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September 22nd

The Sun enters Libra. This is the Fall Equinox and the holiday of Mabon. The glyph for Libra represents the setting sun expressing the balance between night and day: Equinox. Mabon mirrors the Spring Equinox (Oestara) with the Light and Dark forces of the Universe switching ascendancy.

September 27th is a New Moon

The Moon and Sun are conjunct in the sky. The moon is dark and gradually increases to a crescent. This is the time to begin a ritual involving a new project, to ask for new vision. In honor of Libra, you might state an intention of cooperating better with your co-workers or family, starting that exercise regimen or even resolving to put justice and fairness first in your life.

September 30th & October 1st

ROSH HASHANAH, written by MSG: According to tradition, Creation took place on the first of the Jewish month of Tishrei, which became known as the New Year, Rosh Hashanah.

Three books are opened on Rosh Hashanah. One is for the out-and-out wicked, the second for the truly righteous, and the third is for those in between. The righteous are immediately inscribed for life, the wicked for death. All those in the middle are sentenced on Yom Kippur.

Rosh Hashanah, called in the Torah the Day of Remembrance and the Day of the Sounding of the Shofar, begins a 10-day period of spiritual elevation, self-examination, and testing. It is marked by intense prayers, acceptance and acknowledgement of God's rule over the world, and a special closeness to the Creator of the world. On Rosh Hashanah, it is believed, God judges all Human beings. Ten days later, on Yom Kippur, people's fates are sealed by the Almighty.

On the eve of Rosh Hashanah, the synagogue is filled with men and women of all ages. People wish one another a happy new year, and add, "May you be inscribed for a good year." A spirit of holiness prevails. Afterward, members of the community retreat to their homes for a holiday meal. This festive dinner usually begins with dipping an apple in honey as a wish for a sweet year to come. "May it be the Lord's will to renew for us a year that will be good and sweet." The first day of Rosh Hashanah is devoted to prayers. The community gathers again in the synagogue, prays and listens to the shofar (ram's horn is blown). Fear and awe grip the worshipers as the ark of the Torah (5 Books of Moses) is opened and the cantor sings the sacred prayer.

After the midday meal, some Jews-children and adults, men and women, all dressed in festive clothing-go to the nearest river or other streams of water to perform a certain task. As they recite special prayers, they empty their pockets or throw bread upon the water, thus symbolically discarding their sins.

Israel stops its usual activity on Rosh Hashanah. All work ceases, Jews attend services in their synagogues and listen to the blare of the shofar, which is blown 100 times during the day. The sound of the shofar serves as a reminder of the ancient shofar heard at Sinai.

October 7th is the IEM Get-together

A friend of ours, Trevor, has never attended one of our parties or had his natal chart interpreted. He is remedying this by requesting that he be the first to have his chart read at the monthly party. We'll call it a Natal Roast! So...everyone get out your books and let's have fun with Trevor's Birth Chart.

October 9th is Columbus Day

By 1492, people had lived in the Western Hemisphere for tens of thousands of years. There is plenty of evidence that there was contact by Asians and Europeans during much of this time. But none was as well documented as Christopher Columbus' claim of Central America for Spain. Blah, blah, blah...I am a Scandinavian-American and I do not celebrate Columbus Day. Now...I don't celebrate Rosh Hashanah either but the banks are still open and the mail still gets here. Why can't government workers work the days the rest of us work? Alternatively, why can't we all agree on some random days off (say one per month) that would be unaffiliated with any single culture or religion?

Anyway, The New York Public Library has a great list of references about Columbus Day at Celebrate Columbus Day!

October 9^th is also Yom Kippur, the final part of Rosh Hashannah

From http://www.jewfaq.org/holiday4.htm

Yom Kippur is probably the most important holiday of the Jewish year. Many Jews who do not observe any other Jewish custom will refrain from work, fast and/or attend synagogue services on this day. Yom Kippur occurs on the 10th day of Tishri. The holiday is instituted at Leviticus 23:26 et seq.

