The Hoodwitch: Witch Tips & Horosocopes 6/28~7/4/2017

Written By Jessica Lanyado

Witch Tips

What do we really know about the sign Cancer, other than that it’s got an unfortunate name and that it’s a hella emo sign? Cancer is strong. It’s a sign that’s represented by a hard-shelled crab, and while it may move towards things sideways, it comes equipped with weapons and can throw down if it has to. Planets in the sign of Cancer are concerned with their safety. The way that they assess it is by either referring back to their internal experience or checking in with what other people seem to think or feel – and this is where things get complicated. When dealing with heightened sensitivities, it’s wise to have a system of evaluating your own experience; otherwise, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by emotion and act defensively. This can cloud your judgment and encourage attachment to people, situations, or things that are not actually a part of your true security. This week, Cancer vibes are going to be strong.

Things are likely to be extra, so make sure you’re as grounded as you know how to be. On the 27-29th, chatty Mercury will be sitting on top of agro Mars. That’ll make everybody eager to jump to conclusions, feel hecka irritable, and quick to get defensive. Try to sit on your reactions and allow for more info to come through before you engage in fights, especially petty ones. On the 28-30th, Mercury will sit opposite Pluto, and that combo of these two transits can be downright explosive. You’re likely to obsess on things that make you feel bad, so be mindful of where you let your thoughts go. This is a great time for working hard to uncover the truth, but try to go at things directly, lovers.

Artwork by Ken Herman

If that wasn’t enough, it doesn’t end there; on the 1-3rd, Mars in Cancer will sit opposite Pluto in Capricorn. These two planets govern war and the need to be recognized as ‘right’. The combination can make you feel defensive and paranoid, so remember this: once a thing is done, it cannot be undone. Be humble in your strength, even if you feel like proving yourself at all costs. Other people may slime you with bad vibes, or you can spread around crappy juju if you’re not careful around these dates. 

Every witch needs black Tourmaline to help stave off negative energies, so make sure you’ve got some in your pocket this week. The greatest challenge from the 28th-3rd is to act with integrity; don’t do as the biggest jerk in your circle would; act in ways that make you like the person you are.

By the time the 3-5th rolls around, Mercury in emo Cancer will be forming a square to Uranus in individualistic Aries. The truth will come out around this time, so you better hope that you were playing it clean earlier in the week. This energy can make it hard to sleep because it stimulates your nervous system, and it can generate anxiety for the same reason. This is a great time for innovation but a lousy one for stability, so don’t seek it! Strive to grow beyond your limitations, and especially beyond your fears this week.

ARIES

March 21-April 19

Things are not meant to stay the same, and that’s a fact. Instead of holding on to what you thought you wanted, try being open to new ways of patterning your life. This week it’d be a mistake to get caught up in the details when there are big-picture shifts trying to take place in your life. Don’t hide from your own best interests by getting caught up in pettiness that you don’t need to be a part of. Focus your energies on getting where you want to go with your integrity intact, Aries.

­TAURUS

April 20-May 20

Your friendships are a meaningful reflection of the person that you choose to be. Pay attention to the dramas and very real dynamics at play with your friends, pals, and contacts this week. There’s a live wire humming through all of your communications right now, and it would be easy for a poorly placed word or an unintentional tone to set off trouble. It’s important that you air out your thoughts – just choose an appropriate and reliable shoulder to lean on this week.

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

Your ruling planet, Mercury, is on fire this week, and that can go in any direction for you. Stay grounded so that you don’t get swept up by other people’s dramas or become an unsuspecting player in one. When you’re stressing and fearing the worst, it’s extra hard to see things clearly. Take the space you need to be able to manage your feels; you risk getting so caught up in what you fear that you miss the potential inherent in your situation, Twin Star.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

This week may find you irritable, overwhelmed, and done with it all. There are no wrong feelings, just difficult ones. Find healthy ways of off-gassing your anger and agitation so that you don’t get into power struggles masquerading as meaningful issues. If you’re gonna get into it (and you may just have to), don’t get caught up in the details. By sticking to the big picture, it’ll be easier to avoid picking fights. Be intentional about what you do and how you do it, Moonchild.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

Pay close attention to your dreams this week; your sleep may be poor as your subconscious works out some heavy stuff. You’re likely to feel really flooded, and the way to handle it is to be willing to let go. Just because a thing is difficult doesn’t make it deep, Leo. It isn’t necessary to keep on reliving the same lessons – you’re allowed to walk away. Don’t process with people you don’t trust, and don’t waste your precious energy on played out dynamics this week.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

If you don’t have confidence in yourself, every part of life becomes difficult and hard to navigate. So here’s the million dollar question, Virgo: are you worthy of trust? Do you generally act in your best interests and in ways that reflect your values? Do you stand up for yourself when you feel wronged? Do you take yourself out of situations when they prove to be bad for you? If your answers are “no,” this is the time to start being a better friend to your lovely self.

