Notes from the Mastermind. 2.

I don’t relay often, but having spent the last couple of mornings studying the cosmos & meditating, this 🌑 is a super special one folks. It is the ending of a 2 year cycle of a series of lunar & solar eclipses occurring in the Cancer/Capricorn Axis—And with other potent planetary positions supporting, this is definitely master manifestation time! Here are some insights, interpretations and downloads 🙏🏽~~~

Collectively, for the next 6 months:

“Time” is going to be high acceleration. A crescendo. Perhaps even an awakening effect! A heavy & overwhelming one for those who are sleeping.

“For the next 6 months, using the courage of commitment, I’m going to accelerate the arrival of a better world for all by keeping my frequency beyond current circumstances because it serves all well”

Set Intention for that emotional frequency~~~

Open heartedness? Compassion? Expanded heart field? My frequency intention for the next 6 months is Gratitude 🙏🏽

To be able to support my intended emotional frequency, I must maintain:

What practices, rituals, routines, environments, situations do you create to support yourself & all?

For me it is maintaining practicing: rising early, meditation, womb rituals, drinking 💦, therapy, gardening & prayer.

Personal intentions~~~

First some basics—Cancer is the cardinal 💧 sign. Ruled by the 🌕. Originally the scarab beetle in ancient astrology, it is the archetype concerning: emotional world, ancestral traditions, tribes, family, roots, home, nurture, infanthood, motherhood & our sacred waters, both internal & external. It is the symbol of LIFE. Water is Life.

Capricorn it’s polar opposite is the cardinal 🌎 sign. Ruled by Saturn. It is the archetype concerning material world, practice & mastery, adulthood, civilization, societal traditions, government, career, karma, and almanacs. Is is the sign of our Mortality.

Do you want a new home? In a new state? Or country? A family? A community? A new job? A new government? To build? To birth?

Just mine & my guides’ 2 cents

May you maintain compassion & gratitude

In solidarity,

Feeling ‘crafty today!

I came home sick today (for the second time in two weeks, which sucks) so to make myself feel better I wanted to make something.

Cast Iron Care

I grew up in what I call a cast iron family. All the pans were cast iron, we had a few enamel pots for pasta, and one beat up copper bottomed pan for boxed mac and cheese. My mom cooked most days and when she didn’t, it was mac and cheese or pasta because we weren’t allowed to cook with her pans unless she was there.

Cast iron has some mixed reviews, some (me), swear by it and some, think it’s difficult and impossible to cook with…and they’re right to a degree (get it, degree, cooking, farenheit, celcius…sorry), if you don’t know how to care for cast iron, it’s a hassle and a mess. That’s what this post is for though!

Seasoning

Seasoning is the term used to treat and clean cast iron. Even when you buy a new “pre-seasoned” pan, you’re going to want to season it yourself. A major benefit of cooking with cast iron is that it retains flavor, and makes its own seasoning for your food…like magic!

Step 1: Clean your pan with HOT water and a scouring brush, rough side of a sponge, or steel wool. Nothing else…just water and something rough.

Step 2: Dry it completely with paper towels, and then place it on a lit stovetop burner for a minute or so to make sure it’s completely dry.

Step 3: While the pan is warm, probably 10-20 minutes after you remove from stove, (because it retains heat like no one’s business, and I don’t want you to burn yourself) pour some oil* into the pan and spread it around, completely coating the inside. Wipe off excess.

Step 4: Place in the oven set to 200º F, Upside Down for 2 hours

BOOM! Your pan is seasoned and ready to cook with.

*But Barber, what kind of oil? That’s mostly up to you, but canola is the classic standard (vegetable oil) but I use olive oil or canola, depending on what I used last. You can use any vegetable oil you want, whether that’s grapeseed, sunflower or flax seed, but there’s no reason to go crazy and buy a “Cast Iron Care Oil” because that’s literally just a marked up bottle of canola…No Lies.

