Lotus Moon Magazine

LOTUS MOON AUGUST 2015

The

EMPOWERMENT ISSUE

Photographer

Jade Beall Empowering Portraiture LOTUS MOON

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Meet the team

Heather is a professional journalist and photographer, and owns her own intuitive healing practice. She specializes in Reiki, intuitive readings, chakra cleansings, guided meditations and spell work. Heather is Lotus Moon’s founder, editor-in-chief, layout designer, photographer, graphic designer and one of the contributing writers.

Aiyanna is a yoga teacher, yoga therapist, meditation master, Reiki master, trans-personal coach, shamanic sound healer, astrologer, empath and intuitive. Aiyanna’s life purpose is to help others find their authentic self and live their full potential. Aiyanna is the contributing writer for the magazine’s monthly Astrology by Aiyanna, as well as other astrology related feature articles.

Jhennifer is an intuitive, oracle card reader and crystal expert. Like the crystals she loves, Jhennifer emanates light and radiant love to everyone she meets. Her youthful energy loves fireflies, rainbows, the moon and the smell of rain on the Earth. She has been a crystal healer for many years, and is the contributing writer for Crystal Corner with Jhen.

Adelina is a natural healer and essential oil expert. Certified in the AromaTouch Technique, a clinical approach to essential oil application, she offers frequent workshops on natural remedies and healthcare solutions using essential oils. Adelina has a long history of helping others, and loves to practice natural healing techniques to improve the mind, body and soul.

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About Our Magazine Lotus Moon magazine was founded in 2015. It was founded with the purpose of spreading love, light, spiritual education, acceptance and spiritual freedom throughout the hearts of people worldwide. We are all here to change the world one small piece at a time, by helping people welcome light and love into their heart and usher spiritual evolution into their lives. We are a group of individuals from different faiths, with different spiritual backgrounds, who have different beliefs, and who have had a multitude of different life experiences that taught us many difficult life lessons. All who contribute to this magazine are on a spiritual journey to help transform the lives of others through love and healing, and want to share with you their knowledge and experiences to help you do the same. Please read and share this magazine with all you know, and together let’s affect positive change.

You can find out more at www.lotusmoonmag.com. We are always in search of new writers and monthly featured spiritualists so if you would like to join our team or a recommend someone to be featured, please go to our website or email us at lotusmoonmag@gmail.com LOTUS MOON

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The Power of Yellow

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JADE BEALL: PHOTOGRAPHER

AUGUST’S FEATURED SPIRITUALIST

Jade Beall Photography

6 Astrology by Aiyanna

What does August have in store for you astrologically? August is a big month for empowerment and healing the past.

8 Disempowered: Breaking Chronic Cycles

Are you living a life to make others happy? Are you living with abuse, or situations that make you feel disempowered?

14 Healing with Adelina

Essential oils can be of great emotional assistance when you are living a disempowered life.

Find out how!

16 The Power of Yellow

During this month of empowerment, take every opportunity to shift any aspect of disempowerment in your life. Yellow can help you do that.

18 Crystal Corner with Jhen Fluorite: Stone of Action. How can it help you this month?

20 Featured Spiritualist

Jade Beall’s photography is known throughout the world for it’s truthful expression of the human body. Jade surpasses the bounds of basic photography by creating art that inspires emotional healing.

34 Empowered to Live Authentically: August’s Intuitive Forecast

Living a life with authentic purpose is highlighted this August as the Universe pushes us to empower ourselves.

36 Witch in the Kitch: Lughnasadh

What’s cooking for the August 1st Lughnasadh holiday? Spells and magical makings that include prosperity, abundance and renewal.

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ASTROLOGY by

A

Aiyanna

ugust 2015 provides us with opportunities to get our lives on track and aligned with who we truly are. Saturn, the Lord of Karma, begins and ends the month in dynamic tension with the moon.

This presses against our emotions and urges us to be truthful with ourselves.

This is the month to stay in touch with what you really want. Find strength in your heart’s deepest desires and let this be your grounding cord throughout August.

Remember the saying, “If you don’t stand for something, you’ll fall for anything?” It’s a great philosophy to remember this month! Write it down, post it on your bathroom mirror and look at it everyday. Your passion is what you vowed to bring to this world before you were born, and you are the ONLY one who can bring it into the world now.

If you’re not certain about your life purpose, consider what you loved and were naturally drawn to as a child. Those childhood loves hold clues to your life purpose.

Carve out some time this month to express childlike curiosity about the world around you. Revisit your childhood self in as many ways as possible, and break free of the adulthood constraints you have placed on yourself. Pay attention 6

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to the world around you with all of your senses, especially your intuition.

Let your worries go, for while you are playing, Saturn, also a master editor, will do his work in the background. This planetary God is traversing inner territory that we’ve already visited twice throughout the last year. Trust the process as it unfolds, as much of the work has already been done, and what isn’t finished will be completed now.

Meanwhile, Venus is retrograde in heart-centered Leo. It’s likely old loves and passions will surface for reviewing, giving you the chance to keep or toss them. This will be based on what is appropriate for

you as Saturn will help you in setting boundaries.

If there is something you have been drawn to do previously but haven’t gotten around to, now is the time to go for it. Anything holding you back will be left behind. Jupiter transitions into Virgo on August 11th so you can expect some change in focus around this time.

Jupiter is said to expand whatever it touches, but you will only get out what you put into this transition.

For more clarity on how this transition will affect you, check your natal chart to see what house Virgo falls in.

On a collective scale, Jupiter moving from Leo to Virgo will

amethyst and aquamarine. Seasonal plants are Mugwort, Dahlia and Echinacea, and herbs are Cleavers and Red Root.

Planetary Highlights:

shift themes away from the self and toward selfless service over the next 12 months. Even news sources will shift their focus from big personality headlines to pieces focused on community improvements that benefit the world.

New Moon: August 14th 7:45am PDT in Leo

This New Moon reconnects you with your inner child, your passions, your leadership abilities and your hidden talents. What is it that you would like to see more of in the world? How can you contribute?

Remember that your path and contributions will be uniquely you.

Leo wants to be adored and recognized for her heart, so how can you shine brightly in the world in your own unique way? What would you do if you knew you couldn’t fail?

Look for what will inspire you to love yourself so much you expand regardless of what others think of you. Being yourself and living authentically is the best gift you can bring to the world. Use this lunation to set intentions for increased personal creativity and expression.

For more clarity on where this is

likely to happen in your life, find where 21 degrees Leo falls in your natal chart.

