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April 13 through April 19, 2026

Two planetary sign changes and a new Moon will make for an interesting week, as Mercury moves into Aries on Tuesday and the Sun exits Aries for Taurus on Sunday morning. Maintaining a positive and spiritual attitude on Monday and Tuesday will allow us to embrace the watery vibes of the Pisces Moon as it passes overhead. Mercury will enter the sign of Aries on Tuesday, which quickens our thought processes and fills our heads with great ideas! We won’t need to fret if we can’t get to those obligations awaiting us at the start of the week, as there will be plenty of time for that when the Moon marches into Aries and reenergizes us on Wednesday and Thursday. Friday is the day to make a wish and set your new goals as the Aries new Moon sparks a fire within us! A few hours later, the Moon will move into Taurus and have us taking physical action to take those dreams into fruition, which continues on Saturday as well! The Sun will enter Taurus on Sunday, shifting our thoughts to our physical worlds and what we can do to improve them. If you need a few ideas, brainstorm with others under the Gemini Moon!

I Am Romany, by Terrance Lescault

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

MY YOUTH

"Dirty Gypsy!"

I grew up in a small town in England. In that working-class town there was a distinct separation of classes. Many of those who felt they were in the upper classes (often determined simply by a home address rather than any real class distinction) looked down on what they perceived as lower classes. And those who were treated as the lowest of the low were the Gypsies.

"Dirty Gypsy!"

The rocks that the other children threw at me when I was going to and from private school (that's the same as "public school" in the US) didn't hurt as much as the slurs and insults. I never understood that behavior. I hadn't done anything to them. Neither had my parents. My grandparents had lived in central Europe, so they couldn't have done anything to hurt them either.

Children can be so cruel. The constant abuse did several things to me. First, I learned how to fight. Second, I learned independence since none of the other kids would play or do schoolwork with me. But at the same time, the slurs and attacks from so many people influenced my young mind to think that there was something wrong with me simply because I had been born to one set of parents and not another. I came to hate my Gypsy heritage. Later, I realized that I had come to hate myself.

When I was twelve, my father won the lottery. He had seen the pain and suffering I had gone through. Although he had stood up to it himself, he didn't want me to experience it any more. So, like the archetypal Gypsy, we packed our things and moved to a place where we thought we wouldn't feel the bitter lash of thoughtless hate. We moved to San Diego, California.

Children, thankfully, have short memories. They can get into a violent fight with a playmate and five minutes later be playing together again. The slurs and attacks were gone. People accepted me for what I was. Nobody hated me for the accident of my birth. At least, that's what I thought. The self-hatred I felt was buried but not gone.

Having been brought up in England, and thus having a British accent (even if it was not the "proper" British accent of the newsreaders on the BBC or the out-of-place Cockney heard at Renaissance "Faires"), really helped me. Whenever a conversation got around to backgrounds, people would talk about being Irish, Italian, African, German, Japanese, Russian, and so forth. With my accent it was obvious that I was English. Nobody asked further than that. Nobody needed to know that I was what those children used to call me, a "dirty Gypsy."

I graduated high school and went to college and medical school, eventually becoming a pediatrician. Maybe something inside me wanted to be able to help those kids who had thrown rocks at me. Or maybe, in some way, I wanted to help the child inside of me who was still hurt by those childhood taunts.

MY SEARCH BEGINS

My medical practice grew and I became quite successful. In 1994 I met and married Melody, the most wonderful, talented, and beautiful woman I had ever met. We separated in 1997. As she left she told me, "I love you. But I can't stand the anger you feel about yourself, especially when you direct it, for no reason, at me. If you can ever resolve those feelings, let me know. Just don't wait too long."

So here I was, a 32-year-old man with a successful professional life but a rapidly crumbling personal life. The first month after Melody left I fell into a deep depression, only able to barely fulfill my professional obligations. But I was strong enough to realize that I loved Melody and wanted to get her back so things could be like before. No, that's not exactly right. I wanted to renew our relationship so it would be even better than before. And I knew that the only way to do that would be to get more in touch with me.

