#inspiration

Crystal series- Rose Quartz

/ Freya Bishop / 1 Comment

Good day to you, Friends! I hope that you are doing well and that you are having a wonderful day, as always.

A new addition that I wanted to add into my blog was to compose a “Crystal series.” This week, we will be learning about “Rose Quartz“- the stone of love and healing of the heart. Each week, I will be posting about a specific crystal and the entry will include:

  • How to utilize it in you everyday life.
  • It’s uses and magickal properties.
  • Other useful information.

Let’s get to it (:

While working in Salem, MA, it was evident that this crystal was one that was hard to keep on the shelves. Rose Quartz is associated with matters of the heart. There were many times when love struck individuals would come into the shoppe, searching for a candle that would bring a lover back to them and upon reading the description of what a tumbled ‘Rose Quartz’ could do, the stone would get snatched up and added to an order. Personally, I find that this crystal can be utilized in many ways than just ‘love’, so let’s hop into it:

  • I have always described Rose Quartz as a ‘warm blanket that you have just taken out of the dryer and wrapped around yourself.’ It wraps you up in a blanket of love!
    • If you are someone who is struggling with self-image, self-love, confidence, battling an eating disorder or anything else that requires an instant “pick me up”, Rose Quartz can help heal your heart and find that love to have for yourself.
      • Personal story: When I was in recovery of my Eating Disorder many, many years ago, a close friend gave me a piece of Rose Quartz to remind me to ‘heal with grace.’
        • This crystal, from my own personal experience, works wonders and can support with that healing!
    • It will absorb the hurt or disappointment that you maybe feeling and replaces those feelings with peace, love and healing.
  • Rose Quartz will gently open your heart to love, especially if you have been through a break up.
  • Rose Quartz can help us embrace kindness, compassion, learn how to trust our hearts and find the bravery to trust in others again.
  • Rose Quartz reminds us that love is all around you! Whether it is the love of friends, family, your animal companions, there is love to be celebrated.
  • Yes, Rose Quartz can assist with bringing in a lover into your life– but be careful– you want the partner that will best match your frequencies and be the best match for you.
  • If you are experience a death in your family and are grieving, Rose Quartz can help soothe your heart:
    • As a Death Doula/Midwife, there has been plenty of times when I would gift families tumbled Rose Quartz crystals for them as they navigated their grief.
  • With regards to physical heart health issues, Rose Quartz assists with strengthening and balancing the heart:
    • It assist with better blood circulation and flow and can assist with high blood pressure.
      • Personal story: Whenever I am stressed out, I tend to feel “it” a lot in my chest. With my family’s history of Heart health issues, I am very careful with these concerns.
        • I will meditate and or wear a piece of Rose Quartz over my heart to absorb that anxious/stressful energy. For me, it helps tremendously.

You can either wear Rose Quartz as a piece of jewelry (bracelets, pendant, ring, earrings). Crystals like to be worn skin-to-skin and be close to you. If that’s not your cup of tea, you can always have it around your home, bedroom or your workspace.

I have a Rose Quartz sphere in my studio and whenever I look at it, I am immediately reminded to be gentle with myself and show myself a little bit of appreciation.

  • Note: If you are going to wear your jewelry pieces, remember to cleanse them regularly. They tend to absorb more energies the more that they are worn. Like a battery, they need to be charged and cleansed (:

With Rose Quartz, I love cleansing it with incense smoke or bathing it under cool water. During the Full Moon, I will leave it out for it to absorb the Moon’s rays and to charge.

*Disclaimer: Crystal healing is a wonderful healing modality to add into your practices but should NEVER take the place of medical care and intervention. If you are experiencing a true and real medical problem, please speak to your doctor!

I am sure that as I continue to think of other properties and magickal uses for Rose Quartz, I will add them to here. I hope that you enjoyed this entry! I cannot wait for next week’s crystal– I am between two crystals to discuss next week… but I will allow that to be a surprise!

Until then,

FB.

Welcoming Autumn with a wee bit of ‘Intuitive journaling.’

