Love, Relationships and Astrology

Do you want an enduring relationship with someone? The type of person who is a true partner in every sense of the word – someone you can talk to, laugh with, confide in, and rely on. Someone you genuinely and deeply care about – and who also feels the same way about you. Someone who truly wants to be with you, during the good times and the not so good times.

When you’re involved in this kind of relationship, there’s absolutely nothing better. You feel like you’re on top of the world. You also feel like you share real chemistry, as well as a sense of respect and commitment for each other. Not only do you genuinely find each other funny, interesting, and sexy—at least most of the time—but you also generally get along and enjoy spending time with one another.

Although you may squabble from time to time, at the end of the day, the two of you still have something so fundamentally stable and secure that it’s like you’re starring in your own personal Nora Ephron movie. Indeed there’s nothing better than being in an enduring relationship. But it’s finding that lasting relationship that is the hardest part . . .

Astrologers, however, may believe otherwise. And what gives them such insight? They have intimate knowledge regarding the planets of love—Venus and Mars—and how these two planets work together. They can look at your natal chart, along with the chart of that special someone who has captured your heart, and determine whether or not you are two peas in a pod!

Here is how it works. In astrology, Venus is the planet of relationships, particularly romantic partnerships. As hard as it is to believe, we all have a romantic side; the placement of Venus in our horoscope can influence how we communicate in romantic relationships. By studying your Venus Sign, you can determine your “love quotient” – the way that you express affection, your capacity to give and receive love, your attitude toward relationships, what you look for in a potential partner, and how you are likely to relate to someone you love. Venus also reveals your sensual nature, including what gives you pleasure and how you can go about making yourself attractive to a partner.

Next, take a look at the planet Mars in your chart to see which sign it is in and where it is located. Mars represents your drive and passion; it also indicates how you assert yourself and go after what you want in life and in love. Your Mars Sign reveals your desires, what fuels your fire, and how you seek to satisfy your physical needs. This is definitely an important planet when it comes to relationships.

But this doesn’t mean that the stars do all of the work for you! Relationships still require a lot of work. However, the stars can help to reveal certain personality traits and compatibilities, giving new meaning to the expression “it’s written in the stars”!

The Archangel Gabriel

With the Christmas season upon us, Angels seem particularly prevalent, and especially the Archangel Gabriel. However, before speaking specifically about him, a bit of discussion about Angels in general seems warranted. Angels have been with us since mankind has been on the earth. Many cultures and many religions across the globe have recognized and sought the help of Angels throughout thousands of years.

Angels are spiritual beings, neither male nor female, light forms that carry the energy of creation. They may take on a human form to allow us to see them or to act in our world, or be present in our thoughts or instincts — that “inner voice” that we can all hear when we pay attention. They bring feelings of love and comfort when we most need these reassurances. And there are many stories in existence pertaining to their intervention in human lives to help, protect, and heal.

Angels are often divided into groupings called Hierarchy. Closest to humans are angels who act as our guardians and helpmates. Above them are the Archangels, who act as messengers in the service of God. The word “Angel” itself comes form the Greek word “Angelos” meaning messenger. The Hebrew word for Angel, “Malach” also refers to the idea of messenger.

Archangels also do battle with the forces of negativity, working to maintain a positive balance of light and Godliness throughout the Universe. These are the Angels who stand around the throne of God, ready at any moment to carry out the divine decrees. Now to get into the specific attributes and qualities of the archangel Gabriel.

Archangel Gabriel’s name means “God Has Shown Himself Mightily,” or “God Is My Strength”. This angelic horn blower presides over water, emotion, psyche, and movement. Along with the Archangel Michael, he is considered one of the two highest-ranking of all the Archangels.

The Archangel Gabriel is one of the few Angels actually mentioned in the Bible. He first appears in the Old Testament in the Book of Daniel. When Daniel has a vision but doesn’t grasp its meaning, Gabriel comes to explain the meaning of the vision to him. Later, as Daniel prays for guidance, Gabriel appears to him again and offers him wisdom and understanding. In the New Testament, Gabriel is sent to the priest Zacharias to give him the news that his elderly and barren wife, Elizabeth, would bear a child who would grow up to be John the Baptist.

Of course, Gabriel’s most famous visit was to Mary, to bring the good tidings that she had been chosen by God to give birth to his son, Jesus. Gabriel also appeared to Joseph in a dream to relay the message that Mary had not only been chosen by God to give birth to his son, but that she had also been chosen by God to become Joseph’s wife.

Gabriel is looked upon as a very inspirational Angel. He has a tendency to “nudge” us all in beneficial directions. When you’re unsure of your own direction and need guidance, call on Gabriel. When you are in a position where you find yourself thinking about making some sort of big change in your life, Gabriel can give you the clarity of vision that you need. He is above all else, a messenger.

