Toil and Trouble Shoppe

Well, I answered my own question and got the Joie de Vivre and The Lover’s Path tarot decks. I got the Joie de Vivre deck yesterday and I can’t wait to do readings with it! The artwork is so whimsical and beautiful. <3

Anyone want a FREE TAROT READING?!

As Imbolc starts to be celebrated all over the world, we look forward to the coming of spring as the ice begins to thaw. We honor the rebirth of the sun and celebrate the goddess Brigid, the goddess of healing, midwifery, and poetry. Candles are lit in every room and dairy related dishes are prepared. 

Imbolc Ritual

Supplies: Symbol of the season, such as a white flower, snow in a crystal container, also needed, an orange or pink candle (can be anointed with cinnamon, frankincense or rosemary oil), red/white candle to represent the elements, and your ritual supplies.

Arrange the altar, light the candles and censer, and cast the Circle.

Invoke the Goddess and God. Say such words as the following:

“This is the time of the feast of torches, When every lamp blazes and shines To welcome the rebirth of the God. I/we celebrate the Goddess, I/we celebrate the God; All the Earth celebrates Beneath its mantle of sleep.”

Light the orange taper from the red candle on the altar. Slowly walk the circle clockwise, bearing the candle before you. Say these or similar words:

“All the land is wrapped in winter. The air is chilled and Frost envelopes the Earth. But Lord of the Sun, Horned One of animals and wild places, Unseen you have been reborn Of the gracious Mother Goddess, Lady of all fertility. Hail Great God! Hail and welcome!”

Alchemical, astrological, and medical-chemical (chemiatric) texts are notoriously difficult and often made completely inaccessible through interlarding with “occult” ciphers. These are “sigils” that are neither abbreviations nor hieroglyphic symbols, but belong to a category of their own. 

[…]

It falls into two main parts, first the Lexicon proper with its 1500 subject-entries and pictographs in alphabetical order, and second an index of sigils for their identification by counting strokes (1-5) and recognizing curvings and additional circles.

The above is an excerpt from a review by Walter Pagel. The full review can be found [here].

Little reminder about this #tarotselflove challenge! Grab your Tarot Deck, Oracle Deck and a journal and join us!

We want to bring some #TarotSelfLove to your February. This Tarot (or Oracle) photo prompt challenge is being hosted by @ethony and @mysticmoons_tarot. Starting on the 1st of Feb hold the question in your energy space and draw a card. Giveaways given to participating lovelies. Prizes include - Prize 1. Deck of Money Magic Manifestation Cards, a Reading with Ethony Prize 2. Moon Phase Oracle Deck and a Rose Quartz Crystal Goody. Make sure you hashtag #tarotselflove and get a good Tarot Journal ready!

“My daughter wanted a fairy tree in her room that she could sit inside and read books”

Serious contender for the father of the year award, Reddit user radamshome created a colossal fairy tree in 18 months with his own hands, making his daughter’s dream come true. Strenuously constructing a gnarly tree that strecthes its winding branches across the ceiling, it substitutes as a quiet spot for a nice read in the corner of his daughter’s room, and the project took over 350 hours and 4,250 USD to make.

Despite radamshome’s greatest fear of the possibility of the tree being dismantled “when she’s 13 and wants it removed from her room”, the magical concrete and rebar tree has been built to last till a happily ever after and can also hold the weight of three adults.

Radamshome who describes himself as an “artist in the video game industry,”, was initially “un-prepared for the physical realities of the project”, but dedicated his full efforts to making it happen. Starting from a concept drawing to a scale model, then welding classes which manifested into a giant painted tree fit for every girl’s dream, the father has created an elaborate and magical gift for his young daughter.

“I was kind of un-prepared for the physical realities of this project….”

18 months and 350 hours were spent to complete the project

Radamshome, who is an artist in the video game industry, began with a concept drawing and a scale model

He took private welding courses to make the tree skeleton structurally sound

After over 100-120 hours, the skeleton was complete

It took another 50+ hours to apply the wire “skin” to the rebar

A special mixture of cement was used for the tree trunk, and papier-mâché for the branches. Total time so far: 225 hours

The dad used to paint miniatures as a teenager, so he used the same techniques to paint the tree

He wove Christmas lights, capable of being dimmed, into the branches to simulate stars

The fairy details and tree decorations were found at a Michael’s art supply store

1. Vincent van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Holland. He was named after his grandfather and his stillborn brother who died one year before Van Gogh was born.

2. Van Gogh was 27 years old when he painted his first piece.

3. When Van Gogh first began painting, he used peasants as models. He would later paint flowers, landscapes and himself, mostly because he was too poor to pay the models.

4. Van Gogh suffered from temporal lobe epilepsy, a chronic neurological condition characterized by recurrent, unprovoked seizures.

5. In a short period of ten years, Van Gogh made approximately 900 paintings.

6. During one of his seizures, Van Gogh attempted to attack his friend Paul Gauguin with an open razor. This ultimately resulted in Vincent cutting off a piece of his own ear – but not the whole ear as is often rumored.

7. Van Gogh created his most famous work The Starry Night while staying in an asylum in Saint-Remy-de-Provence, France.

8. Vincent Van Gogh visually depicted turbulence, an incredibly complex (and still unsolved) mathematical principle in several paintings during a particularly chaotic time in his life.

9. Vincent shot himself in a wheatfield in Auvers, France, but did not die until 2 days later at the age of 37. His brother Theo, at his side when he died, said that Vincent’s last words were “La tristesse durera toujours” which means “the sadness will last forever.”

10. Vincent only sold one painting during his lifetime and only became famous after his death.

Happy Birthday, Vincent van Gogh.

From the TED-Ed Lesson The unexpected math behind Van Gogh’s “Starry Night” - Natalya St. Clair

Spells for Imbolc! <3 Merry Candlemas!

http://www.magicalrecipesonline.com/2016/01/imbolc-candlemas-spells-how-to-improve.html