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May 3 through May 9, 2021

Mercury will move into its ruling sign of Gemini on Monday, making the start of our week brilliant and insightful! Add an Aquarius Moon on Monday and Tuesday, and we'll be inspired to share, seek out, and absorb new information, details, and innovative ideas. Venus will follow suit on Sunday, moving into the sign of Gemini as well. These two planets will “bookend” a week of thoughtful consideration and the ability to embrace new notions and pathways to our goals. The Moon will wade through Pisces on Wednesday and Thursday, adding spiritual power to all the new ideas we are considering, as well as casting deeper insight into why it's time for a major change. An Aries Moon will hang overhead Friday through Sunday, encouraging us to be creative in how we approach life, where even taking a different path home from work or to the store can revitalize our perception and refresh our view of our day to day lives. The theme is “think different!” And doing so might just bring some surprising revelations to our consciousness!

Earth Magic: Take Action with a Charm Bag, by Dodge Graham McKay

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

I like to think of magical work that involves assembling, building, concocting or creating an item as a form of earth magic. You are the creator responsible for bringing an item into existence as a focal point for your will and desire. You are the manifester, giving form and function to the object you are making.

A charm bag is a quick and effective magical object that you can create for a specific purpose and discreetly carry with you or tuck into a strategic spot in your environment. Creating one gives you a sense of control over a situation and the gratification of taking action to do something about it. It is a hands-on, satisfying way to make a magical item that does not need to take a lot of time or money to create.

Gather the Parts
The magic starts when you begin to assemble the items you will use to make your charm bag. Do this with intent and carefully select the very best materials you can afford and source. Take time to consider your magical footprint on the Earth and make your charm bag as earth-friendly as possible. Try to use natural materials that will biodegrade. Plastic or synthetic materials may be tempting, but they can take hundreds of years to break down or release noxious chemicals if burned. As magical practitioners, we often call on the energy of the earth to perform our spells and rituals, so being conscious of the impact our magic has on the planet seems only fair and responsible.

Your charm bag does not need to be elaborate or complicated in order to be effective. I like to use four components to make mine:

• A small drawstring bag
• Herbs
• A small crystal
• A token to represent your intent

I like to keep the bag fairly small, no more than about 5 cm by 7 cm (2 inches by 3 inches), with a drawstring to close it. You can check your local arts and crafts supply shop or dollar store for these. I can usually find small muslin or cotton bags at these places, or you can sew your own using scraps of cloth.

Herbs should be dried, as fresh herbs can get moldy and soggy in the bag. Whenever possible I like to cut and dry my own herbs from my garden, or I head outside to harvest responsibly from the wild. But that is not always possible, and it is easy to overthink this one. The herbs you have in your kitchen can be equally effective.

The crystals should be small—something no larger than the end of your thumb or even a just a single bead is perfect. If you don't have a suggested crystal you can substitute a simple clear quartz. If shopping for crystals is not for you, head outside to find a pebble in a suitable color or a shape that resonates with you.

Assemble the Bag
Before you assemble your charm bag, take a moment to ground and center yourself. Make every movement intentional and state your intent out loud. Visualize a successful outcome as you work.

Money Charm Bag

• Bay leaf
• Mint leaf
• Small citrine crystal

The key to success with this one is to not be greedy. Visualize what you really need the money for. Write it on the bay leaf and place it in the bag. Add a liberal pinch of dried mint leaves and sprinkle into the bag, imagining each flake as the cash tumbling into your hands. Next, add the citrine. Citrine is a stone of manifestation, and is referred to as an abundance stone or merchant's stone as it attracts money and financial success. Many a witch shop owner have been known to keep a piece of citrine in their cash register. Pro tip: keep a small piece in your wallet!

Grounding Charm Bag

• Sage
• Dirt from home or other place of comfort and security
• Small hematite stone

Collect a spoonful of dirt from outside your home or any other location where you feel absolutely safe and secure. Thank the place for this gift as you collect it. Add the dirt to your bag and follow this with a generous pinch of garden sage. Any culinary sage you may have in your kitchen will work just fine. Take a moment to smell the sage and focus on the smell and texture of the leaves as you do this. After a moment, add the hematite. Hematite has a coolness and stability that connects us to our inner strength, enabling us to securely ground ourselves and feel calm and centred.

