystal or Rose Quartz and carry it in your pocket to magickally open your energies to others of like mind.




A way to start 'planting the seeds' is to decide which you will plant, and this is done by determining what you wish to harvest. Think of your life. Think of the things, concepts and people you want to be a part of your life. Don't waste any energy for that which you don't want right now, we will be weeding your 'metaphorical garden' later in the year. Have an image, a 'snap shot' of your life with what you desire in place in it. Everything, everyone you desire to be in your life, in your world. See this and believe you will create this. Know it.


This is also the first step to Anatomy of a Spell, having a magickal goal and visualizing the end result. This is important in magick casting and spell crafting. Yes, that's what we are doing here. We are using the Sabbats to make major life enhancing changes in our lives, creating magickal change.

So, your home work . . . is to think about the seeds you wish to plant this springtime. Just that, the seeds. We'll get to tending the rest of the garden later on.

If you haven't had time yet, please make time to get outside, touch a leaf, smell some fresh grass and marvel at nature in all her wonders. We are fortunate this year, this Ostara in Southern New England, the weather is as warm as June.

Have a Blessed and Sacred Ostara, I sincerely wish you Peace and Happiness!









© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

Past Life Regression & Seminar at Enchantments




Good Evening,

Tonight we will be discussing Past Life Regression.  I am hosting a Past Life Regression Seminar at Enchantments on Saturday, April 14th, 2012 from 1 -5 pm and you are invited to attend.  Details can be found at the end of tonight's discussion.

I first tried a past life regression over 20 years ago, Yikes!! Has it been that long? Sigh. It has, but it's fun, exciting and I still love to explore and discover past lives.  I worked with a wonderful friend of mine,  Dr. Norton Berkowitz, who helped me discover my past lives and introduced me to the practice of channeling.

I went one night, 22 years ago to a Past Life regression party that Dr. Berkowitz was holding and met him and in conversation he asked me if I had any issues, physical or phobias that I would like to work on. I told him that I had been diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis and had a fear of heights.  I remember that night as it had been raining and I had a cane that I brought with me, as I was in pain. I had arthritis from my neck to my feet, in every joint and it was quite painful, especially when it rained.  I was 26 years old at the time.

He asked me if I would like to do a one-on-one past life regression where we would explore that life that I may have brought energies to this life time that helped contribute to my arthritis. I said, "sure!" Living with constant pain is never fun for anyone and I thought, "well, it can't hurt!"  So, in the midst of twenty or so people I sat down, closed my eyes and listened to Dr. Berkowitz's voice.  He had me go back to the life where my arthritis started and I suddenly found myself back in ancient Scotland in the 1500's and I was a boy!! My name was Robert Bard and I lived on a farm with my parents and my younger brother.

I was a lazy sort of boy, always getting my younger brother to run errands for me and to do simple chores so I could goof off and not have to do my chores.  One day, in the winter time, I sent my brother on an errand that I was supposed to do.  He ran off to do my work and never returned. I went looking for him and found that he had tried to cross an ice covered pond and had fallen through the ice and into the icy water and thus had drowned.

The next thing I recalled was being up to my neck in the icy water fishing his body out of the pond so that I could bring him back to my parents. I was grief stricken. The pain and grief I felt can't be adequately put into words, it was horrible. I felt so guilty and very, very responsible for my brother's death.

Dr. Berkowitz then made strong suggestions that I leave the guilt in the past, that it was a situation that was part of a past life and not a part of this one.  I felt a release, a lightening up of the heaviness, the weight of the guilt and responsibility.  This past life regression occurred 22 years ago.  I have not used a cane since that night. Doctors have suggested that my arthritis was either misdiagnosed or it had gone into spontaneous remission.  People have suggested post-hypnotic suggestion. I personally don't care what people think, I'm just glad the pain has gone, and as of this date it has never returned.  I have since gone on to become a black belt in the martial arts and today I enjoy cardio kickboxing and yoga.



Now, it's important that I stress that I do not believe past life regression is a cure or even a treatment for ANY medical issue. If you have a medical issue, please see a doctor!  I think, as in my case, it can be an interesting addition to any medical treatment you are undergoing.  It might help, as in my situation and IT VERY WELL MIGHT NOT!  I recommend past life regression not as a therapy, but as a fun, exciting exploration into your past to help us learn more about who we are today.  Yes, I feel that past life regression can be helpful at putting the mind at ease over fears such as the fear of heights, fire, the dark, fear of dogs or other animals. It can help explain recurring dreams and intense likes and dislikes you may have in this lifetime.  I have found, many people, for example, that are intensely drawn to the study and re-enactment of the American Civil War, have lived in that time frame.  Just as those who are inexplicably drawn to the ancient Celtic way of life from Great Britain and Ireland have lived past lives there. 

