KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

May 10 through May 16, 2021

With the Sun traveling through Taurus and a new Moon occurring in this sign on Tuesday, it's time for us to take action to make the changes that will move us forward into a new level of being. Even simple changes to our appearance and surroundings can have a profound effect, so don't hesitate to make that hair appointment or order that new throw rug or art print to freshen up your home. The Moon will travel through Gemini Wednesday through Friday, calling for more networking, socializing, and research during the later part of our workweek. So don't worry if you run up against something you don't have the answers for or are unfamiliar with, as this is the week to learn new things! Jupiter will move into Pisces on Thursday, where it will spend the next two years expanding our awareness and gifts on a spiritual level. Though we may not notice this shift on Thursday, we'll begin to experience life on a higher plane for the next few years, letting intuition and spirit guide the way. Plan on a nice, quiet, and relaxing weekend, as the Moon travels through Cancer, the sign of comfort, and the home. Taking it easy is a theme, and a good idea as the pace begins picking up again next week!

Are You Pagan Curious? 10 Hints that You May Be Searching for the Pagan Path, by Debra DeAngelo

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Think back to a time when you were surrounded by nature, all by yourself. Maybe you were in the hush of the forest, or gazing at a rolling, roaring tide, or simply out in your yard, staring up at the moon and stars. Place yourself right back in that moment. Really dial into that memory. What did you see? Smell? Hear? Feel?

Dial in further to your internal experience. Was it peacefulness? Wonder? Awe? Now, dial yet further, a little closer to the edges of your own consciousness, where there's less thinking and more pure awareness. What was happening in your mind? Did you truly feel alone, in total isolation, or did you sense an awareness of something else also present—an intelligence, or an emotional presence... an intangible energy or entity there with you? Something that seemed to flow in you, through you, around you? Something anciently familiar? Ask yourself again: Were you truly alone? Or did you have the experience of "un-aloneness?"

That feeling of "un-aloneness" is the divine energetic life force of our living planet Earth, as well as the vast universe surrounding it, and the vast inner universe of your own spirit, as well as that of every living thing. One way to develop a keener awareness of this energy, and learn to channel it to change and shape your life, is by exploring the vast and varied world of Paganism. There are only two prerequisites. One, being open to new ways of looking at life—the way to having an experience is simply to be open to having the experience. The second? Curiosity. Specifically, a curiosity about the ebbing and flowing energies of the natural world and the cosmos.

At its basic core, a Pagan life is connected to, and congruent with, the rhythms of nature, the seasons, and the cosmos. For many Pagans, a spiritual relationship with divinity is central. How you define that divinity is your own personal choice. There are many different Pagan paths and traditions, each with a wide variety of beliefs, approaches, and practices. Unlike many traditional spiritual or religious paths, Paganism doesn't have a centralized authority to declare the correct way to do things, or how to be. You are your own authority figure, and make your own decisions about what to believe, how to practice your spirituality, and how to interact responsibly and ethically with others, the environment, and the divine. The only "right" way for practicing your Pagan spirituality is the one that feels right and natural to you.

So, are you curious? Pagan curious? Here are ten clues that may be pointing you toward the Pagan path. It's not a comprehensive list, and is drawn from my own personal experience. These are the things that led me to the garden gate of the Pagan world.