Gabriel is probably best known for being the Archangel who brings news of good tidings, like impending births, just as he did to the mothers of Jesus and John the Baptist, Mary and Elizabeth. For anyone who is yearning for a child, whether a natural one or an adopted one, Gabriel is definitely the Angel to call upon.

With his reputation as a supreme messenger, bearing important and life-changing news, Gabriel is the Angelic Communicator. In his role as messenger, he also acts as a coach for those who are communicators, and he helps artists and writers overcome fear and procrastination.

Gabriel also acts as a healer in that he can help release the body’s toxins, the mind’s impure thoughts, or even the heart’s pain after a horrible ordeal. When you feel you’re under psychic attack from negative influences, call on Gabriel to vanquish them.

He brings wisdom and understanding and helps us find our life’s purpose. With his guidance, we can tap into our deepest selves and learn to trust and interpret our intuition. He brings hope and encouragement and helps banish any negativity. Gabriel will help guide us through life’s challenges and changes.

Now the mystical power places…

Since ancient times, certain locations on our planet have become quietly famous for the powerful energy that invisibly – but tangibly – emanates from them. Some are natural formations, such as caves, healing springs, or waterfalls, known primarily to those who live near them. Others are man-made-burial structures like the Egyptian Sphinx, the great pyramids, or Tibetan temples, and other places of ancient worship, such as Stonehenge. While the energies of these magical places cannot be seen, their effects can certainly be felt.

United Kingdom
It’s also believed that different sites are endowed with different spiritual powers – some of them quite specific: it is thought that they may enhance health; enlighten the soul or spark creativity. The waters of the Chalice Well in Glastonbury, England, for example, have been proven to be amazingly beneficial in myriad ways, but are especially renowned for their restorative powers and their capacity for enhancing natural psychic abilities. The many stone circles – large and small – that are scattered throughout Great Britain are all amazingly potent sources of both psychic and spiritual energy. Among the most famous stone circles are Stonehenge and Avebury Circle, long venerated, fascinating, and mystifying to spiritual pilgrims for centuries. Stonehenge has several circles of giant upright megaliths, holding huge cross-stones on top. The arrangement of the stones creates a natural “astronomical observatory.” The most famous pointer at Stonehenge is the heel stone, which lines up directly with sunrise on Midsummer Day. This ancient place of worship and ritual, the focus of year-round visitors, but particularly during the solstices, dates back to 3000 B.C. and has sparked spiritual insight for thousands.

United States
In the United States, a people known as the Anasazi created a civilization stretching from New Mexico and Arizona to Utah. Anasazi is a Pueblo name meaning Ancient Ones. The Anasazi showed their respect for the sacred in their kivas, temples lying beneath the floors of their pueblos. The walls of the kiva were decorated with paintings (called petroglyphs), the precise meanings of which are unknown. The best-known sites are in Arizona and New Mexico, sacred to the Southwestern American tribes. Another creation of the Anasazi similar to that of other sacred sites is an arrow-straight, thirty-mile road originating at Kutz Canyon in New Mexico. The road has been viewed as a spiritual line, not unlike “ley” lines, and is sometimes also known as a telluric pathway. Native Americans called these lines “the spirit path.”

The island of Kauai in Hawaii features several heiau (ancient temple sites), where Hawaiian priests and ruling chiefs performed spiritual ceremonies. Kauai is the northernmost of the main Hawaiian Islands. Ancient Hawaiian legends associate it with the lost continent of Mu and with the star cluster called Pleiades. With so many sites in so many different countries, you can probably find one in your vicinity. Or you can make a special pilgrimage to one. Be sure to take time to experience the gifts of the Earth – and the magic and inspiration it holds.

True History and Real Meaning of Thanksgiving

Children in the United States are taught in school that the Pilgrims came to America for religious freedom. But that’s not quite true. They were actually missionaries who chose to come to the New World to plant the Gospel of Jesus in the wilderness.

As their governor and chronicler, William Bradford wrote: “They had a great hope and inward zeal of laying some good foundation…for the propagating and advancing the Gospel of the kingdom of Christ in those remote parts of the world.”

They had endured vicious religious persecution in England and finally fled to Holland where they settled in the town of Leyden. There, they enjoyed religious freedom for 12 years. But it became clear to them that God wanted them to leave Holland and go to America.

So if their motivation to come to America was primarily about religious freedom, they could have stayed in Holland where they already had that. No, they weren’t running away from something, they were following their calling to become missionaries.

So they returned to England and boarded the Mayflower in early September to embark on the treacherous journey across the Atlantic Ocean. The crossing was wrought with devastating conditions. They ran into many horrific storms that threw them from side to side and violently pitched up and down within a very cramped space below deck. Adults and children alike were vomiting; with the stench of vomit, animals, and unwashed bodies, and with the sea water leaking in through the deck above, the conditions were almost intolerable.

