Tired of crying and learning to thank.

Tired of crying and learning to Thank.

I'm Elhoim Leafar, in 2015, I auto-published my first book, I had to auto-publish it, because, in my native country, we were going through one of the worst crises. There was no paper in the printing presses in my native Venezuela.  Paper (including recycled paper for newspapers), clothes, everything technological, everything is imported. The only things we have on our own are vegetables and gasoline and that’s at a high price.I had to pay for the editing and correction, the spelling, and hundreds of other things. More than 65 publishing houses were closed in five years and the bookstores began to close because they did not have the money to pay for the constant taxes and salaries of the employees.

Leave a country in full bankruptcy, leave my own little apartment, my two jobs, my brand of handmade soaps, my daily routines, my family and almost all my friends, my temple and my coven, all had to stay behind. From the favorite restaurant, half a block from my apartment where I had lunch every day for seven years, to the gym two streets and much more.

I embarked on a trip full of terror to an unknown country. With only two suitcases, I got on a plane, carrying with me no more than my passport, a ticket that cost nine months of work, my tarot deck, my runes, my Kindle, my grimoire, my grandmother's and mother's grimoires, and a bunch of old diaries full of homemade spells and spells.

I probably will not be back for some time, I am officially a "non-welcome person" in Venezuela. If I even put a foot back, I will probably be immediately sent to prison for having signed, marched, and manifested my opposition to a communist government I cannot even communicate with my parents and my sisters by phone or Skype without the calls being intervened, I cannot send them money or anything, I have food on my table every day, but they are struggling, taking turns every day to find food to eat. My papa has lost 36 kg and my mother 25 kg. My nephews eat in turns, one eats one day and the other eats the next. Besides, my nephews are autistic and the drugs and their treatments are no longer in the country. It is not even a money issue--it is that these simply do not exist, In fact, people with cancer and HIV die almost to be diagnosed, because all the foundations that helped have closed, the pharmacists have left the country, the popular pharmacies have collapsed.

A few days ago, I had five minutes of peace to speak comfortably with Papa on the phone, thanks to a friend who helped me connect a call without interventions. As I have always said, I honestly believe that it is easier to traffic weapons or marijuana than to send food to Venezuela, and I am not joking.

Two days ago, Venezuela experienced an exodus. 45 thousand people left the country by air, sea, and land in only 24 hours and the next day another 25 thousand people left. My parents have no way to get out and besides, they are too old to risk embarking on a trip crossing the border as we have done others.[JI1]  In the last 72 hours, nine airlines have said goodbye to the country. Sometimes you simply learn that you cannot fight certain things and that alone you must follow.

For five minutes talking with my papa, he made the effort not to worry, I know that my family and my friends are dying of hunger (literally) and that from here I cannot do anything, even my mother, who is a recognized and very popular healer has lost many of her clients, because they have left the country. Before my mother had up to 200 people in line waiting to be served by her, now, she does not attend to more than two people a week and they pay her with food. This is very depressing.

In spite of everything, I have obtained immense strength to continue, the most important of all has been the lesson of taking this opportunity to leave and take advantage of it in the best possible way. I have turned those old newspapers into my new book, The Magical Art Of Crafting Charm Bags. I have turned this whole nightmare into an important life lesson.

I have made incredible friends here, Judika Illes edited my book, and that is an honor, I suppose that if I had stayed in my country that would never have happened. Her support has been like a warm embrace on a cold night. Devin Hunter. Wooow, in my country I complained about not being able to buy his magazines on Amazon because of the expensive change of currency ($ / Bs). In Venezuela, I could not read Devin's magazines or Storm Faerywolf’s books, but here I can buy and read his amazing (REALLY AMAZING) books comfortably in the library that is closest to me and even from my Kindle. Now, ALSO, my book has an incredible foreword by Devin Hunter and a wonderful review from Storm of my book. I would never have imagined that 😱 So amazing!

To meet such fantastic people here as Lady Rhea Rivera, Alexander Cabot, Paul Mercurio, Rhiannon Lenore Morgaine Christie, and Lilith Dorsey—each of them in their way has contributed something. They have brightened my days and taught me a lot.

When I lived in Venezuela, I did not know how strong I was. Maybe I still do not know. I came from a very large family without any privilege, with few resources. When I graduated from high school, I had to delay university for three semesters, while I kept two jobs simultaneously to be able to pay. My advertising career, and over time, while the country was getting worse, I simply settled in and started to live better, have an apartment of my own, a great job well paid, took my free time to write on my blog and do my books, I wrote occasionally for some magazines and participated in several covens.