Full Moon: August 29th 11:37am PDT in Pisces

This Full Moon brings a momentous opportunity to release prominent themes, patterns and mentalities that have been holding you back and keeping you stuck in the past. By the end of August it will be clear that it’s time to keep the lessons from your past but release the pain.

This moon is powerfully healing, powerfully psychic and poised to allow lovely new patterns to fill the voids left from releasing the pain of old wounds. For a deeper understanding of how to maximize this healing for your own journey, find where 6 degrees Pisces falls in your natal chart.

Magical correspondences for August’s Full Moon: Planetary rulers are Jupiter and Neptune with the element of water, signifying emotions. The mode is mutable and adapting, and the polarity is magnetic and receptive. Colors are violet and rainbow, and gemstones are

Saturn is in Scorpio through mid September ending it’s retrograde cycle on August 2nd. Things that have felt stuck will shake loose to support healthy changes.

Venus, the planet of beauty, truth, and partnerships, is retrograde in Leo all month. This provides an opportunity to review relationships, passions and pastimes, and assess if they still fit.

Jupiter, the planet of luck and expansion, moves from Leo to Virgo on August 11th. Here it will spend the next year expanding and supporting healing themes for communities and services.

The new moon in Leo on August 14th will promote expansion of your authentic self and your heart’s desires. This moon is a fixed Fire element.

The full moon in Pisces on August 29th is completing the lunar cycle that began the middle of March. This moon is a mutable Water element.

The Sun moves into Virgo on August 23rd preparing you for the upcoming change in season and the harvest. This will be a mutable Earth element.

All the outer planets, representing the status of the collective consciousness, will be in retrograde.

During this retrograde cycle, the collective is taking a deep look at itself. How you contribute to changes will correspond with where Uranus, Neptune, and Pluto appear in your own natal chart.

See you in September! Aiyanna LOTUS MOON

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DISEMPOWERED Breaking Chronic Cycles

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hat is empowerment? Is it standing up for yourself? Having the courage to say “no”? Venturing out into the world completely on your own?

Empowerment can mean different things to different people, but for this article, it simply means following your heart without fear.

Many of you have been in, or are currently in, disempowering situations. You have denied your heart and quashed your soul’s desires out of obligation, fear or a simple lack of understanding. It’s time for you to connect with your soul and set your heart free. It’s time for you to release yourself from the shackles of disempowerment and walk toward your destiny.

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This is not an easy process and it may take time, but the first step is recognizing your disempowerment.

Before I get into describing the how of empowering yourself, I want to start with a little story—my story. A story of Karma, difficult life lessons and a long transition to becoming the person I am now.

My life began with disempowering Karma carried over from past lives. My childhood was wrought with disempowerment from a father and step-mother who were mentally, emotionally and physically abusive, and a loving but disempowered mother. Fear, inadequacy and powerlessness dominated my youth. I had no self-esteem, no one to help me feel empowered and fo-

cused most of my energy on being accepted by others.

After a rather violent episode of physical abuse at 15, followed by a month of terror while locked in my room, my mother finally succeeded in legally rescuing me. I was free—the feeling was indescribable, but little did I know that my experiences were far from over. Yes, the physical abuse was over, but the emotional wounds and deep-seated fear would haunt me for many years to follow.

Growing up in my father’s home entailed a life with few choices.

Everything was controlled from the clothes I wore, to the friends I had, to the sports I played and my dayto-day activities. Being free of those

living conditions gave me the opportunity to be my own person, the problem was, I didn’t know how.

I spent the rest of my high school years longing to fit in, to be popular, to be seen and admired. Sex, drugs and things I am not proud of became my life as I fought to stand in my own light by desperately seeking the approval of others.

After graduating high school I joined the military because I had squandered my opportunities to better myself through education.

The military worked for me because it was regimented. Everything was structured and controlled like my life had been for so long, but it also provided opportunity for growth and leadership.

My vision of leadership at that young age was power. What comes with power? Respect and the ability to be seen. Growing up I had been taught that I didn’t deserve respect unless it fit into a certain mold, so in my young eyes, respect through power fit into that mold. This was all subconscious, mind you, at that time all I wanted was to be seen. I wanted people to like me. I wanted to matter. I wanted people to know I had something to offer the world.

For 16 years I worked hard, focusing on training, education, being the best I could be and getting noticed. I eventually transitioned from active duty to part-time military service and began my civilian career. I continued to work hard and enjoyed what I did. I met my husband, pursued higher education and things were looking up.

In 2012, however, everything I had worked so hard for began to crumble. It was the year I entered a difficult cycle of karmic release.

That year my military career began its arduous decent into oblivion, and I shifted into another abusively

disempowering situation like that of my childhood.

That January a new boss arrived at my civilian job. He seemed ideal at first—friendly, motivated, he listened and was personable. Over the next two years, however, I learned well that he was nothing like that.

He was controlling, verbally abusive and sought to dominate and disempower all those around him.

I had seen a glimpse of his true personality a few times during that year, but that winter was when I saw the extent of his abusive ways in full force, and directed at me.

It was a week of terror and tears. I once again felt like I was the cowering child hiding away from the hands of my father and step-mother. For the next few months I kept to myself, feeling more alone than ever, and working hard to once

again be in his good graces.

The year and a half following that incident I was very cautious, doing everything I could think of to avoid his wrath. I desperately wanted to leave, but couldn’t without another job. I had simultaneously been building a personal business so I could eventually quit, but it didn’t generate the revenue I needed to support my family without a fulltime job.

That year I also began my spiritual business, hoping that both businesses would yield the necessary income to quit. I continued to work, praying each day that I would find a way to leave. Some days were good, others were not, but I kept hoping.

This went on until the spring of 2014 when I once again became the target of his wrath.

This time was not like the last.

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The situation was much more volatile, and this time I knew I had been wronged so I began fighting.

I was not just fighting him though, I was fighting myself. I was fighting the disempowered fears from my past and I was fighting my disempoewred Karma, both of which had held me back all my life, and lives.

This situation had no end in sight.

How could I quit when I had no income to support my family, but how could I not when he became more angry and abusive each day? I was terrified, sick, I stopped eating, started drinking and cried constantly. My husband grew frustrated because he didn’t understand why I wasn’t standing up for myself.

What he didn’t understand, something I didn’t even understand, was that my memories and my Karma were crippling me. I was in an emotional prison, held captive by

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the disempowerment I had allowed to propagate throughout all areas of my life. I became a shadow of the person I once was, and became desperate to find a solution. My many intuitive friends made it clear that it was my Karma at work. I needed to break free of my Karma otherwise this pattern of abusive disempowerment would continue, in this life and the next.

