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The Celtic Zodiac

Celtic Lunar Astrology is essentially a Druid Zodiac. The Druids were a sect of Celtic priests who inhabited the British Isles around 1000 B.C. The Druids used a lunar calendar consisting of 13 months, each being 28 days long, plus one intercalary day. The Druid religion was based mainly upon an awareness of natural and supernatural energies. These energies were identified with spirits or dryads who dwelt within the ancient trees. Druids believed that trees were given spirits and attributes from the Sun, which was perceived as a symbol of the Supreme Being. Thus, trees were considered living entities, possessed with Infinite Knowledge and Wisdom...symbolically representative of the Cyle of Life, Death and Renewal. The Celts envisioned the entire Universe in the form of a tree, whose roots grew deep into the ground and whose branches reached high into the Heavens. In time, the Celtic people eventually designated a tree to each Moon Phase in their calendar in accordance with its magical properties. Therefore, the Celtic Zodiac is based upon the cycle of the Moon, with the year divided into the 13 lunar months established by the Druid religion.
The Druids believed that the human race originally descended from trees, each tree being endowed with its own particular mystical qualities. They encoded these mysteries in a secret shamanic alphabet known as the Ogham...the origin of which is ascribed to Ogma, the Celtic God of Poetry and Eloquence. It is said that Ogma (son of the Dagda) created the Ogham for the learned and wise to use for inscription. Originally intended to be read from the bottom upwards (or occasionally carved from right to left), Ogham (also often written as "ogam") is pronounced as "AHG-m" or simply as "OH-em." It served as an alphabet for one of the ancient Celtic languages and may have originally been adapted from a form of sign language. The current understanding is that the names of the twenty major letters are also the names of twenty trees which were sacred to the Druids. The Ogham may still be seen carved into stone monuments of the Druid Era and is thought to have been a means for the Druids to leave secret messages for one another. The Ogham is sometimes referred to as "Crane Knowledge," due to the fact that Cranes form letters with their legs as they fly. On the whole, the Celtic society was based upon equality and balance between the male and female...the female Druidesses being symbolized by the Dryads who lived in the sacred trees.
Each Celtic Tree/Zodiac Sign corresponds to a given tree, a letter of the Ogham alphabet, a Guardian Animal, a Celtic God and other items such as gemstones.

My sign or tree is The Elder, wanna know what tree belongs to you? Check it at www.novareinna.com/constellation/celtic.html

Saturday 25 September 2010 at 10:54 , 0 Comments

Gayatri Mantra

Gayatri mantra is one of the most known and beneficial of the ancient Sanskrit mantras. Gayatri is a mantra of physical, emotional, and mental healing, purifying the subtle karmas, protection from the onslaught of obstacles, and of spiritual awakening or Self-realization.
Aum Bhur Bhuva Svah
Tat Savitur Varenyam
Bhargo Devasya Dhimahi
Dhiyo Yo Naha Prachodayat 


One of the possible translations is :
On the absolute reality and its planes,
On that finest spiritual light,
We meditate, as remover of obstacles
That it may inspire and enlighten us. 


Chanting of Gayatri Mantra removes all obstacles in our path to increased wisdom and spiritual growth and development. The teachings and powers incorporated in the Gayatri Mantra fulfill this purpose. Righteous wisdom starts emerging soon after Jap(recitation) of the Gayatri Mantra is performed.

Definitely one of my favourite hindu mantras, I chant it whenever I feel the need or simply when I want to relax and meditate.

Here is a version sung by Deva Premal :










at 04:18 , 2 Comments

Relaxation Music - Quiet Moments

    

 

Includes songs : Lotus Island ( 07:30 ), Divine Light ( 13:21 ), Heart Relief ( 11:43 ), Inner Joy ( 09:58 ) and Deep Down ( 16:38 ).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 



at 03:48 , 0 Comments

A Free Vedic Horoscope Offer By Robert Matoša

My best friend, Robert Matoša, has generously offered to help me with this blog. He is offering to do a free, vedic horoscope for anyone who is interested. The horoscope shows you what lessons you need to learn, it shows what kind of karma has person brought to this lifetime and how to change it.
All you have to do is send a date, time and a place of your birth, to this mail address :
offeringsofthespirit@gmail.com
Your name is not required, and I am personaly ensuring you that any private info that you send, like the info listed above, will remain private. Once the results of the horoscope are done we will mail it back to you...


A big thank you, goes to you Rob...

