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My favourite Goddesses, part 2: Kali Ma

11/26/2017

Another one of my favourite Goddesses is Kali.
Kali Ma. Wow.
She is powerful. She is like the Tower card in the Tarot card. She tears everything to the ground so that the new can come in. But that can be frightening. It can be paralysing.
We can be scared because we have a fear of the unknown and our lack of trust in the future. It can come from our fear of letting go of old patterns where we feel safe, even though we might not be happy.

Kali is an Indian Goddess of death, but the death of the ego. The ego is the part of us that wants us to fit in, to tell us what to do. And the ego wants us to be safe. But seriously, these days the ego is working a bit too hard and we need to tell it to back off. We can take care of ourselves. Instead we need to listen to our bodies and our own rhythms. We need to breathe, instead of holding our bellies in with the fear of being judged.
Let it out! That makes Kali happy!

Ma Kali wears a garland of skulls and a skirt of dismembered arms because the ego arises out of identification with the body. She reminds us that we are beings of spirit and not flesh. We can be free only when this identification with our mind and body ends. We are not our thoughts and not our bodies. We are infinite. She carries some swords, and those swords are for cutting off the crap we don't need. Sometimes we need someone to take charge and just cut it off! Call on Her for help with that when you need it!

Invite Her in. Talk to Her. Tell Her your fears and your dreams.
You will feel Her love.
Breathe Her in.

Do not be scared.

With love, Elin xx

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Mindfulness ramblings

11/20/2017

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I know. I know it is not for everyone! But I also know that a lot of people have the wrong idea about what it is.
Yes, when I teach it at the high school we do a lot of body scan meditations and breathing exercises that last for about 15 minutes or more.
But, mindfulness is so much more! The things I mentioned above are what we do to practice. Practice.
I tell the kids that we do the practice so that we will recognise the sensation of being in the present. Of being present in our bodies.
Because mindfulness is meant to be a part of life. It is supposed to help us stay centred and grounded in a busy world.
It helps me see the beauty around me. It helps me be patient. It helps me enjoy my food.
I hardly ever do mindfulness practice like we do at courses and trainings when I am at home. Yes, I meditate, which is a part of mindfulness, but I do that because I freakin love it!

Mindfulness is not just meditating, breathing deeply and sensing what is happening in your little toe.

It is awareness of ourselves. What are we doing? What are we thinking? How much do we have to listen to our thoughts and our ego rambling on all day long? What is our thoughts saying?
Mindfulness teaches us awareness. Awareness of ourselves as spiritual beings having a human experience!

Now what did I say about rambling?

After all this...if you want to try some easy mindfulness practices get my mini-mindfulness course here: http://eepurl.com/c9b2zf
If you want to go deeper, then I have a 21 day online course! It is transformational and can seriously change your life. Only for the better! Click here it check it out!

With love, Elin

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It is time, Sister!

11/17/2017

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I want to write about the power of women. I want to SHOUT about it!
In my journey as a Priestess one of my main focuses is to bring the sacredness of Woman back. We need to remember that we are sacred and that we are powerful! The patriarchy has been doing its very best for the last few thousands of years to make us forget, and to silence us.
To make woman turn on woman. Sister on sister. Daughter on mother.

Oh man, it makes me angry. And it makes me so set on reversing it!

We need to find our way back to sisterhood. To trust.
We need to turn away from comparison. Making sure we are always comparing ourselves with other women, being envious and bitter is what the patriarchy wants.

No more!

We are taking back our power.
It is time that we connect to our true selves again and remember that we are powerful. We are strong. We are beautiful. We are amazing, just the way we are.
We need to remember to set time aside for enJOYment.
What do you enjoy doing? Write down both the big and the small things. Travelling? A hot cup of black coffee? Walking barefoot? Sharing what is in your heart with s sister?
Yes! All of that, thank you!

Let us reclaim our sacred cycles. Women are not made for linear existence! Our body moves with the cycles of our menstrual cycle and of the moon. We need to speak out when the expectations on us do not fit.
Track your flow. Learn about your cycle and find out when you will need to retreat, when you might be at your most creative and when you are ready for adventures!
And talk about it!
Find like-minded sisters and talk. Share. Plan. Be as loud as you want.
We have been silent for too long.
Are you with me?

