KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

December 27, 2021 through January 2, 2022

As 2021 comes to a close, we can be thankful for a challenging year and all the lessons and gifts that came with the struggles. Thanks to Monday and Tuesday's Libra Moon, it will be easier to review the past 12 months from a positive perspective, as well as inspiring us all to anticipate a much brighter future! Jupiter will move into Pisces on Tuesday, ending the year on a more spiritual and promising note. In the sign of Pisces, this planet is all about generating karmic gifts and restoring our lives to a better form than they were before this year started. We can count on Jupiter to bring things back into balance and raise the bar in 2022! Wednesday and Thursday's Scorpio Moon makes these days ideal for mapping out a plan of action or making those New Year resolution lists we all like to create. Striving for a better way of living by setting out your intentions is always a wonderful way to start a new year! Here's to a fabulous 2022 and having life restored to even better form than it was prior to the pandemic!

An Introduction to Natural Skincare, by Helene Berton

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

My first contact with natural cosmetics was during a course on essential oils, more than ten years ago. Though it was about the therapeutic uses of essential oils, some words were said about some of oils that are beneficial for the skin.

I made my first trial with a mix of vegetable and essential oils as skin care oil for my face. I liked it very much; the effect on my skin, the price (compared to a conventional cosmetic product), and the fact that it is not only totally natural but also very simple to prepare and to use.

Then, questions arose: Which vegetable oils and essential oils can be used on skin? Which ones are useful for skincare? What are the specific properties of the various oils? Which proportion of each of them is the best? And the vegetable butters? And the hydrosols? And what else, still keeping things simple, can be used?

That is how I decided to write my book, The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care. I wanted to collect and reassemble answers to these questions and others that arose during my research.

After more than a decade of experimenting, training, researching, and teaching and writing on the subject, my motto remains: efficient, natural, and simple.

I stay faithful to skin care oils (versus creams or lotions) because they are easy to prepare, with very few manipulations and few ingredients, and they are easy to store and to use. For me, the less transformation, the better!

People often ask me which vegetable and essential oils they should choose. It is not necessarily an easy question, as it depends on the person's skin type, age, and the effect sought. For a good start, here are some tips that use affordable, easy to find ingredients:

• For young, oily skin, jojoba vegetable oil and rosemary ct. verbenone essential oil can be a good choice, as they regulate the sebum production of the skin.
• For acne, I would choose jojoba oil with palmarosa and ylang ylang essential oils. Those two last oils can also be used, pure, right on pimples and blemishes. The antibacterial properties of palmarosa and the anti-inflammatory properties of ylang ylang one are helpful to that condition.
• For dry skin, avocado oil is very nourishing and well absorbed, and myrrh essential oil helps prevent dehydration of the skin.
• For mature skin, rosehip vegetable oil has good regenerating properties, as does helichrysum essential oil.
• For sensitive skin, macadamia vegetable oil is a good choice, as is with chamomile (German or Roman) essential oil (both have soothing properties).

Usually, a very small amount of essential oil is added to the vegetable oil (usually 0.5 % to 1%); that is about 5 to 10 drops of an essential oil for an ounce of vegetable oil.

Once you have chosen, prepared, and tried your first skin care oil, you can begin to experiment; you can choose a second vegetable or essential oil that you add to your preparation or use to replace another one you do not like that much. And so, small touch by small touch, you can customize the skin care oil that suits you the best. There is no need to have a preparation made of ten vegetable oils and the same number of essential oils; usually, up to four of each is more than enough, and fewer can be excellent as well.

In the same fashion, it is also possible to modulate the ingredients according to the season. For example, some more nourishing oils can be used during dry weather and lighter ones can be more suitable on hot or moist season.

You will likely buy the new ingredients you have not yet experimented with in small amounts; keep in mind that if you do not like them as skin care oils, you can still use them in other ways. For example, you can use the vegetable oils on your dry skin (legs, hands, etc.), as a makeup remover, or as hair treatment. For the essential oils, if you like the smell, they can perfume a room or a car. As they have therapeutic properties, you can also save them for that use, if needed.