If you would like to be a part of the Past Life Regression Seminar to be held at Enchantments 349 East Center Street, Manchester, CT on Saturday April 14th, please call the store at 860-791-6033 to reserve your space.  The cost is $65.00 per person and the seminar is four hours starting at 1 pm and going until 5 pm.  The seminar will consist of two group regressions where everyone will experience at least 6 past lives and witness someone doing a one-on-one where everyone will be able to hear the person's experiences as they re-live them.  A break for refreshments will be held in the middle of the seminar and a question and answer period will also be offered.  I will speak in the beginning about what to expect and how the meditation will feel for people, especially if you have never done this before.  Almost everyone can recall a past life experience and I will give you guidelines and techniques for getting the most out of this experience for you.



Please note, you may pay that day before the seminar for your seat.  There will be no refunds if you fail to experience a past life, but in my experience just about everyone will see or experience something.  There is a limited number of seats (26) available for this event, so if interested, please contact Enchantments as soon as possible because when we have filled up all available spaces, we will cut off registration.

I would dearly love to have you attend this event and to meet you, if I haven't already.


Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann. Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website. Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

Spring has Sprung and Crystal Gazing

 Good Evening,

Today is the first day that I have seen spring bulbs breaking through the ground.  Even though we have had such a mild winter, for New England, they are right on time. That is for bulbs first planted last autumn.  Bulbs that have been established in the ground for a few seasons may very well be up already, but no sooner than typical because of the mild winter. In a mere few weeks we will be enjoying daffodils, hyacinths, crocus and many other early spring blooming flowers. 




 Crystal Gazing

I have personally been using a crystal ball for several years now and wanted to talk with you about this almost forgotten practice.  Historically, crystal balls or using crystals goes as far back as the ancient Celts (pronounced with a K sound as in Coffee) with the Druid's using crystals and other semi and precious stones and minerals. There is evidence that crystals were used magickally in eastern Europe and in Scandinavia for over 1000 years.

In the latest edition of Archaeology magazine March/April 2012 edition there is a very interesting article in the 'From the Trenches' section on pg 20 about a Viking ship wreck from 1592 found in the English Channel 30 years ago. Amidst the items uncovered was a transparent calcite crystal found to have been used by the Vikings for navigation purposes during cloudy days at sea. Crystals have been used for practical as well as magickal purposes since about the time they were first discovered.  The Druid's found transparent crystals to be a natural item that fell 'in between' the worlds as they knew and understood them. A transparent crystal felt like rock but could be looked through as if water. Glass was not known to the Druid's.  Something with these properties was considered an object 'between the worlds' and was held to be sacred to the ancient Druid's and the Celtic people they ruled.

Fortune tellers, Oracles, Diviners, Seers, Sorcerers, Gypsies  and Witches have all been known to use stones, crystals and minerals in magickal ways for hundreds of years. Throughout history 'reading' or scrying using a crystal sphere was often the mark of an advanced fortune teller.  Dr. John Dee (1527 - 1609) was a famous British mathematician, geographer, astronomer, astrologer who was a consultant to Queen Elizabeth I, and was noted as using crystal spheres in his work.

The practice of using a crystal ball or crystals in divination is called crystallomancy or scrying. One can also scry using flames, smoke and water in a pool or bowl, to name but a few methods of scrying. The practice of scrying goes back thousands of years and is mentioned in the Bible in the story of the Witch of Endor in the Book of Samuel 28: 3-25. This story is about King Saul who first banished the witches and declared them all evil,  but then sought out the Witch of Endor again when a battle was being waged and he needed information on how his soldiers fared.  She conjured up the ghost of the recently deceased prophet Samuel by using smoke, hence the scrying and using her skills as a medium was able to let the fickle King know how his soldiers were waging the war.

Historically crystal balls were created out of beryl, a semi transparent crystal stone and later on from natural quartz crystal. I have had customers come into Enchantments looking for 'flawless' crystal balls not poured from molten crystal and I can tell you they no longer exist in the market place. Here's a picture of the largest completely flawless crystal ball in the world now on display at the National Museum of Natural History in Washington, DC and it's considered priceless.



Today, there are those that say when one uses a crystal ball that one sees things more psychically in their minds and not necessarily images in the crystal ball. I can only tell you how it works when I use it, and I'll do that now.

I myself started using the crystal ball not as a divination tool but more of a prop around Halloween or Samhain for us Pagans. I often do parties where I do quick ten minute tarot card readings and would decorate the table with a large crystal ball, a real one, and many polished stones and candles for that 'spooky' effect many look for around Halloween.  When using the tarot I will take a few moments and hold the cards and center and allow my psychic sight to open up before I start laying out and reading the cards.  I started to use the crystal ball to allow my sight to shift and by gazing deep within the crystal sphere my psychic centering seemed to come about faster and deeper. After a time I kept the crystal ball on my reading table and used it to help me prepare for a reading .  .  .  until one day things changed.  I was gazing deep within the ball, waiting for the shift that overtakes my mind to flow over me and then I saw something.  Deep inside and it was moving!

