As a member of the group called Bone Songs Myth and Magic, a group of gifted Pagan practitioners offer their experiences and guidance in their field of expertise. This past month our theme was Focus.  I wanted to share my contribution to this group with my blog audience and offer you the opportunity to find us and join us for our journey into learning more about ourselves and how we interact with the magical realm.

Here's my offering for February's theme called Self Love. I hope you enjoy.

Love Yourself First

Happy February! It is that time of the year when our focus switches to LOVE!  But why is that? What makes February the month of love?  Well, in AD 496 Pope Gelasius I established the Feast of Saint Valentine on February 14th. Later in the 14th Century, February became associated with romantic love. Over the years lovers would exchange love notes (referred to as valentines), candy and sometimes keys as symbols of their affection. While loving others is certainly something that is extremely important, I’d like to talk about something that often goes unmentioned in this lovefest.  Self-love.

Self love is defined as having a high regard for your own well-being and happiness. Taking care of yourself and not allowing anyone else to detract from that.  Even if that person is you. Self-love is not allowing others to treat you in a way that lessens your worth. Holding yourself in a circle of love and honor where you require that all who enter, treat you with respect and care. 

From my experiences in life, I can tell you that often I was told that I needed to sacrifice myself, my dreams, my wants or desires to be sure that those under my care came first. My college classes set aside, my choice of movie or even what pizza to get was determined by others in my life. I could just “pick off” what I didn’t like and deal with what I was given. Many of you may be in a similar circumstance right now. I allowed others to dictate what I would allow in my life and in turn ended up being negative to myself. Self loathing and self abuse were commonplace in my life. 

I finally came to terms with what I wanted in my life and how I wanted to be treated. I had to stop looking outside for things to make me happy and work on what I already had within me. All the tools I needed for happiness were right here and right now. I had to simply stop looking into tomorrow or crying about the past and focus on what I had right now. What did I need to be happy? What did I need to feel loved? I needed to let go of the things that were making me unhappy, and quite often, the thing making me unhappy was me. 

I started mindfully doing things. I would mindfully practice my faith. Mindfully do my chores and mindfully practice self-love. These things helped me move from a position of martyr to champion. Today I do not sacrifice myself at the expense of unhappiness simply to please another. I’m sure you’re thinking, but how do I do this? What is something real and tangible that I can do today to practice self-love?

“The whole cosmos has come together to create you. You carry the whole cosmos inside you. That is why, to accept yourself and to love yourself is an expression of gratitude.” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Well, start small. Take a moment to appreciate things that you enjoy. You don’t need to paint the Mona Lisa, but you do need to paint; if it brings you joy.  You don’t need to be the next Marlon Brando, but if you love it.. ACT! So many times we just don’t try to do the things we enjoy because we can’t monetize it, or we can’t do it professionally. Look around your life and think about those things that bring you joy and DO THEM. Make some jewelry, draw a picture, play an instrument. Do things that make you happy and soon you’ll begin to see that all long within you is all you need for happiness. Be kind to yourself, take a long leisurely bath, or go for a run. Do these things that make you truly happy and you’ll see a change.

We have to look within ourselves and be sure that we are the best we can be before we can begin to take care of others.  Think about it this way, if we have a jug of water, and we use this jug to fill the cups of those who need water, pretty soon our jug will be empty. The same applies to love.  If we do not take the time to care for ourselves and nourish our energy soon we will have nothing left to give to anyone else.

“If you don’t love yourself, how in the hell are you gonna love someone else?” - Rupaul

I have often heard that self-love is selfish. I believe this could not be further from the truth. To me, Self-love is caring while selfishness is manipulative. Self-care is looking for wellbeing and sharing and selfishness is taking something from someone else. To love yourself is not selfish, it is self esteem. It is putting your health and wellbeing in the forefront allowing you the energy and the strength to move forward in your care of others.

The World Health Organization defines self-care as “the ability of individuals, families and communities to promote health, prevent disease, maintain health, and to cope with illness and disability with or without the support of a healthcare provider”.  We have within us the power to heal the world. We just need to start with ourselves. So I recommend, for this Valentine’s Day, take yourself on a date.  Give yourself a valentine. Don’t criticize or say hurtful things to yourself. Love yourself first!

PS  - Don’t pick off the toppings you don’t like.  Order your own pizza!  

