- Weekly Astrological Forecast for September 28 through October 4, 2026Continue reading →

September 28 through October 4, 2026
We just have one astrological event this week, when Mercury moves into Scorpio on Wednesday. When the planet of communication and thought moves into spiritual territory, we’ll find ourselves intrigued by the paranormal and hidden mysteries of life, so feel free to explore the depths of the unknown for the next few weeks. As is fairly typical, Monday and Tuesday’s Taurus Moon will ground and direct us, making these the two most productive days of the week. Socializing, communication, and in-depth research are themes as the Moon moves through Gemini from Wednesday through Friday. Even though a calming Cancer Moon rules over the weekend, take note that Venus will be turning retrograde on Saturday, where it will travel backward for the next 18 months or so. We’ll be inspired to revise our thoughts and expectations regarding the people we love, the work we aspire to, and the lessons we have learned from past relationships.
- Mysteries of the Aura: A Timeless Practice Can Change Your LifeContinue reading →

Mysteries of the Aura: A Timeless Practice Can Change Your Life, by Jean-Louis de Biasi
(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)
I belong to a family of teachers, farmers, clergymen, and nuns; spiritual and educational pursuits have always been central in my life. I know that I didn't descend into this physical body randomly, and I have always felt this safe balance between the physical and spiritual worlds. I was lucky to be initiated into respectable traditions and to receive full authority in famous traditions. Today, I am using this unique heritage to reveal hidden realities and help everyone improve their hidden abilities.
The aura has fascinated me for a very long time. I was raised in a Catholic family, and I can recall countless representations of the Holy Family and saints surrounded by golden halos. The clergy teaching us these stories stated that it was a mark of holiness—nothing more, nothing less. That explanation was enough for me at that time. Strangely, I didn’t challenge this assertion.
When I was about ten years old, I started to hear stories about this strange light. I discovered some magazines about the existence of these bodies of light. And I began to find meaning in the colors I saw from time to time when I watched people through squinted eyes. I remember even seeing a strange pulsating light surrounding one of my cats while he was sleeping. I always felt it was a natural perception.
My knowledge of auras began with these spontaneous experiences and continued as an adolescent when I created a parapsychology group; the purpose of this group was to explore our inner abilities and these hidden realities. I started to explore the different levels of the aura (which I present in Mysteries of the Aura). A few years later, I discovered the work of famous theosophists and Eastern traditions. They confirmed what I was exploring, even if some details were explained differently.
Mysteries of the Aura is based on my experiences and my explorations. Instead of being a compilation, it is a progressive method that you can use to unlock this wonderful ability that everyone possesses. I strongly believe that teaching must be based on techniques. It is quite easy and important to give you a theoretical and cultural presentation of the aura, which you will find in the book. However, I consider it essential to also give you the keys to see for yourself and use this ability. What could be the point to simply explain how the world is to a blind person if I know how to give him the sight? Of course, it takes time and persistence, but it works. Mastering this ability goes well beyond the simple aura reading and can change your life and afterlife.
All over the world, various representations reveal some aspects of these bodies of light. For this article, I chose a few examples from different spiritual traditions. Once you've read it, I invite you to start your practice with an exercise accessible to all levels.
As I already mentioned, in the Christian tradition, a halo of light surrounds the heads of the Holy Family and the saints. Sometimes Mary or Jesus is placed in the center of a radiant mandorla. With this representation (below), eight angels with musical instruments surround the aura to symbolically represent the high level of spirituality. Music also indicates the presence of vibrations that are not visible to the naked eye. Additionally, the number eight is one of the highest spiritual planes of the hermetic tradition. It is interesting to know that this original sculpture was painted with bright colors.
Another representation comes from the Italian Renaissance (below), which shows various strata of light around the head of the angel. Anyone who explores these zones of the aura can validate the accuracy of this painting. It is important to remember that they are not just an expression of art. This part of the body is often represented as it is the location of one of the brightest chakras (wheel of energy) of our spiritual body.
Another instance from the Christian Gospel is the Pentecost, the artwork depicting which show the manifestation of the Holy Spirit in an assembly with the apostles. The symbolic depiction uses the image of a flame placed above the head. Putting the theological interpretation aside, this symbolic representation is very well illustrated on this 16th century tapestry.
It is fascinating to compare the latter with images of the Eastern tradition. In the Buddhist tradition, statues of the Master Buddha are often represented with a halo surrounding his head, the third eye visible, and a flame above the head. This statue from the 16th century is indicative of these representations. In several other examples, his hair is twisted into a bun. This artistic convention is more than that, as it symbolizes this flame of energy.
When I was 18, I travelled to Egypt for the first time, and had the experience of seeing the amazing artifacts found in Tutankhamun's tomb. Several chapels surround the sarcophagus that holds the mummy of the king. The reliefs that are the most important for this topic can be found on the outer panels of the second funeral chapel, with several scenes coming from the Book of the Dead. On one of them, we can see three rays coming from the sun and entering the forehead of the first figure. There are four other figures which represent mummies. Each one has a star at the top of the head. Each star is linked by these three rays of light.