Familiar with (and perhaps dependent upon) traditional western healing practices, I started to go to a psychologist. A year later, and after seeing two different psychologists and one psychiatrist during that time, I was only slightly better and many thousands of dollars poorer. I told my disappointment to my current psychologist, Dr. Elliott. He told me that if I was unhappy with therapy, I might try some alternate approaches. He reminded me that we had discovered the main cause of my problems resulted from the abuse I had experienced as a child. I just couldn’t get over it. He looked at me and asked me what turned out to be the most important question of my life: "Who are you?"

"I'm Terrance Lescault."

"No, that's your name. Who are you?"

"I'm a doctor, a pediatrician..."

"No, that's what you do. Who are you?"

I felt perturbed. This was downright silly. "Why are you asking me this Zen question?" I think the exasperation in my voice was clear to him.

"Not a Zen question, a Zen Koan. A question meant to be pondered and thought about and which can lead to enlightenment. So think about it. You might also think about another famous Koan: 'What did your face look like before you were born?'"

I went away from the office, frustrated, disappointed, and unhappy.

THE DISCOVERY

Just as the abuse by the children had stayed with me for all these years, so, too, did Dr. Elliott's questions. Who am I? I came up with all sorts of answers. And then it dawned on my that I had missed the most important one of all. I was a Gypsy. As I said that to myself, I also heard the taunts. I realized that in my mind I was not a Gypsy, I was a "dirty Gypsy." I was wrong in thinking that nobody in this country hated me for being a Gypsy. I hated myself for being a Gypsy. Not just a Gypsy, I was a dirty Gypsy.

Dirty Gypsy.
Dirty Gypsy.
Dirty Gypsy.

And then I had the most important revelation of my life, a virtual epiphany. I had no idea what a Gypsy was. I had hated being called names so much that I had abandoned my heritage. I didn't hate myself, I hated what I thought I was. I hated what those children thought I was. My redemption, I realized, would only come when I discovered the truth about my background.

My mother had died several years earlier, so I went to my father's house and talked to him. He showed me some pictures of Gypsy wagons his father and his father's father had used. He told me a little of the history of our family. But it was all so unemotional, almost cold. It didn't even seem like he was talking to me.

I went to the library and got a couple of old books by Charles G. Leland, Gypsies and English Gypsies and Their Languages, but I found them dated and too dry. So I went to a bookstore. They had reprints of Leland. I asked if they had anything else and I was directed to the New Age section. This bothered me because I had always thought that New Age meant imaginary and unreal. But I dutifully went through the section, expecting nonsense.

I picked up a book with the word "Gypsy" in the title. I glanced at the cover and dropped it in shock. I picked it up again and looked at the cover. There, in black and white, was a Gypsy wagon just like the ones I had seen at my father's house. It was even being drawn by a horse with thick legs and large hooves, something I had noted in the photos my father had shown me since I was used to seeing the delicate legs of race horses. I turned it over and saw the author, Raymond Buckland, sitting on the steps of a Gypsy wagon. He was a half-blooded Gypsy and had written other books on Gypsies.

But as I read more, my heart fell. The title of the book was Gypsy Witchcraft & Magic. I didn't want to learn about what I usually called "woo-woo" stuff. I wanted to learn who I was. But a historian gives a compliment to the book on the back cover, saying how this really does cover gypsy life, so I decided to buy it and give it a try.

SOMETHING RINGS TRUE

The author of Gypsy Witchcraft & Magic begins by recounting the known history of the Romany people, along with the myths of why they wander. Of course, he shows that we came from India, not Egypt ("Gypsy" is derived from "Egyptian"). But then I started to read about the religious practices from an insider. It would seem that historically, Gypsies are Pagans. Many of us remain Pagan today. [Note: in reading back over this article I realized that I changed to acknowledge my Gypsy heritage by now referring to Gypsies as "we" instead of "they."]

