Patience is a Virtue (PBP wk 31)

September 12, 2012

Patience is defined by:
1. the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.
2. an ability or willingness to suppress restlessness or annoyance when confronted with delay.
3. quiet, steady perseverance; even-tempered care; diligence.

Patience is one of the keys to living and walking in this path; it's necessary when casting spells, and waiting for results, during meditation, and most importantly when dealing with pesky and annoying people.

The saying, "Patience is a Virtue" is one I constantly chant as my personal mantra when dealing with unwanted situations. In all honesty, I used to be a lot more impatient; however, since I began this path I've found myself with a new found sense of tolerance, self control, and calmness. This might be because I'm more in touch with my emotions, I feel more centered, more secure, a lot more stable. This helps when I find myself in situations where I'm highly annoyed, or when I'm close to running out of patience. I'll admit, I've been close to magically spanking a few disrespectful, condescending, ignorant fools.

It's hard to not use magick when in these type of situations. I've been close to casting curses at individuals that simply deserve a good smacking. I mean, as it is, when in this path, one must be careful with the thoughts that cross our minds. As our abilities develop, we find that things happen even when we're not entirely set out on an actual manifestation. On multiple occasions I've had thoughts manifest, and that's without casting a spell. Therefore, it's important to keep our minds centered.

Patience is a virtue that needs practice.

 

When casting spells, we sometimes tend to expect immediate results. Patience teaches us to wait. The Law of Attraction states that "Anything we need comes to us at the perfect time," like attracts like, if our intention is clear and we trust and have faith, it will come; we just need to have patience and wait for our desires to manifest. If we constantly second guess ourselves after casting a spell, we pull away energy from our desires, yo-yo-ing with the intention we've set out into the Universe.

As of lately, I've struggled with keeping my patience. I have this idea of how I want my life to be, and I know that things are changing for the best, I just wish I could fast forward through all the mess and get to my destination; but of course, this isn't how life works. I'd be missing out on the important lessons life has for me if I were to skip it all. I'm struggling to keep up with my resolutions, with my living situation, and this long distance relationship.

"Patience is a virtue."

I did a reading for myself just last night. I'd been thinking about Temperance for this post; Temperance showed up as the base for my anchor, and also in my main spread. When this happens, the cards are telling you to pay extra attention to this energy.

Temperance is about moderation, when it appears in a reading we are being cautioned to have patience and wait calmly. We must learn to compromise in order to find satisfactory solutions. It helps to keep our emotions balanced, this card represents integrating opposite forces successfully and with harmony. 

My reading actually had a desirable outcome; it showed me that things are happening as they should, change is imminent and necessary. I just need to ride it out. Success is in my future, I just need to focus on keeping myself balanced.

The Key to Keeping up with the Path... (PBP wk 21)