After surviving 44 days of storms out of their 66-day voyage, the weak and sick passengers finally saw land on November 9th, 1620. The land they saw was Cape Cod. Even though it was not their original destination of the northern part of the Virginia Colony (today’s New Jersey Shore), the ship got caught in the shoals off the bottom elbow of the Cape and after fighting to get it released, they finally decided that it was God’s will for them to stay where they were and start a new colony.

In the midst of a blinding December snow storm, they were blown into Plymouth harbor. They came ashore at Plymouth and discovered the ground cleared and recently cultivated, but there were no Indians anywhere to be seen. And oddly, the area was strewn with human bones.

They built a common house where they could take shelter until they were able to begin building their own homes. But with their immune systems weakened by the rough voyage, they began to get sick and die. By March there had been a total of 47 deaths. They were in desperate circumstances because the food they’d brought on the Mayflower was all but gone.

But on March 16, 1621, a lone Indian appeared, walked up to them and said, “Welcome Englishmen!” The Pilgrims found out that his name was Samoset, and that he was a regional Indian chief who lived about 40 miles to the southwest, in Massasoit. The following week he appeared again, this time bringing with him a Patuxet Indian named Squanto.

Squanto, who also spoke English, offered them his services. He taught them how to trap eels in the mud flats of the bay, what berries were edible, what herbs were good for medicine, and how to trap beaver, which would later become a source of income for the Pilgrims. Most important of all, he taught them how to plant corn, and plant it the Indian way — by burying dead fish with the seeds, to fertilize the seedlings as they grew.

Squanto’s story, the Pilgrims would learn, was fascinating. As it turned out, his tribe, the Patuxets, had lived at Plymouth. But in 1617, a plague, probably brought by French fur-trappers from the north, had killed every member of the tribe. That explained why the Pilgrims had found the ground covered with human bones. Squanto had escaped the plague because he had not been there.

Squanto had been kidnapped in 1605 by an English fishing expedition and taken back to England, where he lived for 9 years in the home of a merchant named John Slanie. He’d learned to speak English well, and became accustomed to English food and ways.

In 1614 Squanto was brought back to America on another fishing expedition led by John Smith of Jamestown, Virginia fame. When it came time to depart, Smith ordered one of his captains, Thomas Hunt, to stay behind and trade for beaver pelts. But Hunt tricked Squanto and 19 other young braves into getting on board his ship. He took them prisoner and sailed to Malaga, a slave trading port on the south coast of Spain. There these American Indians were sold as slaves.

Luckily, Squanto was purchased by a monk who took pity on him. He lived with the monks for a year before getting his freedom. He worked his way back to England where he stayed until 1619, when a Captain Dermer brought him back to the New England coast in exchange for his services as a pilot in American waters. But when Squanto got back to his village site at Plymouth, he was shocked to discover all of his people were dead, killed by the plague two years earlier.

Heartbroken, he traveled 40 miles southwest to the tribal seat of the Wampanoag and Chief Massasoit, who took him in. He stayed with them until March of 1621, when Samoset had returned from Squanto’s village site to tell him that some English had settled there. Squanto suddenly had a new reason to live. He would go and help these white people.

In October, when the 20 acres of corn the Pilgrims had planted under Squanto’s tutelage had been harvested, the Pilgrims wanted to hold a celebration festival. They invited Massasoit and the Wampanoag, and of course Samoset and Squanto. Massasoit came a day early with 90 braves and women and children. Would feeding all these people deplete the supply of corn that the Pilgrims had been stored up for winter? Not at all, because Massasoit had his men hunt for the occasion and they brought 5 deer and also wild turkeys. There were fish from the bay, berries and other fruits, roasted corn and the Pilgrim women supplied vegetables from their gardens. The festival lasted 3 days, complete with bow and arrow shooting contests, foot races, and relay races. It was a good and peaceful time for whites and Indians together.

Probably many times during the celebration, the Pilgrims stopped to thank God for his miraculous provision of Squanto. If it hadn’t been for him, there wouldn’t have been any reason for the celebration and Thanksgiving. God had sent this American Indian, who spoke English fluently, ate English food, understood English customs and ways, and knew about the Christian faith because of his time spent with the Spanish monks. He was the right man, in the right place, at the right time.

This is the true story of the first New England Thanksgiving!

*Based on an essay by Peter Marshall

DreamWorld

Did you just have a dream a few minutes before logging on to this newsletter? Did you dream last night? You are in interesting company, Alexander the Great, Robert Louis Stevenson and Rene Descartes all believed that they were guided by dreams. You have had thousands of dreams in your lifetime; good dreams, nightmares, beautiful dreams, and so on. Dreams provide us with priceless information about our inner selves, and the rich and varied symbolism in our dreams can guide our lives towards psychological health and spiritual clarity.