It took two months but I finally stood up for myself and took back my power by quitting. It was terrifying and I am still trying to get back on my feet a year later, but it was a step in the right direction. I feel free. I feel alive, and am able to appreciate so much more, especially things like my family and working for myself.

Unfortunately, nearly one year later I was faced with the same decision in my military career.

Although it was not an abusive situation, it was a situation of disempowerment that I once again had to stand against. It was a heartbreaking decision giving up my 16 years of service, but something that was necessary to empower myself.

The problem with these types of Karmic situations is they will repeat themselves over and over until you confront them. They don’t always look the same, but it is the same energy pattern. The hardest part of these situations is feeling powerless to change them, but you are the only one who can change them.

And you know what? The change doesn’t even need to be external.

You don’t need to confront the person or situation, all you have to do is help yourself feel empowered.

For me, the situation wasn’t about confronting my boss or fighting back, it was simply realizing I had

the power to walk away.

Sometimes it comes down to walking away. You may feel trapped, like you can’t walk away because of financial constraints or other obligations, but that is when you need to remember you always have Universal support. Your angels and guides know you have options, even if you can’t see them at the time. If you are in a disempowering situation and feel like there is no way out, communicate with the Universe. Ask for help and be willing to think outside the box, which brings me to my six steps for breaking patterns of disempowerment.

1. THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX Disempowering situations are not only to help you overcome Karma or learn to empower yourself, but also to push you out of your comfort zone. Growth in any form rarely occurs while comfortable, that’s why we have the life cycles we do, periods of rest and rejuvenation followed by periods of growth and discomfort.

These periods of discomfort challenge what you know forcing you to confront and overcome old, limiting thought patterns. They press you to rid yourself of expectations and overcome the “can’ts” and “shouldn’ts”. For me, that push came when I quit. I didn’t think

I could quit and still support my family, but I did, and although things have been tight financially, we are fine, and I am happy living a more authentic life.

2. THE BIGGER PICTURE We are all here for spiritual growth and to heal the world. We are not here to worry about money, to be shamed by our boss, to suffer abusive relationships or to live a life of fear. It is important when experiencing these situations to look at the bigger picture—you are only experiencing a life lesson.

There is something you must learn, and change, to grow spiritually and move on to the next phase of your life. Once you learn what you need to learn, the situation will dissipate, or you will move on. To me, these situations are like tornados. They can cause immense devastation but eventually they just disappear. There may be wreckage to clean up, but nothing to fear.

I like to relate the day-to-day problems we face to skyscrapers.

When looking up all you see is this immense structure that looks insurmountable. It stands formidable against the people and noise and clutter of the city streets, which is impossible to look past sometimes.

Once on top of that structure, however, all you see is the city below. It’s

quiet, peaceful and you can see for miles with clarity.

3. SELF WORTH You are worth so much more than you can ever imagine, and the Universe is trying to teach you that.

Never let others’ opinions tell you who you really are. Those who put you down are trying to disempower you. For whatever reason, they feel they cannot be around you unless you are disempowered.

If you feel disempowered, have low self-worth or cannot see your true value, do things that make you feel good about yourself. Do anything you can to help yourself feel intelligent, beautiful, capable and just plain amazing—even if those traits don’t fit into societal ideals. Affirmations can help. They don’t work unless you believe them, but in my opinion, you can’t start believing them until you get into the practice of doing them. It’s a beautiful and rare gift to fully love and appreciate yourself. You can o do so by releasing your fears of how others see you and fully embracing how you see you.

4. EMPOWERING YOURSELF This can be an obscure concept.

What is empowerment? How do you empower yourself? Look at empowerment like a yin yang. On LOTUS MOON

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one side you have disempowerment, which includes your fears, the negative aspects of yourself, the parts of yourself you want to hide from the world, etc. On the other side you have all of your wonderful qualities, the aspects of yourself you are proud of and want to show off.

Disempowering situations bring focus to the dark side of you. People who disempower you will focus on what you dislike about yourself.

They will play on your fears and toy with aspects of you that you don’t want to see. You need to be strong and embrace those aspects realizing that who you are is both light and dark, and perfectly you.

You also need to understand that dark is only an illusion. Those ‘dark’ aspects of you are a very important part of you.

A storm is dark and can bring devastation to the land—floods, fires, tornadoes, etc., but it also brings rain to help life spring forth.

What follows a storm? Rainbows.

Empowering yourself is embracing all of you, not just what you want to see, and realizing just how special you are. Once you embrace and appreciate all of you, and follow your heart, you take back your power.

5. BE SPONTANEOUS Changing your patterns can be one of the most important ways to break cycles of disempowerment.

It’s easy to fall into life ruts, however those ruts can be prominent patterns of negativity that keep you feeling powerless, but it’s only a feeling. It may be a great leap to change the situation up front, or leave it behind, but you can still break the pattern by following your heart in small ways.

For example, maybe you take the same route to work everyday but one day you feel like going another 12 LOTUS MOON

way—go the other way. Maybe it takes you longer or maybe its not as cost effective, but it’s what your heart. The more you listen to your heart, and intuition, in small ways, the more you will listen in big ways that have great impact on the quality of your life. Even the smallest of changes can help you live a life in alignment with your heart and soul.

6. OPPORTUNITY It is important to realize that difficult and disempowering situations are actually a gateway to wonderful new worlds filled with light, love and glorious opportunity. Imagine a giant door in front of you, on the other side of that giant door is your new world, but the side you are currently on is in the midst of a great battle.

It is a battle filled with fear and strife—a war between your emotional blockages and that which your soul knows as truth. You have karma, trauma, fear, difficult life lessons and negative thinking patterns you have developed through-

out your life all fighting against one another to keep you from going through that door. What must you do? Beat down all of those blockages and allow yourself to go through that door. A beautiful world of opportunity is waiting for you. Are you going to let the situation and your disempowerment stop you? It’s YOU who can change the situation by changing within. Don’t let your fears block you from those amazing opportunities in front of you.

Breaking free of disempowering cycles is an arduous process, but a process that will change your life and bring you a sense of freedom like no other. Be gentle with yourself as you journey down this path of change, and make sure you are surrounded by a healthy support system of positive people. Before you know it you will no longer feel shackled by the expectations of others, and free to journey your path of light at your own pace, and with a vehicle of your choosing.