/ Freya Bishop / Leave a comment

Happy Autumn Equinox, everyone! We are finally in the best season, in my opinion and I am so happy to welcome it back into my life! Bring on all the Autumn activities– scary movies, snuggly blankets, delicious chili and soups, warm beverages and fire pits… and the list can go on! (: Over on this end of the world, it was a gloomy cold and wet day. Not much frolicking about, I’m afraid but I did make a delicious pot of chili! So, it was a win-win.

As we welcome in Autumn’s magick and all of its glorious energies, it had me thinking a bit. A great chunk of my day, I spent in my studio where I rearranged, cleaned and organized my desk and my altar. I came across my journal and I sat down to write a whopping 13 pages! I love to write. It’s very therapeutic for me to sit with a pen and paper and allow the words to flow. One of the reasons for my entry today is because I became inspired, you see. One of my rituals, if you will, that I love to do is think about intentions that I wish to set for myself. I lit some incense, rubbed some of my ‘Palo Santo’ oil on my hands and breathed deeply the scent. Then, I began to do what I love to do: write.

If this ‘intention setting’ is something that you’d like to attempt to incorporate into your life, whether you are a magickal practitioner or not, here’s a few tips that I found to be extra helpful. Let’s dive into ‘intention journaling.’

Since I was a wee girl, I have always loved journaling. I remember the first time I was gifted a journal. I was about 9 years old and I wrote everything down. I was fascinated with the fact that I could tell stories… and I could write whatever it was that I wanted to. It was mine. No one could tell me “no, that’s not correct” or what have you. Writing has always been that power in my life that I could turn to and channel whatever it was that I needed to get out or explain.

With the seasons changing, I tend (and I do not know if you are the same way) but I begin to go inward, like the Hermit, and work on my shadow self (because we all need to tend to that darkness).

Here’s a few tips for intuitive journaling (:

1.) I am a very atmospheric witch. I love the candles, the music, the incense– I love it all. When I am about to journal, I set my space up like I would be preparing for ritual because in my own way, I am doing magick.

  • Before you begin to compose an entry, put on some light music or whatever helps you get into a creative mind space.
    • Depending upon my mood, I will meditate before hand.
    • I also like to burn incense and will rub oil on my hands to breathe in. It helps amplify intention and keeps me present.

2.) I use pens that are solely dedicated to my journaling/writing and I do not go mixing them about with anything else:

  • My pens get cleansed, charged and stored away just like I would any other magickal tool. I find that it heightens their magick (:
    • I do love color so I love to add that into my writing as well. There is a lot of magick in color and the days of the week that tie into each other.
  • When I journal, I also like to draw either an oracle card or a tarot card as a ‘card of the day.’ It acts as a focal point of intention.

3.) I write. If I make a mistake, so what. I keep going and allow what needs to come out to come out. Write what you feel. Be led by your intuition. It is a powerful thing.

4.) When not in use, I store my journal, writing utensils and crystals in a book/box called “Witch’s Handbook.” I found it at Homegoods while I was scouring for Halloween decor (: I am sure you’ve seen them– they are boxes that look like books! It’s very incognito so no one would suspect that there was anything ‘weird’ in there. Plus, I loved the title of it! It was the perfect size for storing my journal and supplies in there. Thus, that’s where they go! (:

5.) The most important rule about intuitive journaling is to allow yourself to write and not hold back. Sure, I mentioned that in point 3 but it is worth mentioning that again. And there is no limit for how much or how often you journal!

  • During the times when I am deep in my shadow work, I will journal a few times a day to write things down. There is no wrong way. Only your way.

What are some of your intentions for the Autumn season? With the turning of the Wheel, what would you like to become more aware of? Feel free to comment.

Until next time, Dear Reader. Stay safe, stay well, and stay true to you.

FB.

Shadow work: Advice for my younger self.

/ Freya Bishop / Leave a comment

Take two! Mercury Retrograde is in full swing over in this house. I had an entire entry composed and I was attempting to submit it… but WordPress was having “technical issues.” I lost the entire entry! 😖 Note to self: as I compose future entries, save along the way!

Anyway, I am back at it again to write this entry because I feel like this will benefit someone out there who will potentially read this one day, maybe.