As mentioned in The Essential Guide to Natural Skin Care, it is good to make you preparation in a small amount (for example, 1/3 or ½ fl. oz.). This way, it is easier to make adjustments if needed. Keep any unmixed vegetable and essential oils in the refrigerator; the cool, dark environment will help to preserve them longer.

These skin care oil mixtures are the simplest, natural way of taking care of your skin.

You can also experiment simple recipes made with hydrosols. Hydrosols come from the steam used to distillate plants; this steam condenses into water as it is cooled at the end of the distillation process. Hydrosols contain part of the aromatic molecules of the plants, and can have the aromatic composition of the essential oil extracted from the same plant, or they can have a more or less different one—it depends on the plant processed. They also contain some of the elements that are otherwise extracted by doing an infusion: minerals, oligo-elements, acids, etc. That explains why there are hydrosols, with cosmetics and therapeutic properties, produced from plants that are not aromatic.

For a long time, most hydrosols were seen as waste by-products of the production of essential oils and thrown away (with the exception of a few, like rose or orange blossom hydrosols). More and more, their therapeutic and cosmetic properties and values are being considered, and it is getting easier to find them.

Hydrosols are much cheaper, at equal volume, than essential oils. Unfortunately, being aqueous, they do not preserve as well and as long as essential oils (1 to 3 years), and need to be kept in the refrigerator. Their short shelf-life also makes them not as easy as to find as essential oils. They are usually used in bigger volumes and are sold as such, making the shipping weight and fees higher than for essential oils. All that also limits the affordability of hydrosols produced from plants only available in very far countries.

However, it is still possible to find true hydrosols, even if not as many as desired. They can be used as toner or hair rinse, or to make creams. They are also very good as mouthwash.

Below are some good hydrosols to be used if making mouthwash:

• Helichrysum is regenerating for the gums, healing, and anti-inflammatory (note: do not use right after a mouth surgery, as it is an anticoagulant.)
• Mountain savory, thyme (thymol type), cinnamon bark, oregano, or scarlet bee balm (also called Canadian bergamot—thymol type) all have anti-infectious properties Mountain savory, thyme (thymol type), cinnamon bark, oregano, or scarlet bee balm (also called Canadian bergamot—thymol type) all have anti-infectious properties (be careful, these hydrosols are irritating to the tissues when used pure. It is suggested to have a maximum of 30% of them if used in a mouthwash)
• Common sage is an astringent, regenerating for the gums, and anti-infectious
• Laurel is anti-infectious, anti-inflammatory, and an analgesic (very good on gums that are sensitive and that hurt)
• Peppermint is good to add for taste

You can use a single hydrosol (as long as it is not mountain savory, thyme, cinnamon, or Canadian bergamot), or you can mix more; two hydrosols are generally mixed fifty-fifty and three of them are usually mixed in thirds (or 40/40/20 if peppermint is your third choice), depending on the desired effect. (For example, gingivitis is the inflammation and degeneration of the gums caused by bacteria. Thyme plus common sage could be a good choice for that condition, and a little bit of peppermint would improve the taste.) Again, as with your other mixtures, experiment and adapt your recipe to your needs and taste. These mixtures provide a very efficient, alcohol-free mouthwash.

If you decide to prepare a mouthwash with several hydrosols, the best thing to do is to make a mix in a separate bottle that you leave on the bathroom counter for daily use. Keep the remaining unmixed hydrosols in their original containers in the refrigerator.

There are thousands of other uses for these wonderful ingredients, but a simple article could not begin to explain them all. While there are many other vegetable ingredients that can be used for cosmetic purposes, these are some that I know and love best. The above recipes and ingredients are intended to help you begin exploring natural ingredients and help you switch to simple, natural products for your daily cosmetic routine. Begin simply, one product at a time. Little by little, you will widen the range of products you can make and use.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2013. All rights reserved.

