All posts tagged: Oranum

How to Care For and Use Your Crystals

Published by Oranum Team

Written By: Dr. Nikki These days, it seems like everyone is going wild over crystals. Their power and special meanings are nothing new, but their appeal in popular culture seems to have taken over the mainstream. So where should you begin? How do you even get started? Let me help you out with a few crystal basics. Choosing: Few of us have the option of going to mines and digging out our own crystals. Thankfully, New Age shops, specialized crystal sellers, and rock and gem shows are all excellent places to find crystals. It is always a good idea to get as much information about the crystal you are buying as possible, such as the type (clusters, single points, etc.), and where it comes from. Natural stones are always better, while manmade crystals tend to be less expensive. A crystal ball is great for scrying, a single or dual point is used for healing work, and a cluster is fantastic for a meditative focus. Clear Quartz, which occurs worldwide, is a good first stone as it has …

Celebrating the Sabbat, Lughnassadh

Published by Oranum Team

Written By: Psychic AlyciaRose Lughnassadh or Lughnasa (pronounced Loo-nas-ah), August 1st, is the first harvest festival in the Celtic and Neo-Pagan Year – of which eight sabbats is celebrated. Like all Celtic Fire Festivals, it begins on the eve of the actual day. Although it later became known as the Christian holiday of Lammas, it still survives in modern Gaelic as Lúnasa (Irish), Luanistyn (Manx), Lunasad or Lùnastal (Scottish) and Calan Awst (Welsh). Lammas stems from the Anglo-Saxon word meaning ‘Loaf Mass’ since bread was made from the first grain (and the first loaves were blessed by the Church) – replacing the older tradition of offering the first sheaf cut to the Gods. Lugh was an important solar deity to the ancient Celts whose name means “shining one” and “nasad” is a tribal gathering for fairs and games. Lugh is also known as a god of grain and harvest who dies annually with the reaping of the crop. He is the warrior of light inextricably bound with the Earth Goddess and must enter her dark womb to be …

Herbal Magickal Baths For Love, Purification + Money!

Published by Oranum Team

Written By: Psychic AlyciaRose Water has always been a purifier from the beginning of time; it cleanses everything it touches. Water is also a spiritual cleanser, washing away energies that are not our own while purifying both body and spirit. It is the essence of life, releasing psychic blocks, restoring us to balance and harmony. Taking a magickal or ritual bath permits us to open ourselves to higher energies, and those energies we wish to attract to ourselves. The history of the ritual bath is ancient. Many cultures ancient and modern use water as a method of spiritual purification. Ritual bathing was a n important part of Roman, Greek, Middle Eastern, and Japanese societies. The faithful washed themselves before prayer, entering a temple or participating in spiritual activities. The use of water in purification is also used by Muslims washing before prayer, Catholics dipping hands in holy water, Native Americans in the sweat lodge, and some modern Witches before entering the sacred circle. In many magickal faiths and folk magic, the bath often becomes spellwork …

Understanding Tarot – The Cups

Published by Oranum Team

Written By: Dr. Nikki The Cups are the best known suit in the tarot. Symbolizing our deeper emotions, this suit can be represented in a number of ways. Cups are the more standard and most often seen in decks, but they can appear as Chalices, Bowls, and Hearts. The Cups equate to the suit of Hearts in a standard card deck. The Cups are aligned with the element of Water, which rules emotions and, especially, love. Water is fluid, as our emotions. Water reflects how we express our inner selves to the world. Man can live without food for weeks, but can only survive a few days without water. Water, and our emotions, are the stuff that life is made of. Strongly influencing the relationships you have with others in the world, Cups can indicate a need for transforming or changing the way you interact with others. Creativity is said to come from the heart – from the emotion. As a representation of water, the Cups invite us to drink from the flow of life …

Understanding Tarot – The Pentacles

Published by Oranum Team

Written By: Dr. Nikki Pentacles are represented in decks in many different ways. They can be shown as Disks, Pumpkins, Coins, and even Diamonds (also the suit Pentacles relate to in your regular playing deck). The Pentacles are often elaborately decorated; for example, the Queen of Pentacles is normally shown amidst abundant natural growth and vegetation to represent her fertility and fecundity. Aligned with the element of Earth, these are the cards that relate to money, material and earthly matters. When considering the elemental connection, Pentacles are not just about money. The Pentacles show the material world that you live in and how you relate to it and these are important aspects of your spiritual nature. Fertility is a strong component of the Earth element and sensuality, sex, and the fertility of creative energy are all represented in this suit. You will want to consider your foundation when Pentacles are present. When reading about health, pay particular attention to the Pentacles in your spread as health is governed by the Earth element. When there are …

Summer Herbal Harvesting Tips

Published by Oranum Team

Written By: Psychic AlyciaRose The July Moon is known as the Wort Moon, a peak time to gather herbs (worts) to be dried, for use in spells and natural medicines long after summer has passed, with the full moon’s energy being seen as especially potent in influencing the natural qualities of the plants. ‘Gardening by the Moon’ is still a  longtime tradition, utilizing the age-old practice that cycles of the Moon affect plant growth. You can find out more about this simply by consulting your Farmer’s Almanac for your planting zone. If you are just getting started growing and harvesting herbs, the following guidelines will help. Do visit the garden often, noticing the changes when the various herbs are at their peak. Medicinal and magickal qualities, flavor and aroma are preserved best by cutting at optimal times for their intended use. One you know how to harvest them, and how to preserve them, you can have the fresh taste of summer in your cooking all year long. Some good general guidelines to use: Harvest using …

Understanding Tarot – The Swords

Published by Oranum Team

Written By: Dr. Nikki Arguably, the most standard of the representations from deck to deck in the Tarot, you can find Swords are in nearly every deck. For example, the suit of Cups can be represented as Bowls or Chalices in different decks; Pentacles can become Coins or Disks; and the Wands can become Staves or Rods. However, the Swords – the suit that responsible for the hidden motivations and thought processes – are nearly universal and seen in almost all decks. Even in the standard playing card deck, the Swords are very easy to identify. The Italian word for sword is “spada.” It is not difficult to see how the suit of “Spades” got its name. Aligned with the element of Air, the Swords are the cards that speak to the internal intellect. Air as an element is associated with the spiritual realm and relates to things such as thought, speech, communication, your connection with your Higher Power and your own decisions. This element is associated with the head and thinking. It is said …

Lavender: It’s History, Use, Lore and Magick

Published by Oranum Team

Written By: Psychic AlyciaRose “And lavender, whose spikes of azure bloom shall be, ere-while, in arid bundles bound to lurk admist the labours of her loom, and crown her kerchiefs witl mickle rare perfume.” ~William Shenstone, The School Mistress 1742 Lavender is one of the most ancient aromatic herbs, used and cultivated since the beginning of recorded time. Even to modern times, lavender has been valued mostly for the virtue of its fragrance. It is a woody evergreen member of the vast mint family, originating as a native plant of the mountains of the Mediterranean region. Its cultivation and use has spread, but the most common are the English Lavenders. These hardy varieties were brought to England during the Medieval period and are mentioned in the writings of William Shakespeare. There are over 15 different species of lavender and many varieties, each with their own fragrance and color, which can vary  from deep purple, pink, to white. The name lavender has its roots from the latin “lavare’ meaning to wash. It as used in ancient …