Norse Shamanism, Dreams and Quantum Physics

In Norse Shamanism, as well as many other shamanic cultures, they held the exceptionally subtle idea that life is a dream. In point of fact, we are able to dream our lives into being. This idea, although incorporating Quantum Physics, is nothing new. In Ancient times it was understood and taught.

Our daily lives, our professions, our occupations etc. are nothing but a dream with which we identify. This does not mean that life is an illusion. It means that dreams are real and reality is a dream. The reality that you are experiencing right now is only one of many dreams. Life is an infinite series of possibilities (dreams) in the Quantum Ocean.

At first this thought seems so strange and confusing. It appears illogical because you can knock your hand against a wall and feel that it is solid. You can hear sounds around you and you can see a great many objects in detail. You think, "What's so dream like about that?"

But let's think about this a moment. The wall you struck your hand against isn't really solid and neither is your hand. Both your hand and the wall are composed of atoms (Quanta). These are mostly energy fields vibrating at different frequencies.

The only reason your hand didn't go through the wall, was because both it and the wall are vibrating at frequencies so close in range that they interfere with each other.

At this very moment, radio and television frequencies are passing right through the wall and your hand as if they weren't even there. When you struck the wall you weren't hitting a solid object.

Instead, two energy fields converged and the information was transmitted to your brain, where it was interpreted  by your memory as the experience of hitting the wall.

And the sound you hear? Let's suppose it's music from your DVD player. But really it isn't music you are hearing directly.

You are experiencing  a vibrational wave pattern moving through the air which hitsyour ear drum and is translated into an electrical nerve impulse received by your brain. Your brain then gives out a signal that you interpret, based on past experience, as music.

Finally the object you see are only seen because light energy bounces off other energy fields toward your eyes, where frequencies are translated into patterns that you intrepret as objects.

What appears to be an external reality now is really "internal" and all in your head. Now that certainly sounds like a dream!

Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Norse Four Corners Ritual Of Protection

Millions of Christians protect their homes with both crucifix and prayers, Muslim homes are protected with the sign of the crescent moon. As Northern Europeans we need to start to protect our homes daily with symbols and ritual.These things need to be done religiously, which means that they need to be repeated, day after day, in order to build up power and strength.


I begin by lighting White Sage and a white candle. I place Norse God and Goddess pictures at points respectively, North Odin and Tyr, East Heimdel and Balder, South Thor, West Freya and Frey. 

I take my round prayer rug and place in the center of the room. Our Dog, Dixie loves to join me on the rug for the ritual. She is attracted to the energy; so I have to work my way around her. I stand on the rug in the center of the room, raise my small Atame' (knife) and turn completely around the circle saying:

"I consecrate this circle of power to the Ancient Gods.
Here may they manifest and bless us their children."

(Here I go back facing North, and raise my knife or wand in greeting. ) and say:

"This is a time that is not a time, in a place that is not a place,
on a day that is not a day. I stand at the threshold between the worlds, before the Gates of Asgard. "(Spiritual Quantum Physics)


"May the Ancient Ones help and protect us on our magical journey. " 


Here, I chant the 18 Armanen Runes (by Guido Von List):
Fa
Ur 
Thorn
Os
Rit
Ka
Hagal 
Nod 
Is
Ar
Sig
Tyr
Bar
Laf
Man 
Yr
Eh 
Gibor 


Then I recite:
"I know myself hanging on the wind cold tree for nine icy nights, wounded by the spear, consecrated to Odin. I consecrated to myself; I hung from the mighty tree which conceals man, where man grew out of it's roots. They offered me neither bread nor wine. So I bent down in search. I recognized the runes. Wailing I grasped them. Then I began to increase and be wise. To grow and feel well. Words turned into words and deeds shaped into deeds with deeds.  Now I know the runes-songs like no wise man knows and none of the children of men. And should these songs oh human child become un-learnable to you, for shear endless time, grasp them as you get hold of them, Use them as you hear of them, Hail you if you retain them! "


Staying at the North point of the Circle I say: 
"May the Kinder be silent as we again draw this most sacred circle!" 
"To the North I turn, Odin master of mystery, magic and might, thee we invoke. Tyr god of justice who gave his hand to the Feneris Wolf,  thee we invoke.'


"To the East I turn, Heimdel guardian of the Rainbow Bifrost Bridge, thee we inoke. Balder God of rejuvenation and health, thee we invoke."


"To the South I turn, Thor, with Thunder and lightening enter our circle Friend of Man, and may thy Hammer Moljinar smite down all enemies of the Gods and this Kinder."

"To the West I turn, Freya Mistress of Magic, beauty, love and all works of enchantment and prosperity, thee we invoke. And thee thy twin Frey God of virility and the hunt, thee we invoke."

I turn back to the North point, turning respectively to each of the stations as I say:


"We thank you Odin, Tyr, Heimdel, Balder, Thor, Freya and Frey. And we know that you are with us to help, guide and protect us, where ever we go through out the day." 


So Mote it be!


This ritual can be used in the home, (the hof), or a sacred place in the woods. It can be done individually or by the whole Kindred. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Norse Magic's Ash Sacred Tree of Yggdrassil

In the Northern Tradition, the Ash tree is of vital importantce. It is the tree that forms the cosmic axis, Yggdrassil. 

It is and was good for divination and charms, for it's bud forms a lunar crescent, linking it to the mutable qualities of Mani. Because the ash is a sacred tree divinatory tree, an image of the World Tree, and Odin's spear Gunginir, it will bring bad luck to cut an ash without good reason.

The ash tree is said to, "Court the Flash", being prone to lightening strikes, and so is considered a good conductor of magical energy and force. This is especially so when cut during the Summer Solstice. 

As the immobile Cosmic Axis, the ash has protective qualities against all ill-wishers, and cut for this purpose it is acceptable. 

The broomstick of the traditional Norse besom is made of ash wood. In Norse tradition, the sacred High-Seat Pillars of the Hof, the King's or Lord's Hall in which religious feasts were celebrated, were made of ash. 

Unlike most trees, the wood of the ash will burn when green, without sputtering. The smoke of the ash is a benevolent incense, and was traditional for new born babies first bath from the smoke of ash fire. The sap issuing from the burning ash wood was considered beneficial medicine for babies, welcoming them into the world. 

