KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

August 28 through September 3, 2023

Another busy astrological week awaits us, beginning with Uranus turning retrograde on Monday. Though outer planets can be subtle when they begin a 4-5 month retrograde period, Uranus is the exception, as its very nature is to generate unexpected change. With the Moon traveling through Aquarius (the sign of the zodiac Uranus rules) on Monday and Tuesday, it's a good idea to expect a bit of the unexpected. More annoying than problematic, some of the things it might generate are oversleeping, overeating, and minor computer or home appliance problems. Nothing that comes your way will be too overwhelming to overcome but could generate short delays as your rally to get things back on track. On Wednesday we'll have a Blue Moon, as it waxes full for the second time this month. Of course, this brings to mind the "once in a blue Moon" saying, which also suggests a rare or unexpected event. Typically thought to bring a positive surprise our way, this may rectify whatever troubles we encountered on Monday. (Fingers crossed!) If you're wondering if there will be any calm days this week, take heart! Friday and Saturday's Aries Moon will restore our energy and get us back on track in record time. And, there's more good news. On Sunday Venus will end its six-week retrograde period and go direct, restoring the love, passion, and beauty this planet is known for.

The Garden as Sacred Space, by Laurel Woodward

(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)

I am a magically minded person who looks at the world with an animist's perspective as I mindfully acknowledge and honor the lives of the others I encounter, from the large elementals to the tiny devic energies underfoot. I talk to my plants and hug the trees. I call out greetings to the geese as they pass overhead and stop to help the earthworm stranded on the sidewalk. There is a message in the visit from tiny hummingbird hanging on the breeze, the crow cawing loudly in the tree, the surprise sighting of a garden snake, and the colorful dragonfly lighting on a grass head. The outdoors holds both magick and mystery, and I immerse myself in its beauty whenever I am able to.

Our brains evolved in nature. When we leave our man-made environments and return to a natural setting, we are able to step out of the busyness of our lives and leave our worries behind. Being outside is a magickal, full-on sensory experience that quiets worry, eases anxiety, and grants the spirit peace.

When we immerse ourselves in a natural setting, it boosts health by strengthening the immune system. Step into nature and you step into beauty. The act of catching sunlight in your eyes, feeling the warmth of the sun on your skin, breathing in the scent of the green world from the smell of the dirt to the fragrance of flowers, or having natural sounds fill your ears, like the call of birds, the chatter of squirrels, or the rattle of the wind through the trees, are experiences that foster healing feelings of serenity and joy.

While forest bathing and hiking are popular nature therapies, gardening in your own yard, if done mindfully, becomes a vehicle to immerse yourself in nature and foster a relationship with the natural world. If you have never tried gardening you might be surprised by how therapeutic the experience is. When you take up gardening, working under the sky with the sun on your arms and your hands in the dirt, it engages all of your senses to create a place of refuge and solace. Being out in the fresh air doing yard and garden work lifts outlook and elevates mood. The activity tones muscles and makes the body feel good, and when done mindfully, the overall experience fills the heart with a joyful sense of purpose that inspires creativity and helps us rediscover our sense of wonder.

When we take an area of land under our care we nurture a reverence for nature that allows the heart to swell with gratitude every time we invest ourselves in the work, because it doesn't matter if you are a first-time gardener or a veteran—there is always something new waiting to surprise and inspire. The simple joy of discovering the seed that you planted sprouted, the surprising beauty of a mound of clematis that opened overnight, or the delicious taste of a ripe, home-grown tomato you plucked fresh from the vine deepens satisfaction and improves our sense of well-being. Step into the garden and we step out of worry and into nature's grace.

The wisdom of an ancient practice waits in the garden. If you follow an earth-based spirituality, you will find the act of gardening creates sacred space and puts nature back into the center of your practice. By caring for plants and being aware of their life cycles, we become aware of the turning of the seasons and sync with the natural rhythms. The garden becomes a window into the workings of the Universe and allows us to sense the thrumming webs of power. It is in the garden we connect to the deepest parts of our being as we become a witness to the miracle of life unfolding right before our eyes.

If you have never gardened before, you may want to start by taking a few chosen plants under your care. Identify and research each one, making note of their individual needs so that you may provide what each needs to thrive. Visit them often. Talk to your plants and shower them with attention, and soon you will find you have made a friend that may become a helpful ally in your magical practice. While some plant allies provide food or medicine, others provide ingredients to empower ritual, potions, incense, bath magick, candle dressing, and wash water. When we use ingredients from a plant that we help to grow, we delve into an ancient craft laden with wisdom and knowledge, a craft that deepens spirituality as it acts a bridge to the past to help us see beyond modern restrictions as it links us to a reality in which we are able to recognize and interpret the magickal connections all around us. The garden then becomes a liminal space where we may go to meet Deity or converse with the Universe.

My garden is my church. Step into the garden and I step out of time and into sanctuary. Being in my garden allows me to leave the troubles of the modern world behind and take up the practice of the old ways. In my garden I find peace and joy. It is in my garden where I find magick. You, too, can create your own personal outdoor sanctuary, a place of safety and wellness to nourish your soul and help you foster a relationship with your local energy web. For more ideas on how to design and implement a garden plan for your very own personal sanctuary garden, pick up my new book, Backyard Garden Witchery, a guide to help you manifest a magickal space outside your door. Backyard Garden Witchery contains a collection of meditations, exercises, and an extensive list of garden plants and their magickal properties with suggested uses to empower your magickal practice.