With love, Elin

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My favourite Goddesses Part 1: The Lady of Avalon

11/12/2017

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Some people have asked me who my favourite Goddess is! Well, there are many answers to that. I have some that I am particularly close to, and that I know well from working with them for many years. Others I just love the general energy of, and others I am very curious about because I have heard their call, but not spent much time getting to know them.

I absolutely love the Lady of Avalon, since I know Her intimately after my three years of Priestess training and then the work I have done in the years following that. She is the Goddess who resides on the magical Isle of Avalon, which is said to be in Glastonbury in England. It is like a parallel world, hidden behind the veils, behind the mists.

She is incredibly powerful, and I got to know Her energies during my Priestess training. Especially during the third year, where we did three meditations a day. Two of them were between 30 minutes to an hour long. It was challenging, it was beautiful and it was powerful. I got to know Her in my heart, body and soul. It was deep.

The Lady of Avalon is a very transformative Goddess. She is also very loving.

Her energies can be called upon anywhere on earth, but to experience Her on Her own land is something special.

Some of you may have read the book The Mists of Avalon by Marion Zimmer Bradley. If you haven't, and you have heard Her calling, then I really recommend it. It is beautiful and full of magic.
Many people, both women and men and all in between hear Her calling and journey in pilgrimage to Glastonbury.

She welcomes us all.

But journeying with Her can be both scary and joyful. During the Priestess training we are taken deep into ourselves, and that can be very challenging and painful. But I have also found so much joy and Sisterhood through my journey with Her, that every bit of pain has been worth it.

The woman who I have to thank for my training is Kathy Jones. She started the Glastonbury Goddess Temple and The Glastonbury Goddess Conference and has run the Priestess of Avalon training for many, many years, even though it is now taught by other Priestesses.
She is an amazingly strong woman and I love her.
Find out more about her on her website.

To get to know The Lady of Avalon, call on Her.
Travel in sacred pilgrimage to Avalon/Glastonbury.
Read about her. Meditate with Her.
Connect with others who walk with Her.
She welcomes you.

Are you ready to get to know Her?

With love, Elin

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How to create sacred ceremony

11/5/2017

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Doing a ceremony is powerful!

If done with your whole self present, then real transformation can happen. It can stir up a lot of emotions.

Ceremonies can be done in a number of ways. Of course it can be done for a lot of different purposes, love, celebration, to let go, to call in, to relax, to connect etc etc.

It can also be done differently in different traditions! Some find it absolutely essential to cast a circle, others don't. Some want a lot of things for their magic like oils, crystals, different coloured candles etc, and again, others don't.

Creating powerful ceremonies takes practice. But each time you do one you will learn more and you will get better at sensing the energies. So, do you want to start?

Let me tell you how I do it!

At the bottom of this post you will find a link where you can sign up and get this blog post as a WORKBOOK which guides you through all the steps I share in this post.

Intention
It is very important to set the intention for what I want to do. That means deciding why I am doing the ceremony.

I might want to connect to a certain Goddess or energy. I may want to let go of things like emotions, habits or even emotionally toxic people.

The ceremony can also be about calling in something like abundance or love. It can be for self love. It can be to honour myself or someone else, or in honour of my Sisters!

One thing that is important to me is that the ceremony is about me. I never try to change someone else or interfere with someone else´s life in my ceremonies. I know other witches sometimes do spells like that, but I don't.

Set up
Before I start I set up my altar. Sometimes I want to add things, get another set of oracle cards or get a specific crystal. Sometimes I sit in another spot or do the ceremony outside! Whatever I do, I make sure I have everything I need right there. Paper, a pen, matches…

To decide what I need and want I look at what my intention is. Often I use things that are important to me on my spiritual journey. Like the amethyst egg I was given when I dedicated as a Priestess of Avalon after three years of training. Another thing that is always with me is my rock that my Sister Kirsten brought me from Canada when we met for the second time in Glastonbury.

Then I might prepare some incense or sage to burn. Burning sage is very good for cleansing the space and even ourselves. I might do a whole post on smudging later on!

I like to use different oracle cards, and I intuitively choose the deck every time. I use the cards for guidance to see if there is anything specific I need to focus on.

You can decorate the altar with items from nature, twigs, rocks, berries, feathers, whatever you want. Bringing items in from nature brings energy in from nature. It can help us to connect, and it helps keep the energies of the altar alive and vibrant.

Being present
Apart from making sure you are not disturbed, being present in the here and now is vital.

