Solaria Divina

Category: Celebration

  • My holiday season

    In many Pagan and folk traditions, the end of April and early May is almost like a second Halloween, a threshold season. I’ve never really been into the hype around Halloween and the cultural wave of witchy kitsch that rolls through. I mean the pumpkin spice and the chocolate is nice, but I’ve always been frustrated by everyone wanting to pretend to be a magic practitioner or an entity from folklore, and then mocking people who believe in these things the rest of the year. I feel like I’m the only one who identifies this way, but I have this intense need for celebration. Very akin to how I feel going from Halloween, which I have mixed views on, to Thanksgiving, and then into winter solstice season. The drag for me when it comes to Thanksgiving and Christmas is that I am usually mostly on my own. But the transitional period we are in right now heading towards summer solstice doesn’t carry the same weight. It does however carry a parallel celebratory energy. And the fact that I’ve been feeling it lately in my bones tells me one thing. It’s time to lean into this. If only there were summer solstice decor widely available.

  • Sacred service Pt 2: civic responsibility

    I touched on this a little in my peace about sharing beauty with the world around us. We create that beauty through supporting libraries and museums, patronizing small businesses in our areas, participating in neighborhood cleanup projects and public art. We have in my mind a moral responsibility, without regarding those we are assisting as lesser, without seeking attention for our good works, and without burning ourselves out screaming about issues, to make our little corners of the world better places. That energy flows outward. We can do this as acts of devotion to our gods. Life is interconnected, even our planet has body, mind, and spirit just like we do. from the sun to the gods to the spirits that inhabit blades of grass, down to Adams with their electrical currents, everything is sentient.

    We can witness the social trials of the world without dissolving into them. We don’t need to exist in a constant state of burden and burnout. Instead, we can have space for our own happiness and exercise our agency in a real way that counts on a local level.  If the first part of the series was about nourishing our inner flame, this is about taking that warmth into the world around us physically. 

    I sat on the front steps of an old house many years ago, listening to the story of one blended family across multiple generations, hearing about the compounding circumstances they had had, the challenges they had faced. I was with a group that was engaged in cleanup in the neighborhood of Evergreen bottom in Birmingham Alabama.  We were sweeping sidewalks, cleaning up overgrown brush, removing trash. When I compare this moment to the performed distress online, I feel like we give ourselves emotional exhaustion without really changing anything these days. Another moment that gave me immense joy was working in a high school in Leland Mississippi. We washed windows, dusted books, repainted movable stage walls, and talked with the students who were there participating in the work. One moment I remember clearly was cleaning up an old water fountain that no one believed worked, and it actually did.   I think seeing their school renewed maybe gave those kids some hope, some sense that the world could actually be a better place. What we got in return, as college kids from a nice school in Illinois, was a different perspective on life. Things weren’t easy for them, but they knew how to connect with each other in positive ways. And they wanted the world to be a better place for everyone.  Despite their own difficulties they were willing to step up and work to better their own community.  I feel like now, we spend so much time being angry, burning ourselves out, and maybe that communication gets more of us thinking in the right direction, but how does it actually turn into real world change on a micro level? Because that kind of change comes from small acts with consistency. There were many other projects but another that hits close to home for me philosophically is working in a cemetery, where the last burial took place in 1984, on the side of a steep hill in Weston West Virginia. I could feel many individual energies of people who were there. So cleaning off their gravestones, getting rid of old brush, washing the steps that climbed the hill, felt like honoring them.  We should honor the places we live in, and the people we share those places with, as we are all divine. 

    I feel we could step back from the cycles of performed distress, and instead create cumulative change through small consistent actions that honor ourselves, the Earth, humanity and our gods. They’re absolutely must be spaces for anger, empathy, grief and joy. We do not have to sacrifice who we are, doing what we love, or taking care of ourselves. We just have to step up.

  • Sacred Service pt1: rituals of self-care and love

    Many traditions contend that we have divinity within ourselves and I fully agree. These rituals are comforting, indulgent, and personally devotional, and for nourishing our inner flame. Nature and the gods live within us, and through them we have inherited a divine spark.

    Keeping a small altar to self, and incorporating elements of who you are into a larger spiritual shrine are good ways to get started. On my altar there are candleholders, offering cups, and crystal plates assigned to the divine feminine side, on the left, and divine masculine side, on the right. But the elements that are there for me are a third centered candleholder, a small heart shaped jewelry box for love manifestation, and another rectangular small box for money manifestation. The overall color scheme is warm and inviting. I chose materials like bone, crystal, ceramic, cut glass to fit my aesthetic. Then my nightstand is somewhat of the altar to self. You can put a favorite scented candle here, a photograph of yourself from a moment that makes you proud. Mine currently has my favorite hand lotion, a vintage glass dish in a warm amber color, and a jewelry box where I keep my spiritual pieces. The glass dish frequently holds crystals I’m working with, a few pieces of chocolate, lip treatment.