Friday 24 September 2010 at 05:26 , 0 Comments

The Pagan's Path - Meditation

A nice page introducing you to a meditation guide, it explains what is meditation, side effects, the how to's of meditation, how to meditate with the freeform method, how to start, rituals and many more useful information on meditation. If interested, feel free to visit www.paganspath.com/meta/medhow.htm

at 04:20 , 0 Comments

More About Animal Totems - Animal Symbolism

A beautiful site describing in details the meanings of animal totems, if your interested check it out at www.whats-your-sign.com/animal-totems.html
It includes:
Land animal totems Land Animal Totem Meanings
  • Badger

  • Bear

  • Bear (Native American)

  • Beaver

  • Bobcat

  • Buffalo

  • Bull

  • Cat (domestic)

  • Cow

  • Coyote

  • Deer

  • Dog (domestic)

  • Elephant

  • Fox

  • Gorilla

  • Hedgehog

  • Horse

  • Lion

  • Panther

  • Puma

  • Ram

  • Rhinoceros

  • Skunk

  • Squirrel

  • Squirrel Tracks

  • Tiger (Chinese)

  • Wolf

  • .
    water animal totems Water Animal Totem Meanings
  • Beaver

  • Crab

  • Dolphin

  • Fish (General)

  • Fish (Japanese Koi)

  • Frog

  • Octopus

  • Salamander

  • Seahorse

  • Shark

  • Turtle

  • .
    air animal totems Air Animal Totem Meanings
  • Bat

  • Blue Jay

  • Cardinal

  • Dove

  • Dream Birds

  • Eagle

  • Falcon

  • Feathers

  • Finch

  • Goose

  • Hummingbird

  • Magpie

  • Mother Bird Symbolism

  • Owl

  • Peacock

  • Pheasant

  • Raven

  • Rooster

  • Robin

  • Sparrow

  • Swan

  • Turkey

  • Vulture

  • Wings

  • Wren

  • Woodpecker

  • .
    reptile animal totems Reptile/Amphibian Animal Totems
  • Frog

  • Iguana

  • Salamander

  • Snake

  • Turtle

  • Dreaming of Lizards

  • .
    insect animal totems Insect Animal Totem Meanings
  • Bees (in dreams)

  • Butterfly

  • Crane Fly

  • Dragonfly

  • Firefly

  • Grasshopper

  • Praying Mantis

  • Moth

  • Scorpion

  • Spider

  • Wasp

  • .
    dragon animal totems Dragon Totem Meanings
  • Dragons (General)

  • Dragons Chinese

  • at 03:53 , 0 Comments

    Meeting Your Animal Guide


    After you understand what type of animal guide has come into your life, it is necessary to educate yourself fully as to the nature of the animal.  Learn about its habitat, life cycles, what it eats, physical characteristics, special skills and traits, social and mating habits.  Go to places where your animal guide can be found in real life.  Study it in nature.  Gaining insight into the nature of your animal guide will help you to better understand its messages.  Meditate on this knowledge and discover its power and medicine.

    After you learn various ways to work with the medicine of you animal spirit guide, the medicine becomes a gateway to connecting with other spirit guides found within its domain.  Your animal spirit guide (or those spirits who choose to reveal themselves in the form of an animal) will teach you how to align with other spirit guides and beings.
     
    Remember:  The spirit guide chooses the person.  The person does not choose the spirit guide.   A person cannot simply select an animal and begin communication – the results of which are often frustrating and unsuccessful. A spirit guide must be harmonious with the person.     
     
    Communication with your spirit guide requires reverent respect and knowledge of the ways of the animal guide.  You must find ways to honor your spirit guide.  The more importance you give to the spirit guide the more they respond to you.  Most spirit guides do not immediately acknowledge themselves to the person as they are leery of your intention and knowledge.    A spirit guide is sensitive to moods, current events, and a persons path in life.  They must first trust you and learn your needs and wants.  You must learn to trust them and understand their needs and wants.  It takes time, patience and practice.




    Sit down in a quiet place alone.  Make certain there will be no distractions or interruptions.   Draw a circle around you and bless the circle with sage, cedar, sweet grass, tobacco or some other sacred medicine.  Begin your journey into the spirit world with prayer and continue with deep meditation.  

