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4 Ways to Invite Good Juju into Your Life, by Najah Lightfoot

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

What is good juju? How you can create it? How can you keep it flowing positively in your life?

Good juju is a handshake with Spirit. It is an acknowledgement, an agreement, and a commitment you keep with your higher power, deities, ancestors, and divine beings, on a consistent basis.

Good juju recognizes that you not alone on your path. It recognizes that many have come before you, and also that many shall come after you. It recognizes your belief in a Higher Power, forces at work, seen and unseen, greater than yourself. Good juju lies in the morning sunrise, the whispers of the wind, the ebb and flow of the ocean, the gurgling of a mountain stream.

It wafts around you as sweet incense smoke, makes your heart race to the beating of the drum, and focuses your gaze in the flame of a candle.

Good juju exists within and without. It is a smile freely given to a stranger, a helping hand to child, aid to a person in need, or an act of random kindness. It is forgiveness, tolerance and acceptance, higher ideals continually striven for, even if it takes you a lifetime to reach them.

Good juju is patient. It realizes not all goals can be achieved or met in a day, a week, or maybe even in one's lifetime. But surely as you take a step towards it, it will meet you and greet you with open arms, as long as you are willing, open, honest, and sincere.

So how can you begin to cultivate and create good juju in your life? Let's explore some simple and powerful ways you can do on a consistent basis.

1. 1. Honor Your Ancestors
      As we are nature-centric and earth-focused people, many us are familiar with keeping an ancestor altar or with the sacred holiday of Samhain, where we set a place for our beloveds on the other side of the veil. And most everyone, Pagan and non-Pagan, have attended a service, a funeral, or a celebration of life for a loved one who has passed on. But besides these once-a-year festivities, how can you remember your ancestors on a daily basis, and keep them close to you?You can pour water to them. Water is Life. Water connects us all. As above, so below, water lies beneath the earth's surface as groundwater and above the earth as moisture in the atmosphere.

      So, on a consistent basis that you determine for yourself (be it daily, weekly, or monthly), pour water upon the earth in the name of those who have gone before you. Say their names aloud, then pour water to them, and after you finish pouring water to them, take a drink for yourself, for you, too, are part of living water circle of life.

      And speaking of ancestors, not all those whom you refer to as "ancestor" needs to be related to you by blood. There are many people who pass away for whom we may have affection or have been affected by their sojourn on earth. It is totally okay to honor these people in your water prayers. I have found pouring water for those who have passed tragically or violently, even though I may have never met them, to be an extremely healing ritual. I may not continue to call their names every day, but I do call them for as long as it spiritually resonates with me. I also honor those who have had tremendous influence in my life, when they pass away, whether I am biologically related to them or knew them personally. For the act of pouring water to one who has passed away, is love, unconditionally given and received by the earth.

1. 1. Be Consistent
      One of the most powerful acts you can do as a magical person is to practice consistency. The act of performing the same prayers, blessings, or rituals on a consistent basis is highly underrated.Most people think of spell work or rituals as something you do every once in a while or as needed or only when the Moon is full, but truly your power lies in developing a spiritual practice, that builds on the foundation of consistency.

      And what you do consistently as a magical person doesn't need to be elaborate. It can be as simple as lighting a candle with sincere intention every morning or evening, it could be pausing and blowing a kiss to the moon every night, it could be burning sage every sunrise, or saying a daily, heartfelt prayer to your deities. What matters most is to be consistent. The Universe likes patterns. Magick responds to rituals and rites done over and over again. Faith builds on practice.

      So be consistent. Consistency is a sure way to build good juju.

1. 1. Build Relationships with Plants, Flowers, and Trees
      Many people are drawn to earth-based practices because they have an innate, intimate relationship with nature. Many magical practitioners find great comfort and solace when they are outside under the stars or gazing at a sunrise. For many of us, Mother Nature is our trusted guide, confidant, and friend.Having a relationship with plants, flowers, and trees comes naturally to many people on the spiritual path, but that doesn't mean that everyone feels that way, or is adept at planting a garden or caring for plants. In fact, for some people, the very thought of caring for living plants could be the last thing they ever want to do.

      Yet, even for those people, nature is always present. As humans, nature is with us everyday, whether we actively cultivate plants, flowers, or trees. As soon as you wake up, and step outside your door or look out your window, nature is there. No one lives without the light of the sun or the glow of the moon. Here are few simple ways to connect with Nature on a daily basis:

      • When you pass a tree, touch it, smile at it, and say, "Hello."
      • If you see a flower, thank it for growing and bringing color and beauty into your life.
      • In the grocery store, take an extra moment in the produce section and admire all the wonderful vegetables and their glorious array of colors. Say a silent, "Thank you," for the bounty and harvest of nature.
      • At night, find the one star that twinkles seemingly just for you, and take a moment to gaze lovingly at it, while you admire its light that has traveled for thousands of years, just so you could see it.

1. Be Kind and Helpful
   It seems that in the age in which we are living, rudeness, being snarky, and using vicious vitriol is the norm.People are routinely bullied, harassed, and criticized. The invention of the internet and social media has made it easy to be mean, spiteful, and hateful. It is now so easy to hurt people's feelings, and with no thought to the wide ripple those acts create in the ocean of human emotions and feelings.