Being present.
I can not emphasise that enough.
If we are not present we might as well not do the ceremony. That might sound harsh, but I think it is true.
We are talking about working with energies, and therefore it is vital that we are in connection with our own energy, our own essence, if we are to be able to connect with the Divine Feminine, the energies of nature or the season.

How do we do this? By grounding and centering.
This can be done in many different ways. By smudging, which is cleansing yourself with sage or some other incense. By breathing. Movement, like dancing or yoga.
I usually use a combination, but I always use breathing. Just breathing calmly and mindfully for a minute or two, or longer, depending on how you are feeling.
When you get used to centering and grounding you will recognise the sensation in your body when you are present. For me it feels like landing in my body, like my soul relaxes and spreads out in my whole self and beyond. You will know how it feels for you.

Calling in
At the start of the ceremony I call in the Goddess or aspects of the Goddess I want to invite. In my training we always called in the Goddesses from all eight directions, and then The Lady of Avalon in the centre. Other traditions call in four directions, plus above and below. There are many ways of doing it.

Nowadays I usually call in The Lady of Avalon and the Goddess of the season. I will share more about the different directions and Goddesses of the seasons another time.
When I call Her in I speak to Her. I invite Her into my sacred space. With my inner eye I see Her, I see Her coming towards me, which helps me feel Her specific energies.
Working with a specific Goddess for a long time makes us familiar with them and we get to know what their presence feels like. There are many books which gives you long sections on what to say when, but I find it works best if the words come from our hearts. Don't worry if you feel your words are not “poetic” enough! Normal down-to-earth words are the best!
I don't cast a circle of protection because I feel that the presence of Goddess, the presence of She is enough protection for me. This is true for me, but I do not have any problems with other witches who feel the need to cast a circle. We all work in different ways.
When I have called Goddess in I start the specific work I created the ceremony for.

The middle bit
Here is where we do what we decided the ceremony was for.
Sometimes it might be just communing with Goddess, being in Her presence.
It can be clearing and letting go.
It can be calling in abundance.
It can be drawing in the power of the moon.
It can be connecting with the energies of the season.
It can be divination, asking a question and waiting for an answer. Oracle cards, Tarot cards, a pendulum or meditation can be used for this.
Whatever your intention was, this is where you do your work.

Normally my way of working is to speak to Goddess, like a prayer. I speak from my heart and soul and offer it up to Her to transform or empower.

If I am letting things go I write them down on paper and burn. I can write prayers and wishes in my journal. I can charge crystals with a specific intention by holding them and focusing on what I want, like courage, self-love, or to open up more to Goddess.

I usually use an oracle card deck and ask for guidance, and then pull a card, and writing down which one I got so that I can go back to that later.
Sometimes I ask for guidance for the coming day, for the coming lunar cycle, for a particular problem. It can be general or specific. I find it helpful to write down which cards I get and their meaning and also my own thoughts about them and what the message means for me.

Giving thanks
When you feel that you have done your work, then it is time to end the ceremony. Make sure you have said everything you want to say and feel satisfied.
Now it is time to give thanks for what you have experienced, and it is time to give thanks to Goddess. In your own words, say thank you to whoever you called in. I thank Goddess for Her presence and ask Her to walk with me and be with me, in my heart, soul and body. You do not need book to tell you what to say. Whatever words are in your heart, that is all that is needed.

You may wish to sit for a minute afterwards and just let the experience sink in.

Afterwards
Be aware that feelings can arise after a ceremony.
Ceremonies are real and powerful!
They can be very transformative.
So be gentle with yourself.

Write about what comes up for you in your journal, or speak to someone who will listen. Of course, if something becomes to difficult contact your doctor or a professional therapist.

And that is it.

I hope this made sense to you, and that if you felt unsure of how to create a ceremony that you now feel more confident! And if you already

If you have any questions, please contact me via Facebook messenger.

With love and blessings, Elin

If you want the workbook that goes with this post fill in the form below!

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My favourite Goddesses, part 2: Kali Ma

Mindfulness ramblings

It is time, Sister!

My favourite Goddesses Part 1: The Lady of Avalon

How to create sacred ceremony

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My favourite Goddesses, part 2: Kali Ma

Mindfulness ramblings

It is time, Sister!

My favourite Goddesses Part 1: The Lady of Avalon

How to create sacred ceremony

Yes please! Send me the How to create sacred ceremony workbook!

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