As we are approaching the Autumn season (if you haven’t gathered, I am all about that Autumnal Magick), I tend to turn into the Hermit and do a lot of shadow work. Shadow work is an important work to integrate into your craft. Does it suck? Yes. Is it beneficial for our healing? Yes. Shadow work helps us to appreciate our darker selves while bringing to light what we need to work on within ourselves. Something that has been coming up a lot for me is, “What advice would I bestow upon my younger self if I had the opportunity to do it?” This past weekend, I have been making notations and these were my discoveries.

I submit these to you as well, Dear Reader, in the hopes that perhaps that they maybe of a comfort to you as well. Here goes nothing.

  1. Be true to yourself.
  2. Follow that internal beat of the drum within your soul. That’s your heart, guiding you along your journey.
  3. Laugh, a lot, even if it’s at yourself. Laughter is the best medicine in times of great distress. It makes your soul smile.
  4. Don’t forget to smile. A smile is contagious and can light up the room!
  5. Don’t be afraid to say ‘no.’ It’s your strongest boundary.
  6. Love. Love, to love. And don’t be afraid of it. As the late Jonathan Larson said, “share love, give love, spread love.” He knew the message.
  7. Your body is beautiful! Love those curves, dimples, hips! Give your body some extra love because it deserves it. Cherish it.
  8. Wear whatever the fuck you want. Don’t wear clothes to fit your body! Wear clothes that make your body look and feel amazing.
  9. Self-care is not being selfish. It’s an act of self-love.
  10. Invest in yourself because you are worth it. And let’s face it, not too many people will invest in you if you don’t have the confidence to invest in you.
  11. Take that chance… that ‘leap of faith’ could be your saving grace.
  12. Failure happens. It will teach you about how resilient you are. And the come back, especially when others do not think you will pull through and succeed, is delicious!
  13. Follow and listen to your intuition. It is always right.
  14. You see the world through a unique lens and the way that you gather messages is your unique way. No one has the right to diminish that ability.
  15. Do not give anyone the power to take away your voice or your power. Once you do, it’ll take you a life time of struggling and fighting to get it back.
  16. If you close a door and walk away from someone or something, good– keep it closed. Don’t open it. People don’t change.
  17. Words are just that, words. Actions have more credibility.
  18. Believe in yourself.
  19. Love yourself.
  20. “Heal with Grace.”
  21. It is never too late to study something new or try new things. Go for it!
  22. Eat the best that you can, exercise and take care of your body. In this life time, you only get one vessel.
  23. You are never too young or too old to learn something new.
  24. Never be afraid of walking away from something or someone that doesn’t bring you happiness, especially if it’s not healthy.
  25. Starting over can look and feel scary but it’s also refreshing. It’s a re-do, a fresh slate!
  26. Crying is not a sign of weakness. It’s a powerful release.
  27. Cursing does not make you less of a lady. It just means that you have a colorful vocabulary.
  28. You cannot please everyone nor is everyone you meet going to like you. And that’s fine. Be the radiant, bad ass, amazing person that you are and own the shit out of it.
    • To further my point: there are 46 flavors of Häagen-Dazs’ ice cream, did you know that? Some flavors you will like… others, you won’t. The same can be said about people.
  29. “Breathe in peace, breathe out bullshit.”
  30. Not everything is “love and light” and if someone tries to convince you that it is, they are delusional. Run, don’t walk.

So far, that’s my list… (:

Is there such a thing as having too many decks? 🧐

/ Freya Bishop / Leave a comment

Good morning, my Friends! I hope that your day is starting off wonderful and with a lovely cup of tea or coffee– which ever your preference (:

Yesterday, I received a stunning tarot deck in the mail. It’s called “Tarot of the Witch’s Garden” by Sasha Graham. I have been shuffling this deck all night and anointing it with my favorite oil. It’s part of my bonding process with the cards because yes, there is a process with them! I am prepping it to read for clients come Monday so it’s part of my ritual of breaking it in and cleansing it. Perhaps, I will do a post about that process in the next few days so if you’re interested in learning more about that, keep a look out! (:

But anyway, it had me thinking. I lost track of all the decks that I have accumulated since I started collecting them from when I was a teenager. At this point, I probably have well over 80+ decks (tarot/oracle). What draws me to them is the art work. I am a sucker for a beautifully illustrated deck– if it speaks to me, I get it. I also loooooove to shuffle cards! If the cards are made with a great card stock, have beautiful art work and shuffle like a dream, I am sold!

