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Here's what yogis are saying about Empower Tucson Yoga! "Tiffany is a terrific yoga teacher. Her passion for yoga is obvious and her enthusiasm is inspiring. She really connects with her students on an individual level. She incorporates much insight about the spiritual and physical benefits of yoga practice, while making the class a fun experience." Danielle L.

Tuesday, November 1, 2016

The Wheel of the Year - November

 Happy November! 

The eternal ebb and flow of human life – the cycle of birth, death, and rebirth – is reflected in the annual cycle of the seasons, The Wheel of the Year. As Pagans (Wiccan), we seek to attune ourselves with the creative forces of the Universe as they are manifested in nature, whose seasonal changes are marked by the great Sabbats. 

The purpose of this attunement is to promote our own evolution toward Godhood/Goddesshood and the Gods/Goddesses, while maintaining or improving our worldly conditions. The method we use is to perform rituals that at once express the seasonal condition and it's implication for human spiritual growth. 

Whether solitary Pagans (Wiccan) like ourselves, or practicing with a group or coven, the weeks between the Solar Sabbats can seem long and spiritless, and the Lunar Esbats repetitious, unless we realize that the rhythms of nature are ever-changing on a monthly, weekly, and daily level as well as seasonally, and that these gradual transitions have a timeless magic all their own. The blossoming of certain trees, the ripening of certain fruits – each is a sacred Sabbat in itself. 

 

November is the time of year for psychic, as opposed to physical, activity, and the time for candle magic and fire. A flame, whether a hearth fire or a candlelight, has long been used as a focal point for meditation and to induce mediumistic trance, and fire\flame gazing is an ancient form of Scrying. 

At this darkest time of the year, when the Spirits of the dead and those that dwell on other planes are closest, it is good to sit before the flame and allow the fire to weave it spell, and if there are any about that wish to communicate, listen for their whispers.

 

This is a perfect time, too, for nurturing the Shamanistic instincts. Try this meditation: 

Seated before a fire (a large white, yellow, or orange candle will do) in a darkened room in which you feel safe and secure, imagine you are in a tiny one room cabin, a hut in the forest. All that you own and all that you need to survive is contained in this tiny shelter surrounded by seemingly endless dark forest and the creatures that prowl in by night. Mentally furnish this room with all your magical tools and only the things that you consider absolutely essential. 

It is easy, by the flickering light of the fire, as the storm winds of November beat against the window panes and the wind howls down the chimney, to visualize the Crone in her forest hut stirring her cauldron hung over the hearth fire, her herbs hung to dry, her cupboard stocked with roots and barks and bones, a crow or toad her only companion. And as she whispers incantations into her cauldron, you lean closer to catch her words and glean her secrets.

It is only one step further back in time to imagine sitting in a small family group knowing not what dangers lurk in the darkness just beyond the protective magic Circle at the campfire. As the shifting shadows animate the bison and horses that play across the cave walls, heartbeats quicken to the beat of the drums and the Shaman's chant. More wood is added to the fire and the smoke ascends into the darkness of the night. Suddenly the pounding stops and we strain to hear the pronouncement of the Shaman.

By doing exercises such as these, by hearth fire or by candlelight, it is easy to recognize a different feeling, a feeling of excitement and terror, of primitive magic an ancient mystery that is seldom called for in contemporary life, but one in which the Spirit of the Shaman, the Hermit/Crone, and the Priest/Priestess flourish. 

 

Come, join me this month for these upcoming Yoga Love offerings in addition to myself offerings at Tucson Yoga Studio ~ 

YOGA FOR STRESS & ANXIETY
{featuring LIVE ACOUSTIC GUITAR
by Rich Rodriguez} 
Tuesday, 11/8/16, 7-8:30pm
150 S 4th Avenue - Tucson Yoga

WOMEN'S YOGA FOR HEALING
{Full Moon in Taurus}
Monday, 11/14/16, 7-8:30pm
148 S 4th Avenue - Tucson Yoga

RETRAIN YOUR BRAIN
{featuring LIVE ACOUSTIC GUITAR
by Rich Rodriguez} 
Tuesday, 11/22/16, 7-8:30pm
150 S 4th Avenue - Tucson Yoga

WOMEN'S YOGA FOR HEALING
{New Moon in Sagittarius}
Monday, 11/28/16, 7-8:30pm
148 S 4th Avenue - Tucson Yoga