• About Pisces

• Frequently Asked Questions

• Inga's Celebration Calendar

• Letters from our readers

• Stone of the Sign

• The Monthly IEM Get Together

• Book Review

• The Duncan Domain

About Pisces

Pisces is, to put it bluntly, the wet time of year. The weather is soggy and we begin to wonder whether Spring will ever arrive. We tell ourselves that the showers bring Spring flowers but we can't see them yet so we need to trust that it is happening. Pisces exemplifies faith in the Universe, Transcendence, God or Goddess. Without Pisces, we would all be outside in the mud pulling up the tulips to see if they are growing.

Inga's Celebration Calendar

February 18^th - The Sun Enters Pisces. This is the time of year to take a break and renew your spirit through retreat, meditation or solitude.

February 23^rd is a New Moon - The New Moon is when 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 or inspiration.

February 27th is Mardi Gras, or Fat Tuesday - This holiday is most often associated with New Orleans but is still celebrated in Rio de Janeiro, Belgium, Trinidad and Tobago as Carnivale. This is the traditional party that takes place prior to Ash Wednesday when "sins" are renounced during the pre-Easter (Lent or Lenten) season. Kind of an "eat, drink and be merry for tomorrow ye shall be virtuous". For more information, click here to visit the official Mardi Gras website. Click here to learn more about Mardi Gras history.

February 28th is Ash Wednesday - In Christian churches, this is the first of the forty days of Lent. Lent is a time of sacrifice and some act of self-denial is performed in order to remind the participant of Jesus' sacrifice.

Forty is a traditional number of discipline, devotion, and preparation in the Bible:

• Moses stayed on the Mountain of God forty days (Exodus 24:18 and 34:28).
• The scouts were in the Promised land for forty days (Numbers 13:25).
• Elijah traveled forty days to reach the cave where he had his vision (1 Kings 19:8).
• Nineveh was given forty days to repent (Jonah 3:4).
• And, Jesus spent forty days in the wilderness praying and fasting (Matthew 4:2).

In the Ash Wednesday ceremony, a priest marks penitents by rubbing palm ashes on their foreheads with this spoken reminder, "Remember that you are dust and unto dust you shall return." Click here to read more about Lent at the Spirituality for Today website

March 2nd is our monthly IEM Get Together and Metaphysical Support Group party!

March 6^th is Alamo Day - Since 1836, the Alamo has symbolized self sacrifice for the cause of liberty to Americans. Now, don't get all fired up and rent the movie. John Wayne produced, directed and starred in this "bigger than life" chronicle and alas, it is pretty awful. If you insist on seeing it, just call me. You can borrow our copy. Read more at the official Alamo website.

March 9^th 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.

March 17th is Saint Patrick's Day. - It is not about beer. Well, okay, it's not just about beer. Kristen E. White's "Guide to the Saints" says, "This most popular Irish saint was born in Scotland, of British origin... At sixteen, Patrick was captured by pirates and became a slave in Ireland. He worked as a shepherd. After six years, he was told in a dream that he should be ready for a courageous effort that would take him back to his homeland. He ran away from his owner and traveled 200 miles to the coast. His initial request for free passage on a ship was turned down, but he prayed, and the sailors called him back. After a long journey, Patrick, then twenty-two or twenty-three, returned to his family."

Patrick returned to Ireland and spent the next 29 years traveling as a missionary. There are many legends of his work but little reliable accounting. He evidently preached and taught and opened monasteries, schools and churches. Legend has him describing the trinity to his followers by referring to the clover or shamrock. This was a sacred plant to the Celts so using it as his analogy helped to create a bridge from the ancient to the new religion and contributed to his many "conversions." This is the origin of the shamrock emblem we still associate with him. The leprechaun, also associated with St. Patrick's Day, is an obvious reference to the elementals of Pagan Ireland. Click here to read writings by and about St. Patrick at the Irish Christian website.

Stone of the Sign - Fluorite

Fluorite is a mineral that generally shows colored bands of green, white and purple and rose. It is found all over the world with huge deposits in Alaska, China, Brazil and Mexico. It is easily worked with tools and is often cut into the shapes of animals or objects such as bowls or boxes.

Wear or carry a fluorite when the moon is in Pisces or when you are doing astral projection or other psychic work. It is perfect for divination and psychometry (getting psychic information or impressions from material objects). Program a fluorite for increasing your empathy or emotional connection to others.

Click here to learn more about purchasing Inga's Earth Magic jewelry.

Book Review

Astral Projection for Beginners by Edain McCoy

Guided meditation is my favorite form of astral projection. Any of you who have experienced a hypnotherapy session with me will know what I mean. It is a safe and relatively easy way to experience the awareness of other realms of existence. Edain McCoy has written an excellent guide to the various forms of astral projection. She starts with relaxation techniques and progresses through issues of safety to ethics.

