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Once you enroll in the program, you will enjoy unrestricted access to the class materials for the entire lifespan of the website, allowing you to revisit the content at your own pace and convenience. Don't miss this chance to delve into the mystical world of witchcraft and expand your understanding of its ancient wisdom and modern applications!

Have a blessed Samhain

Rev. Renee Sosanna Olson

 It has been an amazing few months. So many things have changes.  My profession (mundane) life has begun a new journey. I'm working on a few new prospects for my career and finding that things are not always as they seem.  After renewal of some certifications and putting myself out there, I have landed a better role and looking forward to how it will grow as I move forward.

I've also begun sharing my WFPB journey in a FB Group. My goal here is to share information to those interested on how to work through the struggles of eating out, grocery shopping and answering the questions of those around me as to what WFPB is and how to be successful at it. 

I still struggle with these last 11-15 pounds that just won't drop, but I do want to share with others that I have lost 130 pounds of excess body weight.  With that loss, I also lost my diabetes, my fibromyalgia and all of my prescription drugs. This led me to where I am today with mental clarity, patience and understanding for my fellow earthlings on this planet.

I've also started sharing some of my work from my shop page on TikTok.  I'm working on exploring my creativity in this new venue.  I hope you'll come by and follow me for the random, weird and sometimes cool things that I have going on in my life.

On my magical front, I've been working on Empath Empowerment workshops on my FB page. I'm alternating between readings for clients and offering support for those who experience the sometimes draining effects of dealing with being empathic. I look forward to helping our community learn to ward, protect and guide themselves away from negativity and learn to cope with the influx of emotions that can sometimes come up in our lives.

My next update is that I have had my shop up for about 2 months now. Things are going very well. I have sold out of several of my products and have limited space for new clients.  If you're interested in becoming a client you can click this link to learn about my packages. From ad-hoc or single readings to a committed contract where I make myself available to you for a selected time frame, each one offers my commitment to provide you with the most reliable readings, the best information and the support you need to wade through this murky quagmire that we call life. I would love to work with you, feel free to tap the chat button at the bottom of the page or reach out by purchasing one of my readings.

Overall, life is good. We're rolling with the punches as the world changes around us. I hope that you have an amazing Samhain and if you're up for it, reach out for a reading from an ancestor.  All I need is a photo and your energy to hear the voices of those passed.

Blessings!

Sosanna

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

 For Samhain this year, I'm re-publishing a piece I wrote some years ago related to Hecate as the Cosmic World soul.

From the beginning of time, human beings have set out to answer a single question. Where did we come from?  This hasn’t changed in our modern world. Even with the advent of tracking devices, heart monitors and the ability to see the face of a human before they leave the womb we still ask this question.  People join together in groups circling in on the ideology or ideologies they find most comforting.  While many would say their belief, structure is driven by a combination of faith and historical evidence, we know as each scroll is unfurled that answer is elusive.  That in reality, we as human beings will always look to the stars to find our place in the universe to answer the question, why are we here?

Our relationship to ancient deities helps us make that connection. We want to believe that our presence on this planet isn’t some random accidental event that happened when just the right combination of light, water and temperature met.  We want to believe that we were created intentionally. We were first an idea which was fashioned into existence by the hand of a divine deity.  We were indeed born of the gods. 

Religions throughout antiquity have searched for the answer to this question. The devotees of Hekate are no exception.  In Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy, Hans Lewy repeatedly identifies Hekate with Plato’s Cosmic Soul (Lewy, 1956, p. 6, 47,83, 95, 121, etc.), while in The Chaldean Oracles, Ruth Majercik points out the conflation of Hecate with the World Soul (Majercik, 1989, p. 4, 7).  While one could argue that in this case Hans Lewy was looking for the source of Hekate, and not so much our own creation, I believe we can see that as human beings, if we identify who created us we simultaneously validate our own intelligent design.  Does that mean that Hekate is the Cosmic World Soul and by confirming her place in the creations of everything also define us as a product of the divine?

Even scholars cannot agree, in the chapter ‘Plato’s Timaeus and the Chaldaean Oracles’ in Plato’s Timaeus as Cultural Icon, Luc Brisson objects: “We must abandon the universally admitted idea according to which Hecate is identified with the World Soul... Hecate is too high in the hierarchy to be the World Soul; instead, it is the World Soul that emanates from her" (Reydams-Schils, 2003, p. 119). - Plato's X & Hekate's Crossroads - Astronomical Links to the Mysteries of the Eleusis - George Latura

Here Luc Brisson argues that Hekate can not be the Cosmic World Soul, but instead she is the creator of the soul, making her the supreme creatrix of all life in the cosmos.  We can look back at the reference to the first and second father’s and Hecate being the womb in which the idea of the soul is planted.  This is explained in detail by the Melammu Project below.

