Bit-O-Fun

Hat-tip to Jack for this bit-o-fun asking "what tarot card are you?".

You are the World

Completion, Good Reward.

The World is the final card of the Major Arcana, and as such represents saturnian energies, time, and completion.

The World card pictures a dancer in a Yoni (sometimes made of laurel leaves). The Yoni symbolizes the great Mother, the cervix through which everything is born, and also the doorway to the next life after death. It is indicative of a complete circle. Everything is finally coming together, successfully and at last. You will get that Ph.D. you've been working for years to complete, graduate at long last, marry after a long engagement, or finish that huge project. This card is not for little ends, but for big ones, important ones, ones that come with well earned cheers and acknowledgements. Your hard work, knowledge, wisdom, patience, etc, will absolutely pay-off; you've done everything right.

What Tarot Card are You?
Take the Test to Find Out.

The World hebrew letter correspondence: tav ת

Meaning of The World tarot card.
Tarot Card Meanings

Working With Thought Forms

The environment of the supraconscious creative mind is unitarily chaotic. To dowse the mind is to pull a thought forward from this unitary chaos into the rational mind for examination and analysis. In this manner, what is hidden becomes revealed, and what was lost becomes found. It becomes a method of expanding awareness - of oneself, one's connections and one's environment.

An odd mix of the few points pulled from the unitary chaos of this morning's dream.

Only 4 nekudot do I remember of the dream:

retrieve, the number 4, door & a tree-swing

from these comes out -> shamanic soul retrieval, dalet-dalet (gate), chashmal


Plus 4 nekudot of "vision words" flashing through my mind as I awoke:

black eye, chanah, drawstring (of a medicine bag) & the phrase "mag wire"

from these comes out -> pupil of the eye, da'at, techelet, superstring

Mighty Mouse Of Emunah

Earlier this evening, Jack shared the Anishinaabe medicine wheel (shown above) with me. Anishinaabe (keepers/protectors of the Sacred Fire) is one of the two Native American tribes of my ancestors through my father.

Interestingly, "mouse" rules the water according to this tribal medicine wheel. Mouse is also one of the two power animals which have "spoken" to me during states of altered consciousness. Significantly, mouse is distinguished by the pivotal role he played to the epiphany of 1967.

Instrumental to protecting my life in 1967, mouse may have also protected my life in the event described by my dream this morning. In the dream, enemies attempted to drown me. Yet, I emerged unshackled and alive (as did my "husband") from the water, which mouse rules. This is one mighty mouse I have for a power animal.

הטוב והמטיב

As mouse is also associated with the south on the medicine wheel shown above, the south I have associated with the vowel (nekudah) kametz on the medicine wheel I made previously. In recognition of mouse's ever-faithful (אמונה) service as my "guardian angel" which endures the test of time, the vowel kametz (ָ) will mark the mem מ (the letter corresponding to water) "casting" my sacred "circle", the one cast by HaMasovevet. Both the vowel kametz and emunah are associated with the sefirah keter; more specifically, with the "unknowable head" in Atzilut of partzuf keter, Reisha d'lo Ityada.

May my ancestors and the people Anishinaabe be blessed with shalom v'kol tuv (peace and all good, שלום וכל טוב).

ללאכו המָסובבת

Day 3 - Tuesday Correspondences

Tuesday - Day 3
Please note, these correspondences have been adapted from several sources and may differ from traditional astrological correspondences. All designations follow the planet for the day according to Sefer Yetzirah.


Symbolic Language & Mathematics

Celtic ogham letter -
Hebrew letter - ד
number - 4
permutation - דגב כפרת
vowel - cholam
"42"-letter name - נגד יכש

Astrological & Metaphysical

space/planet - Sun
Hebrew name - Shemesh, Chamma שמש, חמה
Sumerian name - Utu
Egyptian name - Ra, Aten
Babylonian name - Shamash
orbit cycle - 365 earth days, ~ 30 days in each sign
retrograde periods - none
satellites - -
degrees moved on average day - ~1 degree/day
channel - keter to tiferet
sefirah - tiferet
mazal/rulership - leo (aryeh, אריה)
firmament - Shachakim
earth - Arka

Archetypes

Hebrew archetype - Yaacov
Celtic archetype - Belenos
Germanic archetype - Sunna
Greek archetype - Helios
Roman archetype - Sol
seal/archangel - Raphael
malachim - Chaniel, Lahadiel, Machniel
mythic animal - phoenix

Attributes

concept - self nullification & reorientation
soul - right nostril
gift - progeny, seed
direction - east
color - yellow
basic energy - success
basic mystical energy - focusing will, psychic energy
element - fire/air
metal - gold
tree - birch (beith)/laurel
incense - frankincense, laurel, balm of Gilead, bayberry oil, olibanum
oil - cinnamon oil
gemstones - topaz, yellow diamond
mundane animal - eagle, lion, cock, scarab

Plants

heliotrope, goldenseal, cinquefoil, saffron, ash, sunflower, dandelion, marigold, citrus, yarrow

Influences

light, darkness, work, accomplishment, travel, exile

Energy Keywords

ego, fame, extroversion, individuality, left brain, mental power, hope, honor, success, ambitious, arts, creative, cruel, leadership, music, dramatic, idealistic, vain, dignified, proud, pretentious, self-assured, generous

Concerns

hope, money, respect, fame, success

Circle Casting & Sovev Kol Almin

ללאכו המסובבת

In Talmud there exists the famous story of Choni MaMa'agel (חוני המעגל). Choni the circle-drawer was a miracle-worker.