I could see a tiny horse and rider cantering through a green field. I looked up at my client and asked if she rode horses or was planning on going riding soon. She had just gone riding that morning! Ah, ha! I thought. Hmmmmm, there's definitely something to this!  I went on to read her cards, she seemed happy with her reading and I started using the crystal ball in all its glory for my readings ever since.  As far as how I 'see' things within the sphere? I see actual images inside the ball. I also see abstract images that need translating and at times pictures flash into my mind's eye, my psychic sight if you will and that gives me information.

I recently read cards for a girl and looking into the crystal ball I saw two distinct cats, looking back at me. I asked her if she had two cats and she said she had, had two but one recently passed. I told her her cat was still with her and she started to cry, but she was amazed that without a card being placed that I could know that she had two cats.  I have often seen animals that have passed away but are still  very much close to the client's heart looking back at me from the depths of the crystal. They always look happy and very healthy and they go when the client leaves, so I know they are not in my crystal ball, but just use it as a portal for me to tell their owners hi from them.

If you are interested in a crystal ball reading, I do this for all my tarot readings along with throwing the witches runes and stone divination. Please read my last discussion on March 1, 2012, for more information on Stone divination, a method I created and developed.


Peace and Happiness



© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann.  Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website.  Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.

Thursday, March 1, 2012

Do you like stones? A stone divination created by me!





 Good Evening,

I feel talkative this week, so I thought I would craft yet another discussion with you.  Tonight I wish to discuss stone divination. This is a method of divining that I came up with myself, and I have never known anyone else to use it, other than my students, that is.  Tonight I wish to teach it to you.

I have loved stones since I was a little girl and have always had a stone or two in my pockets, at any given time.  The stone divination I developed consists of having a bunch of your favorite stones, crystals and minerals. Of course, knowing the magickal properties of each stone is key to a good reading. I don't use them for in depth, complex readings, for those I use the tarot. The stones simply allow me to tune into a person's ideal focus and what they should be putting their energies into.

I find that as we live our lives, we ofttimes get distracted by many things calling for our attention. Sometimes the distraction gets intense enough that we 'forget' what it is we wanted to focus on in the first place! The stones help me help a client come back to their original focus.  How this works is, I spread out the stones and instruct the client that they can touch, examine, look at all of them. Then have them choose one and you as the reader holds the stone they choose in your hand and close your eyes and quiet your mind. The stone tells me what the person's focus is.  Sometimes the stones tell me more, about how that person can re-focus on their goal, perhaps what challenges to be aware of, but it's always accurate. I know this because as I speak, the client inevitably starts to nod their head in agreement and often says things like "That's right, absolutely!, of course, I have gotten away from that" etc.  You will need to learn from your stones what they need to teach you, but to help you start using stone divination the following list is a short one that you can start to build upon:


Stone                Focus
        
Malachite         focus on the financial in your life
Selenite            there is a reconciliation that needs to occur to bring balance back to your life
Tiger's Eye       focus on business and the business aspects of your life
Rose Quartz     focus on the love relationships in your life
Yellow Calcite  focus on the truth of a situation, needing to learn the truth or being truthful to yourself
Crystal Quartz  focus on the magickal in your life, and follow the paths that make you truly happy   
Howlite            focus on bringing serenity and bringing in tranquility to you life
Garnet             focus on bringing more physical energy into your life 




This is a small list, and the stones you choose may include these or may be different. Some may be unique, for instance I have a stone that is an agate, and it is shaped as a slight oblong sphere and on one end the rings of color in the stone resemble a human eye.  When a client chooses this stone, it always tells me that the person wishes to see 'with their own eyes' that which is being told to them. They need actual, physical proof and not just hearsay.  My clients that choose this stone always agree that, that is exactly what they are looking for.

I'm not sure how this divination method came about, except that I have always loved stones and when I quiet my mind I can hear what they say to me.  It seems to be accurate, according to those that know, my clients, and I have incorporated this method of divination into my tarot readings which also include the crystal ball, and witches runes.  My clients seem to like the variety and difference my readings bring to their lives.  Maybe you'll want to incorporate my method of stone divination into your clients readings also.

Peace and Happiness





© 2010-2012 Faith M. McCann.  Portions of this blog posting may include materials from my book “Enchantments School for the Magickal Arts First Year Magickal Studies.” For more information, see www.enchantmentsschool.com or go to the title of tonight's discussion and click, it will link you to my school's website.  Please note that the copying and/or further distribution of this work without express written permission is prohibited.

 If you know someone who would like my work, please send them this link. If you or they would like to be included on our daily email distribution list send me an e mail with your email address to be included. If you ever wish to unsubscribe to this blog, please contact me and you will be immediately removed from our list.