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

This is a time of great striving for you, Libra, and that’s not comfortable. When life is not stable, it’s tempting to assume the worst, but it’s not wise. Uncertainly and change are not synonymous with problems, my love. Be strong enough in your convictions that you can let people, situations, or attitudes go when they need to. In order to have a fantastic life, you don’t need things to come easily (though it would be nice); you need to be free.

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

Things are complicated in your relationships, but that doesn’t mean that there are any hard and fast rules about what should come next. Avoid the desire to come up with a tidy answer to make a messy situation less complicated. Life is complicated. You don’t need to have it all together or to know what comes next in order for you to be doing the right thing for you in this moment. Act with honesty, and invite the consequences that this incurs, my love.

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

If you allow other people’s beliefs and opinions to corrode your confidence, they better be pretty compelling. This week, others may harsh your mellow with their fearful expectations and negative projections. Your job is to parse out the Negative Norberts from those offering wise counsel. While you don’t get to know what will happen next, you do know how you want to participate in the here and now. Let fear guide you away from danger, not forge your life plans.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

If you don’t like the way things are, you’d better change them. The problem is that you’re unlikely to be able to see positive solutions when you’re obsessively running over everything that could go wrong. Repetitive thoughts and actions are like prayer, and they amplify whatever it is that you’re focusing on. Be careful of what you sew this week because your actions will be backed up with extra power. Make sure what you do is creative, or it’ll feel powerfully destructive, my love.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

There’s only so much that you can do at once without feeling over it all and quitting. Pace yourself through everything that you have to get done this week, as it may feel like too much. There are heavy shifts happening deep within you, and if you aren’t present for them, you may just miss a golden opportunity to let go of baggage. There are some things that you’re totally done with but habituated around; prioritize the places and people that make you happy this week.

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

This week is all about finding opportunity where you feel stuck. This may require you to step outside of your comfort zone or to take pains to better secure some parts of your life. Whatever happens, if your attitude is that of a person with a sign, a stand, and a bunch of lemons, you’ll be alright, Pisces. Preparation doesn’t require that you control things, only that you are a good steward for them to grow.

The Hoodwitch: Weekly Horoscopes 5/10-16/2017

Artwork by Victoria Siemer

Written by Jessica Lanyadoo

Witch Tips

It's Full Moon time again, kiddies, and this week is likely to bring hella chaos, so get ready! 

The Moon will be full at 20 degrees of Scorpio on the 10th at 2:42pm PST. Expect feels to be at heightened levels of intensity leading up to this event. It’s is a dangerous time for building up resentments, developing grudges, or obsessing on your ex, so don’t say I didn’t warn you. Scorpio is the sign of death and regeneration, healing and destruction; whatever happens with this Moon, it isn’t likely to be chill. You’re going to want to get deep, and that can be complicated if things do go your way, which I’m sad to say they probably won’t.

On the 10th fierce and combative Mars will form a Square to idealistic and devotional Neptune (in transit astrology you can think of the Square aspect as a bit of a curve ball or sucker punch). While the high point of these vibes will be felt on the 11th, you can expect it to intensify the psychic and messy nature of this Full Moon. The best way to manage this is to rely on your spiritual values and tools for staying in alignment with yourself, both emotionally and in your actions. Mars wants to have its energy be known. It wants power, revenge, and validation. Neptune couldn’t care less about any of that; it’s the planet that governs the interconnectedness of all things, or on the dank side, checking out and giving up. The danger here is that your feelings will be so scattered that you end up more overwhelmed than you can handle. The best advice I can give you for these next few days is to hold yourself accountable to the same standards that you hold others to and vice versa. Don’t be a martyr, and don’t think that you’re owed more than anyone else. Thinking that you’re the worst and thinking you’re the best is kinda the same problem – it’s thinking too much about yourself.

The jittery, restless Mercury conjunction to Uranus is still active until the 12th. This means that we all run the risk of gabbing at the mouth about every paranoid theory and defensive feel we have – so watch out! If you can, wait until after the 15th, when Mercury moves into stabilizing Taurus, to draw your conclusions. From the 11th-13th, activating Mars will give butterfly kisses (that’s a Trine aspect for bb astrologers) to expansive Jupiter. This can be great for getting things done in a major way, or it can just make it easy for you to run with le cray much farther than you otherwise would. Be willing to check your entitlement this week, lovers, or you may end up putting something into motion that you can’t stop.

PRO TIPS for A World Gone Wonky: 

1. Breathe

2. Align yourself with reliable emotional resources

3. Connect to and honor your spirituality

Life is complicated and beautiful; be here for it all.