From the Cosmic Womb, all began to stretch forth towards the place beneath the wondrous rays, i.e., to the hylic world, where genesis was completed when physical structures were created. Thus, Hekate played the same role as the Cosmic Soul in the Middle Platonic doctrines. The Oracles agree on such a being though never use the word Demiurge, but instead they speak of an artisan of cosmic fire or second mass of fire. In other words, after Hekate had received the Ideas in her womb from the Paternal Intellect (God, the Father), she then transmitted these to the Demiurge, who embodied them in the Sensible world. Because of her role in receiving and then transmitting the seed (Ideas) onward, Hekate/Soul was understood as the “Mother of the World.” – The Melammu Project - http://www.aakkl.helsinki.fi/melammu/database/gen_html/a0001385.php

As we learn more about the world around us, we understand that perhaps our ancient ancestors were trying desperately to explain things of which they had no real comprehension.  To them, things we look at as commonplace today would seem to be magical tools given to us by the gods.

If I said to our ancient ancestors, I have a light emitting oracle that can answer all the questions of mankind. This oracle can open your eyes to worlds you have never seen and allow you to see and hear the voices of your brethren around the planet and even expand out into our galaxies.  Our ancestors, and oddly even some people today would scoff.  However, this exists today in the back pocket of every teen attending middle school today.  The simple internet enabled cellular devices that have become a necessity in our daily lives, provides information from books, movies and yes even the cosmos at our fingertips.

It is my personal belief that humanity creates deities to explain the unexplainable.  We want to have someone to blame when things go wrong. Humans have a long history of not taking personal responsibility for their actions. That goes hand in hand with the goal of most people do become better at what they are doing. Be it acting in a moving, getting a good grade on a test or becoming a master painter. I have watched my friends praise all things above them when they create something wonderful instead of stepping back and saying, look at all the hard work I put into this and just look at it. It is fantastic.  Or the flipside, I worked on this and I failed.  Maybe the gods are crazy!

The number of times I hear someone say they’re sick and someone must have put a spell on them is astronomical. While I think that there is complete legitimacy in thoughts bring forth action and will creates reality, I do not for a second think that we should jump headlong into the magical when the mundane is the more likely the culprit.  While we may not want to believe that the right ecological state created the space for we humans to develop, we have to evaluate the evidence.  We cannot jump from the unknown to “Aliens”.  There may be many explanations in between.  If we did not come from a murky pool of water, it doesn’t mean that we were created by the hand of a deity on a potter’s wheel. 

In closing I would like to say that when I began my spiritual journey, my path was littered with the remains of an assortment of belief systems. I traveled each road looking for what everyone hopes to find in this journey. When I stumbled onto the crossroads, I found a powerful female presence that helped me see that not everything is as black and white as we would like them to be. There are many faces to the world and sometimes we need to understand that we will be faced with decisions that are right for today but may change as our energy ebbs and flows with the universe in tomorrow. We can look for that spark of life, the idea in the womb that brings forth the amazing energy that we use in our day to day dealings with others. That spark is there and it may show it self to the Christian as Jesus.  To the Muslim as Allah. Or to the Atheist as curiosity. To each, the message may arrive by a different method but it is the same message. It is upon us to see it, learn it and live it.

Reference:

• Chaldean Oracles
• Chaldaean Oracles and Theurgy
• Plato's X & Hekate's Crossroads - Astronomical Links to the Mysteries of the Eleusis
• Melammu Project
• The Gods Must Be Crazy
• The Creation of Man from Clay

Note: The spelling of Hecate in this article is used as each source referred and as personal preference.

Fall is my favorite time of the year. October is of course the best month as I feel more connected to, not only my witchiness but also to my ancestors. I love working with the dead more now than ever before in my life. As I begin to connect more with my Crone energy, I feel as though I am able to work better with the dead.  I sometimes start with an update to my ancestor altar.

Samhain is traditionally the time of the year for working with the dead. This is the time of the year when the veil between the living and the dead is thinnest, allowing us to make contact and work with them directly.

Me, Renee Olson & My Grandmother, Julia Smith

 The last ten years has been a real change for me as I lost my grandmother and a dear aunt that I was very close to. These are the energies I call on when I do my work with the dead. There is a strength there and a love that each had that resonates with me as I do my spell work. With intent and focus I call their energies into the room and look to them for information, answers or just energy to guide me through my work.

I look to Samhain as my new year. I treat it much the same way others treat January 1st. I take this time to shake off the old energies and connect with the new. I cut ties and begin new ventures. In recent years I've started doing a special oracle reading to help me get started for the new year.  I'd like to share this year's reading with you.

1. Past - What you've learned - The Direction Guardian tells us to choose our path. We look in all directions and evaluate our options. We trust our instincts to take us down the right path.

2. Past - What you've lost - The Summer card tells us to bask in the joy and light.  The world is a little less bright right now. The joy seems to have faded.

3. The Present - The Shaman tells us to trust in higher forces. Look within to find that inspiration, that force or energy to push forward.

4. Future - What you'll learn - The Snake tells us to shed old skin. Don't be tied down to things simply because it is the way its always been done.  You are not your job, your race or your religion. Change can be good.