    Get comfortable.  Take a deep breath.  Inhale, exhale deeply several time. Release your ego, desires and expectations of what may follow.  Chase away all shadows of fear and negativity.  Begin to dream of some idyllic place like a forest trail, bubbling mountain stream, or flower covered glen.   Move about in this world seeing, smelling and feeling everything.   After awhile, you will hear something and you will see a creature slowly coming to you.

    The creature is friendly and invites your touch.  You embrace.  This is your animal spirit guide.   Spend time talking with your animal guide now. 

    Be open to any and all types of messages.  Do not get trapped by wishing for a certain messages.  Clear your mind completely. Open your heart to its love and lessons.  When your time is finished, thank all the beings in this special place and your animal guide who has chosen to teach you.  Slowly return by the way you came into full consciousness.   Open your eyes. 

    A wonderful site about animal spirit guides:
    http://www.manataka.org/page291.html#THE%20POWER%20OF%20ANIMAL%20SPIRITS

    Thursday 23 September 2010 at 13:04 , 0 Comments

    Animal Totems

    Here is something  about the topic I was reading a lot about, animal totems :

    About Animal Totems
    In earlier days we understood that we were simply a part of the earth. We knew we were only one small part. Now many think humans are the greatest and most important part. But still, we are only a part of the earth, only a part of nature, only a child of Mother, only a part of Spirit.  We used to know respect of Nature and killed only what we ate and used only the skins of what we killed and ate. We did not waste life nor disrespect spirits but honored and thanked them for providing us with life, nourishment, and comfort. In earlier days we gave recognition to the power of the animal spirits by wearing skins, masks, mimicking, singing praise, and prayers to specific animals. We painted the animals on our homes, caves, death chambers, and asked the Spirit to guide us to the animal that we consumed and bless the spirit of the animal we kill for we are a predator in the part of Nature and we honored the spirit of our prey. These acts allowed us to remain linked to the animal guides and to accept the power they offer us in lessons, in life, and in death. It reminded us that all animals, were our sisters, brothers, and cousins and most importantly our teachers and our friends. It reminded us that we too are animals with spirit.
    The Natural Power of animal totems has not been lost. They still hold the power and the knowledge we can use. Only we must remember how to be One with Nature and all that is, has been, and will be. Cultures of the past understood the connections. We must not lose this connection now that we are 'cultured'. For what was will always be and all those cultures could not have been wrong. There is a reason that Spirit has put all of us together, has given us so many healing stones, and has given us medicine, for the body and the spirit. We are all one. Using Animal Totems will allow you to see  and love the earth better, to know life better, to know yourself better, and to commune better with Mother and Spirit. You can be healthier and happier physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually in understanding and honoring your animal totems.
    Animals come to us because they have a lesson we need to learn a power they are willing to share with a friend.  They seek to give us a gift of understanding, universal love, energy, and knowledge (ULEK).  In general, animals remind us that we are part of the earth; that each creature has a place; that each creature has a skill of it's own; that we have instincts given to us from Mother, wisdom born to us that we must awaken.  The Animal  Totem that comes to you offers you power and wisdom if you will learn to communicate with it, with respect, trust, and understanding. Developing a relationship with a live animal totem takes time, practice, patience and could be very dangerous. Having an animal totem does not mean that you are to pet the animal or even be with it physically. Having an animal totem means that you have lessons to learn and a powerful spiritual friend.
    Each animal has it's own special power and message,  for each animal has a powerful spirit and an inherent skill.  Animal Spirits choose a person to be a companion to, a friend to,  not the other way around. You can not think, 'gee a bear is cute or powerful and I like what it represents so the Bear will be my Animal Totem'.  No, the animal will choose you and make itself known to you. You will only need to pay attention to discover what your totems are.  After you define the types of animal totems you can go to a questionnaire to learn what animals are your totems.
    Mistakenly people often think of animals as non-spiritual, uncultured, and less intelligent than humans. Some people do not even think animals have Spirit. Not so - an animal is close to Spirit, is Spirit because they have never been taught differently. They know the truth of ULEK for they are ULEK. Animals are wondrous happy creatures  - think of these things to remind you....
    • Could you, for your whole life without tools or weapons, even survive in the wild? 
    • Could you weave a bird's nest or spider's web?
    • Could you catch a fish with your hands?
    • Would you know how to migrate without a compass? Or even when it was time to migrate?
    • Can you carry things ten times your own body weight?
    • Do you know what you can and can't eat in the wild?
    • Can you go through life happy like animals do?
    • Can you experience the moment like an animal does?
    • Could you get along with five to twenty other beings for your entire life and remain in the herd?
    • Could you for hours simply resting and in contemplate (meditate perhaps, perhaps talk directly with Spirit)?
    • Do you take hours a day to just be with your family and to simply play and hug like most mammals?