NEVER USE SOAP WHEN CLEANING YOUR CAST IRON,and here’s why…**

Soap is great for clothes, and your body, and even your car, but not for Cast Iron. Cast iron is a porous metal, so when you put something in, it absorbs. When you cook with it regularly, and oil it regularly, it creates its own nonstick surface! It’ll absorb the taste of herbs and spices you cook with regularly, and everything gets a mild flavor boost from whatever you cooked in it previously. When you use soap, it removes that surface and flavor; soap can absorb and flavor your food, and no one wants soapy fritatas.

Now, the seasoning steps above are used when you get a new pan, or need to re-season a rusted pan. It’ll restore it like new. But what about cleaning after cooking something tastey?

Cleaning and Upkeep

Step 1: While the pan is still warm, take rock salt and/or a non-metal brush (like the one above that I use) and go crazy scrubbing it.***

Step 2: Rinse with warm water, and dry with a paper towel (I say paper towel, because it’ll actually raise up some iron, and turn your towel black…better use a disposable towel, or risk staining your nice linens) after that, feel free to put on the stove top for a minute to make sure it’s all dry

Step 3: Coat with a little oil, wipe up excess, and store in your oven or broiler.

Special notes: The heat, salt you use to scrub, and iron itself all equal one great big anti-bacterial surface, so no worries about not using soap and feeling like you’ll get salmonella. Because it’s a porous surface, air drying is a no-no. It’ll lead to rust, and then you’ll have to scrub it off and completely re-season it (refer to first seasoning process).

**The soap thing. You can use soap. I never do. Most soaps these days aren’t as damaging and stripping as the old ones. Again, you can use soap, but I never will because like I said, that’s how i grew up, my tradition, this is a part of my witchcraft practice, and it works for me. Updated 10/27/18 p.s. idk about y’all, but I use dish soap to get rid of oil, so while tons of people message me about using soap on it, I still am not going to break tradition of not using soap on a pan older than me. 11/27/18

Charcoal pencils are so expensive, so here’s this. These are great for sigils, Books of Shadows, drawing, or anything you can see this fit for.

-Alex

How To Make It

Find some sticks that aren’t too thin, they have to be thick enough.

Wrap the sticks in aluminum foil.

Place wrapped sticks in fire.

Wait about 20 minutes then find your wrapped sticks and just observe them…LEAVE IN FIRE.

You will notice gasses coming out of the foil..there will be a lot of smoke coming out of the foil and some flames.

Observe the sticks until no more flames and nearly no smoke is coming out of the foil.

Gently and carefully remove the foil from the fire and place on any surface.

Wait a couple of minutes for it to cool then remove carefully the “cooked” sticks (charcoal) from the foil.

Optional

So the first things I made were white vinegar sprays, I made two kinds: -Rosemary and Sage -Thyme and Sage

Both have a 2:1 ratio of white vinegar and water and both have a peel and a half of lemon and about two table spoons of sea salt each. 

I cleansed the jars with water, then sage smoke, stuffed the herbs and lemon in, sprinkled in the salt, then poured hot water and vinegar in. Give em a shake and charge how you like as you go! I like to mentally say what I want from each item as I place them in the jar.

Let them sit for about a week then strain into a spray bottle and clean some shit. They’re also good for defunking carpets and throw pillows, just spray and let dry in the sun! 

The second thing I made was baking soda, salt, and lavender scrub with a lemon vinegar water spray! This one you don’t have to wait to use, just mix it up and go! I used:

- 2-3 cups baking soda ( I just dumped a bunch in eye baling how much I think I might need)  - 1-1.5 cups of table salt -  Half a cup of non-food grade lavender 

I set my intentions as I poured each ingredient in then mixed em up with a good shake. I cleaned my whole bathroom with this one jar and as you can see in the above picture, I still have enough left for touch ups or I can use it on my bedroom carpet. You just sprinkle the mix on the floor, let it sit for a while, then vacuum it up! 