Nevertheless, I do not want to name the sacred circles I cast as a Jewitch using the root עגל which means both circle and calf. From this root is born the word used for calf in the idolatrous golden calf incident we read about in Shemot 32. Consequently, I won't call myself a Ma'agelet.

I prefer to use the root סבב which means surrounding, encircle, rotate and turn events [1]. From this root comes sovev kol almin ("surrounding all worlds"), which is the transcendent Divine energy which permeates the universe. This is the energy I choose with which to cast my sacred circle.

Lluecu HaMasovevet.

Footnote:

[1] Etymological Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew, R' Matityahu Clark

Shamanic Power Animals

During my life, two animals have "spoken a message" to me during altered states of consciousness. The first animal was the common field mouse*, in the "epiphany" of 1967 when I was 6 years old. The second animal was a golden-haired kitten* (cat) around 1987, long before I came to the recent realization that this was a shamanic encounter. It was also before I became a ba'alat teshuvah in 1996.

Reviewing my dreams, over the past several recent years and past decade, the animals which frequently appear or have appeared in dream journeys are the spider (mythic and mundane), the lion, the snake (mythic and mundane), the gorilla (in the mythic sense of King Kong), the dog (wild and domesticated), the crocodile, the shark, hornets, bees, buffalo, the bear, the horse (untamed), lice/flea-like "almost" insects, piranha, the meercat and the elephant (mythic and mundane). None of these animals have "mystically spoken", although I have had unusual real-life encounters with both a spider and a snake.

In the case of the snake, a very large one was found by my children to live in the basement of a house I rented as a single mom. My children found it one day while putting their bicycles away in the basement. My oldest son killed it and then came and told me about it. Time: around 1992.

In the case of the spider, I asked a for a "sign" and if it was "true" I would see a spider immediately. Amazingly, one immediately walked over the edge of my desk onto the top of it and walked across it. Time: 1996.

For a short period, about 3-5 years ago, a large mythic land-based whale-like "sea-creature" and a flying dragon made more than a few appearances in my dream journeys. Those appearances stopped as a cluster of spider-lion-snake appearances began.

*Importantly, the mouse and the kitten were speaking spirits whose purpose was to protect me.

Baruch Hashem for these two special animals who accomplished their purpose at great cost to themselves.

What are shamanic power animals?

Classic Versus Core Shamanism

In response to this post by Aron, here are my thoughts on shamanism as it pertains to my experience.

My journey into shamanism tends toward the experience of classic shamanism as opposed to core shamanism. This article by Raven Kaldera provides an excellent summary of the basic differences between the two (hat-tip to e-falki). Importantly, selected distinctions which mark my calling as being of the classical kind include (from the article):

1. Is generally entirely involuntary. The individual is chosen by the spirits/God/Goddess, often with no warning, and is not allowed to refuse the "gift", or they will suffer illness, and/or insanity, and/or death. They can never stop being a shaman so long as they live, or it will recur.
2. Is nearly always accompanied in the early stages by severe life-threatening experiences, including but not limited to chronic serious illness, psychotic break, and/or near-death experience.
3. Is nearly always accompanied by a traumatic death-and-rebirth experience, after which the personality is radically changed. A visionary experience of being dismembered and rebuilt differently by the spirits is evident cross-culturally in the accounts of many tribal shamans, and is almost a hallmark of the experience. (I didn't have a traumatic near-death experience, but I did have an epiphany when I was 6 years old (in 1967), an encounter with the angel of death (in 1994), a mystical experience of being "chosen" (in 1994) and a mystical experience of being absolutely no-thing (in 1996) where being "no-thing" is the ultimate "dismemberment", I think. The radical transformation of my personality was "stepped up" and catalyzed through the encounter with the angel of death.)
4. Causes radical, unusual, and permanent changes to the aura and astral body. This process is inflicted onto the shaman by the spirits, and is entirely out of their control.
5. Shamanic practice occupies the main focus, time, and energy of the individual's life for the rest of their existence. All mundane careers, projects, etc. are secondary to the shaman's career of spiritual service.
6. Primarily taught by divine and/or spirit teachers, although in the beginning stages the novice is usually taught the cultural context and symbolism by another shaman.
7. Lives are bounded with dozens of increasing taboos, violation of which generally brings immediate illness, pain, or other physical and spiritual retribution.
8. Cannot work entirely alone; must be attached to a tribe. If no tribe is in evidence at the time of their shamanic rebirth, one will be provided for them by the spirits.
9. Is almost always seen primarily as a path of service to a particular tribe (although a particular one hasn't been provided for me yet).
10. Mental breakdown or temporary psychosis common to the early "death-and-rebirth" stage, after which shamans have been tested and found to be comparatively extremely sane and stable. Mental illness never returns as long as they continue to do their jobs.
11. Generally requires one specific central cultural context, although they may borrow from neighboring (and thus not radically different) cultures. The symbolic context seems to be a useful "anchoring-point" for the training of beginning classic shamans, and aids in bonding them with the tribe that they are to serve. (Perhaps the "communities" chosen for me broadly include the entire Jewish, Celtic and Native American people, and that is why I feel bound to and fed by them all. All of these are my people and the people of my ancestors.)

