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March 7 through March 13, 2022

Mercury joins the Sun in Pisces this week, adding to the spiritual if somewhat ethereal energy to the week. Monday will prove our most productive day under the Taurus Moon, so get as much out of the way as you can. The Moon will dance through Gemini Tuesday through Thursday, making us more prone to socializing and chatting mid-week. As Mercury moves into Pisces on Wednesday, most of our discussions will be centered on spirituality, the occult, and the supernatural. Once the Moon exits Gemini and wades into Cancer, we'll have two more days of watery energy on Friday and Saturday. The fog will finally begin to lift on Sunday when the Moon moves into Aries and restores our energy and drive, though we may decide to channel that into restoring balance rather than charging out to run a marathon or paint the house!

The Checklist: A Most Unexpectedly Powerful Magical Tool, by Durgadas Allen Duriel

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Though magic may appear to be about fancy paraphernalia and items collected from hidden places in distant lands, my experience is that some of the most powerful magical items are highly practical and in plain sight in our everyday lives. For example, one of the most potent magical tools I've encountered is found in the personal productivity section of bookstores: a daily checklist. In this context, it's a checklist with areas for tracking my ritual and meditation practice each day, both in terms of whether I completed them and how well I performed them.

I know that even the notion of this may seem extreme to some of you, and I relate. I began practicing magic in childhood, and by the time I had something resembling a formal practice, I was a rebellious, anti-authority teenager. The idea of having a spiritual practice be anything other than spontaneous and self-directed horrified me. At some point though, through a series of synchronistic events, I began an intensive daily Hatha Yoga practice and experienced the benefits of spiritual discipline. Soon after, I initiated into a Hermetic order, where I was also encouraged to have a daily practice, this time of ritual and meditation, and which presented me with the checklist to aid with that.

I don't remember what I thought of the checklist at first, or whether I attributed any significance to it, but as I began checking off my rituals and meditations each day, I felt momentum building around my actions. Once I reached certain critical points, like six months of daily meditation, I was confident that I could maintain and expand my level of practice. Due in no small part to the checklist, I've meditated every day for over 15 years, and I've kept a daily checklist as long, with the contents changing a bit as what I decide to monitor varies.

In most spiritual traditions (as well as in psychology) there is an awareness that when we attempt to make changes in our lives, part of us resists. On the one hand, we're creatures of habit, and altering our status quo will inevitably provoke resistance because of that. Beyond that though, there's also a part of us that fears change because it doesn't know what it can predict from new conditions, especially grand frontier change like what can accompany a daily spiritual practice. This part of us is often called the ego in spiritual traditions, and its number one priority is making sure that we don't veer far from our status quo and comfort zone, even if that comfort zone is decidedly uncomfortable.

As long as we don't stray much from our routines and patterns, we won't tend to encounter much ego resistance, but when we do, it becomes noticeable. Most of us experience this when setting New Year's resolutions and realizing that even something that seems totally healthy, like exercising regularly or eating better, can provoke significant resistance within us. It's actually quite difficult to make sustainable, healthy changes in our lives, even in honor of realizing our dreams, because the ego resists them.

In my new book, The Little Work: Magic to Transform Your Everyday Life, I explore this topic in-depth and provide a host of strategies for dealing with this issue, but fundamental to that process is maintaining our awareness of our behavior. Have you ever had the experience of setting a goal or intention only to blink your eyes and realize months have gone by and you've barely thought of it? That's how sneaky the ego can be when it resists something, but with the magic of a checklist, we never fully lose our awareness of what we intend because we've held space for it in our lives. We see, day after day, if we're doing what we said we would or not.

Another reason the checklist is powerful is that it's an objective form of measure. Though there can be acceptable reasons not to do what we said we would, a pattern of that is a problem, and it's invaluable, especially over time, to see trends in our behavior. Maybe there are certain times of year when when tend to waver in our practice, for example. This holds for tracking our level of focus, too. For instance, maybe we maintain our daily meditation practice, but our level of concentration within it has been lackluster for months. Without a checklist, we may simply move along oblivious to that, or that it's such a trend. Recognizing that I wasn't showing up to my practices with as much attentiveness as I once did was what inspired me to integrate this evaluation process with my checklist, and since doing that, I've consistently practiced with a higher degree of attentiveness.

While keeping a checklist, it's important to mind being realistic with what we intend to do and track, and to be compassionate with ourselves throughout the process of our inner work. The point of this isn't to stare at a blank checklist day after day and feel guilty or ashamed because we haven't done something we know is good for us or want to do. If that's what we keep finding ourselves doing, it usually means we overestimated our capacity and would benefit from scaling back. For example, if a daily ritual and meditation practice is too much for us now, how about a small ritual daily and meditation once a week? In my experience, it's far easier and more sustainable to start small and build than to strain ourselves and falter only to give up completely (which many of us have experienced with New Year's resolutions).

That said, even though we may feel uncomfortable looking at our performance level, it's important to be able to accept the reality of where we are in our practice. When we admit and accept where we are, we can strategize doing something to help ourselves live more in alignment with our intentions. That's unlikely to happen if we allow ourselves to consistently make excuses for not doing what we said we would, and after a certain point, the excuses become flimsy. This is a moment when it can be helpful to remind ourselves why doing what we said we would (in general and in particular) is important to us, ideally in a documented form we can revisit and add to later if need be.