And this shit works, here’s my dirty ass tub before:

I sprayed the vinegar down then shook the scrub all over, let sit, then using a scouring pad I cleaned it off and then rinsed it with hot water from the shower and BOOM:

LOOK AT THAT. 

Some tips I’ve learned along my path.

✨Make a vision board on Pinterest with things you want!

✨Be grateful! There are so many things we can be grateful for, so write it down or say it in your head/out loud

✨I prefer not using specific time like “…by Tuesday” etc. Use “in divine/perfect timing” instead. The Universe is always working to get you want you desire, so trust that everything will come at the right time when you are truly ready for it!

✨Scripting is very powerful and fun way to manifest! Don’t forget to write in present tense (I am, I have…). Do not use I want, I need etc.

✨Connect with the moon and do new moon rituals! New moon is the best for new beginnings and setting intentions.

✨When asking for money, use the phrase “money comes to me by happy means” or something similar. You need to be specific, because otherwise you could receive money through some bad accident or something unpleasant.

Materials:

Water

Soap or shower gel

Shampoo and conditioner

Ritual:

Start the shower with the water as hot as you can stand it, and step inside. Once inside the shower, let the water run over you from head to toe. As you breath, watch the water going down the drain and picture it in your wind as a gray color. Next, visualize the water removing all your anxieties and any issues you had from the day before.

Begin to wash your hair with shampoo. In your mind’s eye, see the stress and anxiety leaving your body and entering int the shampoo bubbles.

Repeat the visualization process with the conditioner. Take the soap or shower gel and, starting with your face, wash your whole body several times, cleaning from head to toe. As you lather say these words over and over: “Water, water, wash away. Water, water, cleanse today.”

Once you are clean, rinse off all the suds. The lather will absorb your troubles and wash them down the drain. Cool the shower temperature slightly, and bathe for a few more minutes in the refreshing water. When you feel comfortably cleansed and refreshed, step out and dry off with a towel from top to bottom while repeating these words:

“By the earth in the soap,

By the air in the steam,

By the fire which heats the water,

By the water that washes,

I am cleansed, clean, and ready for the day.”

 -

I haven’t seen anything specifically about this so I feel the need to make this post.

Let’s imagine you, as the solitary witch, stand before a brick wall. Your intended outcome of your spell is the wall. Your will is your arm, your spell is a hammer. This great wall before you is the nation-wide corruption and you want to break it down (10/10 goal; we love that). But, as anyone that has tried to break down a wall knows, it can be difficult to do so alone. But you’re confident because you’ve used a hammer before so you start swinging it. Oh, but wait. What nation-wide corruption do you want to destroy? Ohhh, you want to throw out all the bad apples in law enforcement. (10/10 goal; we still love that). Now your goal has shrunk, but the wall remains the same size, because remember, this is still a nation-wide problem. But wait, you live on the East Coast. Do you think your spell is strong enough to change the law enforcement system all the way in California? How about Alaska? Maybe not. Maybe not with one spell, maybe not all by yourself. So maybe you decide to focus on the law enforcement in YOUR state (10/10 goal; still love it). But now your goal has shrunk to the size of one brick and the wall remains the same size. But you keep on swinging that hammer at that one brick and eventually you’re going to make a dent, maybe even a hole. Because you had a specific goal with a specific will and a specific tool.

Nation-wide change is far too broad a goal for one person. You can’t knock down a brick wall with one hammer, all by yourself. But consider the possibility of a bunch of hammers weilded by a bunch of people, all smashing their own bricks. That wall can’t stand for much longer. Strength in numbers, even for us solitary witches. Solitary witches are great, they’re powerful, they’re extraordinary and extraordinarily gifted. But they are usually only one, alone. Leave the broad topics to the large covens. Work your (literal) magick closer to home. Everyone and their uncle will be blessing the protesters, hexing racists, and pushing for change as a whole. It is admirable to want to lend your energy to that as well, but you have the opportunity to create change in your own area, too, which is something FAR less witches and FAR less covens are going to be doing tonight. You could be the ONLY witch in the whole country and state of Mississippi casting a spell to protect the Mississippi protestors, but SOMEONE is doing it, and that someone is you.

it’s getting harder to pretend..

