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March 23 through March 29, 2026

A relatively quiet seven days unfold this first full week of a new season, giving us time to catch our breaths and chart a new course for the future. Our social sides will emerge under Monday and Tuesday’s Gemini Moon, as we reconnect with others and seek out new information via lively conversations or a surf on the web. We’ll feel like staying home and tending to our surroundings and emotional balances as the Moon cruises through Cancer on Wednesday and Thursday. Come Friday though, the Leo Moon will have us longing to connect with others or leaning toward self-nurturing over the weekend. Sunday’s Virgo Moon creates the perfect vibe to start that spring cleaning we’ve been promising to do; now’s the time!

The Psychology of Ghost Hunting, by Brandon Alvis

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Death is an inevitable part of life. Reminders of our own mortality surround us everyday. Any time we read a newspaper, turn on the news, or consume media, we are shown heartbreaking stories of a tragic loss of life. As the old saying goes, "If it bleeds, it leads." At some point throughout our lifetime, we will experience the loss of a loved one, a friend, an acquaintance. With each passing, we are faced with a question: What happens when we die? I was first faced with that question on September 8th, 1995, when my oldest brother Eric passed away from cancer at the age of 24.

Learning About Death
I was only eight years old at the time of my brother's passing. The concept of death was a lot for a third grader to take in, let alone understand.

It confused me.

Much of my childhood was spent at the cemetery where my brother was laid to rest. The more time I spent surrounded by tombstones, the more I started to comprehend what death was and how we would all meet the same end. As my mother would visit my brother and grieve, I did what any eight-year-old kid would do: explore. I'd walk around the cemetery. I'd read the grave markers, the names, the dates of birth and death. I'd speak with the groundskeepers and ask them questions about their job. What was it like working in the death industry? I watched as they would prepare the ground for upcoming burials, the funerals taking place close to my brother's gravesite. I would listen to the eulogies and observe how others handled grief. This is macabre, but it helped me begin my own grieving process. As the years passed and I grew older, thinking of our ultimate end became easier for me. In 2002 my grandmother passed away, peacefully in her home at the age of 73. She was ill in the later years of her life. During our final conversation before her passing, I knew her time on earth was coming to an end; and while I fought to cherish the little time she had left, I was prepared to grieve for her once she took her last breath. However tragic death was, I readied myself for this anguish.

I was confident I could properly grieve for my grandmother. Death wouldn't catch me off guard.

But in 2004, my brother Gary took his life. I couldn't see it through the rage I felt at that time, but my way of thinking about our final end would change forever.

"That is not dead which can eternal lie, And with strange aeons even death may die."
?Howard Phillips Lovecraft, The Nameless City

Paranormal Investigation as Grief Therapy
There are many reasons why people get involved in the search for ghosts and hauntings. Some are looking for an adrenaline rush, some for notoriety. One common reason is the passing of a loved one. In my 17 years of research, I have met hundreds of individuals who are willing to journey into the dark for answers about the afterlife, just as I was after the death of my two brothers. Many paranormal investigators have found a sense of peace in trying to communicate with those that have come before us. After hearing countless stories from those in the field, I realized that the act of paranormal investigation was a form of grief therapy. I only ever made that connection when I read a book titled Corpses, Coffins and Crypts: A History of Burial by Penny Colman, which showed up on my radar for a research project I conducted many years ago. In chapter two of Colman's book, she cites a study performed by psychologist Maria Nagy in 1948:

"The children, who nicknamed Nagy 'Auntie Death,' had discussions with Nagy and drew pictures. In addition the older children followed Nagy's request to 'write down everything that comes to your mind about death.' Nagy studied their responses and concluded that some children go through three stages in understanding death. The youngest children aged three to about five tend to be curious about death anad ask matter-of-fact questions about funerals, coffins, and cemeteries. To them, death is a continuation of life but at a lower level: dead people can't see and hear as well as living people, they aren't quite as hungry, and they don't do very much. And they might return.

