Article

by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle

Photo by Eva Elijas from Pexels

Can someone or something be so vile that the very Earth rejects it? Can someone be so corrupt that the spirit world will not accept them? The idea that this can be so is found throughout folklore. Pure water rejects the dunked Witch. Holy ground repels the monster. This paradigm presented itself again recently, as it tends to do when someone whose actions are poisonous and treacherous dies, but I’m not sure how true it is.

For those abused, it’s consoling to think of the evil doer being rejected in the afterlife, doomed to wander without rest. Yet it’s not unlike the fundamentalist view of the non-Christian tormented in hell. The eternal punishment of the Christians was more of an alchemical purification for the Zoroastrians, with everyone eventually going to paradise after purification. So what does the Witch believe?

We often state we believe in no hell. We believe in no Christian Devil. The occultist might conceive of an astral hell—you get whatever you imagine and expect until you figure out how to get beyond your expectations.

Most of us were not taught a segmented afterlife, though we see some evidence of that in the ancient mystery schools and Norse myth. For the Norse, the hero who died in battle, the one chosen by the Valkyries, gets a paradise. Those without honor, thieves and murderers and their ilk, get someplace much less hospitable, worse than those who die average deaths from illness and age.

In ancient Egypt, if the heart was not lighter than a feather, you would be devoured and annihilated, though we do not know if that judgment was reserved  for kings in their mystery cults or enforced for everyone. The Greeks separated Tartarus, Hades, Elysium, and the Fortunate Isles, and initiates of the mysteries gained a map.

So what happens when someone who doesn’t live by any of their self-described Christian morals—or even common decency at all, like Rush Limbaugh—dies? I’ve seen assumptions from magickal practitioners that such a person will wander as a hungry specter, rejected by the ancestral spirits as too vile. I’m not sure that’s true. Isn’t that nothing more than our human assumptions operating in a non-human world?

What does the Earth do? Does it reject anything? In the highest mysteries of the dark goddess, does she turn away the dead? No, the goddess accepts it all, including the shit. She accepts all things and breaks down things that resist breaking down. Even plastic will eventually decay. The layers of heaven and hell, overworlds and underworlds, spin in a great centrifuge, and everything finds its level. As it purifies, it may move on, or it may stay. Even if the spirits do reject something, over time, everything finds its level and moves in a new stream. The earth is an alchemical lab, continuing to purify and refine all things into new forms. The spirit worlds must have parallel processes.

In a three-soul view of consciousness, there is a higher part of us that is incorruptible. Those who are corrupted are completely out of touch with it due to their actions in this life and in the past. The higher soul can only do so much. It will go on in its global incarnations, hopefully with a better future connected to the next personal self. The human personal part of us doesn’t survive one life and decays with the bodily remains. Unsettled echoes can haunt us here on Earth, but they too eventually decay without a source of sustenance. The ancestral self is often corrupted and needs to be purified. While it’s possible this process is not an easy one, as blood soil descends to the pools of ancestral wisdom, like oil and water, eventually blood knows blood. Future descendants will inherit these tangled patterns and help heal the collective.

There is a transition to a different worldview when we leave this world. I can’t say I know what it is for sure, but I know its perspective is different, much wider than our own. While I can revile the actions of the living and the dead, and even revile the personality, I can also hope for healing and different choices in the next life.

by Karin Ugander

The sun has moved into the sign of Gemini.  If you have a friend born in the sign of Gemini, you most certainly have enjoyed many good laughs together. Geminis are known for their sense of humour and their sharp minds. They know how to have a good time and are usually up for some adventure. One of the challenges for Gemini is that sometimes the happy face that they show to the world is not how they feel on the inside.

Gemini is a sign of opposites and just as happy and easy going they are, they are equally deep minded and thoughtful. As the sign of Gemini matures they learn to find balance between both of their sides. If a Gemini does not mature it can lead to a cynical world view and a way of hiding emotions behind bad jokes. One of the lessons of the sign Gemini is learning to be honest, and learning to communicate with the heart and not just the mind. And when that connection between the mind and the heart is made Gemini can become the greatest storyteller and teacher of all.

Gemini and Tarot card The Lovers

Right now we have many placements in the sign of Gemini. Venus (love and romance) Mercury (communication) the North Node (where we are supposed to go) and the Sun. We will all be put in situations when we will have a choice of taking things seriously or not.

In life we are many times put in the situation when someone comes to us asking for help. It can be that they stand in front of a problem, or difficult situation. There are times when the best thing is to lighten up the situation. Perhaps joke about it and say “You don’t have to worry about that! You will be fine!” but there are also times when we need to take things more seriously. When it is not something that can be taken lightly . Being asked to help, you have to make a choice on how to respond. If you respond in the wrong way you may loose the trust between the two of you.

The tarot card The Lovers are ruled by the sign of Gemini, which is surprising for many. But when you think about it, relationships and romance are filled with choices. Beginning with “Should I say yes to the date? If  the relationship deepens and your partner asks you “Do you love me?” or “Will you marry me?” As soon as the question is asked, the relationship has changed no matter if the answer is Yes or No.

If, or when someone comes to you with a problem during this passage, pause a moment before taking action. Think about it, consult with someone you trust if needed. But, don’t wait too long or you will miss your moment of being able to be an allied and trusted friend. Gemini is a fast sign and you need to stay alert.

Mercury and Venus travels together until the 3^rd of June. Then Venus moves forward into the sign of Cancer.

Mercury goes retrograde from the 29^th of May until 22^nd of June and will stay in Gemini until the 12^th of July. So we will get a lot of time to practice our communication skills!

The sun is in Gemini until the 20^th of June.

Vesta and transformation

Vesta is one of the asteroid goddesses. While not the largest of the asteroid, Vesta is the brightest and the only one that can be seen with the naked eye. The Greeks know her as Hestia and the Romans worshipped her as a goddess of the hearth and a keeper of the flame.

In the astrology chart she is usually very strong if the client is a priest, priestess or has a strong spiritual connection. Vesta brings out devotion, passion and transformation. For many people soul searching and intensive transformation is something that happens perhaps a few times in their lives, usually during the Saturnus returns in their 30 ties, the Uranus opposition at midlife and Chiron return at the age around 50. For people with a strong Vesta the need for transformation does not end after some time. They begin by wanting more and after some years they need more transformation and it has become not just a way of living but also a way of being. These people are usually strongly connected to the energy of Vesta.