I was brought up in what we called the "C of E" or Church of England. It is also known as the Anglican church. Although I considered myself a "good Christian," I was really somewhat of an agnostic. I enjoyed some aspects of my religion, but other things just didn't "seem right." By the time I was in my twenties, I would only attend church for weddings and funerals.

But this book presented something new to me. It wasn't the silly witches of movies and TV with their nose wiggling and poofs of smoke. Instead, it was the worship of a goddess or "Saint" known as "Black Sara." The male god is not anthropomorphic and is thought of in terms of being the Sun, Moon, sky, clouds, and stars. The devil is simply a negative force and not an evil entity.

I had always wondered why God was thought of as being a male. Knowing that my ancestors worshiped the female as well as the male just felt right. The more I read, the more I felt like I was "coming home." I wanted to learn more about my heritage.

As a doctor, I am always looking for safe remedies to health problems. This book has several. I went to an herb store and purchased some herbs described in the book as well as a mortar and pestle. A week later I compounded a supposed headache remedy made from willow bark and St. John's Wort according to the directions in the book. I gave it to a friend of mine who was subject to migraines. He tried it and found that it worked for him. I don't know if it will work for others, but it did work for him. There were also herbal cures for eye problems, ear problems, mouth problems, asthma, common colds, stomach problems, bladder difficulties, and many more. I intend to investigate all of them with the help of friends and co-workers.

As I continued with the book I became more and more fascinated. I went past the section on using magic to get money because I have all I want. The next section had a part that intrigued me. Gypsies, of course, traveled in their wagons (or vardos) and would simply find a place to stay. A friend of the author's who went around with some Gypsies always found that the place they would pick would take on a "special ambiance that made him feel that they had picked the best campsite ever." This, he discovered, was because the tribe's Witch or Shuvani would use a broom called a besom (made from the twiggy growth of a birch tree) and "walk all around the camp sweeping outward, away from the vardos...brushing away the uncleanness, the badness...[it] had the power to turn any place into a warm and cozy campground." (p. 86-87)

Okay. I'm a well-educated, modern man. But I decided to give it a try. I went out and purchased a broom (I don't know if it was birch or not) and went around my house, sweeping from the center of each room to the walls. Then I went outside and swept from the edge of the house to the edge of my property. With each sweep of the broom I focused my thoughts on trying to send away any sort of negativity. I just imagined it in my mind. Of course, there was a scientific part of me that felt this was silly and wouldn't work, but I tried to keep an open mind about it. I went back inside and lit a fire (it was a cold night) and continued to read the book by the light of the hearth.

As I continued to read, I noticed that the room "felt" different. Maybe it was subjective. Maybe it was objective. But what I was reading was ringing true for me.

And I felt different, too. More secure. More strong. More sure of who I was. I was not a "dirty Gypsy" any more. I was —I am— a full-blooded Romany, a Gypsy, with a history that goes back many hundreds of years. For the first time in my life I was proud about who I was. I felt powerful. The taunts of those children no longer hurt me. It only made them look foolish, insecure and weak. They did not defeat me—I had survived and come out stronger.

THE RESULT

The major result from my experience with making practical use of Buckland's book is that I am a healthier person—mentally, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. I would encourage everyone to look into their personal past to discover the spiritual nature of their culture. I would also encourage everyone to study the cultures of others, too, with books like Gypsy Witchcraft & Magic. Through knowledge comes understanding, and through understanding comes peace.

And that new, inner strength brought me more peace with myself than I've had in a long time. In fact, I had a long talk with Melody about this and we're getting together later this week for dinner. I've really changed and I hope she will see it. Wish me luck.

Editor's note: Quotes used by permission. We do not suggest changing the use of any medicines without consulting your medical practitioner.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2001. All rights reserved.