When I was 18 years old, I had to have two hand surgeries (nothing too serious), and part of my therapy, believe it or not, was shuffling cards… well, I used my tarot cards (despite the size) but for me, those are precious to me and it made me, despite all of the pain that I was in, want to shuffle those cards. I would shuffle through the pain and discomfort because I had something that I loved in my hands– something familiar and something that was important to me. It made it worth while to be able to play with my cards. Ha- I have fond memories of working in Salem and when it was a slow moment in the shoppe, I would buy a tarot deck (or decks because that’s where a significant chunk of my collection came from) and would shuffle cards. Plus, for tourists to come into a witch shoppe, it did look wicked to be greeted by a witch, playing with tarot cards and dancing/singing around the shoppe. Nothing out of the norm, right?

I have gotten to a point in my practice where I have my established cards that I use: I have a deck that I use solely on myself. I have a deck that I use on clients. I have a deck that if friends or family would like a reading, I will take it out and use it on them. I have an oracle deck or two that I will use in between readings. In theory, I do not need all of these cards– yet– I still have ’em!

I have been contemplating going through my collection and perhaps purging some of my decks, especially ones that haven’t been used in close to 5+ years. It is time that they find a home and get used/loved/played with. If you are in a similar boat, something that you could do, and I was inspired by this at the Witch City Tarot Gathering, was that they have something called a Tarot Swap, which I will definitely be participating in next year. If you have a few friends, a coven or a community, I am sure you could do this too! Essentially, you bring all of your unused/unwanted decks and gather them all on a table– set them out and practitioners go through them and pick the ones that they wish to “adopt.” I think it’s great because the cards are getting re-homed!

I do like to collect Halloween themed tarot/oracle decks though… but that’s different story, I am keeping those babies.

What about you? Are you similar? Feel free to leave a comment!
Until then, speak soon!

F.

Scrying is food for the soul.

/ Freya Bishop / Leave a comment

Good morning, Friends! I wanted to hop on here for a wee entry and talk a bit about scrying! I just posted my ‘card of the day’ on Instagram (IG: thebishopwitch) and while it was fresh on my mind, why not! Plus, my incense is still wafting throughout my studio and it was giving me inspiration to write.

Scrying is a magickal practice, a form of divination, that where the scryer peers into a reflective device, while remaining in a relaxed and trance-like state, to receive guidance, insight, clarity and can sometimes even see images from spirit. This takes time and practice— it does not happen overnight.

When I was learning about psychic abilities in elementary school, scrying was one of the abilities that I bonded closely with besides seeing spirits and slinging tarot cards. Yes, I was “that girl” with the crystals, dried herbs/flowers and tarot cards in my violin case as I walked around school grounds, especially as I later went onto high school and college. Scrying, for me, opened up many doors for me in a personal/spiritual way, and it’s a subject that I love talking about.

Some tools and methods that you can use for scrying are:

  • The crystal ball: made famously from TV media, but it’s a classic way to do it.
  • A cauldron (or water safe container) filled with water: A very Avalonian practice.
    • Within the Avalonian Tradition, we work a lot with this method. We like to scry with water.
  • Incense burning: observing the way the incense wafts in the air.
    • This is how I begin my day. It relaxes me. Plus, I find it fun to see what comes out of the incense.
      • Witchy Auntie Freya Witch Tip: Before I burn it, I love to set an intention with the cone incense to help better direct energies. I always receive the clarity that I am seeking when I do this.
  • Candle burning: watching the way the flame dances.
    • I love doing this. As someone who has a lot of Fire energy in their chart, this is one of those activities that calms my spirit down.
  • Clouds in the sky: an age old method!
  • Seafoam in the ocean: as a Sea Witch, I love doing this. It is one of my favorite Ocean magick activities.
  • The black mirror, made of Obsidian.

Each day, I like to dedicated at least 30 minutes to an hour to my scrying practice. For me, it’s like meditating.