Confidence Charm Bag

• A penny or similar coin noted for luck
• Valerian root
• Small carnelian

Select a coin for your bag, preferably one you found (I have been known to root through sofa cushions or all of the pockets of jackets hanging by the door to find a coin). A found coin represents luck and unexpected abundance. Valerian root adds relief from stress and anxiety while cheerful carnelian stimulates motivation and creativity, enhancing confidence. Try sewing your own bag for this, using cloth that is your favourite colour or has sentimental value. Maybe you have a favorite old shirt that you can't wear anymore, or a sentimental textile that can be recycled for this purpose. These personal touches serve as a reminder of who you are and all of the great things of which you are capable.

Healing Charm Bag

• Chamomile and/or lavender
• A small photo or drawing of the person in need of healing
• Small rose quartz

Chamomile is extremely popular as a tea herb, beloved for its soothing qualities. Lavender has a strong, comforting, and evocative fragrance that aids with pain relief and promoting good sleep. Add these to your bag with a piece of rose quartz, a stone of unconditional love and healing, with a strong association to the heart and circulatory system. Take a moment with the photo or drawing and visualize the person as strong and healthy, then slip it into the bag. You may want to change out the herbs for other ones that target the specific illness from which you need relief—mint for stomach upset, turmeric for inflammation, etc.

Protection Charm Bag

• Thorns, thistles or prickly plant matter wildcrafted from your environment
• Black salt (a complete recipe with instructions for making your own black salt can be found in my book, Earth Magic)
• Black tourmaline

Go out for a walk in your environment and seek out plants that have thorns, thistles, bristles, or spikes. Be sure to take some rugged gardening gloves along with you and carefully harvest a small amount of the aggressive, sharp parts of the plant. Look for plants growing along borders and boundary lines and take a moment to appreciate how these fierce guardians grew in these places. Add the plant matter to your bag along with a spoonful of black salt. Drop in the black tourmaline, which will absorb negative energy and protect against psychic attack.

Use Your Bag
Once your bag is complete, you can use it as it, or you may want to ritually charge it by placing it on your altar or in sacred space and focusing your will on it. How you choose to do this is up to you.

Charm bags should be small enough to fit in your pocket, or you may want to wear it on a cord around your neck. You can also place these strategically in relevant spots in your space—a confidence charm bag in your desk at work, or a protection charm bag hanging above your front door, for example. With a little research you can make a charm bag for any purpose.

A charm bag can be held in your hand to help you ground yourself and refocus your magical intent when you need to activate it. If you are not able to physically hold it, try visualizing it: how does it feel or smell? What is its texture? How much does it weigh?

When the Work is Done
When a charm bag has served its purpose and the magic has run its course, you may want to ritually dispose of it. I have a hard time throwing a magical item into a garbage can, so I have a couple tried and true ways to deal with them:

• Bury the used charm bag somewhere where it will not be disturbed, and it can decompose back into the earth. For this reason it is very important to use only biodegradable materials.
• Collect used charm bags and any other spent magical items in a paper bag. Ensure that these are all things that can safely be burned. Items that release noxious fumes, such as plastic items, should be left out of this. Burn the bag outdoors in a bonfire as part of your Samhain celebrations. My coven has a tradition of doing this, and it is a cathartic part of the ceremony. Candle stubs, matchsticks, poppets, papers—all of the earthly reminders of magic and spell work performed over the past year gets sent into the fire.

I hope you give charm bags a try! To learn more about how to incorporate the element of earth into your magic, please check out my new book Earth Magic.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2021. All rights reserved.

My husband of 10 years and I recently divorced. We still love each other, and I would take him back in an instant, but he says he doesn't want me anymore. Other times, however, he has said that he can't be with me right now. I just can't let go because I feel this strong sense of love from him. It feels like he is fighting and denying his real feelings for me. Do you think this is just wishful thinking on my part, or am I perhaps psychically sensing his true feelings? We divorced because he thought I was unfaithful, but I was not. He has built this up in his head, however, and no matter what I say, he just won't believe me. This all started from rumors in our small town that escalated. I just don't know what to do. I know I love him with all my heart, and that he is my soul mate. Can you please help me make heads or tails of this?