Namaste

Sosanna

Rev. Renee Sosanna Olson - CSM, PMI-ACP

Ordained Spiritual Counselor

Certified Holistic Wellness Coach

International Yogi Certification

Certified Crystal Master & Aroma Therapy Practitioner

Resources:

History of Saint Valentine’s Day - https://www.nowbali.co.id/february-is-the-month-of-love-or-is-it/

Saint Valentine’s Day  - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valentine%27s_Day

Self-Love and What It Means - https://www.bbrfoundation.org/blog/self-love-and-what-it-means

Self Care Strategies - https://www.verywellmind.com/self-care-strategies-overall-stress-reduction-3144729

Videos:

Self Compassion - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cq8MePQ_uUk

How do I love Myself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gMoRtJhVoxc

Learning to love Myself - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TK9g6xAeR48

Exercises:

Journaling Entries - Use Valentine’s Day to write a “love note” to yourself. Complement yourself on what you do well or what you have accomplished this year. 

Do What you enjoy - Take yourself out to dinner or treat yourself to a meal you prepared at home. Make something special that you love and makes you feel good. Go for a walk, or spend some time outside in the fresh air. Living a healthy lifestyle will not only make your body feel better but it will help your mind grow and become more mindful.

Everyday Valentines - Grab a stack of sticky notes and jot down things on them that are positive and make you feel good. Stick those notes all over the house. One on the bathroom mirror. One on the inside of a cabinet door. When you see them, read them out loud. I have notes around my house that tell me I’m beautiful, that I’m happy and that I’m a good person. Read them out loud every time you see them. This is self-love.

 As a member of the group called Bone Songs Myth and Magic, a group of gifted Pagan practitioners offer their experiences and guidance in their field of expertise. This past month our theme was Focus.  I wanted to share my contribution to this group with my blog audience and offer you the opportunity to find us and join us for our journey into learning more about ourselves and how we interact with the magical realm.

Here's my offering for January's theme called Mindful Magic. I hope you enjoy.

Mindful Magic

As we kick off 2022, it is a great time to start thinking about where you are spiritually. Our spiritual self, our inner self or our true self as it is often referred to, is that place where we are who we really are. This is the self that rarely is shared with others. This self, is the self that sits back and judges our actions; it rates those actions and then gives us a feeling of guilt or pride based on that judgment.  That self is often thinking into the future about what will come of those actions or looking at the past, wishing for or regretting actions that led us to where we are now.  That self is often negative. 

I know what you’re thinking, not another one of those mind over matter mumbo jumbo pieces. Why yes, yes it is.  Because my dear readers, it is true. We have within us the power to decide if we want to be happy or sad. We decide if we want to continue to pave a road with our tears or brush off our cheeks and move forward with a smile. And this year, my friends, is the year that we need more than ever before to move forward with a collective happiness that can indeed, change the world.

Mindfulness is the act of being fully present in the here and now. In this fast paced world of multitasking this is much more challenging than it seems. Every day we often sit at our computers, while watching TV and stopping to read an instant message that pops up while thinking ahead about the next task.  We are preparing for the future and fretting about the past so much that we miss out on what is in our lives right now. Mindfulness is a deliberate act. We stop doing multiple things and focus on the one thing that we’re doing right now with intent and purpose.

Being mindful is the beginning of meditation. Mediation is a state of calm where you sit with yourself and seek to recognize the exact moment of where you are right now. Meditation has been scientifically proven to lower blood pressure, ease the symptoms of anxiety and improve self-esteem. A study in 2016 showed that introducing a group of meditation practitioners into a community of those who do not mediate lowered crime rates and violence by about 20%  in what is called the Maharishi effect.  If we could get 1% of our population to meditate, we could change the world.

So what does all these mean, you’re asking? What does this mean for my magical practice?

As witches, intuitives, mystics and healers what this means to use is that we are in a unique place to help bring about positive change to our planet. We can look at each of our specific gifts and add mindfulness to it so that we can add focus to our result. Whose magical work does not benefit when you take a few extra minutes of self care time to focus your energy on your intentions? What healing energy isn’t reinforced when you spend some time directing that energy with purpose? I think we all know the answer. 

For 2022, think of ways that you can begin moving into a mindful place. Think about the simple act of drinking a cup of tea. We need to be here to hold the cup, and to drink from the cup. Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh teaches us that all acts including drinking tea should be done so, mindfully.