There are many things one can do with the techniques of astral projection:

• View and heal events in your past
• View events in past lives
• Chat with historical figures (honest!)
• Travel to different places and times

Like all occult practice, the techniques are fairly simple, the possibilities boundless and the crux of the whole thing is the discipline of training yourself.

This is a reassuring book, one that will make you aware that you have done this before and, with a little (or a lot) of practice you will be able to do it at will. She states, "Occultists have long accepted that the mind is a universe unto itself, and that what takes place there is very real. Think about the implications in terms of human civilization; all things that humankind has created had to first be constructed within the mind, made manifest as a single astral thoughtform."

Click here to learn more about purchasing this book from Amazon.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is Hypnotherapy?

Hypnotherapy, or hypnosis is an effective tool to solve problems such as mental and emotional trauma, anxiety, depression, phobias and confidence issues, and eliminate destructive habits. Hypnosis is one of the oldest therapies mentioned in ancient texts and is also one of the newest to be accepted by medical science. Paracelsus (1493 - 1541) developed a theory of magnetic power to explain cures wrought by suggestion (hypnosis) and Mesmer (1734 - 1815) further asserted the presence of an invisible fluid that pervades and envelopes all human beings. He named it animal magnetism and popularized hypnosis through many spectacular cures. Later proponents of hypnosis were Abbe Faria, James Braid, Joseph Bruer and Sigmund Freud. Hypnosis has been widely studied as an adjunct to medicine in surgery and dentistry as well as it obvious psychotherapeutic role.

Is Hypnosis safe?

The general consensus is a resounding YES. Hypnosis (at least the way I do it, I can't speak for all practitioners here) requires the client to go along with the suggestions. If the client chooses not to relax, or go to the meadow, or look at the picture on the wall, there is no way for me to compel them. I take my role as guide seriously and try to point out what I think might be of benefit but a client will often decide to defer opening a door, or speaking to a particular astral entity they meet along the way. Ultimately, it is your trip and you decide what you are there for.

I'll continue to address this subject over the next couple of issues with real-life examples. I'll also answer any questions on this subject that you send me. -- Inga Duncan Thornell
 

Letters from our readers

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 be it 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. We'll give you space and a byline! Please send in your own book reviews, ideas for rituals, ideas about stones, your journal excerpts, your experiences and most of all, ask us questions. We love answering questions!

Sent by Mary G:

"Meddle not in the affairs of dragons...
For thou art crispy and good with catsup."
-- Source unknown

Sent in by Scott:

"I haven't failed. I�ve found 10,000 ways that don't work."

-- Ben Franklin

Sent by Peg D.:

If we could shrink the earth's population to a village of precisely 100 people, with all the existing human ratios remaining the same, it would look something like the following. There would be:

• 57 Asians
• 21 Europeans
• 14 from the Western Hemisphere, both north and south
• 8 would be Africans
• 52 would be female
• 48 would be male
• 70 would be nonwhite
• 30 would be white
• 70 would be non-Christian
• 30 would be Christian
• 89 would be heterosexual
• 11 would be homosexual
• 6 people would possess 59% of the entire world's wealth
• and all 6 would be from the United States
• 80 would live in substandard housing
• 70 would be unable to read
• 50 would suffer from malnutrition
• 1 would be near death; 1 would be near birth
• 1 (yes, only 1) would have a college education
• 1 would own a computer

When one considers our world from such a compressed perspective, the need for both acceptance, understanding and education becomes glaringly apparent. And, therefore...

• If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof overhead and a place to sleep ... you are richer than 75% of this world.
• If you have money in the bank, in your wallet, and spare change in a dish someplace ... you are among the top 8% of the world's wealthy.
• If you woke up this morning with more health than illness ... you are more blessed than the million who will not survive this week.
• If you have never experienced the danger of battle, the loneliness of imprisonment, the agony of torture, or the pangs of starvation ... you are ahead of 500 million people in the world.
• If you can attend a church meeting without fear of harassment, arrest, torture, or death ...you are more blessed than three billion people in the world.
• If your parents are still alive and still married ... you are very rare, even in the United States.
• If you hold up your head with a smile on your face and are truly thankful...you are blessed because the majority can, but most do not.

Watch what you say in a debate! by Donald Lee W. Neel

Recently, I had the opportunity to have some intriguing e-mail debates with my uncle, a 34 year-old Conservative Republican Christian pastor. Me, being a 17 year-old mostly Liberal Pagan teen, I had some rather interesting points for him to ponder, and he brought-up some for me as well.