The path of a shaman separates one from the realm of "ordinary experience", particularly during the crisis phase. For one religiously unknowledgeable (as I was) about shamanism, it is likely well into the crisis phase when one discovers he or she has been "chosen".

Take a look at Raven's entire article. It's well done and highly informative.

Natural Versus Crafted Probabilities

In response to the scientific guest post over at DovBear, Quantum Miracles, which attemtps to refute that the power of the conscious mind can influence reality and that quantum mechanics can explain miracles:

I think, "probabilities" (quantum in nature) are made from a series of reiterating yes-no choices as to which "path" reality should take. An actual reality is the sum of the choice which has "accumulated" the most "yeses" during the nonlinear course of the iteration. Consequently, should one's "consciousness" be able to enter into "that place" where those iterating choices are "made" (where making those choices is a function of Binah) then one can influence the manifest outcome. Therefore, I think we indeed can influence outcomes, with Binah-consciousness.

What the scientist is talking about in Quantum Miracles could be termed "natural probabilities" while influence through Binah-consciousness I could term "crafted probabilities".

Shamanic Medicine Bag

My current project is to make a shamanic medicine bag. I have, without deliberation, accumulated a few objects over the years to place in one, so now I have to actually do the deed and make a special medicine bag. Currently, I have a small cloth bag, but it is time to make one with my own hands.

It's funny how one "knows" the call of a holy object. It strikes you. You know it. Deep inside, the silence sounds. Here, peace abounds.

Lleucu & The Secret Of Amen

Alternative to transliterating the English letters of Lleucu (my circle name meaning "beloved light" and "daybreak") into the Hebrew letters ללאכו, is the phonetic transliteration ללאכי.

Lleucu is pronounced "Lly-kee" (i.e. "Lley-kee"). Consequently, ללאכי is a better phonetic transliteration, whereas ללאכו is a better letter transliteration. In both transliterations, the א is vowelized with tzere [1]. Importantly, both forms correctly convey the name in Hebrew, depending upon one's method of transliteration and kavanah. I claim both forms for my circle name Lleucu.

In a previous post, I wrote that ללאכו has a gematria of 87, which corresponds to the Divine Name Akvah. Akvah pertains to the right "side" of Divine Da'at (Divine Knowing). Similarly, ללאכי has a correspondence to Divine Names, through its gematria of 91; specifically, to the union of Hashem and Adnut (the secret of amen).

Amen.

Footnote:

[1] Tzere corresponds kabbalistically to the sefirah Binah. (R' Aryeh Kaplan, Meditation & Kabbalah, p. 185)

Mashpia

In my previous entry, I wrote that my circle name Lleucu ללאכו functions as a true kabbalistic name, in that it symbolizes "receiving" (mekubal) the light of shabbat consciousness. I further wrote regarding Lleucu:

Lleucu ללאכו is my name of Shabbat consciousness. ללאכו has a gematria of 87 (see Akvah). It is also the root לאך surrounded by the letters ל"ו (see lamedvavnik).

The Hebrew letters ל"ו (meaning "to him") which surround the root also demonstrate that the name Lleucu symbolizes "giving" (mashpia) the light of shabbat consciousness (לאך) "to him". To my true bashert.

The time will come when the feminine will have greater access to transcendental consciousness than the masculine; and in that time, she will bestow and man will receive from her. R. Schneur Zalman of Liadi Tefilat LaKhal HaShana

Circle Name Of Shabbat Consciousness

In addition to my Hebrew names, my circle name [1] shall I hereby join to them.

Lleucu, pronounced "Lly-kee" (i.e. Lley-kee) is a Celtic/Welsh name meaning "light". As "Liorah" means "light to me", Lleucu marks its reception. It is the name of a true mekubal.