ARIES

March 21-April 19

If you can accept that you’re not in total control of most things, your work gets a lot clearer, this week. The Full Moon on the 10th is an opportunity for you to release something or someone that you’ve been clinging to that you know is no longer right for you. Sometimes your task is to heal, and others you need to make a call and walk away. If you stop trying to fix things that aren’t broken you can start unpacking what you need to let go of, my love.

­TAURUS

April 20-May 20

Not everything that hurts is bad, and not all dynamics that feel good are healthy for you. Your relationships are an organism – they live and breathe, needing sustenance and care. If you ignore them or mistreat them, they can grow in gnarled directions. Take stock of how you’ve been showing up with the people you’re closest to, Taurus. The first half of this week is an opportunity to have compassion for the people in your life, even if you have to assert some potentially painful boundaries.

GEMINI

May 21-June 21

It’s not enough to know what you are, you’ve got to know what you’re not, Twin Star. This week you’re in for a major lesson in boundaries. The trouble is that it’s hard to know what’s enough, too much, or not enough, when you feel wonky about your own value. Prioritize getting grounded in your worth so that you can make the right calls in love and work. Know your rights and your responsibilities and act in ways that reflect them. There’s so much to be gained from setting sustainable expectations, sweet one.

CANCER

June 22-July 22

Something that’s been bugging you and tugging at your insides is about to come to crisis, Moonchild. If you’re committed to situations that don’t really serve you, you can expect to have stuff come up this week that requires you to deal with them. Be especially careful of being passive aggressive - if you’ve got something to say, spit it out! If you’re asking someone to be humble about their part, lead by example. While you have the right to your feels, you’ve also got to own your part.

LEO

July 23-Aug. 22

Expect the Full Moon on the 10th to kick up some family drama, Leo. You may have some old feels from the past come up with surprising strength, or perhaps a new emotionally intense situation will emerge. The key in either case is for you to show all the way up. If you’ve been acting in ways that aren’t true to you, it’s time for you to own up to them. It’s OK to say you’ve changed your mind, or that you’re wrong. The thing you shouldn’t do is to defensively try to rewrite history. Step up.

VIRGO

Aug. 23-Sept. 22

Be careful what you say, Virgo, because you’re likely to spend the first half of this week brimming with feelings that scramble your brain. It’s important that you honor the yearnings of your heart so that you don’t project them out and make mountains out of molehills. It’s easy to weave a narrative to match your feels, but that doesn’t mean that you’re telling yourself a true story. If you slow down and take the time to investigate your heart, you’ll able to figure out what’s really going on for you.

LIBRA

Sept. 23-Oct. 22

Don’t let your fear of conflict distract you from the central issues in your relationships, Libra. You don’t need to be defensive in order to defend yourself, and things don’t need to be terrible in order for you to stand up. This week your ego is gonna get triggered, and it’s on you to not shut down or act out. Be here for honest conversations, even if they’re super awkward and hard. Place authenticity over accommodation, my love.

SCORPIO

Oct. 23-Nov. 21

The Moon is only full in your sign but once a year, when it’s time for the rest of the zodiac to see what it’s like to live with such intense feels, Scorpio. Take an actual break from the busyness of your life and do a real check-in with yourself. If you’ve been holding it together, it’s OK to fall apart for a minute. Don’t wait for something to trigger your feels before you take care of them. Show yourself a little love this week and place your emotional wellness in high regard as a form of self-care.

 

SAGITTARIUS

Nov. 22-Dec. 21

Things are likely to get a little murky this week, ‘Tarius. Your feelings are likely to be all over the map and while that doesn’t mean that they’re unreliable, it does mean that you need to allow space for things to play out before you jump to conclusions. It’s not just OK to have limits - it’s essential, but it’s also really important to be informed. Breathe through your reactions so you can figure out what you really need to reach towards, and what you need to let go of.

CAPRICORN

Dec. 22-Jan. 19

Where do you belong, Cappy? You’re ready to be more involved with community or group ventures, but you’ve got to be choosy about where and with who. This week’s Full Moon on the 10th is going to bring up all kinds of feelings about your place in the world. This is a fertile time for letting go of past entanglements and attachments, and for seeing things as they really are. This is the first step in a process of feeling more connected to others in a way that gives you life, instead of drains it outta you.

AQUARIUS

Jan. 20-Feb. 18

Where are you going, Aquarius, like really? This week’s Full Moon is an opportunity to get real about the track you’ve set yourself on. If you’re not happy with the choices you’ve made in recent months you’re likely to feel the weight of it now. It may be tempting to check out and lose yourself in daydreams and distractions but that would be a waste of an opportunity. Challenge yourself to make healthy decisions, even when disassociating seems easier. 