Written by Heather Noble

Blossoming Light S

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INTUITIVE, ENERGY HEALER, EARTH WITCH, REIKI MASTER

INTUITIVE READINGS - LIFE COACHING DISTANCE REIKI - SPELLS & CHARMS GUIDED MEDITATIONS - CHAKRA CLEANSING B L O S S O M I N G L I G H T . C O M

blossoming light - blossoming-light-intuition - intuitivewitch1 - blossoming light - blossoming light LOTUS MOON

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Achieving Empowerment Through Essential Oils for More than just Physical Healing

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s there a smell that recalls a favorite memory for you?

Perhaps at the bakery you’re reminded of your grandma’s homemade apple pie, or maybe the scent of baby powder reminds you of your children when they were small. Do these smells make you feel warm and happy?

Scents are a powerful link between your memories and your moods, and often create an uplifting atmosphere when you are feeling down. Essential oils have the same ability to help you feel calm and happy. They can help you alleviate stress and anxiety, and can help you in more ways than just healing your physical needs.

Emotionally oils can be used to center your feelings, calm your fears or encourage your temperament. They can boost your mental capacity, aid your emotional wellbeing and even encourage your empowerment.

Empowerment is not simply a feeling of power or authority. When you are disempowered you feel more than just deprived of power, you feel victimized, ineffective, defeated or stuck in your life situations. It’s a feeling of powerlessness and a belief that your own decisions are based solely on the influence of others, or outside circumstances. Taking back your power and allowing yourself to feel in-control empowers you to better yourself 14 LOTUS MOON

and take authority over your life.

Essential oils cannot fix your emotional blockages and negative thought patterns, but they can help you recognize the issues. They can help you take a deeper, honest look within yourself allowing improvement by opening your mind and accepting who you are.

It takes time and dedication to improve your mental health. Harnessing your empowerment comes from releasing negative feelings to be replaced by positive feelings that will uplift your moods and change your lifestyle.

Incorporating ginger essential oil into your life can help this process.

Ginger oil is the essential oil for personal empowerment. Using ginger oil helps create a connection

from your mind to your emotions, assisting these positive changes manifest in your life. As you continue to use ginger, you create a stronger and stronger connection between its scent and the emotional healing you want to achieve.

Essential oils can also be a powerful tool for elevating the energetic vibrations of your body. Lower vibrations hold you back and keep you in a disempowered state. These lower vibrations can come from suppressed childhood emotions or negative experiences in the workplace. They are the thoughts you focus on when you are feeling powerless or defeated, becoming an unbearable emotional cycle seeking to be released. Sometimes that release involves lashing out at those

oils you use. Here are a few other essential oils you can try with ginger to aid your empowerment goals.

Clove is known to address feelings of defeat, domination or fear of rejection and intimidation, and provides the courage to say “no”.

Fennel improves feelings of shame and unwillingness to take responsibility, and bolsters integrity despite the judgments of others. Melaleuca is helpful in separating yourself from codependent relationships that hold you back and make you feel weak.

around you, or allowing others to make decisions on your behalf.

When those negative feelings are released, however, you allow yourself to create higher vibrations, which have an incredible affect on every aspect of your life.

Essential oils aid the energetic vibrations in your body by helping you conquer your feelings and take control of your life. Once you embrace who you truly are, you open yourself to experiencing greater satisfaction in your everyday life.

You become empowered to seek change and feel accomplished in your actions.

Healing and releasing negative emotions is not an easy process.

Identifying the negative emotions you need to release is the first step in welcoming positivity that will make for lasting changes in your life. It’s a cleansing process that you must be willing to experience in order to move past your current blockages. Feeling empowered also means accepting and being accountable for your actions.

Essential oils are not a quick fix for disempowerment issues or negativ-

ity in your life, but they can boost your feelings of empowerment in my ways. Ginger oil can help you gain a warrior-like mentality by boosting your personal integrity, centralized responsibility and individual choice. It helps you manifest your dreams and prevents you from being affected by outside circumstances as you follow your path.

To boost your empowerment, diffuse four to six drops of ginger oil in your home or office. Ginger is also beneficial during meditations. Before meditating, place a few drops in your hands, rub the bottoms of your feet and cup your hands over your mouth for a few moments to inhale the aroma. Focus on releasing any negativity and letting go of your feelings of powerlessness. Inhale the ginger aroma to empower your belief in yourself; you are in control of your life and you decide what you want.

Tip of the Month: Use multiple oils as you work through your emotional blockages, keeping a journal of your progress and your reaction to the various

Note from the Author: There are many brands available at your local all-natural store or over the Internet. My goal is to educate and empower all oil users. I have a positive bias towards one company due to the high quality oils, high testing standards and responsible sourcing, and because of the positive success I have experienced. The advice shared has not been evaluated by the FDA. It is ultimately up to you to research and find your own conclusions on the information provided. The products and methods recommended are not intended to diagnose, cure, advise, or prescribe for any human disease, ailment, injury, infirmity, deformity, pain or any other condition, physical or mental, real or imaginary, by any means or instrumentality.

I am sharing information that has blessed my life and my family’s. It is important to consult your medical professional.

Written by Adelina Waters To find out more about Adelina & her products and services, go to: www.mydoterra.com/awaters

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The Power Of

YELLOW A ugust’s energy focuses on empowerment, so this month, welcome the color yellow into your life. Yellow is a bold symbol of empowerment as it represents the Solar Plexus chakra, the Solar Plexus chakra being the energetic core of your personal empowerment.

Living a life of empowerment is not easy. Many learn from a young age to give away their power, and gaining it back can be a life-long endeavor. It can be an extensive process of re-learning negative patterns and re-programming ingrained beliefs.

Many of your life experiences will actually be opportunities to heal and strengthen your personal empowerment. Some experiences will be difficult and emotionally depleting, while others will be fun and bring you immense joy.

Re-gaining your empowerment is a process with many different aspects. One aspect is keeping your Solar Plexus chakra cleared and healthy, while another is following your heart. Something else that can help is simply maintaining awareness of your empowerment and Solar Plexus chakra, and that can be done by incorporating the color yellow into your life.

Colors can have an incredible 16 LOTUS MOON

affect on you at the physical, mental and spiritual levels, so why not see what yellow can do for you? Yellow is the color associated with happiness, fun, laughter and childlike expression. It can bring a sense of joy to situations, lift your spirits and bring carefree elation to your world. It can be a reminder to be gentle with yourself as it holds a youthful energy burgeoning with innocence and self-exploration.

Although white is often associated with innocence, purity and birth, yellow represents re-birth and renewal. It signifies new life, renewed life—life that holds knowledge from the past and from personal experiences. Renewal is a time to bring forth that knowledge while leaving behind the pain and emotional blockages. Learning to empower yourself once again is renewal—renewal of who you once were, and who you will be again.