Farther on the same panel, the three rays of light are vertical, going from the top of a five-pointed star and the sun, down to the feet. Following the scenes, we find goddesses inhaling the three rays of light and spreading the same light from their hands onto the head of a snake. The five-pointed star and the sun are represented here in their low bellies.
The last representation on the wall of this chapel that I want to mention is the oldest representation of the ouroboros. One is wrapped around the legs of the mummy and the other around the head. A circle in the middle of the mummy contains the image of a bird, representing the "ba" (the "soul"). As for the serpent, it is linked to the cosmic energy of life.
The Hindu and Eastern yoga traditions have similar representations of the aura, of the channels of energy called nadis, and the chakras. (An extensive explanation of these bodies of energy can be found in Mysteries of the Aura.) However, I want to bring your attention to the chakra of the head, the one at the base of the spine, and the three main nadis connecting them while crossing the five other chakras. The main pathway following the vertical axis of the spine is called Sushumna Nadi. Two others important nadis are intertwined with Sushumna, called Ida and Pingala. One starts from the left nostril (Ida) and the other one from the right nostril (Pingala). Some descriptions show these two nadis spiraling around the center axis and crossing each other on the chakras. Others show the three channels as vertical and parallel. This is the one we will use in today's practice. Being able to see the aura will give you the opportunity to observe these channels of energy and the circulation of the latter. Working with this energy is important and uses various techniques. Among them are breathing techniques called pranayama, which are associated with visualizations and movements (Asanas).
As you can see, all these representations depict the same reality, even if the artistic style is different, and in all these spiritual traditions (whether from the East or the West), they are more than simple images. They are symbols that also describe a specific spiritual process. Wise men and priests were able to directly see the bodies of light and their connection to the cosmic energy. Using symbolic representations was a way to give us essential keys to activate our own energy.
Following the gradual exercises provided in Mysteries of the Aura will help you in this exploration and the energy work you will perform. However, I want to invite you to experiment right now with a simple way to feel your aura and activate energy centers. You can extend and deepen this exercise with a recording I prepared for you .
This practice is structured in three parts: relaxation and breathing, perception of your aura, and activation of your energy centers.
Part One
For this first practice, I recommend that you be seated. Your back should be straight and your spine vertical. Your hips and shoulders should be well balanced. Your feet must be flat on the floor, legs parallel.Close your eyes and breathe normally. Observe your breathing, the movement of your chest, the air flowing in and out. Be aware of your physical body. While observing your breathing, scan each part of your body. This simple process should start a state of relaxation and peace.
Continue this observation for a few minutes, but don't exceed 5 minutes. From time to time, come back to the awareness of your physical body and your breathing before moving to the next step.
Part Two
You'll begin to feel a light vibration around the surface of your skin. When you get this feeling, extend your breath, keeping the same rhythm.You may perceive that a subtle part of you is expanding, changing size and shape. Follow this perception without exceeding 5 minutes.
Then, imagine you are at the center of an ovoid made of light. Let the color manifest to you in a spontaneous way. As you will see, a single color, sometimes two, will appear in your mind. This is not an astral vision per se, as you haven't yet followed the gradual training. Nevertheless, this is a true manifestation of the current main color of your aura. Focus on this color for a few seconds as a simple pleasure, avoiding any interpretation. Use your breath to make this color brighter and slightly larger.
Part Three
Move your awareness to your lower belly and to a center located four or five inches below the surface of your skin.Imagine a golden sphere pulsating and a five-pointed star at the center of it. Take the time to see and feel the presence of this sphere of energy. If you already practice creative visualization, you can add the presence of the ouroboros at the surface of the sphere.
After a few minutes of focusing on these perceptions, inhale, and exhale. During the exhalation visualize three parallel channels of energy rising from this center up to the center of your head. Inhale moving again your focus on your low belly. Repeat this sequence three times. The second and the third times will help you to draw more energy in the channels you created the first time.
Place your focus at the center of your head, more precisely the pineal gland. Think about this center for a few minutes. Feel the energy flowing. Then build a sphere of bright golden light around your head. After a few breaths, keep the light and dissolve the edges of the sphere, revealing the light shining as a bright halo.
Just above the surface of your head, visualize the manifestation of a flame, similar to the flame of an altar candle, burning without any movement or sound. This is a pure concentrated flame of energy shining on a different level of vibration.
Progressively open your consciousness to encompass a larger zone around your body. As you continue to breathe regularly and deeply while staying in your state of relaxation, feel the shining rays of light. You may progressively combine this brightness with the first main color you previously felt intensifying its brightness.
Without exceeding five minutes, keep this perception while continuing to breath. Then come back to the movement of your chest and the movement of the air entering and leaving your lungs. Progressively, come back to your physical body and open your eyes. Remember to take some notes about your experience.
This practice gives you a glimpse of several exercises you can find in my book. You should know that seeing aura is an art, but it can also be deceiving. Fortunately, there are simple ways to avoid delusions (various methods for that are explained in the book). Seeing the aura opens to a fascinating exploration of who you are, even unveiling hidden parts of yourself. Moving forward in your apprenticeship, you will become an actor and able to work on your bodies of energy. You will even be ready to help others who asked for your support. Eventually, this gradual process increases your state of consciousness and opens to you a spiritual path of freedom!
Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2023. All rights reserved.
- Double Vision: Binding Estranged Husband from Practicing Black MagickContinue reading →

My marriage was arranged by my parents some 35 years ago. My husband and I have been separated for the past nine years but are not yet divorced because he won't agree to it. We live continents apart. Initially, my parents were not agreeable to the marriage. Then all of a sudden they agreed, and before I could even blink my eyes, I was married. My husband admitted that he manipulated everything with the help of the occult. My family never believed in that sort of thing, but now my mother believes that some sort of black magic is being used in this. My husband says the reason he pushed for this marriage was family vengeance. Is it possible to bind someone you believe is trying to control you with black magic? No prayers, meditations or other spiritual efforts seem to help me to end this miserable situation. Thank you! I do value and appreciate your help very much.
S.
Astrea:
I've studied the power of magick with a sick fascination for many years, so I wholly recognize the power it can exert over people around the world. It sounds like magick is involved in your story, even if only in your husband's mind. He was probably brought up to believe in that kind of thing.
You know that old phrase, Seeing is believing? I always think more along the lines of Believing is seeing. When a person takes on a victim mentality, they experience being victimized. Your husband has no power over you other than the power you GIVE him.
Going back to your description of what happened when you were first married to this man, I see it's highly likely that your parents were bribed into agreeing to the marriage with a large sum of money. Your mother is now revising history by choosing to blame evil magic instead of coming clean. Perhaps she's even forgotten the bride price they were given for you. It's possible, for people often block painful experiences and shameful choices from their conscious memory.
Your husband only told you that he used the occult AFTER you asked him. He would do anything and say anything to get you to be with him again. If he thinks you'll believe you are under his spell, he will say he has cast a spell! His story about family vengeance is a pretty thin lie, and not very creative. I guess it was the best he could come up with at the time.
This is an unfortunate case of vicious manipulation. While you ARE a victim in this situation, by dropping the victim mentality, you can set yourself free. Your husband manipulated your parents with money, which makes them feel ashamed. This is why they haven't told you about what really happened. Now your husband is manipulating you with the disturbing thought that you could be controlled with black magick.
If you can't get past the idea that you're being controlled, you might as well work with it. Here is a protective bath to take on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays to break this supposed spell.
Mix three drops of magnolia oil, five drops of lemon verbena oil, two teaspoons of sugar, one teaspoon of salt, and three tablespoons of chopped fresh parsley in a pint of beer. Say the Lord's Prayer three times, and ask the Holy Mother to help you bind your husband to do no harm to another. Say a blessing of your own making for your husband's prosperity and enlightenment. Draw a bath and pour the mixture over your head in three parts. Repeat this process for two weeks.
Most important of all, tell your husband that you are working some powerful magick of your own to un-hex yourself. That should do it!
2614
Susyn:
There are two rituals you can use to alter this situation: one to stop the emotional and physical power he holds over you, and another to bind his ability to continue holding you hostage. These rituals will also work to strengthen your spirit and your own resolve to move forward.
In essence, you are already free from this man, for you've been living apart for nine years now. So on some levels, you are already well on your way to being rid of this whole miserable situation. When a relationship breaks up, there are four aspects that you have to disengage from: physical, emotional, mental and spiritual.
Since you believe that his curse still has power over you, you still need to work on freeing yourself from this man emotionally, intellectually and spiritually.
To disengage from him emotionally, you will want to perform a freezing ritual. This will eliminate his ability to upset and control you.
Gather together a white candle, a piece of brown paper (a lunch sack or grocery bag will work), a sandwich-size Zip-loc baggie and some salt. Light the candle and say a prayer to be free of his emotional control, then tear off a small piece of the brown paper, two or three inches wide and long, and write his name on it. Fold the paper and place it in the bag. Sprinkle in a few grains of salt, and then fill the bag two-thirds full of water. Seal it and place it in your freezer. By the time it freezes, you should feel more emotionally balanced.
Next you can perform a ritual to clear all the ties he has over you. You will need a blue candle, three five-inch lengths of cord or twine, a pair of scissors, and a small bowl filled halfway with water.
Light the candle and lay the three lengths of cord in front of you. Place the water bowl to your left. Say a prayer to cut the ties with your husband. Pick up the first piece of cord and cut it in half with the scissors as you speak these words,
I sever all communication and intellectual ties with this man.
Place the two sections of the cut cord into the water bowl.Repeat this ritual with the second piece of cord, saying out loud,
I sever all emotional ties with this man.
Again, place the cords into the water bowl. With the third and final cord, cut it in half while saying aloud,I sever all spiritual ties with this man, and call my personal power back to me.
Blow out the candle, pour out the water, and wrap the cords in plastic wrap or foil before you dispose of them to bind him and keep him away from you. Once these rituals are completed, Spirit will begin to guide you on how to permanently eliminate this man from your life.
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.