Transliterated into Hebrew letters, Lleucu ללאכו (where א is vowelized with tzere) comes from the root (shoresh) לאך, meaning "accomplishing work", "messenger" and "angel". [2] This root is found in derivation in Bereshit 2:2 -

"And on the seventh day God finished His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made."

ויכל אל הים ביום השביעי, מלאכתו אשר עשה; וישבת ביום השביעי, מכל-מלאכתו אשר עשה

Lleucu ללאכו is my name of Shabbat consciousness. ללאכו has a gematria of 87 (see Akvah). It is also the root לאך surrounded by the letters ל"ו (see lamedvavnik).

Footnotes:

[1] Ritual mystical name.

[2] Etymological Dictionary Of Biblical Hebrew, R' Matityahu Clark

see also Mashpia, Lleucu - The Secret Of Amen, Circle Casting, Double Blessings, Double Lameds

Shield Of Chayyah

הגן על חייה

Read about the pentagram, the golden ratio and infinity here and here.

Read about the hexagram and unique complex patterning here, here, here and here.

Read about the golden spiral, the golden ratio, the golden rectangle, the golden string and fibonacci fractals here and here.

Moving from the pentagram to the hexagram to the golden spiral, we see an emerging pattern whereby simplicity (unity of infinity) develops increasing levels of integrated complexity and purposeful wholeness. The pentagram is distinguished by its association with infinity and "yesh me'ayin" (something from nothing). The hexagram is distinguished by uniqueness. The "golden spiral" is distinguished by wholeness and is a form generated by Fibonacci numbers, as is the golden string (the Fibonacci Rabbit Sequence). In physics, string theory hypothesizes the unification of all known forces in nature into one unified field. Thus, the spiral in my shield kabbalistically symbolizes "the ultimate revelation of the Divine 'unified field' (unity in plurality)," through which the Divine purpose of existence is fulfilled. Reishit. ראשית

Star framework from Lilitu.

Kabbalistic Medicine Wheel

Liorah's Kabbalistic Jewitch Medicine Wheel

Every medicine woman needs a medicine wheel. I have created one to uniquely fit my work. It's a Jewitch medicine wheel incorporating elements of Jewish, Celtic and Native American spirituality. In Native American tradition, the medicine wheel "symbolizes the individual journey we each must take to find our own path." You can read more about the medicine wheel in the Native American tradition here, here and here.

Click on the medicine wheel to see a full size view.

Day 2 - Monday Correspondences

Monday - Day 2
Please note, these correspondences have been adapted from several sources and may differ from traditional astrological correspondences. All designations follow the planet for the day according to Sefer Yetzirah.


Symbolic Language & Mathematics

Celtic ogham letter -
Hebrew letter - ג
number - 3
permutation - גבד כפרת
vowel - sh'va
"42"-letter name - קרע שטן

Astrological & Metaphysical

space/planet - Mars
Hebrew name - Ma'adim מאדים
Sumerian name - Gugulanna
Egyptian name - Set
Babylonian name - Nergal
orbit cycle - 687 earth days or 1.9 years (spends ~57.3 days in each sign)
retrograde periods - every 26 months for 10 weeks (70 days)
satellites - 2 moons, Phobos & Deimos (14, 7 miles diameters, respectively)
degrees moved on average day - 0.5 degrees/day or 30 minutes/day
channel - binah to gevurah
sefirah - gevurah
mazal/rulership - scorpio/aries (akrav/taleh, עקרב, טלה)
firmament - Rakia
earth - Adamah

Archetypes

Hebrew archetype - Yitzchak
Celtic archetype - Tiw
Germanic archetype - Tiew
Greek archetype - Ares
Roman archetype - Mars
seal/archangel - Samael, Kamael
malachim - Shamaiyel, Berekhiel, Ahaniel
mythic animal - dragon

Attributes

concept - reward & punishment
soul - right ear
gift - wealth, love
direction - north
color - red
basic energy - action
basic mystical energy - war, change
element - fire
metal - iron
tree - holly/tinne
incense - pine, cypress, rue, peppercorns, allspice, basil, hops, dragon blood, sulfur
oil - allspice
gemstones - bloodstone, ruby, garnet
mundane animal - ram, owl, scorpion

Plants

basil, nettle, chili pepper, rue, gentia, wolfbane, patchchouli, hellebore, mustard, garlic, ginger

Influences

blood, wickedness, strife, external injury, war, hatred, jealousy

Energy Keywords

assertive, combative, constructive, courage, defiant, destructive, dynamic, energy, expressive, fearless, force, frank, heroics, impulsive, leadership, passion, self-reliant, spontaneity, violent, will-power

Concerns

physical power, courage, victory in war, strength, haste, danger, anger, vitality

Aranrhod - Mevaseret Tzion

segol vowel, trope

In follow-up to my previous post regarding kabbalistic and mystical correspondences to the first day of the week, Sunday, I note the Hebrew and Celtic archetypes associated with the moon are Hebrew Avraham and Celtic (Welsh) Aranrhod. Avraham, is the well known patriarch giving birth to many peoples, including the Jewish people. Avraham, of course, is a masculine archetype. Celtic Aranrhod is a feminine archetype.