The color yellow can fuel your desire to chase your dreams, and make the impossible seem possible.

Yellow is a motivator and when combined with joy and love, it can assist you in pursuing your destiny.

Like heat from the sun can melt away the ice grasping hold of your car windshield, so can the color yellow melt away the disillusion of negativity from your life. It can

bring clarity to steal away the confusion and illuminate the darkened fears within your soul.

This month, add a little yellow to your life—a yellow dress, a yellow tie, a swipe of yellow eyeshadow across your lids, or even a bit of yellow in your hair. Place a fresh bouquet of sunflowers on your dining table or make yellow foods a staple in your diet.

How about tossing a yellow throw pillow on your bed or a placing yellow candle on your coffee table? Let yellow rule your color palettes this month and see what a difference it can make in your life.

Written by Heather Noble

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CRYSTAL CORNER

Jhen with

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luorite is a stone of action, organization and structure. It draws away negative energy and helps you find your true North.

Fluorite creates clarity in your thoughts and brings internal organization by healing and balancing your emotions. It helps you look past your feelings to objectively see to the heart of matters. This creates focus making it possible to decipher the priorities in your life.

Fluorite relieves stress and lessens self-doubt by clearing away negative self-talk and pushing you to release limiting beliefs. It helps bring awareness to the next step on your soul’s path by shining light on your next course of action.

Fluorite illuminates where you are holding yourself back in life, and it dissolves any blockages keeping you from realizing your true potential.

It helps you release any fears that keep you from moving forward on your soul’s journey, enabling you to meet your goals and follow your dreams.

Fluorite is a stone for the mind balancing brain function, clearing away limiting thought patterns while it brings balance, self confidence, concentration and clarity. It helps you find your center, clears your auric field and cleanses the chakra system.

Fluorite reminds you of your true potential in life and helps guide you toward the path you are meant 18 LOTUS MOON

to follow. It clears away confusion and expels self-doubt helping you take action toward your future with determination and clarity.

Fluorite comes in many colors and each color carries it’s own properties along with the generic properties listed below.

For energy clearing, use Fluorite with Black Tourmaline, Smoky Quartz, Jet and Obsidian.

To enhance metal and psychic ability, use with Lapis, Iolite, Golden Labradorite, and Heliodor.

For heart work, use with Emerald, Dioptase, Pink Tourmaline, Rose Quartz, Kunzite, and Morganite with Pink or Green Fluorite. Fluorite also harmonizes with all forms of Calcite.

Alternative Names: Fluorspar Color: Clear, White, Blue, Bluegreen, Green, Purple, Yellow, Red,

Pink, Rainbow, Gray, Black Astrological: Capricorn, Pisces Chakra: Heart & Cleanses all chakras Numerical Vibration: 9 Chemical Composition: Calcium Fluoride Hardness: 4 Crystal System: Cubic Mineral Class: Silicates Transparency: Translucent to transparent Rarity: Common Location: USA, England, Mexico, Canada, Australia, Germany, Norway, China, Peru, Brazil Issues and Ailments: Balance, coordination, shyness, worry, centering, concentration, confusion, balances brain chemistry, absorption of nutrients, respiratory issues, joints, teeth and bones and nerve issues.

the Sparkly

Rock Chick

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Jade B

Photography tha

Bold, Brav 20 LOTUS MOON

Beall

at’s...

ve and Real LOTUS MOON

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As

the August energy shifts to highlight our personal empowerment, the Universe urges us to identify all the ways we disempower ourselves.

How many of you disempower yourself through body-shaming?

Have you ever struggled with shame over a physical attribute?

Maybe your weight or your skin, or even your breast size? How old were you when you first became self-conscious about yourself? Who made you feel self-conscious?

Self-consciousness is absolutely normal, especially during adolescence when our bodies change in ways we don’t yet understand. What is unfortunate, however, is that our society cultivates that self-con22 LOTUS MOON

sciousness with ideals most of us will never be able to live up to.

This can be especially prominent for mothers whose bodies undergo major transformations during pregnancy and childbirth. Stretch marks, c-section scars, major fluctuations in weight, breastfeeding, not to mention the general stresses and time constraints of motherhood that can drastically inhibit established routines.

Body-shaming is prolific, and it’s not limited to motherhood, or women. Age, hormones, accidents, traumas, illness and so much more cause drastic body changes that degrade self-esteem and wither away our self-love and personal empowerment.

It’s time to stop. Stop the

body-shaming, stop the self-loathing, stop trying to live up to unreal expectations, stop being a victim to societal ideals and start living a life filled with self-love and self-worth.

Jade Beall, a photographer in Tucson, Arizona, is pioneering photography that defies societal norms of beauty, motherhood and body-image. Her photography artfully captures the beautiful reality of the human body in all of it’s most glorious forms.

You won’t find any Photoshopped runway models in her work, nor will you find Photoshopping of any kind as her photography captures only what is real. What you will find in her images is a deep and soulful connection with the person in front of her lens. Each photo

portrays a story of life, change, love and acceptance with Jade leading the way by example.

She has experienced her own personal torment with body image, and shares her struggles and transformation publicly. Jade has become a body-love icon around the world by helping others through the healing power of her spirit, her love and her photography.

Through her photography, Jade teaches us that beauty does not lie within the bounds dictated by society, it lies within the soul of each of us. Beauty is not our hair, our dress size, our height or the scars that mar our bodies; beauty is what we hold in our hearts.

LOTUS MOON: How long have you

been a photographer?

JADE BEALL: I started photography in 1986. I was in high school and immediately fell in love with the human body, primarily the body of women. I didn’t think I could make a living from it so I started photographing other things and ended up going to massage school. I was a massage therapist for 15 years and got into the yoga and dance community. I started photographing yogi’s and dancers because they were into what I wanted my photography to focus on, beautiful bodyscapes.

I’ve photographed many different things over the years, but after giving birth to my son three and a half years ago, I’ve been photographing nothing but what I want to photograph, it’s awesome! [Laughs.]

LM: What compelled you to focus

on body image portraiture?

JB: When I started photography I had a passion for skin and texture, and exploring things I had been taught were ugly. I photographed things that made me feel ugly and gross, things that I didn’t want to see in myself, like acne. I had really bad acne in high school and wanted to photograph more than just my friends who didn’t have acne.

I also struggled with my weight.