The leaves of the ash as also lucky, especially those with an even number of leaves on each side. Like the four leaf clovers these are uncommon. If this is found use this charm:

Even Ash, I do the pluck,
Hoping thus to meet good luck,
If no good luck I get from thee, 
I shall wish thee on the tree. 

The Even ash should be worn or carried in your pocket. The runic correspondence of the ash is Hagel. 

Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Are You a Good Witch or a Bad Witch?

In the movie the "Wizard of Oz", the opening lines of Glenda, the good witch of the North, to Dorothy were, "Are you a good witch or a bad witch?" On this note, I would like to make an exploration of these two ideas of  "good" and "bad."

In Western culture, which is largely Christian, the idea that the Creator God formed both light and darkness is ignored. The Western mind sees "good" and "bad" as two opposing opposites. While the Eastern concept sees them both as equals necessary for perfect balance. 

In the West, the Prime Mover, Grand Architect, what ever name for divinity you prefer to use, is seen as only "good" and therefore unable to create evil. While the Eastern mind sees Divinity as a perfect balance of all things including "good" and "evil."

To understand the words "good" and "bad" we will break them down as "good" symbolizing creation and "bad" as destruction (breaking down of the old.) 

Our Western mind classifies all things in two categories, either it is "good" or it is "bad." One is to be sought out, cherished and protected. The other is to be spurned and discarded. But let us take light and darkness as an example. Western culture sees light as good and darkness as bad. 


The idea of light brings to mind such things as God, truth and love. Darkness, on the other hand invokes the Devil, lies and hate. To the Orientals however, both are equally necessary as one cannot exist without the other. 


The two poles of a magnet are North and South. These two poles create balance, they are not morally good or bad, but necessary ingredients of physics that compliment one another. 


In fact all of life is a cyclical "good" and "bad." A building up and breaking down. Aren't the seasons this way? You have nature just beginning to bud, bloom and turn green in the Spring, going to full bloom in the summer. You have harvest of this bounty in the Autumn. The leaves on the trees are turning colors because of the lack of light from the sun they are receiving. They fall and die, the days get colder, going to the proverbial "death" or sleep of Winter. Only to have us begin the whole cycle again the next Spring. 


All of life is a creation and and then a destruction of such. Birth and Death are examples we can  all identify with. 

Can "good" exist without "bad?" Absolutely not, how could you judge something to be good if you cannot compare it with something bad? 

The same is true for all other concepts. Cold cannot exist without heat, short without tall, or large without small. 


But our Western mind usually ignores these extremes and seeks always to find the "good" or the "bad." The Eastern mind is continually seeking both the "good" and the "bad" in order to find the balance between. 


As a result they realize that one should not want to be overly good and righteous any more than one should strive to be overly bad. They know that the Middle Path is the key.


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Alchemist Nicolas Flamel and The Philospher's Stone

Nicolas Flamel, a French alchemist, was said to have found the secret of the Philosopher's Stone, gaining both immortality and wealth. Born in the year 1330 and (some say) died in 1418, others claim to have met him long after; and for all we know Flamel may be sitting in some Starbucks reading this description of himself today.

Flamel worked as a scribe, one day while shopping in a bookstall, an unusual volume caught his eye and he purchased it for two florins. The gilded manuscript had 21 pages made from bark, not paper or parchment as was customary. It had a copper cover. Every seventh page lacked writing but was inscribed with, repsectively:

*A serpent swallowing rods


*A serpent crucified on a cross


*A vast arid desert


Written on the first leaf in gilded letters was a warning from Abraham, Astrologer and Philosopher. This was followed  by curses against all who unauthorized, attempted to use this book. Many believe this manuscript to be an early reference to the system of Abramelin magic found in the grimoire Abramelin and so influenced the work of the Golden Dawn and Aleister Crowley.

Flamel believed the book to have been confiscated magical text that ended up on the book stall. The book seller was able to offer no explanation. According to the text, a full study of the Kabalah was required for comprehension. 

He recognized the work as an encoded alchemical text but was unable to decipher it. Flamel fell under the book's spell and was obsessed with it, spending 21 years trying to crack it's code to no avail. 


Finally his wife Perenelle suggested he go to Toledo. To consult with experts on the Kabalah. When he returned he was able to transmute mercury into silver and gold. 


There are at least two versions of his life:


* Flamel did not create the Elixir of Life but lived to be 116 years old, dying in 1417 and distributing his considerable wealth to various churches and hospitals. His will provided for the construction of 14 hospitals, 7 churches, and 3 chapels. His wealth was extreme and longevity led to rumors of his alchemical career.


* Flamel discovered the Philospher's Stone and, together with his wife Perenelle, still walks the Earth. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Nordic Asatru Heathen

Asatru is a modern spiritual path based on ancient Nordic traditions. The term has been used since the late nineteenth century to describe adherence to and the preservation of pre-Christian Nordic religion. The meaning of Asatru is "Trust in the Aesir." 

In Scandinavia this tradition is also known as Forn Sior (Ancient Way) or Hedensksed (Heathen custom). Asatru was granted status as an official religion in Iceland in 1972. 

Heathen is an Anglo-Saxon word that literally means "dweller on the heath." The heath is the area outside the settlement. In post-Christianity days, those wishing to maintain old traditions retired to the heath, hence the name.

Heathen came to be synonymous with the word "Pagan," sometimes with the added implication of rude, ignorant barbarian. The word has been reclaimed by Neo-Pagans subscribing to Asatru and it's Northern European traditions. It is used today with pride. 

Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

The Magic of Self Confidence

After an absence from my blog, on the eve of my birthday, I feel compelled to share a discovery with you. Nancy Collins, famous author of dark vampire fantasies put it better than I ever could. "My after forty face felt far more comfortable than any thing I lived with previously. Self-Confidence was a powerful beauty-potion: I looked better because I felt better. Failure and grief as well as success and love had served me well. Finally, I was  tapping into that most hard-won of youth dews: wisdom.

Many people confuse self-esteem with self-confidence. For me self-esteem is how we really feel about ourselves in the secret sanctuary of our soul. Do we love, accept and approve of ourselves unconditionally? Do we believe that we are worthy of the love others and the best of life has to offer? 

The quality of our self-esteem is very connected to the relationship with our first and most important critics: our parents. If they unconditionally loved, accepted, and approved of us, then we probably do, too. 

