Monday, October 31, 2016

Tarot Blog Hop - Samhain 2016




Welcome to this newest occasion of Tarot Blog Hop at Samhain 2016. Our Wrangler this time is Louise Underhill, and the topic – of course – is Samhain! :)

Samhain (meaning 'the end of summer'), this magical feast starts at the very end of October – this is when Celtic Fairy-hills open up. Avoid going on a long night trip at Samhain! Yet if you must, take a pumpkin lantern with yourself – it will protect you from bad spirits and troublesome Fairies. This night could win the title of 'the most magical night of the year' if there was such a competition. This is a moment when boundaries vanish, and we can get closer to ourselves, as well as to others and to the Otherworld. Energies and thoughts work in a different way this time: this is the day and night of magic.

There are many traditions practiced on this day – sometimes they are simple, sometimes complicated, sometimes funny, sometimes really scary!

In older times, an almost everywhere existing tradition was to light a joy-fire and sit around it – family members were amusing – or scaring – each other with ghost-stories. Fortune-telling was also traditional with the help of runes, cards, mirrors or apples. We can ask about our love, good luck, weather and harvest for next year, health, anything. The most important accessories of Samhain are the pumpkin and the apple. Pumpkin was used to keep bad spirits away on this magical night, while apple was used to call fertility and abundance in our life.

According to the Celtic tradition, if you stand in front of a mirror this night, whispering your wishes, they will surely come true – so beware of what you wish! And be wise, do not involve others in your wishes if you want to avoid complications and unfavorable consequences!

Samhain Love Magic

Of course, the central question of most people, men and women is about love, finding happiness and mutual love, whether or not we can finally call the One in our lives – well, but you know there are several Ones. :) Let us say that really-really true One with whom we can live happily ever after.

In a group of maidens, the one that first bites into an apple will be the first one to get married next year.

Then, peel an apple in a way that its skin should stay in one single stripe. With your left hand, throw this stripe behind your back over your right shoulder. As it reaches the ground, you will be able to read the name of your future love from the curve.

If you are already in love but you do not know how he or she feels about you, eat an apple and throw its seed house on fire. If the seed house has a cracking sound, you can be sure that attraction is mutual, but if it burns with no sound, it will not develop into love.

As we know, apple is also the symbol of Venus, while pomegranate is usually associated with Persephone, the Goddess of the Underworld – and all of us know that we can see pomegranates on the High Priestess and the Empress cards, as well.

And now some magical tips if you are single but you would like to call in a new relationship! :)

This Magic is called Water Magic, and Samhain is a perfect time to carry it out. Out of the four elements, Water is the most connected to Love. In a material sense, Water is one of the strongest powers on the planet. Water is able to nourish life, as well as to destroy it. Its magical features are based on its own characteristics, tenderness and power. Deep, loving relationships can gain from both features, and Love is similar to Water in a way that it is also one of the strongest energies in the Universe.

Water symbolizes emotions and the subconscious, and is often a tool of spiritual magic. It often appears in our dreams, as well. If we wish something from Water, should it happen through magic or in a dream, it means we are evoking its fine characteristics, as well as its power both on material and spiritual levels.

It is important that when you do this magic, you should do it by natural water, a lake, a river or a brook, or the sea. Why this Samhain in 2016 is just wonderful to carry out this magic is that on 31 October, we have new moon, as well as Monday, which is the day of the Moon (Moon-day)! And this is strongly suggested that this magic should be done on Monday under waxing or new moon, as we want to call in a new love.

So you will need natural water (it is good to choose a safe and secluded place), a healthy, fresh red apple, a small knife, an embroidery needle, a teaspoon of sugar and a blue candle.

And now when you are standing by the water, take a deep breath, let worries go and focus on your wish: namely that you want to call your true Love in your life (it is very important that you should NOT name or focus on ANYONE SPECIAL, just let the Universe work out the best for you).

Now cut the apple in half in a way that its pentacle-shaped seed house in the middle should be visible. Take the two halves of the apple in your two hands, turn your eyes on the water and whisper this mandala nine times:

'With water in the blood of my heart,
with the streams of the Earth,
with the high tide that the Moon brings us,
bring me the One who loves me!'

Then put the half of the apple in your right hand aside a bit. Take the needle, and on the half that you have been holding in your left hand, draw an upside-down equilateral triangle with the needle – this is the alchemical symbol of Water. Strew half of the sugar on it (half a teaspoon), and then throw this half of the apple in the water as far as you can. Strew the other half of the sugar on the other half of the apple, and eat it. When you get home, light a blue candle and let it fully burn down (make sure it is at a safe place so as not to set your home on fire).