If you have this strong connection to Vesta and transformation, it is wise to remember that not all people are like you. They could be happy in their lives with a lesser dosage of transformation. That is ok and that is their choice in this lifetime, in the same way as you are choosing a faster and more challenging speed of transformation in this incarnation. Who knows, perhaps the last time you were incarnated together it was the other way around?

Danger of pushing it over the edge

Right now Vesta is very active, that means that she is pushing for transformation and change. Vesta is making a challenging aspect to the Sun (Me, I) and the north node (where we are meant to go) in Gemini (communication, choices). She is also in a challenging aspect to the South Node (our past, karma) and the asteroid Juno (relationships) in the sign of Saggitarius.

With this energy Vestas need for change and transformation can bring relationships and situations to the edge. We may think that we know how our loved ones, our boss, friends will respond when we push them, but the truth is that we don´t know. And the same thing the other way around. We may think that we know how we will react in a certain situation, but we really don´t know until it happens. The tension right now makes things, people and situations work differently than they have done before. There is a danger of unintentionally pushing a situation or relationship over the edge.

Both Gemini and Saggitarius likes to talk, bicker, and at times even argue as a way of letting out some steam and overloaded energy. But this is not the time for that. Things are tense right now, and most people are doing their best to hold things together without the extra pressure of fighting and arguing with people close to them. If you are overloaded run an extra mile, scream in the forest, find an healthy outlet.

This tension is also seen with the opposition (challenging aspect) between Mars (anger, violence, will) in Cancer (family, children, home) and Pluto (violence, subconscious) in Capricorn. Unfortunately this aspect increases violence in the home, reckless driving and dangerous situations.

On a global plane things are both unpredictable and tense. Countries, states and organisation could react and make moves that no one expected and that brings an uncertainty on to how to find balance and peace again.

Vesta is in challenging aspect to the Nodes until the 10^th of June and the Sun until the 13^th of June. She continues to be in challenging aspect to Juno until the 19^th of June.

Mars is in challenging to Pluto until the 15^th  of June

New Moon and Solar Eclipse

On the 10^th of June we have a New Moon in Gemini together with a Solar Eclipse. This will bring many of energies that I have mentioned above to a culmination. Even if there is a lot of tension present, new moons can also be about new beginnings and the power to change things for the better.

Saturn as a protector

Saturn is a planet that in many cases has a bad reputation. He is the lord of time, the teacher, the challenger and is many times looked upon as being boring and basically something that you don´t want in your life. But Saturn has many good sides to him as well. Being a protector is one, slowing things down to make sure that we mature before we continue to the next phase is another. Saturn is usually felt more physical and intense when he is in retrograde motion.

Right now Saturn is making a good aspect to Juno (relationships) in Sagittarius and the Sun. This can both help and assist us in finding balance between ourselves and the relationships around us.  If you hit a closed door, take a moment and think about it before you see it as something bad that needs to change immediately. Perhaps the door is closed for a good reason that you don´t know about yet. Perhaps it is something better waiting for you somewhere else. Or perhaps it is just a matter of timing (Saturn)

 Saturn is in good aspect to the Sun until the 10 of June.  Saturn is in good aspect to Juno until the 1 st of September, and for that we can all be very happy! Saturn goes direct again on the 11^th of October.

Summary: My advice is to tread carefully. Don´t take things or people for granted. Be impeccable with your words and actions. Embrace the inner priest and priestess, be The Wise one, and foremost…Be kind. 

Blessings! / Karin Spirit Talker Turtle Red

Karin Ugander (Spirit Talker Turtle Red) is a spiritual channeler living in the south of Sweden. In Scandinavia she is known for the AstroNumerology and psychic readings she’s been doing for over 20 years. Together with her husband Niklas, she runs KaniSkolan, a school of astrology, numerology, tarot, StarCode Healing, and natural medicine. They are also the founders of Alven Inner Ring tradition, a Scandinavian mystery school with roots in shamanism and magick. Karin loves to create magickal oils, flower essences and sigils she combines in her “Karin Victoria” sigil candles and flower sprays. In her spare time she likes to travel, walk in the forest with her dog, and spend time by the ocean. Karin is an ordained high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program. Her work can be found on Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial and she can be reached at karin@kani.se.

by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle

Photo by CDC from Pexels

When I began in the Craft, the connection between magick and science was both groundbreaking and completely natural for the time and place, an idea championed for me by Laurie Cabot and her Witchcraft as a Science classes. Later I studied the Indian guru Yogananda, who described kriya yoga to the Western world as a form of high technology. The idea of magickal techniques and structures being a form of technology is one promoted by many magicians today.

Today, in an era of ever-growing religiosity around Paganism and Witchcraft, many either don’t understand the connection or seek to break the two, looking at science as science and religion as religion, each separate, neither requiring the validation of the other. Due to growing—and often valid—concerns around culture, identity, history, and language, Witchcraft and Magick are being divorced from occultism.

Why should someone involved in Witchcraft explore scientific theories like quantum physics? Such knowledge is not needed, they say, and it confuses things. Yet those seeking connection, or even validation, between science and the esoteric are aligning with the ethos of the older traditions where science, art, and religion were all unified, as they were in ancient Sumer and Egypt among other cultures. It is in lands such as these, lands now occupied by very different people and traditions, where the ideas of many of our occult traditions are rooted.

Even until fairly recently, science and esoteric philosophy were entwined, with most doctors and scientists also being alchemists, astrologers, and magicians. Many of those we credit with the greatest discoveries of science would also be considered occultists. While we have divided them in our minds and blamed any superstitious views (according to our contemporary understanding) as being a product of their time, their esoteric ideas led to a more cohesive worldview than the products of their science alone would have. One could argue this division, this lack of the sacred in our modern science, while producing amazing technologies has also led to the problems of industrialization and the sheer damage we have done to the planet and each other in recent centuries.

While this division might be currently necessary for the secular and all-embracing society of equality and justice we envision but have yet to manifest, the reunion of science, art, and religion occurs within the being of the practicing occultist and Witch. Witchcraft is not simply a religion as most define it today, but an experimental practice of consciousness, of evolution. Like the various old alchemical sayings best summarized as “separate, purify, and reunite,” the division of science, art, and religion was necessary, just as their eventual reunion in our future is also necessary. Occultists are laying the experimental groundwork for that undivided future.