But self-confidence is a special magical elixir that Spirit has prepared to help each of us face and surmount the challenges of life. It is an aromatic blending of invigorating essences: attitude, experience, knowledge, wisdom, optimism and faith. 

If you were fortunate enough to grow up in a loving supportive home and your self-esteem is strong, you learn your own homeopathic  formula early. If we did not, then we need to learn how to mix our own custom blend. But what's important to realize is that self-confidence is available to all of us. 

An optimistic attitude is essential to self-confidence. So is learning from our mistakes and recognizing that everything in life can be used as a lesson once we are willing to be taught. If you think you can, you can. And if you think you can't, you can't. 

Today, tell yourself you can do any thing you want to do. Because you can.

Brightest of Blessings!
Lory

The Magic of Kirlian Photography Explained

In 1939, the Russian engineer Semypnov Davidovich Kirlian from Krasnodar on the Kuban noticed that discharges appeared between the body of a patient and the electrodes in the high-frequency range of an apparatus for electro-therapeutic treatment. Kirlian was eager to know whether this state which was visible to the eye could also be photographed. He and his wife, Valentina, undertook the difficult job of developing these photographs. 

Kirlian photograph, which is used everywhere today, exhibits the so-called Kirlian effect. In high-frequency alternating current fields which are harmless to people, animals, and plants, bodies acquire a luminescence that can be photographed but is not caused by high temperature. It is also known as "cold luminescence."

As a passing example of the phenomenon which Kirlian photography can make visible, it should be mentioned that a fresh flower with many blossoms and the same flower with some blossoms cut off. In the place where the blossoms had been their outline still showed up in a photograph taken seconds after the cut was made and they were no longer there. 

Countless exposures have been taken all over the world using the Kirlian effect. They show radiation around men's bodies that are not visible to the naked eye. 

For example, there was a photo taken after a hand was amputated. The outlines of the amputated hand appear on the photographic plate.

And, most remarkable of all, a man lay down on a sofa, then stood up and went away. A photo taken just afterward showed the outlines of the man lying on the sofa.  Here an unknown force obviously causes a physical phenomenon.

When the technique is developed further, mankind will have a brand new principle, for at the moment the photographed aura- or whatever it is- varies considerably in quality and clarity.

I am always amazed to observe how formerly unintelligible passages from myths turn out to be realities. People used to just talk about the aura that surrounds certain people - and it exists! It can be photographed. 

The way that the Kirlian effect works has been explained in principle. It is not denied by physicists that the body "radiates" to a greater or lesser degree. Kirlian discovered how to photograph these radiations. 

But how do we answer the phenomenal question of how a no longer present object (cut blossoms, amputated hand, man who has left the room) continues to radiate for a brief period. ie., can still be "active" in it's former position? 

When all is said and done, scholars claim that bodies are the cause of the radiations. Could it be the other way around? 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Norse Magical Recipe for Attracting Beauty and Love

     Norse Apple Pie for Attracting Youth, Beauty and Love

The apple has been the mythic symbol of love, immortality and magic since time immemorial. The Norse myths tell us of the gods who kept themselves eternally youthful by partaking of the golden apples of Iduna, the goddess of youth and Spring. 

Besides it's magical elements, the apple is as delicious as it is beautiful. Apples were such a popular desert in ancient Rome, that the Emperor Claudius was a big fan of an apple pie made with spices and honey. Here is a recipe for a pie that will make you as seem as beautiful as the love goddess Freya and just as tempting. 

Make this pie when the waxing moon is in Venus (the signs of Libra or Taurus), especially on a Friday (which is Freya's day). When you light the oven, light a blue candle over the stove.

Place a little flour and confectioners sugar in a small dish. As you add each ingredient place a little of your purpose in the shell with it, so that when the shell is full of apples, it will also be full of your new beauty. When the pie comes out of the oven, snuff the candle in the dish of sugar and flour and empty the dish into the garden. 

You will need:
2 9 inch pie frozen pie crusts
5 cups of tart apple slices
1 teas. flour
1/2 teas. cinnamon
1/4 teas. nutmeg
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teas. lemon rind
2 tablespoons butter
2/3 cup honey
confectioners sugar

Defrost the pie shells. Peel, core and slice about a half dozen tart apples to make 5 cups. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Fill the bottom crust with the sliced apples and sprinkle over them the flour mixed with the cinnamon and the nutmeg, lemon juice and rind.

Dot the surface of your pie with butter. Cover with a latticework of pastry strips  from the second pie shell. This will form a series of the Gebo rune across the top of the pie, indicative of cementing relationships. 

Bake in the hot oven for 10 minutes. Then reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake your "love and beauty pie" for another 35 minutes or until the crust is golden and the apples tender. Remove the pie from the oven and pour honey through the openings in the top of the crust. Let the pie stand for one hour and serve dusted with confectioners sugar.

Good Baking, Good Love and Good Magic,
Lory

Norse Rune Magic Traditions

Within the Norse Rune Magic traditions there are many avenues and roadways by which to approach these universal mysteries. It is clear that a rune is not simply a letter or a character in an alphabet. It is much more. Every rune is made up of three elements or aspects:

1. a sound (song)
2. a stave (shape) 
3. a rune (hidden lore)

No part of this triad can stand totally alone. Each implies and projects the other. The sound or phonetic value of the rune is it's vibratory quality in the air, in the Quantum Ocean. This is the magical-creative quality that is in speech. It is the quality we think of when we hear about "the word of God," or the Logos (Word), the creative vac of Brahma and so on.

This is the cosmic principle with which runesters work when they sing or speak the runes in acts of Galdor. The shape of the rune-stave is the spatial or visible quality of the rune.

This aspect can be the most deceptive because we put so much emphasis on what we see. The visible staves (characters) are only reflections of the actual runes, which remain hidden from our five senses. 


They exist a realm beyond the three dimensions and are only approximated in the two dimensional diagrams we can see. The runes themselves are complex and multifaceted and fit within a web-work which only further complicates the picture. 


Really no one definition of rune is possible, for each rune is in and of itself infinite and without bounds. In practical terms the rune is the sum total of lore and information on the stave and the sound. The song is the vibration, the stave is the image, and the rune is the lore needed to activate the magic. 