From about age 10 I had this quiet obsession about my weight. Right before getting pregnant I was weighing myself three or more times a day. After having my son I became obsessed with the bounceback. I was out trying to run before I had fully healed and eventually LOTUS MOON 23

realized I just needed to let go. I needed to start healing my relationship with hating myself, so I took my first self-portrait.

That was the beginning of massive healing for me. Once I began healing my relationship with myself, my ability to see beauty in everyone expanded. Because I finally felt at an OK place with myself, I was able to support other women with their healing.

LM: How long has it taken you to

be comfortable with the physical changes of your body since having your son?

JB: It’s an ongoing process. Some days I’m at 100 percent, and others it goes back to 80—it totally fluctuates, but I understand that it’s like anything. Some days my yoga practice is really awesome and others it’s like, “Why can’t I, eh”. It’s just part of being human, but ultimately I want to feel awesome and worthy so I can facilitate those feelings for others. The stronger I am in myself, the better I am as a photographer who’s helping others TRULY feel good; it’s not just words, it’s real.

LM: What has your body image

transformation been like?

JB: I’ve been in therapy and read a million self-help books, but it wasn’t until I put myself out there and received support from others that things started to change. That’s what I love about social media, the amount of support you receive from other people is incredible.

Once I put myself out there I found others who loved body positive living. I’ve connected with women in Australia and all over, and met them—it’s like you find your tribe. It was when I found my tribe, and was seen, that I became excited to help others feel the same.

That’s when my transformation 24 LOTUS MOON

“I needed to start healing my relationship with hating myself.”

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“We need to relearn how to see this precious body that is ours and will one day no longer exist.”

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truly began to stick and rise to 80%, which fluctuates to 100 then comes back down. [Laughs.] Something else that helped me with body positivity was my time in Africa.

I went twice, for a month each time, to study West African dance. I went to Guinea West Africa, which has immense poverty, but because of that, they have a very different kind of satisfaction with life. Today is all that matters to them—dance hard, sing hard, eat and just enjoy right now. It’s a place where fullness is revered. They have no mirrors so I didn’t see my reflection while there, but everyone was OK with their bodies, and my body. They kept telling me I was too skinny and needed to eat, it was great!

LM: How long have you been doing

West African dance?

JB: Since high school. I was drawn to it because my modern dance teacher told me I was no good and that I would never make it, even though I didn’t want to make it. I went to this African dance class and they were so welcoming. That’s what I love about West African dance, everyone is welcome and their movements are so beautiful— ancestral.

LM: Your amazing experiences in

Africa helped you feel accepted, so how do you help your clients feel accepted, and comfortable?

JB: People seem to trust me and I think it’s because I put myself out there in such a vulnerable way. I put myself out there consistently through social media and I think that starts building a certain ease amongst my clients and followers.

I share my self-portraits and have talked openly about my desire to heal my self-loathing.

Sharing like that seems to give LOTUS MOON

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clients permission to show up to sessions feeling nervous and uncomfortable, but trusting that something beautiful can happen during the session. People think, “I can take these photos and it will be OK.” Of course we email and talk ahead of time, but I don’t typically meet clients before-hand.

Yesterday I had a client who was doing a session for her 50th birthday. She arrived so willing and I thought, “I am so honored that you trust me so much, and you don’t even know me!” I think the more I share, the more people trust me. I just posted a photo of myself breastfeeding my son and even more people have come out to show their support. I’m just being real and vulnerable, and I think it’s beautiful.

LM: How do you interact with cli-

ents throughout the session to help them remain comfortable and at ease, especially when nude?

JB: This goes back to putting images of myself out there that are real, and letting people know I think they are worthy of being called beautiful. I tell my clients body acceptance is a process—we have to relearn how we see ourselves.

We’ve been trained to only accept one body type, one skin type, one age type, etc. Imagine if we were taught that the changes in our breasts and bellies from having children were a symbol of ultimate sexiness? What if we had been trained to think that way since childhood, we’d grow up believing that and we’d love our bodies.

It’s all an agreed belief system; we agree to believe these things about ourselves and our bodies. We have agreed to believe that Photoshopped images of one body type or one skin type, the 1 percent of 28 LOTUS MOON

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human women, is the only kind of beautiful.

We need to relearn how to see this precious body that is ours and will one day no longer exist. This is what we get to celebrate right now, and it’s worthy of being made into a masterpiece of artwork. I like to tell people, “Think of yourself when you’re 80. You’re going to look back and think, Damn I was so beautiful,” like we all do with the younger photos of ourselves.

It’s a practice and a certain faking it ‘til you make it kind of philosophy until you relearn how to see yourself. Eventually, instead of just telling yourself you’re beautiful, you might actually start believing, “Yes, that is beautiful, I am beautiful.” I’m relearning and am three and a half years strong. Everyday I do this and it’s really cool to see how the world changes, and how my outlook on beauty changes.

LM: Do you see a transformation in

your clients after your sessions? An energetic shift between when they arrive and when the session concludes?

JB: Absolutely. Most people come in nervous, but always leave so much more positive and fun. I see an energy shift in everyone. I often hear, “I don’t even need to see the photos I feel so good.” My sessions are about me facilitating a space for my clients, a space for them to be themselves, to be free. I am simply holding a space for them and reflecting that they are worthy to make a beautiful photograph and be an art piece, a masterpiece.

A lot of women feel good right after the session, but once they see the photos another process begins.

Clients either love them or they have to go through the process of accepting them and accepting LOTUS MOON

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themselves. We’ll talk and we’ll come back and look at them again.

It’s all about retraining yourself how to see and accept yourself.

I used to Photoshop all the photos of myself pre-baby—dark circles, blemishes, I didn’t want to see any of that, but it made me feel slightly weird, like, why do I feel this is how I need to represent myself? Now that I don’t Photoshop myself, its easier to look at myself in the mirror everyday.

I would say that 99 percent of women have a very transformative experience. There are definitely some who don’t, but we talk about it openly because it’s part of the process of healing, a part of the process of loving yourself again. It’s relearning how to see and how to feel in your body—sexuality and everything ties into it.

I just had a client come in suffering pretty severe PTSD. She’s a mother of two and told me, “Jade, I just want to feel sexy again. I don’t even know what this body is—I just want to feel sexy.” Even for myself, sexuality has evolved since becoming a mom. Before I had my son I wanted to be as sexy as possible, but now, I want to feel beautiful and sensuous. I want to feel sexy too, but it’s much more dynamic.

LM: You are part of an important

body image movement, do you collaborate with other photographers or artists for body image projects?

JB: I like collaborating and meeting other women who are doing similar body positive work. Working with other people teaches me how to see deeper, but I actually don’t associate with many photographers.