- Dorothy

Astrea:

To be honest, most of the time when I'm told by someone that they're sensing another person's true feelings, I shut down. When one person tells another that he doesn't want to be with her, it usually means he doesn't want to be with her. When he says he can't be with her right now, that's just a nice way of saying he doesn't want to be with her ever again.

This time is different, and refreshingly so. You're right: You are NOT imagining things. Your husband has those deep feelings of love for you, and he wants to be with you. He misses you just as you do him. He wishes every day that things were different.

He wants you to get back together, but there are a couple of things preventing that. You're picking up on his true feelings, but he can't act on them because of his pride and his family's perception of you as a cheater.

What can you do? First find out how to go about scheduling a polygraph (lie detector test) so that you can prove that you weren't unfaithful. Surprising (and crazy) as it may be, some people believe science over love every time. Your husband may be one of those people.

Unless he's said, I wouldn't even believe you if you took a lie detector test! he will be open to the idea. His family would certainly change their opinion of you if they were given the results of the test to read for themselves.

It might be expensive, but you'd get your husband back and your family would be reunited forever, so I say it would be well worth whatever it costs.

Since you are living in a small town, after the test is completed and interpreted, it might be worth a little time to compose a letter to the editor of the local town newspaper. Without naming names (but certainly signing your OWN name) you could do a piece on how lies, rumors and gossip destroy families.

I'm sure your local editor would print this for you. Since your business seems to be in the street anyway, you can use this to say that you passed a polygraph test before your friends and family would believe you were telling the truth. Of course, if getting your husband back is your only objective, you don't have to do that, but perhaps you could help another person who is being wrongly accused of doing something he or she hasn't done.

When I was in the first grade, my teacher, Mrs. Jackson, taught us a little song: Gossip, gossip, evil thing! Much unhappiness it brings! If you can't say something nice, don't talk at all is my advice!

I'm thinking the people who live in your small town should learn this little ditty.

*****

Susyn:

I know this must be a frustrating situation for you, as you're pulled between your deep feelings of love and the mixed messages your husband seems to be sending you.

The main issue here seems to be a matter of trust. If your husband couldn't trust your words over the gossip of a small town, and if he continues to cite this as the reason he can't come back to you, there's a chance that he himself was the one who was unfaithful.

Either way, this is not going to be resolved through long discussions and attempts to convince him to come home. If that worked, you wouldn't be divorced right now.

You may be correct in sensing that the love in this relationship is still there, but the most effective way to find out for sure is to step back from the confusion and heartache and approach things in a completely different way.

One of the quickest ways to change another person's mind or actions is to change what you are doing. If you are constantly calling or writing or wanting to connect to discuss things, please stop! Distance and silence will get his attention much faster.

Unless you need to discuss business like money, child support or legal matters, there is no need to be in contact with him. Though this may sound harsh, just keep in mind that what you have been doing simply isn't working.

Instead of chasing him, start to put your own life in order: take a class, exercise more, fill your world with friends and activities, and let the matter of your marriage sit for a while.

I can assure you that if you do this and the love between you and your ex-husband is still there, you will hear from him shortly. He'll want to know what you're up to.

This is a good sign, and at this point, I would recommend you be vague, brief and try not to give him too much information, because if he knows what you are doing on a regular basis, he'll relax and not worry about you, and he won't take any action to reconnect.

I not promoting manipulation or game-playing here, but I will say that until you can restore your own spirit, well-being, and sense of personal power, this merry-go-round you are on will go on indefinitely.

If you do this and your ex-husband doesn't come around, you've got a head start on building a new life and recreating yourself so that you can attract a healthy new love if that is your heart's desire.

So please don't spend any more time playing let's-make-a-deal with your ex. If his love for you is true, then as soon as you start really living your life, he'll realize that he better rise to the occasion or risk losing you to someone else.

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.