All true Runic traditions take certain factors into careful account. These are: the order of the staves (this gives their numerical value) and their total number 16 - 24), a threefold division of the total number, the shapes of the individual staves, their phonetic values, their special rune names, and a body of complex poetic lore surrounding each stave. 


Each of these elements has its esoteric reason for being there. If the runes were merely a system for writing all that would be needed would be the visible sign and a conventionally agreed on sound value. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Love the Magical Art

As an artist myself, it is not difficult for me to grasp the idea that "all" of us are artists and that life is our canvas. So many of us have difficulty in thinking of our selves as creative people. But I disagree. I believe with all my heart that the ability to bring forth Art from real life is a gift every person possesses. It is the true reason why we are here; it is the "Magic of life", to be creative. 

You may not draw, paint, write, sculpt, knit, sing, play an instrument, dance or act but any thing you do with dedication and individual creativeness is "Art!" Whatever you are about to do today can be transformed into an art, if your heart is willing to be the Great Creator's conduit. The world does not applaud everyday art, so we must.

As an artist I have come to know that there are three very different layers to creation: the labor, the craft and the elevation. The man/woman who works with their hands is a laborer. The man/woman who works with their hands and head is a craftsman/woman. The man/woman who works with their hands, their head and their "heart" is an Artist.

Labor is in creation showing up to do the work. Craft is how you go about doing it. Weather it is elder care, child care,  office work, housework or gardening. Are you there in body, mind and spirit? Are you taking your time or are you rushing? Are you concentrating or are you thinking about twenty other things that need to be done? 


If you can answer yes to being there in body, mind and spirit and you are taking your time and concentrating, Love is present. Love is the spiritual energy that induces elevation - the transcendent moment in creation when craft becomes art. 


It takes a lifetime to create the work of art for which we were born. But it only takes five minutes to center yourself before you begin each task today. It takes five minutes to acknowledge in your soul that you are a "Magical Artist" of the everyday. So herald your personal gifts. Offer your love, creative energies, and enormous talents to the person, idea or projects awaiting your attention. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Norse Shaman's Journey

The Norse shaman's journey- the seer's journey may take one of two forms: journeying inwards: or it may be a physical pilgrimage to a place of mantic power. 

The physical seer's journey is an actual pilgrimage, involving traveling a prescribed route along sacred paths, trackways and roads to a holy site, and visiting other wayside, sacred places on the way. Journeying seership can be accomplished by several means, the most appropriate to be oneself being discovered by experiment. Exploring a wild area until one finds a good location for sitting out is one method. 

Another, once popular in the Norse lands, is being wrapped in a cows hide or blanket, with only the head free, and lying all night by a holy well or waterfall to experience visions. The ancient Greek Pagan master Pythagoras, after being ritually cleansed , slept in the skin of a black sheep by a river to gain knowledge. Much of our knowledge of geometry, still used today, came this way.

The inward seer's journey is similar to what is modernly termed "path working", traveling through inner landscapes. In the Northern Tradition this is accomplished through the images of scriptural stories from the Edda or the Sagas, such as Hermod's ride to the Underworld, or Thor's journey to Utgard. This re-enactment of an archetypal journey, either physically, or in the mind, re-creates qualities and insights which cannot be put into words. 


When the exercise is finished, whatever it is, there should be a re-awakening, a re-entering of the "normal" world. This is done in the reverse order from the methods used to being meditation, consciously ordering each part of the body in turn to start functioning again. The body as well as the mind, shoud feel revitalized after the exercise. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

The Magic of Words

So many people today are dissatisfied with their lot in life! They are in a bad temper with the whole world, just because life is difficult. They are constantly flinging abuse at anyone whose life seems easier or whom they hold responsible for their own misfortunes. 

When they do this, although they may not know it, their words are charged with such venomous, destructive power that they can do real damage to others. You must realize that no one has the right to do this! 


When you feel the need to say something to humiliate or wound others, simply because you are being put out, don't give in to it. Complain as much as you like! Cry if you have to. But leave others alone, otherwise you will be called into account by your Karma. 

Each one of us must keep watch on our behavior and recognize the danger involved and it's destructive tendency. It is a life long battle, these "Beasts within." To revile others is a weakness, not a strength, still less something to be proud of! 

If you take the necessary precautions and try to overcome this tendency, sooner or later, you will get the better of it. But you will never get the better of it if you think that it is magnificent to behave like that. You have only to imagine what you would feel like if you had this attitude and you met your match, another individual who stood up to you and crushed and humiliated you in your turn.

Yes, people who are continually railing at others must realize that sooner or later, they are going to meet someone who is even better at it than they are. Those who are coarse and uncouth will always find others who are courser. 

No single word we utter remains without effect. Dione Fortune said, "Be careful what you say as before you die you have to eat every word!" 

This is why it is important, as soon as you realize that an unkind or unjust word about someone has escaped you, to concentrate and send that person a great deal of love and light. But even if you do this, a certain amount of damage may have already  been done and it takes time for the effects of your good thoughts  to make themselves felt. 

Mohammad's words are very profound,"The feathers have all been blown away and there is no way of getting them back." Emit positive, beneficial forces  and they will produce positive, beneficial effects. Emit negative forces and the effects will be negative. 


This explains how good and evil continue to co-exist but, on two different levels. Evil  produces evil and good produces good. 


This is why we must work had, every day to make our words intelligent, luminous and harmonious. In this way it will work wonders within ourselves. But it will also work wonders in the whole of Nature. 


True magic is the potent, living word, the word that comes from the Creator. This is the word that flows from the Divine Source. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Spell to Protect Your Home From Burglary

Ingredients Needed:
Bucket of warm water
2 tablespoons vinegar
Black pepper
Salt
Oregano
Ammonia
Blue or White Sponge

To protect your home from burglary, fill a bucket with warm water. Add Two tablespoons of vinegar, three shakes of black pepper, three pinches of salt, and a drop of ammonia. All thise ingredients combined serve as protection and a repellent of evil. 

Throw in a dash of oregano for peace of mind. Wash the windows from the outside of the house. Wipe down all door knobs. 

Finish by splashing the water over your front porch and under the doormat. For apartment dwellers with carpeted hallways, just sprinkle the water outside your door or put it in a spay bottle and mist. 