While your candle is burning, you can look into the flame, and start to play with the feeling that you are perfect for each other with someone the way you are. Imagine that the two of you are able to raise hypnotic power together, and no one will be able to weaken your relationship. You will feel yourself sexy, self-confident, satisfied and happy.

The purest form of Love Magic is Tantric Magic – this does not mean mere sexual magic, but the harmony and union of masculine and feminine powers, and when this magical union happens, creation, Creative Magic happens. This type of magic can only happen through the magical and tantric union of a man and a woman – and it also means equality between man and woman, balance, tuning ourselves to each other, common will, turning towards each other with patience, honesty, acceptance, understanding and lots of Love. This is the real and true Love Magic – wonderful, powerful, overwhelming and unbreakable.

Now in this spirit, as it is Samhain today, let us do some magic and fortune telling for all of the signs of the Zodiac – short hints about love from the occasion of this magical day. The deck in use is the Tarot of Sexual Magic – a beautiful one. May Love Energy be with all of you! :)

ARIES 

XVIII. The MoonFancyThe Spell of Love

Aah, good for you, Aries! :) This is my favorite card. 'A slow but effective magic action based on the sound and evocation of happy images. It defeats deception and illusions, restoring serenity at home, as well as increasing fecundity.'

But well, illusion is also a keyword attached to the Moon card, so besides that now it is likely that you experience the more romantic side of love, it is also a constant lesson for Aries to learn not to think too much of things in advance. 

Should you start a new relationship, it is always better to wait before making too nice conclusions till we can see if something is really happening, and it is not just something we would like to happen. 

But I wish all of you such harmony as in this card! :)

TAURUS

XVI. The TowerBetrayalThe Doll

Uh-uhh. This is not what I have wished for you, but let us see what the message unfolds. 'A dangerous situation, betrayal, deception or imminent break-up. Protect yourself from this threat by using all your own resources.'

Okay, let us hope this is just a warning sign. Most Taurus people are very sensual, though, and indeed, it can give them more temptation than to other signs in general. 

It is quite a personal thing for everyone, what betrayal means, but seeing this card, what I have in my mind is that maybe it is better to be a bit healthily cunning. Also, it is good to be honest with oneself: everyone can answer the question what they are really seeking in a relationships. 

GEMINI

XVIII. The MoonFancyThe Spell of Love

:) Good for Gemini, as well! 'A slow but effective magic action based on the sound and evocation of happy images. It defeats deception and illusions, restoring serenity at home, as well as increasing fecundity.'

This is the second time out of the first three cards that the Moon has popped up – indeed, the energies of the Moon are very strong today!

It can melt even more 'mental' Gemini people, as well, bringing more passion and affection in their life. Maybe it is the partners of Gemini people who will really enjoy flowing moments with beloved ones. If you are a Gemini, it is likely that you long for more such moments – I think it can also be practiced a bit how much we are able to flow.

CANCER

Knight of PentaclesDiscontentThe Magic of the Green Lemon

'Waiting allows the desired fruit to ripen, while haste makes every Chalice bitter.'

Cancers are usually good at patience, indeed – can it happen that now you are the more impatient ones, who knows, but if this card has shown up here, it can mean that this time Cancers are more impatient than their partners. 

Maybe you are longing for something to turn out, for a result, a feedback, for a response from a beloved one – just take it easy. :) Everything we say or do, if we send out a thought or feeling, or if we say or do something, energies are attached to it – the energy of our current mood. Whoever the addressee is, they will feel it! 

LEO

Two of ChalicesInvolvementThe Magic of the Scarab

'Tenderness, attraction and collaboration. You can seduce by leaving yourself open to seduction.'

This is what I wish to royal Leos, indeed! :) Two of Cups is the card that whenever it turns up, people start to smile – I understand why. 

So if you are such a Leo who can experience such magic as you can see it here in this card, I wish you even more of such moments, extend them!

If you are not that lucky, the energies of Two of Cups will still be there for you – it also means a lovely and very strong 'contract' between two people.  

VIRGO

Knight of SwordsTamingThe Magic of the Frogs

'Hunting is an age-old sport. The end justifies the means, but today's prey will be tomorrow's hunter and vice versa.'

Ehh, this is not the nicest one, either, but maybe sometimes this is just what someone needs – e.g. I can imagine that people who have struggled for long about getting over a relationship can now feel that hunting-time has arrived. The same can happen if someone has been single for too long.

What is better, going hunting or waiting silently at home – I think neither, but it is something everyone feels in themselves. Should you be in a hunter mood, pay attention not to make your prey suffer for too long...  