May 23, 2012

For this weeks post I decided to write about the difficulties that come with keeping up with The Path.
I guess, I shouldn't say "difficulties" because its not so much difficult as it is a bit overwhelming. I wish I had the time and dedication to tackle more lessons everyday but unfortunately I lack the time management skills and energy at times.
I'm currently studying The Inner Temple of Witchcraft, reading books about herbalism & herb magick, learning to read the Tarot intuitively with Rowan's "Within the Cards" and of course, my new oracle deck --my latest addition to my divination tools. It doesn't sound all that overwhelming, but when you combine that with starting two new businesses, it can be.
The thing is, that as much as I want to fully focus on the path and furthering my knowledge and abilities with proper study, I'm finding it a bit difficult to tackle everything I have on my plate.
I'm not concerned about my spirituality, I practice it daily. I honor God, Goddess & Divinity with my daily practice. In the end that's what matters, right? Building the connection with Divinity, the ancestors, the spirit world.
As an eclectic and solitary, I get to decide where I focus my studies and what to do with what I learn. I have a handful of books that are the building blocks of my craft. There is so much to learn and so much to practice but not enough time or energy to do it all.
I'm guided by my intuition, and usually discover later that what I've done is right along the lines of what I was supposed to do anyway. It's certainly reassuring, however, I know that my casting would improve with the mastery of my foundation.
I guess that as of lately, my energy levels have been fluctuating. This is mainly due to my change in eating habits, I've incorparated fasting as part of my daily living. I'm experimenting with the fast-on, fast-off method. I'll fast for 1-3 days, drinking herbal teas from my garden, organic smoothies, and as much water as possible.
Fasting has many benefits; aside from weight control & spiritual clarity, fasting is the best gift you can give your body. You're giving your body a break from processing food, and in turn, your body has the energy to focus on regenerating itself. The first 48 hours are cleansing and detox, by the third day your body tackles those areas that need help healing.
I want to treat my body like the temple that it is. I've mistreated it long enough and unfortunetly I'm paying for the damages. I feel that once I get used to the new healthy diet it will be easier to keep my weight under control. I want to, with time, be able to fast for at least 10 days at a time. Of course I need patience and perseverance in order to reach my goal.
I'm also a lover of Yoga, I absolutely love Namaste Yoga. The sequences flow effortlessly while at the same time they're streneous enough to count as a light workout. Yoga helps me regulate my breathing which in turn helps during meditation, and it keeps my body active and full of energy while I'm fasting.
The key to keeping up with this magickal path is finding the balance between mind, body & spirit. It's finding the time to practice daily, connecting with Divinity while building a stronger sense of spirituality.
I'm nowhere near perfect, but I'm trying my best while on this path to enlightment. I take it one day at a time focusing on the present, living in today. Being mindful of others while taking care of myself. I accept my mistakes, and make the necessary changes to move forward in a positive way, clearly aware of the lesson I've learned to avoid them in the future.
I love this path and I wouldn't change it for the world. I'm happy, mentally and spiritually stronger than I've evr been. I'm fulfilling my dreams one step at a time and its wonderful. I know that it will take time to master all I need to learn, but that's the beauty of The Craft, it's a living religion. It evolves with me, it changes as I learn, it grows with me. Its perfectly beautiful.

My Obsession With Magickal Incense (PBP wk 18)

I remember my first encounter with a large selection of incense. I'd gone to a smoke shop with a few friends and was immediately drawn to the incense section. At the time, I wasn't aware about the magickal properties of incense, I thought it was used to mask the odor of pot. Haha

It wasn't until I was introduced to defensive spells that I learned the difference between magickal incense and regular incense.

I soon found out that incense can be quite overpriced. Pagan/metaphysical/new age stores are hard to find here in Houston. In fact, I would say they are only a handful and quite overpriced. There are more Yerberias/Botanicas due to the large Latin / Mexican community. But these too are overpriced. I remember buying a pack of sandalwood incense with 20 sticks for 3+ dollars. Not to be cheap, but that can put a dent on your budget.

I've been lucky enough to find deals where I least expect it. I bought close to the entire supply of incense from Big Lots. They were selling these made in India hand rolled packs of 20 sticks for $2 AND it included beautiful hand made incense holders.

I've seen those sold online anywhere from 4 to 6 each! I got a handmade incense holder + the actual incense for only $2. 
The only scents they had available were jasmine, musk, patchouli, and rose; which are a pretty good basis to start off an incense collection, they're packed with multiple magickal properties that range from love, protection, & money (among others).

I stocked up on incense + incense holders --they actually make great gifts / decoration! I have them hanging on my windows, the little mirrors encrusted in the design are perfect to reflect energy. The shapes are also meaningful. These incense holders come in the shape of a heart, square, diamond and hexagon. I've dressed them with different oils depending on the shape and intention. I absolutely love them!

