by Elysia Gallo
(Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal.)
In late summer, the key word is abundance. Flowers and crops are full of life, fish are jumping in the lakes, trees are lush and thick with foliage, festivals, and fairs sprout up in every small town and big city, and even the weather is generous with abundant sunshine and heart-stopping storms. This is a great time of year to count your blessings and revel in the wild magick of summer. It's also a great time to reap the fruits of your own labors and to be thankful for all the positive energy you have put into your life to reach this point.
Thursday, associated with Jupiter, is the day of prosperity, abundance, and good health, so any magickal workings related to this theme are best done on this day. In 7 Days of Magic you'll find a wealth of ideas, spells, and correspondences for abundance—and you don't need to go overboard, either. As author Ellen Dugan writes, "Personally, I think prosperity and abundance aren't about owning the biggest house, fanciest wardrobe, or the newest car. It's about living within your means, and living well. My definition of prosperity is having enough money in the checking account to cover the bills and to pay for the groceries." As you might expect, there are simple ways to express gratitude and to attract more of a good thing. "Try wearing some honeysuckle-scented perfume to encourage prosperity. Bewitch someone by wearing deep royal blue or brighten up a dreary day by wearing lucky, prosperity-drawing green. Brew up a pot of mint tea to help increase your cash flow. Try adding a pinch of nutmeg or cinnamon to an unscented candle to encourage some fast cash. Bake up a loaf of wheat bread for the family and celebrate abundance and be thankful for all that you have."
That last one happens to tie in very well with the early August celebration of Lughnasadh, which celebrates the first harvest. Grains and breads are usually a focal point of this festival, as is the sentiment of thankfulness. As Sandra Kynes writes, "In our modern world it is easy to forget how important a successful harvest was to our ancestors. They had cause for celebration: A good harvest meant survival in the dark, cold months ahead. A poor or bad harvest signaled the beginning of difficult times. Even though we can nip out to the supermarket whenever we need something, this is a good time to give thought to where our food originates and reverence for the cycles that produce it." Search "Lughnasadh"; on Llewellyn's Encyclopedia and you'll find her Lughnasadh Ritual, which was written to give thanks for what the Lord and Lady provide, and to take stock of your own situation. She also has rituals for the entire year in the helpful book A Year of Ritual.
So whether you give thanks for the material sustenance that we take for granted, or for reaping the rewards of your own spiritual work, remember that with abundance comes gratitude, and with gratitude comes abundance. One cannot exist without the other.
Article originally published in The Llewellyn Journal. Copyright Llewellyn Worldwide, 2007. All rights reserved.
"Life happens. Life in the flow."
We learn over time that nobody can solve our problems, but someone can guide you how to solve the problem. You may receive guidance through a teacher, a guru or even strangers that you run into every day. As we practice yoga we learn that the more we know, the less we truly know. Every day I am reminded how much I truly do not know; a very humbling experience.
Yoga teaches me to be present. To just live for being and enjoying life as it is right NOW. Not ten minutes from now, no five days ago, but right now. We are taught to get out of our heads, to release worries and fears of the past or the future and to only live for this very moment. Presence.
"Lead me from untruth to truth, lead me from darkness to light." ~ Buddha
Through yoga we are reminded that we do have a dark side as well as a light side. We are not to repress the dark side, but embrace that side of our Self. We are the yin and the yang. We ultimately cleanse the dark stuff we hold inside. We shine the light on this. We must make friends with dark side. Both positive and negative balance out the whole. Daily practice refines and improves our inner vision to see our Self more clearly. We no longer need to run from fears. Face them and say I'm not running from you anymore. So much is in our heads, so much dark is only in our heads, self-doubt judgment betrayal. Yoga grounds the body so that the light and dark sides of ourselves become clear. So much is truly untrue. But as we diligently practice we are able to find the middle ground and walk our centered balanced line in life. We gain balance in centered lightheartedness. We can have harmony in both light and dark.
"Yoga tells us that the world is actually a projection of our own thoughts and we can modify our inner world to manifest into our outer world. When our inside realm is at peace and in harmony, our outer world shines this projection back at us." ~ David, Jiva Mukti Yoga co-founder
Yoga is observation.
We can observe our world and see what part that is in us is begin reflected back to us. We can then see what part of us needs modification or adjustment in order to have our outer reality reflect back to us the peace, happiness and love we so greatly desire and deserve.
Yoga is already inside of you. Happiness is there. Yoga helps you peel away the onion layers to get to the core. To freedom. The deepest Divine connection to the Ultimate Light Source.
Come out of wanting and back into acceptance and Joy. A yogi or yogini can turn any situation into bliss. That is a yogi. Yoga is being now. Ultimate yoga is meditation. Just BE.
Yoga is love.
"Love is the light that dissolves all walls between souls." ~ Paramahansa Yogananda
Through a dedicated practice of all forms of yoga we can participate in the world with a sense of freedom, unaffected from trauma, depression, anger, etc. The freedom is balance in both.
Maggie Anderson is a Yoga & Spiritual Teacher, Reiki Master Teacher, Integrated Energy Therapy® Master Instructor, Soul Coach®, Past Life Coach, Magnified Healing® Master Teacher and Angelights Messenger. She is the author of How I Found My True Inner Peace and Divine Embrace. You can contact Maggie at SpiritualCompassConnection.com.
"Follow Your Bliss. It's Your Spiritual Compass."