We have always been fascinated with our dreams

All through the ages, dreams have fascinated humankind. The Native Americans of North America cherished their dreams, and dreams played an important role in all aspects of their culture. Gifted prophets, priests, scientists, doctors, artists, and philosophers in the many cultures of antiquity attempted to decipher the obscure symbolism of dreams to discover the essential truth hidden within. Of course, this search for meaning continues today.

Composer Richard Wagner and physicist Albert Einstein were both inspired by dreams. Wagner’s opera Tristan and Isolde was inspired by a dream, as was Einstein’s Theory of Relativity. As a young boy, Einstein dreamt that he was sledding downhill so fast that he was approaching the speed of light. When he awoke, he knew he had to understand the meaning of this dream.

Freud, Jung and New Age

Over the course of the twentieth century, our understanding of dreams underwent a complex evolution. Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams proved to be a breakthrough. Published in 1900, this work became the cornerstone for psychoanalysis and a therapeutic tool for treating mental illness using the techniques of free association and hypnosis. Although Freudian psychotherapy is no longer seen as an effective way to heal a disturbed mind, it did open the door for dreams to become the subject of scientific research. One of Freud’s most important discoveries remains a central psychological premise. Emotions buried in the unconscious surface in disguised forms in dreams, and working with dream symbolism can help uncover these buried feelings.

Psychiatrist Carl Jung was greatly intrigued by Freud’s theories. Eventually, Jung’s fascination with psychology and precognition, in addition to his disenchantment with Freud’s emphasis on sexual themes, led Jung to conclude that dreams are natural reactions to current situations. Dreams offer clues to insight and personal growth. They may be forward-looking as well as retrospective. Dreams may tap into a mysterious reservoir of mythological images, presenting symbols and archetypes that share a fundamental essence with those of all other cultures. Most importantly, dreams provide a channel of communication for our psyche, helping us to understand our very being. Jung developed an entirely new vocabulary to analyze dreams and the structure of the psyche.

Jung’s broad and complex view of dreams inspired further research. In 1953, scientist’s first attached electroencephalograms (EEGs) to the eyes of test subjects and discovered that everyone spends part of each night in a sleep state characterized by rapid eye movements (REM). It’s during this REM phase that most dreams occur, particularly longer and more vivid dreams.

During the 1960s, working with dreams became part of the New Age experience, and people began talking about lucid dreaming, astral traveling, and out-of-body experiences (OBEs). New Age personalities expanding upon dreams were anthropologist Carlos Castaneda and mystic Bhagwan Shree Rajneesh. Castaneda wrote about a conversation with a mysterious sorcerer named Don Juan. One of Don Juan’s mysterious powers was lucid dreaming, or a person who is aware that they are dreaming. Rajneesh wrote The Psychology of the Esoteric, which developed a logical framework for explaining a range of dreams from the ordinary to the extraordinary.

Dream on

Everyone dreams, it’s universal, but how many of us remember our dreams, or can decipher them. For some, dreams can be a mysterious source of creativity and problem-solving, or even precognition. For the psychoanalyst, dreams provide a window to the subconscious and its repressed desires. For still others, dreams can be a pathway to spiritual growth, or a gateway into the parallel worlds of the shaman. It’s up to you as a unique individual to search out the special meaning of your dreams, because they will only unlock and open up one world – your own.

Day of the Dead

In many cultures throughout time, a festival marking the return or remembrance of the dead has been celebrated. Our Halloween originated from the Celtic festival Sahain at the end of October. It was considered the boundary between the end of summer (the old year) and the beginning of winter (the new year), a time when the veil between the natural and the supernatural worlds was thin, and the dead could return as spirits. When Christianity took root, the Catholic Church established All Saints Day on November 1st and All Souls Day on November 2nd to provide religious alternatives.

But no festival is so lavish or fanciful as the Day of the Dead celebrated in Mexico and Central America, which actually covers more than one day. Not only a remembrance of loved ones who have died, but also a celebration of life, with death considered as a part of the life cycle and not to be feared. While the festival is held on the Catholic feast days of November 1st and 2nd, its roots go back to
pre-historic times, to the Aztec, Mayan, and other native cultures.

The ancient harvest festivals featured skulls, originally kept as trophies, which symbolized death and rebirth. They were meant to honor the dead, who it was believed came back to visit at that time. Fires, incense, images of the dead, and offerings of ceramics, flowers, foods and drink, were parts of many of these festivals. These traditions mingled with the Catholicism brought by the Spaniards, and the result was El Dia de Los Muertos.