In Celtic-Welsh mythology, Aranrhod is the archetypal "goddess of the dawn", the sky and fertility. Corresponding to Aranrhod is the Judaic concept of mevaseret tzion, herald of the dawn. Significantly, mevaseret tzion is discussed in Torah in Yeshayahu 40:9. The numbers designating this pasuk are 40 and 9, with Hebrew letter correspondences, mem מ and tet ט, respectively. Consequently, Aranrhod is integrally connected, not only the concept of mevaseret tzion, but to the mem-tet מ:ט family of roots as well.

Taking all this together, Avraham is the masculine archetype associated with the birth of many nations, while Aranrhod is the feminine archetype associated with geulah, the redemption of those nations.

Yeshayahu 40:9 מ:ט

על הר-גבה עלי-לך מבשרת ציון הרימי בכח קולך מבשרת ירושלם הרימי אל-תיראי אמרי לערי יהודה הנה אלהיכם

Al har govo’ah ‘ali loch mevaseres Tzion, horimi bako’ach kolaych mevaseres Yerushalayim, horimi, al tiro’i, imri le’oray Yehudah hinei Elokeichem.

Ascend upon a high mountain, O herald (fem.) of Tzion, raise your voice with strength, O herald (fem.) of Yerushalayim. Raise it, fear not; say to the cities of Yehudah: Behold, your G-d.

Express in truth, whatever the soul reveals; for with each spark of truth, torches of light assemble, illuminating the whole world, and from such fragments of inner truth will the Great Truth emerge. [Rav Kook, Lights Of Holiness 1:168]

Day 1 - Sunday Correspondences

Sunday - Day 1
Please note, these correspondences have been adapted from several sources and may differ from traditional astrological correspondences. All designations follow the planet for the day according to Sefer Yetzirah.


Symbolic Language & Mathematics

Celtic ogham letter -
Hebrew letter - ב
number - 2
permutation - בגד כפרת
vowel - segol
"42"-letter name - אבג יתצ

Astrological & Metaphysical

space/planet - moon
Hebrew name - Levana, Yareyach לבנה, ירח
Sumerian name - Nanna
Egyptian name - Khonsu
Babylonian name - Sin
orbit cycle - 27 days and 7 hours (2.3-2.5 days in each sign)
retrograde periods - none
satellites - none, although moon goes through a "void" period
degrees moved on average day - 0.5 degrees/hour or 12 degrees/day
channel - chochmah to chesed
sefirah - yesod
mazal/rulership - cancer/crab (sartan סרטן)
firmament - Makhon
earth - Tevel

Archetypes

Hebrew archetype - Avraham
Celtic archetype - Aranrhod
Germanic archetype - Mani
Greek archetype - Selene/Artemis
Roman archetype - Luna/Diana
seal/archangel - Gavriel
malachim - Semeturia, Gezeriel, Ve'enael, Lemuel
mythic animal - unicorn

Attributes

concept - purpose
soul - right eye
gift - wisdom
direction - south
color - white/silver (and blue)
basic energy - emotions
basic mystical energy - protection, psychism
element - water
metal - silver
tree - willow/saille
incense - lemon balm, myrrh, eucalyptus
oil - myrrh
gemstones - moonstone, quartz, marble, holey stones, geodes
mundane animal - cat, hare, deer, wolf

Plants

seaweed, aloes, watercress, lemon, jasmine, lotus, mushroom, poppy, lunaria, cucumber

Influences

holds keys to heaven & earth, surrogate for good & evil, one-sidedness, leadership, dependence, secretiveness, manic-depressiveness

Energy Keywords

soul, creativity, visionary, magnetism, emotions, memories, personality, change & fluctuation, growth, female principle, psychic, intuition, subconscious, imagination, right brain, flexible, peace, maternal, protective, receptive, sensitive

Concerns

dreams, theft prevention, prophecy, security, short journeys & removals, sense-reactions

Basic Ritual Structure

Basic ritual structure for creating individualized Jewitch rituals:

1. purify self and space
2. cast a circle
3. call quarters
4. invocation
5. statement of intent
6. *ritual proper*
7. offering
8. thanksgiving
9. close quarters
10. open circle

Calculating Halachic Hours

Source: Halachic Times (with calculator)

The normal calendar that we use divides a day into 24 equal hours. Normally, noon is approximately the midpoint between sunrise and sunset, and of course midnight is approximately the midpoint between sunset and sunrise. This is thrown off, of course, by daylight savings time and other minor factors.