5. Future - What you'll gain - The Magick Guardian tells us to unlock the magick within. We should look within ourselves for this is where the magick is.  Cards, wands and robes do not, the witch make. You are the magick. Own it.

I hope you've enjoyed this reading. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, leave comments if you'd like.  I have also added a message button to this page. You can click that and I'll respond as quickly as I can.

I hope you all have a save and blessed Samhain.

Namaste

Sosanna

 Samhain marks a new year for me. I think of it as a time when we morph into a newer form of ourselves and journey forward into a new life. We give a nod to the energies that come ever so near as the veil thins and bid them pass on their wisdom of the unknown. This is the time that I embrace change. These last few years have been incredible for me.  I have stood in awe watching things that I thought would be forever crumble around me.

I began to actually see what the Buddha meant by dukka. Our suffering, my suffering is rooted in attachment to things that are not permanent. By definition, this attachment causes suffering. I have found that as I begin to notice that things are indeed impermanent; it becomes easier to keep my sense of peace. 

While some may thing this is sticking our heads in the sand, he goes on to explain that we can see what is wrong in the world but only water the seeds of things that bring us joy.

We have to take a moment to breathe and listen to ourselves so that we can simply sip our tea or wash the dishes.  We can be in this moment to find joy.  I use the fourteen precepts to help me through our day. I'd like to share them with you in this post.

While you look over this new day with fear or happiness. Remember nothing is permanent. All things change. Where we are today is a different place than yesterday and tomorrow. We need to look into ourselves and find the seeds of happiness and water those seeds. We need to share those seeds with others around us until we have a garden of happiness around the world. 

In you, I see me.  We interare.

The Fourteen Precepts of Engaged Buddhism

1. Do not be idolatrous about or bound to any doctrine, theory, or ideology, even Buddhist ones. Buddhist systems of thought are guiding means; they are not absolute truth.
2. Do not think the knowledge you presently possess is changeless, absolute truth. Avoid being narrow-minded and bound to present views. Learn and practice nonattachment from views in order to be open to receive others’ viewpoints. Truth is found in life and not merely in conceptual knowledge. Be ready to learn throughout your entire life and to observe reality in yourself and in the world at all times.
3. Do not force others, including children, by any means whatsoever, to adopt your views, whether by authority, threat, money, propaganda, or even education. However, through compassionate dialogue, help others renounce fanaticism and narrowness.
4. Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering. Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world. Find ways to be with those who are suffering, including personal contact, visits, images, and sounds. By such means, awaken yourself and others to the reality of suffering in the world.
5. Do not accumulate wealth while millions are hungry. Do not take as the aim of your life Fame, profit, wealth, or sensual pleasure. Live simply and share time, energy, and material resources with those who are in need.
6. Do not maintain anger or hatred. Learn to penetrate and transform them when they are still seeds in your consciousness. As soon as they arise, turn your attention to your breath in order to see and understand the nature of your hatred.
7. Do not lose yourself in dispersion and in your surroundings. Practice mindful breathing to come back to what is happening in the present moment. Be in touch with what is wondrous, refreshing, and healing both inside and around you. Plant seeds of joy, peace, and understanding in yourself in order to facilitate the work of transformation in the depths of your consciousness.
8. Do not utter words that can create discord and cause the community to break. Make every effort to reconcile and resolve all conflicts, however small.
9. Do not say untruthful things for the sake of personal interest or to impress people. Do not utter words that cause division and hatred. Do not spread news that you do not know to be certain. Do not criticize or condemn things of which you are not sure. Always speak truthfully and constructively. Have the courage to speak out about situations of injustice, even when doing so may threaten your own safety.
10. Do not use the Buddhist community for personal gain or profit, or transform your community into a political party. A religious community, however, should take a clear stand against oppression and injustice and should strive to change the situation without engaging in partisan conflicts.
11. Do not live with a vocation that is harmful to humans and nature. Do not invest in companies that deprive others of their chance to live. Select a vocation that helps realize your ideal of compassion.
12. Do not kill. Do not let others kill. Find whatever means possible to protect life and prevent war.
13. Possess nothing that should belong to others. Respect the property of others, but prevent others from profiting from human suffering or the suffering of other species on Earth.
14. Do not mistreat your body. Learn to handle it with respect. Do not look on your body as only an instrument. Preserve vital energies (sexual, breath, spirit) for the realization of the Way. (For brothers and sisters who are not monks and nuns:) Sexual expression should not take place without love and commitment. In sexual relationships, be aware of future suffering that may be caused. To preserve the happiness of others, respect the rights and commitments of others. Be fully aware of the responsibility of bringing new lives into the world. Meditate on the world into which you are bringing new beings.

From “Interbeing: Fourteen Guidelines for Engaged Buddhism,” Revised edition: Oct. 1993 by Thich Nhat Hanh, published by Parallax Press, Berkeley, California.