 

PISCES

Feb. 19-March 20

You don’t need to take on other people’s dramas as a way of showing support. It’s not on you to know some magic solution that works ideally for everyone; all you need to know is what’s right and healthy for you. This week your mantra gets to be: “those are not my monkeys, and this is not my circus”. Manage your own sweet self, and let others do the work of figuring their own selves out, Pisces. Know your limits and honor them, my love.

Becoming the Earth: Contemplation, Visioning & Aesthesis.

Artist Paige Bradley

Written By Alicia Bello

I wanted to write an erotic love article to you. I wanted to write love to you by saying: May all kinds of milks, honeys, fragrant oils and flowers fill your home, altar, and bath. Let there be Eros possession in which every word rolled off the tongue is a spiced nectar. Let there be every lush nude sensation. Let every body in whatever sensual embrace undulate, hum, shudder and drunk on rhythm and ecstasy … whether crying out or soft sigh of respiration, mouth the genuine expression of ecstatic release (and please do always). Hopefully that article will want to be written soon because, well… what a sensation. Instead this article transformed from body in relationship to body into body in relationship to earth… a different kind of body, of intimacy.. the same and different.. but kind of the same. I have found myself outside significantly more than being inside anywhere. My hands and feet have been constantly investigating and trampling through the tropical landscape of Florida and so the intimacy running through me has been the aesthesis of shoots of new green covered in dew, balmy air scented with salty wet earth, and bees pressed deep into the center of flowers… and all of this is happening in the wide open, no shame, Nature needing no permission to burst with her blatant sensuality.

Connecting to the earth is not a new concept for those who practice the craft (to each and every guardian of the directions, the elementals, Hail and Welcome). It is a foundation of study and also a potent remembering. Within every natural witch lies dark earth, fertile, lush with the protected seedcrets of ancient ways, alive with mystery and kept sacred and untainted from the “normalization” of the status quo. No matter how we practice, each and every expression of the work that we do is beautiful to behold in its own right. Our earnest devotion to our practice is the catalyst to what peels away the layers so we begin to see the world completely differently. The earth is living, breathing, pulsing and we perceive it perhaps as our ancestors have, not in the grandiose Hollywood kind of way, but magic in the very real sense that begins to show itself when we learn(remember) how to look (be in relationship to it).

The Anima Mundi, the spirit of the world at this point is no longer a concept but so much more. It is perceived in the body and felt in the depths of individual experience. We, in turn, interact with our planet instinctually, in which in any given moment we turn on and tune in, and allow the power to course through our very body vessel. We can play the subtle vibrations like an instrument that opens the gates to other perceptions and other realities. The relationship that we cultivate with the spirits of the land is so very vital and just like any important relationship we’ve got to keep in touch, forget the small talk so to speak, and nurture it. We know the state of earth right now and quite obviously to say that it’s not healthy is a gross understatement. Just being with the understanding is like a glacial shower and it’s a beginning. We start right here, right now, with what is right in front of us. Without projecting rage or blame on anything, or fear, for the current state of the earth but to just be in a state of heightened mindfulness about say, the decline of bees or the poisoning of water… The Mother is where she’s at just as we are. Just to be in a heightened kind of mindfulness before any practice in which we evoke the elements, and contemplate their actual current state is incredibly important because we have to start where we are at. That being said, magic works non-linearly. No matter how we are working we can heal through coming into contact with root essence of the elements. What I am offering, however is to maybe initiate any ritual with that kind of present acknowledgment and then move into connection with the spiritus, gennii loci, and/ or Anima Mundi.

Visioning

I practice this visualization outside with meditation and contemplation either at sunrise or sunset, but as I usually instruct: if it feels right to practice it in ritual then do it. If you feel inspired to practice on the spot totally do it….except if your driving…listen to your intuition.

Demeter, just one name for Earth Mother is birthing and dying and birthing for us constantly...

Photo: Alicia Bello 

Vision your body/full self becoming Demeter by dissolving into the earth completely and merging with her creative chaos and order. Lie down on the earth while practicing. If you can, be completely naked or partially naked. See the shape of your body turn into dirt. Watch all of what you were dissolve into the earth completely. You are gone, but now you are also the whole of the earth. You are reborn in spring. See your blooms opening and the bees drinking your nectar. Smell sweetness of the season on the wind. Go through all the seasons of the earth in this way over and over. See the earth, which is you, floating in space. Place the periphery of your attention on the rhythm of the breath of your body. See the earth in your visioning breathing, the rhythms are in synch. Draw the scope of your vision to the place within the earth that you inhabit. See you where you are envisioning yourself as the earth while you are also the earth. Draw this harmonic image into the vision of your heart and let the vision pulse with your breath as you bring your attention back to your physical body. Enjoy your breathing still seeing the earth pulsing with your breath as your beating heart. Start all over again. Do it as many times as you can.

• Take notes on how this practice affects you after two weeks and a month.