The "Jewish day" (daytime part) divides the time between sunrise and sunset into 12 equal parts that are often called "halachic hours". Since on average, sunrise is around 6am and sunset is around 6pm, we can call sunrise "Halachic 6am" and sunset "Halachic 6pm". This will then make it easy to describe the 12 halachic hours of daylight.

The times for morning, afternoon, and evening prayers are based on the notion of the halachic day. Also, the times for the start and end of the Sabbath, fasts, etc.. all use the Halachic day, although in some cases fixed times are used. For example, candlelighting on Friday night is always 18 real minutes before sunset, not 18 halachic minutes.

Calculating Planetary Hours

Source: Bewitching Ways

The planetary days are divided into 24 planetary hours with the first hour of the day beginning at sunrise and the last hour of the day ending at sunrise of the next planetary day. The period that extends from sunrise to sunset (daylight) is divided into 12 hours and the period extending from sunset to sunrise of the next day (nighttime) is also divided into 12 hours giving the 24 hours of the planetary day. However, the term Hour does not necessarily mean 60 minutes.

These influences can either help or dissolve your effort so it is important to calculate carefully.

Your planetary hours are specific to your exact location. In order to calculate your planetary hours, you will need to know the sunrise and sunset for your area. You can get this from your local newscast, newspaper or online.


Now comes the math.

1. Figure out how many minutes there will be between Sunrise and sunset

For example, say the sunrise is 6 a.m. and sunset is 8 p.m. There would be 840 minutes of daylight.

2. You then divide that number by 12 to get the number of minutes in each planetary hour of the day.

840/12= 70. So, each day planetary hour in our example would be 70 minutes long.

3. Divide your day hours into planetary hours using the minutes as your guide for increment

hour 1 in our example: 6-7:10 a.m.
Hour 2: 7:10-8:20 a.m. etc.

4. Repeat process for time between Sunset and Sunrise (for the next day) to figure out your night planetary hours.

Asibikaashi & Sacred Dreamcatching

From my father's side of the family, I have Native American ancestry of the Cherokee (Tsalagi) and Potawatomi (Anishinabe) tribes. The Potawatomi are known as keepers of the sacred flame. This too, is my heritage.

The "sacred fire" consciousness bequeathed to me through my Native American ancestors contributes to the reality where I see the Hebrew word כבשן as "cauldron" (Bava Metzia 84a). The word כבשן derives from the root כבש which also can mean "spider". The two meanings "cauldron" and "spider" are linked via Native American sacred myth as well.

The sacred fire, the cauldron of creation, is intimately interwoven with the Native story of Asibikaashi (Spider Woman) and the origin of the dreamcatcher (asubakacin, net-like).

Not only is Asibikaashi a keeper of the sacred flame, she is the creatrix of creation and one who weaves the world into being each morning, filtering and catching the dew of one's nightly soul journeys (dreams, bawedjigewin) into the web of memory. Consequently, we can see the the "fiery cauldron" of creation and "spider" are not only connected through the Hebrew root כבש, but they are connected through Native American sacred myth as well.

Honoring The Ancestors

Honor your father and your mother.
כבד את-אביך ואת-אמך
Shemot 20:12, Aseret HaDibrot

This commandment is not unique to Jewish or Judaic-based traditions. Confucianism, Native American spirituality, shamanism and even various forms of paganism each teach its practitioners to "honor the ancestors".

There are no "purebred" human beings. There is no such thing as a "pure" Jewish or Celtic or American identity or tradition. All of us have forebears of non-Jewish or non-Celtic or non-American heritage. To honor one's parents, to honor one's ancestors, is to honor them all.

Honoring one's ancestors is not a sentimental exercise with the aim to induce feelings of being special or superior. It isn't to praise one's ethnicity or one particular "type" of human being. What is it then?

It means coming face to face with who you are and where you came from. More importantly, it means to work to heal the wounds caused by those who came before us. It means to work to resolve the pain introduced into the world by those in our family trees whose behavior or values we may not embrace, whether they be Nazi sympathizers, Jewish capos or exterminators of pagan cultures. No people, I repeat, no people, is without a dark history that needs correction.

Honoring the ancestors is to work to make those corrections. This is why "honoring one's parents" is the hardest mitzvah to do.

Jewitch In The Aron HaKodesh

Negative mitzvah 310 tell us that a witch is not to be killed directly, but is merely not 'to be let to live'; she will obviously die as a result of not being let to live. What does this mean?

The Torah uses negative language to describe the method of punishment - death by active communal neglect or worse, by supporting those who would directly kill her. Estee Psaty has suggested that:

by using negative language as it does in phrasing the mitzvah, the Torah hints that the putative 'sin' of the witch is not outright deserving of punishment, thereby further suggesting that her death is viewed merely as a 'necessity'.

See, the problem is that she isn't really deserving of death - yet her death would be welcomed by those who think she (the one who is "bewitchingly" different) is a threat to the influence of those who control and hold power within the community. Consequently, she becomes a "marked woman".