We debated abortion, flag burning, legalization of Marijuana, and forced patriotism, and their relation to religion; mostly HIS religion: Christianity. Although I'll not get into our debates deeply, I will say a few things I learned from them.

I learned that although you may feel that you're the one with the "right" answer in a debate, guess what; so does the other guy! And even though this may be an obvious fact, I often forget that when debating. I'm sure many of us do! ;) I also learned that just as long as we all get along, it doesn't really matter what our personal views are; that's what makes the world interesting!

The Monthly IEM Get Together

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 every one of us has a unique gift to offer to the world. 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. Please join us for dinner. We start eating at 6:30 PM. Or join us for dessert later on!
• 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!

The Duncan Domain

In Aquarius 2001, I wrote of seeing signs of enlightened co-creation around me. I'd like to tell you of a personal example and it has to do with transforming my body. I'm a bit uncomfortable about sharing this with you as this is new ground and there's lots of uncertainty for me but by sharing it, I feel it will strengthen my intention while inspiring others to start their own transformative project.

I'm calling it my "Body Modification Project". For those of you who have known me a long time, you'll attest that I've had a lot of problems with my body in terms of illness and imbalance. I attribute this to my general discomfort of being physical or incarnate. You also know that I've been actively pursuing a working relationship with Elementals and through the teachings of my astral spiritual teacher, White Elk, I've been learning to work with Earth energy portals, the access points on the Earth's ley line grid. The goal behind all of this is to develop my ability to assist in the creation of a world in which the energies of the Etheric, Astral and Physical realms can co-exist. I define those realms as follows:

• Etheric: the realm of Light and Love
• Astral: the realm of Imagination
• Physical: the realm of aligned action

Please keep in mind that these are my definitions stemming from my own experience. I went on to the Internet to see how my definitions compare to those of others and realized that I could spend weeks reading all the material. One thing is for sure: as I learn more, my definitions will expand and change. So don't hang your hat on the ones I'm offering you now.

I've been learning that the human body was specifically designed to simultaneously hold the energies of the three realms and unlock these Earth energy portals so that Earth, a living library, can be accessed. Granted, my point of view is colored by the fact that I earn a living as a Computer Network Engineer but all this sure sounds like an expanded version of the physical Internet. Let's see, everyone is connected and all knowledge is accessible. I'd say some of us are working on manifesting that spiritual vision. Either that, or I'm just a highly spiritually minded techno-dweeb.

So why the special body project? Well, White Elk and my Elemental teammates have informed me that we can not progress any further on this portal project until my body has been balanced and strengthened so it can effectively hold those energies. That and the fact that I'd like to lose the spare tire around my middle!

I've tried to lose weight before by exercising and diet but it was never effective. I attribute that to the lack of a balanced approach so this time, I took the time to clearly define the project and to make sure my intention was crystal clear. I meditated on the issue and then sat down with my journal to record my thoughts. Here's what I came up with:

• I will give this project enough time to really see if I've chosen an effective course of action. This is a big change from the usual give it two weeks and bail out disgusted and depressed at the lack of progress. So I've decided on 12 weeks of consistent effort. I'll then assess the outcome and make adjustments or take a totally different approach if I did not achieve my goals.
• I will use a combination of Hatha Yoga and walking for my exercise program. Yoga is very rewarding for me due to the quality of the meditative state I can achieve after a session. I also have enjoyed how my body feels after doing it.
• My body is sacred. It was designed to bridge the physical, astral and etheric realms. It is a temple where these 3 realms are converged and balanced.
• I dedicate my body to this purpose, to serve Mother Earth, the Elementals and the Divine Mind.
• I will feed my body what it really needs, not what I want. In other words, I will listen to my body, not my head or taste buds.
• I will ask to be shown my perfect body when I am projecting my consciousness into the Astral and I will then pull it down into the physical, or in other words, manifest that perfect body.
• I will ask others, physical and astral, to assist me.

I started with Inga to develop my plan. She suggested the following:

• That I do some homework on foods that would be harmonious for my body during this period.
• That she guide me in meditation to meet my spiritual guide to ask for coaching.
• That we watch an inspirational film about body transformation.
• That I list what I want to happen at the end of the 12-week project.

Here's what I listed for the last item:

• The Elementals in our back yard will celebrate that I am ready to begin the REAL work of co-creating a magical, loving world.
• Inga will say that I look real sexy!
• I will feel really healthy and strong and I will, for the first time, really enjoy being a physical being.
• I will be able to ride my motorcycles in a very powerful state of clarity, connectedness and comfort.

I have just completed the first two weeks of the project. I am on track. I'm learning. I'm healing. I'm becoming stronger both physically and spiritually. Best of all, I'm having a blast! I'll update you on my progress in the next issue. -- Scott Bruce Duncan */:-)

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