All religions are true religions. It's all about vision.

I believe deity is like clay. Without an individual person's vision of what that clay is supposed to look like and how it is supposed to behave, it is just a mass of potential. We can imbue that clay with a face and a name and a personality, but when not formed, it reverts back into an amorphous state. My lump of clay is the same as your lump of clay. I still believe there is benefit in choosing a specific deity for specific needs. It's just calling forth a more focused, defined aspect of deity to fill the need.

All of the polytheistic religions I know of have an ultimate god/dess. The other deities below them are often described as their children, or are given god-like status by the ruling deity. The parent deity is a specific pantheon's lump of clay, given form. The deities below the parent deity are like a chunk of that clay given it's own specific form.

In my opinion, all religions are in a way polytheistic. In Christianity, God is the ruling deity, and Jesus is an aspect of God. There are plenty of references to that in the Bible, I believe. For the sects of Christianity that believe in patron saints, those Saints are like a specific container to help focus the worshiper's vision of God, and explain to Him their need. In another example, Buddhists have different forms or faces they put on Buddha, to express different things. Buddha is not considered a god, but is an aspect of the clay they believe in. Nirvana is their clay. Their minor deities are viewed, not as gods, but as ideas and symbols.

Even Atheists are right. They just see their lump of clay purely in scientific forms.

Often, religions say that deity is in all of us. Christians believe God is always in their heart. Pagans believe we are all gods and goddesses in our own right. These ideas seem completely opposite, but to me, it's just different ways of looking at the same thing. The spiritual clay that becomes deity is out there, available to all of us. It is in us and around us, just waiting for us to call upon it. That is how God is in our hearts. We are all gods and goddesses in our own right, because we all see deity in our own way, even when we are calling it by the same name. Gods wouldn't exist without us to envision them. We think, therefor, we are.

The only time I will ever say that someone is wrong in regards to their religion is when they say someone else's religion is wrong. Even if that is supposedly part of the teachings of their religion, I think it is a perversion. The belief that one's religion is the only true religion is a human idea formed by fear of doubt, and alpha-humans' need to conquer. I believe that the current interpretations of religious texts saying a god demands that all people believe religion in their way or no way, is a gross misunderstanding. The admonitions to share one's religion with the world are meant to spread peace. It's meant to give people who have no religion and WANT or NEED a religion answers and comfort. It's not meant to rip away a religion already in place in a person's heart, and replace it with another.

The spiritual lump of clay doesn't want us fighting in it's name. It doesn't really WANT anything, except to be what we need it to be. I think maybe it doesn't even want the anger and hate, but because it's nature is to become what we see it, it has no choice. To me, this is why, in the end, good triumphs over evil.

So, in a way, my religion is every religion. It's not Agnosticism. I definitely believe in deity. I just believe that we are all right.

Why I believe in Astrology, and why it doesn't work for everyone.

Whether the planets and stars and other astrological objects really exert some sort of influence, I don't know. However, there does seem to be a pattern between when certain astrological objects are in certain places in the sky and relative to each other. For those who are skeptics, let's remove the "magical" element.

If something happens once, it's unremarkable. If it happens twice, it's a coincidence. If it happens repeatedly, there must be some connection. Whether or not we have discovered all of the reasons and methods behind the phenomena, there is still the fact that something is occurring.

The process of reading events through astrology has been compiled and expanded over hundreds of years. It started by someone noticing that every time such-and-such planet/star/etc. was in this part of the sky, such-and such happened. Early astrologists mapped out the positions of the astrological bodies, took notes on reoccurring events, or similarities in the personalities of people born under different Signs. When things didn't fall out as expected, they noted how some astrological bodies were aligned or in conjunction with each other, and deduced that maybe this signaled some sort of interference.

Did the planets and whatnot cause the feelings and events that played out on 7/21/10? Maybe, maybe not. Did a large number of people feel something skin to what I described in my blog? Definitely. The fact that there were multiple people on my FB feed talking about having the same feelings of unease, before I looked up and posted my Astrological interpretation, removes the possibility of it being psychosomatic. Not all of the people who posted on FB that day were from the same group of friends. They would not have seen each other's posts, so there is no psychosomatic influence there.

