The Lifter Of Mine Head

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When melancholia overwhelms you, one way to put sadness away is to embrace the spirit of renewal instead, and lift your head-up. There are many practical ways to do this. For me, it often involves stopping wallowing in my sad angel tears, and going away to create something. Mostly I write but what really works is something more physical. One route is Hot Yoga, there is nothing like a class to get the soul going again via bodywork. Another praxis is with magical oil work – for me this could be making candles, mixing oils, inventing perfumes, designing washes, testing out different incense scents, using ritual soaps, creating salts and other general bath herb magic. I also like to prepare some roots, leaves and barks (or ready-made stuff) for healing teas. Boom, happy angel. Head-up. 

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This week I’ve been working with Roses and Rosemary. Venus’ and Mary’s flowers. These have helped me unleash the love. I’ve also noticed a shift, from psychology to magic to faith (which is still magic). My Catholic roots have definitely been calling me. I’ve been moved to petition Folk Catholic Saints to power-up my protection work. An avatar too has been coming through, Black Rose, more on her later.

My Black Rose. Photo by Amirali Mirhashemian via Unsplash

This month there has been less Wormwood and far more Cedar and Frankincense in my practice. I’ve been dressing candles with All Saints Oil, reading out prayers to saints in a spiritual practice and my rituals have feel less wicca and far more holy, less Magician more Knight of Cups. My grimoire has not been a book of spells but rather more Biblical and Psalms based (but this is still magic). Devotion to God and Gods (whether polytheist, monotheist or something more Jungian archetypal) can help bring us peace and banish evil. I’ve been intending more for serenity, humility and a regular state of uncrossing. I’ve been praising and blessing my life a lot more, reading aloud Psalm 23, washing in Hyssop, spritzing with Florida Water, anointing with a home-made version of Special Oil #20, and adding essential oils (Pine) in floor washes to remove all harm. I’ve been placing salt in a dish by my home-working desk. I’ve been adding baking soda to baths. I’ve been economising, more frugal, cutting back on shop-bought formulas and making my own oil blends after researching recipes from may different traditions and systems to synthesise for myself.

Channeling vibes. Photo by Valmir Dzivielevski Junior via Unsplash

I’ve been saying thanks to St. Martha /Martha the Dominator, with Myrrh. I’ve invoked St. Michael the Archangel to be our shield and defense in these troubled times. I’ve been soothing my soul and body aches with healing Olive Oil and Sea Salt. My inner angel is lifting her head to the sun smiling.

"Thou, O Lord, art a shield for me; my glory, and the lifter of mine head." – 3^rd Psalm

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I’m reading still avidly, books on spiritual cleansing, learning about psychic protection, trying to make versions of Van Van and Abramelin oils for myself at home (and basic Holy Oil recipes). And I fall back to beautiful Rose and blessed Mary’s Rosemary

Blessed baths have been loved by the Greek, Roman and ancient worlds. In Singapore before the virus I used to love to treat myself to go to a Japanese Onsen and bathe. But now we must protect against the plaguey-times from the home and be our own shields.

For folks, these are indeed emergency times and they call for an emergency response: Cleansing, Healing, Uncrossing, Protecting, Peace-bringing, Blessing, Road Opening, Purifying, Demon-slaying, Luck-bringing, Exorcising, Confessing, Cutting cords, Jinx-removing and Dream-inducing. These are times indeed to be our own Crown of Success, our own Fiery Wall of Protection, our own Crucible of Courage, our own Abre Camino, our own Oil of Gladness, our own 911 and our own Holy Way.

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By the Saints and Our Lady the Great Mother, amazingly awful times call for amazingly awesome actions, and the Old Ways. We need to get out of our heads, lift our heads and move our hands and feet, to march with our hearts. To be our own Angels and Guardians, to lift our own heads. It’s time for the Way of the Rose, the divine feminine. We need a radical path. A lot of Our Fathers, many Hail Marys, the Gospels and a whole mountain of Faith to weather these storms. And to come up rosy.