Here in the US, I have literally started from scratch, started again from below, and endured all sorts of things. I have to learn a new language, learn the complicated tracks of the New York City trains, even receive racist comments from some neighbors (although I respect their right to be real idiots), and adapt to the climate.  Never before had I lived through a winter or even a spring. I had never seen a tulip nor squirrels. Here even the spirits speak another language. That is something that no one teaches you in books and your spirits must learn along with you and adapt.

Some things have not changed so much. There the president is an ignorant communist, who does not even know the number of states that the country has and who hasn’t finished high school. Here is a machist, racist and homophobic pig with complexes of divinity. But despite all the changes, I'm about to meet my first two years here, and I'm learning, knowing more and more extraordinary people everyday, like Michael Butler Smith, Mat Auryn, and probably soon Adam Sartwell and Christopher Penczak and many others.😌

When you have had everything and you have lost so much-- and you have had to (voluntarily) lose so much-- you learn to be grateful, more grateful every day for everything in your way. Good things or bad things, at least they are in your way. That is an indication that at least you continue on the road, and from where I come, that is more than enough.

Simply over time, you learn to draw strength from where there are none, learn to be stronger, to embrace people with more and more love, because you never know when you will see them for the last time, and you learn to trust more in the stars that guide you. You learn to say, “Thank you” for every stone in the road. In the end, all those big or tiny stones, will eventually become the walls of your castle.

Thank You... Always.

Note: Thanks especially to Judika Illes for correcting most of my work and always providing me with her good advice and all her support.

Lammas, Lugnasad or Lughnasadh 2017 + Tale

Lammas, Lugnasad or Lughnasadh 2017 + Tale

Lugnasad, also called Lughnasadh or Lammas, is the name given to the time of the harvest, celebrated between the full moon of summer and winter. It reminds us that the sunny days of the summer are coming to an end. It also marks the time to meet friends and family.

Lughnasadh was started by the god Lugh (the long-haired poet, head of the Tuatha De Danann, a people of the goddess Dana, who taught them techniques for plowing, sowing and gathering wheat), as a funeral party and games commemorating His adoptive mother, Tailtiu, who died of exhaustion before clearing the Irish plains for agriculture.

During the reign of Caesar Augustus, the Romans instituted a celebration on August 1 to the emperor's genius at Lyons, a place believed to have been named after the Celtic god Lugh. Curiously, Lyon (lion) is not just a coincidence. In ancient religions, God was seen under two aspects of light and darkness, although in Lammas he was seen as two gods, one god of light and one God of darkness. These two aspects represent the two halves of light and darkness of the year.

At this time the god is losing his strength, for soon he will die. It is a moment of important reflection, as it teaches us the importance of balance in nature and in personal life. In fact, everything that is alive grows, knows decadence and prepares for death, and then reborn, completing a great cycle.

The God is born in Yule, is a boy in Imbolc, passing to adolescence in Ostara, to finish being an adult in Beltane, where it will be united again to the goddess. Litha marks the maximum splendor of the God, from that moment ira losing forces in Lammas and Mabon to finally die in Samhain.

That is why on this Sabbath, we reap the fruits of the seeds we have planted in Ostara, and from them, we will collect the seeds that will wait for the winter to be planted.

In Celtic tradition, Lugnasad is one of the most outstanding celebrations next to Imbolc (February), Beltane (March), and Samhain (October).

Druids saw in the cereal cycle not only the natural germination of a seed, but the reflection of the life cycle: birth, growth/development, and death. Engravings have been found representing straw and cereals in the Celtic necropolis, whose index of significance is both spiritual and material. It was to invoke the spirit of wheat and lure it back into the fields. The mysterious spirit of wheat and plenty were attracted and captured by a straw doll. She had an important symbolic role in the celebration of Lugnasad. "

Today it is difficult for us to understand the importance of the crops in those times since it is normal that we have necessary food, but they depended completely on the food reserves of the previous year. It is in Lugnasad the moment to remember the conservation and the good distribution of the harvest.

Tailtiu, Lugh's nurse and goddess of agriculture

According to the Book of Invasions, Tailtiu was the daughter of the King of Spain and the wife of Eochaid Mac Eirc, High King of Ireland. She survived the invasion of the Tuatha Dé Danann and became the adoptive mother of Lugh.