 As you move through your day, contemplate aesthesis as drawing in the essence of the world, the Anima Mundi with robust sensory perception. Drink in everything.

Witches Under Empire: What it Means to Be a Witch In "Trump's America"

Written By Jaliessa Sipress

Just the thought of merely existing  in “Trump’s America” may seem like some treacherous shadow-work; consistently being pushed to face our worst fears and darkest conceptions of this world while trying to maintain a sense of self and focus on the light.

Most likely, that is exactly what we are stepping into.

With the erasure of pages on the new government’s website that previously acknowledged issues of climate change, LGBT rights and Civil Rights, Trump’s confirmed misogynistic comments regarding sexual assault, and his right-wing stances on police terror, abortion rights and immigration issues, there is definitely cause for alarm.

However, working with shadows and lighting a candle in the dark is what we do best, and the postcolonial (or continuing colonial) world has never welcomed the hard and necessary work witches have engaged in for centuries, so what is new now? Despite the new US President’s nationalistic sentiment (or possibly in exact alignment with the era he is referring to within it) America has never been great. For those of us living on the margins of race, class, gender, spirituality, sexuality and disability, our precious work has historically been violently persecuted and left to the shadows.

So, do not fret my dear witches, a Trump-inauguration is a mere practice in veil-lifting, another opportunity to practice seeing in the dark, and revealing our political and social climate for what it really is only makes our work that much more important

Just as we would practice healthy boundaries with the powers we cannot see while spell-casting or engaging in spirit-communication, we must form a relationship with strict boundaries to this new force that is the Presidency of Donald Trump. To do this, it serves us to remember three things:

• The work we do at home in solitude must echo the work we do in the presence of others

• A witch’s power lies in being unafraid of the unknown

• A concentration on fear attracts things to be scared of

To begin, I must acknowledge that secrets made and secrets kept in personal ritual are of the utmost of importance, and their existence as secrets is sacred. Additionally, to keep the people and politics you protect when you step foot on the streets also within your private practices is crucial. Private here means altar space, home space, and sacred spaces you frequently inhabit for safety and light. To keep your politics here is to be conscientious of whose practices, rituals, symbols, words and imagery you use, to keep a candle burning for the people you cannot reach, and to center self-healing around the idea that the healing you do is not just for you, but for the people that need you and for the people who have come before you.

Second, the uncertainty and unpredictability of Trump and his cabinet that may feel daunting and scary for us is really his fall and not ours. Witches stay ready. A predominant part of witchcraft is completely based within “the unknown.” We communicate with things we cannot see or are told have no vocabulary. We know how to improvise, to work with flowers and weeds and how to heal ourselves and oftentimes others. The epitome of being a witch is the knowledge of the earth’s force, an awareness of the changing seasons, positions of the stars and the knowledge of our own and other witches’ power. There is a steadiness to knowing that you are learning to master a presence that lies beyond what we can see and touch, because a capitalist society can only touch the tangible, only mess with the material, and can never understand or consume the power of the witch.

And that is why we are feared.

Most people are terrified of what they cannot see, what is not “scientifically proven” and what they have never been told is okay to explore. Our defiance of letting fear immobilize us is a huge part of our job description. Our persecution is and was based on the fact that we mess with things that other humans are too scared to touch. So, what happens when the witches are scared? What happens when we use the same power we use to manifest, heal and conjure to fear what is to come? It becomes no different from calling on Aunt Milly from our salt circle; we invite the object of our focus into our space, into existence.

During this term of election, there must be an embracing of fear and willingness to carry on with our confidence, knowledge and strong sense of solidarity leading the way. We need each other now the way we have always needed one another, the way we have always needed care and attention and the way we have always needed to perfect what we do and know best. Every person has a place, and to investigate your larger contribution to the world at this time is crucial. I know herbalist witches, astrologer witches, sex witches, hood witches, good witches, bad witches, shadow workers, wortcunners, rune throwers, conjurers, psychics, angel beings, light-bearers, medicine people, community healers and everything in between. This diverse set of knowledge is priceless in the face of hegemonic structures that seek to bury us and our history. Whatever kind of witch, warlock, regular schmegular bitch or magical star being you are, you and your power matter and we have got to keep moving, shaking, laughing, whispering, conjuring, kicking, screaming, growing, learning and loving in the face of this age-old regime with a new face. We will always hold the power as long as we recognize what we all bring to the table and figure out how to use these powers to resist.

So, gather with your coven to bottle tinctures with intentions of sustaining the resistance through Reishi mushrooms, skullcap and yarrow. Host gatherings teaching the history of the crossover between radical witchcraft and community organizing. Continue to defend the Earth, question the government and fight like hell for causes of the living while keeping your fire lit with the rage of the dead. We are here on this earth, at this time for a reason. So, whether you were born into a coven or you just stumbled upon witchcraft, you have been given the task of protecting what is sacred.

