Tag: animism

Nature-focused Reiki, Shamanism & Our Lost Western Shamanic Lineage

~ Mystic Holistic Worcester ~ Leave a comment

Western, indigenous shamanism and the knowledge of how to commune with energy, spirits and plants, ways of healing and divination would have been held by the wise men and women of our communities. In old English the 5000 year old word for ‘wise’ was Wicca (male) or Wicce (female) (pronounced ‘witcher’), and is where the origin of the word ‘witch’ comes from, just meaning ‘wise’ without any negative connotation. These original wise men and women were also called ‘cunning folk’ – from the original old meaning of ‘cunning’ which means ‘knowledge’ and ‘to know’ and many of them would have practiced ‘hands on healing’ as part of their services.

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Samhain: Nature’s teaching on transformation and rebirth

~ Mystic Holistic Worcester ~ Leave a comment

Because death is still very much a taboo in the western world, we can miss some of the significance of Samhain and therefore miss the opportunity to explore our own fears, feelings, emotions and concepts around death. When we talk of the ‘veil thinning’ and ancestral worship, we think of those who have gone before us, but we don’t tend to use it as an opportunity for contemplating our own mortality, the cycle of life or to learn the mysteries by examining natures displays.

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Honouring the Waning: The Sense of Loss at Summer’s Peak

~ Mystic Holistic Worcester ~ Leave a comment

Since the summer solstice, I’ve noticed a quiet pull inside me, what could be called a kind of seasonal sadness. If we were in the depths of winter, I might have called this Seasonal Affective Disorder but I realise, this isn’t a ‘disorder’ at all. To feel a sense of sadness or even what you might call a subtle grief, at the turning of the wheel of the year, feels right, appropriate and perfectly natural. If we tune in closely enough, remembering we are the Earth, the elements and the seasons, we might feel as if part of us is turning with the Earth, waning like the Sun, pulling away, already slowly letting go.

Rosemary & The Magician

~ Mystic Holistic Worcester ~ Leave a comment

As you can see, rosemary's energy, qualities and correspondences span all four elements and therefore all four Tarot suits, so it becomes a versatile magical tool, just like array of tools on the Magician's table. Rosemary could be substituted for either tool, energy or attribute, and indeed, it is often used as a substitute for other herbs in things like rituals and incense recipes.