By designing your own unique garden setting, and implementing features that speak to you personally, you will manifest a sanctuary to nourish your soul. Keeping a flower garden, an herb garden, a vegetable patch, or even tending a collection of patio pots allows interaction with nature and opens a doorway for us to experience her amazing wonder. By working, and planting, and tending the earth, the garden becomes a liminal space to nourish our spirituality and connect us to the larger world. When you become a gardener, you become an artist working with nature to create amazing beauty, and as life sprouts and grows under your care, it opens the heart to wonder and solace as it provides flowers or herbs to use in your practice, or food to nourish your body, and the results bring an incredible sense of accomplishment. Gardening is a remarkable rewarding experience that has nourished mankind since the beginning of time. It has the power to change your life. If you have never gardened I hope you give it a try.

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

My family spends every Christmas at my parents' house, which is over 100 years old and has been in my family for at least three generations. My parents claim some odd things happened when they first moved in, such as furniture and objects being moved about. They say that these occurrences stopped when my older brother was born, but I have felt entities in the house throughout my life. Last Christmas my very verbal 14-month-old nephew was taking a nap in my parents' bedroom. When he woke up from his nap, he babbled and talked to himself quite animatedly for an hour. When I finally went up to get him, I asked him who he was talking to and he pointed at the wall and closet. I felt something else was in the room with us. How can I tell if my nephew is demonstrating normal toddler behavior or if he is really interacting with spirits? Would it be best to just see what happens as he grows? Thanks for your insights.

- L.

Astrea:

A hundred years! That's how old my house is too. Many people have passed through our houses, and a bit of energy from each one is bound to be trapped in them. The people who live there now will contribute to its future energy just as the people who lived there before your family moved in left a little something behind.

Your nephew is picking up on the same things most children his age know, the most important being that there isn't really much difference between people who are living in this dimension and those who have moved on to other worlds. We're all the same to him right now. He's not afraid, and unless someone teaches him to be afraid, he'll always be open to good energies.

You say your parents had some strange experiences in that house before your brother was born. Perhaps he was too sensitive to handle that energy, so his Guides and Guardians protected him from it by shutting down communication with the Spirit World until he grew up.

Your nephew is different. He draws that energy to him, and he enjoys the time he spends with it. It sounds like he's making friends with Angels and Spirits who are able to communicate with him. It's so great when there is a child in the family who can do that, especially if the grown-ups keep encouraging him to accept and expand his abilities.

I'm sure he's communicating with the people and animals that have gone before you in that house. There may even be some spirits lingering who have yet to go into the light. Talk to him about this even if he can't fully respond yet, for with the right encouragement, he can grow into someone who can help spirits cross over.

I don't think it's ever too early to mentor kids' psychic gifts, but there have to be limits and cautions, of course. At this age, he will naturally discern the basic goodness of the energies he encounters. There don't seem to be any negative forces at work around him, but watch out for that, just in case. Teach him to be careful, and if someone or something feels wrong to him, tell him not to play with that.

I hope you have his parents' cooperation to keep this going so that it remains a natural part of his life. Of course, this is One of the Things We Don't Discuss at School, but that can be explained to him when he's older. I had a long list of those things growing up, both for my own protection and my family's peace of mind.

While you could wait to see how things develop with him, if he's not encouraged now, his natural ability may dry up before he has a chance to really explore his power. Little kids are open to this kind of thing, so if you encourage him now, he'll be psychically blessed throughout his life.

*****

Susyn:

You've just witnessed a well-known psychic phenomenon: small children can see, sense and communicate with spirits much more readily than adults can. In fact, many children under the age of five can also describe memories from when they were being carried in the womb, and some can even go into great detail about their memories of being in heaven as well as some of their recent past life experiences.

Because they haven't been cautioned, ignored or scolded for expressing their thoughts and beliefs yet, little kids are more than happy to share their amazing experiences.

I'm reminded of when my nephew was three years old and his favorite pet fish died. My brother and nephew had a little ceremony to bury the fish via the toilet, and afterward, my nephew turned to my brother and said, Now he is with my little sister in heaven.

Since my nephew was an only child, this struck my brother as extremely odd. He questioned my nephew further, and the toddler was adamant that he did indeed have a little sister and that she was in heaven. They never did figure out what that was all about, but it was remarkable to realize that the little guy seemed to have some strong beliefs about the spirit world.

It's hard to imagine an old home that doesn't house a few friendly ghosts. Further, it's much easier for them to communicate with toddlers than to get adults' attention. When they get frustrated (as you mention happened with your parents) that's when they are likely to move furniture and such just to make their presence known.

According to your question, your parents say the paranormal events stopped when your older brother was born. However, I'd be curious to know if he had one or more invisible friends who kept him company in his early years. He may not recall this now, but I wouldn't be surprised if the same spirits who were talking to your nephew that day paid your brother a few visits as well.

I don't feel you need to worry about your nephew's safety here. I'm certain that if this had been a negative or malevolent entity, your nephew would have started crying instead of entertaining himself for an hour with his new invisible buddy.

If he is encouraged, then as he grows older he should continue to develop his natural psychic talents. However, if you treat this or other incidents with disbelief or alarm, he could do what many of us did when we had these experiences, which is to hide or deny them.

I encourage you to foster his gifts and invite him to share with you all that he sees and hears. Make it a fun game instead of something to be wary of. If you're lucky, he may even introduce you to some of his spirit friends!

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.