To be a witch is to reclaim the power of connecting with our bodies, our spirit and the earth and  in ungovernable ways, to create paths towards a more regenerative, sustainable society through channeling our ancestors and wisdom from other realms. A man barking orders and spewing hate from a position of socially-constructed power is no match for the power of the people when guided by light, ancestral wisdom and unwavering solidarity. It is our job to carry the legacy, to stand amongst the crowds with rose quartz and motherwort tincture in our pockets, bundles of cedar burning in our hands, holding the match when it is time to burn it all down.

Coming Back To Life: Healing Through Crisis With Ritual + Action

"Overcome any bitterness that may have come because you were not up to the magnitude of the pain that was entrusted to you. like the Mother of the world, who carries the pain of the world in her heart, each one of us is part of her heart, and therefore endowed with a certain measure of cosmic pain. You are sharing in the totality of that pain. You are called upon to meet it in joy- instead of self pity" - Sufi Saying

In the wake of more violent tragedies that have taken place in the United States,  many of our readers have reached out to us for healing and energetic empowerment. The bombarding of graphic video content, the relentless media headlines,  the racism and the chaos all becomes too heavy to hold. What we need now is healing: How can we help each other in time of crisis? is it through creating meaningful ritual? by protesting in the streets? or is donating money to just causes working towards the prevention of murder and the advancement of POC? we can't give you any of those answers, because only YOU can decide where to begin to make those changes.

The Zen Poet Thich Nhat Hanh asked "What do we need to do to save our world?" his questioners expected him to identify the best strategies to peruse in social and environmental action, but Thich Nhat Hanh's answer was this: "What we most need to do is to hear within us the sound of the Earth crying."

Healing starts within each and every one of us. "In despair work, we learn to uncover our pain for the world and we honor it." Says Author's Joanna Macy & Molly Young Of "Coming Back to life: practices to reconnect our lives, Our world"  How can we do this?

• Acknowledging our pain for the world (verbally or silently)
• Validating it as a wholesome response to the present crisis
• letting ourselves experience this pain
• being able to express it to others
• recognizing how widely it is shared by others
• and recognizing that it is NOT "crazy" bu that it springs from our caring and connectedness.

GROUNDING & PROTECTION: A Visualization Exercise

To ground yourself: Visualize a ball of white energy inside the top of your head. This ball of energy is going to move down right through your body, as it moves down it collects all the negative energy that your body and your aura is already holding. So imagine that the ball of energy is like a magnet.

Move that ball of energy down through your head and into your neck. Gather all the negative energy to that magnetic ball of energy. Continue the energy down through the upper body, and into the lower body, absorbing the negative energy as the energy ball moves downwards. Into the legs and down into the feet. When the energy reaches the feet, you visualize roots growing deep into the earth. The negative energy is then going to be discharged into the earth where it will be neutralized.

Once all the negativity has been released, grow the roots further downwards, or outwards. Then from these roots draw up white or silver energy from Mother earth. Draw the white energy up through the roots and into the soles of your feet. Visualize that pure white energy moving up through your legs and into the lower body. Moving upwards to the upper body, then into the neck and head. Ask then that the energy be used in whatever part of your body, mind or aura that the energy is needed.

If you are feeling particularly vulnerable and need extra protection, Utilize this cleansing aura bath that can be practiced once a week, or daily. 

Quick Fix Aura Protection Bath

You will need: 

• 30-40 minutes of undisturbed time for yourself.
• bathtub
• 2 cups of sea salt
• 2 cups of White vinegar Or Apple or Lemon Vinegar

This is the easiest aura cleansing bath of all. Toss the ingredients into a tub of warm water and relax. Focus on releasing any negative thoughts into the water. You should allow yourself time to soak in the warm water for at least 30 minutes, and to allow the water from the tub to drain completely as you envision any negativity swirling down the drain and out of your bodies energetic fields . This recipe iscompletely effective as is, but feel free to add essential oils or herbs of your choice.

Overwhelming Anger Bath

This bath should be used when our own rage overwhelms us and we need time to relax and re- focus.

You will need: 

• A Bathtub
• Chammomile
• Catnip
• Lavender
• 4 drops of cherry plum flower essence (Bach, Healing herbs, Pegasus)

Use either herbs or essential oils for this ritual bath. Whatever you have on hand or whichever you find the most soothing.

1. if you're using herbs make an infusion using a fistful of each herb and add it to your bath.
2. If you're too overwhelmed to go out and buy herbs, you may alternatively use 3 drops of the essential oilsin your bath. Essential oil of catnip exist it's just marked sometimes with different names (i.e French Marjoram, catmint, mountain balm, or nepeta) do not use this during pregnancy, and if you can't find it, just leave it out the recipe or supplement with any of the suggested protective herbs on our list.
3.   Place the cherry plum drops under you tongue, or rub them into your forehead. these can be purchased at any health food orspecialty store including Co-Op.
4. You can add cherry plum drop into spring water in a spray bottle to keep on you and to cool yourself off.

