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by Tess Whitehurst

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

Think you can't visualize? Not true. When you crave something—say chocolate—you strongly sense chocolate in your mind. Perhaps you sense it through taste, texture, or appearance…even when that chocolate isn't anywhere in sight. When you're looking for your cell phone, you hold an image of that cell phone or perhaps a tactile sense of what it's like to hold it, even when you're not actually looking at it or holding it. And how, exactly, do you know your house from your neighbor's house? From an inner vision of what it looks like (or a sense of its general location) that you carry around with you wherever you go, naturally.

See what I mean? Everyone can visualize, and everyone is literally doing so constantly. For magical purposes, we want to learn to channel this inherent ability in a way that helps us resonate with that which we want to manifest. Because everything is vibration and like attracts like, this helps us draw our intentions into our life experience and essentially create the life we desire.

Now, as you may have noticed from my examples above, visualizing—in a metaphysical and magical sense—isn’t always, well, visual. It can be visual, auditory, tactile, olfactory, taste-oriented, or any combination thereof. But when it comes to manifesting, the most important thing of all is the feeling or emotion behind the visualization. Once you know what it is you want to manifest, you want to also get clear on the feelings you want to experience as a result of your manifestation. Then you'll accompany your visualization with those feelings, visualizing and feeling that your intention is already manifested.

But how to begin when visualizing seems tough? It's a simple answer, but a true one: show up every day and do your best. When I first started practicing visualization, I chose the intentions I wanted to manifest, and then I did my very best to visualize and feel as if they were already true. Sometimes, the very best I could do was to think the words of my visualization affirmation-style, such as, "I am confident," or, "I make at least ____ per week." But the more I practiced and did my very best to have a sensory and emotional experience of these things as if they were already true, the easier it got.

To this day, I make it a part of my daily meditation to practice visualizing. I do this with the things I want to manifest, but also with the energetic qualities I want to conjure. For example, I do a daily clearing and shielding visualization for both myself and my home. I also surround my partner, my cat, and our cars in protective light. Now that I've gotten better at visualizing, I'll get sort of elaborate sometimes and visualize things like giant, spinning, sacred geometrical structures of light encompassing me. But this was not something I could do right out of the gate. I've built up to it little by little over time. And you can, too! In fact, you might start with the simple (and exceptionally useful!) visualization practices below.

1. 1. Shield in light. A daily shielding visualization is a must for magical practitioners, both for the visualization practice and for the metaphysical benefits! Simply relax comfortably with your spine straight and take some deep, relaxing breaths. Then envision a very bright sphere of light around yourself. See how bright you can imagine the light, and perhaps infuse even more brightness by recalling what it's like to glance at the blinding face of the sun. Set the intention that within this light, only love remains and through this light, only love may enter. Hold this vision until your focus begins to slightly wane.

1. 1. Visualize starting a positive new habit. Choose a new habit you'd like to adopt. Then, as soon as you open your eyes in the morning, or last thing before you drift off at night (or both), convince yourself that you already have this positive new habit in place. If it's exercising every day, think of how great it feels to exercise every day. Even if you haven't actually done it yet, feel as if you do it regularly and really make yourself believe it. Also think of the reason you'd like to manifest this: So that you'll feel healthier? Stronger? More energized? Imagine also that you are already experiencing exactly these things. Make it as real to yourself as you possibly can, using any inner senses that feel right.

1. 1. Be a money magnet. Since most of us wouldn't mind manifesting a few more bucks, as a part of your daily meditation, envision attracting huge amounts of currency toward yourself. Sense and really believe that you are a literal money magnet, and that currency of all sorts can't help but fly your way and stick to you. Alternatively, you could imagine that you are holding a giant wealth-attracting magnet, and that you're attracting money with that.

1. Conjure up laughter. Laughter is so healthy! Why not attract more into your life? While you're driving to work or in the shower, think of the times in your life when you've laughed the hardest, and remember how that felt in your body, mind, and spirit. Stay with the feeling of laughter until the feeling naturally starts to wane. You'll notice that the more you do this, the more you'll find yourself laughing throughout the day.

Try any one of these, or all four, for at least one full month, and you'll almost certainly see results, both in your ability to visualize and in the effects of the visualizations themselves. Indeed, the great thing about these practices is that they're simple, but they'll shift your life quickly and in beautiful ways. Then, when you see firsthand how powerful visualizing can be, you'll be inspired to continue your practice. As it gets easier and easier over time, you'll get into a positive momentum and before you know it, your trouble with visualizing will be a thing of the past.