For those who are interested in learning about scrying and are curious as to ‘where to begin’? My best advice is to jump right into it– but you have to do some preparations. I am all about setting your space up for any type of magickal/psychic work:

“Setting your ambiance”, I call it.

  • I would find a place/space in your home where you know you can do this type of work and you know that you won’t be disturbed. You will have to clean this space… bless it…
    • Remember: you are creating this space for magickal workings.
  • Make sure that your scrying tool has been cleansed, blessed and charged.
  • With opening up your psychic centers, call in your protective guides, Gods, Goddesses, Animal Sprits, ETC…!
    • I cannot stress this enough. If you are brand new to ‘awakening’ yourself, start slow and take your time.
      • Not all spirits are good spirits.
  • Design a play list to help you get “in the mood.”
    • If all else fails, you can even go on Youtube and find different playlists for scrying. There are so many wonderful options out there.
  • Light candles and incense to enhance your scrying experience.
  • Journal!
  • Replenish yourself:
    • With doing any type of psychic work, you need to eat and drink.
  • Remember to close out your session:
    • After all psychic work, thank the spirits and say a ‘goodbye’ to close the energies.
    • Give the space as well as yourself a cleansing.

Hopefully, this helps someone out there and provides insight. I must run. My house is now awake and chaos is ensuing.

Ta-ta for now.

F.

11/24: Card of The Day- 3 of Wands

/ Freya Bishop / Leave a comment

Good morning, Friends! As usual, I hope that this entry finds you well. I am reporting here for our daily card of the day.

Today’s insight is the 3 of Wands. Allow me to take you on a journey with the imagery found in this card:

As you walk up towards the cliff, you hear the sounds of the sea. Very similar to the way that music moves you, the sea’s gentle song calls you forward. As you approach the edge of the cliff, you find three ‘poles’, planted firmly in the ground. Out of curiosity, you reach out and touch one of the poles to see how stable it is. Depending upon what type of person you are, you may even attempt to pull and shake the pole to see if it’ll move by your force. Your attention calls you to look out into the horizon. Nothing but open sea and two ships, gliding along the water with ease. You watch as these ships move steadily through the sea, making their journey closer to land. No rough waters can be detected. No storms are looming overhead. It is smooth sailing. As you stand on this ‘vantage point’ as I will call it, you are in a position where you can see if trouble would be brewing. If there are challenges approaching, you would be the person that would see it and signal to the others to watch out or even devise a plan to avoid upcoming challenges. Before making your way back towards the land, you stop to pick up a single seashell in perfect condition that sat right next to your right foot. You pocket this little sea treasure and look out at the sea one more time. It’s a big world out there that holds endless possibilities. What new opportunities are out there for you? Are you seeking to embark on an adventure? Taking a deep breath, a smile glides across your face. “A leap of faith,” you say to yourself, and you take the first step forward on your journey.

Whenever this card comes up in a reading or a card pull, this symbolizes that it is time for you to expand your horizons and take a risk. Perhaps you’ve been wanting to make a change in your life but have been too afraid to make it. Perhaps you’ve been slowly making steps to better your future, whether it be personal life, spiritual life, going back to school/taking a class or your career (maybe it’s even a career change!). Sometimes when it comes to a new path or choice in life, it can be frightening to make these necessary changes and move forward. Let’s face it: you aren’t happy and are feeling stagnant. Because you are on the fence about making these changes, you may even start scaring yourself into thinking about the “what if’s.” However, you’ve been thinking about make this change for quite sometime. You even started brainstorming on how to make this goal a reality. So, why wait? If you are looking for a sign if this is the right time, let this be it! “The time is now.” With a few more preparations and support, you will be ready!

To break down the symbolism in the card itself:

  • The ships symbolize your plans of moving forward, a progression.
  • The three ‘poles’ represent your commitment to your plans.
  • The horizon symbolizes your world and how endless your potential is.
  • The sea will carry you onto your next destination. Maybe there’s an opportunity for you overseas!
  • Looking out into the horizon symbolizes the vantage point aspect, being able to “see” what’s ahead.
  • The small seashell next to our wand represents opportunity to make more money. Back in the day, seashells were used as currency!

You got this! I believe in you! The question is, do you believe in yourself?

Stay well and have a magickal day,

FB.