   So, if an opportunity presents itself for you as a magical person to perform a random act of kindness, pay a compliment, say something nice on someone's social media feed or page, do it!

   Smile at a stranger! Give a dollar to someone begging on the street. Hold the door open for someone whose hands are full; put an extra quarter in a parking meter; send a heartfelt thankful, sincere, compliment; say, "Hello" to your neighbor; resist the temptation to spread gossip; show up at a friend's event or their children's event; pick up trash when you see it on the ground or in a park.

The possibilities are endless and limitless for creating good juju. Let your heart and soul be your guide, and surely you will find yourself blessed 3x3x3, when you become the creator of good juju in your life, and in the lives of others.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2019. All rights reserved.

What do you do as a client who requests a certain reading if the psychic insists that she knows best and does something else? I recently had an expensive lesson. The reader decided I didn't know what I wanted - that she did. It was a disappointing waste of money. I paid her in advance for a past life session, and when I went for the reading, she said she had to follow her feelings and give me the reading she felt was best. I paid for two hours - I got 50 minutes; I paid for a past life reading - I got a meditation; I didn't request numerology - 10 minutes were wasted on that; I did not want a quick card reading - another 10 minutes were wasted because everything she said was vague. So how do psychic consumers protect themselves? By the time you realize the reader isn't worth the time or money, it's usually too late.

- Deborah

Dreamchaser:

Deborah, when you pay anyone who does any type of "spiritual" work, you should know up front what you are paying for, what that person is going to do for you, and how long it should take that person to complete the task. At Psychic Chat, you can read the profiles of all the different psychics available. When you find one you feel you can connect with, you pay up front for a certain amount of time. Whatever time is not used is banked in your account. That is an ethical way of doing things. If someone charges you for two hours and only does 50 minutes, you are due a refund worth 1 hour and 10 minutes, or credit for services to be rendered in the future. Period.

I think the best thing to do if your reader gets off track is to bring her right back on. If for any reason you are not connecting, then you should stop the reading, demand a refund of the time/ money not yet used, and leave as soon as possible. It is never too late to realize you are not connecting. You should actually realize that fairly early in the reading. Don't sit around waiting for it to get better, for odds are that it won't.

You can't view something like this as confrontation. Let's use the example of a doctor/ patient situation. You have a headache, earache and sore throat, so you go to your doctor. He walks in and he looks at your chart and immediately begins to check your knee. Are you going to ask him at some point why he is doing that, or at least mention the symptoms that are bothering you? Or are you going to let him treat you for water on the knee? If a dentist numbs the wrong side of your mouth, are you going to stop him before he starts to drill? Why wouldn't you stop a psychic professional as well?

I think people are hesitant to stop their reader because they are afraid to make the psychic mad. Trust me, no psychic is going to cast an evil spell on you if you get up and walk out (or disconnect, in the instance of Psychic Chat). The reader knows you are not connecting just as well as you do, if not better.

If you are unhappy with the service you are receiving in ANY situation, you should absolutely stand up for yourself and say something. If you still receive inadequate service, demand credit and leave. If you do not receive any type of satisfaction from this reader, Deborah, I strongly suggest that you go to the Better Business Bureau and report it. That may stop someone else from getting bilked.

I myself offer past life readings, as do many others at Psychic Chat. Check out our site. I wish you EMPOWERING readings.

*****

Astrea:

A COMPETANT, professional psychic would have offered your money back to you when she discovered that she wasn't going to be able to give you the information you wanted. At that time, you could have either had your money back to seek guidance elsewhere, or changed the format of the reading to something she could handle. In thirty years, I've been asked to refund money TWICE; I GLADLY did so and felt lighter immediately. I refuse to talk to people I can't read because it's a waste of their money and MY TIME.

When a client requests a past life reading from me, I do my best, but sometimes, I get NOTHING for that person as far as his or her past lives are concerned. Sometimes that means they don't have any, and sometimes that means that for some reason I'm blocked from getting that information. I then TRUTHFULLY tell that person that I'm unable to get what they want and CHEERFULLY refund any money I've collected for that service. Any OTHER legitimate psychic would do the same thing.

Unfortunately, there are many fakes and phonies in our business, and many unethical people who just want your money, honey. I don't know any reputable psychic who can make more than mere suggestions to a client about what they should and shouldn't do, LET ALONE what they want from their reading! I never presume to know "what's best" for anyone, I ONLY make suggestions.

Sometimes in a reading, it's the client's perception that they're not getting what they asked for, because they're not hearing the answers they wanted to hear. Yesterday, a client ordered me, "Give me some good news!" and I was forced to say, "As soon as I see any, you'll have it!" That was the nicest way I could put it to her. She was in such a mess that good news was even hard for me to find, and I can usually dredge up SOMETHING good for EVERYONE. Sometimes people will come back to me and say, "I did what you TOLD me, and..." I promise, I NEVER tell people what they SHOULD do in a reading, nor can I conceive of telling a client what they should want from the reading in the first place.

I hope that you don't find yourself in this dilemma again. At the FIRST SIGN of a psychic NOT doing what you've specifically asked for, I recommend you ask for your money back and leave. This isn't rude, it's SMART! Also, if they try to cut your session short, ask for an adjustment or for the time you paid for. That person taking your money is in BUSINESS. In business, the CUSTOMER is always right - ESPECIALLY in SPIRITUAL business, where accountability for our work runs deep.

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.