I don’t see myself as that great of a photographer—I’m self-taught and have a lot to learn. Photography is something I’m still working on and 32 LOTUS MOON

am excited to learn, but I have to focus on what’s really important.

Of course I want to master lighting and technique, but we all have these amazing things we can offer, and I can offer photography that is therapeutic.

You can see more of Jade’s work on her website at www.jadebeall. com, or by purchasing her book, The Bodies of Mothers.

Written by Heather Noble

“I am here to be a facilitator for living Heaven on Earth. I am here to support Your Waking Dream. I am here to stand in my Authentic Beauty and reflect Your Divine Gorgeousness. I am here to be a radiant reflection of Life. I am Life. You are Life. All of this that we are and that we have: is Divine. All of this is: Magic.

All of this: Just Is.� -Jade Beall

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Empowered to live

Authentically

W

elcome to August loved ones! This month’s energy brings a flurry of opportunities for positive change, empowerment, self-appreciation, fulfilling your destiny and manifesting your dreams. Be prepared for change this month! The Universe has a plan for you, and whether you are ready or not, its time for you to embrace that plan and fulfill your destiny.

August brings a surge of empowering energy to motivate and uplift—and the Universe will afford you many opportunities to help you align with your true-self. This 34 LOTUS MOON

is the month to let yourself be seen and appreciated, and to let yourself stand-out in the crowd. Be you and only you. It’s time for you to shuck off others’ expectations and seek a life that resonates with what is in your heart.

It is important this month to focus on reclaiming your authenticity.

The Universe has been preparing you for this and now it is here, the time when you will connect with who you really are. For some of you, this will be a reconnection, for others, you will see who you truly are for the first time in your life.

So much of your true-self has been hidden behind expectations and

fears, but little by little, you have been releasing them and are now ready to be you. August will be the time in which you fall in love with yourself and recognize all the beautiful gifts you have!

This month you will be set free from something that has been holding you back—a job, a relationship, a thinking pattern, a bad habit or possibly a person. This escape will release you from burdening expectations and fears that have been keeping you from reaching your full potential. You will find new freedom in life, and within yourself.

You will find the freedom to dream, knowing in your heart that your dreams are possible.

How many times have you convinced yourself you don’t want something you actually do just because you don’t think it’s possible?

Maybe you want a certain career but societal ideals or past rejection has made you think you can’t achieve it, so you convince yourself you don’t want that career.

During August will have opportunities to let go of these types of thinking patterns. You will be freed from the burden of negative thoughts that draw on your energy and hold you back. By the end of August, it will feel like a weight has been lifted, a weight of negativity

and a fog of darkness blinding you from seeing the possibility in all things.

It is once again time to dream, and dream big! What dreams do you hold close to your heart? What dreams have you let go of because they aren’t ‘realistic’ or ‘prosperous’? August will remind you to never let go of your dreams and remember that all things are possible.

Something that will be important for you this month is staying organized, especially in relation to your dreams and life aspirations. Create a list of what you want in your life, and what you want to let go of. Assemble a dream board with pictures of what you want in your life.

This month you are a painter painting the picture of the perfect life for yourself. Don’t worry about it being perfect five years from now, or even one year from now, paint a picture of what is perfect for you right now. While you are painting, release any thoughts of what the perfect picture should look like. Paint only what you truly want, what is in your heart. Use this painting as a road map to help you manifest a better life, one filled with joy, abundance and love.

Manifestations will be heightened this month so as you begin connecting with your true-self pay close attention to your thoughts.

Focus only on the positive in every situation because focusing on the negative will only bring you more of it. Pay attention to August’s moon cycles as well, and use its energy to release the negative, and welcome in the new and positive.

The waxing moon is the time to focus on manifesting what you want in your life. The waning moon is the time to focus on letting go of negative thought patterns and aspects of your life that no longer

serve your highest good. Although negativity can be abundant, this month’s sure-fire way to keep positive thoughts is having fun!

Allow yourself to be playful and rejoice in everyday things! Celebrate life—celebrate you! Frolic with the faeries in the woods.

Dance naked in the moonlight.

Have a pillow fight. Eat brownies for breakfast. Let the child within emerge and lead you on a journey of play. Be spontaneous and release yourself from everyday stresses that burden you unnecessarily.

Do something special for you; find a way to treat and pamper yourself. August is a celebration of you, so let yourself celebrate! Do the things that YOU want to do, not the things you feel obligated to do.

For all of you born in August, it’s your birthday, do what you want.

For everyone else, act like it’s your birthday and do what you want.

A small warning though, be careful of the energy of others. Many will be experiencing these changes and instead of embracing them they will be lashing out against them.

Emotions and frustrations may run

high this month, that’s why enjoying yourself and staying positive is so important. This is not the month to confront others if they are lashing out, just let them be and focus on your own happiness and joy.

An important reminder for August is to be gentle with yourself. You are going through many changes. So much of what has been in your life for a long time is moving away—situations, people, beliefs, etc. You are learning new things about yourself and the world around you. This is not an easy process, but once experienced, will change your life in so many positive and beautiful ways.

As you go through this transition always remember that you are blessed by the Universe and loved deeply. You are surrounded by many spiritual beings, all there to help you whenever you need it.

Free yourself from expectations this month. Have fun and live life with infinite joy knowing that there are infinite possibilities for happiness, success and love.

Written by Heather Noble LOTUS MOON

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‘W

itch in the kitchen’ may conjure visions of black-hatted witches tossing eye of newt into a bubbling cauldron, but for me, kitchen magic is all about simplicity. You don’t need fancy tools, rare herbs, unique oils or unearthly ingredients, you just use what you have. The best part is, you get to eat your spells!

This month I’m whipping up some magical makings to celebrate Lughnasadh. Lughnasadh is the first of three pagan harvest festivals celebrated each year at the beginning of August. Lughnasadh is a time when the first grain crops of the year are collected and late summer fruits are ripe to be plucked.

It is a time to reap the bountiful blessings of the land and celebrate the waning days of summer with feasting and magic.

Lughnasadh foods include grains such as wheat, rye and barley, along with summer fruits and vegetables like apples, blackberries, summer squash and corn. Corn contains

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potent magical energy for luck, divination, protection and fertility spells, and is one of my favorite summer vegetables because it symbolizes the cycles of life, death and rebirth.

August can be a month of bittersweet emotions as we revel in the last moments of summer freedom before the long days fade away, children return to school and the youthful exuberance of summer is lost. During this time it is important to remember that life and death are merely part of a cycle, a cycle that always brings renewed life.