I have to say that my collection of incense has grown since then. I have a small treasure chest full of stick, cone, powder, and home made incense. ^_^

I bought a couple of home made incense from Rowan Pendragon; and let me just say, they're worth the price. One of my favorites is her Tarot incense, its so inspiring. The scent relaxes you while helping you focus. The scent makes me happy.
I wish I could figure out a way to burn it more often. It needs self igniting charcoal... and well, it's a bit of a hassle. Plus I don't always sit and study for the duration of the burning charcoal, I hate to be wasteful. Wonder if Rowan can make a  Tarot liquid incense? Wouldn't that be magickal!? ^_^

I really want to try to make my own incense. I have Cunningham's "Incense, oils & Brews" book, but I've yet to try incense making. I mainly use it as a quick reference. I haven't gotten a hold of the essential gums & resins (I have too much on my plate); besides, I have a full treasure chest of incense already.

My mom found a great shop at the traders market. The incense is sold in small packs of 8 sticks at 2 packs a dollar. They're of high quality and the selection is huuuuge. I think I'm in love. She got me sage, rosemary, eucalyptus, clove, sandalwood, myrrh, as well as other blends to honor the Sun, Divine Beauty, harmony & many other more.

What I love about incense (aside from the awesome scents) is its ability to lift one's spirits. It helps you relax and opens up your senses. It prepares you for magickal work. It enhances and empowers the energy vibrations to better support your magick's intent.

You can smoke up an entire room by burning incense and with that cleanse, attune or fill that same room with the energy carried within the smoke.

Burning incense is practiced as a form of honoring of one's ancestors, deities, the 4 corners, God & Goddess, etc. It helps by raising the energy to the one that resonates mostly with your intent --I burn incense as offerings to my ancestors and the energies I work with when I'm crafting or meditating.

I have to admit that if I could, I would buy an entire shop of these wonderful scented sticks! The possibilities are endless =)

... Procrastination or needed rest?

So it looks like I've been missing the past month of pagan blog posts :/
I can't believe It's been a month! Where has time gone?

It's not that I haven't been writing because I have ... I've written a blog for the past 3 weeks I just haven't posted.

At the beginning of the month I got caught up with other tasks.. seems like every week I have a long list of things to do ranging from magickal to the mundane.
After any magickal working I end up so drained that all I want to do is relax in bed with a non magickal book, or catch up with my favorite shows. That's where my procrastination gets a better hold of me.

I remember Rowan saying something about procrastination being your body's way of telling you that you're in need of rest.
Maybe I do need to rest more.

Almost every time I do a reading I get the four of swords; rest or your health could suffer ... I'm working on taking better care of myself.

I've been wanting to post my late blogs along with the weekly blog, but by the end of the week I'm either doing something or without energy or inspiration to revise and I end up missing the deadline. 

So I tell myself, "that's ok. Tomorrow you'll revise and post them ... Even if they're late. What matters is that you're doing the work. Next week you'll post on time."

Next week rolls around I brainstorm about my next subject write some, meditate on it and work on ideas for other posts I've missed. I wait until Friday to post on time and what happens, my internet is down. I spent about two hours with tech support trying to fix the issue... With no luck. LOL that was an ironic turn of events.

:sigh: I need to get a grip Lol I've installed a Blogger app on my phone in hopes that it'll help me stay on track.

I'm also working on my birthday cycle spell , I'll add procrastination to the list of things I no longer want. Hmm what DO I want ?

Ok, so i just received my new Tarot deck, Joie de Vivire. I'm so excited! I'm giving myself 15 mins with it then I'm posting at least one of my late blog's.

The Queen of Cups follows her Intuition... (PBP wk 17)

"She is poetry in motion, imagination incarnate. She heeds her intuition and follows her heart. Though her steps seem random and impulsive, they are guided by instinct."
                            --Stephan Pui-Mun Law & Barbara Moore.

      When I first held this card I though about how effortlessly the Queen seems to glide over the scene of this image. I agree with the description, She is poetry in motion.

She's guided by intuition and almost a blind fate. Each of her steps is supported by nature. Her every move is inspired by her femininity. I imagine her every step is full of confidence and sensuality; she seems almost as if she's dancing.

