Colors

Colors have a significant effect on all of our lives; we are constantly surrounded by color, no matter where we go, and we are frequently affected by colors. Science has proven that colors can alter not only one’s mood, but can also the way one thinks, positive and negative responses (according to personal associations with a particular color), and can even make a person eat more or less.
In magick, colors hold a significant symbolic meaning, which usually changes upon personal preference and experience. Each color has a vibration that we all unconsciously pick up; the goal of creating color correspondences is to match up aspects of life that vibrate on the same level as that color. Because individuals have different experiences throughout their lives, one may come to associate a specific color with a specific situation; a person who fears bees, for example, may not be fond of the color combination of yellow and black; a person who was hit by a red car may have negative attachments to red. This is why it is greatly encouraged for each individual practitioner to develop their own correspondences for aspects of life.
When creating a custom color correspondence, one should take into consideration both negative and positive aspects of that color. For example, red may mean lust, but it can also symbolize anger. Changing a color correspondence over time is perfectly fine, and happens as one grows spiritually.
Colors are used for a wide variety of things in magick – candle magick, string/cord magick, altar set-ups, for jewelry, offering stones, rituals, to represent/honor deities and spirits, and to put one in the proper mood for a specific magickal or ritual working. Another aspect of using color can be for color therapy – when you lack an energy or vibration in your life, selecting the appropriate color to surround yourself (be it clothing, makeup, jewelry, a blanket, paint, artwork, etc) can help make a more balanced individual. Since our color needs vary from day to day, color therapy is used primarily for clothing and accessories, which can be changed easiest daily.

Color Correspondences

Black
The Universe, Saturn
Mystery, secrecy, privacy, the unknown, hidden things, energy absorption, habits, fears, grief, sorrow, negativity, grudges, resentment, binding, banishment.

Blue
Element of Water
Peace, calm, relaxation, meditation, emotions, feelings, depression, sadness, lack of energy, the tide, the ocean, devotion, balance, hope, patience, stagnant, tranquility, ebb and flow.

Brown
Earth
The hearth, home, families, pets, animals, business, justice, the law, fairness,
strength, stubborn, travel, stability.

Gold
Sun
Solar energies, the God, warmth, excess, life, masculinity, fatherhood, luxuruy, worldly, finances, investments, achievements, long life, the Sabbats, yang. Orange may be used in substitution of Gold.

Green
The Element of Earth
Growth, plants, healing, nature, abundance, faeries, food, herbs, cooking, brewing, fertility, wealth, renewal, luck, jealousy, greed, envy, material possessions.

Orange
Sun
Solar energy, courage, authority, adaptability, encouragement, career, ambition, success, individuality, independence, self-confidence, success, individuality, independence, self-confidence, self-value, peace of mind, quick action, nagging, parties, celebrations, fun, the Sabbats.
Yellow may be used in quick substitution of orange.

Pink
Venus
Love, crush, emotional attachment, tenderness, affection, romance, companionship, friendship, bonding, clingy, youth, soulmate, the One, engagement, marriage, long-term commitment, compassion, gentleness, harmony, submissiveness, co-dependency.

Purple
Element of Akasha, Jupiter
Spirit, the Divine, cosmic forces, karma, fate, spirituality, magick, divination, astral work, psychic abilities, mystical, transformation.

Red
Element of Fire, Mars
Fire, blood, anger, rivalry, aggression, energy, passion, lust, sex, focus, physical activity, the Will, control, dominance, stamina, masculine energy, survival, determination, drive, war, impulse, spontaneity, obsession.

Silver
Moon
Lunar energies, the Goddess, femininity, cycles, motherhood, rebirth, reincarnation, purity, hormone balance, astral work, stars, psychic ability, dreams, the Third Eye, yin, Esbats.
White or purple may be used to substitute silver.

White
Moon
Spirit, purity, cleansing, consecration, protection, positivity, the light, truth, sincerity, forgiveness, the higher self, birth, marriage.
White can substitute for any other color, but must be charged with intention.

Yellow
Element of Air
Communication, travel, joy, happiness, friendship, social situations, groups, the mind, guidance, wisdom, imagination, creativity, ideas, change, counseling, thoughts, inspiration, plans, meeting new people, understanding, knowledge, studying, scheming, gossip, lies, rumors, prejudice, assumptions.

TS2, Resolutions & Tarot

I meant to actually post yesterday covering most of yesterday's events, but failed, primarily due in part to me having a new Sims 3 game.  That game series is truly my weakness.  Justin just bought the remaining expansion packs, and I couldn't wait to install them; once I did, I spent hours playing - until I felt like dozing at my computer - only to tray and save and meet with an Error 12.  Which basically means it was a memory error, that I couldn't save, and that I lost the game.  I did some research, and apparently, it's an issue that started in 2010 that was never resolved.  Instead of EA fixing that issue, they decided to put their energies into making new expansion and stuff packs, and creating a patch for Seasons that exacerbated that error.  I am highly irritated, frustrated, and aggravated over this issue.  Why spend money on a game if the creators are unwilling to actually fix necessary gaming problems?  I can't even play the game... saving is mandatory!