“You must be completely awake in the present to enjoy the tea.

Only in the awareness of the present, can your hands feel the pleasant warmth of the cup.

Only in the present, can you savor the aroma, taste the sweetness, appreciate the delicacy.

If you are ruminating about the past, or worrying about the

future, you will completely miss the experience of enjoying the cup of

Tea…..” - Thich Nhat Hanh

Make 2022 the year that you remain right here, right now. I look forward to taking this journey with you. 

Namaste

Sosanna

Rev. Renee Sosanna Olson - CSM, PMI-ACP

Ordained Spiritual Counselor

Certified Holistic Wellness Coach

International Yogi Certification

Certified Crystal Master & Aroma Therapy Practitioner

Resources:

The Maharishi Effect - https://research.miu.edu/maharishi-effect/

How to Meditate - https://www.mindful.org/how-to-meditate/

Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh - https://plumvillage.org/

Thich Nhat Hanh’s Tea Meditation - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNiwOI0u9AI

The Bell of Mindfulness - https://plumvillage.app/how-and-why-to-use-the-mindfulness-bell-on-the-plum-village-app/

Exercises:

Mindful Dishwashing

While washing dishes, think very deliberately about the task. Feel the warmth of the water on your skin. Feel the sponge or cloth in your hand. Think about each stroke across the dish. Feel the smoothness of the clean dish. Now repeat this for each item in the sink. Really feel it and focus only on that one thing. This is mindful meditation.

Applying a magical context would be - take a ritual bath and think about these same things.

Mindful Sweeping

While sweeping the floor, think very deliberately about the task. Feel the handle of the broom in your hand. Feel the wind that is created from the stroke. Watch the dust and dirt collected into the pile. Feel the dustpan as you collect it. Now take it out to the trash and feel it leave the dust pan. Send it out of your space.

Applying a magical context would be - clean your ritual space, sweep that negativity into its place and remove it from your area. Direct the energy here, same intensity, same focus.

Journaling Your Experience

Journals are a great way to document what you’re feeling before and after your mindful experience. I recommend picking up a small book or if so inclined use an electronic journal to jot down your feelings. This is going to be useful to come back to at the end of year to look at how you have grown.  Some example labels for entries could be:

Date/Time

Day of the Week

Moon Phase

Activity Practiced (examples, mindful sweeping, mindful walking, mindful dishwashing)

Feelings Before

Feelings After

Goals/Notes

Take this time to jot down anything that comes to mind around your mindful activities. Even if you get distracted, jot that down. These things will help you on your path to grow into being mindfully present in all you say and do.

Photo Credit - Renee Sosanna Olson

Moon water is really as simple as it sounds. Water exposed to a particular phase of the moon. I have a collection of different waters that I use for assorted spell intentions or components.  Filled with positive energy, some believe drinking moon water will help ease symptoms of PCOS and help regulate menstrual cycle.  

Moon water can also be used for ritual bathing before or after magical rites or used to cleanse crystals or stones of the negative energy that have collected. Choose certain phases of the moon or certain astrological settings of the moon is said to enhance the water's properties. If a moon is conjunct with Jupiter, it could bring luck and abundance. 

Alternatively, putting it in a spray bottle with a bit of sage or basil can turn it into a lovely cleansing spray. Adding lemon can brighten up any space.

Full Moon Storm by Renee Sosanna Olson

I'm sure you're asking.. well what other types of waters can I make? Well, my friends, the options are as endless as the velvety nights sky. Aside for the obvious lunar phase and astrological choices for moon water collection, there are always eclipses, convergences and times of the year. A bottle of water when the moon is in a one house would one type of energy whereas when it is in another, another would be captured. Yule water or Samhain water could be used for different sprays -  Yule with cinnamon as a pray or Samhain with eggshells or tea leaves for communing with the dead.

Now think about the possibilities, Storm water, Hurricane water, Ice water/Winter water. Each one of these having their own magical properties to help enhance your magical efforts. I have put together a short list below.

• Moon Water - Feminine Energy, Healing, Cleansing
• Sun Water - Masculine Energy, Strength, Growth
• Storm Water - Banishing, Cleansing, Protecting
• Moon in a Fire Sign - Passion
• Moon in an Earth Sign - Grounding
• Moon in an Air Sign - Intellect
• Moon in a Water Sign - Intuition

Using these types of water in your rituals will enhance your magical energy and the outcomes of your magic. Just be sure to collect the type of water you need, store it properly and the take care with cleansings your crystals or other fragile items. 