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    When discovering totems you must first  understand if the totem is a Life   Totem, A Journey Totem, Shadow Totem, or a  Message Totem. All totems are powerful but the meaning that the totem brings will vary on your action depending on what type of totem has come to you.
    Your Life Long Animal Totem works with you throughout your entire life or until such time that you no longer need that animal totem. It is always there when you need it's powers. Always reminding you of your power and connectivity. You may have only one or a few Life totems. They may become your Life totem at any time. But the primary Life Totem will be our focus at this time.  The messages that your Life Totem brings are a hard reminder from Mother. Your Life Totem is always there for you and generally reflects your inner spiritual nature. Many  call your Life Long animal totem your Spirit totem.  For example if your Life Totem was a Penguin you would be a person who should be very spiritual since the penguin moves better in water (the symbol of the astral plane - which is were we go when we dream) than it does on land. Being able to leap out of the water (up to six feet)  represents the ability of out of body experiences. It is also important to understand which type of penguin is your animal totem since some have additional characteristics that are important to consider, like most penguins life in tropical conditions not arctic ones.
    A Journey Animal Totem reflects a period of time. Not just a day but weeks, months, or maybe year s-  the time it takes you to walk the path that the Animal Totem is reminding or guiding you on. During this journey you will find that this animal is always showing up in your life or that several animal totems will appear in your life all to guide you on the path. When you find one, two or three animals all of a sudden making an appearance and their nature all has the same basis then you have found the basis of your path. The difference between the Journey Animal Totem and the Message Animal Totem is a period of time. A Message animal Totem will bring itself to you quickly and impartially where a Journey Animal Totem will slip in and out of your life over the course of a period. Looking into the cycle of the animal also can give insight to the length of the journey.
    A Message Animal Totem usually is bringing you a self growth, spiritual message, or a cautionary warning. It is often a wake up call or slap in the face. It will usually be a very unusual experience making it very powerful at that time and very impartial. A Message Totem is a brief period of time, a day, a week, and occasionally as much as a couple of months but can be immediate for just a few hours.   Sometimes a Message totem is not bringing you a message but causing a delay in your life. This delay, such as when you are trying to leave to go somewhere, is often in assistance for you; to be sure you are not in a place at a certain time so that you avoid an accident or can catch a phone call or meet someone you are supposed to run into.
    A Shadow Animal Totem are those totems that test us. They have great power for us but will put us through tests before they will let their power work with and for us, instead of against us. In all of nature there is prey and predator. In the spiritual or Shadow World there is the same. A Shadow Animal Totem is one that initially you fear. The Shadow Totem often represents inner fears that you must overcome. You may have even been attracted by the animal; a very vivid test to see if you are ready to accept the power of the animal totem. Until you face the fears of the Shadow Animal Totem it's powers will work against you, not letting you soar high. When you overcome the fear of the Shadow Animal Totem you bring it into the Light World as a Spirit animal totem and they become one of your most powerful  Animal Totems. Your goal with a Shadow Totem is to learn the lessons and incorporate that animal into your life. If you are scared by something over and over then you still have not accepted the lesson that animal has for you.

    This text is borrowed from  www.spiritualnetwork.net/totems/ site
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    at 12:57 , 1 Comment

    Many Lives Many Masters by Brian Weiss

    A true story, about Brian Weiss, a 
    Chairman Emeritus of Psychiatry at the Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami  and a remarkable woman Catherine who came to his office seeking help for her panic attacks and nightmares. What began as usual psychiatry sessions turned out to be amazing spiritual journey for both of them. He opens his heart and speaks about Adam, his son, who, as he started to believe agreed to be born to him and his wife Carole and then died 23 days later in order to help them with their karmic debts and in addition to teach him about medicine and humankind, and to nudge him back to psychiatry. Brian stated " My life would never be the same again. A hand reached down and irreversibly altered the course of my life. "

    He also said " I appreciated how difficult it is to believe these concepts  without having personal experience. The experience is necessary to add emotional belief to intellectual understanding. I was swimming in a spiritual sea, and I loved the water. "

    About Catherine he said  " Incredibly talented trance medium who could channel wonderful, transcendental knowledge from the Master Spirits. "

    I recommend this book to anyone who has ever thought and wondered about past lives, reincarnation and the purposes of our souls. For me, even after I read many texts and articles about reincarnation and life after death, this book turned out to be a guideline for the beliefs I already nourished deep within myself.