Magicians grasp at quantum physics, one of a number of cutting edge theories, because it is one of the first ideas straight from the scientific community that points back into an esoteric direction. While it’s quite true metaphysical teachers have bent it to say things that physicists are not saying, the key implication is that the observer has an influence on what is observed. Physicists are saying this effect happens only on a quantum level, not on the level of everyday events. Yet metaphysicians argue that everyday events, objects, and people are made from particles on a quantum level. To the occultist, this understanding goes back to the idea that consciousness has a role in creation. For the occultist the first consciousness, the first cause, creates everything, and we are all expressions of it, endowed with a measure of consciousness, continuing to create.

Magickal people, perhaps unlike dogmatic fundamentalists, don’t deny science, but realize things are occurring on more than one level. The argument comes at the point of origin: random chance evolving into the perfect patterns of our universe, solar system, and planet? Or patterns of consciousness on some as-yet-uncharted level guiding the process? Occultism is somewhat of a bridge between the intelligent design of the fundamentalist and the random chance and uncertainty of current science. Yet the occultist uses it not to stop exploration, but to expand it. The occultist can understand that in a science class, ideas of intelligent design are inappropriate due to the criteria of modern science. However, the occultist also wants to be educated, to have a worldview and live in a society with a worldview that includes art, philosophy, psychology, theology, and those who are exploring how those things are deeply connected in us.

We don’t live in a world of occultists, but if you are a practicing magician and have truly experienced magick, you are living the link between consciousness and manifestation. You are participating in the conscious unfolding, communicating with the land, spirits, and gods all around us. While you can behave appropriately for each circumstance in our current society, where such realities cannot be accepted, you cannot divide yourself internally. Magick is not just for the circle, the altar, the woods. If you are actually doing it, magick will permeate every aspect of your life and give you a cosmological worldview where science is speaking to only a fraction of your reality. An important fraction to be sure, but the art of your life is truly the balance and unification internally of all your experiences, progressing you forward on a path of evolution. If your magick does not permeate every aspect of your life, then you are simply emulating the Sunday Christians, the Christmas and Easter Christians, whose Christianity does not inform their every thought, word, and deed. Any act of true religion is linking, expanding, and connecting, and as such, should utterly transform. Witchcraft should change us even more, because Witchcraft is the art, science, and religion of change.

by Karin Ugander

There are times in our lives when the path or road ahead of us is illuminated and everything makes perfect sense. We just put one foot ahead of the other and carry on. Then there are times when the road is a bit overgrown and not used as much. We might even begin to ask ourselves if it is even a road or path that you can use?

Watch out for yourself

The Sun (me, self) is meeting up with Lillith Black Moon (what we cannot see) in the earth sign Taurus. This can be quite a challenging thing. What ever Lillith Black Moon touches she makes partly blind, so when she touches the Sun we cannot see ourselves, our motives or our behaviour clearly. It is easy to overvalue ourselves and our abilities (the Sun) material things and our resources (taurus) You can get carried away and shop to much, drink to much or exercise far beyond your limit. Many times the people close to us picks up the signals of things going the wrong direction, far sooner than we ourselves do. So check in on yourself, check in with your loved ones.

The gifts of Lillith Black Moon

So what about Lillith Black Moon, is she all bad news? No she isn’t, but you cannot get her with simply your mind or usual senses. You need to slow down and feel her. She is the deep nourishing and healing energy that you might find deep in a healing cave or in the middle of a sacred Nordic sauna ceremony. Lilith helps us to release, let go and accept the fact that we are not in control of the situation. If we do that, then she can bring us the wisdom of seeing in the dark, and knowing in our bones.

Strange and weird things can take place with Lillith Black Moon very active, no matter if the astrological aspects are traditionally considered good or bad. As a Witch and a mother, I´m more aware and alert during these passages and make sure that the wards and protection routines are in order.

Lillith Black Moon is conjunct the Sun until the 23^rd of May

She is in good aspect to Neptune until the 9^th of June, to Pallas Athena until the 20^th of July

And to Pluto until the 30^th of July.

Great ideas and good partners

Venus the planet of Love is in Gemini (communication, talk, travel). This helps us to communicate in a loving and harmonious way. Venus is also making a trine, a good aspect to Saturn (manifestation) in Aquarius (friends, groups, organisations) This helps to build strong alliances and good partnerships. Saturn is also making a good aspect to Mercury (trading, communication, shipping) making this energy even stronger.  This energy is also good for learning and making new information stick as Saturn is connected to memory and manifestation.

Pay attention to signs, new contacts and good conversations. Take your time to talk to people and listen to what they are saying. Good things may be on their way to you, but you need to be open and alert. This influence is strengthened by Venus right next to the North Node (destiny, fate) in Gemini. Not only can this be good, it might even change your life direction and help to steer you towards your destiny. This is extra strong when it comes do education and learning.

Mercury is in good aspect to Saturn from 8^th of May until the 19^th. The North node and Venus are travelling together until the 24^th of May. Venus is in good aspect to Saturn until 25^th of May.

Spiritual Differences

Right now we have Neptune (spirituality, art, devotion) in his own sign Pisces. Right next to him we have the asteroid Pallas Athena (intellect, strategy, battle). The good energy created from this is that people become more devoted to what they believe in, what moves their soul. This is wonderful for people fighting battles for a better life and for the good of humanity. The challenge is however that what is considered right and for the good of all, many times depends on which side you are standing.

Neptune and Pallas Athena are making a challenging aspect to Mercury in Gemini (intellect, sharp mind) and a hard aspect to Juno in Saggitarius (arguments, my way or the high way mentality). On a collective plane this can make the world politics very hard. Tense situations are in danger of becoming more dangerous. This is a time when meditating alone or together for peace and balance could make a big difference. Also making crystal mandalas and grids over your district or infected parts of the world could be of great assistance.

Mercury is in challenging aspect to Neptune until the 15^th of June and in challenging aspect to Juno until the 29^th of June. Pallas Athene and Neptune are travelling together until the 27^th of September.

New perspectives

On a personal level the same thing applies. We need to be on guard if our homes becomes more tense and stagnant. Do we allow our children, partners, friends and colleagues to have different opinions from our own? Are we allowed to? What is open for discussion and what is not?