Whether you’re self-isolating, or school got cancelled, here’s a list of things to do that will keep you entertained and productive:

- Watch YouTube or Netflix with your friends

YouTube Party and Netflix Party are browser extensions that provide you a code so that you can watch videos/tv/movies with your friends/family

- Read

If you can’t get out to a library or bookstore, I have two apps for you! Libby is an app which you sign up with your library card and gain access to your library’s ebook collection. Issuu is an app you can sign up with in multiple ways and you can read whatever’s been published on there. Personally I’ve been reading magazines and zines

- Clean/organize

Cleaning may be the least fun item on this list, unless you’re a freak like me and enjoy some areas of cleaning. Just know that having a clean and organized space not only helps your physical health, but also mental health. Whether you’re dusting off a bookshelf or vaccuming, put on some music(or podcasts) and get cleaning!

- Listen to podcasts

You might be apprehensive to the idea of a podcast, thinking that they’re boring, but there are literally so many genres of podcasts that you’re bound to find something you enjoy. Spotify is a great app for podcasts because not only are there curated playlists of podcasts, but you can also explore by the different genres. Podcast Addict is a great app if you don’t have Spotify, because it allows you all of the same benefits, plus there are music podcasts as well!

- Watch movies

If there’s a ton of movies you want to watch but you’re not sure which to start with, I have the perfect idea for you! I wrote the titles of different movies I’ve wanted to watch on pieces of paper and put them in a vase. Then you know what’s next. When I want to watch a movie, I just pull a slip of paper out of the vase. I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised

- Cook

You may be wondering, if I can’t get out of the house, how am I going to cook? Supercook is a website where you can list the ingredients you already have at home and they provide recipes that use those ingredients

- Set up a planner or journal

There are so many videos of people on YouTube setting up their own DIY planners and journals. This is a great way to keep track of habits you might forget or are learning (feeding your cat, drinking more water, etc.), events/appointments, and/or things you need to get done/finish  

- Reconcile with an old hobby

Have an instrument that’s collecting dust? Just found all of your old drawings? Now is the perfect time to start enjoying those hobbies again

- Keep in touch with your family and friends

Facetime them, text them, call them. No one wants to be lonely. Not only will talking to someone make you happy, it’ll probably make them happy too

- Create a new hobby

Learn how to sew. Search on YouTube for yoga videos. Learn a language on Duolingo. Start drawing or painting. Start writing a story/poem/play. Make music. There are so many possibilities

Some other suggestions:

- Window shop online

- Learn a dance from Tiktok

- Have a “spa day”

- Look through old photos and other items from the past

- Take online quizzes

- Rearrange a room

- “Visit” a virtual exhibit (look it up!)

- Make a pillow/blanket fort

- Give yourself a haircut and/or dye your hair

- Create a bucketlist

- Complete a puzzle, physical or digital

- Just sleep

It’s a crime/comedy movie about two rivaling crime robbing syndicates trying to beat each other to the same deals. Pretty generic, right?

The twist is that they don’t really know anyone on the other side of the war and one day, the top agents go to steal the prize jewel, run into each other and end in a fight that results in their masks being taken off.

Turns out, the two groups are clones of each other and all the main ones are played by actors that are always confused because they look so similar.

Tom Hardy and Logan Marshal Green

Jeffery Dean Morgan and Javier Bardem

Amy Adams and Isla Fisher

Keira Knightly and Natalie Portman

The teams even have their own janitors/voice of reason!

Rupert Grint and Ed Sheeran

And, of course, the leader of both gangs and eventual main villain are Elijah Woods and Daniel Radcliffe.