Younger children appear to think that death is at best not much fun and boring and at the worst lonely and scary. Beginning at about the age of five or six, children tend to realize that death is final and move into what Nagy named Stage 2. Although at this stage, many children realized that death was final, some of them thought that they could escape death if they were clever, careful, or lucky. Christy Ottaviano remembers thinking like that when she was in elementary school. 'I had to walk past a cemetery to get to school,' she recalls. 'I thought that I wouldn't die if I held my breath the whole way. So I did until I was about nine or ten years old.' Christy may have stopped because she moved into what Nagy identified as Stage 3 in understanding death. This is when children tend to realize that in addition to being final, death is also inevitable. Everyone dies, even clever, careful, and lucky people. Or people who hold their breath when they walk past a cemetery. 'Death is destiny,' wrote one ten-year-old child. Another ten-year-old wrote, 'Everyone has to die.' According to Nagy, Stage 3, which starts at about age nine or ten, continues throughout life." (Colman 29, 30, 31)

Death and the Final Frontier
Reading Maria Nagy's The Child's Theories Concerning Death completely transformed my thought process. Having basically grown up in a cemetery and losing someone so close to me at such a young age, I made the jump from Nagy's proclaimed stage 2 to stage 3 in a more advanced timeframe. Other studies have shown that, "children who experienced a parent's death, who are dying themselves, or who have witnessed violent, traumatic death will perceive death in an adultlike manner at much earlier ages than children who have not had such experiences." ("Death—The Development Of A Concept Of Death—Children, Dead, Nagy, and Age - JRank Articles") These experiences of the human condition led me early on in a lifelong pursuit of finding answers about the possibility of retaining consciousness after the brain dies. Like many others in the study of ghosts and hauntings, I have found comfort in journeying into the dark, and I carry this into every investigation I conduct, into every bit of research I perform, and the hours upon hours of footage I review. And I will continue to do so, until I meet my own ultimate end.

References
Colman, Penny. 1997. Corpses, Coffins, and Crypts: A History of Burial. N.p.: Henry Holt and Company.
"Death—The Development Of A Concept Of Death—Children, Dead, Nagy, and Age—JRank Articles." n.d. Social Issues Reference. Accessed December 4, 2021. https://social.jrank.org/pages/186/Death-Development-Concept-Death.html#ixzz7E9jWV4N5.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022. All rights reserved.

I made a door for fairies to come and go through. Later I was told there was a goblin fairy there, and that by creating this door, I was inviting lots of problems. I was told that it is foolish to mess with the fairies at all, so I destroyed the door. Now I'm afraid I've made the fairies mad. Is there a way to tell good fairies from bad ones? Can I make amends with them somehow? Do I have reason to be worried about all of this?

C.

Astrea:

Like people, there are good and bad fairies, but all fairies have good and bad potential. Usually this manifests in all kinds of mischief. If you're experiencing anything odd or messy in your yard, you may indeed have angered them.

Angering the fairies is easy to do and totally dependent on what sort of fairies you're dealing with. The door was a nice thought, but this group didn't like it, so it's good that you removed it.

To placate the ones you want back, feed them regularly with milk and cake. Putting those treats where you built the door might draw the good ones back in a short time. First, however, you'd be wise to ask yourself if you really WANT them back! So many things can anger fairies that it's hard to know where to start.

Anything from mowing your lawn to planting a tree can have them up in arms. Of all mystical creatures, I find fairies to be some of the most intelligent but also the most controlling. If you have fairy blood or fairies in your own family, you know exactly what I mean.

Most fairies suffer from OCD to some degree, so they resist change. Thus altering any natural elements in your yard or garden that draw fairies is asking for trouble. I recommend you take away anything you built for them and restore your property to its original state so that they feel comfortable again. Until you do that, you're going to have lots of noise and trouble.

Your fairies will go out of their way to be nuisances however they can. They'll trample your flower beds, pull the leaves from your trees, and leave little holes everywhere. Put things back the way they were and you'll feel harmony in your garden again.

As far as a goblin is concerned, it's very rare that you would find a goblin at all, let alone near someone's house. Goblins, trolls, and some elves are not welcomed by the fairies. They are too large and clumsy for the fairies to enjoy their company. It's unlikely they'd allow a goblin into their territory, and also unlikely that a goblin would want to go up against any kind of fairy resistance. Though they're bigger, trolls and goblins fear being bound by fairy magic, so they usually give them a wide berth.