Corn is symbolic of this life and death cycle because each season it is re-grown from the discarded remnants of its physical form.

I often refer to it as the Phoenix of vegetables; a perfect food for harvest holidays in honor of the coming death of the year. Some delicious Lughnasadh corn foods include corn fritters, corn chowder and corn cakes. Living in the Southwest my favorite corn recipes

are jalapeño cornbread and Mexican street corn.

Whether made of corn, wheat or rye, bread is a Lughnasadh staple and all around versatile food in kitchen magic because it takes on the magical properties of its ingredients. Wheat’s magical energy is best suited for spirituality, fertility, protection, psychic awareness and prosperity spells, while rye is preferred for love spells.

Barley, another popular Lughnasadh grain, is not an easy-to-find bread, but can be made into delicious soups, salads, risotto and even meatless burgers. Barley’s magical energies are perfect for love, sex, healing and protection, and are most potent during times of financial crisis, when money has been tight for some time and a monetary miracle is needed.

Lughnasadh breads can also be combined with seasonal fruits like apples and berries, most especially blackberries. Blackberry magic is potent for protection, healing and

abundance, primarily abundance of money. Apples are referred to as the fruit of enlightenment and divine wisdom, and are helpful in healing, love and garden magic.

A little dollop of apple preserves or blackberry compote on a slice of fresh baked bread is a light and delicious treat to accompany any spell. You can also take your edible spell to the next level with one of my favorite treats, a grilled cheese sandwich with roasted rosemary chicken, sliced apples and Brie.

Squash is another popular Lughnasadh vegetable, primarily Zucchini and yellow squash.

Squash has wonderful magical properties for fertility, prosperity, protection, spirituality, psychic awareness and spiritual enlightenment making it an excellent vegetable to eat before beginning magic rituals. Why not try some zucchini fritters or baked Parmesan squash as an appetizer to kick off your Lughnasadh celebration?

I’ve mentioned appetizers, snacks and other delicious treats for your Lughnasadh celebration, but no celebration would be complete without dessert. Since blackberries

and apples are prominent fruits during late summer, it’s only fitting to dedicate part of the meal to these sweet delicacies.

An apple pie, blackberry cobbler, an apple and blackberry tart, baked apples or juicy blackberries over ice cream—make sure these potent magical fruits are part of your harvest festivities.

Lughnasadh is not only about celebrating the harvest, it is about celebrating the abundance you have received throughout the year.

Abundance doesn’t always mean financial prosperity either, it can come in many different forms— love, life lessons, wisdom, family, opportunities and so much more.

I am pretty sure most of you have experienced an abundance of life lessons this year, but hopefully you have experienced an abundance of love, opportunities and goodness in your life as well. It doesn’t matter where the love came from, if the opportunities have been positive or negative, or you haven’t yet noticed the goodness in your life, but you have indeed been blessed with some form of abundance from the Universe.

Hopefully most of you will one day look back upon this year and see not only the challenges, but the blessings as well. No matter your religious background, take some time this August to thank the Universe or God for the abundance you have received by blessing others.

Surprise someone with a loaf of bread or a basket of fresh summer fruits and vegetables. Whether you gift a friend or donate items to a local shelter, share your wealth, gifts or positive energy with others as a way to say thank you to the Divine.

Here are a couple of spells to help ring in Lughnasadh with some love, light and uplifting magic. Since the holiday falls the day after the full moon, spells can either be done on the eve of Lughnasadh, harnessing the full moon energy, or the day of.

I am very strict with lunar energy in relation to the types of spells I’m performing, so I would perform spells to draw things in on the full moon, and perform spells to expel things the day after. You do what feels right for you.

Before you begin, make sure to clear your space, clear your energy field, call on your spiritual guides LOTUS MOON

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Photo by John Morgan

for protection and do any rituals unique to you and your beliefs. For my rituals, I like to add things like candles, flowers, incense and oils significant to the holiday or to the spells I’m performing.

For my Lughnasadh spells I will be decorating my altar with sunflowers and yellow candles anointed with clove oil to promote financial healing and drive away financial blocks. I will use a green candle for my monetary miracle spell, and for my letting go spell will write on a piece of paper all that I want to let go of then burn it and release those things to the Universe.

Lughnasadh Abundance Gift: Say this spell over a gift you wish to present someone with. I’m thankful for the blessings bestowed upon me; Love, wisdom, lessons and bountiful opportunities. I now share my abundance with others in need, Those who’ve helped me and those I’ve never seen. Bless this gift and fill it with love, Abundance in all and light from above.

Monetary Miracle: This is a spell for financial miracles, appropriate if you have been experiencing finan38 LOTUS MOON

cial hardship for some time. Use this spell with something made of barley. If you are not fond of edible barley products, make a barley charm to carry with you or a barley and lavender sachet to place under your pillow while you sleep. You can also add other potent ingredients like basil, cinnamon, allspice, ginger, flax, tea or mint for added power. I call on the Universe and great Divine beings, Please help my financial woes now become fleeting.

Release any blocks that keep money at bay, So I no longer fear my bills will be paid. I open my arms and accept all opportunities, For financial growth and income a plenty.

I am a child of the Earth and go with the flow, Accepting abundance without baggage in tow. I envision my future with growing prosperity, And know the Universe will provide what I need.

Letting Go: As the summer sun wanes and the Earth prepares for its death of sorts, we must look within ourselves and connect with that which we need to release.

What within you needs to be let go of? For this spell, incorporate corn

because of it’s connection to life, death and re-birth cycles. Like a Phoenix that lives, dies by it’s flame and is reborn from the ashes, a corn husk doll portrays that cycle of life and death. You can use a corn husk doll to represent yourself, then set it aflame to signify your re-birth, incorporating the ashes into your spell later. As the warmth of the sun fades away, And the light begins to wane and lessen each day, The Earth begins its process of releasing the old, A cyclical death, the past be damned and a future to behold. Like great Mother Earth I follow in her steps, Releasing what was but the lessons to never forget. Dear Mother Earth please bless me with your strength, To release what no longer serves me and causes great angst.

As you wrap up your Lughnasadh spells, delight in your edible masterpieces with a little cider, mead or berry wine, and continue your celebration with joy, love and excitement of the blessings to come.

Written by Heather Noble

August Moon Guide Third Quarter: August 6th 7:05pm PDT

New Moon: August 14th 7:54am PDT

First Quarter: August 22nd 12:32pm PDT

Full Moon: August 29th 11:37am PDT

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Newborns,Women & Children Tucson, AZ

www.belleviephoto.com

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