This weekend it’s time for Yule the celebration of Winter Solstice, such a fabulous solstice to celebrate! Here we are in the darkest day with the promise of lightness to follow.

Have you put much thought into what sort of ritual you could be doing? I've taken out all the hard work and created this fantastic Yule Ritual for you. 

Winter Alter
Decorate with sacred plants associated with the winter solstice, sprigs of holly, pine cones, along with symbols of fertility, and any other winter seasonal items that reflect a relationship with winter.

Cleansing
I love to have a bath or shower before ritual as I feel it is so important that we cleanse and clear before we do any inner work. Cleansing aids in letting go of any pent up negativity energy, release feelings of stress, tiredness, fear, angry, bitterness, or depression. There are many different ways to do clearings if you don't want to use water why not try sound, or using any other elements with intent.

Opening the circle
Keep it simple and chant while lighting a candle. You can be as expansive as you wish when connection to the Divine and the elements. It’s best to do what feels right for you as it’s yours and yours alone.

Air Moves Us
Fire transforms us
Water shapes us
Earth heals us

And the balance of the wheel goes round and round
And the balance of the wheel goes round

Meditation.
Using the easy peasy 7 minute chakra tune up mediation, you can do it just click here (use headphones).

Creating Magick - Witches Ball for protection

A Witches Ball is a hollow sphere hung at a window, or in a corner of a room near the ceiling, that averts or traps evil before it can bring harm to the occupants of the home. A place where Witches Balls turn up is on the family Christmas tree – or more accurately the Yule tree. Yes it does feel a bit weird that for those of us in the Soutern hemisphere having a Yule tree up at Christmas time in the summer.

You will need:
A container - bottle or ornament (we used heart shaped ornaments)
Protective items like sage, a pentacle, cloves, peppercorns, lavender, pins, the Algiz Rune symbol, sea salt, “protection” written on paper, cascarilla (fine eggshell powder), protective crystals, we used red jasper and clear quartz to amplify.

As you place your items into the container use the magic of 3. Once the container is full seal it shut, hold it close to your heart and chant 3 times “Into this container I place these items, to guard my heart, my heath, my family, my house, my home. Banish evil, ward off harm, protect me from all enemies. As my will, so be it.” Now hang or place your Witches Ball in your home, by a door or in a window. Any negative thoughts or ill wishes directed against you are reflected back to the sender. Programmed for protection, these witches balls do a very good job.

Gratitude Yule Prayer
I am grateful for that which I have.
I am not sorrowful for that which I do not.
I have more than others, less than some,
but regardless I am blessed with what is mine.
First, I am thankful for my health.
Second, I am thankful for my family.
Third, I am thankful for my warm home.
Forth, I am thankful for the abundance in my life.

Winter Solstice Card Spread
1. ASKING. What do I desire but don’t let myself have?
2. GIFTING. What would happen if I let myself receive the gift of that desire?
3. RELEASING. What needs to be released in order to make space for my desire?
4. ACCEPTING. What lessons have I learned this past year that have strengthened me towards my desire?
5. DISSONANCE. What is causing disharmony in my life?
6. RESONANCE. What brings harmony into my life?
7. GUIDING STAR. What message of clarity do I need to guide me on my path of desire?
8. SEEDING STAR. What should be “planted” that shall seed my desire over the coming months?

Closing the circle
it’s time to end the ritual by blowing out the candle, saying thank you, chant while bringing awareness and grounding back into the physical body. Chocolate is perfect to aid in bring you back quickly, otherwise there is a chance of NO sleep.

May the Circle Be Open 
May the circle be open but unbroken
May the peace of the Goddess
Be ever in your heart
Merry meet
And, merry part
And merry meet again.

I'd love to see photos and hear how you go with your yule ritual by using the tag #thewoowooshop

Much love,
Denita x

Comparing the Hero’s Journey to the Fool’s Journey. Joseph Campbell (1949) proposed that within every great story ever told, from ancient myth to modern day movies, one can find the same narrative inside every tale. He called it The Hero’s Journey. If we consider the chronological order of the Major Arcana or Trump cards to be a story (often referred to as The Fool’s Journey), a similar narrative is found there as well.

