KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

January 1 through January 7, 2024

Happy New Year! The first day of 2024 starts out on an auspicious note as Mercury turns direct, putting an end to confusion, miscommunication and reversals in movement. Let's give it a few days to right itself before we start making big plans for the new year, as once Mars moves into diligent Capricorn on Thursday, we'll be ready to move full speed ahead, carving out a path to the future and putting our plans into action! The Moon will cruise through Virgo on Monday and Tuesday, filling our head with ideas and opinions, which we will be wise not to move on just yet. Let's let the Libra Moon on Wednesday and Thursday restore our balance before acting on those ideals. A Scorpio Moon presides over the heavens Friday through Saturday, where we'll seek out more spiritual and internal avenues to fill our time. Sunday's Sagittarius Moon designates an easy going day, filled with fun and relaxing activities before things really kick off next week!

365 Days of Crystal Feng Shui for Your Home, by Sandra Kynes

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

The laying on of crystals, or crystal therapy, is a powerful way to align and balance the energy of our bodies. Even simply wearing crystals can have an effect on us. Similarly, through the placement of crystals in our homes, we can attract prosperity, augment relationships, and initiate changes in our lives.

A number of years ago, I became interested in the Chinese practice of feng shui mainly because of its use of crystals. I had been following my intuition and placing crystals around my home for years, but the principles of feng shui provided a structure. It opened the door to a whole new way of approaching what I was doing. While a traditional feng shui practice can be complicated, even applying the basic concepts with crystals can bring results.

The most fundamental principle of feng shui—creating flow, harmony, and balance—is often illustrated with the yin/yang symbol. Although the white and black sections of the symbol are equal, they do not split the circle in half down the middle; instead, they flow into each other, creating balance and harmony.

Yin and yang can best be described as the harmonious dynamic of opposites. They are regarded as the binding forces that hold the universe together. However, because the forces of yin and yang are constantly changing, the universe is anything but static. As anyone who has done energy work on any level knows, it's an ongoing process. Using them throughout the year keeps both our homes and ourselves in balance. What's more, crystals are such powerful tools for energy work because they are formed by the dynamic forces for Mother Earth.

According to feng shui theory, negative energy is called sha, and it occurs where yin and yang are out of balance. Sha can occur in two extremes: fast moving (too yang) or stagnating and depleted (too yin). In the home, when energy is trapped in a corner of a room it stagnates and lacks life-giving vitality. Likewise, energy can be forced into a straight line, for example by a long hallway, where it can gain momentum and become uncomfortable or destructive. Chi is the positive, calm energy in between the two extremes of sha. To keep things in balance, positive energy needs to flow unimpeded through the home.

The art of feng shui is a balancing act between neutralizing negative energy and fostering positive energy. Creating energetic balance in our homes lays the foundation for tackling personal issues or cultivating a particular atmosphere. Just think about it: how can you plan a romantic evening if your home has an undercurrent of tension?

The Three A's of Working with Energy
Okay, now that we know energy needs to be in balance, where do we start? With the three As: awareness, adjustment, and activation. First, be aware and assess your surroundings. Take a few minutes to sit quietly in a room. If something doesn't feel right, look for a source of negative energy. Make an adjustment by placing a crystal or two where you feel it. Choose a crystal that will calm fast-moving energy or stimulate slow energy. If you're not sure, use a crystal that will balance energy.

It is often helpful to begin your assessment by looking outside your home. The artificial environments of towns and cities with busy roads can have a strong impact on the energy of our homes. Assess how energy flows toward your house or apartment building. If you live on a busy street, you may be bombarded with fast-moving energy that can drain positive energy from your home. If you live on a cul-de-sac, energy may be stagnating and creating a pool of negativity.

To deal with negative energy that is outside, place a crystal or two on a windowsill or near the wall in the direction of the problem. If you need to calm fast-moving or chaotic energy, place a piece of amethyst in the direct of the flow. This will both calm and balance the energy. Alternatively, use one piece each of white quartz and opal to do the job. To get energy moving, try clear quartz or peridot and obsidian. Table 1 below contains examples of crystals that can be used for this process. Some crystals have a two-fold function in either calming or stimulating and balancing energy.