Moon water will help you bring the goddess energy into your magical workings and daily life.

What do you think? Leave your comments below!

Renee Sosanna Olson

 It has been a while since I posted an update on the status of life here. I've been working on a few things this year and still have a few goals to reach before the end of the years. 

The majority of my year this year has been focused on my health. I had a situation with a hernia that needed to be repaired and had some issues with my iron levels. About 22 years ago I had a Roux n Y gastric bypass where the surgeon was incompetent and ended up removing most of my stomach and small intestines. This removal resulted in me becoming unable to absorb nutrients from any items that I ingest orally. In early January of this year I went for my physical and the resulting labs showed anemia. A follow up appointment showed it drop so much that I was referred to a hematologist for iron infusion therapy. Fast forward to today, I've had 5 infusion sessions which consist of 5 weekly iron iv drips at the hospital. After each of the sessions, I go back for another round of blood work which reveals another drop in my iron levels. It has been exhausting. 

This year we lost Turtle. She was such a powerful energy in the house. Since we first got her and took her for rides on the motorcycle to carrying to the vet for the last time, she was everything to me. Her voice ever so present, her energy, a force not to be ignored. It has been about 4 months or so now and I miss her terribly. There will never be another one, she was indeed my only one.

 

I have even created my own line of magical tools. I introduced Witch Tacks this year.  These are resin filled tacks that can be placed upright on a shelf, mantle or altar to surround your areas with magical intentions or alternatively they can be "tacked" into the ground around your property or in planters and such to create magical wards and protection circles around your space.

I also have created a protection set, a prosperity set and a healing set.  These also come as a set of four, but are clear and have magical herbs incased within each.

 

These would generally be placed on an altar or at the four directional points in a magic circle. You can find these in my Etsy shop here.

Overall it has been a pretty amazing year, even with the pandemic. Even with the illness and the lack of events. I'm trying to get this thing working as an online thing.  We'll see how it goes. Here's hoping for a better 2022!  I hope you have had a healthy and happy new year!

Blessings!

Sosanna

 Today I'm reviewing Green Witch Magick - Essential Plants and Crafty Spellwork for a Witch's Cupboard by Susan Ilka Tuttle.

• Book Link
• Author Link
• On-sale Date: November 16, 2021

The author begins by telling us sage advice on the use of herbs. I highly recommend reading this before getting started in using herbs. There are a great number of herbs that are perfectly safe in moderation. We need to take note when we're using a new herb and make sure we are very familiar with the herbs we use regularly. Mint for example can cause irrigation of mucus membranes and skin while lavender can cause constipation and increased appetite. Learn about your herbs and be sure to work with them in a safe manner.

    

Part I of this book is all about becoming a witch. The author guides us on stereotypes and stories about witches as well as what it really means to be a witch. She talks about Witchcraft and how paganism and the practice of Wicca differ.  When I came upon the section titled, Celebrating Diversity in the Witch community, I expected to read about LGBT or People of Color instead it was about natural born witches vs. solitary witches. She does however discuss cultural appropriation in a previous section and mentions the use of the terms "spirit animal" or "animal totem" specifically. Part 1 wraps up with a bit of history on the Green Witchcraft and gives an overview of the sabbats and other magical practices including, animism, crystal work and working with natural altars.

Part II of this book gives us 13 essential plants for our cupboard. I won't delve into each of these in this review. I do want to give the general overview of what to expect. The author gives us a sort of dating profile for each plant. There is a section on name and family as well as its correspondences. Lavender for example is in the Lamiaceae family and corresponds to Mercury, Gemini and Virgo.  It represents the element of Air and is said to transport you with its aroma to another time and place. We then are given its medicinal, culinary and magickal uses as well as a list of projects that are included in the book to incorporate the use of the plant into our spell work.

Part III of the book teaches us about herbal remedies and provides recipes for creating these remedies as well as steps for our magical workings. Included is a section on gardening, foraging and herbalism. From mint infused oils, to lip balm, the recipes in this book are simple to follow and easy to understand. The author takes the time to explain the different cooking techniques as well as the differences in carrier oils that are essential to understanding and creating a usable final product. 