Considering all this, it is clear then, that not only does the kabbalah have a built-in immune system, but also does Torah Law have a built-in immune system against those who would abuse it to justify manslaughter at best, murder at worst (should the witch die). Importantly, the "Jewishness" is questionable of any Jew who would blindly observe this mitzvah to allow harm to come to an innocent person by his or her active and knowledgeable neglect (or worse).

Why is the "Jewishness" of a Jew who blindly observes this mitzvah in doubt? Because, the truth is, the witch will not obviously die. And when she fails to die, she will eventually come to understand what the community has tried, yet failed, to accomplish - to indirectly, yet actively, kill her, abusing Torah Law to justify it.

The real sin done with respect to this mitzvah, is not one done by the witch, but by those who have turned the mitzvah into an idol, using it to justify participation in and/or facilitating the possible death of someone innocent (the witch not deserving of outright punishment) as opposed to using the mitzvah as a catalyst to discover his or her own "enlightened ignorance" in the active effort not to participate in or facilitate indirectly, yet actively, killing (or even harming) an innocent person just because a mitzvah seems to advocate it and G-d seems to have commanded it. A true child of Avraham and one with Torah in his or her innards would do the latter.

Without a doubt.

In Pursuit Of Ignorance

Mysteries Of The Flame

כבשן

The fire of a candle flame is a low-temperature partial plasma (Plasma Physics). A candle flame, as a low-energy partial plasma, is a subdued form of the high-energy complete plasma characteristic of the feminine "cauldron of mastery". Candlelighting (hadlakat nerot) is one of the 3 primary mitzvot entrusted to women. These facts taken together suggest that one of the "reasons" for the mitzvah of candlelighting is to provide a connection toward observing the command of Bereshit 1:28 - to subdue, transform and master the feminine energies of malchut (ha-aretz).

וכבשה

Cauldron Of Mastery

Glowing blue plasma streaming upwards from the central electrode of a plasma lamp. (PlasmaPhysics)

Be fertile and increase, fill the land and master וכבשה it ... Bereshit 1:28

The hebrew word for cauldron כבשן comes from the shoresh (root) כבש meaning to "subdue", "master", "transform", "furnace where material disintegrates" and "spider" [1].

From the root כבש comes the keyword to the mitzvah to transform and master the land (ha-aretz, malchut) as commanded in Bereshit 1:28. Note, וכבשה in the pasuk begins with the letter vav ו and ends with the letter hei ה. Vav-hei וה is shorthand for the soul of mashiach (messianic consciousness) [2]. Consequently, the command is to transform וה into mastery ן, as evidenced by the transformation of וכבשה into כבשן.

Interestingly, recent details recurrent in my dreams includes the concepts of "plasma", things/people "disintegrating" as in a nuclear event, the presence of a nightrobe, and spiders. Indexing my dreams, I found that the two colors my nightrobe has taken in the dreams are pink and blue - like in the plasma pictured above.

Disintegration corresponds to the processes of purification ו and transformation ה, which precede "mastery" ן (active reorganization of structure).

In addition to the root letters, כבשן cauldron has a nun-sofit ן, where the final nun implies a perpetual continuity, like the threads connecting the details running throughout all of my dreams. In other words, the transformation and mastery emanating from the cauldron are ever-evolving.

All of these dream details taken together are signs pointing to the shamanistic presence of the power of the female "cauldron energy" in my life. Torah validates it.

In harmony with Torah, Celtic shamanism teaches that the cauldron כבשן represents:

the source of limitless food
the source divine knowledge, wisdom and inspiration
the source of the ability to revive the dead
the source of transformation and mastery of consciousness

From plasma figure below, we can also see how the root כבש also acquired the meaning "spider". The raw energy of the plasma below is harnessed and transformed in the plasma above.


Footnotes:

[1] Etymological Dictionary Of Biblical Hebrew, R' Matityahu Clark

[2] Studies In Ecstatic Kabbalah, Moshe Idel

(Plasma Energy)


רבי יוחנן אמר משיצרפם בכבשן ריש לקיש אמר משיצחצחן במים
Bava Metzia 84a (בכבשן "in the cauldron", Schottenstein-Artscroll)

Shamanistic Initiation

I dreamt.

I was working as a "lowly" (shefel) Jewish nurse at a hospital. Another "higher" Jewish nurse (higher in terms of social and professional status) was treating a sick baby. I helped her with the procedure she was doing as part of her work, even though it was time for me go home. She was going to help me too.

We were both off work following the procedure. We exited the building and walked each to our separate cars in the parking lot. I was ashamed for those in her group to see my car.

I woke up.

The other night, at work, an older woman walked past me as I was administering medications, and as she walked on by, she said to me "hi, medicine woman". I never saw her face. The way she said it, struck me. It particularly struck given the context in which it was said.