1. A deep, persistent longing. You yearn for something you can't quite define. You searching for it endlessly, but don't really even know what "it" is. But you keep looking anyway. It feels like wanting to go home, but it's not any home you can remember... it's a spiritual homesickness. It's your own DNA yearning for the environment within which it evolved: the natural world. Our DNA is passed intact, not diluted, from generation to generation, which means your DNA is literally tens of thousands of years old. That DNA, which governs all our senses and instincts, is satisfied by the relative silence and tranquility of natural sounds and the rhythms of the natural world, as opposed to the jarring, jangling bombardment of sensory input we withstand every moment of every day. Modern life is unsettling to your DNA, which doesn't recognize this relentless cacophony as "normal." It's repelled by it. The result? Stress. Your DNA immediately recognizes the natural world as "home," and longs to return there, where it can exhale. But it doesn't have words to communicate this, only an urgency to find "it."
2. A natural affinity to living things. You don't simply "have" pets. They aren't possessions. They're unique, spiritual, wise creatures. When you look into your pet's eyes, you recognize a sentient being that deserves kindness, compassion, and yes, respect. You may be a bit of a "cat whisperer" or "dog whisperer." Animals just seem to trust you, and are drawn to you. Particular animals, like owls or dragonflies, may consistently reappear in your life, and it seems meaningful, as if they're carrying a message.Your plants aren't just decorations, and the things growing in your yard or the trees that line your street aren't just "green stuff" in the background. You notice their seasonal changes, their patterns. You can place your hand on them and feel their life force reaching up for sunlight and pushing down into the earth for water and nutrients. You might be a "green thumb" with plants or in the garden. You push a seed into the ground and up it sprouts, hungrily seeking life. Your houseplants thrive, leafing out and stretching up with joy. You relax around plants and animals, and maybe even feel more comfortable and serene around them than people.
3. You're drawn to things from the Earth. You love the feel of dirt under your hands and feet, and the smell of grass. You can feel the low, slow vibration of energy in those things that form in our planet's womb, from rocks you pick up while out walking to sparkling geodes and opalescent crystals you see in a gift shop. You might be looking at a bin of stones or crystals on a shelf, and are inexplicably drawn to a particular one: This one is mine. Maybe it feels so comfortable and "right" in your hand, or maybe you feel differently when you hold, wear, or look at it. Maybe its glisten or shine simply fascinates you. You're compelled to gaze into it, or hold it, and keeping it on your desk or wearing it on a pendant causes a shift in your mood.
4. Fascination with the cosmos. When gazing up at that vast, dark dome of night sky and glittering stars, you're awash in wonder. You feel the infinite energy and pulse of something infinitesimally larger and older than yourself or the planet on which you live. You realize you're but a microscopic speck on a microscopic speck of an immense connected, living entity. When you look up at that full moon, you feel a bond to every human who ever lived, since the first person who ever lived. The moon has been gazed upon by everyone, everywhere, for all of time—it is a metaphor of connection for all human beings that ever were, are, or will be. Your very own ancestors, from tens of thousands of years back, also looked up at the night sky and shivered in awe. It's the one experience you can still share with them, even if you don't know their names or faces.
5. You feel the energy of the seasons and the weather. You're sensitive to the lengthening and shortening of daylight, and gradual rise and fall of the temperature as each season rolls into the next. You'd recognize each season immediately—the spicy scent of wet autumn leaves, the crunch of winter frost on the grass, the warm, thick spring air, or the lovely warmth of summer sunshine. You can smell approaching rain or lightning, and feel the subtle rise and fall in the air pressure as storms come and go. You don't simply notice these seasonal and atmospheric changes, you experience them.
6. Rhythm grabs you. Music, and in particular, rhythm, takes hold of you. You can't ignore the beat. Your body naturally moves with it, especially drums. Drumming also stretches back through our DNA, existing in every culture throughout time, beginning with the first person who clacked a stick against a log and discovered the pattern of the sound was pleasing. Whether sticks clacking together or hide stretched over a frame, we're naturally attuned to rhythm, regardless of our musical skill or lack thereof. It energizes our connection with our bodies, particularly tribal, ethnic, or indigenous drumming. To your DNA, a drum beat is a heartbeat.
7. You're naturally intuitive. You frequently know who's at the door when you hear a knock or who's calling when your phone rings. You detect a strong feeling to "turn this way" or "don't go in that room." It feels like a knowing or premonition. And, you often discover that something amazing happened or, conversely, something horrible didn't happen, because you paid heed to that tugging feeling. You may suddenly feel the need to contact someone, and discover that they really needed to hear from you; maybe they're having a hard time, or struggling, or simply missing you. You might be thinking about someone and just then, that person texts or calls you. You sometimes know something will happen... and then it does.
8. You will things to happen. There have been times in your life when you were determined to make something happen, and you made it so. Failure was not an option. Maybe it was landing a job or getting a promotion. Maybe it was getting a date with a certain special person or finding that perfect new apartment. You didn't merely want that specific result, however. It was a far more forceful mindset than that. You determined that "this is going to happen" and to cement that outcome, you said or did something to put some heft behind it: said a certain prayer, wore a certain color, or carried a good luck charm.
9. Increasing social disillusionment. Something's missing in your relationships, activities, or social circles. Things that used to seem fun or interesting are becoming dull and stale. Relationships and activities are feeling more like habits than choices. They used to be fun or supportive or reinforcing, but now they seem obligatory or contentious, or maybe even toxic. You're realizing that the rattle and drone of the news and talk shows is infusing your life with stress, and that social media isn't merely unfulfilling, it's literally siphoning your life away—gulping down the minutes and hours of your life like an insatiable beast. You yearn for more meaning and value in your activities, relationships, and social circles, but you can't quite figure out what to put in their place.
10. Spiritual dissatisfaction. Maybe you've never had a spiritual practice and wish to develop one, or maybe you feel a growing discomfort with your current religion or spiritual practice, like clothes that have become too tight. You're wearing a costume, and it's just not you. You hunger for a divine connection that isn't being satiated in your spiritual practice or at church. The answers you find there feel hollow, disingenuous, or maybe even downright harmful. There's no congruence between your spiritual practice and your true inner self. You may be wishing to try a new path, but you're not sure what that might be, and you may be concerned about the resistance or backlash from friends or family that may result if you give that a try. However, that concern is starting to feel less unpleasant than continuing on as an imposter. You feel the burn and boil of your spirit yearning for an unfettered connection to the divine energy of the cosmos—God, Allah, the Universe, the Goddess, Spirit, Source—whatever label you prefer. Your DNA recognizes that divine energy as well, and longs for it. Oh, how it longs.