Assess the Energy Inside Your Home
After looking outside, assess how energy enters and moves through your home. The front door is regarded as the main entry point for energy. Any blockage here will inhibit positive energy from entering and circulating freely to create a balanced environment. Blessings and abundance could get stuck on your doorstep instead of bringing them into your life. A crystal hung above the front door or placed near the door can help regulate the flow of energy.

Continue through your home. Look for areas where energy can get boxed in or where it may speed up. Place a crystal in the area where you want to change and balance the energy. Get creative; crystals can be placed just about anywhere.

As mentioned, after dispatching negativity and balancing energy you're ready to deal with personal issues or cultivate an aspect of your life. This also extends to the family. For example, the dining room and kitchen are places where families come together, not only for nourishment, but also for discussion and decision-making. Place several crystals, such as aventurine or charoite, around the room to foster a sense of family and community. Rhodochrosite, rose quartz, or tourmaline can be used in the dining room or kitchen to attract abundance to the family.

Sometimes we carry tension home with us from work and sometimes a conflict in the family can create unsettled energy. In addition, the energy of a room may just feel "off" without an apparent reason. Use calming crystals to change the quality of the energy. Blue lace agate, celestine, larimar, and selenite are particularly effective to restore harmony. Table 2 below provides an overview of crystals that can be used for specific purposes.

The time of year and weather can also effect the energy of our homes. During the excitement of the holiday season with an increase in family and friends visiting, we may need to tone down the energy to avoid an atmosphere of chaos. However, after the holidays, and especially in northern areas where it is cold and dark, we may want to ratchet-up the level of energy.

Before Using Crystals
While there are many ways to do a crystal cleansing, one of the easiest is to use your own energy. To do this, hold the crystal in both hands in front of your heart. Close your eyes and bring your awareness to the energy above your head. It may help to visualize it as a soft white, pink, or lavender glow. Feel it gently touch the crown of your head, and then move down activating your third-eye chakra, located between and slightly above the eyebrows. As this energy descends to the throat and chest, it activates the heart chakra.

From here, visualize the energy moving along your arms to your hands and into the stone. Visualize the light pulsing and glowing around the crystal. Now imagine it moving back up your arms, and then down your spine, legs, and into your feet. Become aware of the bottoms of your feet. Visualize the energy moving from your feet into the floor and eventually into the ground taking away old energy and any negativity with it. If you are not going to use the crystal immediately for energy work, wrap it in a cloth and put it away.

A cursory glance at Table 2 shows that crystals sometimes serve a number of functions. When you are ready to use a crystal for a specific function, use your energy to program it. Hold the crystal in front of your heart and think of your particular purpose for it. Visualize your energy moving from your heart, down your arms into the crystal to pattern it with your intention and willpower. Hold an image of this energy in your mind for a moment, and then place the crystal where its energy is needed.

After each use, cleanse the crystal to have it ready for the next purpose. Of course, if you're like me you probably enjoy having your crystals out where you can see and enjoy them. When you want to use a crystal that's on display for a specific purpose, go through the energy cleansing and programming, and then place it where it is needed.

The key to success with crystal therapy for the home is to start small. Don't try to take on the whole house at once. Start with any exterior source of negativity. After that, focus on the front door to make sure positive energy is coming in. Follow that by working individually with one room or one area within a room. Take your time to make adjustments and live with the results. Most importantly, let the crystals speak to you. Use your intuition to help you tap into the deeper power and wisdom of the mineral kingdom.

Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2018. All rights reserved.

Have you ever heard of something called a "walk-in?" My friend said that someone told her that she had one. She said it was when another spirit came into her body to inhabit it for the rest of her bodily life. I asked her what the difference was between a walk-in and one's own spirit growing and changing. She didn't give me a very clear answer. I looked for information regarding this subject and found nothing. If you have heard of this, I would like to know more. Thank you,

Concerned and Confused

Dreamchaser:

To understand what a "walk-in" is, first we need to understand that our physical body is not really "us" - it is just a vehicle for us to use while we're here on Earth. It is very much like someone who is driving a car. When we see the driver, we understand that this person exists whether or not they have the car with them at the time. Well, we exist whether we have a physical body or not. When our physical body dies, we will continue to exist without it.