Without the aid of a checklist, I have little doubt that magic and meditation wouldn't have been part of my daily life for over fifteen years. I imagine at some point, perhaps many, I would've come up with reasons not to prioritize my practice, and it would've faded from my awareness only for me to hit the start of a new year and resolve to practice again. Because of persevering with my practice, I can confidently say that I've experienced vistas of consciousness and flowerings of magic that were unknown to me before, some even beyond the scope of what I had imagined was possible for myself.

Since beginning my daily practice, more conventional magical tools have come and gone, and when I think about what has contributed the most to my practice, it's the checklist: the most surprising, ordinary-seeming yet super powerful tool in my kit. I can't recommend it highly enough, and your checklist can be composed of whatever you feel it would be beneficial for you to track.

Here are some ideas:

• Ritual practice
• Meditation practice
• Full and New moon observance
• Tarot readings or other divination readings
• Reading goals
• Health goals

To make a checklist like this, create a document that has a table with the days of the month on the top row, and the items to track in one column on the left. Then, as the month progresses, check off the items as you complete them. Remember to be kind to yourself during this process, and that the purpose of this checklist is to sustain your awareness and help you stay motivated, not to cause you to feel badly about yourself. This is about helping us live in alignment with our intentions, which is one of the most magical things we can do.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2020. All rights reserved.

Do you believe that praying for those who have passed away has an effect on them? Do spirits find comfort in the prayers of the living? Do they know we love them?

Heather

Susyn:

I absolutely believe that praying for our deceased loved ones has an effect on them, and that they deeply appreciate it. We can always connect with the spirits of those who have passed, though it is sometimes difficult to know if they can hear us. Whether we pray for them, converse with them, or simply grieve for them, we are connecting with them on a spiritual level.

Some people believe that when we die, we cross over into heaven, where all our problems are solved or left behind on the earth plane for others to deal with. Nothing could be further from the truth: If we pass over with unresolved issues, negative feelings, resentments or regrets, we will be required to continue working on them in the spiritual dimension.

It is helpful to send departed loved ones our prayers to help them with all of this. Though health and financial problems have been left behind, emotional and spiritual ailments still need to be healed. Keep in mind that it is more difficult to work on these issues from the other side, so our prayers for our loved ones are greatly appreciated.

Think of a prayer as a ball of energy. When we say a prayer for someone else, we ask for things that would be in their best interests. Every time we channel our attention toward something, it grows stronger. This is how our prayers help people who have crossed over to move forward; our prayers give them a sense of strength and energy so that they can do what they need to do.

Praying for the dead is no different than praying for someone in a foreign country who is fighting a war or suffering from a health problem. Whether they can see or hear us or not, the prayers we send help them in ways we might never imagine.

If you have recently lost a loved one, you are most likely praying that they have made it to the other side safely, that they are all right. You can rest assured that any health problems and physical pain they suffered have been completely left behind. If you know of other specific concerns, you can focus on those. For example, if they left unfinished business with a loved one or were in conflict with a relative when they passed, you may want to pray that the issues of their heart are resolved.

As you pray, remember to include moments of silence in your thoughts, for often our loved ones will reach out and try to communicate with us when we are focusing on them. You may be surprised at what they have to say!

While our friends and family who have passed away do know that we love them, through prayer, we can actively remind them of how much we treasure and miss them.

*****

Oceania:

Your question triggered a memory from my college days. I had a psychology professor with a perpetual twinkle in his eye. He was kind, humble and humorous, and his lectures were always captivating. When they ended, spontaneous applause would sometimes erupt. On one such occasion, he shouted, I don't need your approval! Then he smiled and added, ...but I sure do enjoy it!

I think your departed loved ones would say something very similar. Their perspective is now one of greater wisdom and understanding, so while they don't need your prayers, they sure do enjoy them! An added bonus is that your prayers are good for YOU! We have countless options for where to focus our mental attention in any given moment, and some are better for us than others. Whereas worry and regret pull us down, loving thoughts uplift us and support our well-being.

When my elderly father first got satellite TV, he would sit back and use his remote to flip through the hundreds of available channels to see which program he'd like to watch. He complained that he was at the mercy of too many options because by the time he got through them all, the hour was over. I suggested that he proactively choose a genre like sports, religion, old movies or news, and narrow his search within that field. This is similar to narrowing the focus of our mental field and then choosing exactly what to think about. Counting our blessings, affirming and envisioning our desires, and prayer are all premium channels of thought!

As I was getting to know my retired neighbor, she shared with me that on most days, she writes a letter of gratitude by hand on pretty stationary. She adorns the envelope with a Love stamp and cheerful stickers before dropping it in the snail mailbox. Sometimes she writes to family and friends, but more often she writes to people she doesn't know in order to thank them for affecting her life in a positive way. She has written to the president and other officials, to the local library and fire station, and even to authors of books she has read.

If she asked me, as you did, whether I thought her letters mattered to those on the receiving end, I would say, Of course! I'm confident her recipients, like those who hear your prayers, sincerely appreciate her efforts.

I also think that the person who benefits most from the process is her! Pausing to give thanks through letters or prayers is one of the best things we can do for our spiritual and emotional health, so carry on! Your departed loved ones want you to make the most of your remaining time on earth.

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.