She moves with instinctive intuition.

Intuition.



The idea seemed simple at first, but after thinking about it I found that it wasn't as straightforward as I thought.

"Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without inference or the use of reason. We do things because something tells us that's how it should be..."

Personally, I've had a vast amount of happy coincidences due to acting on instinct. Many spells and herb mixtures have come out as result of me following my intuition.

In the beginning of my path I found myself coming up with herb blends and spells out of necessity. The beauty of it all was finding out later --either through proper research or my good friend Angel-- that what I'd done was right along the lines of what I was supposed to do. Many times I'd do certain things during spells that I hadn't even planned on doing, it'd just sort of happen; as it turns out my little tweaks are things that help increase the energy, or are part of a spell that I'd come across later.

I'm still very young (path-wise) and I've got so much to learn. Finding out that whatever I'm doing on instinct is actually what I'm supposed to do is actually encouraging.

I'm following my intuition and so far it's shown me that I'm following the right path.

Intuition gets a bit more complicated when it deals with people. Or at least I find it confusing. I feel this is because I want to believe the best in people, and I find it hard and highly disappointing when they turn out to be of the backstabbing nature.

... I don't know, sometimes I get the impression that certain things are going on, and well, I'm not always sure that what I'm feeling has any reasonable grounds for suspicion. And even when I do, I try to come up with logical explanations for "their" actions.
Oooor, I'll start to wonder if whatever I experienced was all in my head; even though some things were absolutely emotionally unforgettable.

I'd go into detail about these events but I'm not sure I'm ready to discuss them. Not the negative ones anyway...

I can relate to The Queen of Cups in many ways. When I read Rowan's definition of this card I realized how much in common I had with this queen.

"[She's] loving, empathetic, and gentle. She draws on her own personal experience in order to help those around her and she maintains a level of emotional intensity in her personal relationships." I mean, that's totally me. Ha-ha, in fact, my sister teasingly says that my middle name is intense. I have a knack for helping my friends with heartfelt advice. I love them, they're a great part of my life, without them I wouldn't be who I am now. Lending a sympathetic ear is the least I can do.

I wish I was that clear about giving myself advice and following it.

Trish MacGregor and Phyllis Vega authors of Power Tarot describe this queen as "the prototypical nurturer, her heart filled with compassion. Her nurturing extends to children, animals, environmental issues, and causes in which she fervently believes." I mean, I know my friends can agree with this. ha-ha How many times have I dragged them to events that supported certain causes? I'm passionate about what I care about and when I can, I try to share my views to increase awareness and/or understanding.

I'm spiritual and loving and definitely drawn to the medicinal and magickal properties of herbs. I follow my intuition in circle, while crafting spells and when it comes to helping out friends.

When I read for myself, I tend to see things like: my ex and our role in each other's life. :sigh: Which is ALWAYS confusing since despite my logic and will, I can't seem to get rid of these feelings. lame. haha
Oooor when I see evidence in the cards supporting my suspicions about treachery among people in my circle (not an actual circle/coven). I mean, am I misinterpreting?

When I've read for Marina, (a Babalou or priestess in Santeria, friend of my mom's) what I saw in the cards happened within a month. Her daughter was in fact pregnant, and Marina got married soon after the reading. Even thought at the time she wasn't asking about her love life, The Sun came out in a love position. We speculated about what it could mean. Next thing you know she's getting married.
At the time Marina's concern was her daughter. She suspected about her pregnancy, which came out in the cards (along with other very specific issues that were also going on). She trusts what I see, and has given me positive reassurance when it comes to events happening right after a reading.

How do I learn to trust my intuition without bias? I want to see things as they are...



Random: I wonder if the reason why I find myself having so much in common with this queen is because under the new 13th astrological sign, Ophiuchus, I'd be considered Cancer and not Leo. The queen's element is water which relates to Pisces, Cancer or Scorpio. Hmm? I should ask about this new sign...