LIBRA

Knave of SwordsBitingThe Magic of the Bitter Almonds

'Enemies of the couples are both inside and outside of it. They should look at each other. Vigilance does not distract from pleasure and pleasure does not distract from vigilance.'

Libras can experience the hotter and maybe more physical side of love now. If this is not emotions in the center now, but sensuality, sexual games maybe, or just to focus on the more mental and physical aspects of life and on the mere satisfaction of sexual desires, it can even work for a while, but only if both partners agree on it. 

Vigilance also tells me that maybe many feel that they can be deceived or cheated on – every feeling has a root somewhere, but with a less relaxed mindset, everything seems a lot worse than it usually is! 

SCORPIO

Ten of SwordsSqueezingThe Magic of the Tears

'Even pain can be transformed into power. You must not flee from emotions, but rather use them to find the true essence of your desires.'

Yes, this is very true, pain can be transformed. Also that whatever emotions should we face, it is always better to face them than fleeing from them – if it hurts, let it hurt. One day it will just leave you behind. 

Even negative emotions can be like catalysts – but Scorpios know it the best. 

Ten of Swords is one of the toughest cards in Tarot, so I honestly do not wish anything that Ten of Swords means to anyone, but should something abruptly end, the best is to remember that possibly it is the best this way, and later on, it will even turn out why. 

SAGITTARIUS

Nine of WandsCaressingThe Magic of the Three Little Birds

'When a situation is suspended or blocked by doubt, you must hurry to resolve it because it cannot go on forever.'

I think this is one of the major concerns of the representatives of the Sagittarius sign, hurry to resolve something (I myself know it, as well, with a Sagittarius Ascendant).

The more urging a feeling is, the better if it can be solved soon, just when someone is impatient or restless, we should really be careful about how to put thoughts into words, and also about finding the right moment for clearing up something. It is not for granted that if someone feels a moment to be a suitable one, it will also be the best moment for the other one. More acceptance is maybe the key, and learning to flow. 
CAPRICORN

Knave of WandsAbandonThe Magic of the Olive Branches

'The eccentricities of character do not necessarily lead to unreliability. You must look beyond appearances to see the essence of the feelings.'

Oh, well-known old lessons for Capricorns – looking beyond their nose. Stubbornness multiplied by stubbornness, once a Capricorn is convinced about something, the veil of reality will descend right beyond their nose, and they will have quite a limited view on things – I am saying this as a Capricorn. 

So yes, that veil should be sent far-far away – it should be abandoned. :) 

Maybe Capricorns could also be more permissive with themselves so as to be able to allow themselves to just indulge in something they long for.

AQUARIUS

XVIII. The MoonFancyThe Spell of Love

'A slow but effective magic action based on the sound and evocation of happy images. It defeats deception and illusions, restoring serenity at home, as well as increasing fecundity.'

:) Yay, this is definitely the winner card today – for three signs out of twelve! 

The Moon-aspect Aquarius people are likely to experience around these days is likely to be nostalgia and melancholy. They can feel lost a bit, possibly without wanting to see behind the curtain – just to see what they should change so as to change their reality. 

Delving into more routine-like, everyday actions can help a while to chase away melancholy. 

PISCES

Three of ChalicesPassionThe Magic of the Egg

'The egg is a promise of life. It indicates improvement, success in love and relief from heartbreak.'

Pisces are the winners for today – that is real passion in this card. :) 

Three of Cups, in my Tarot Readings, it usually marks Twin Flame-energies – or vibes that are very close to it. 

Even single Pisces people are likely to feel such a sense of fulfillment with this card turning up for them! I am so happy any time I see this card that I do not even want to say anything to spoil your mood. :)

So just blessed be, all of you, all the signs, everyone, let Magic come to you! :)


Monday, September 19, 2016

Foodies Guide to the Tarot: Mabon 2016 - Tarot Blog Hop


Hello Dear Ones,

I have been curiously waiting for this Blog Hop occasion again - such a great and funny topic we have, thank you, dear Wranglers, Jay Cassels & Co-Wrangler Arwen Lynch Poe! 

As you can see, I am using another blog this time - and from this time on -, it will be better to keep this one for English posts and my old one for Hungarian ones, and well, that flowery background of the other one would have been too sugary for my topic this time: yay, the pre-Halloween Cooking Competition! You will soon meet the contestants. :)

But before I jump into it, I would like to say a few words to the newcomers about what this blog post will be about, also, about what a Tarot Blog Hop is. 