It is said that Tailtiu died of fatigue after clearing the fields of Ireland for agriculture. Lugh established a harvest and funerary festival (Aachen Tailteann) in his honor, which continued to be held on 1 August as Lugnasad.

Handfasting, the union of hands

For the Irish, Lugnasad was the best time to carry out the Celtic marriage. Its name was the handfasting, or union of hands, and has its origin in an old ritual in which the hands of the contracting parties are sealed thus the contract. There was also another tradition, in which they looked into each other's eyes as they took their right hands and left them forming the symbol of infinity, and surrounding them with a ribbon they were tied in a knot.

The union of hands comes from more Indo-European ancestral symbolism, in which it represents the harmonious union between man and woman since the infinity symbolizes from the antiquity two circles representing the sun (feminine symbol) and the moon (masculine symbol).

The duration of these marriages was one year and one day. At the end of this time, the contracting parties decided whether they wanted to stay together or not. It is the union between two loving beings who freely want to be together and celebrate it in a sacred ritual based on commitment and respect.

As a curiosity, it is said that this ritual of union remained in force in Scotland until 1939, as a public celebration of the union (one year and one day) before the wedding.

Elhoim Leafar

A little Tale

Based on many different elements of pagan folklore, I wrote a story long ago called "the grandfather, the mother and the god of light", which was originally published in Spanish as a collaboration on another blog.

To celebrate this year that has been so positive in many ways, I have created a short (very short) version that you can find and read in my Instagram CLICK HERE.

The lunar Eclipse in Aquarius + Magic

The lunar Eclipse in Aquarius + Magic

A lunar eclipse (Εκλείψεις) is the astronomical event that occurs when the Earth intervenes between the Sun and the Moon, causing a "shadow cone" that obscures the moon, this occurs when the three celestial bodies, Earth, Sun and The Moon, are in a perfect alignment or very close to being, and in this way, the Earth blocks the solar rays that arrive at our majestic satellite; Because of this, lunar eclipses only occur with the full moon.

This 7th of August we will have a partial lunar eclipse, this is what happens when only a part of the Moon is hidden. In this case, said Eclipse will only be visible in Europe, Africa, Asia and Australia.

In Astrology, an eclipse is any form of concealment of a force, from a different force. Usually, eclipses mark powerful changes that affect the lives of people and the course of the same, mark and determine the end of a cycle and the beginning of a new one. The remarkable effects of a Sun eclipse can be felt up to six months after the event has occurred, this is known as a "drag effect", while the effects caused by a lunar eclipse can be felt up to three months after the astrological event, With greater strength the first three weeks.

Astrologically, it is considered unflattering to undertake new projects in eclipse season, for example, this month of August 2017, we have a lunar eclipse on August 7 and a Solar eclipse on August 21, relationships, partnerships and businesses that start Between the 8 and the 20 of August, will be of low effect and of little profitability.

The Saros Cycle # 119

This lunar eclipse is part of the Saros # 119 cycle. A "saros" (or a saros cycle) consists of a period of 223 moons, equivalent to 6585.32 days (approximately 18 years and 11 days) after which the Moon and Earth return to the same position in their corresponding orbits, Repeating the same eclipses, and again flowing the same energy. A saros has a total of 223 synodic months (months ruled by the moon and counted from a new moon to the next).

This lunar system has been known for thousands of years and is a way of predicting future eclipses. For example, in the Saros 136 cycle, there was a solar eclipse on July 22, 2009, which is expected to be exactly the same as on August 2, 2027.

The saros comprises a total of 18 years of eclipse, which contains 38 eclipse stations that occur every half year. In each season two or three eclipses occur (of Sun and Moon including penumbral), the saros presents in average 42 eclipses of Sun and 42 of Moon. The solar eclipses are 14 partial and 28 central (total, annular or mixed). The eclipses of the moon are 14 penumbral, 14 partial and 14 total. Currently, we are in a poor saros (they do not reach the average) and the next ones will still be more. With the passage of time, they evolve reaching the mean and then surpassed it, all with a cycle of about 600 years.

The Moon Myth of Immortality

The Hindus at the beginning of our era tried to explain the moon eclipses through the myth of Rahu (which is told in the Bhagavat Purana, among others). The demigods and demons beat the ocean of milk (one of the seven exotic, distant oceans within this planet) to extract the nectar from immortality. When this occurred, a female form of the god Vishnu made them line up. First, he would give a drink to every demigod and then he would share the rest among the demons.