The journey through the Major Arcana cards from The Fool to The World. It shows how we grow from ignorance to enlightenment through various stages of development, both individually and collectively. By truly understanding the process of this journey, one can learn about the important aspects of the development of one’s self. The Tarot can reflect where you are on this journey, what you must overcome, and what you must come to accept. The Tarot enables us to explore the hidden parts of ourselves, brings light into the unknown and highlights the significance of our journeys. They are guides to self-awareness and never cease in bringing forth our own truths.

Here are some great clips you might enjoy if you have never heard of this term...

You can use the Hero's journey in your creativity as the dude from Star Wars used the Hero's Journey concept for the movie.

Today I wanted to share a musical journey I created, starting with... THE FOOL

THE MAGICIAN

THE HIGH PREISTESS

THE EMPRESS

THE EMPEROR

THE HIEROPHANT

THE LOVERS

THE CHARIOT

STRENGTH

THE HERMIT

THE WHEEL OF FORTUNE

JUSTICE

THE HANGED MAN

DEATH

TEMPERANCE

THE DEVIL

THE TOWER

THE STAR

THE MOON

THE SUN

JUDGEMENT

THE WORLD

Are you inspired to create your own playlist? It was lots of fun!

If you want to go a little bit deeper Llewellyn have A Study of the Fool’s Journey on their website you can visit by clicking here.

You could also sign up for Arwen Lynch-Poe's Spellcrafting Your Own Hero’s Journey with Tarot through Tarot Readers Academy by clicking here. I really enjoyed this course.

Or try using The Hero's Journey Tarot spread from Lost and Found Tarot...

There’s nothing more disappointing as an artist to see other people making a profit from your hard work and creativity. I have been involved in the art community for a long time, and every time I saw this happen, it really broke the artist’s spirit. It’s hard enough for artists to make money from their creations, so for someone else to be blatantly stealing the material and putting it out there really hits hard.

Moving into the Tarot world, I haven’t encountered this personally until now. Last week I bought a deck and when I received it, I could see that it clearly was a fake. It took me straight back to the art world and the pain those artists felt. I was bummed at first, and then I thought I’m the perfect person to write about this. So here I am bringing up the subject of counterfeit cards. I’ve had a look around and there are a lot of fake Wild Unknown decks out there, so buyers... beware.

If I had only just taken my time I would have never pressed that accept offer to purchase the Wild Unknown Tarot deck, from our national auction site Trade Me. Now that I look back at the auction it was wrong on so many levels. I’m putting this in the “lesson learned” basket, and staying away from buying second-hand cards (for a while anyway!). Call me crazy but I do love a second hand deck.

What do you need to look out for when buying cards?

1. First things first check to see is if all of the information is congruent. Make sure the title goes with the picture. I thought I was buying the Wild Unknown Animal Spirit Oracle deck but when I looked at the photo it was the Wild Unknown Tarot deck.

2. Look at the picture. When you read tarot seeing all the cards upside down is a massive red flag in its own right. Why didn’t I take that into consideration, you ask?!

3. Has the seller got a good account? Always make sure the person you are buying off has a well established account. Only 7 people had bought from “codythewarrior” before.

4. Trust your gut. When the offer came through I went to the page it said that the auction had been won by another person... ding, ding, ding! In the description it said “Opened and used a couple of times. Having a clear out. CHECK OUT MY OTHER TAROT CARD LISTINGS :) Good condition, cards only, no box or book included.” So why had someone else bought them? I knew then that it wasn’t right.

So why did I not listen to myself? Everything I have told you I let wash over me. I did email the seller before I bought the cards to ask if it was all good, and they said “YES”. I obviously trusted the buyer and didn’t put the effort into making sure what I was buying was what I was buying.

The person behind the account was happy to refund my purchase but I couldn’t send them back, someone else will end up buying them and I want to stop this from happening. I’ve checked the account and they don’t have any cards for sale but there are other accounts with similar listings.

Sure you can still use these cards, they work perfectly and are much cheaper than the real thing, but the deck is tiny, the colour isn’t right, and the titles of the cards are badly pixelated. Nothing compared with Kim’s deck, her quality is delicious... the cards are buttery and such a joy to use.

I did contact Trade Me to ask them what advice they had and they replied by saying “We want to make sure Trade Me stays a great place to trade, so if you come across anything that you think breaches any of our terms and conditions, feel free to report it to us using the Community Watch feature at the bottom of each live listing so that we’re alerted right away”. So please, if you do encounter fake cards, push that Community Watch button.