From time to time - usually at great and important feasts of the year -, a topic is chosen by Wranglers, and everyone that participates in Blog Hopping has to post their writings on their blogs at the very same time - so people from different Times Zones will have different hours when they are due to make their posts public. In the top and last line of a post, you can see labels saying PREVIOUS BLOG, MASTER LIST and NEXT BLOG - this is how hopping happens. :)

The topic for this time, 23 September 2016 is Mabon, also known as Harvest Home, Harvest Tide, Fall Equinox, Autumn Equinox. It usually takes place between September 21-24 every year. Mabon marks the middle of harvest. It is also a time of equal day and night, and Nature on such days is in balance.

This is a perfect time for magic if you want to call in abundance, and this is not only a time when we look back on the past year and on what we can harvest from it, but also a time that is great to make plans for a better-balanced, healthier and more abundant future. Mabon is for celebration and having a good rest after the hard work of the year, and after the hard work of harvest itself, as well. For the next couple of months, daylight hours will be shorter - even Mother Gaia is going to have a good rest.

We, humans have the pleasure to enjoy clear and fresh chilly weather, to admire the wonderful colors of Nature, to have a nice hot cup of spicy tea at the end of the day when we cuddle up in our comfy armchair near the fireplace so as to knit a pair of soft warm socks or read a good book, and the wind is whistling outside in the meanwhile.  

Spirits wake up, yay... Their time is coming. The wind is cold and sharp, shaking the shutters of your window. Then you suddenly hear that the old wooden door of the barn in the yard starts to creak. You unwillingly get up to go out and close it. As you open the front door, the harsh wind hits your face, and not just that, but also an advertisement that has been lying on the porch is grabbed up by the wind, blown straight into your hands. It says:





Oh, sweet old nostalgia, yes... Mortality... What a weird girl she was. You used to attend school at the same class. No one wanted to sit next to her. In your weakest moments, you felt terribly compassionate for her. Once you even invited her at your parents' home. Mom was not happy... She kept on repeating what a bad influence Mortality could have on you. But you were secretly admiring her. She had such weird dolls that no one else had. Glassy eyes, no eyes, sometimes the dolls had bloody teardrops painted on their cheek. She said her Granny fancied these dolls - Mom had a suspicion that it was Mortality's Granny to whom the weird dolls could thank their unique appearance. You always wanted such a doll - but never got it. Mom was happy when you finished school and Mortality was out of sight. Then she fell in love with a simple guy. Such a goodhearted boy he was, yes. But he died from a mysterious disease at the age of nineteen. Mortality was also nineteen at that time. Well, it was almost fifteen years ago... Since then, Mortality has been living in the churchyard. The vicar was also very compassionate with her, this is why she has been allowed to stay there for such a long time. Who could have persuaded her to participate at the competition, no one knows. But she is just one more reason for you to send your application. This is always good to meet old friends. And Mortality really loved Auntie, yes... She would be happy to taste that soup again. Auntie's soup... With all her heart in it.

(Card: XIII. Death, Ludy Lescot Tarot) 


Good old Donna Regina, what a sweet Italian lady she is! No one will starve in her presence. Latin blood in her veins, her tongue is a bit sharp sometimes, as well as her mind. But she is a sweetheart. Even if she is no longer that young, and has the look of a good old village wife, she still charms every man. Who knows where her talents come from, but besides that she is a true professional cook - no one doubts it -, and she bakes the most perfect cakes (and she even brings them at church every Sunday to invite the town-inhabitants for a tea), she has mystic and scary clairvoyant abilities. She also has a black cat, a real lord, Wilson, but the more he ages, the more hates to be seen in daguerreotypes. Donna Regina met her husband in a mystical way, as well. She has a peculiar deck of cards, she calls them Tarocchi. She predicted to herself when and how she would meet the One, and it happened so. Even the vicar asks Donna Regina for Tarocchi readings from time to time (as well as most church members). She willingly feeds stray cats and dogs, and all the doves of the town - they love to sit on her shoulders. Donna Regina's husband is really grateful for her. He is no longer young, either, but quite a handsome man, sometimes fiery, but usually calm. Their children come home once or twice a year - usually at Mabon and some time in the spring. Her husband, well, he is the one that still kisses Donna Regina's hands after a delicious meal.
(Card: Queen of Wands, Tarot of the Gnomes)