Rahu then took the form of demigods to participate in the first dosage of nectar. When it was his turn and lifted the cup to take a drop of nectar, Soma (moon god) realized the imposture and warned Vishnu, who cut off the demon's head with his chakra disk. As Rahu already had the drop of nectar in his mouth, his head became immortal, hung from the celestial vault and every now and then eat the Moon in revenge.

When an eclipse occurs, the Hindus hide fearfully in their houses, since they consider it an "in-auspicious" event (a-shubha).

Lunar Eclipse in Aquarius

It is always important to remember (and difficult to forget) that the moon eclipses happen in full moon, for this reason, one of the most important nights of the month become an event of great power (or great catastrophe in some cases ). When an eclipse happens the lunar energy flows with greater power but at the same time is a complex energy and difficult to handle.

The moon in the sign of the aquarium has always been characterized as an intrepid and rebellious moon, those that fill us with a courage to undertake new projects and give us the strength to always dare to go further and further. This lunar eclipse will come loaded with an inevitable tendency to affective coldness, indifference, intolerance to what is different and a series of continuous contradictory behaviors. So let's try to stay calm and take a deep breath because it's going to be necessary.

Magic in full Eclipse

According to European folklore, even the most experienced witches may fear the terrible power of the lunar eclipse, for their energy is so remarkable that it could even influence the nobler spirits. In the African tradition of Osha, Santeria and Umbanda, when a lunar eclipse occurs, it is considered that Nana buruku (the patroness and the dark night) is free to roam the human world with its Vodoun who escort and protect it, Pouring blessings upon the noble believers and curses upon unbelievers.

In Santería, white and gold banners are placed on the doors and windows to ward off the malevolent spirits who will take advantage of tonight to manifest in our world, and to exchange their place here with that of the living. While in traditional witchcraft a lunar eclipse is considered as the moment when the magic of the moon is weaker, and it is the darkest magic that takes control of the earth only for a few moments.

In fact, multiple black magic books, including the famous "handbook of the sorcerer" of St. Cyprian and the "Necronomicon" (just to name the best known), prescribe hundreds of ritual spells and sacrifices to channel the negative power of a lunar eclipse , Weakening the power of good witches and turning blessings into all kinds of evil spells and diseases, so it is important to be forewarned and to take the lead.

An old common spell of Spanish folklore incites witches who work the dark arts to bury a certain number of fully living birds on the mound of land closest to the entrance to the cemetery, along with the names of their adversaries and enemies, Then pour a mixture of oils prepared to moisten the earth as a tribute to the deceased and souls in pain to give torment to the living. While in Cuba, pigs, dark liquors and honey are offered to the souls of forgotten witches to invite them to promote evil among the living, in exchange for health, beauty, and longevity.

On the other hand, the complex energy of the eclipse can emotionally alter the souls of the deceased and make them irritable so they may disturb their offspring on earth. That is why the most natural witches are focused on protecting themselves with amulets from the days before until the days after that eclipse.

A common and very popular ritual is to anoint with orange and cinnamon oil a crystalline quartz, making use of both hands anointing and washing this crystal channeling in the good energies, rubbing the glass making circles on the forehead following the order Clockwise up to seven times, then stored and carried everywhere in the handbag and even placed next to the bed at bedtime.

I have been carrying out this simple ritual for years, but I have personalized it, adding a little prayer of protection, those that are in the old book of the grandmother, the truth is not that it means in its entirety, but I know that it has very Good results, and from using it from time to time it seems to gain more strength each time. That prayer is as follows.

"Et invitare vos ad me hodie

Et custodiat semper ab exorabit against onmi malum omnes

Libera me ab omnibus malis atque malitiose intenderet rem pronuntio. "

I keep this annotated next to the glass and it is placed next to the bed after the ritual, this way the crystal will channel all negative energy in your way, it will absorb it and it will keep it away from you, in the worst case (that you have been victim Of some spell or ritual with bad intentions), the crystal will break in a few days, then quickly replace it with another and throw the broken glass in a stream of water to dissipate its broken energy.

White candles, a lot of incense, mirrors by the windows and bells hanging from the door handle, baking four-leaf clover-shaped herbal bread, and a glass of water and honey in a corner next to the entrance are some of the basic tips that must be known and put into practice to keep distant the negative effects of a lunar eclipse.

Try to write them down, share them and remember them, and for everything else, look for me on your favorite social network and write to me, all the other complex rituals and spells you can find in my books available on Amazon.

Hugs of light and many blessings.

Elhoim Leafar