The name "Yom Kippur" means "Day of Atonement," and that pretty much explains what the holiday is. It is a day set aside to "afflict the soul," to atone for the sins of the past year. This day is, essentially, your last appeal, your last chance to change the judgment, to demonstrate your repentance and make amends...

Yom Kippur is a complete Sabbath; no work can be performed on that day. It is well-known that you are supposed to refrain from eating and drinking (even water) on Yom Kippur. It is a complete, 25-hour fast beginning before sunset on the evening before Yom Kippur and ending after nightfall on the day of Yom Kippur. The Talmud also specifies additional restrictions that are less well-known: washing and bathing, anointing one's body (with cosmetics, deodorants, etc.), wearing leather shoes (Orthodox Jews routinely wear canvas sneakers under their dress clothes on Yom Kippur), and engaging in sexual relations are all prohibited on Yom Kippur.

It is customary to wear white on the holiday, which symbolizes purity and calls to mind the promise that our sins shall be made as white as snow (Is. 1:18). Some people wear a kittel, the white robe in which the dead are buried.

October 13th is a Full Moon

The Moon and Sun are opposite each other in the sky. The Moon reflects all of the Sun's light. This is the time to perform rituals for protection, clarity of vision and consecration. This Full Moon is when we need to do our Fall-cleaning: get ready for winter by bringing out the sweaters and blankets and making sure that all the Summer toys and clothes are stored away properly. This is also a good time to burn incense and clear your personal and astral space. See this month's FAQ.

October 14th to 20th is Sukkot

From http://www.cstone.net/~bry-back/holidayfun/sukkot.html

The Festival of Sukkot begins on the fifth day after Yom Kippur. The holiday commemorates the forty-year period during which the children of Israel were wandering in the desert. Sukkot is also a harvest festival.

In honor of the children of Israel in the wilderness, people dwell or at least eat their meals in temporary shelters. This shelter is called a sukkah. The sukkah has at least three sides and a partially open roof covered with greenery. Part of the fun of sukkot is decorating the sukkah with fruits and, in the United States, autumn vegetables like corn and squash.

Another observance during Sukkot involves what are known as The Four Species or the lulav and etrog. The lulav consists of a palm branch, a myrtle branch, and a willow branch bound together. The etrog is a citrus fruit native to Israel and is held separately. With these four species in hand, one recites a blessing and waves the bundle in all six directions (east, south, west, north, up and down).

Place a rose quartz in your home and office to enhance your social and business interactions. Wear Rose quartz to enhance your personal beauty and harmonize your relationships. The items pictured are available from Inga's Earth Magic. Call 206.459.6963 to order.

Bryan Jameison has been working with P.L.T. (past life therapy) for over 30 years. During that time he has he has facilitated over 25,000 regressions and gained insight into the origins of self-esteem, deformity, chronic fears, compulsions, migraine headaches, and many other issues. He provides many case histories to back up his claims and he is an entertaining as well as compelling writer.

Mr. Jameison is a former radio broadcaster with a mission. He makes an excellent case for reincarnation and mentions some well-known believers including Henry Ford, Jack London, Thomas Edison, General George Patton, Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Michelangelo, Pythagoras and even Jesus, the "Christ." He seems most interested in using these past life histories to explain some of the controversies of our culture: determining when the soul enters a baby's body, the past life origins of homosexuality and why P.L.T. is not commonly used by mainstream therapists. - Inga Duncan Thornell (Thanks to Audra for yet another great book recommendation!)

Psychic Protection 101: How do I seal a room?

Common sense dictates that we check our room or home for unsafe visitors before we assume we are alone, well...we need to do the same checking for unseen visitors. Claim your space. State and Know that no one can enter your space without your approval. I will discuss three good ways of doing this: The auric shell visualization, smoke and mirrors and guiding entities.