Of course, this was no scientific setup, with a broad range of test subjects in blind conditions. I can't definitively state that everyone's experience was caused by whatever influence was mirrored by astrological events. This isn't the first time I've noticed this kind of thing before, though, and the conditions of 7/21 in particular seem to be pushing the bonds of coincidence.

So, I don't know how the planets or stars assert their "influence." I don't even know if they are actually doing anything at all. What I do know is that there is a surprising amount of accuracy when examining the position of astrological objects in the sky and their position relative to each other. There is a surprising amount of accuracy in just the simplest comparison of all people born under specific signs. A more in depth look at a person's star chart for the day they were born explains any deviations from the basic description.

If I had had the time, I could have compared the various Signs with the "influence" of the day. Then I could have explained how much each Sign would be affected, and how. If I had nothing else to do with my time, and cared to do it, I could have compared a specific person's astrological personality as described by their birth chart to the "influence" of the day, and provided more accuracy, and explanation for any deviations.

As a final caveat, I believe that the strength of a person's will trumps all. Whatever is going on to cause these astrological "influences," if a person has a stronger will than the force of those influences, they will overcome them. People who are very skeptical will have a strong desire to have things fall out any way but the way their horoscope says it should. They will actively work to prevent those things from taking place. A person who just has a strong sense-of-self and willpower will subconsciously feel that something outside of themselves is trying to interfere with their life. They will strengthen their resolve to make things fall out in the manner of their choosing.

Astrology and psychic reading are not absolute. The future is mutable, depending on the choices we make. Astrology and psychic readings can be a great tool or a horrible restriction. It all depends on what you do with what you learn.

My process for Energy Healing

1. Ground and center.

2. Use "Sight"/Visualization to read the aura and pinpoint the center of the problem.

3. Use energy and visualization to brush the bad energy into an energy "black hole." Hand gestures help, let's the person you are working on see you doing something.

4. Combine with massage for pain or sinus pressure.

5. Visualize healing energy encompassing and sinking into the muscle and tissue where the pain is originating. Green isn't always the most effective color. I find yellow to be good for tension headaches or pain from depression. Blue is good for pain from hot pains like muscle cramps, fever headaches or headaches brought on by high emotion/racing heart/high blood pressure.

6. If needed, visualize sinus pressure draining, a fever "thermostat" being set so that it can't go above a safe range, a "black hole" sucking up congestion in the lungs, a "valve" controlling the flow of stomach acid being turned down. Anything that works for you, to symbolize the problem being corrected. I also tell the person I am working on what I am visualizing. Then they are visualizing, too. I suggest that they can visualize that themselves if they feel symptoms returning.

7. Establish a link from the free floating energy around us going directly to the person being worked on. Visualize it as a kind of power cord supplying energy to the processes you started, and picture those processes continuing without you, after you stop healing directly.

8. Visualize the "black hole" continuing to siphon up the bad energy.

9. Make sure to imprint upon all of this that it should fade away when it is no longer needed. The "power cord" should unplug and wind back up. The "black hole" should seal shut. Body processes that you may have "adjusted," like that stomach acid "valve," should return to autopilot. Don't leave anything going without a final instruction to end when the problem is gone, or if the process you established is causing harm instead of good.

10. When you're all done working on your "patient," scan yourself. Make sure you're no longer "linked" to them. It seems to me that energy is sticky, like static cling. You want to make sure that nothing that doesn't belong is "stuck" to you. Shake off any bad energy clinging to you. Use your own "black hole" or cosmic vacuum cleaner to suck up that bad energy.

11. Ground and center again.

Screw you, local Veterinarians. I'll do it myself.

Poor Hain seems to have been on the losing end of a battle this time. It looks like his right-front paw dewclaw was ripped out. There's a lot of swelling, so I'm not sure. Possibly a broken bone in there.

I hate that we can't afford to take him to a vet. I hate that there are no options for someone in our situation, except for DIY doctoring, or surrender him to a shelter, who would probably euthanize him anyway.