If we want our children and teenagers to be able to stand up for themselves, to say no, to create change in the world, then we need to allow them to practice that in the safety of their homes.

I´m not saying that you have to agree to everything, or throw all of the house rules out of the window. But perhaps listen, hear them out. New perspective is not only good, it can also be liberating. Changing routines is many times food for spirit and the soul. When you try new things, you discover things you did not see before, and that is once again one of the gifts of Lillith Black Moon.

Summary

We are moving into a passage when it is important to be alert and focused, yet flexible and open. Allow yourself and others to have a new perspective. That could be about a new business partner, new alliances or members of your family wanting to change the routines at home.

If an unusual trail of information and knowledge comes your way, my advice is to not immediately dismiss it. Use discernment, but try to stay open. Chances are that what you learn will in some way be important for you in the future.

If you step into a tense situation, this is not the time to fuel the fire, but rather call for powers of harmony and peace.

Other important dates: Full Moon in Sagittarius with lunar eclipse on the 26^th of May. In Sweden on the 27^th of May. Mercury retrograde begins on the 29^th of May and ends at the 22th of June.

Blessings! / Karin Spirit Talker Turtle Red

Karin Ugander (Spirit Talker Turtle Red) is a spiritual channeler living in the south of Sweden. In Scandinavia she is known for the AstroNumerology and psychic readings she’s been doing for over 20 years. Together with her husband Niklas, she runs KaniSkolan, a school of astrology, numerology, tarot, StarCode Healing, and natural medicine. They are also the founders of Alven Inner Ring tradition, a Scandinavian mystery school with roots in shamanism and magick. Karin loves to create magickal oils, flower essences and sigils she combines in her “Karin Victoria” sigil candles and flower sprays. In her spare time she likes to travel, walk in the forest with her dog, and spend time by the ocean. Karin is an ordained high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program. Her work can be found on Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial and she can be reached at karin@kani.se.

by Karin Ugander

We are in a period when there is a lot of growth and progress going on, both on a personal and collective plane. But progress isn’t always easy or pleasant. Sometimes it means breaking a rather comfortable mould to be able to step out of it and into something new. When we step into a new territory there is always a higher risk and the danger of reading the map wrong. So let’s take a look at the stars and see what navigating assistance we can get.

Confusion of the Heart

“Follow your heart!”, “Your heart knows what to do!” You have heard it many times, and probably said it yourself a few. But what about those times when the heart is confused? When the heart is processing old stuff with new things and everything is just terribly entangled and confused. What about then?

Right now we have the planet Venus (love, romance, relationships) in the sign of Taurus. This is one of the signs where Venus is at home (the other sign is Libra). People born in the sign of Taurus feel things very strong in their bodies and now with Venus in this sign, this will be the case for all of us. One of the challenges for Taurus is to understand and decode what all the strong emotions and feelings means?

For Taureans many things are going on as they process and digest thoughts, emotions and energy  through their body and system. They need time to really understand what’s going on. This could mean that you may have to wait for an answer. But they will always answer you if you have asked a question.

Now when we have Venus in Taurus together with a challenging aspect to Saturn (lord of time) we are inclined to do the same. Process and digest things slowly that has happened far away in the past. A good thing to ask yourself is. “ Do I need to continue to carry these emotions and ways of looking at myself with me into the future?” “Or is it time to let go?”

Perhaps you have journeyed far away from the shy girl or boy in school. Even if she/he always will be a part of you, perhaps there is an opening to let go of the feeling of being an outsider? Or perhaps you were lacking in money and resources growing up and now that is not an issue, but you still feel like there is not enough? What ever the case is, we all have an opportunity to revaluate our way of seeing life and ourselves.

To complicate things a bit we have Lillith Black Moon right next to Venus. What ever Lillith Black moon touches she makes it hard to see with our usual senses.  Now when she is next to Venus she makes it difficult to “see” and understand our hearts. I usually say that when Lillith Black Moon is active it is like driving in a storm.  The advice is to Drive slowly and keep your eyes on the road.

To summarize this: We are dealing with our past and our hearts can play tricks on us. You can not see the road ahead, so don’t make any drastic changes. You may need some patience to figure this out. Don’t rely only on your heart and the emotional waves that are now moving through the heart. Acknowledge it and allow it to pass much like a detox for the heart. It’s okey to feel, but it is also okey to move forward when ready to.

This transit is most intense around the 1^st of May until the 3^rd of May. After that Venus moves away from Saturn. Around the 9^th of May Venus has moved away from Lillith Black Moon as well, and is entering into the sign of Gemini. We may feel the energy effect from this transit for some time after as well. Be kind to yourself and your Heart.

A Bit of growth Pain

Good news are that we are not only dealing with our past, there is also a strong energy helping us to grow and move forward. Pluto (death and transformation) is in the sign of Capricorn (time, rules) and there he is making a good aspect (trine) to The sun, Lillith Black Moon, Venus and Mercury (communication). Here they are receiving a good push from Pluto to expand and become more.

But, these are not the fast moving winds of change and expansion coming from out of the blue, those are more connected to the heavenly Jupiter. This is rather the flower growing  steady and finally breaking out of the flowerpot. This is not moving because you fell in love with a lovely house that just happens to be perfectly renovated and fore sale. This is rather that your family has grown to big and you are desperately needing more space. Either tearing down some walls in the house you are in, or moving to a renovation project. Pluto is more acting out of necessity and he is ready for hard work. The rewards of working with Pluto are great! He is demanding, intense and it can sometimes feel like he is giving us an impossible task. But afterwards you are able to reap a great harvest that is not only seen in the outer world, it is also closely linked to your soul.

Mercury is in good aspect to Pluto until the 5^th of May, Venus until the 11^th of May. The Sun is in good aspect to Pluto until the 25^th of May and by then the Sun has moved into the sign of Gemini.

Be prepared even in good times!

Because we are dealing with earth signs (Taurus and Capricorn) this can effect very physical things like our bodies, finances, our homes and our work. With Lillith Black Moon being present we have to calculate with all the risks involved even if the project itself is very good. You need to add the worst case scenario in your calculations, especially if you don’t believe it will happen. You need to be prepared for delays, change of plans and new directions.