    Taking care of your body is an ongoing act of devotion. Working out releases hormones that make us feel good. Even just a meditative walk can do this. Consuming foods that nourish our bodies, as well as those that help us emotionally regulate, or just enjoy the day, is also part of this. Bath products with fragrances you enjoy for your shower, daily skin and hair care, fragrant body lotion, even your initial morning cup of coffee, are ways to physically nourish that internal divine spark. Sing in private to your favorite music. Dance for fun.

    Ritual baths, with relaxing music, scented candles, fragrant bath products, water safe crystals for energy work, and a lack of distracting phone notifications, are one of my favorite ways to work on myself. this is about giving yourself a safe space focused on nothing but your sensory indulgence.. some people bring in a glass of wine. I like a bottle of Perrier mineral water or a thermos of hot chocolate. I will often play an instrumental harp or piano playlist on my phone, which has been set on do not disturb so no one bothers me. The candles or wax melts I choose are usually scented with things like oak, cedar, suede, and musk. My bath products usually have things like sandalwood, Amber, vanilla, sugar and caramel. I turn off the lights and distractions, use the stones I’ve brought with, which are personal favorites, to do cleansing and recharging work in the water, and just enjoy the ambience.

    Another specific thing you can do for yourself every morning is a glamour ritual. This doesn’t have to mean makeup although for me it does. I want to encourage you to read into color psychology and color theory, how it has been observed that colors affect the mind, and how colors are actually scientifically defined. The thing is, you should wear colors based on how they affect you. I tend to choose softer or more mellow colors when I’m in a cozy but functional mood. Deeper more vibrant shades and black come out when I have bigger social engagement to deal with. Your wardrobe choices should first, be physically comfortable for you to wear. Second, they should suit your aesthetic mood and how you want to project yourself to the world around you. You build from the baseline outfit with jewelry, bags, favorite perfume or cologne, and makeup if you wear it. This is emotion based dressing, with an eye toward the kind of power and influence you would like to have that day.

    Let’s talk about your morning coffee ritual. More often than not for me this is a cup of hot chocolate, or a cup of cold sweet tea. Take your time with this. Sit by a sunny window, acknowledge the positive things that you look forward to in your day, maybe give thanks to your God or gods for what you have been given. Even just that moment of peace is valuable. If you are inclined to Journal, this is when to do that. If you want music, it doesn’t have to be the soothing reset music you used for your bath, it should be something that reflects your current mood in a stabilizing way. I really like acoustic singer songwriter type music for this, which I often find on unplugged rock albums. Depending on my energy and the atmosphere of the day, this can shift from thoughtful melancholy to warm and relaxing.

    We forget to love ourselves. That’s how the world is designed. But we can reincorporate this in everything we do. That’s why self-care becomes sacred service.

  • I’m turning 36 — Altar in a Bag

    This is the small travel pouch from Quince.

    I’m not sure what else I will add to this but a slim sketchbook is good for symbols and channeled drawings. And I work with the runes as a particularly portable divination tool. Also there is some white jade, smoky quartz, and black obsidian, three of my favorites, so they pretty much live in my bag. I may add one or two oils from the brand seven sisters, because of the flat square bottles they use, which seems suited to being carried around like this. Perhaps crown of success or fiery wall of protection.

    As I mentioned in the title I am actually turning 36 in just under a week. In light of this, I want to offer psychic channeling sessions, remote cleansing, or simple candle rituals, where you can name your own price with a minimum of $10. I provide these services so I can create content for this blog and my other more fun blog, which is my real passion. Self promotion is difficult with the algorithm these days, and I’m hoping maybe some of you would be interested. I use Cash app or PayPal, and my email is luxemagic35@gmail.com if you would like to reach out.

    Psychic channeling: this is a reading we can do via email or text. I will have you give me the name you go by and your age, and starting with a series of yes/no questions I will give you what information is channel to me. There may even be images or metaphors that I pick up on.

    Remote cleansing: this is a process by which I will astral project into your space to clear harmful connections, negative energies, and other influences that might be causing you difficulty. I can also do this to your home or workplace. Again I will need the name you go by, or the name of the place I am working on.

    Candle ritual: this will be a one candle spell, involving the spirits I work with, to help you obtain a goal. We can discuss this over email.

    Normally I charge between 30 and 60 for a one hour session no matter what I’m doing, and these are usually live by phone. This is a way for me to introduce you to my work, and to fund the creative content I love to bring to everyone who reads either one of my blogs. 

  • My winter solstice in pictures

    When I made some hot coffee this morning I tried to focus my intentions for what I want in the next year. Also a little petition magic. 

    Pink is one of my favorite colors for emotional security and positive manifestation.

    She is Babylon. I gave her a sash, a veil, crown, elaborate jewelry, and a cup overflowing with life.

    This piece took a long time to accomplish.

    Solar magic is entirely underrated

    At this point I mostly work with metallic, satin, and gloss finish paints for my abstract art. I love the reflectivity.

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