P.S. If you do try any of these out for at least a month, and if you think of it, please drop me a line and let me know how it goes. You can find ways to contact me at www.tesswhitehurst.com.

P.P.S. For more visualization advice and exercises, please check out my book, Holistic Energy Magic!

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2015. All rights reserved.

I was adopted. I think my birth date is 6/20/1961. Unfortunately, I don't know the time. For many years (before receiving my amended birth certificate), we celebrated my birthday on June 21. When the birth certificate arrived, we learned that I had actually been born on June 20. I recently became interested in astrology, and I've become very frustrated in not knowing exactly when I was born. Does one day make a difference? I now understand that both June 20 and June 21 are on the Cancer cusp. It seems like Gemini and Cancer are total opposites, so I really don't know what to think! Any wisdom you can send my way would be appreciated!

Mel

Susyn:

You pose an interesting question. Astrology is a wonderful tool for self-discovery. Since you were adopted, you may find it even more fascinating.

You might be able to discover the exact time of your birth by contacting the hospital or courthouse where you were born. They should have a more detailed record of your birth, including the time.

If that's not available, a professional astrologer can help you determine the approximate time of your birth through a process called rectification. This involves reviewing certain events in your life, learning more about how you respond to life situations, and examining your overall nature.

It's helpful to have an approximate time of birth to extract the most information from your astrological chart. This assures that the planets are correctly placed in your chart and determines your ascendant or rising sign. This is a point in the chart that determines how you respond to the outside world as well as your physical features. It determines the start of the first house in a chart, which embodies the personal aspects of your life.

Being born on a cusp usually generates a combination of the sun sign traits on either side of that cusp. Thus everyone born from June 20 to 30 will carry both Gemini and Cancer traits. This is valid for all the signs. For instance, if you are an Aries born in March or a Libra born in September, you will operate under the combined influence of your sign and the sign preceding yours.

Geminis and Cancers are indeed very different. Which tendencies you inherit from each sign will depend on other factors in your chart. You may find it difficult to meld the intellectual prowess of a Gemini with the emotional depth of a Cancer, but once you do, you'll have the advantage of being able to clearly determine both your thoughts and your feelings regarding any situation.

You may find it helpful to list the characteristics of Geminis and Cancers. Review these lists and underline all traits that apply to you. From this exercise, you'll see you carry a combination of both and have the potential to develop the others. For instance, if you have many ideas you would like to share (a Gemini quality), but are too shy to do so (a Cancer trait), you can adopt a manner of personal expression that works for you such as blogging, or get involved in a group in order to overcome your shyness.

I encourage you to continue your study of astrology, for the more you learn, the more you will come to know and understand both yourself and others on a deeper level.

*****

Mata:

It's important to point out that you are only talking about your sun sign, which is just a small portion of your chart. From the day of your birth you can determine your sun sign, but to cast a full chart, you will need the exact time and place of your birth as well.

There is a method called time rectification through which an astrologer works backwards to try to determine the exact date and time of birth. To begin this process, an astrologer would ask you about the timing of all sorts of major life events such as getting married, having a child, traumatic experiences, serious illnesses, the loss of loved ones to death, big victories, etc.

By examining the timing of these life-changing events, an experienced and knowledgeable astrologer may be able to determine your exact birth date and time. This is a lot of work, of course, so you would be wise to choose someone of unquestionable skill and experience before you invest in having this done.

However, you've mentioned that you now have a birth certificate. In light of this, it would be wise to revise your former assumptions about your birthday and use this information as the basis of determining your sun sign.

Perhaps your birth mother didn't officially report your birth until a day after you were born because she needed time to think over the huge decision of giving you up for adoption. Perhaps she just wanted to have one day with you before she delivered you into the arms of your adoptive mother. I can think of many reasons why you may actually have been born a day earlier than your adoptive parents believed.

Of course, astrology is just one of many great tools for studying your nature and the plans your soul may have for this lifetime. Since astrology is so dependent on knowing the exact time of birth, it may not be the best tool for you.

You may find numerology or some other spiritual practice a better fit. In numerology, you only need your date of birth and your name to begin a full analysis. Numerology also takes into account things like name changes, so if your birth name and your adoptive names are different, you can work with that information to explore both your deeper nature and the higher purpose behind being adopted.

It also may be possible to be hypnotically regressed back to the time of your birth, and in this way access detailed information about the date, time and other circumstances. A gifted hypnotherapist can also regress you to the period before you were born to get information about your soul's plans for this 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.