And well, this majestic sad lady will understandably participate, as well. She needs to socialize. Signora Sette di Coppe, the poor soul. Really bad fate for her. Every year, at about the same time, she loses a husband. No one has any ideas why, but all the people at church agree that bad fate is haunting her. The only exception is Donna Regina - she cannot help thinking about something sinister here. Poisons... - uh, how can she read something like that from a deck of weird cards? Signora Sette is such a sophisticated woman. Regardless of her kind heart, Donna Regina sometimes seems to be like an obsessed witch. Even creepier than that, Signora Sette's name means 'Seven'. She was given this name by her father, as she was the seventh daughter - and the youngest one - in the family. She has lost six husbands so far, and again, that crucial time of the year is coming. Luigi di Coppe, her husband has not felt well recently. He has not been able to attend a single church ceremony for weeks. Signora Sette says she thinks he is getting better. Town people hope that her bad fate will go now that she is married for the seventh time. Everyone seems to believe in the magical number of seven, yes. Signora Sette met Luigi in a library - he was the chief librarian. It was love at first glance. She just went there to hire some books about venomous plants, and they fell in love with each other. Luigi has always said she was his Destiny.  
(Card: 7 of Cups, Mona Lisa Tarot) 


How sad Auntie is no longer among us... But the smell and taste of her pumpkin soup will be an everlasting memory to everyone that has ever tasted it. No one in the family has had the strength to cook that soup since Auntie closed her eyes for good. But maybe now... Yes, that old drawer still keeps that recipe with Auntie's pearl-like handwriting. What if this is not by chance that the advertisement for the Halloween Cooking Competition was there, right there, blown there by the wind - what if it was Auntie arranging for it like this? Auntie has always been tricky, no doubt it was her! Okay, let us take that recipe out of the bottom of the old drawer. Sigh... The wind is hurling. The door of the barn is still creaking - but here is Auntie's magic pumpkin soup recipe, and you are standing in your kitchen, in front of a whispering stove. Beware! Once you taste this soup, you will be haunted by its smell and taste - maybe even by Auntie...


 Perfekt Pumkin Creamy Soup Recipe


Sunday, September 18, 2016

Lemon


Well, something that surprised me, as I have never thought of lemons and limes that way, but I would like to share my latest experience with you, as it may help others, as well. Blessed be, limes and lemons. :)

I badly cut myself while cooking - thanks God, it was in my kitchen, where those wonderful Kitchen Guides always help me. I was chopping pumpkins - I am so happy that pumpkins have arrived, by the way -, using my brand new, super sharp ceramics knife I got from my Mom, talking to my brother on the phone in the meanwhile, when boom, the knife landed in my hand, half way between my thumb and index finger, on that soft part that resembles the feet of ducks. The wound was so wide and deep, bleeding so much that at first glance, I was sure I would need to go to hospital so as to have it stitched. I put it under cold water, in the meanwhile my brother asked me if I had given at least a coin for it to my Mom, I asked no, why? He said - so remember it, you too :) - that if you get a knife from someone as a present, you must honor it with a metal coin so that the knife should not cut you. So this was the reason, eh. I will send my Mom a coin tomorrow, for sure. I should have known it. :) Especially that some days ago, I found a 200 HUF coin in the street, it is still in my pocket. 

Anyways, such is life, but as I was bleeding almost to death there, listening to the story that explained to me why all this happened, getting more and more scared of what comes next (hospital, brr), Kitchen Guides told me to take that small lime out of the fridge. I normally do not keep limes and lemons at home, but from now on, I surely will. Why that lime was in my fridge, I wanted to bake a flan, but I could find no time for it, now I understand why. :)

So Kitchen Guides told me to cut the lime in half and start to drop its juice right into the wound - so I did. Woohoo, it was burning, but it was not so bad. In a minute, it stopped bleeding, and what came afterwards made me amazed - the wound started to heal and agglutinate within minutes! So much within minutes that after some ten minutes, all I could see was the line of cutting, and the skin there was still thin and sensitive, but no deep wound. Then I tied my two fingers close to each other so that I should not make any stretching movements till the skin gets thicker, and a couple of hours later I could forget about this whole thing. 

Then I googled lemons, limes and their healing effect - jeez, even the bite of scorpions can be healed with lemon drops! The article says if you put one half of the lemon on the wound caused by a scorpion, and you suck the juice of the other half, soon it will be as if there had been no injury, at all. It strengthens the immune system, this is well-known, but if you have a broken bone and you eat lime or lemon, it will heal a lot quicker. And then I could also read about cut wounds - the article says just drop the juice of the lemon directly to the wound - exactly what Kitchen Guides said -, and it will even disinfect your wound, not just heal it. 

If your face is oily, just make an orange-lime or orange-lemon mask from the flesh of the fruits in fifty-fifty portions, leave it on your face for some fifteen minutes, then wash it with cold water and put hydrating cream on it, and your skin will be super fit, shiny, and its pH-value will be well-balanced. Also, if your skin has a tendency to get cracked on your heels and elbows, lemon makes wonders! 

Thank you, Kitchen Guides, thank you lime, and thank you, Nature. :)