Let’s say that you are fixing the roof. Thinking “It ‘probably won’t rain”, is not good enough. You have to secure the roof making sure the rain doesn’t come in. If you have a restaurant and is dependent on a fresh supply of vegetables from another company every morning, you may have to look for other suppliers, just in case something happens to that company. You need a plan B and a plan C up your sleeve. Especially if your restaurant is expanding and on the brim of reaching the next level of success.

Lillith Black Moon is good aspect to Pluto until the 30^th of July.

Despite the dangers and the need to be prepared, this could be a very rewarding time! Lots of potential for manifesting your dreams and making them real!

Blessings! / Karin Spirit Talker Turtle Red

Karin Ugander (Spirit Talker Turtle Red) is a spiritual channeler living in the south of Sweden. In Scandinavia she is known for the AstroNumerology and psychic readings she’s been doing for over 20 years. Together with her husband Niklas, she runs KaniSkolan, a school of astrology, numerology, tarot, StarCode Healing, and natural medicine. They are also the founders of Alven Inner Ring tradition, a Scandinavian mystery school with roots in shamanism and magick. Karin loves to create magickal oils, flower essences and sigils she combines in her “Karin Victoria” sigil candles and flower sprays. In her spare time she likes to travel, walk in the forest with her dog, and spend time by the ocean. Karin is an ordained high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program. Her work can be found on Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial and she can be reached at karin@kani.se.

by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle

Paradox is at the heart of the mysteries, and I both love and hate the presence of social media in occulture. I love that it has shared teachings, lore, ideas, and people who I might not otherwise come across in my life. I’ve seen some incredibly talented practitioners and insightful teachers and healers. I love there is a tool for them to have greater reach and success. I hate that in the currents of the media sea that bring me such amazing perspectives, there are so many horrible ones, sometimes by the same people, and often the horrible opinions and practitioners can have an outsized presence.

“Amazing” and “horrible” are in the eye of the reader, I know. My concern is when something problematic—something that is misunderstood, misinformed, or is a half-thought-out reaction from someone with reach—gains ground, and a large number of people agree. That misinformation then gets woven into their own truth and perspective. Many people with pretty pictures, controversial “hot takes,” and a lack of real world boots-on-the-ground experience, but an abundance of internet savviness can influence a wide swath of less experienced people. I guess it’s always been that way, as the elders to my generation complained about the plethora of bad books out there. Yet a book required a bit more time and digestion, and the rapidity of tweets and posts seems to change the dynamic. Nonetheless, sifting the bad from the good, the chaff from the wheat, is an age-old occult task.

Recently I was a bit stunned to see an otherwise knowledgeable and balanced practitioner rail against “vibration.” I come from the old occult world of The Kybalion. Everything vibrates. It was strange to see what parts of the paradigms of the modern occult and metaphysical movements are accepted and what are rejected, what are understood and what are possibly not, what is rejected in reaction to other’s misunderstandings, all of it creating a chain reaction that ultimately causes us to lose important bits of lore, knowledge, and theory. The response was regarding practitioners telling others to “raise their vibration,” a time-old phrase in the lightworker New Age movement. The phrase alone isn’t helpful, but don’t dismiss the idea of vibration as an important metaphysical concept.

The concept has to do with metaphor of transmutation. If we are defining vibration strictly as motion-based, then we have to restrict everything to physical phenomena and measurable quantified energy. Matter has a density to it even when at rest. Measurable energy has an oscillation, from sound to electromagnetism. If we are going to be “energy workers,” then we assume we are working with an energy in a spectrum that hasn’t been quantified, or as many occultists would think, on one spectrum with parts of that spectrum, those of magick, not quantified. Matter is its densest end, the soul the more ephemeral and unmeasured energy. Emotion, thoughts, and sensations would be part of that “life force” spectrum that we can observe the results of, but don’t have agreed upon measurements in science.

Raising your “vibes” certainly sounds trite, and without technique, the injunction is not helpful, but it has basis in esoteric tradition. You might find it expressed in “turning lead to gold.” While many alchemical traditions were literal, today most are not, and this particular one is a metaphor for the process of raising the vibration on this spectrum moving from density of thought and feeling—depression, karma, sin—to something lighter and more ideally refined, the pure gold of peace, awareness, compassion. It is transmutation based on intention, focus, environment, and the materials that help or hinder the process—what we eat, what we wear, what we listen to, and what we focus our attention upon.

Each generation finds its own language, and in this modern age which started in the late 1800s, we have sought to reconcile science and metaphysics as they once were among the natural philosophers. If you have a problem with that, you should stop using the term “energy” for spiritual vitality unless your energy work involves electroshock therapy or shining a colored flashlight on someone. If you are okay with metaphysical, unquantified-as-of-yet energy, you would also be okay with the expanded metaphysical definition of vibration. While this certainly doesn’t excuse the lack of meaningful help in the advice to “raise your vibration,” one shouldn’t obfuscate the essential valid idea.

This was just one example I saw. I wonder how many other babies are being thrown out with the bathwater. I encourage the change of terminology, the evolution of idea, and the valuation of process, but fear the dismissal that often accompanies these shifts. Our ability to have access to so much energy is wonderful, what I often call the Great Blessing of our Age, but it also can be overwhelming and lead to repudiation, misunderstanding, and loss of key metaphysical points in our education because they did not spark an initial interest. Our lack of “liberal arts” in metaphysics means that even in this age of interdependence and interconnection, our esoteric specialists can be just as blind as our technological and medical specialists to the greater whole. This is the dual edge of the Great Curse of this Age—access to everything, but little context and integration.

You can’t learn everything at once, but what is your pattern to learning? Is it haphazard? Can you get a full view of any one thing? Reflect on what you dismiss. Look to where it’s been used successfully. Think carefully if you hold the voice of authority in your community, if you have a following. How are you using that influence? Are you pushing your own blind spots as wisdom? Are you empowering, or simply seeking assurance and agreement, bolstering your own sense of security in your blind spots? Know thyself, and know that whether you believe in vibration or not, what you do reverberates through your domain, your reach, and beyond, changing things in seen and subtle ways. Be aware and conscious of the changes you set into motion.

by Karin Ugander

Spring is on its way and the Sun is about to enter the earth sign of Taurus. Waves of hope, new beginnings, and change are coming towards us, and yet there can be a current of melancholy and sadness. Old relationships and wrongdoings can pop up in unexpected situations and you may find yourself thinking and talking about things you thought you were over and done. So what is going on? Let’s take a look together and see what we can find.