Most people understand that each physical body is "owned" by someone, and this person is attached to their body until the body dies. If nobody was attached to the body, then it would die. This is one of the reasons babies don't move in the womb before "quickening" - nobody has yet become "attached" to the body. Like a car without an engine, the body cannot work without a soul "powering" it.

Walk-ins are beings that have spiritual work to do in the physical world, but for a variety of reasons, do not need or want to spend the time it takes to grow up in a new physical body. When a person has finished his or her life's lessons and would normally die at that time, in some cases they allow another spirit to "walk-in" to the physical body that they are leaving behind.

In this situation there is still one physical body and one spirit attached to it, but the spirit now inhabiting the body is not the same one that was born into it as a baby. Obviously, this can mean that the person may seem to have a personality change, which can sometimes seem very severe. This is in fact one of the ways we can tell if someone is a walk-in. They will usually be much more compassionate, loving and spiritual than they were before.

Naturally, this tends to create problems for friends and family, as they simply cannot understand what has happened. While it may be emotionally painful, in this situation, it may be best for them to understand that the person they previously knew is, in practical terms, no longer physically alive on this plane. It is often not much easier for the walk-in. He/she inherits the memories and situations of the prior occupant of the body, and may take some time to make sense of all of this.

So the difference between a walk-in and one's own spirit evolving is that in a walk-in situation, our spirit/soul actually goes to the Otherside. We leave our body. Normally, at that point, our physical body would die. For all intents and purposes, we are now dead as our spirits are living on the Otherside, but our physical body remains alive and animated by a walk-in spirit who wants to take it from there in order to learn needed lessons.

Has your friend changed DRASTICALLY? Does she seem like a different person?

I wish you continual understanding.

*****

Astrea:

Dreamchaser explained "walk-ins" to me a couple of years ago. Until then, I hadn't really considered that possibility. Once she educated me, I was SHOCKED to see how many ignoramuses INVITE those soul suckers into their lives.

I frequently see signs on beauty salons and other businesses announcing "Walk-ins Welcome!" It gives me the HEEBIEST OF JEEBIES! I NEVER go into any of those places! Even my daughter-in-law, who is a Fundamentalist Christian, is terrified of walk-ins, because in her church, they believe in Demonic Possession, and have a long tradition of driving out demons, walk-ins and other evil spirits who are bent on taking people over for their own benefit. Of course that's what she tells me. I can't go there - I might burst into flames.

Without speaking to your friend, I can't tell her if she is possessed by one of those creatures or not, but I will say that in my experience, it's very rare for the person who is in a body now to know or speak about the possibility of being a walk-in.

Walk-ins are SNEAKY critters, and they try to BLEND with the personality of the person. The last thing a walk-in wants is to be NOTICED by others, so it does seem odd that she could tell you that she has one or IS one - however you want to put it. Regardless, she BELIEVES that is happening to her, so here is something that might help you help your friend.

To get rid of a walk-in, honor St. George, the famous dragon slayer. His Pagan counterparts are Bellerophone and Sigurd the Dragon Slayer of Norse legend. These three heroes are the personification of the Sun, and using the waxing power of the spring Sun can banish any demonic force.

For this ritual, you'll need a gold candle and a drawing of a dragon. It's best to do this outside when the sun is shining brightly, and after April 23, because that's when the Sun is gaining power.

Cast your circle and call in your corners. (For protection, I urge you to do this before ANY kind of ritual. If you don't know how, there are a million books on the subject.) If you or your friend knows the name of the walk-in, write that down on a piece of paper. If you don't, "Demon" will do.

Place the name beneath the dragon. Light the candle and visualize this walk-in taking the dragon's shape. Picture the light and heat from the Sun burning up the dragon. Set the name and the drawing of the dragon on fire with the flame from the candle and watch the fire diminish its power. Send what is left of the ashes to the Sun by scattering them around inside your circle.

Pray in your own way for freedom from this demon. The walk-in's power will diminish as you watch the wind take the ashes.

Release your corners, undo your circle and walk away from the walk-in forever!

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.