My very first Pagan Blog

I keep a journal, but it definitely doesn't compare to the pressure I'm feeling about this first blog. I literally, JUST joined The Pagan Blog Project. I don't know what happened, or what came over me, but as I was listening to season 3 of The Modern Witch podcast I realized I wanted to participate. I didn't really know that this was open for all pagans; I thought it was for serious authors, bloggers, or authority figures in the Pagan world.

When Rowan mentioned the details and requirements, my interest piqued. It feels a bit hazy now, I remember thinking "hey, you can do that. wouldn't that be fun?"

To be honest, it was just a thought. I didn't really think I'd join. My last blog was on MySpace... about ... a decade ago? haha WOW I feel old. No one is on MySpace anymore, I don't even remember my account information. (Which is a shame, I used to blog on a daily basis, and back in the day they were really intense teenage angst filled subjects hahaha.) Note to self: Definitely find out a way to access my old journal.

I had NO CLUE about where people Blog now days. I googled Blogging and somehow I came across Blogger; little did I know that it's connected to Google! yay! I love Google.

Next thing you know, I'm thinking, "well, just check it out." I created a new account on Google and voilà! Here I am rambling about how I got involved in The Pagan Blog Project. haha.

Today is the weekly deadline for the Blog; I would've loved to submit one on time. I'm still trying to decide on my word... "G." For some reason I want to blog about God and Goddess, Lord and Lady, the Divine, Spirit...
I'm still in the brainstorming stages. There's so much I'd love to write about, but nothing concrete, as of now it's just a bunch of God and Goddess related ideas... my thoughts are all over the place.

I feel like I need to warm up first. Hence this try-out blog.

I've yet to come out of the broom closet... well, sort of. My immediate family knows and surprisingly enough, they are very accepting. I did not expect that... at all. haha

My closest friends know I'm a witch, and they love it! I have been truly blessed.

I'm still very careful about who I tell about my new found path; I recently lost a very dear friendship because I'm a witch. My best friend in the whole world decided that she couldn't be friends with me anymore because it went against the bible and her beliefs, she "can't be involved with witchcraft in any way."

 :sigh: It broke my heart completely. I cried for weeks. I'm a Leo, loving, giving & emotional Leo, and well, when I'm hurt .. it hurts.  It's been 5 months since she "broke up" with me and remembering this still gets me teary eyed. I know she loves me, she just doesn't know enough about my path to accept it as another religion. I tried to share, but she would close the subject almost immediately. I respect her and her beliefs, I love her dearly and I hope that she'll come around... after all, I'm still me. I'm the same person she's always known, I'm just following a spiritual path different from her own. I sometimes wonder what her reaction would've been if I'd said "I'm a Buddhist!" instead of "I'm a witch."
I don't blame her though, we tend to fear the unknown, and witches are such a taboo in this culture, not to mention in Christianity.

I wish things were different, but there is nothing I can do to change what is. I pray for her safety, her happiness, her strength and her well-being. You don't stop loving a friend when they no longer are part of your life, they are in your heart and so the love never dies. It hurts, because they are no longer there... the heart longs for them. The heartache I feel for my lost friend reminds me of my last heartbreak.. It's there, always, like a humming empty space that longs for the lost love.

But alas, the love of God & Goddess is so great that immediately after I lost my dear friend's friendship, an old college friend (whom I had fall out with) suddenly came back into my life. ^_^ She is amazing and accepting of my new path; when we finally reunited it was as if nothing had ever come between us. I feel so blessed to have her back in my life. ^_^

I'm surrounded by loving family & friends that are supportive and accepting of my spiritual path. This is a blessing in itself.
Most of them are genuinely interested in learning more about my life as an eclectic witch in training, but because we're too busy living our lives it's hard to keep them updated.
I'd like to dedicate this blog to my friends & family, and share with them as I learn.