• Protective Herbs & Essential oils: Rosemary, Frankincense, Lavender, Sandal wood, Clove, Ylang Ylang, and basil.

• Gems: Black Tourmaline, Obsidian, Onyx, Smoky Quartz, Hematite.

• Donate

Issa Rae of Inglewood, CA created the "Justice For Alton Sterling family scholarship" Where ALL of the funds raised will be donated to ll of Alton's 5 children.

There is also a fund for the family of Philando Castile, the young man who was shot and killed by police in front of his partner, and 4 year old child in a traffic stop. The Philando Castile Fund

• Get Involved

NAACP LDF: Donate to the NAACP legal defense and education fund.

ACLU: American Civil liberties union

Start Your Own Healing Circle

Written by S. Wolf

Whether you're practicing by yourself or with a group of healers, the main process for setting a circle is the same. It can be as elaborate as you'd like, or as simple. Don't underestimate the simplistic, it's often the more comfortable and therefore can be most successful.

You'll need a few supplies.

•  Incense or smudge sticks

• Make sure no one has allergies first. I prefer to use a sage and cedar smudge stick.

• A green or white candle.

• It can be any color of green you choose, but it should be a little larger than a votive candle.

• Something to light them with

• Something to safely put them in

• An Ipod, CD player and healing music to provide some soothing to help drown out outside noises and distractions.you may even take this a step further and incorporate singing bowls.

• A list of those who have requested healing.

• The list should have the person's name, their location (city, state, country) and ailment or need for healing.

 You can read the names and conduct healing on each person individually. You can have each person and their ailment listed on individual pieces of paper and everyone in the circle takes a person to focus their healing on. Or you can focus on the entire list as a whole group. But decide what you're going to do, before you enter the circle.

The Circle

A healing circle is typically set in a specific diameter.

• If you are alone, you'd set your circle about 3ft in diameter.

• If you have a small group, you may want to set the circle 6ft in diameter.

• If you have a larger crowd, a 9ft diameter would be used.

• If you have a large enough crowd, you'd simply add 3ft to your circle to accommodate the number of people who have come to participate; 12ft, 15ft and so on.

The circle can be made on the floor with rope made of natural fibers, such as cotton rope. Or it can be outlined with chairs. Wooden chairs are best, but if what you have available to you are metal folding chairs, then by all means go ahead and use them. None of this is written in stone. But when you lay out the circle, leave a small entry into the circle resting in the north side.

Before anyone arrives, enter the circle from the north. Stand in the center and face the north. Then light the incense stick. Hold it out in front of you and move in a clockwise direction saying a prayer to your form of the Divine and ask for clearing, cleansing and divine protection in this circle.

You can replace any of this with the labels you feel more comfortable with. For instance, The Great Spirits which is the label I give to the divine force in my beliefs. You might prefer to use God, Jesus, Goddess, Abraham, Buddha or some other name for your beliefs. The point is to choose the label that feels most comfortable to you and your healing partners.

For instance I might say:

Great Spirits, I ask for your help to clear and cleanse this space for our gathering to provide healing to those in need. To send your love, energy and protection to bless our work and empower our working with your divine light and energy. So Mote It Be.

If your circle is large, you might want to start in the center of the circle, then move outward until you have encompassed the entire space with your incense. You want to move around the circle in a clockwise direction. Just make sure you stop in the same direction as you started so you are sealing the energy.

If your circle is large enough to set a small table in the center, that would be a perfect place to safely set your incense and the green candle, along with the matches. Word of advice, make sure the table is sturdy and can take a little knock of someone accidentally bumps into it. Nothing can ruin a circle more quickly than an unexpected accident. So TV trays, and talk decorative tables usually don't work well.

Conducting A Circle For Healing

There are many ways to conduct the mechanics of a healing circle. The following method is one I like to use and is based on a circle I attended at the Edgar Cayce Institute many years ago. You can use this method verbatim, or use it to inspire your own process. This method can be performed by one person, or a group of people. It's very flexible and effective for any number of healers.

When your healing partners arrive, keep everyone out of the circle until you're ready to sit down and focus. When you are ready, turn on the music to a comfortable volume. You don't want it so low that you can't hear it and it becomes distracting. You don't want it so loud that it over shadows the person who will be leading the healing visualization. So check with your guests and make sure everyone is comfortable with the volume.

Now you and your healing partners can enter the circle from the north. Enter in single file and move clockwise around the circle until everyone is standing before a chair. When the last person enters, arrange the chairs so you're closing the entryway of the circle.

