KAJAMA.COM NEWSLETTER

August 14 through August 20, 2023

The week starts out under a glowing Leo Moon, culminating in a new Moon on Wednesday. New Moons always mark a cycle of fresh starts and innovative beginnings, so be sure to make a wish on it to bring your current dreams to life! The best time to get anything of a detailed or organized nature will be Thursday and Friday as the Moon cruises through intellectual Virgo. Whether you're clearing out clutter or creating a new organizational system, restructuring your finances or looking into health matters, the Virgo Moon will assure a successful endeavor. The weekend is all about balance as a Libra Moon reminds us to look closely at any areas of our lives that have become lopsided or out of order. Relationships are also highlighted this weekend, calling for us to engage more with our loved ones and give thanks for the special people in our lives.

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.

Is it possible for someone from a soul group to reincarnate before the others in the group? I was told that a certain someone is my twin flame, but in this life, he is 24 years younger than me. Please help!

Cindy

Astrea:

Twin Souls, Twin Flames, Soul Mates, and other people from our Karmic Families come and go throughout all our incarnations. Sometimes our others come late; this could be what's happened to you.

Personally, I think this person might be an Angelic Spirit and not a member of your Karmic Family at all. He may not be someone you're destined to have a romantic relationship with, but at the very least, he's someone the Universe has sent to you for some lesson you're supposed to learn this time around.

While this may be difficult to understand, you can figure out what's going on here if you consider the way he behaves in his own life. When you consider his own personal life, does it seem that he is often late in some way? Did he have a hard time or did it take him forever to get through school? Is he often late to work, dates or appointments?

If that's the case, then he just might be one of those souls who is lazy about returning to a human incarnation no matter what is ahead of him. Is he a reluctant sort of individual in general? That could explain the lateness of his arrival this time around!

Have you considered that he might be an Angelic Spirit? My husband is younger than I am, and he is an Angel - that's why age never came up with us. Once in a while, the Universe will push an Angel off on us so that we straighten up and fly right. If this person came into your life to save you at a time when you were really unhappy, that could be why he's so much younger.

To discover if he is indeed an Angel, ask yourself where you were in your life when he was born. Were you in a big mess 24 years ago? Maybe this angel looked down from Heaven and said, I better get down there, this woman is going to need me! Was there something or someone in your life who had to be ousted by someone who could take over? If you go over the past 24 years, a pattern will start to emerge, and you might be able to tell from that why he's here.

If he is indeed a romantic Twin Flame, that will begin to develop further later this year. He may resist at first, but he'll come around. If you've been together in your Before Times, there is surely some sort of relationship ahead for you in this life.

Be aware that just because someone told you he is your Twin doesn't mean that it's true. Evaluate this idea for yourself before you take the plunge! Besides, regardless of who he was in any past lives you may have shared together, it's who he is to you now that is important.

*****

Susyn:

My understanding of reincarnation is that we travel in groups or generations and usually end up sharing our lives with the same people over and over. However, it is also common to change the quality of our relationships from one life to another, so if we were married to someone in one life, they may come back as our child, parent or sibling.

Because of this, it wouldn't be unusual to discover that your twin flame is your son or grandson, which would account for the 24-year age difference. You may share a different form of relationship each time you incarnate for different lessons or experiences.

The people you reincarnate with can also be friends, teachers or lovers; in other words, they won't always be blood relations to you. This is normally the case with twin flames, though they can also come into your life as a best friend of the same sex. Since we might enter a life in all sorts of different relationships, it's quite possible for your twin flame to be much younger or much older than you.

You will want to build an important relationship with this person even though the connection won't take the form of a romantic partnership. You will have much to share with one another and teach each other. Because you are older, you can guide and direct him as he most likely did for you in a previous incarnation.

Through each life cycle we experience, we have a tendency to repeat circumstances or repay karma. For example, if you were parented by someone in a past life, you may have the opportunity to parent that person in this life, and if you were unkind to someone in a past life, you will get the chance to make amends in the future.

You definitely have a soul mate coming your way in the future. Though it won't be your twin flame, it will be the ideal person for you to share your life with. It can be captivating to watch the Universe mix and match our lives and the lives of others for the best possible outcome, though it can be hard to appreciate when you're in the midst of it.

If you look around, you may discover many other people you have shared past lives with, especially in your family. If you have lost a loved one in this lifetime, pay attention to the characteristics new babies in your family may share with the person who passed over.

Studying our past lives can be fascinating and illuminating. You may want to obtain a psychic reading to learn more about your twin flame as well as the other people in your life you've known and loved before.

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.