Good Luck, Good Protection and Good Magic
Lory

Chemtrails Truth is Stranger than Fiction?

Both my husband and I are big Sci-Fi movie and book fans. We genuinely believe that these books and movies, both of which we consider Art forms, imitate "life" in many ways.

One of the best is Highlander II. By 1999, Conner McLeod (one of the immortals) has become supervisor of a scientific team headed by Allan Neyman, which is attempting to create an electro-magnetic sheild to cover the planet, and protect it from the Sun's radiation. 

The team succeeds, in effect giving Earth an artificial ozone layer. But unfortunately, the shield has the side effect of condemning the planet to a state of constant night, a high average global temperature and high humidity. 

By 2024, the years of darkness have caused humanity to loose hope and fall into decline. The Shield has fallen under the control of the Shield Corporation. The corporation's current chief executive is focused on profit, and is imposing fees for the corporations services. A number of terrorist groups have begun trying to take down the Shield, among them Louise Marcus, a former employee of the Shield Corporation. 

Louise Marcus discovers that the ozone layer has in fact restored itself naturally, which means that the shield is no longer needed. The Shield corporation is aware of this development, but has chosen to hide it from the general public, in order to maintain it's source of profit. 

Many other shenanigans go on with Conner but suffice it to say that both he an Louise are able to succeed in taking down the Shield by using the energies of his final Quickening from General Katana. Louise is able to see the stars for the first time in her life. 

The movie's story is great fun, totally way out and could never come near to happening, right? Well that's what I thought when I first saw the movie back in 1991, but not now. 


By now many people have seen crisscrossing streaks of white clouds trailing behind jet aircraft, they stretch from horizon to horizon, eventually turning the sky to a murky haze. By researching it we read that they are called contrails by the government and chem-trails by those of us who feel they are not mere vapor trails from jet engines. But as yet no one has deeply probed the serious questions of who is doing this and why. 


But with the release of the new movie "What in the World Are They Spraying?" all this has changed. (You can see the movie for free in it's entirety on You Tube.)


Here is a story of a rapidly developing industry called Geo-Engineering, (Geographical Weather Engineering), driven by scientists, corporations and governments intent on changing global climate; controlling the weather and altering the chemical composition of soil and water. All this is supposedly for the betterment of mankind. 


Although officials insist that these programs are only in the discussion phase, evidence is abundant that they have been underway since about 1990. In effect it has had devastating effects to crops, wildlife and human health. We are being sprayed with toxic substances (like aluminum and barium) without our consent. 


Even if you are skeptical; I encourage you to watch this movie. The truth really is stranger than any science fiction story.


Blessings,
Lory

May 21st The Big Flood?

A Christian Pastor has announced that today, May 21st, 2011 we will be having a world wide flood of biblical proportions. His reasoning behind this is his calculation that it has been  7rl thousand years since the last "Big One" and he assumes we are well overdue for another house cleaning of Mother Earth. 

When my husband Ragnar lived in Arizona he said the Native American cultures told that the world, perceived as a turtle, would shake it's back. This in turn would dislodge man and his disrespectful ways from her back.

In Norse Shamanism it speaks of Ragnarock. A terrible battle ending in the decimation of "Middle Earth." The Mayans had their take of "Apoplectic" repercussions  as well. All speak of dire results if man does not take his peaceful coexistence with Earth seriously.


I don't know when we are ever going to wake up as a human race and learn to co-exist with Mother Earth, rather than constantly trying to destroy our home. Hope springs eternal, but if today is the day; I say let the "Tidy Bowl" flush begin! I have enough trust and faith to know I will be on this circuit (earthly plane) again some time in the future and Earth certainly isn't going to go any where. 


Something to consider is that our relationship to the Earth and the other species that share it has been conditioned by our religious models. The image of God as "outside" nature has given us the rationale for our own destruction of the natural order, and justified our plunder of the Earth's resources. 

We have attempted to "conquer" Nature as we have tried to conquer sin. Only as the results of pollution  and ecological destruction become severe enough to threaten even urban humanity's adaptability have we even come to the "tiniest" realization of the importance of ecological balance and the interdependence of all life.  


The Shaman fosters respect for the sacred in all living things. Therefore the pagan and Nature religions can be seen as religions of ecology. The goal is harmony with Nature, so that life may not just survive, but thrive. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Teiwaz Rune of Tyr

Rune Teiwaz corresponds to where your strengths lie. It is taking the initiative as well as representing honor and justice. 

In the Viking age Teiwaz was considered the Tyr rune, referring directly to the Norse God Tyr. He was the original "Sky Father" before Odin. Tyr is the god of law and order in the cosmos. His original work in shaping the universe was to open up a space in the cosmos in which further (shaping) might take place. 

Tyr is the the God of Self-Sacrifice. Tyr lost a hand to the Fenris Wolf, who was causing havoc in Asgard.

Because the gods did not want to shed the blood of the Wolf, they bound him with a magical cord. But before the Wolf would allow them to put the cord around him, he demanded Tyr put his hand in is mouth as a pledge of good faith. When the cord held the Wolf, he snapped Tyr's hand off at the wrist. 

Rune work can be done through the power of Teiwaz (the "T" stave) which includes obtaining success or justice. It is the power of the purest form of justice. This is also the rune of victory.  


When this rune shows up in a casting there may be some sacrifice of your own self interest involved. Here you would be counseled to analyze the situation, apply rational thought to any problem and act on the conclusions. 


On a spiritual level Teiwaz is the rune that embodies the values of a "Spiritual Warrior." In addition this rune has connections with death, particularly an honorable death in battle. In the Havamal it is part of the twelfth rune-charm, designed to communicate with the dead.


From the shape of the Teiwaz rune one is also reminded of a symbolic representation of the Norse World Tree, Yggdrasil, as the  sacred Cosmic Axis. 


Brightest of Tewaz's Blessings,
Lory

Quantum Physics and the Dual Nature of Time

Since the dawn of Time, we've tried to understand her nature. Why? In order to control her. But time is a holy mystery, a gift meant to be experienced, not understood. Certainly not controlled. Why do you think we're crazed half the time. 

Even Quantum Physics is finding that time is a mystery and something that cannot be pinned down.  This is a mystery that is difficult for most of us to appreciate because we have so little of it. Although we have been allotted twenty-four hours in a day, it doesn't seem to go very far. 