Coincidences, Connecting the Dots & Be Careful What You Wish For... (PBP wk 5)

 

Sunday, August 12, 2012 (1am)

Coincidences are manifestations of magik.  My first few experiences were a bit baffling. Small things would happen like, I'd be thinking about glass bottles for each corner and next thing you know, I find a pack of 4 glass bottles with the colors of each element. Or I'd think about something I needed and the following week, my sister sends me most of the things I had on my list.

There was a very specific "coincidence" around Halloween last year. I was working on my Dia De los Muertos altar, and I needed a dog statue to guard the first level. Around that time I was doing a bit of research on my family's history & roots. I discovered some interesting things about my grandfather and the ancestors; apparently, magik runs in the family.

My cousin and I came across some information about my grandfather's side of the family, there's some sort of code of arms that represents the family. It depicts a green field with a red ribbon across, it has a tree and there's a dog chained to that tree. The dog is described as a dog similar to a grey hound. It didn't surprise me since my cousin and I had already come up with the conclusion that for our family, dogs are our main familiars. 

So after learning this information and realizing that I needed a dog statue for my altar, I had this sort of mental image of the siloute of a sitting dog. It was so quick and specific. I never thought I would actually find anything near as close to what I'd pictured.
I was looking for "a" dog statue, any statue, and decided to check out the local Ross. Imagine my surprise when I'm walking down the aisle and I see this!!! I raced to the statue almost as if it would disappear at any moment. I couldn't believe it. IT WAS EXACTLY WHAT I'D PICTURED!!! I was beyond myself, I could not believe that I'd found this dog, one that looks sooo much like a grey hound, like the dog described for my ancestor's code of arms. I mean, what are the odds? This image crossed my mind for less than a second, literally. Then on another random day I decide to go to Ross and I find it! It blew my mind!!! This dog now guards the entrance to my room. I keep him there to protect my sacred space.

Here's another fun fact, my dog at the time, Buddy, well, he sorta looks like this dog; except his coat was all over the place. My sister's girlfriend would clip his hair in a way, where she'd leave a strip of hair running along his spine. We used to call him Buddy the dragon. 

My Baby Buddy.  RIP.

Oh how I miss my Buddy. I was so depressed when I lost him, I didn't really think I would ever love a dog as much as I'd loved him. I lost him so suddenly, it was all so unexpected; it took me some time to process it. I remember my sister saying over and over "Buddy's dead, he's dead. He's gone." She must've said it like 20 times. It simply wasn't sinking in. I'd gone out of town for the weekend, and when I got back, I was met at the door with the awful news.

I remember sitting outside under a tree a few weeks later, crying my eyes out, asking the Universe why I'd lost him. I was in so much pain. I've had so many losses in my life, enduring this last one was proving to be a challenge. Buddy had been with me through everything, when I was at my lowest, when I had absolutely no one I could call for support.



Bumble Bee looking insect. Doodle by me.

I was trying to be strong, trying not to fall back into depression (for my mother's sake anyway). I remember I sat there, crying with such pain, asking Goddess, mother nature for peace. Then all of the sudden, this oversized bumble bee looking thing came out of nowhere from around the corner. I was in the middle of some pretty intense ugly crying when this thing flew over to me, landed on my lap and walked a few steps, ending with that my crying. I was so at awe, that my tears ceased almost immediately. I'd never seen anything like it, it stayed with me for only a few seconds, then it flew away. It felt almost as if this lovely insect had made its way to me to give me a message "Stop your crying, everything will be ok." (To this day, I have no clue of what that's called, if anyone has any idea I would appreciate the intell.)

About a two months later, a friend called me offering a pup. This happened in September, 3 months to the day after my Budddy had passed, literally, on the same day. I wasn't at all sure I even wanted another dog, I didn't think I could bear another loss.

My Baby Buddy as a pup.

During that time, I was having contact with Buddy. He actually came to visit on my birthday, yea, sounds insane, but it's true. He passed in June, and by July his spirit was already back in my life.