The auric shell visualization technique is a quickie to learn and seems to be pretty universally effective. Anytime, but especially before you leave your home, you can imagine your aura as a bubble of white light surrounding and protecting you. Pull more light in from above to strengthen the boundary. Then, each night before you go to bed visualize your aura expanding and solidifying until it encloses you, your bed, your room whatever level of protection is easily imaginable for you. I have done this since I was taught it as a child and it has never failed to keep me safe.

Smoke and mirrors is my name for the traditional hallowing technique. Light sage incense and walk a circle deosil (clockwise) around your altar, room, house or whatever you want to clear. Chant out loud (or to yourself) that you are consecrating this space for whatever your purpose is and forming a barrier to clear it of any energy or entity whose intentions are not suitable to that goal.

Alternative ways of doing this one include a mirror or silver bowl of water (to reflect the energies away) in the center of the room,. Walking once around the room widdershins (counterclockwise) to clear or banish the energies before walking the circle deosil to consecrate, or stand in the center of the room and direct energy through a crystal or wand clockwise around the room. I had good results with this technique until I began guiding entities. Ever since, I have felt kind of wrong about it, as if I was just banishing them from one place without really solving the problem.

When you feel you are in danger, any banishing technique will do. But if you want to help the situation you should try to figure out who is "haunting" your space and try to help them find their way home. You could do this by using a pendulum, tarot cards, ouija board or what Scott and I found works best is to hypnotize a friend and guide them through the place see who is there. Then, if the entity is a human spirit they can call someone who is/was close to the entity to guide them to the light. If they are an elemental, they can negotiate with them. See Duncan Domain for the interesting experience I allude to.

Some good information on the whys and wherefores of space-claiming:

Click here to read a review of The Art of Psychic Protection

also

SpiritWeb: Astral Cleaning

We think of this newsletter as a community forum. You, our friends and clients, are welcome to participate. We celebrate diversity and we'll print whatever you send in whether it be Wiccan, Christian, Pagan, New Age, etc. as long as it reflects Love. You may choose a one-time holiday to write about or have a regular column. I'll give you space and a byline! Send in your own book reviews, ideas for rituals, ideas about stones, send us your journal excerpts, experiences, and ask us questions. We love answering questions!

Here are some great quotes I've received this month:

"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember that amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic." - Unknown

The way to find true happiness is to keep your mind on those moments when you feel most happy. When you really are just happy, not excited, not thrilled, but deeply happy. This requires a bit of self-analysis. What is it that brings you happiness? Stay with it, no matter what people tell you. This is what I call "following your bliss." -Joseph Campbell

The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status or ethnic background, is that deep down inside, we ALL believe that we are above average drivers. -Unknown

We've always wondered what would happen if we got the friends we've made through Inga's Earth Magic (IEM) into a room together. Why? Because we're an amazing bunch of people and if we get enough of us in one place at the same time, something magical is bound to occur!

• When: The 1st Friday of every month. We start eating at 6 PM so please join us but feel free to drop in later, too!
• Where: Our place (click on LIBRARY in the navigation bar at the top of the screen and then MAP ROOM for directions)
• What to bring: Just your enthusiasm and love! There's a big pot of pasta on the stove and plenty of microbrews and red wine. If you have specific preferences, please bring whatever you'd like.
• How long: Until the witching hour, midnight, at which time Scott turns into a pumpkin. It's quite a sight! If you'd like, you can spend the night on one of the couches with the kitties or bring your sleeping bag and mat and camp out on the floor of Inga's office.
• RSVP: Just let us know in advance via e-mail or phone if you are coming and if you are bringing guests so we don't run out of food or beer!