So if we experience anything at all it is dread, because we keep running out of time. It doesn't matter what kind of time it is - daylight saving, standard, eastern, mountain, central or pacific. All that matters is that we never seem to have enough of it. 

For centuries those with time on their hands  - saints, poets, mystics, masters, sages, and philosophers - have pondered time's enigma. They have discovered her duality. 

The sculptor and poet Henry Van Dyke explains: "Time is/ Too slow for those who Wait/ Too swift for those that Fear/Too long for those that grieve/ Too short for those that Rejoice..." Slow and swift are time's parallel realities, the yin and yang of existence.

Quantum Physics too is discovering that we do not have the same perceptions of time, at any given moment. And  that there really is no past present or future, only the Now. 

In order to know a semblance of serenity during the days of our lives, we also need to discover Time's twin nature, which the ancient Greeks called chronos and kairos. 

Chronos is clocks, deadlines, watches, calenders, agendas, planners, schedules, beepers. Chronos is time at her worst. Chronos keeps track. Chronos is delusion and grandeur. In chronos we think only of ourselves. Chronos is the worlds time. 


Kairos is transcendence, infinity, reverence, joy, passion, love, the Sacred. Kairos is intimacy with the Real. Kairos is time at her best. Kairos let's go. In kairos we escape the dungeon of self. Kairos is Spirit time.


We exist in chronos. We long for kairos. That's our duality. Chronos requires speed so that it won't be wasted. Kairos requires space so that it might be savored. We "do" in chronos. In kairos we're allowed to "be." 


We think we've never known kairos, but we have: when meditating or praying, when lost in music's rapture or reading, when painting a picture, when making love, when planting bulbs or pulling weeds, when delighting at a sunrise or sunset, whenever we revel in our passions. We know joy in kairos, glimpse beauty in kairos, remember what it is to be alive in kairos, and we reconnect with our Divinity in kairos. 


So how do we exchange chronos for kairos? 

We do it by slowing down.

By concentrating on one thing at a time. 

By going about whatever we are doing as if it is the only thing worth doing at the moment. 

By pretending we have all the time in the world. This allows our subconscious to kick in and make it so. 

By making time.


By taking time. 


It only takes a moment to cross over from chronos to kairos, but it does take a moment. All that kairos asks is our willingness to stop running long enough to hear the music of the spheres. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Life is a Circular Spiral Path

The biggest surprise on the magical journey of life, weather as a philosophy or a spiritual path, is that the path is a spiral. We go up, but we go in circles. Each time around, our view gets a little bit wider. 

The ancients revered the power of the circle. In the African tradition, as well as in Disney movies like the "Lion King," our earthly span is called "the circle of life." Black Elk, the leader of the Ogala Sioux, taught that "The power of the world always works in circles." 


Buddhist and Hindu pilgrims circle the base of Tibet's Mount Kailas as an act of worship. Muslims circle the Kabah in Mecca. For thousands of years the creation of mandalas - circular, geometric designs - has been part of both Eastern and Western spiritual traditions. Seekers create personal mandalas in order to invoke the sacred through the visual. 

Circles are found at sacred sites throughout the world. The gigantic prehistoric megaliths at Stonehenge, England, form
a circle.  

If we search for circles, we will find them everywhere. Plato  believed the soul was a circle. If it is, and our higher self is the Soul made visible, how could our awakening to higher consciousness be straight and not circular?


I am reminded of just how much of a spiral life's journey is when I get stuck in a set of circumstances from which escape seems impossible. When this occurs, I ask myself, "What's the lesson here, so that I can move on?" 

I usually discover that I've stopped using Cosmic Principals as my stepping stones to wholeness. I've become too "busy." I am dropping in my tracks because I was unable to say "No;" I'm frazzled because I've let myself forget that moments of solitude  and meditation  are necessary to center myself. I've been this route many times. I know that if I'm not experiencing harmony in my daily round, I'm not participating in the process. 


So I start again. Begin at the beginning. I honor the moments of being rather than doing. When I do resume living by my own lights, I usually discover that I am able to move on. But even if I can't change my outside circumstances, it enables me to change how I react to them. 


"The Life we want is not merely the one we have chosen and made," poet Wendell Berry tells us, "It is  the one we must be choosing and making." 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

 

Magical Threshholds and the Norse World Hedge

Strong energies radiate from everything (and everyone) that occurs naturally on Earth, although to varying degrees. Thresholds are border areas  where one force, power or element encounters another. 

Thresholds are divisions and boundaries where two forces simultaneously meet, separate and diverge. These meeting places are potentially the most powerfully charged areas of all. 


Thresholds exist everywhere! The most obvious  are seashores or riverbanks where water meets land, but there are many, many others.  They may be literal areas,(the threshold of a door, for instance) but thresholds are also a crucial magical concept intrinsic to witchcraft and shamanism. The most obvious thresholds are geographical locations but there are metaphoric thresholds too. 

Norse Shamans have served as thresholds (mediums) between the general population and the world of spirits. This is an ancient and metaphoric observation. The words hag and hex derive from root meaning "hedge", the boundary between wild and tame. 


Birth and Death are thresholds between realms. Birth transforms a person into a parent.


The Norse possessed a mythic concept of the "Haga," the all-enclosing World Hedge, which separates the world under human domain from wilderness. This Haga is a thorny boundary that keeps the wild forces at bay. 


The hedge serves as the boundary but the hedge is also a force of nature: if not cut back  periodically it expands. Hedges threaten order and civilization: left alone, hedges inevitably overtake cultivated vegetation. Without vigilant pruning and maintenance the Earth Mother inevitably reclaims her land. 


The hedge marked the threshold and the boundary of human domain. The shyest birds and other animals live deep in the forest but others, curious threshold animals, those with less fear of people, often make their home in the hedge. Predatory animals, those who might prey on humans or their livestock, linger in the hedge too. 

The hedge was a the threshold where humans could commune with wild nature, with spirits, birds, animals and other realms and planes of existence. Many shamanic plants (psychotropic plants) thrive in the hedge. The hedge is the birthplace of Shamanism. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory


 

Norse Creation Stories

In Norse mythology, life began without any one creator. In the beginning there was a magic filled gulf (Ginnungagap), today we would refer to it at the Quantum Ocean. It was bounded on the north by cold and darkness (Niflheim) and on the south by fire (Muspell).