While there are variations according to ethnic roots in different regions, the main features of the celebration involve cleaning up and decorating gravesites with candles and elaborate arrangements and wreaths of flowers, usually marigolds. The candles and the scent of the flowers are meant to guide the dead home, with water and some salt set out for the journey. A vigil is kept in the cemetery, with families bringing picnic baskets of the deceased’s favorite foods, as stories are told about them, and often accompanied by music. On November 1st, infants and children who have died are remembered, and on November 2nd, it’s the adults who have died who are remembered.

A special spot in the home is cleared to set up a table covered with linens for an altar dedicated to relatives who have died. It is decorated with their photographs, colorful tissue paper cut outs and streamers, incense, candles, flowers, humorous skeleton figurines, candy skulls with the names of the departed on them, and their favorite food and drink.

A special sweet bread called pan de muertos is made for this occasion, often decorated with bone shapes on top. For departed children, toys and sweets are set up as well. A basin of water and a towel are provided so that the visiting souls can clean themselves after their journey.

What sets the Day of the Dead apart from other cultures’ memorial festivals is the sense of reflection and joy, rather than sadness and fear. Life is viewed as one long continuum, with death being merely a transition state. The love and connection with the deceased is renewed and celebrated at this precious time known as the Day of the Dead.

Rune Stones

Runes are an ancient Germanic alphabet used for writing, divination, and magic. They were used throughout northern Europe, Scandinavia, The British Isles, and Iceland from 100 B.C.E. to 1600 C.E. Runic inscriptions that are very old have even been found in North America, supporting stories that the Vikings arrived in the Americas long before Columbus.

An early record of the Runes being used for divination purposes states that a branch was cut from a fruit-bearing tree and divided into small pieces which were marked with the various Runes, and scattered at random on a white cloth. Then the priest of the community (if the lots were consulted publicly), or the father of the family (if it was done privately), after invoking the gods with eyes raised to heaven, picked up three pieces, one at a time, and interpreted them according to the Runes that had been marked on them.

The casting of Rune Stones for divination purposes continues to this day. Traditionally, Rune Stones are made of wood, but today you can find Rune Stones made of almost any material imaginable such as tumbled semi-precious stones, polymer clay, decorative glass drops, or other types of clay.

Runes work best if you look at your current circumstances and then ask a specific question. Runic divination or “Rune Casting” is not “fortune telling” in the sense that you actually see the future. Instead, Runes give you a means of analyzing the path that you are on and a likely outcome. The future is not fixed. It changes with everything you do. If you don’t like the prediction, you can always change paths.

The word “Rune” actually means mystery, secret or whisper. Each Rune has esoteric meanings and properties associated with it, beyond its mundane meaning and phonetic value. Each translates into a word or a phrase signifying concepts important to the early people who used them, representing the forces of nature and mind. Each Rune has a story attached to it.

Ideally, Runes are cast on an East-West axis facing the sun. A white cloth is laid down and after casting the stones onto the cloth, the ones which have fallen right-side up are read and interpreted to address the specific question asked. Whether the Rune is reversed or not also has bearing on its meaning. One Rune Stone can be picked randomly for a single question, or for broader questions a 3 Rune Spread can be drawn.

FEHU – F; Wealth

Any form of wealth is represented by this Rune.
Reversed: Indicates a loss in fortune or failing in business.

URUZ – U; Strength

Represents the strength and power of a wild animal.
Reversed: Indicates a weakness or lack of power.

THURISAZ – TH; Giant

A force or tower of strength standing up to challenges.
Reversed: Not willing to heed information given.

ANSUZ – A; Holy Being

The Rune of communication, revelation and prophecies.
Reversed: Represents the God of mischief and warns of tricks and subterfuge.

RAIDHO – R; Journey

Refers to the journey of life and how your decisions can change your path.
Reversed: Indicates stagnation or a lack or change.

KENAZ –K; Beacon or Torch

Represents a mind opening itself to new ideas.
Reversed: Signifies a loss of awakened knowledge.

GEBO – G; Gift or Love

Represents a gift, an act of generosity, or a skill.
Reversed: Cannot be reversed.

WUNJO – W; Joy

Indicates happiness and well-being or enjoying good health and wealth.
Reversed: Symbolizes difficulties and obstacles in the path to finding happiness.

HAGALAZ – H; Destructive forces

This refers to the destructive forces of nature, and things that are out of our control.
Reversed: Cannot be reversed.

NAUTHIZ – N; Need or Necessity

This Rune urges you to realize what you truly need to survive.
Reversed: Improper course of action, don’t make hasty judgment.

ISA – I; Ice

Frozen in time, calm, non-action, everything on hold.
Reversed: Cannot be reversed.

JERA – J or Y;

The cycle of One Year Indicates the fruit of labor or reward for effort.
Reversed: Cannot be reversed.

EIHWAZ – EI; Yew Tree

A Rune of protection and defense, even in the face of an ambush.
Reversed: Cannot be reversed.