Reflections from the Past

Pluto, the planet of transformation, change, death, and rebirth is in the sign of Capricorn (karma, time). Pluto, like Hades, is lord of the underworld and they make us go deep. They help us to look under the surface and ask what is really going on? Pluto is associated with death, and just like death you cannot escape from Pluto when he is meeting up with you in life. If we are wearing an untrue mask, Pluto reveals the masquerade and shows the truth. At times this can be uncomfortable and even a bit frightening. But afterwards it can feel liberating and deeply healing. As you might already have guessed, having a Pluto transit is great when doing therapy, because you deal with the root of the problem and not just scratch the surface.

You Cannot Fool Yourself

Right now the Sun (Me, I) and Mercury (thought, intellect, siblings, friends) is making a challenging aspect to Pluto, and until just a few days ago so did Venus (love, relationships). This is one of the reasons why you may have been thinking about past painful situations and relationships lately. This is a great opportunity to analyse things like “What went wrong?”, “What did I learn from this?” and “What can I do to not get into a similar situation again?” My sister Anna says “You can try to fool others, but you can never really fool yourself” and that is so true when meeting Pluto.

A good thing to remember when dealing with Pluto is that whatever Pluto touches he brings depth into, and hopefully that leads to maturation and growth, which later can become a great and abundant harvest. Not at all far away from the seed (I, Me) entering into the dark soil of earth and the underworld (Pluto) to grow and mature into a great tree!

This transit is until around the 23rd of April.

The Need for Freedom

As the Sun moves into the sign of Taurus together with Mercury (communication) and Venus (love, relationships) they all meet up with the planet of Uranus in the same sign. Taurus in itself is a down-to-earth sign, but Uranus is not a stable guy. On the contrary. Uranus wants change, freedom, and the right to be wild! If he doesn’t get heard and listened to he can start trouble. This can be everything from an earthquake to a revolution or a divorce.

On a personal level this can create tension in our close relationships and with our families. This is not a time when you should try force family members to do exactly the same thing, or be squeezed tightly together. Instead it is better to offer some space and alone time, perhaps even bend the rules a bit so it is room for some kind of feeling of freedom. On the romantic side this aspect (when in Taurus) can be quite passionate and adventurous if directed in that way. Great timing for finding new ways to appreciate each other, show affection, and love.

This is amplified by the Sun, Mercury, Uranus, and Venus making a good aspect to the asteroid goddess of Vesta in the sign of Virgo. She is protector of the home, but also connected to sex and passion. This is great, because here Vesta can help to ground the high energy voltage being created by Uranus. We can summarize this by saying “Make love, not war.”

If you feel restricted in your relationship or your environment I recommend you begin by first breathing a little bit, take your time and think things through before you act. I’m not saying you should stay anywhere where you are not feeling good or appreciated, but I am advising you to make sure this is what you really want to do. If it is, then you have a lot of energy backing you up right now towards something new.

Mercury and moves away from Uranus the 28th of April, Venus on the 29th and the Sun around the 10th of May.

Too Much?

Mars (willpower, ego) is in the sign of Gemini. There he makes a challenging aspect to the asteroid Juno (relationships) in the sign of Sagittarius. With Juno in Sagittarius the teacher inside you may step in too much. If your children ask you something about their homework, don’t take over the assignment. If your adult children ask you about the measurements for putting up a shelf, don’t rush over to their apartment and renovate the kitchen. When Mars is in aspect to Juno there may be a tendency to push our loved ones too much. Your partner wants to exercise more and you show up with a schedule for running a marathon, or your mother-in-law says she needs to drink less and you give her a four-week detox intensive as a gift.

My advice is to take a step back. While loved ones know you mean well, now is not the best time to take over or fix things.

This transit is until the 23rd of April.

Nemesis and a Chance to Let Go?

Originally the goddess Nemesis was a restorer of cosmic order. She punished acts of hubris, redressing imbalance. In astrology this asteroid can show us a person or a thing holding us back, something or someone preventing us from reaching our goals, or punishing our actions. There is also a theme about scapegoating. Sometimes we get all the blame and sometimes we are the ones pointing the finger.

On a deeper level this thing or person blocking us is often also something or someone that forces us to grow and mature, to become not only stronger, but also humbler and wiser. One way of describing it would be like Pluto (death, transformation, maturity) and Chiron (the wounded healer, wisdom) joined together.

Right now the asteroid Nemesis is next to the South Node (karma, where we come from) at 11 degrees in the sign of Sagittarius. On a personal level a Nemesis—a person or a situation blocking or hindering you—may show up or return to your life. If this happens the conjunction with the south node indicates this situation could have its origins way back, maybe even in past incarnations.

A good thing is Nemesis and the south node are making a trine (good aspect) to Chiron the healer in Aries. This can bring some good healing to the situation. Creating personal healing (Chiron in Aries) for you. Even if what is done is done, this could be an opening to finding some personal peace and closure.

On a collective plane we need to look out for media or politicians creating or shaking up a Nemesis to blame for things gone wrong. Here we have a chance to look through what seems to be “the same old story” and search for a more updated truth.

This transit is until around the 20th of May.

Peace and Harmony

If you wish to bring more peace into your life and surroundings, working with blue and pink colors in combination can have a calming effect. Specially in soft pastel hues.

• Pink stones: mangan calcite, rose quartz.
• Blue stones: blue lace agate, blue calcite

The Goddess Kwan Yin is known for calming situations and bringing peace. You may also work with the Roman goddess Pax (Latin for “peace”) or the Norse god Frey, known for sunshine, fair weather, and peaceful times.

I wish you a peaceful journey ahead!

Blessings!
Karin Spirit Talker Turtle Red

Karin Ugander (Spirit Talker Turtle Red) is a spiritual channeler living in the south of Sweden. In Scandinavia she is known for the AstroNumerology and psychic readings she’s been doing for over 20 years. Together with her husband Niklas, she runs KaniSkolan, a school of astrology, numerology, tarot, StarCode Healing, and natural medicine. They are also the founders of Alven Inner Ring tradition, a Scandinavian mystery school with roots in shamanism and magick. Karin loves to create magickal oils, flower essences and sigils she combines in her “Karin Victoria” sigil candles and flower sprays. In her spare time she likes to travel, walk in the forest with her dog, and spend time by the ocean. Karin is an ordained high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program. Her work can be found on Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial and she can be reached at karin@kani.se.