This past December, I was dreaming that I was hanging out with my father. I think we were bowling or something, but I know we were happy. I woke up mid dream to my mom calling me to tell me that the paramedics were on the way. My father had died at the same time I was dreaming of him. I've been having such a hard time dealing with his death, as we were very close. Is it possible that he contacted me somehow in my dreams? Is the dream state linked with the afterlife? If so, what is this connection? Thanks!

Elizabeth

Astrea:

When speaking to a dear friend after my Daddy died, I said, Daddy hasn't called yet. She matter-of-factly answered, Oh, it took my Dad almost a year to call the first time. What a help it was for me to hear that!

Before my Daddy died, he came to me in a dream and said, I'm dying, you know. By that time, he was living here in my house, so I ran and woke him up and said, Oh, Daddy, I just had the WORST dream. He said, I know, I had it too.

We then embarked on a great new adventure: arranging ways we would know we were together until we could be together again on the same plane. We arranged signs for after he passed away so I would know he was all right. Since then, my son and I have been able to do that too.

For everyone who hasn't done this yet, there's no time like the present. You don't have to dwell on the fact that one of you will pass away before the other, but it is a great relief to see the signs you set up even twenty years before.

Daddy rings a bell. I'm not the only one who hears it, thank goodness, so I don't worry about the men in white coats coming for me. I also find dimes ñ at least one a day ñ and I know he's put them there.

Your Daddy's Spirit absolutely came to you in your dream that night before he died. Your connection to him was deep and strong, and he wanted to be sure he could keep it no matter where he was when he died.

Since no one can tell us for sure where our loved ones are after they leave the Earth Plane, we have to rely on them to show up so we know how they're doing and that they are still looking out for us. A love as strong as the love you and your Daddy shared can't be denied by the Universe, so contact is sure to be made over and over again until at last you are reunited.

Don't be upset if you don't see him in your dreams again soon. Usually it takes us about a year to get into a state where we can see our departed loved ones again. That is true on both your side and your Daddy's: He isn't strong enough in his spiritual form to make contact yet, and you're not strong enough in your heart to see him.

Losing the parent we have been closest to is the worst. When they come to us in dreams or in a trance state, all we have is the comfort of knowing they still care. As time passes, you'll see more and more of one another. Cherish those moments when you have him with you again, and have no fear: he's only a second away, just Beyond the Veil.

*****

susyn:

The dream state is often linked with the afterlife, as our subconscious minds are fully active during both. This can make it easier to connect with other spirits, whether they are still on the earth plane or have crossed over to the other side. It is also the state in which our spirits can astral project and visit each other or explore different places.

Because our intellect is interwoven with our subconscious, it's not unusual to dream of being involved in an activity we might relate to the people who are attempting to connect with us. When my mother passed away, one of the first dreams I had of her involved her calling me on the phone to share a recipe, which is something she often did when she was alive.

It is understandable that you are having a difficult time with your father's passing. Even though you know he is all right and in a better place, it will take time to process his passing and adjust to the loss of physical contact. Things will get easier as time passes, but there will always be a hole in your life that he used to fill.

The good news is that he is still with you; in fact, he is perhaps closer than ever. The dream he sent you in which the two of you were bowling is just one of the many signs he will send to let you know he is okay. Our departed loved ones miss us too. During the times when we feel the saddest, it's comforting to know that our loved ones on the other side are going through the same grieving process.

Watch for coincidences and unexpected events to trigger memories of him, as these are signs he is thinking about you as well. In his spirit form, your father can send you hints that he is near you through familiar scents, the animal world and nature. In some cases, you may feel an unexpected touch or sensation that will let you know he is near, or a complete stranger may say or do something that makes you think of your father.

You may want to visit a psychic channeler so you can talk with him directly. Channelers act as mediums and are able to go back and forth between the spirit world and the earth plane. If you have questions for your father, want assurance that he is okay, or simply want to interact with him, this is a wonderful way to bridge the gap between this world and the afterlife.

The suggestions above can help you adjust as you go through this time of loss, and can affirm that your father is still near you, that he is fine, and that he loves you as much as ever.

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.