I refuse to give up. I've gone to such lengths to save animals, even when it was hopeless. I tried to nurse an abandoned baby mouse, to the point of getting up every 2 hours or so to feed it animal formula, built a makeshift incubator, and in the end, even tried mouth to mouth resuscitation. I stopped in the middle of the road to catch a wild rabbit who's fur had been torn, hunted for a wildlife rescue center in the middle of the night for it, even thought about trying to stitch it myself it need be. I paid a vet to surgically remove a guinea pig's damaged eye, when we had the money. I nursed a puppy dying of parvo, including giving her medicated enemas in the hopes of rehydrating her, after vet visits didn't help.

But recent experiences have shown me that the vets in my area just don't care as much about animals as they do for their wallets. When Lulu had what appeared to be a UTI, I had to hunt down freakin' antibiotics for her, basically buying them black market, because no vet would help us. We couldn't pay for all of the extensive tests they swore were necessary. I know that some medical procedures can be very expensive for a vet's office, but the fact that not one would even just take 5 minutes to sell us a broad spectrum antibiotic tells me it's pointless to ask for help with an x-ray. I was willing to pay for the medication. I knew that there was a possibility that the antibiotic wouldn't help, but we couldn't afford $100+ for all these tests they said had to be done to rule out other causes. I had no other choices. Better to do SOMETHING than nothing, right? But I guess all of the vets I called felt it was better to let my cat die than to settle for less than a full office visit. And you know what? Thanks to one kind soul, who managed to find someone who could get me the antibiotic, that cat is fine. She's alive. One of those vets could have saved my cat days of misery, and us tons of worry, if they had had as much heart as that Good Samaritan did.

I may not be able to do as good a job as a vet could, but damn-it I can do the best for Hain I can, from here. I wish we could have him x-rayed. For the amount of swelling, and his complete refusal to put weight on it, I'm pretty sure something is broken. But, evidently, there are no vets around who care more for animals than they do for their wallets. It I can sacrifice sleep to nurse a baby mouse, or give a dying puppy enemas, I can at least attempt to set, splint and bandage my cat. It probably won't heal as well as well as it would if a vet did it, but it's better than nothing.

Girls and makeup

My parents were very militant about not letting me wear makeup, which just pushed me into sneaking into doing it on my own. By high school I was full on goth. I loved it, still do, though I don't put on the full get-out much anymore. Not much point when I'm sitting around the house playing sub-rural housewife. I will say, if you can learn to put liquid eyeliner on on the school bus, you can put it on anywhere.

My kids play around a bit with my makeup at home, and occasionally at friends'. I'm trying to lay the foundation now for understanding "too much" and technique. My oldest had to wear some for a dance recital, though I made sure it was as neutral and natural as possible for a 5 year old. Just enough to emphasize the eyes and lips under the glare of stage lights.

I'm gonna play it by ear as to when to let my 2 girls wear makeup. I do think that some of the timing has to be based on what is the social norm among their peers. I'm not planning on encouraging them to wear makeup just because "everyone else is." But I do know that if I hard line against it, they are likely to try to do it behind my back. With a Scorpio and a Capricorn-cusp-Sagittarius, I'm planning ahead. I figure, if/when they start asking about it, I'll slowly permit them different things, and let them pick to some extent. Maybe starting with lip gloss and/or translucent powder, and on from there.

Once girls reach puberty (which seems to happen younger and younger,) and start the "joys" of womanhood, they want to grasp any element they can to help them understand that new identity. Makeup doesn't HAVE to be part of that, but in the age of peer pressure, it's tricky figuring out how to explain that, and have it sink in. My thought is that they're more likely to listen if I give them a choice. Then I can tell them that it's ok with me if they wear some makeup, and that if they prove to me they can wear it responsibly, I'll give them more latitude. I can also tell them that if they decide they don't want to wear makeup, they don't have to. A subtle bit of reverse peer pressure. I'm not flat out saying, "Just because all the other girls are doing it, doesn't mean you have to." That kind of thing put ME on the defensive as a tween/teen. Instead, it's just a whisper in the back of their mind that they can choose to latch onto if they want, as if it were their own idea.

My womb, an incubation chamber for human immunization

As frightening as it is, it seems mankind is racing towards it's own doom at a breakneck pace. The way things are going, it may be that major catastrophe is the only way our parasitic defilement of the planet can be undone. Like a disease, we have triggered Mother Earth's immune system. Global warming is the fever, dwindling resources are the starvation of the virus/bacteria, and rampant or incurable diseases like Aids or cancer are the white blood cells on the attack.