Before everyone sits down, one of you should light thecandle and as you do everyone should say a prayer to the Divine asking for help and guidance in performing the healings that are about to take place. You can pre-write the prayer, or say it off the cuff. But this is an important step to bring everyone’s focus to the work at hand. Prayer said, have a seat.

Technically, this method to raise energy is called a "Cone of Power". Through this method you will connect with your healing partners, center your energy, and direct the divine, loving healing energy out to those on your list.

You can write your own visualization script, or just use the following. Just make sure you and your healing partners are comfortable with what you're saying and doing in this visualization.

• Everyone close their eyes and place their hands, palms up, in their lap.

• See a light of love, a pink light, coming from your heart and moving to the center of the circle and the flame of the candle.

• There our energies join together and rise up, gently swirling together in a clockwise motion like a giant spiral column.

• As it joins together and rises visualize the light slowly changing color to a beautiful crisp and clear dark green. Like a clear emerald gemstone.

• Everyone see this loving healing energy move up and through the roof of this building and quickly travel to (the location of the 1st person on your list).

• Visualize this light finding (state the person's name) and providing healing for (state their ailment).

• See (state the person's name) basking in the love and healing sent to them by this circle and the Great Spirits. See this energy fighting the disease that has attacked their body and returning them to good health.

• Visualize in detail the green healing energy consuming the atoms of the disease and destroying it forever.

Continue the visualization for about 1 full minute. Depending on the ailment you may want to hold this visualization for 2 minutes or longer. When you're ready continue with the following.

• We give thanks to the Great Spirits and offer prayers of health and strength to (state the person's name).

• We release the energy to them and see our love and healing light return to our humble circle and the light of our healing candle.

• We know that the Great Spirits will continue to light their way as long as needed, as we move our divine healing energy to (state the next location).

• We watch our love and healing light travel once again through the roof of this building and to (state the name of the next person on your list) to provide healing for (state their ailment).

From this point you just keeping performing these steps until you get through your list. When completed your healing work, you will need to bring the energy back to the healers, close the energy and the circle.

• Everyone see the healing light gently fall into the flame of the candle before us.

• Now we see the light of love and healing release it's connection of unity and gently travel from the flame back to our own heart and bodies.

• We welcome the healing and love we shared with each other, and see it replenish our own energies so we feel refreshed and revitalized and full of energy.

• We give thanks to the Great Spirits and to all those who came here today to assist in these special spiritual healings. We share our joy and love with each other as we close our healing circle.

• Many Blessings to all - So Mote It Be.

• You could also say - Peace be with you all, Amen.

• Everyone open their eyes and have a good stretch.

At this point you can remain in the circle and share your experiences. Or you can leave the circle.

Clearing The Circle

When you're ready to leave, everyone should rise at the same time. In a single line follow each other out in a clockwise direction and exist to the north in the same location you entered. If possible leave the candle burning; as long as it will be safe to do so. Once everyone is outside the circle you can move the chairs and take down the circle. Move the candle to a safer location if you need to.

it's also a good idea to have some healthy snacks after this kind of healing gathering. For some people sending out this kind of energy can drain them. Getting a little snack helps to revive everyone and it's also a good time to share with each other.

Finally, it's always a good idea for people to keep a log of their workings. Even in group situations, there can be a lot of information written and shared for future workings. It's also a good idea to record the names of those who were sent energy, including their location and ailment. So here are some things you might want to keep in your log.

• The date and time the healing circle began and ended.

• The weather (yes it can be an important bit of info).

• The names of the healers who attended.

• Count them up and record the number of healers.

• The structure of the circle. How was it set and what items were used.

• Did you use rope to create the circle, or chairs? Was the rope made of natural fibers, were the chairs metal or wood? Describe your circle.

• Record the names, locations and ailments from the list.

• If you remained in the circle and shared your experiences, you might also enter descriptions or summaries of those as well.

• Sometimes people will receive feelings or visions about the person they're healing. It's a good idea to record these and refer back to them when you learn about the condition of the person in the healing. Often times you will hear back from people who know you were scheduled to send them healing energy.

• Finally record any additional happenings after the healing circle was closed.

• This might be something you go back to the next day, or before the next healing circle session.

Moving Forward

While we can't live in a bubble to protect us from the atrocities of the world, we CAN protect ourselves and our energy. It is ESSENTIAL that we care for our minds & bodies on the physical plane during these triggering and often confusing times. For those who want more solid answers on how we can "fix" the problem , there is no one size- fits all answer. We are just like you,  doing the best we can. These are steps that we can all take towards healing ourselves, reclaiming our personal power and healing our communities. Sending peace, wellness, and love to everyone in need.

"It's Ok if all you did today was survive"

-Unknown