Even though yours are mad at you right now, they know you well enough to know that you will make it better for them as soon as you find out what to do. While it's possible that your fairies could abandon you, I doubt that's the case here. They're snotty and are punishing you for trying to make something nice for them. That's their nature, and it's best not to fight it. Fix things as they were before and they'll happily come home.

*****

Susyn:

All magical practices have the potential of causing problems. It's important to note that in creating this fairy door, you must also create boundaries and limits regarding who can enter through it. This is also true whenever you extend open invitations to the world of spirits.

It is exciting to discover that we can commune with fairies, spirits and loved ones who have crossed over, but we must be aware that we could accidentally open the door to uninvited guests as well.

In essence, fairies can possess a variety of personalities. Some will brighten your day and bring joy to your world. Others tend to have an impish and playful side. Still others can be obnoxious and troublesome. The key is to invite in only the fairies or spirits who will enhance and uplift your world.

These creatures can be drawn into your life without the aid of a fairy door. In fact, doors or portals can be hard to monitor, and they are not necessary for these magical spirits to enter.

Before you re-invite the fairies in, however, you may want to conduct a cleansing of the room where this door was located. Using a smudge stick or sage incense wand, you can fill the room with cleansing smoke and ask that all entities leave the premises.

Once you void this space of any lingering or hidden gnomes, fairies or goblins, you can then invite only the most delightful, whimsical fairies to return. In the future, if unwanted spirits show up, you can use the smudge stick again and ask specifically that the troublesome creatures leave.

The good fairies you originally invited in understand why you had to destroy this doorway. The only fairies that would be offended are the very ones you do not want near you anyway. By visualizing instead of physically creating an open door to invite in the good fairies, you'll make amends to any whose feelings were hurt.

With experience, it will be fairly easy to discern the good fairies from the bad fairies. If you notice a heavy energy when you enter the room, or if treasured objects go missing, you will want to investigate. The good fairies will bring happiness to your world, while the bad fairies will tend to create chaos and negative vibrations.

I don't sense that you have to be concerned with what happened with the fairies and your decision to destroy the door. Keep in mind that this is your home and you can invite in whomever you like. Besides, once you cleanse your space and re-invite the pleasant fairies back in, they will be happy to return. They don't really like having those pesky goblins or impish characters around either, so they'll be happy with your efforts.

Astrea:

Many times in life we hear, "You will always have what you NEED, but not necessarily what you WANT." Your spirit must have needed to experience the feeling of leaving your human body, and the suggestion in the next chapter of Sylvia Brown's book was all it took to get you there.

Even though you hadn't read it yet, your SOUL recognized the title of that chapter as something it had been seeking, and your soul, knowing that you had that reference to read after your experience, got with it and out you went!

While I don't usually recommend her books, Sylvia Brown has a wide reaching and powerful effect on lots of people. A Gemini like you would be able to relate easily to her writing and put it to good use. Synchronicity - you gotta love it!

I like your description of "getting caught." That's exactly what it feels like, isn't it? One minute you're free and hovering above the room, and the next minute, ZAP! back down into your corporeal form you go!

As a little kid, I loved that "feeling of return." With practice, most of the time we can control that event, but sometimes, when our physical ears hear a distracting noise or something else occurs to knock us back into reality, back we go. With practice you will be able to control your return better.

I find it interesting that you were visiting your mother-in-law and not someone in your own genetic family. Evidently, you and your husband got married for reasons that are even deeper than love. His family's interest in "psychic stuff" will nurture your children in such matters and help them to grow into their own abilities.

You'll never have to be concerned that when your daughter visits them, she'll be discouraged from exploring her own psychic life and power. My parents encouraged me to develop my psychic senses in a time when it wasn't nice to even discuss such things in public. Heck, it's STILL not considered a great topic at the dinner table in some families!

Your kids will get to talk about it ALL and ask questions and read and study. This is going to give them such an edge in life! Talk with your husband about how you want to present this to your kiddos, so that you are united in your approach and ready to tell them their experiences are all natural and okay.

A word or two of warning: Geminis often have difficulty staying grounded in REAL LIFE. Don't get so strung out on your ASTRAL life that you neglect what you're doing here on Earth.

You are at the beginning of a long journey to learn where your power really lies. Try to be patient with this process and take your time.