For those who object to this idea, siting the numerous people who are working to make a change, I tell you this. We who want change are the mutant cells in a sea of depraved organisms. The only hope we have of turning the Earth ravaging human parasite into a beneficial bacteria or symbiotic relationship is to overthrow the black taint of the more numerous parasite. We are the anti-venom, the immunization struggling to help save the Earth from ourselves.

Convincing our peers and elders to change is like trying to change a food allergy into a probiotic. The % of people who change their ways is so small that it goes unnoticed under the cosmic microscope.

If the human race survives, we will be like the sleeper cells of a virus, conquered for the time being, but with the potential to flare up again. The survivors would be the ones who had mutated enough to be immune to the defenses the Earth had mobilized. The Earth, unfortunately, will always be a carrier. For if we ever find a way off of our planet and onto another with the resources to sustain us, most of those unfortunate planets will fall prey to our infection.

Our best hope is our children. The children of the world are like stem cells, blank canvasses waiting to be imprinted with a purpose. We can teach our own children to be better than we are, and encourage them to teach their friends as well. Let us hope that the mutation grows and evolves, and quickly. Mother Earth is desperately battling the wasting disease suffusing her. Hopefully it's not too late for an infusion of evolved human immunization.

If some being on another planet is reading this, you may want to put in your orders for shipment now. I've heard supply and shelf life on immunizations here on Earth are dismal.

Since so many friends are indicating they're feeling tense/off today...

Huh, I was just assuming I was having another panic attack this morning. I'm jittering like I've had too much coffee.

Since so many people are having the same feeling, I decided to look it up. Of course, this will sound nutty for anyone who doesn't believe in astrology, but here is my interpretation:

Saturn is in the sign of Virgo, in conjunction with Chiron which is in the sign of Aquarius. The sun sign of the day is Libra.

Libra's influence on the day is trying to bring about balance, but without upsetting the things already in place around us. Unfortunately, Saturn/Virgo and Chiron/Aquarius are forces full of change and action. This is probably causing all of us to feel internal stress as our spirits try to reconcile this effect.

Saturn/Virgo: Saturn reveals our own limitations, fears, and sense of responsibility. Virgo wants to be helpful, and is frequently analyzing things, looking for ways to make things better. These two, together, cause internal struggle. Virgo is telling us "Fix it!" and Saturn is telling us "Should you fix it? Is it your place to fix it?"

Chiron/Aquarius: Chiron influences the part of ourselves that sympathizes with situations of trial and error, or knowledge from experience. Chiron wants to heal or prevent the wounds caused by something we have been through before. The humanitarian, opinionated and idealistic nature of Aquarius makes us feel strongly that we have the answers to fix the problems.

So, in summary:

Those who have recognized problems in their lives, or in loved ones lives, are probably fretting about them. You may feel like you know the answers, how to fix it, possibly because you've been through the same thing yourself. However, you feel conflicted, because you're not sure if you should act upon those feelings. You may feel like you don't have the authority to do so, or that the situation requires professional help.

Those who haven't had any major problems are probably feeling nervous, like they are anticipating something bad is about to happen. Probably, you feel like you should know what is coming. That you don't makes you feel even more tense, because you want to prepare for what seems inevitable, but without the knowledge of what might happen, there's nothing you can do.

Overall, Libra is demanding balance, while the other influences are saying things are or will be off-balance. But Saturn is amplifying the part of Libra that's afraid to rock the boat. You want to do something, but you feel like you can't or shouldn't.

Anatomy of a Psychic Reading

Here are a few things I learned when I used to do Psychic Readings. Be warned, I have a rather clinical view of magick. For some, reading this will be akin to watching the shows that show you haw stage magic tricks are done. Stop reading now if that kind of thing bugs you.

When I did readings, the majority of what I read came from things the person I was reading already knew. The person I was reading for often already knew the answer to their own question, but had willfully or subconsciously blocked that info from their mind. There was a lot of psychology involved.

Palm and aura readings would help to ease the way, so to speak. I often had to start by "wowing" them with things they consciously knew about themselves, but I would not know if not for what I picked up from their aura or palm. This helped reduce nervousness and skepticism. It was like someone opened the curtains or blew away the fog surrounding them. From there, the tarot would help clue me in to the parts of themselves they couldn't or wouldn't see.