So: Did one, some, or all of these things resonate with you? Did they feel true and solid? Did you have some "oh yeah" moments? Trust them. One of the most basic Pagan values is to acknowledge and trust your intuition.

Here, we have taken ten steps toward the magical gate that swings open to the Big Pagan Garden. Welcome, good seeker. As you wander, may you find what you've been searching for: the path back to your own true, divine self.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2022. All rights reserved.

Can the departed actually show you a physical sign that they are there with you? I went to visit my dad at the cemetery the other day and wanted to place a stone on his grave as is tradition in Judaism. I walked around for a few minutes, looking in the grass for one. When I came upon a stone, I picked it up and discovered that it was a clump of dirt, pebbles and debris, all shaped in an absolutely perfect heart. I placed it on his grave. Do you think this could have been a sign from my dad?

Sherry

Susyn:

The departed can absolutely guide you to signs that they are with you. It's a wonderful gift that we can connect with our loved ones in these unique and tangible ways.

I have heard many stories of people who were hoping for an indication that a loved one was near and had that wish fulfilled in a wonderful way. I have experienced it myself. Soon after my mother passed away, I ran across a CD about angels she had given me years before, stuck in the back of a drawer as I was searching for something else. My brother had this experience with a unique sunrise while praying for a sign that our mom was doing okay.

Another friend of mine was standing on a beach, watching the ocean and contemplating the recent loss of his partner. All of a sudden, a glint of light caught his eye and he too was directed to a stone that was in the shape of a perfect heart.

Our longing to connect with our departed loved ones combined with their ability to send us a sign tends to produce some very powerful spiritual experiences. Whether they send us a sign through dreams, smells or images, they are usually so profound as to be undeniable.

Many of my clients lament the fact that they do not dream about their loved ones or hear from them directly. The key to experiencing these types of messages is an open heart and mind. While spirits try to send us clear signs, they can be overlooked if we expect them to come in a certain form.

One of the most effective ways to connect with a departed spirit is through a psychic channeling session in which the psychic acts as a third party and can relay messages between you and your loved ones. With this method, you will be able to ask direct questions and receive specific answers.

Many times when channeling spirits during a reading, the spirits will specify how they will appear to their living loved ones. Sometimes it is in the form of a certain animal, such as a bird, horse or lion that shows up in unexpected ways or places. At other times, loved ones in spirit may indicate their presence through scents that are familiar to us, or unusual songs, images or memories that may come up out of the blue.

You can also perform guided meditations in which you request that your dad come visit you, or return to his gravesite and try to communicate with him there. Though you may not always feel like you have connected with him, the more you practice, the better your chance of experiencing many amazing signs that your father is near you.

*****

Oceania:

I believe that departed loved ones can communicate with us if we are open to receiving their messages. Your father may have been aware of the heart-shaped stone in the vicinity and nudged you towards it. The stone served as a meeting place for your two souls, a physical focal point for the love you share. Even the shape of a heart suggests two blending into one.

Another explanation for the stone's appearance is the mind's amazing ability to filter out irrelevant data. As we are constantly bombarded by more information than we can pay attention to, only that which matches up with what's important to us tends to make it through to our conscious awareness.

During your visit to the cemetery, your love for your father was your focus. As you scanned the environment, looking for a stone, much information was discarded, but the heart-shaped stone caught your attention. Had you not been feeling immense love, you may have overlooked it.

I live in a large condo complex with a circular drive lined with many dumpster corrals. Because I walk dogs several times a day, I regularly enter those corrals to toss my baggies after the dogs do their business. It is customary for our residents to leave usable items sitting next to the dumpsters as opposed to tossing them inside the dumpster. Whenever Iím in need of a particular item, it invariably appears.

I was in need of large vase and found one. I needed a pot to make a big batch of soup in and - hello! I wanted a few more nice wine glasses for entertaining - check! Were these gifts from the Dumpster Gods? Maybe. Did I manifest them through the Law of Attraction by focusing my mind on them? Could be. Were they examples of synchronicity, the universal order underlying all the seeming chaos? Perhaps!

However, I tend to believe that because I needed an item, it was on my mind and so my mental filter brought it to my attention instead of overlooking it. There are always items alongside the dumpsters, but my mind tends to be too full of other thoughts to even notice them unless they hold meaning for me.

With the greatest of ease, you overlooked what was insignificant at the cemetery and stumbled upon the perfect symbol for your visit. However it got there and however you found it, that heart set in stone served as a solid token to represent the eternal love you share with your father. As that loves lives on in YOUR heart, the thing to do now is ponder how you can carry it forward in your life and share it with the world.

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.