Facing Rejection

by Christopher Penczak, edited by Tina Whittle

As magickal training (both in-person and online) is a subtle process, when it doesn’t go as we envision or plan it, it can catalyze powerful, usually difficult emotions. We can use these periods to deepen our practice and truly reflect. Resistance and adversity, opposition, is part of the crooked path. It is not the easy and broad path, but a narrow one, with thorns as well as flowers and the medicines are made from both.

Some start at the source of their own resistance. By our very nature, Witches chaff against most structure or authority. I often feel that way too, and that’s fine until you are asking for, and agreeing to, a specific training. You then have to enter with both open heart and open mind, committed to the process.

Many Witches, again myself included, don’t like to share. We are private, dark creatures on an often solitary path. But when joining a class or coven, we have to figure out what and how to share. It can feel very vulnerable and difficult. Often we think we are clever by revealing just enough, but if we hold back our moments of gnosis, it can appear to our teachers and mentors we are having very little insight with the material and need a lot more time living it.

If you ignore feedback and critique as “nitpicky” or have a habit of half following or even disregarding directions, you give the impression you are not fully participating in the process. Unless there is a compelling reason, your resistance can produce an unwillingness from your teachers and mentors to go onward. I know early in my music education, with dreams of rock and roll stardom, my composition teacher gave me some strong critique about songwriting. My band loved my songs! Why didn’t he? His job, however, wasn’t to love them and affirm, but to instead guide me towards better craft, and when I stopped automatically fighting him and started seriously considering what he said, I found my songwriting improved and deepened. In our system, the mentor and Teaching Assistant are closer to peers, encouraging with their feedback. Our Dean of Students holds the standards, and together with myself, assumes a more professor-like role, with more direct critique and the possibility of discussing the more philosophical and creative aspects if your experience opens that door. But we first need to know you did the work. You don’t have to redo or even respond to much of our feedback, unless we say something isn’t acceptable and has to be redone, but your response or lack thereof helps us better understand your approach to the work. Acceptable work isn’t stellar work, and we all benefit from revisiting past work.

We can face adversity and stop, or blame, or we can use it to gain strength and wisdom. Some leave and find another way, and that is perfectly valid. Others just stop and live in any wound that is triggered by the opposition, feeling justified in doing so. The ones who go on within the community after facing obstacles are the ones who pause to ask themselves if they should go on at each step, if they are truly ready and want to go on, and if so, question the reasons why rather than assuming the process is a formality and becoming shocked when their teachers don’t share in those assumptions.

In the Temple, some take the time between sessions to ask if I, or the Dean of our school, think they are ready to go on. They often ask other detailed questions about the workload and purpose of the new class or wonder how different it is from previous classes. Their intention aligns with the reality of the situation. They say “if” I’m accepted to the next class, not “when.” Those who navigate it best respond with honest inquiry, of self and staff. They may disagree, but inquiry and reflection become key. I’ve initially disagreed when I’ve been rejected from something, but it has been a catalyst for inquiry and evolution. Those who blame, lash out, or don’t even pause to ask “what could I have done differently?” demonstrate the reason why we were uncomfortable going forward.

I have also found great benefit at looking at the astrology of a moment of rejection and comparing it to my chart. Often I’ll be experiencing a hard transit or planetary return. One might also do a tarot reading, including the question “what am I not seeing about this situation?” In essence, following the advice of Temple of Witchcraft co-founder Adam Sartwell—“Am I thinking like a Witch?”—even around any rejection.

Rejection is a hard thing, and there is no one way to decline someone’s advancement in a program that will work for everyone. Believe me, we have tried, ranging from formal to personal and informal, as well as specific and information-heavy to minimalist and open to more inquiry. None satisfies everyone. And it’s hard to predict the best approach for anyone. But the response is also a barometer of the decision and the potential for the future.

When we frame magickal tradition as a family or tribe, then we reactivate wounds around rejection in other areas of our life. Yet we stress the Temple of Witchcraft as a magickal order, not family or tribe. Magickal bonds, those in the past described as Frater and Soror in the arts, is not what most today associate with the words “brother” and “sister.” Like the bonds of a trade guild or academia, one is not guaranteed advancement based upon personal bonds, even when there is professional kinship.

Sometimes we seek education in community for reasons other than education. Sometimes we are looking to belong, and once we belong, we begin consciously or unconsciously looking for deeper levels of insider status. We had one initiate who kept volunteering in hopes of getting into the “secret party” inner circle. If there are secret parties, then I haven’t made it to that level of the mysteries yet myself. Some make the mistake in thinking the work is an unspoken transaction, a quid pro quo for service. While we offer work studies and certainly try to help anyone devoted to community work, if you are not ready to go onward, doing volunteer hours in the hopes of gaining favor isn’t the best approach.

Sometimes students are looking for validation or recognition. Many come into esoteric education to tell you all about what they already know and equate it with what you are teaching, rather than experience the lessons with a fresh beginner’s mind or no expectations. They seek recognition without true change.

Some are looking for reward as a part of that validation, to get something tangible or intangible, such as the necklace gift at the end of Level Five. Some are in it for the beads. Often the real reward of good work in community is more work. That’s been my experience. Sometimes we are looking to gain authority to lead and have expectations on our future status. Rejection can clash with our self-image and future plans. Many of these intentions, though not all, can be rooted in truly good intentions, but nonetheless take us out of the moment and the work at hand. The ones who declare early in their intention to go through all the levels and teach often struggle more than the ones who take it one step at a time.