Life began at the place where the positive energy of Muspell melted the negative energy of Niflheim. These flashing sparks of life and hailstones of cold combined to produce the life seeds of all matter. 


From the Sun's warmth on the whirling life-seeds came Audhumla, the great cow, and Ymir, a Giant. Audhumla licked  a being, Buri, out of the salty ice. Both Ymir and Buri were asexual beings, capable of spawning offspring without a mate. 

Ymir perspired in his sleep, producing his Giant children. Buri produced a male being called Borr. Borr married Bestla, one of Ymir's Giantess daughters; their children, were Odin, Vili and Ve. These offspring created the first the first human man (Askr or Ash) and woman (Embla or Elm) out of living trees by giving them a new form, intelligence and a soul.


But Ymir was terribly cruel, so Odin and his brother's killed him. The whole race of Giants drowned in Ymir's blood, except for Bergelmir (Mountain Old) and his wife who hid in the great World-Mill. From this pair came all the Jotnar, or Giants. 

The great World-Mill was used to grind the mold that made earth. Odin and his brothers put Ymir's body in the millstones. From his flesh they made the Earth from his bones the rocks and mountains. His jaw and teeth became boulders, his blood the rivers and the seas. His brain and skull were set in place to make the sky. The bodies of the other Giants were also ground up to make sand an pebbles. 


Odin set the heavens swinging around Veraldar Nagli (World Spike) which is the North Star, also known as Odin's Eye. He hung bright sparks of fire from Muspell inside Ymir's skull as stars. 

The Sun and Moon, which were larger fire sparks, were carried across the heavens in chariots made by the Elf-smith sons of Ivaldi. Children of the vanquished Mundilferi, a rival of Odin's, were appointed to drive the chariots. 

Mundilferi's daughter Sol drives the Sun Chariot with the horses Arvaker (Early Dawn) and Alsvid (Scorching Heat). Her brother Mani drives the Moon chariot. With him are two kidnapped children, a boy Hjuki and a girl Bil. Bil was petitioned by the skalds to sprinkle magic song-mead on them from the Moon. The Milky Way was known as Bil's Way, named after the girl who rides in the Moon Chariot with Mani.

The chariots of the Sun and Moon are eternally chased by two evil wolves. Giants in disguise. Skoll (Adherer) chases the Sun; Hati (Hater) chases the Moon. At Ragnarok the wolves will catch and eat the celestial bodies. 


Blessings,
Lory

The Magic and Power of Your Hands

Everything that passes and is transmitted is through the hands. Whatever you touch bears the imprint that you leave on it and that only you can leave on it. The fact that one can identify someone from his/her fingerprints and that, among all the billions of men and women in the world, no two fingerprints are identical, is proof enough that the hand is capable of expressing the unique character of it's owner. 

Everything that passes through your hands, all your fluids and emanations, contain the essence of your being. A true medium, someone who is truly clairvoyant, only needs to pick up an object that you have handled, to know all you strengths and weaknesses, your state of health and the events of your present and previous life. 


You leave your prints on everything you touch. When you give someone an object, you are giving them at the same time, something of yourself. As a result if your life is not what it should be, the gift will transmit the negative waves that you have put into it. This will happen even if it is a rare and expensive present.

Our hands are like antennae. They have the power to attract and capture magical currents of energy from the Cosmic ocean in which we all are in. If the currents we receive are weak, it is because our consciousness is asleep or busy with other things. 

True Magi, Shamans, Witches are beings who know how to use their hands in order to receive or project forces, to retain or reorient them and amplify or diminish them. We see a wonderful portrayal in this with Gandolf pointing a finger against the forces of darkness in "The Lord of the Rings".

But if the hand can be used for hostile purposes, it can also be used to create love and harmony. When you see people fighting, you can raise your hand and they will feel compelled to calm down and be less aggressive. They will feel the beneficial waves you are sending them. 

There is really only one thing man needs to align himself with the Universe. This would be learning to stretch out his hand to receive the forces from above and project them onto himself and others in order to restore balance, cleansing, healing and giving life. The Tarot card of the Magician shows this. 

The hand is important in every day life as it is a means of communication between men. When people meet or part, what do they do?  They wave or shake hands. For most people a handshake or a wave is are purely conventional gestures that they do mechanically. 

But for someone who is fully awake to what he/she are doing, the gestures  are tremendously significant. They are an effective tool that they can use to encourage, console and give others a great deal of love. A handshake or gesture of greeting should be a true communion, potent, harmonious and alive! 


Our hands are not only a means of communication with human beings; they are also a means by which we can make contact with nature. When a true magi opens their door in the morning, they salute the whole of nature, the trees, the sky, the sun. They raise their hand and say good morning to the day and the whole of creation. 


Yes, the hand is an instrument of Magic! All the marvels that human beings accomplish today, thanks to their hands, is nothing compared to what they could do. 


The hand is a living being with it's own brain, nervous system and stomach. Yes, just as the Universe is reflected in the different organs or our body, the organs of the body are reflected in our hands. The hand stands in exactly the same relation to our body as the body to the Universe.


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Odin Winning the Mead of Inspiration

Odin won one of his greatest gifts to gods and men, the Mead of Inspiration. In order to do this Odin had to shape shift into an Eagle form, as he needed the power of flight. 

This mead was prepared from the blood of the wise giant Kvasir, who was created by the gods. He was killed by dwarfs, who mixed his blood with honey and brewed the marvelous drink. 

When the dwarfs also killed the father and mother of a giant, Suttung, he took vengeance on them by placing them on a rock and leaving them to drown. To ransom their lives, they had to give up the mead, and Suttung shut it up within a mountain.

Odin set out to win it back for the gods, by a devious plan. He joined the men of Baugi, Suttung's brother, when they were working in the fields, and offered to sharpen their scythes with a wonderful whetstone. It was so efficient that they fought to possess it, and finally all nine were killed with their own sharp scythe-blades. 

Odin then offered to do the work of nine men in their place, if Baugi would in return promise him a drink of his brother's mead. But when the time cam Suttung would not agree, so Odin persuaded Baugi to bore a little hole in the mountain, and he crawled through this in the form of serpent. 