My father has a disease - alcoholism. He has been drinking for many, many years. I love my father greatly, and believe he is a good man despite this condition. I am wondering if he will ever stop. What makes a person choose to be an alcoholic in a given lifetime? What spiritual lessons are being learned by them? What are their loved ones supposed to be learning? How do we handle the many challenges of living with and loving an addict? Thank you very much for your answer.
Maggie

Dreamchaser:

Maggie, I am so glad you asked this question. So many people's lives are touched by alcoholism or drug addiction; we need to discuss it. We need to say it out loud. So many times we keep secrets in our homes and think that no one from the outside can see. We are wrong. Everyone knows when a house is broken, and talking about it can possibly heal wounds or help someone.

The one question I am asked most in this column and in psychic readings is Why would someone choose THAT as a lesson? I have no idea why we even choose to come to live as humans on Planet Earth. I have read that we are the bravest of all souls because we DO choose to come here and learn our lessons the hard way. When there is addiction in our families, each person learns something different and personal to them.

I can only speak for myself. I learned from having an alcoholic father that I could not have someone's bad behavior as a constant in my life, and that I cannot fix anyone besides myself. I did not speak to my father for nine years. I kept trying to fix him, and I would get upset when I couldn't. I tried to be perfect so he would be happy. I would feel like a failure when he was not. The list goes on and on - you know it well. In the separation time, I learned to like myself. That was MY lesson. My brother learned something entirely different. We each have our own lessons to learn, Maggie. There is not just ONE answer.

You are a DO-er too. You want to do something. You keep thinking that there must be something you can DO to make this change. You think if you could just say the right thing, maybe he would stop drinking. Maggie, you could not be more wrong. There is NOTHING you can do to change him or the situation. You have to do for yourself and yourself alone. Until he is ready, he will not quit. It is quite possible that he will never quit. He sees his life laying in ruin and that makes him just drink more. Maggie, one of your lessons is that you cannot do anything here. You are powerless over everything except your own reactions.

Have you tried an intervention with your father? Have you gotten everyone who loves him together in one room so you all can tell him how his addictions affect you and your lives? I know of a few people who had to be shown their actions. Your father does not mean to hurt people. He is a nice man. I suggest you try to put an intervention together. Yes, he will be furious, but it just might help. There are so many that love him. Ask them to help you.

I wish you peace.

*****

Astrea:

I have some personal answers for you. Will your dad ever quit? I see him quitting a number of times over the next ten years. I honestly see him seeking help for this about a year from now, so don't give up hope. He really will begin to try to find his way because HE wants to. I see a tragedy happening in his life that is going to cause him to wake up and have a change of heart. Sometimes it takes a shock. I see hope for your dad in the coming months. Your dad has a chance to evolve away from this slavery and move towards Enlightenment, and he'll take it.

Why would your dad choose to be this way during this incarnation? In the lifetime before this one, your father did some terrible things. I can't give that information to you, but he should seek it. It would help him understand what he's trying to drown out with the alcohol. He doesn't even know why he drinks, because it's a carryover from a past life when his Spirit made some bad choices. Your dad's Spirit is so sensitive that when those past life memories and feelings start to rise, he drinks to push them down again.

As for how to deal with your dad, try compassion. Christians might suggest that you treat your dad the way you would treat Jesus if he dropped by and had too much to drink. Instead of asking yourself, What Would Jesus Do? ask yourself, What would I do for Jesus if HE was my Dad? If you're Pagan, how would you care for the Yule King if he had too much to drink? Try to find compassion. This is YOUR path to Enlightenment, too.

Addiction is a terrible problem, whether the person is addicted to drugs, alcohol or even drama. The person who suffers from the addiction sometimes has no idea what he puts his friends and family through when he is using.

You do NOT have to be victimized by anyone's addiction, your dad's included. Of course you love him; he's your Daddy! I know you want to help him through this, but you're dealing with something that only he can control.

Fortunately, you have a lot of options to help you deal with your dad's problem. Give Alanon a try. They have meetings available wherever there is a chapter of Alcoholics Anonymous, and they are listed in the white pages of your telephone book. Even if you don't like it the first time, try more than one meeting. They can give you lots of information about some of the ways you can try to help your dad, but most of all, being around other people who are facing the same challenge will help you deal with all of this in a more positive way.

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.