Ahem.  Rant over.

Today, I started my day off right.  I got up, drank some water (yay for me choosing hydrating H20 instead of caffeine!) and hopped onto the treadmill.  Our treadmill is really old, a monster in size, loud, and jerky; but it works.  The down side is that the lowest setting is, for me, a half-run, which makes starting a new workout routine on that thing a little off-putting.  I had intended to go 10 minutes.  I didn't make it past 3.  I guess I'm way more out of shape than I thought.

I don't want to change my goal plan on working out, but I may have to.  I'll wait out the 2 weeks, walk on the treadmill everyday, and see where I am then.  I'll make the necessary changes as needed.

Oh - just so you know, I've went on walks with the dog around here for 20 or 30 minutes, and came back a little out of breath, but not sweaty.  That's why I thought I could do the treadmill for nearly 10 minutes and build up to the full 10 over the span of 2 weeks.

I also did my affirmations while I was still lying in bed after waking this morning, around 6am.  Yes, I woke up at 6am... but I went to bed around 9pm.  I felt really good after sleeping that long, though now I'm starting to feel a bit sluggish.  I haven't eaten breakfast yet, so I guess I should handle that.  It's 8:30 now.

I did a tarot reading for my sister a week ago using a new method and routine of tarot reading.  She wasn't with me, so I wasn't sure if it would be accurate or not.  The whole point is to do a reading a week so that I can practice using my intuition with tarot reading.  This new method, and my using intuitive reading rather than memorized book readings, really worked out for me - she said I never gave her a more accurate reading before.  How on-cue I was actually gave me goosebumps, but also gave me a little more confidence.  I did a reading for myself, using a new spread, but it didn't make as much sense to me as the one I did for my sister.  I'll wait out the week and review the cards and my original interpretation before I jump to any conclusions.  I generally don't read a book or do any in-depth research on the days that I do tarot (which I try to reserve Monday for).

I received my copy of the Temple of Shamanic Witchcraft by Christopher Penczak yesterday.  I honestly wasn't expecting it so soon - my account at Half Price Books online said that the books I ordered could take up until the 20th for delivery.  They were all ordered from different places, so I didn't think they would come together, and I was right.  I wanted to start reading it yesterday, but got distracted by the Sims 3.  I started it today - for one hour, which doesn't seem like enough.  The way Penczak writes always leaves me wanting to know more, and never feeling bored; he has done thorough research (you can tell by the way he presents his opinions and facts, and always offers suggestions on further reading material or reference material that he used).  My only regret is that I couldn't have gotten all of his books in one go - his books were written in a specific order to guide new and old practitioners through techniques and lessons in a year and a day format in order to get to know themselves, their path, and spirituality better, and the Shamanic book was meant to be the third in the series.  For some reason, I felt really called to it... and though he did say it was a stand-alone book, he also warns that it builds on some techniques and lessons used in the first two books (The Inner Temple of Witchcaft, and the Outer Temple of Witchcraft).  I'll try to make do, but I really wish I had those previous two books.  I wish I could have studied them in the order they were meant to be studied.

I do plan on making videos for each lesson, which I plan to start at each new moon - I've already got the channel set up under A Year and a Day playlist.  You can watch my videos on youtube.  I plan on writing a separate blog post for those lessons as well, since I never seem to be able to get all of what I want to say in a single youtube video.

2013 Calendar

I had planned to implement my winter resolution starting on Monday (yesterday), but because I felt so horrible, I gave myself a pass.  I have been having some health issues of late, and it left me feeling completely drained of energy, exhausted, uncomfortable, and just not feeling good.

I know, I know, it sounds like an excuse.  Maybe it is.  Either way, I gave myself a pass yesterday, and have decided to start today, since I felt SO much better after a lot of sleep and rest and relaxation.  

So what did I do - other than sleep - yesterday if I felt so bad?  Well... I did a craft project.  It's very simple, and I plan on adding onto it at some point, but I made my own calendar.  :)  

Why did I choose to do a calendar, of all things?  Well, I never did get around to purchasing one for 2013, and it was driving me nuts, lol.  The one that I wanted (Llewellyn's calendar) had a lot of extra info and was more money than I wanted to pay; and standard calendars didn't have all the stuff I wanted built in.  So I figured making my own the way I wanted would be the best way to go.  Plus, I already had everything necessary to make it: 

\

3 hole punch 

White printer paper 

Colored markers 

Colored pens 

Computer for quick reference 

First thing I did was make a list of everything I wanted to include in my calendar.  

Moon phases 

Astrological phases the moon goes through 

Void of course dates 

Esbats 

Sabbats 

Religious holidays (other than the sabbats)

Federal holidays 

Birthdays

Seasonal associations 

Weekday color associations 

Next, I came up with a template in pencil and went over it in black ink so that I could see the lines when I place a fresh piece of paper over it.  And that's exactly what I did - traced over it, using a ruler (because it looked sloppy when I didn't; the first 3 months are traced by hand, but the last 9 months look much better).  