PERTHRO – P; Dice Cup or Chance

This is the Rune of mystery and chance.
Reversed: It symbolizes hidden agendas or hidden failure and loss.

ALGIZ – Z; Elk or Spirit Guides

Represents protection and defense against elements of harm.
Reversed: Indicates unsafe defenses or being open to attack.

SOWILO – S; The Sun

A symbol of power and strength — represents revitalizing your life force.
Reversed: Cannot be reversed.

TEIWAZ – T; Warrior

Symbolizes triumph and victory in any competition.
Reversed: Symbolizes defeat and time to retreat wisely.

BERKANA – B; Birch Tree or Goddess

Symbolizes the chance of a new bright beginning.
Reversed: Decline or decrease in growth could take place.

EHWAZ – E; The Sacred Horse

Symbolizes being on the right track to prosperity.
Reversed: Indicates slowness and taking steps backward.

MANNAZ – M; Mankind

Represents the spirit of all humanity.
Reversed: Symbolizes solitude and isolation.

LAGUZ – L; Water or Emotions

Symbolizes the flow of emotions into the collective unconscious.
Reversed: Indicates drowning or submerging yourself.

INGWAZ – NG; The Hero-God Ing

Symbolizes peace and unity.
Reversed: Cannot be reversed.

DAGAZ – Daylight or Dawn

Represents the coming of a new day, hope and a new start.
Reversed: Cannot be reversed.

OTHALA; Inheritance

Represents gains being passed down from one generation to another.
Reversed: Indicates an empty inheritance.

BLANK RUNE – Odin’s Rune

Anything is possible and can happen. If you get this Rune and you believe in yourself, you can manifest anything.

What Does Your Pet Think About?

If you have a pet, you may have found yourself wondering things like, “Why does my dog become extremely anxious whenever I take out my suitcase to pack for a trip?” Or “Why does my cat start rubbing up against my leg in an excited manner when I am thinking of feeding her?” Both of these instances can have logical explanations. Your dog might have heard you pull the suitcase out of the closet. Your cat could have seen you pick up its food dish.

Pet Psychics, also known as Animal Communicators, would explain these two circumstances a bit differently. According to Pet Psychics, we communicate with our pets telepathically all the time without even knowing it. Your dog gets anxious and your cat gets excited, not because of your actions, but because of the signals you send with your mind. Pet Psychics take this one step further. They intentionally use their minds to talk to animals. Some Animal Communicators talk to wild animals, but most focus on domesticated pets.

At this point, you’re probably wondering how do Pet Psychics work? Usually the first step with most Pet Psychics is to talk to the pet’s owner, whom they often refer to as human companions. This can be done either in person or via the telephone. They then relay telepathic messages to and from pets. The pets don’t even necessarily have to be present. In many cases, Pet Psychics use photographs or descriptions to make contact.

Why Call a Pet Psychic?

Because humans are so very involved emotionally with their beloved pets, sometimes they just want to ‘check in’ with them. But many people seek the help of Pet Psychics for a very specific reason, such as:

• Their pet is lost and they want to figure out where it is and how to best encourage it to return home.
• Their pet is misbehaving and they want to find out the reason why and get their pet to alter its behavior, making it appropriate.
• Their pet is very sick or badly injured and they are trying to decide what the best course of action is that they should be taking to help their beloved pet.
• Their pet has died and they want to contact the pet’s spirit.

This type of animal communication is considered a paranormal phenomenon. It’s a combination of telepathy and clairvoyance, which are forms of extrasensory perception, also known as ESP. Most Pet Psychics explain this in terms of ‘Energy.’ According to Pet Psychics, electromagnetic energy surrounds and penetrates everything in the universe. They can use this energy to contact animals, no matter how far away the animals are or whether they are still even living.

Many Pet Psychics describe animal communication as a gift they discovered at an early age. Other psychics began exploring it as adults. While some psychics describe an intuitive understanding of how to talk to animals, others say they learned from books or workshops.

Communicating with Animals

Regardless of differences in when and how Pet Psychics developed their skills, they seem to unanimously describe the same basic steps for talking to animals. Here’s what typically happens:

• The Pet Psychic relaxes and calms their mind.
• The Pet Psychic uses their mind to make contact with the animal’s energy.
• The Pet Psychic visualizes the animal and telepathically says its name to get its attention.
• The Pet Psychic asks the animal a question, often by transmitting a picture. The psychic may use pictures in addition to or instead of words.
• The Pet Psychic imagines the animal responding and waits for a response. Many describe the responses as pictures or combinations of pictures and words. A few say that animals respond using childlike voices.
• The Pet Psychic accepts whatever response they get and acknowledge that they have received it.
• The Pet Psychic passes the animal’s response on to its owner and asks more questions if needed. The Pet Psychic may also transmit messages to the pet from its owner. If the owner hopes to correct a pet’s inappropriate behavior, the Pet Psychic will visualize the solution rather than the problem.
• Some Pet Psychics will also scan the pet’s body to diagnose health problems. If the Pet Psychic detects illnesses or injury, they will transmit healing energy to the pet.