Actually predicting future events depended a lot on what question they were asking, or if it was an open ended reading, where they were in their lives at that moment. I believe firmly that our futures are mutable, subject to change depending on the choices we make. If the person I was reading hadn't made any firm choices yet, it was hard to give solid answers as to what was coming up. I would be tell them that, and offer them advice as to how to get closer to their goals. If I was lucky, I would be able to see where their spirits wanted them to go, and point them in the best direction. Of course, this often wasn't what they wanted to hear, but I would rather be honest. This usually happened when the querent asked one of the generic trinity; Love, Money, or Job. Those people often had made no real strides towards how to get those things for themselves, or had just lost those things and were desperate to find some way to get them back. Too many options lay in front of them, or they wanted a specific answer so badly that a true answer had no chance of coming through.

Dream Analysis and non-specific tarot readings gave me the best chance to tell them about their future. A dream so intense someone wanted it analyzed came from things that had a major influence on the person, or was about to be a major influence. A non-specific tarot reading allowed the subconscious to influence the cards. The subconscious could tell me not only about what was hiding within the querent, but about any outside energies exerting their influence. Thoughts and intentions are as much an impetus of energy as any full-blown spell.

A good way to explain it is that a Reader is like a psychic translator. Some readers are more fluent than others. However, no reader can translate if the words being said aren't clear, or there is a wall in the way. It's hard to hear what the subconscious is saying, if other peoples' subconsciousnesses are talking in the same room. It's also hard to translate if the Reader's subconscious can't focus. Their personal static is interfering with reception.

So, if you go to a psychic and they seem totally clueless, take this in mind before deciding if they're scam artists. There are plenty of them out there, of course, but not all. A good psychic won't take your money if they're giving an inaccurate reading. Be honest with yourself and the Reader. Let them know if they're getting it wrong, or if you're feeling skeptical or uncomfortable. You may find that giving them a fresh start and/or suspending your disbelief will make a major change in how well your reading is going.

What the Founding Fathers intended?

Ah, another sore spot for me. Another blog just reminded me of the asinine attempt to restrict freedom of religion because, evidently, the Founding Fathers intended us to be a Christian country. While I can agree that maybe they never imagined a country that contained as much religious diversity as we do today, I doubt that they intended America to be an exclusively Christian country. Of course, none of us today can state with authority what the Founding Fathers were thinking, unless the have verified written documents, like a journal that belonged to Benjamin Franklin. That's beside the point, however. Here is the First Amendment, exaclty as it was written:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

Right there, plain as day. The government shall not establish any specific religion, or prohibit a religion. Even if the Founding Fathers DID intend for us to be a Christian nation, their own words clearly prohibit it. Considering this is the very first Amendment in the Constitution, that argues that they must have felt very strongly about this issue, and thought long and hard about the wording. Considering how many people were considered the Founding Fathers, if they truly wanted to limit religion to Christian based religions, I think that would have been spelled out.

The Constitution is there to make sure everyone has a chance to live in safety and happiness. One person's safety and happiness cannot come at another person's expense. My choice to be pagan may upset some people, but no one has the right to prohibit me from being pagan. They do have the right to prohibit me from committing a crime against another in the name of my religion. It would be a crime if my actions, in the name of religion or not, were destructive. Moral or philosophical differences don't apply.

To some, no matter what I do, unless it's in the name of God or Jesus, I'm going to Hell. That is all the punishment necessary for my supposed crime. Let your God handle that when it is time. According to Christian beliefs, that is all you are supposed to do. Honestly, I am not afraid. I don't think God cares how He is viewed, or how I go about my religious practices, as long as I do it with the intent to be a good person doing good things. I cannot believe in my heart that a being so profound as a god cares whether I picture Him with boobs, or a penis, or genderless, or even non-human. Why should he care what face or name I put on Him, and whether or not that face and name is the same in every situation? Why should it matter if I make my divine requests with herbs and candles and respect to the Earth and elements, or kneeling in a church?

Anyway, I digress. No ones soul should be subject to mortal jurisdiction, no matter what the religion. That is for whatever divinity is out there to decide, and if there is no divinity at all, then the subject is moot.