Using my computer, I filled in the dates for each month.  I used the hole at the end of my ruler (which I'm pretty sure is there so that you can hang it up or hook it through a binder) on each date for the moon phase, and colored in the moon phase by hand.  Void of course was added, along with the astrological sign that the moon moves into (I found a resource that offered both in my time zone).  All the sabbats, esbats, holidays, birthdays and any other personally significant or important days were also added to the calendar.  

Last, but not least, everything was colored in.  I added the elemental sign before and after the name of the month and colored in the month names and symbol with an appropriate color, color coded the days of the week, outlined sabbat and esbat days, etc.  

I'm pretty satisfied with my results, but it was VERY time consuming.  I intend on making at least one picture to accompany the homemade calendar, but haven't quite gotten around to making it yet.  

After I did that, I took a nap - which was pretty great, I felt super refreshed afterwards, though it didn't last long.  Once I got back up, I worked on creating a custom formal circle casting ritual.  I'm not 100% satisfied with it yet, so I won't post it until I am.  

Now that we're all caught up with what I did yesterday and didn't post, I'm going to end this one and update a post on what I did today.  :) 

Winter Resolutions

TipToeChick made a fantastic video on youtube about how she deals with new year's resolutions - rather than setting a goal for the year, she sets them for quarters.  This appealed to me greatly, so I thought I'd take a few of her suggestions and give a try.  :)

In order to make the winter resolutions work, it requires  blogging updates on progress, connecting with other people doing the same thing, and joining TipToeChick on Stickam for a little update session. I can commit to all of these things, as long as the stickam thing happens at a time that I can realistically join in.

Without further ado, my winter resolutions!

3 Positive Affirmations: I already have a few affirmations that I do daily, but I'm determined to add 3 more to the list.  These are typically done while meditating, or upon rising/going to bed each day.

• I am an intelligent person capable of in-depth and interesting conversation. 
• I am a creative human being full of ideas and artistic achievements.  
• i am an independent person that only needs to make herself happy.  

Diet:  There's lots of stuff I want to do with my diet; I've really slacked on eating healthy as of late.  The biggest thing - especially budget-wise - is my current intake of caffeine.  I have gone cold turkey before, and it's not fun, so I plan to reduce the amount of soda intake gradually over a 6 week period.  

• Week 1: Cut down soda intake; no more than 3 cans/glasses per day.  
• Week 2: Cut down soda intake: no more than 2 cans/glasses per day. 
• Week 3: Cut down soda intake: no more than 1 can/glass per day.  
• Week 4: Cut down soda intake: no more than 1 can/glass every other day.  
• Week 5: Cut down soda intake; no more than 1 can/glass for the entire week.  
• Week 6: No more soda!  

Exercise:  I recently bought a yoga video for weight loss, as it's my absolute favorite form of exercise, but after watching it through and trying it out, I discovered that I can only do a quarter of the video!  Rather than making me feel accomplished like yoga normally does, it made me feel pretty bad about myself, so I thought I'd start building up leg strength (which is my #1 weakness) by using the treadmill.  Why the treadmill and not just walks around the neighborhood?  Well, it's cold and there's a solid sheet of ice outside the door, on the driveway, and along the roads (there's also no sidewalks), so I figure the safest bet would be the treadmill for now.  Plus - it's freakin' cold!  Anyway, my goal is to reach 20 minutes on the treadmill without getting out of breath.  I plan on building up to the 20 minutes, adding in a week if I need to, etc.  I don't want to become sore, but I do want to do this on a daily basis, which is why I'm starting small.  

• Week 1 & 2: 10 minutes on the treadmill per day.  
• Week 3 & 4: 15 minutes on the treadmill per day.  
• Week 5 & 6: 20 minutes on the treadmill per day.  

Writing:  I love writing, but I want to get into a habit of doing it daily rather than just when the inspiration hits.  

• Journal daily in my private journal.  
• Blog daily on this blog.  
• Record all Aha! moments.  This can be in the blog or in my journal.  
• Read a spirituality book for 1 hour per day, and write a short summary/opinions on it in my journal.  When the book is complete, do a video on the book.  
• No more than 1 hour per day for admin duties at the HAUTE Ton.  I tend to get lost for hours doing admin stuff, and I really REALLY want to have more time to RP and have fun.  
• 1 hour per day of posting at the HAUTE Ton.  This will have me posting even when I don't have inspiration on any one topic.  If there's nothing to reply to, try to come up with an open thread, with no more than 3 open threads open at one time.  

Other Stuff:  Following are some miscellaneous stuff that I want to work on during the winter quarter.  

• Divination once a week for myself.  I tried doing one for my sister, but she never got back to me.  It's time for me to practice on myself.  I use tarot cards more than anything, but pendulum work can be substituted as well.  
• Clean something I don't like each day.  Can be localized (1 thing for 1 room per day).  These things must be stuff I usually procrastinate on - scrubbing sinks/tubs, mopping, vacuuming, dusting, etc.  
• Drink more water.  I tend to guzzle soda, tea, and anything but water,  This really needs to be fixed!  

Alright!  That's my plan for winter quarter.  I hope it's not too big... we'll see how it turns out.  Wish me luck!