In the end, the purpose of spiritual education is education, the development and evolution of the self and testing of the skills we learn, inner and outer. Understanding our motivations and expectations, along with being able to clearly self-evaluate and process critique, is vital to our evolution. Any one path of education is not the only path. One teacher is not the only teacher. You are always welcome to study on your own, and make your own way, and that is just as valid. But when you work in community and within a system or school, it’s a cooperative process that doesn’t always conform to your expectations or wishes. It can throw unexpected kinks in the road, these being teaching moments in themselves, and that is the essence of the unknown on the Crooked Path.

written by Karin Ugander

The sun is now in the sign of Aries, the first of the fire signs. The sun is close to both the asteroid Ceres (goddess of earth, nourishment) and Venus (love relationships, magick). Together they create a wonderful cocktail of passion, sex, drive and enthusiasm. They also make a good aspect to Mars in Gemini adding even more passion. This energy can be used to give sparkles to anything from your intimate relationship to a creative project. Together this combination can help you to target manifest your goals and dreams.

Apart from love and passion being able to fill up the energy reservoir, Venus right next to Ceres can also make gardening and magick extra potent and strong. Ceres is all about feeling nourished and taken care of. Together with Venus all kinds of magick can feel extra fulfilling. We usually say that Fall is the season of the witch. With these aspects we certainly have an astrological transit of the witch going on.

Mars lets go of Ceres on the 7^th of April, Venus on the 10^th of April. The sextile between Mars and the Sun is until the 22^nd  of April.

Is the glass half empty or half full?

Ceres is an earth goddess and a great provider of abundance when she is in harmony. When she’s not in balance she can instead point out where we are lacking in resources or energy. There is a saying “is the glass half empty, or is it half full?” How you choose see that glass depends on you. Can you see the good things in your life right now and appreciate them? Or do you only see what is missing?

The lacking feeling is more likely to hit people who are not  tapping into the deeper feminine and nourishing energy created by the Venus/Ceres conjunction. To help with that you can create an Altar for Earth or the Goddess Ceres. Some of her more traditional symbols are: plow, seeds, corn, pig, cornucopia.  But actually I believe that she is happy with all symbols of earth and growth. I have found that she likes flowers, crystals, seeds, mini animals to put on the altar. Most people find her very warm, loving and easy to make contact with.

This is not only creative and fun to do, it can also bring an anchoring, warm and comforting energy in times of change. If you have room for this Altar in your garden or on your balcony it is perfect! Working with the asteroid goddess Ceres opens up for further work with the other asteroid goddesses as well.

Knowing when to say no

Now when the Sun ( I, me) Ceres and Venus are joined in Aries (desire, will ) there can be an energetic or emotional hunger that is not easily fed. The more you give, the more is wanted and if you are not careful you can end up in bottomless spiral of hunger and expectations from others. Much like the Tarot card 8 of cups.

If you are usually a person more inclined to say Yes than No, be on your guard! And that goes for everything from giving the dog or the children too much treats or candy, to saying yes to your co-workers when you really should not.

This is amplified by us not having any planets going retrograde at the moment. No retrograde planets makes us less inclined to stop and think before we act. This circles around the theme of lust and desire.  Stop and think for a while  before deciding and ask yourself the question “Is this what I want, or is it what others wants from me?”

Ceres and Venus travels together until the 12^th of April. Ceres and the Sun are joined together until the 21^st of April when the sun enters into the sign of Taurus.

What kind of action?

Right now we have the wonderful asteroid goddesses Pallas Athena in Pisces (strategy, thinking) and Vesta in Virgo (devotion, home, protection) in opposition to each other. They pull in opposite directions and it can be hard to know what to do. Pallas Athena in Pisces is not so comfortable there. There her action driven energy is more aiming towards spiritual things. It becomes more soft and has a tendency to watch how things turn out, rather than having a practical approach. Vesta on the other hand, she is very practical and hands on in Virgo.

Example: You have a good friend Johanna. She has been in a bad relationship for a long time. Now she calls you up and asks for help. She says that the situation is worse than ever before. Both Vesta and Pallas Athena are ready to step in but they have very different approaches. Pallas Athena in Pisces encourages you to asks Johanna if she wants you to pray and send healing to her to change the energies around her? Vesta has a whole different approach. She asks Johanna “When do you want me to come and help you pack your bags and get out of there!”

Another example is William. He is running out of money and is worried about the family finances. Pallas Athene encourages you to ask him if the wants you to read the cards for him? See how things are most likely to play out? Vesta says: “How about making juice from dandelions and sell to the local stores to increase your cash? I will come and help you”

Either way is better than the other but it can create a lot of frustration when not knowing what to do. My advice is to do both things, approach the problem from both a practical and a more energetic level. It may also be good to ask your friend or your client what kind of support they are looking for.

Highs and lows

This tension between Pallas Athena and Vesta can make us all pendle between a lot of hands on action, doing things, being practical to a more relaxed let’s see how things work out, attitude. Choosing either side over the other can make us end up in a place we don’t want to be this spring and summer. Action (Vesta in Virgo) without wisdom and thought is not good. All thoughts (Pallas Athena in Pisces) without backing it up with action will take you nowhere no matter how clear the analyze is. Balance in the key here and if you find it you will be much more at ease.

Vesta and Pallas Athena lets go of each other on the 18^th of May. But they will meet up with each other once again in opposition in the same signs on the 18^th of June.

Expand your knowledge

Jupiter (expansion, growth) in Aquarius is in a good aspect (sextile) to the asteroid goddess Juno (relationships, collaborations) in Sagittarius (knowledge, wisdom). This is a good time to learn more and expand your understanding of things. Don’t hesitate to ask questions and do deeper research. Buy books, go on classes and set off time for study. Experts and those more knowledgeable than you are also more inclined to help you right now.  This is a good time to work together with others in joint projects and collaborations. This transit is until the 18^th of April.

Blessings! / Karin Spirit Talker Turtle Red

Karin Ugander (Spirit Talker Turtle Red) is a spiritual channeler living in the south of Sweden. In Scandinavia she is known for the AstroNumerology and psychic readings she’s been doing for over 20 years. Together with her husband Niklas, she runs KaniSkolan, a school of astrology, numerology, tarot, StarCode Healing, and natural medicine. They are also the founders of Alven Inner Ring tradition, a Scandinavian mystery school with roots in shamanism and magick. Karin loves to create magickal oils, flower essences and sigils she combines in her “Karin Victoria” sigil candles and flower sprays. In her spare time she likes to travel, walk in the forest with her dog, and spend time by the ocean. Karin is an ordained high priestess and graduate of the Temple of Witchcraft’s seminary program. Her work can be found on Instagram @flowerpowerwitch and @karinuganderofficial and she can be reached at karin@kani.se.