herbs
Throwing The Bones
Before studying various Western disciplines of healing and divination, I trained to become a sangoma some 30 years ago, on the borders of Mozambique and Kwazulu-Natal in Southern Africa, where I learned among other things the divination method known as ‘throwing the bones.’
A ‘sangoma’ casting the bones is the African equivalent of the Native American shaman, the Old Norse rune reader, or the European Tarot reader. To uninformed Westerners, indigenous African methods of divination are often thought of as ‘witchcraft,’ but just like there is good and bad in all cultures and professions, the true calling of the African diviner or shaman is a spiritual one of seeking advice through the wise ancestors. In the same way modern Western diviners rely on spirit guides, angels or the ascended masters for divine guidance, so the African diviner relies upon the ancestors.
My training came about after I consulted another sangoma and was told it was my calling to become sangoma myself. She also cautioned me that until I took up this calling, I would repetitively become ill – and how right she was!
Eventually I heeded the ‘calling’, as unusual as it was at the time for a young English woman to enter the mysterious realm of African mysticism in the country in those days. Training was harsh and intense with my mentor and included coaching in various disciplines, such as divination, dream interpretation, ritual, indigenous medicines, and herbalism over a two and a half year period.
One of the divination methods I was taught is known as ‘throwing the bones’. Since the beginning of recorded history the notion of throwing tokens, casting the dice or drawing lots to interpret the divine will of spirit and the ancestors has been viewed as symbolically linking the diviner to his or her mission. Casting or throwing the bones is an ancient practice native to many regions of the world, including Africa, Asia, and North America. In Southern Africa it is a long-standing ritual among the sangomas of the Zulu, Swazi, Xhosa and Ndebele tribes.
Each bone or token used for casting is part of a kit the sangoma carefully selects with the guidance of spirit, initially with the help of a mentor. Spirit and the ancestors instruct the seeker as to the symbolism and meaning of each sacred item in the collection, and precisely shows the student where to find it and which one to use in a divination. In Southern Africa, a mentor assists the thwasa (trainee sangoma) in the process of learning to receive information from the bones, and in reading the patterns in which the bones are likely to fall.
Time To Cleanse The ‘Energy Clutter’ Of 2020
The year 2020 is coming to an end. It has been a challenging year for most of us, to say the least. Some have lost everything that they thought was important in their lives, while others discovered what truly is important in their lives.
In many cases, the material and superficial things that we used to cherish so much have now been replaced by the simple longing to just hug a loved one, touch a friend’s hand, or just be part of a crowd of like-minded people at a music festival or sports event.
It has indeed been an exceedingly difficult year for our relationships, social life, careers, businesses, finances, and especially our mental health and well-being. The lockdowns, social distancing and mask wearing (or lack thereof) has been taking its toll.
Mental illness is said to at an all-time high, and suicides rates have increased significantly. Families will be celebrating the holidays this year without one or more of their family members, and many are having to grieve the tragic passing of a loved one.
You may look at all this stress, chaos and suffering, and ask yourself if any possible good can come from the events and circumstances of the past year?
Well, I do believe 2020 to be the best opportunity we will ever have in our lifetime to truly find the deeper meaning and purpose of life. This is the ideal time to identify everything that is not important in our lives and release what no longer serves us.
This is a time to cleanse your aura, clear your vibration, and discard the ‘energy clutter’ in your life. Loving and caring for yourself is fundamental at the moment. Be kind to yourself and do not judge yourself harshly for things you have no control over. Just do the best you can with what you have and take it one day at a time. We are simply being sidelined for a period of time. This to shall pass.
White sage is my go-to for clearing my living space and my personal energies. When bad vibes and negative energy clutter start to pile up, I take a few moments to simply breathe and relax, cleanse my aura with white sage, then breathe again. It lifts my inner being.
The Healing Power Of Herbs
Herbs have a potent healing power that can help us in every area of our life. For every dis-ease or ailment there is usually an herb specifically designed to cure it.
I was originally drawn to the study of herbalism years ago, in search of ways to improve my own health and well-being. After many years of my own research, I decided to take a course to become certified as a master clinical herbalist, which included studying the energetics of herbs and not just their medicinal uses.
There are thousands of herbs on the planet, however only around 600 are more widely used and generally recognized. Just like people, herbs have their own personalities and unique energies.
For example, a skinny person with dry skin and tendency towards lower body temperatures can be placed into a category of ‘cool-dry.’ They would be more susceptible to certain conditions both from the weather and climate they’re live in, as well as their core body temperature and mental-emotional state.
This type of individual might need some warming and lubricating herbs that will get their circulation going and energy flowing. Cardamom and Turmeric provide such warming qualities, while Licorice Root and Marshmallow are helpful to lubricate or provide moisture for someone who has very dry skin.
Herbal teas are one of my favorite methods for ingesting herbs for medicinal use. The other is tinctures.
For herbal teas, I have found maximum benefit by drawing the medicinal constituents out of the herb through herbal infusions and decoctions. Infusions are made from the flower or leaf of an herb, and typically involves boiling water and then turning off the burner, before adding your herbs into the water to steep for at least four hours. Personally, I like to leave them overnight in the water. For proportions, some herbal compendiums use ratios like 1:3, or parts, like one serving of herbs to three parts water.