Inga and I were recently asked to cleanse an apartment of any astral entities before the new renters moved in. This would be the first time Inga and I have collaborated on such a task so I asked what she'd like me to do. She suggested that I follow her from room to room as she checked for the presence of entities with her pendulum and "smudged" each room with cedar smoke while I "sealed" each room with white light. I learned this sealing technique from White Elk, my spiritual teacher, in response to my nightly sleep often being interrupted by uninvited astral "guests". He instructed me to relax and ground myself, pull Earth energy from one or more energy portals that I use into my body and use it to activate a big hunk of mahogany obsidian that I have. The stone is then used as a wand to direct this energy into the room to be sealed while stating that nothing can enter the room unless it is for the highest good of the room's occupant. The breathing during this exercise is very important as it creates an energy pump. With each inhale, the energy flows through me from the portals and into the wand and with each exhale, the energy flows out of the wand into whatever I'm directing it at. With my astral sight, I see a laser beam emanating from the wand and I use this energy to trace the outlines of all the walls plus any openings in the room like windows, doors, vents, mirrors, etc. When I do this exercise in my own bedroom before going to bed, Inga and I both sleep very soundly. When I don't, it's like sleeping on a bench in a train station!

So Inga and I went from room to room and upon completion, the apartment felt brighter but I voiced to her my suspicion that we did not clear out the astral entities that we sensed but only herded them from room to room. Inga agreed and said she could "see" one of the entities that we had herded hanging out on the front porch waiting for us to leave so he could come back in! She asked if I would be willing to have her guide me in an astral travel session and have another go at it. I assented and flopped down on my back in the middle of the empty dining room.

She relaxed me and I altered my consciousness to bridge the astral and physical realms. Inga instructed me to travel astrally into the rear bedroom and tell her what I saw. I could not see anyone but I could feel a presence. Inga asked me to see the walls as transparent and sure enough, there was a young woman hiding in the outside wall. She looked like she was in her early 20s and she looked and felt very scared, timid and lost. I became filled with love and compassion for her and I extended my hand to her. She considered it, reached out to take it and as we touched, she rushed into my arms. As I held her, Inga instructed me to call for someone from the Light to come for her. I did and a tunnel of Light opened up in the room. A man came forth. I sensed that it was her father or uncle and she ran into his arms. As they hugged, he nodded and smiled at me. After a moment, they turned and entered the tunnel which closed behind them.

Inga then directed me into the remaining bedroom and as I approached its door, I could see a man standing in the room. He felt and looked both defiant yet curious as to what he had just witnessed in the other room. As I approached him, I felt compelled to offer my hand and he accepted it in a handshake. I felt the expectancy in him so I wasted no time in calling for a being of Light and his grandmother emerged from a tunnel of Light in this room. He immediately ran to her and they embraced. She gave me a wonderfully warm smile as they departed.

I floated astrally into the dining room where my body was and Inga directed me to the front porch where an entity was still loitering. I passed through the front door like a ghost and encountered a teenage boy. I felt compelled to just sit down on the stoop and hang out and as I did, he looked me over and then sat down next to me. We didn't speak. We just sat there together, comfortable in each other's company and I could tell he was examining my pierced ear. I called for someone to get him and his brother came. My friend immediately tensed up and I knew that his death was somehow connected to this brother. I stayed detached from the emotions of the reunion and gave them space to work it out. It didn't take long and when they hugged, I knew they were going to the Light.

Inga pointed out an astral opening at the front corner of the lot. It was different from a natural Earth energy portal or a tunnel to the Light so I closed it. She had me do the same to another opening on the back porch. I then ventured into the bathroom in which there were no entities present but had felt dirty. I saw a lot of dark stains with my astral vision so I opened a white light portal and used it to vacuum up the room. I did the same with the basement.

We took one last look around and confirmed that the apartment was finally cleansed. Inga brought me back to normal consciousness and I was so filled with joy and energy, I gleefully rolled around on the carpet. Inga and I physically reexamined each room with the new renters and we were amazed at the change. Rooms that had been physically cleaned and freshly painted but felt dingy before we started were now obviously sparkling and fresh! The best part was knowing that we had facilitated some long overdue, joyous reunions! -- Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)