He met Suttung's daughter inside, and stayed there three nights with her, persuading her to let him take three drinks of the mead. In three draughts he emptied the three casks which held it, and then flew off to Asgard in the form of an eagle. He was pursued by an angry giant, also in eagle form. The gods had set out vessels to receive the mead, and Odin spat it out into them just in time, before Suttung could catch him. 

Thus the Mead of Inspiration came into Odin's possession, and he allowed the gods and his followers to drink from it. It could give to him who drank the power to compose poetry, or to speak words of wisdom. 

An intoxicating drink was probably an essential part also of the ritual sacrifice to Odin. The arrival of Odin with the mead may be the subject which inspired one of the carvings on the Gotland stones. Instead of the usual scene of a warrior arriving on horseback to be met by a woman with a drinking  horn, an eagle is shown in his place and the horn is held up to him. 


Brightest of Odin's Blessings,
Lory

Women are Spiritual, Divine Beings

Jacquelin Small said, "We are not women trying to be spiritual. We are spiritual beings trying to be human."

The question of whether women were human fascinated the English writer D.H. Lawrence, who often explored this conundrum in his work. "Man is willing to accept woman as an equal, as a man in skirts, as an angel, a devil, a baby-face, a machine, an instrument, a bosom, a womb, a pair of legs, a servant, an encyclopedia an ideal or an obscenity; the one thing he won't accept her as is a human being, a real human being of the feminine sex."

Perhaps the reason men find it so difficult to accept women as human beings is because we're not, and deep down everyone knows it.  Now I am not saying that men are not Divine and Spiritual also, but I think women have a tendency to minimize themselves. Many times women forget their Divinity as they go about their daily routine. And how often do we excuse ourselves with the expression, "Well, I'm only human."

No, your not, and neither am I. We forget we're spiritual beings appearing for a brief span on this planet as humans. Spiritual beings do not sweat life's small stuff. They also know that most of what drives us crazy in life is small stuff. 


The only thing that isn't small stuff is the reason why you're on Earth in the first place: to find that portion of the world's lost heart that only you can ransom with your love and authentic gifts and then return it, so that all of us can experience wholeness. 


A spiritual being knows that the work will be waiting for her when she gets back to it, even though she had to leave it for more "important matters,"like caring for a sick child or animal.  A spiritual being knows that there is no such thing as a deadline. Deadlines are chronos, the worlds time; Divinity knows only kairos, Eternity. All will be completed if we ask for grace.

Great teachings tell us that men were created a little above the angels. But don't ever forget  that women are the climax of the Spirit's creativity cycle. After woman was created, Wisdom realized there was no need to proceed further. As women, big things are expected of us. 


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory

Norse Shamanism and Herbalism

Herbalism is the magical art of botanicals. Some believe that Shamanism  first emerged as a "botanical cult." Individuals studied plants, communicated with them and learned all about them. They acquired knowledge of physical healing, magical, and psychoactive effects. 

Norse shamans were able to spiritually interact with plants (or at least their presiding spirits, depending upon interpretation). Herbalism remains a beloved magical art and botanicals are the primary component of magic spells from every tradition around the world. 


Each plant is believed to radiate a specific magical power in addition to whatever healing or harmful effects it might cause. Lavender is believed to sharpen the mind, while calamus root enhances your powers of command. Roses are favored for love spells; chrysanthemums are identified with death. 

Different botanicals are identified as under the domain of various spirits. Working with botanicals is one way of attempting to contact spirits or avail yourself of their power. 

Cowslips, wild primroses, are identified with the Norse goddess Freya. They are her favorite flower and are believed to transmit her grace and power. Washing one's face with a cowslip infusion is a method of petitioning Freya to share some of her beauty. 

The simple act of gardening or tending the Earth becomes a spiritual interaction. A private garden is transformed into an outdoor altar. Magic spells are transmitted via gardens. A desire for fertility may be conveyed to the universe by crafting a garden filled with plants associated with fertility such as poppies, figs and pomegranates. 

A desire for protection might be signaled by planting cactus, nettles, and poisonous plants like oleander or datura. Spirits may be summoned or fairies beckoned by planting inviting gardens filled with their favored botanicals.

The Norse magical tradition, as well as being many other things, is a botanical tradition. Some are simple, others extremely elaborate and complex. But this remains a very accessible magic. Many fine books on herbalism are available, as are academies devoted to the botanical arts including aromatherapy and flower essences in addition to the traditional herbalism. 

Brightest of Natures Blessings!
Lory

Sigils of Norse Magic

Sigils are also known as seals. They are specific geometric or visual designs usually enclosed in a circle and are used for various magical and spiritual purposes. 

Commanding and Compelling makes much use of sigils: each spirit, weather an angel (higher being) or demon, is believed to possess a specific sigil. Allegedly if the sigil is created perfectly, the spirit must answer it's summons. 

Traditions similar to sigils exist round the world. Although the designs are unique, purposes and concepts are closely related. 

Sigils are also used for various magical purposes. Seals are incorporated  into candle magic and are used to create protective talismans. Sigils can also be used to create personal defensive shields. 

Pennsylvania Dutch hex signs are another form of sigil. Hex signs are often considered nothing more than Pennsylvania Dutch folk art, however they are actually magical signs and sigils. They are most commonly found painted onto building facades or gable ends of barns. 

Designs have historically also been included on furniture, documents, tombstones, pottery and ceramics and written amulets. Hex sign literally means "Witch Sign." Hex signs are also known as "Hexafoos" or "Witch foot." 

Their origins are mysterious. Jakob Grim and other scholars recognized the geometric patterns as deriving from pre-Christian spiritual and magical traditions. They were first used in Medieval Germany and Switzerland and may be based on the runes. Another school of thought, however, insists that Hex signs are nothing more than aesthetically pleasing adornments.

Hex signs consist of simple and colorful geometric designs that require relatively little artistry. If you can draw a straight line, you can draw a simple Hex sign, although perhaps not the elaborate ones. 

Different Hex signs have different names, meanings and powers. For instance, to keep lightening or hail from striking or prevent animals from becoming bewitched.  Explanations dating back to the 1920's, especially geared to tourists, suggest the Hex signs are decorations intended to ward off malevolent witchcraft or evil influences. In other words, they are "Sigils."


Brightest of Blessings,
Lory