Retrograde Aromatherapy
I am very relieved that Mercury is turning direct today, since this recent retrograde has affected me a lot as an empath during these challenging times. Mars will also be turning direct again next week, after a two month retrograde that has left many of us feeling low in energy, demotivated, and struggling to take any real action in our lives. Fortunately, I have now found a useful tool in curbing the effects of retrogrades: essential oils and aromatherapy. This is something that has always been available to me, but I never before considered using in the context of such astrological influences. But now that I have tried it, and it worked, I will be much better prepared next time around!
I am no astrologer, but I do thankfully have access to some very talented ones in my circle of friends, and I received this very helpful advice from one such a friend when I was complaining to her recently about the effects of all the recent retrogrades on my emotional health and well-being. She suggested that my interest in essential oils could be very helpful to support my emotional energy during any major astrological events. I had never before thought of blending and diffusing oils specifically aimed at balancing retrograde energy, but I liked the idea. So, I have been experimenting a lot lately with ‘retrograde aromatherapy.’
There are some common energy themes that are present during retrogrades. For example, a feeling of being at loose ends, or a sudden shift in emotions, often followed by unexpected or unwelcome events. A retrograde is usually a time for us to ground ourselves and focus on unfinished tasks. It is also a time to evaluate our lives and choices, as well as our careers and relationships, whilst managing our erratic emotions.
A retrograde is often a time of upheaval, change and transition. Feeling peaceful, centered, clear and confident during a retrograde can therefore be very useful. To help achieve this I can recommend using some of my favorite oils. Some are maybe less well-known, but you may consider exploring their uses and benefits.
Clary sage
The oil of this flowering herb is wonderful for inspiring clarity and confidence, and is also excellent at soothing intense emotions. For me, it has quite a strong scent and I therefore prefer not to diffuse this oil on its own, but that is a matter of personal preference.
The Spiritual Cleansing Of Negative Energies
Negative energies and dark entities are sometimes misunderstood and misused concepts in spirituality. The term ‘negative energy’ is typically thought of as an ‘evil force’ that is intending harm to you, or something sinister that lies hidden in your home. But this is often not the case. I have a somewhat different view of this.
I believe much of the modern day fear and superstition around ‘dark entities’ may be due to the misunderstanding of old texts scribed in a style that may be too cryptic for today’s language and worldview. There are many instances in both Christian and Buddhist religious literature, for example, in which ‘demons’ are mentioned, but in my opinion they are referring to these phenomena in a poetic manner, as a metaphor.
One clear example of this is the so-called ‘Noonday Demon,’ or ‘Midday Devil’ found in Psalm 90:6 of the Hebrew Bible. It is a demonic figure believed to be active around noon every day to make people restless, distracted and excitable, causing its victims to neglect their work or duties. Well, we all know that sluggish feeling we tend to get after a lunch hour. The digestive process takes quite a bit of our energy, and spikes in our insulin levels, as well as neurotransmitters like serotonin and melatonin, doesn´t help to keep our focus on a specific task.
The solution proposed in traditional texts for this ‘demonic activity’ does not, however, involve exorcisms with Holy Water or other radical metaphysical interventions. Instead what is recommend is mere tenacity and patience. It is evidently more of a normal, physical challenge that one has to overcome, instead of it being a ‘psychic attack by the devil.’
Divination Tools 101
Every psychic has a different set of gifts and abilities, and because of this different psychic tools work better for different individuals. Let’s take a closer look at some of the more familiar divination tools used by readers today.
Tarot cards date back to the Renaissance and represent different archetypes and symbols. Each card pictures a specific individual or action, and the cards are used in different layouts, or spreads, to provide insight and meaning. Usually, a specific question is asked, to which the cards help provide an answer.
Angel oracle cards are similar to the Tarot. As the name suggests, each card features a different image of angels and archangels. Angels cards help us to communicate with our spirit guardians, as they look out for us. Each card typically has a short message, which help us figure out what our guardians are trying to say.
Crystals are very popular metaphysical tools. They come in many types and colors, and each has a unique set of properties, For example, rose quartz is used for love energies, and hematite for strength, and so on. No two crystals are alike. They can be used to channel, intensify, deflect, or purify energy sources, depending on an individual’s needs.
Many practitioners have an entire toolkit of just crystals. The crystal ball is often seen in depictions of psychic readings. A crystal ball is used to scry, in order to practice seeing the past, present, and future. They are also useful in finding missing persons or objects.
Review The Day For Better Sleep
Many of us are having trouble getting enough sleep these days. Even if we are currently not going many places and meeting a lot of people during the Covid-19 pandemic, we are still experiencing a lot of stress and disruption, which upsets our minds and unsettles our bodies.
In more normal circumstances walking outside might be a great way to relax in the evening, but even that might not be enough as to allow our body-mind to reach a fully natural balance.
There are also many medical resources for better sleep, of which the most common is the use of various sleeping tablets and herbal remedies. But sleep medications and even medicinal herbs require some caution and care, as they are not always harmless, and the side-effects may differ from person to person.
Some Yoga breathing exercises and meditations may also be useful, as they help balance the blood-flow and deepen the breathing. This is not a visualization technique, nor it is a ritual, but a simple process that may aid your sleep.
There are also shamanic techniques that include breathing, but the core idea remains the same: there is energy locked in stressful or painful events of the day, and the way to release it, is to remember them with a calm mind and a healing intention, maybe even a healing prayer, mantra or meditation.
Recapitulation, as technique taught by Deepak Chopra, is the process of reviewing your day, from beginning to end, every night before you go to sleep. It means to go through the events of the day, and digest mentally what has happened, instead of suppressing your thoughts and feelings. If we try to distract ourselves continuously, we might find we feel tired, but we remain restless.