So now my Tarot collection has its first fake and only fake added to it. Will I use it? Not for readings but I might stick them in a book or around the house, who knows what life they will end up living? Am I upset? No way, life is way too short to worry about spending money on something that didn’t work out. What advice would I give you? Make sure the people you are buying your spiritual tools off are legit.

If you have experienced buying a counterfeit deck I'd love to hear what happened, I'd also like to know of other decks we need to be aware of.

How far can you go using The Wild Unknown artwork? CLICK HERE to check out the agreement on her website. 

You can buy the real deck just CLICK HERE. 

If you have no clue as to what deck I’m talking about, CLICK HERE to see a review by Benebell Wen

If you own this deck and want to go a little deeper CLICK HERE to check out Carrie Mallon’s unofficial meanings of the cards

From wikiHow to Use a Magic Wand

Preparing Your Wand

Charge your wand. You can charge your wand by transmitting energy from yourself into the wand. Usually do this through the hands by holding the wand in both hands. Other methods include:

Pyramid chargers. Placing the wand in a specially built pyramid charger can give it a strong charge. Pyramids can transmit energy to other items as well, and can send energy over long distances.

Natural light sources. Sunlight or moonlight, particularly strong moonlight from a full moon, are also powerful sources of wand energy.

Use desirable energy sources. This is often yourself, but be aware that wands are sensitive to other energy sources as well. Since, you don’t want to charge your wand with unwanted energy, protect your wand with a covering. This could be a cloth or a pouch, for example. Black, blue, or purple pouch coloration and celestial designs are often popular.

Be careful of depleting yourself of energy when self-charging the wand. If you feel this happening, be sure to draw energy toward the centre of your body: upward from the feet and downward from your head.

Cleanse your wand periodically. This is a way of ridding your wand of unwanted, negative energy prior to recharging it from a new, desirable energy source. There are a variety of ways to cleanse a wand. Just make sure that whatever method you use doesn’t damage the wand. So, be careful of smoke, fire, and water damage when implementing the methods below.

Selenite is a common cleanser. Selenite, often used synonymously with gypsum, is the transparent variety of the gypsum mineral. You can put your wand in contact with Selenite for any length of time, and anywhere from a couple of hours to several days is common.

Sage smoke is another method. Light the sage, and allow the smoke to circulate around the wand.

Flowing water cleanses as well. Holding your wand in a river, stream, waterfall, or other flowing natural water source can wash away negative energy.

Holding a Wand

Prepare your hands. Rub your hands together vigorously up and down and side to side for approximately 10 seconds or more prior to holding and using a wand. This will open the energy pathways in your hands which is crucial to transferring energy to the wand.

Hold the wand in your right hand for most activities. According to most texts, the wand should be held in the right hand while praying or while summoning or addressing spirits. When dismissing spirits hold the wand in the opposite hand. In this way, the wand is a sort of defensive weapon.

Alternatively, hold the wand in your dominant hand or writing hand. Think of the wand as transferring energy from your dominant hand to your other, receiving hand. Energy should flow from your centre, through your arm and hand, and out the point of your wand to the receiving hand.

Maintain a comfortable grip. Feel around the wand for a comfortable spot to grip it. Listen to the wand to hear how best to hold onto it.

Casting Spells

Find spells necessary for your wand's potential ability. Try to listen to your wand and become attuned to its abilities. Some say that the wand finds the wizard. When you are in tune with your wand, you’ll know what spells you can cast with it. Common spells include.

Love spells to attract love, seduce a mate, or heal a broken heart.

Beauty spells. These often encompass height or weight adjustment or improving self-image.

Money spells that focus on wealth, prosperity, power, or good fortune.

Protection spells to shield someone from negative energy, to protect a home or specific place, and to ward off dark magic, for example.

Clearly focus your inner intention. This is important prior to using a wand. There are several considerations to take into account before casting a spell.

Consider what you plan on calling for exactly what you want and think about how this will bring yourself harmony.

Determine whether or not your use of the wand will cause harm, and specifically how it will affect others.

Make strokes with the wand. Strokes are simply the movements that you make with your wand. They are a way of bringing your inner intentions to the external world. Different people use a different number of strokes when casting a spell.

It might be helpful to think of each stroke as forming a letter. Some say this is how the word spell came into being—by spelling out your intention with strokes.

Perform incantations with your wand. Incantations are sung spells. The word comes from the Latin stem “canto,” which means to sing. Incantations put out powerful vibrations into the universe, and entrust your will to whatever higher deity you ascribe to.