The chapter on herbs in divination was my favorite. She reviews different divination practices and then provides recipes on oils and sprays to help impower your magical practice. Color magic, cleansing bouquets and simmering potpourri are included, which I found very useful. Filling a room with fragrances can be a wonderful way to represent the element of Air or even to act as an offering to the deities you work with. 

Over all a great introduction to working within the realm of green witchery. I found it to be a well researched and presented book with a good deal of information. I think that this book would be useful for the beginner and seasoned which alike. I do not have a background in hedge witch or kitchen witchery but I found the recipes easy to follow and the sections on each of the plants very easy to follow. I would recommend this book for a house warming or graduation gift. I think that it would be a great addition to your magical library.

I hope you found this review helpful. Be sure to check out these authors and please feel free to provide any feedback or ask your requests in the blog comments or directly to me via the chat button at the bottom of the page or via email.

Namaste

Sosanna

Today I'm reviewing a new oracle deck called - "The Wild Goddess Oracle" by Amy Zerner & Monte Farber.

• Deck Link
• Author Link
• Illustrator Link
• Release Date - October 12, 2021

 Today I'm reviewing - "The Witch's Complete Guide to Self Care" by Theodosia Corinth.

• Book Link
• Author Link - No link was located for this author however Quarto Knows did offer this : 

• Release Date: October 19, 2021

I'll begin with a review of the physical book.  This is a larger book. It has a vibrantly illustrated blue cover front and back on this hardcover edition I was provided to review. Not the size to grab and go, but you could toss it in a normal sized book bag and take it on a bus or train ride as a traveling companion. In what seems to be a trend for this publisher, the title page font is miniscule. I would need to work with Sherlock Holmes to be able to read this page. The rest of the book is fine, just this initial page seems to be something that this publisher is sticking with in the books I've reviewed so far this year. The images in the book are fantastic, there are an assortment of styles from professional photography shots to simple line illustration the book's imagery is fitting and fanciful. The book has six fully load chapters with 168 pages that include an additional reading list, online resources and a decent sized index.

The author starts us on our magical journey by guiding us through our self care with an explanation of the roots of self care and how we should use this book.  Jumping right into body care, we're instructed on finding a way to use our bodies to practice. From dancing to stretches each movement we make is magical. Breathing exercises and meditation recommendations are not far behind. Closing out the chapter with cleanings baths and ritual herbs that can be used to help us provide our bodies with the nurture and care it so deeply deserves.

We then delve into the emotional waters of our self with a chapter (24 pages) dedicated to our emotional care. Mindfulness being front and center. The images in this section are stunning. I loved the section on goal setting and manifestation. This is something that every witch can work on and I found it to be quite rewarding. The following chapter on the Astrology & Tarot were well done and full of valuable information. 

Again with a focus on the self care aspect, the author takes us forward with how we work not only with our space and energy but also with those around us. Creating a support network and connecting with those like minded who we can share our path with. It his medically proven that having a support system in place leads to longer happier lives. Our familiars and our coven is just such a support mechanism that is powerful and rewarding. Finding yours should be something that is a strong foundation to build your practice. It may not been a group of 12 other witches that you meet with every full moon, but having someone around to call sister, and maybe have a cup of tea with from time to time will certainly help build that community.

The last chapter of this book is regarding magical communication. From how to use an altar to working with a spell book, we have an example of what working with these tools can look like. Then of course, we have the spells.  This book boasts of having well over 100 spells to choose from. The last pages of this chapter are dedicated to just that. From a spell for reflection to a spell for guidance, these pages include the materials required, the directions and then the step by step ritual to follow in order to manifest this spell into action. 

Overall I found this book to deliver exactly what the title promised. With follow up resources such as recommended reading lists and online resources this is a great gift for a beginner in the magical arts. The order of the chapters makes since and the dialog is clear and direct. I believe that this is a great resource for those exploring how to work with the magical tools they have to provide themselves with a positive, healthy way to care for themselves both physically and emotionally.

Namaste

Sosanna

 Today I am reviewing - "In Focus - Runes" by Jan Budkowski.

• Book Link
• Author Link - I was unable to locate any link directly to this author's page. If you find something, feel free to message me and I'll update the page.
• Release Date - November 30, 2021