    Tuesday 21 September 2010 at 12:02 , 0 Comments

    The Alchemist by Paulo Coelho

    I read this book about ten years ago, and even to this day I value the words written there. The story takes you on a spiritual journey, it gently nudges you to believe in your dreams and reminds you of who you really are. Here are some of my fav quotes from the book :

    "Remember that wherever your heart is, there you will find your treasure. You've got to find the treasure, so that everything you have learned along the way can make sense."

    "And when two such people encounter each other, and their eyes meet, the past and the future become unimportant. There is only that moment, and the incredible certainty that everything under the sun has been written by one hand only. It is the hand that evokes love, and creates a twin soul for every person in the world. Without such love, one's dreams would have on meaning."

    " The wise men understood that this natural world is only an image and a copy of paradise. The existence of this world is simply a guarantee that there exists a world that is perfect. God created the world so that, through its visible objects, men could understand his spiritual teachings and the marvels of this wisdom. That's what I mean by action."

    "Listen to your heart. It knows all things, because it came from the Soul of the World, and it will one day return there."

    "Tell your heart that the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself. And that no heart has ever suffered when it goes in search of its dreams, because every second of the search is a second's encounter with God and with eternity."

    "There is only one way to learn," the alchemist answered. "It's through action. Everything you need to know you have learned through your journey."

    Sunday 19 September 2010 at 23:39 , 0 Comments

    The Best Of Enya

    One of my favourite artists for the past few years.On this album you can find some of her amazing songs like The Celts, Orinoco Flow, Book Of Days, The Memory Of Trees, and many more. I hope you enjoy it like I do everytime I listen to it.

    at 14:31 , 0 Comments

    Flute Meditations For Dreaming Clouds by Paul Adams

    If in any way you feel connected to the Native American music and their enchanting melodies, or you simply love to meditate and relax with this type of music, I recommend you this cd by Paul Adams.

    at 14:26 , 0 Comments

    The Power of Now: A Guide to Spiritual Enlightenment by Eckhart Tolle

    The book takes readers on an inspiring spiritual journey to find their true and deepest self and reach the ultimate in personal growth and spirituality: the discovery of truth and light. In the first chapter, Tolle introduces readers to enlightenment and its natural enemy, the mind. He awakens readers to their role as a creator of pain and shows them how to have a pain-free identity by living fully in the present. The journey is thrilling, and along the way, the author shows how to connect to the indestructible essence of our Being, "the eternal, ever-present One Life beyond the myriad forms of life that are subject to birth and death." Featuring a new preface by the author, this paperback shows that only after regaining awareness of Being, liberated from Mind and intensely in the Now, is there Enlightenment.

    at 14:20 , 0 Comments

    Psychic Development , the work of Anna Conlan

    This is one of the amazing sites I found on the internet. An amazing young woman, Anna Conlan, is a professional psychic and author of the blog Psychic But Sane. She writes about psychic development, intuitive gifts, clairvoyance, clairaudience, soulmates, insights on how to help you to work with your spirit guides, empathy, positive thinking, spirituality and many more interesting topics I found very helpful. So if anyone is interested feel free to check out her blog  : http://www.psychicbutsane.com/

    at 13:50 , 0 Comments

    The Work Of Katie Byron

     I warmly suggest this page for everyone who is interested in their spiritual, mental and emotional growth.

    The Work of Byron Katie is a way of identifying and questioning the thoughts that cause all the fear and suffering in the world. Experience the happiness of undoing those thoughts through The Work, and allow your mind to return to its true,awakened, peaceful,creative nature.

    http://www.thework.com/index.php

    at 07:21 , 0 Comments

    A Thousand Names For Joy

    A Thousand Names For Joy by Katie Byron, Katie’s teachings and everyday life are pure wisdom. A Thousand Names for Joy shows us the way to inner peace, and she directs us there fearlessly, relentlessly, and with utmost generosity.

    at 07:17 , 0 Comments

    You Can Heal Your Life

    You Can Heal Your Life by Louise L. Hay.“If we are willing to do the mental work, almost
    anything can be healed.” Louise explains how limiting beliefs and
    ideas are often the cause of illness, and how you can change your
    thinking…and improve the quality of your life.

    at 07:15 , 0 Comments