Practice the spells you have chosen to perform. Like anything else, practice is necessary to make a spell work. Sometimes a spell might not come to fruition for a period of years. In other instances, you'll see more imminent results that show your energy manifesting itself in the universe.    

Healing

Direct your wand toward an afflicted area for physical healing. The wand does not need to touch the area, but it should be pointed away from you and toward the target area. You might make circular motions with the wand and incorporate a prayer, mantra, or incantation. These might include:

Meditations or visualizations that ground or focus you.

Invocations of a god, goddess, or nature spirit.

Prayers about nature and natural subject matter, including seasonal prayers and incantations during a full moon.

Clear away any physical blockages. Since wands transmit energy, they improve energy flow through the body. This can be applied to breaking down blockages in a variety of systems, such as the circulatory and nervous systems. Clear away blockages by pointing the wand at the blocked area or areas, and focusing your energy and any verbal prayers or mantras that you might like to use.

Expel negative psychological energy from yourself. In this case, you would point the wand toward yourself. Meditate on the negative thoughts and feelings, and allow the wand to draw them out. You might speak your wishes at this point as well.

Reduce stress and nervousness. Wands help clear blocked pathways that help release stress, nervousness, and other negative energy.

Align chakras and auras. Many people do this while lying down. Run the wand over your body and focus on when and where the wand vibrates. These areas require more attention from the wand. Once the wand stops vibrating, your auras are cleansed.

Tips

When practicing a spell, practicing it at least 5 times.

Warnings

Do not use a wand when you are angry. Wands are sensitive to all sorts of energy and will receive that negative energy.

Here is a photo of me with my first Tarot deck The Mythic Tarot, I can't believe it was taken over 20 years ago. I still have that deck but it's in retirement after many years of love and use.

I played with Tarot in my teens but it wasn't until this deck that I really started to connect with the Tarot. I'm lucky that I've always been very intuitive and connected to the Divine but there's something about cards that make me feel like I'm home. I have many other ways to connect in my bag of tricks but cards hold my love.  

In the late 90's I purchased my first oracle deck. That deck opened me up to really wanting to learn more, so I started buying more decks and learned so much. I now have over 200 decks of cards in my collection and I love them all. One of my friends once said I was like a pharmacist of cards, what ever you need I had the deck for it. Oracle cards took my focus for many years until around 2014 when I started unfolded all the different layers of Tarot, and I'm so glad I did Tarot is so fascinating!

Tarot is a traditional structured 78 card deck that reflects one's life experiences. Oracle cards are free flowing and they can feature any kind of content with no common theme or set number of cards. Oracle cards can give you insight into the greater sense of what is going on, but Tarot provides more detailed interpretations and paths.

I'm very inquisitive which I found has turned me into educationoholic. I've hung my party girl shoes up and taken up learning. If there is something that holds my interest you know I'm going to research the shit out of that topic. This year I've been leaning more into psychology learning about Cluster B personalities and how to deal with childhood trauma. I really love to go deep into topics and try to understand from lots of different perspectives. I think being a good Tarot reader you have to have a very wide range of knowledge, understanding and compassion. 

Over the years I've been filling my knowledge bank with so many wonderful subjects. I love ritual, gardening especially herbs and their medical properties, numerology, crystals, tarot and oracle cards, cooking, art, flower therapy, aromatherapy, Goddesses, relationships, parenting, ADHD, music, archetypes, astrology, the occult, witchery, reiki, and meditation. I've had a very full life with lots of different experiences than the norm, experiencing most of the life lessons that the tarot dives into from both sides. I've noticed that when you work with tarot you get to see life differently to others, and I'm so grateful for that alone.    

To show my gratitude to the Divine, I teach an Introduction to Tarot Workshop to share my love and knowledge for Tarot. It's a 4 hour course that sets you up for your own journey with the cards. I hold 2 workshops a year so if you're interested let me know so I can put you on the list.

Personally I'm all about doing what you love, doing it with love alongside massive doses of self love, you can't give from an empty cup! I live one with nature. I'm in harmony with the seasons and use the phases of the moon to manifest my magic while embracing the warmth and powerful energy of the sun and the directions of the stars. 

So that's a little bit about me and my Tarot journey. If you can relate and would love to book a reading to help you on your journey. Click here to book that reading.

Reading cards is such a privilege and something that brings much joy to my heart.

Denita x