In her book, “What the Animals Tell Me,” Pet Psychic Sonya Fitzpatrick describes numerous psychic experiences with animals. She describes animals as surprisingly intelligent and emotionally complex. During her sessions, animals remember events from long past. They experience and vocalize emotions and reflect on their feelings. Other psychics tell similar stories. According to Pet Psychics, animals are conscious, self-aware and able to think and experience emotions the way humans do.

One Pet Psychic Session

In order to better help you understand exactly how a Pet Psychic works, here is one example of an actual Pet Psychic session. These are the actual words of a Pet Psychic, relaying their experience of communicating with a pet:

“I communicated with a 175-pound pot-bellied pig. He spoke right up about how annoying his pen mate was. He told me that she ‘gets in his space’ and it is very irritating. He was perfectly fine as the human’s only companion and kept attacking her (the human) to try to get across how unhappy he was now, being a ‘duo.’ He longed for the old days, when he was a baby and lived in the house. He missed snuggling with the human.

We worked out an agreement that he would be allowed out of the pen each day to spend time alone on the patio with his human. He was so happy. He promptly lay down next to her and fell asleep.

Later, the human had not fully latched the pen gate and the other pig came wandering out. In one of the sweetest moments of my career, he ambled over from across the yard, nudged me with his snout and ever so shyly and softly said, “Excuse me, but you promised me that I could be out here alone.” We promptly locked up the other pig, until it was her time out of the pen.”

Hopefully, this little personal experience of a Pet Psychic has helped you to better understand the whole phenomenon. And you yourself can probably become a Pet Psychic if you would just study your pet’s stance, tail, ears, and eyes in a given situation and can tell if they are happy, scared, curious, in hunting mode, or angry. Give it a try, you might just be stunned by the responses you get from your beloved pet!

If you’re interested in getting in touch with a Pet Psychic, look for one of the professional psychics on ESPchat.com who specializes in pet communications. They would be more than happy to work with your and your pet. And you might learn something from your pet in the process.

 

3 Distinctive Magical Creatures

The Magical Unicorn

The Unicorn is a legendary creature. Strong, wild and fierce, it was impossible to tame by man. This mythical creature from European folklore resembles a white horse with a large pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead.

First mentioned by the Ancient Greeks, the Unicorn became the most important imaginary creature of the Middle Ages and Renaissance when it was commonly described as an extremely wild woodland creature, a symbol of purity and grace, which could only be captured by a virgin.

The legend goes that the Unicorn, filled with intemperance and an inability to control itself, forgets its ferocity and wildness for the love it bears to fair maidens. Laying aside all fear, it will go up to a seated damsel and go to sleep in her lap, thus allowing the hunters to take it.

In Medieval lore, the spiraled horn of the Unicorn was called the alicorn, and was thought to neutralize poisons. In popular mythology, Unicorns were hunted for their horns, which were said to protect one against diseases, or if made into a cup, would offer protection from any poison that might have been added to one’s drink. During this time, people sold what they claimed to be Unicorn horns, but were actually selling the horn-like tusks of narwalls, a type of whale.

A widespread legend is that when Noah gathered two of every kind of animal, he neglected to gather the Unicorns, which is why they don’t exist today.

The Magical Griffin

The Griffin or Gryphon is a legendary creature with the body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. As the lion was traditionally considered to be the king of the beasts and the eagle was the king of the birds, the Griffin was thought to be an especially powerful and majestic creature. Griffins are known for guarding treasure and priceless possessions.

While Griffins are most common in the art and lore of Ancient Greece, there is also evidence of representations of Griffins in Ancient Egyptian art as far back as 3,300BC. Most statues have bird-like talons, although in some older illustrations Griffins have a lion’s forelimbs. They generally have a lion’s hindquarters. Its eagle’s head is conventionally given prominent ears.

Griffins not only mated for life according to legend, but also, if either partner died, the other would continue throughout the rest of its life alone, never to search for a new mate. The Griffin was thus made an emblem of the church’s views on remarriage.

A Griffin’s claws were believed to have medicinal properties and one of its feathers could restore sight to the blind. Goblets supposedly fashioned from Griffin claws were actually made from antelope horns. And griffin eggs (actually ostrich eggs) were highly prized in Medieval European courts.

Griffins were thought to be the pets of the Gods. It’s been said that the Gods wanted a true, pure creature that would defend to the death, but not cause problems otherwise. The Griffin can control both land and the air in its form.