Up until then, I hadn't really had any experiences with spirits, it took my sister a first hand experience to believe that Buddy was still visiting. He'd actually visit through our other dogs. The first time this happend was on my actual birthday, I noticed our other dog was acting peculiar, his actions reminded me of Buddy so much. I remember thinking, "wouldn't it be funny if that was Buddy right now? wish he would do something to let me know he's here." The second I finished with my thought Dezi starts to whine like Buddy, he poses like Buddy, and behaves in such a way that I have no doubt it's Buddy.

I hugged him and cried and apologized over and over for not taking care of him as I should've. When I told my sister, she looked at me as if I'd lost my mind. The following full moon she told me that Buddy had visited her too. She couldn't believe it herself, she told me that he'd come to her through her boyfriends dog, an old female that out of the blue began to act like a pup. Knowing that Buddy was still around gave me some type of comfort. By the time September rolled around, I was happily comfortable with the notion that he would stay with me.



Luna as a pup.

When my friend offered the pup, I hesitated. I didn't want to replace Buddy. My friend sent me this picture and I immediately knew I wanted her. This puppy looked EXACTLY like Buddy did as a pup, she's a female, so it wouldn't be like I was replacing Buddy. I remember talking to him, asking if he was okay with him. I wasn't at all sure so I left it up to fate. As it turned out, my friend gave the pup away since it took me too long to decide. I felt at peace, I thought "well, that's ok, she's not meant for me. I really want her, but if she's not meant for me, at least let her have a good loving home." My friend tried to persuade the family to give her back, but they'd made up their mind. They said they would take her for a week to see if she was a match for their family. The week passed and the following weekend my friend calls me to let me know they can't handle her because she's too energetic. This is how I came to have Luna.



Luna now, a year old.

When my other sister met Luna, she immediately said, "What if that's Buddy reincarnate?" Of course I didn't want to believe that, this new pup was NOTHING like Buddy. She was such a troublemaker, destroying everything that came across her. As the months passed and she grew, I began to see such a resemblance that I also began to feel that this could possibly be Buddy. When I took her to the vet, he confirmed that she'd been born in July, which is a month after Buddy had died. Luna also has this darker stripe on her coat that runs along her spine, aaand her coat looks JUST like our rothweiler's. I mean, can you say coincidence? It was almost as if he came back in such a way that it would be hard to miss.

I feel that that bumble bee looking thing was giving me a message that I'd soon have my Buddy back with me. I now have Luna, and even though I miss Buddy on a daily basis I am thankful for having her in my life. She reminds me of him so much, so in a way, whether she is him or not, she's keeping his memory alive. I am thankful. 

There was a long list of "coincidences" before I realized how magickal the world really is. I'm amazed each and every day. Anytime I realize that something has manifested after I've thought about it, I give thanks to the Universe for hearing my call. I might not conciously set out to make these things manifest, but I'm glad someone out there is listening.

Thoughts manifest even when we aren't specifically working with intent. Like for instance, on Friday, my family was coming in from out of town and I was busy cleaning the house. I kept thinking, "I hope they take longer, I hope they don't arrive any time soon. I just need to finish the floors, just let me finish the floors." Well, they were suppose to arrive by 6pm, and they didn't get here until almost 7pm. My aunt told me they would've been here sooner if they hadn't gotten stuck in a thunderstorm. My uncle described the winds as 60mph. They had to slow way down to avoid getting in an accident. Coincidence?

"Be careful what you wish for" definitely comes to mind. There was just SO much to do, I just kept thinking "Let them take longer, arrive safely, just take longer." They showed up an hour later, giving me plenty of time to finish every chore.

Still, hearing they were delayed by a thunderstorm with 60mph winds is very alarming. :/

I need to be careful with my thoughts.

I read somewhere that there is no such thing as a coincidence.  We attract these events with the Law of Attraction. I wonder if every coincidence has to do with un-aware magik we send out into the Universe?