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We need our world back. Its grass, rivers, birds, rocks, moss, soil, stars, trees, clouds and tides. We need our sun, seasons, socialisation and stories. We need to light a new fire and energise our spirits. We need Self-Care, Soul-Care and Planetary-Care for this Tumultuous Times. We are made of Bones and Stardust. We must bloom and be luminous. We are strong, beautiful, deep, soulful, powerful, wild, perfumed, called, bloody, holy, dark, sacred, ancient, angels. We are gypsy, mage, priest and poet. We need to write a new future, a spell for love to transform our world, a Holy Book of ideas and inspiration. Let our pen and stylus be our wand with which to ritually heal wounds, let our work and actions be our cross. Like a Black Rose, we can blend an elixir of both death and rebirth, of life and decay, of darkness and the light. We can light a candle under the moon, take solace in the memories of our dear dead ancestors, and soar with metaphorical angelic wings into the unknown. We need our books, our gardens, our religion, our folk magic, our prayers, our spiritual baths, our cooking pots, our journals, our Tarot cards, our Valerian tea, our Art (wordcraft or herbcraft), our ghosts, our secrets, our passions, our cups of red wine and our stars above us.

We are flame and shield and ward and defense. We are war, we are warriors of the light. We’re the blood (and Mother) of dragons and we’re anything but mundane! Magic(k) is applied theology. Magic is faith and faith is magic. We much unblock, enchant, clear the dead, build our altar, petition our allies, call our Saints, practice our praxis. We are Gypsy Rose. We are Melusine. We are Artemis. We are Mary. We are Eve. We are Black Rose. We have Faith. 

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Like a Gladiator of Happiness, we can lift Depression. Wrap our arms around a crying Angel, heal her, make her feel well – make her alive again, enliven her. No longer marble or stone, but flesh. To make her soft again, rounded, milky, warm. So, she’s light and newborn, exquisite and sweet. Angel Rose. She can be sticky, luscious, juicy, buttery, honied and perfumed. We will pluck her sad bereft statue from the corner in the garden, she will again be Queen of Flowers. No longer cold and rocky, nor thorny and leathery. Mature, but no longer dry, still sensitive but not broken. Not frozen either, stuck in time – but moving. Our Lady is free. And she is resilient. 

I am unafraid. I will endure. We will outwit and remain unbroken. My spirit will never dampen. As a daughter of Sion (literally – the name of my old school), I’m unafraid of a tug and a tussle and never turn to run from the fray.  For we all need to keep the torch burning and pass it on, as a light to show others the way. For the future, our future, we be only what we (choose to) make of it. Can you hear the voices? Past generations, the traditions coming down from years gone. They’re calling to me, to us, to carry on, carry on. Our Lady, John over John, I, we, we will carry on.

These are my herby/oil weapons for a magical life in weird times. With them I feel invincible, I fight for my world, I salvage, I have courage, I flourish. This is my resilience route, with the resilient root. It’s my angelic aromatic armory, with soldiers of: Balm of Gilead, Sandalwood, Castor oil, Garlic, Vervain, St. John’s Wort, Dragons Blood, Rue, Thyme, Lemongrass, Rose, Anise, Rosemary, Basil, Frankincense, Spikenard, Hyssop, High John the Conqueror, Agrimony, Allspice, Calamus and Myrrh.

Thanks to Hoodoo Herb Magic I’ve rediscovered my Catholic roots as well as connecting to old ways pagan plant practices and nature magic faith. Roots and roots. Folk healing is keeping my spirits high. As well as High John, and Saint Martha /Martha the Dominator, Archangels Michael and Raphael, Saint Expedite – I have The Great Mother (be she Mary or Isis or Hecate or Gaia or Brigid). I have a positive psychology outlook, I've Resilient Practitioner and spiritual counselling training, and I’m an optimist.

With Coaching, Conjure and Catholicism, outside my family and the day job, my way is very much open. Keep your head up, keep lifting your head up dear angels. Follow the way of the rose. Thorn and bud. Bloom my loves, bloom.

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