Throughout time and cultures the Griffin appeared on many coats of arms because of it’s being the symbol of great strength and power, not to mention its ties with royalty, being the King of all creatures. Even today, the Griffin is the symbol of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the logo of United Paper Mills, Vauxhall Motors, and of Scania and its former group partners, SAAB-aircraft and Saab Automobile. It’s also on the crest of Trinity College, Oxford, the official seal of Purdue University as well as the mascot of the College of William and Mary in Virginia.

The Magical Pegasus

Pegasus is one of the best-known mythological creatures in Greek mythology. He is a winged divine horse, usually depicted as white in color. He was sired by Poseidon, in his role as horse-god and foaled by the Gorgon Medusa.

He ascended to heaven after his birth and was obedient to Zeus, king of the gods. It was Zeus who instructed Pegasus to bring lightening and thunder from Olympus. It was also Zeus who transformed him into the constellation Pegasus and placed him in the sky.

According to legend, everywhere the winged horse struck his hoof to earth, an inspiring spring burst forth. Friend of the Muses, Pegasus is the creator of Hippocrene, the fountain on Mt. Helicon, the Muses’ mount. He was captured by the Greek hero, Bellerophon, with the help of Athena and Poseidon. Pegasus allows the hero to ride him to defeat a monster, the Chimera, before realizing many other exploits.

The symbolism of Pegasus varies with time. Symbol of wisdom and especially fame from the Middle Ages until the Renaissance, he became one symbol of the poetry and the creator of sources in which the poets come to draw inspiration, particularly in the 19th century.

His iconic form figures prominently in ancient Greek pottery and paintings and sculptures of the Renaissance. In the 20th and 21st century Pegasus appears in movies, in fantasy, in video games and in role play.

Mystical Mandala

Perhaps the most admired and discussed symbol of Buddhist religion and art is the Mandala. Mandalas originated in India and now can be found on all continents and in nearly every culture. The word Mandala is from the classical Indian language of Sanskrit. The root of the word, manda, means “essence,” to which the suffix “la,” meaning “container,” had been added. Thus, one obvious connotation of Mandala is that it is a container of essence.

In India and other eastern cultures, it’s believed that working with Mandalas can help to attain spiritual enlightenment. It’s a form of sacred artwork that can be used as a form of sacred prayer. All Mandalas follow a precise symbolic format. A Mandala is the place where a deity is invoked by mantra. The placing of mantras upon the Mandala gives it life, and the Mandala is then regarded, like a mantra, as the deity itself (and not a mere representation of the deity).

Working with Mandalas is a way to meditate and can be used as a tool used to connect with your inner core or your true self. By directing your energy and focus inward, you connect with the divine inner realities which can aid in creating an inner healing that brings about complete wholeness or enlightenment. In essence, it’s a way to communicate with Divine Source through sacred geometry or numbers, objects and colors. Drawing Mandalas can help break through the layers that keep us from seeing and realizing our inner lights.

In its most common form, the Mandala appears as a series of concentric circles. Each Mandala has its own resident deity housed in the square structure situated concentrically within these circles. This square structure has four elaborate gates. These four doors symbolize the bringing together of the four boundless thoughts: loving kindness, compassion, sympathy, and equanimity. This square form is essential to the architecture of the Mandala described as a four-sided palace or temple — a palace because it is the residence of the presiding deity of the Mandala, a temple because it contains the essence of the Buddha.

The series of circles surrounding the central palace follow an intense symbolic structure. Beginning with the outer circles, there’s often the depiction of a ring of fire. This symbolizes the process of transformation that ordinary human beings have to undergo before entering the sacred territory within. This is followed by a ring of thunderbolts or diamond scepters that indicate the indestructibility and diamond-like brilliance of the Mandala’s spiritual realms. In the next concentric circle there are eight cremation grounds arranged in a wide band. These represent the eight collective elements of human consciousness that tie man to the phenomenal world and the cycle of birth and rebirth.

Finally, at the center of the Mandala lies the deity, with whom the Mandala is identified. The power of this deity is invested in the Mandala.

Traditionally, before a monk is permitted to work on constructing a Mandala he must undergo a long period of technical artistic training and memorization, learning how to draw all the various symbols and studying related philosophical concepts. At the Namgyal monastery (the personal monastery of the Dalai lama), this period is three years.

Sand Mandalas are one of the most magnificent types of Mandala construction and they are associated with the most profound and elaborate Buddhist ceremonies in Tibet. The colored sand is made of crushed semiprecious stones. Every color, dot, and line in the Mandala represents an essential part of the deity and Buddhist philosophy. Each component must be placed in exactly the same place every time the Mandala is constructed.

The creation of a sand Mandala takes many hours and days to complete. When finished, the monks gather in a colorful ceremony, chanting in deep tones as they sweep their Mandala into a jar and empty it into a nearby body of water as a blessing. This action also symbolizes the cycle of life.