The very same evening I had read about the path of the shaman. One pattern which distinguishes the shamanistic path is the "experience of a major crisis or initiation process whereby a person undergoes a magical transformation from ordinary individual to magically powerful shaman." [Celtic Wisdom, Carl McColman] I think the unrelenting nature of the multiple crises which have marked my lifepath qualify to be called a "shamanistic initiation".

This woman's remark, whether intentional on her part or not, confirms it in my mind. I am now an initiated shaman, a spiritual medicine woman.

Index Of Dream Details: U - Z

U - Z

An ongoing and developing index of dream details with links to dreams and kabbalistic symbol analysis pages. Under Construction

Click on detail name for analysis page. Click on numbers for links to related dreams. This page will continually update.


U.S.A. - 1
Valley - 1
Vehicle - 1 2 3 4 5
Vessel - 1 2 3 4
Violence - 1
Vision - 1
Waiting - 1
Wakefulness/Enhanced Consciousness - 1 2 3
Wall - 1
War - 1 2 3
Warn - 1
Washing Clothes - 1
Washing Dishes - 1 2 3
Water - 1 2 3 4
Water Drawing - 1
Water Gun - 1
Weakness - 1
Wet/Damp - 1
White - 1 2 3 4
Wild Card - 1
Wind - 1 2 3
Winding/Coiling - 1
Windows - 1 2 3
Witch - 1 2
Wooden Peg - 1
Woman - 1 2 3 4
Work - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Words/Sounds - 1 2 3 4 5 6

Index Of Dream Details: S - T

S - T

An ongoing and developing index of dream details with links to dreams and kabbalistic symbol analysis pages. Under Construction

Click on detail name for analysis page. Click on numbers for links to related dreams. This page will continually update.


Sarcophagus - 1 2
Satan - 1
Sceptre - 1
School/University - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11
Science - 1 2
Screen - 1
Scuba Diving - 1
Sea - 1 2
Seasons - 1
Seat - 1 2 3
Secret Lover - 1 2 3
Secret Meeting - 1 2 3
Secrets - 1
Seizure - 1
Selection - 1 2
Service - 1
Shapeshifting - 1 2 3 4
Shark - 1
Shirt - 1
Shoes - 1
Shul/Synagogue - 1
Sick - 1 2 3 4
Side - 1
Signs - 1 2 3
Silver/Grey - 1
Sitting - 1
Skirt - 1
Sky - 1 2 3
Sleep Paralysis - 1 2
Sleep/Diminished Consciousness - 1 2 3 4 5
Sleeve - 1
Smell - 1
Snake - 1
Snow - 1 2
Soldier/Warrior/Military - 1 2 3 4
Something Coming - 1 2 3 4
Soferet - 1
Soul family - 1 2
Space (Outer) - 1
Sparks - 1
Spider - 1 2
Spine - 1
Stairs - 1
Stampede - 1 2
Standing - 1 2
Stone/Rock - 1 2 3
Stop - 1
Storage Area - 1 2
Store/Shopping Center - 1
Strange Creatures - 1 2 3 4 5 6
Students - 1 2 3 4 5
Study/Den/Library - 1
Stuff/Things - 1 2 3 4
Sweat - 1
Suitcase/Travelbag - 1 2
Surgery - 1
Sus-an
Swallow - 1
Table - 1 2 3 4
Taste - 1
Teacher/Professor - 1 2
Teenagers - 1 2
Terrorists - 1
Test -1 2 3
Theater
Thief - 1 2 3
Throw - 1
Time Warp - 1 2 3 4 5
Toe - 1
Toliet - 1
Tongue - 1 2
Tornado/Stormwind - 1 2
Tower - 1 2
Town/City - 1 2 3 4 5
Tracks - 1
Train
Trees (as opposed to Forest) - 1
Treif - 1
Tub
Tumah/Tahor - 1 2
Tunnel - 1 2

Index Of Dream Details: P - R

P - R

An ongoing and developing index of dream details with links to dreams and kabbalistic symbol analysis pages. Under Construction

Click on detail name for analysis page. Click on numbers for links to related dreams. This page will continually update.


Paramedics/Rescue Workers - 1
Peace/Peaceful - 1 2 3 4 5
People - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Physician - 1
Pile - 1
Pillars - 1
Pink - 1
Pinprick - 1
Plan - 1
Plasma - 1
Plate - 1 2
Poison - 1
Police
Prison/Captive - 1 2
Pristine - 1
Prophecy - 1
Protuberance - 1
Pursuers - 1 2 3 4
Rabbi - 1
Rage - 1
Red - 1 2 3
Relocating - 1 2 3
Remember - 1
Rescue - 1 2
Research/Investigate - 1
Rest - 1 2 3
Resurrection - 1
Revealing Knowledge - 1 2
Ridge/Platform/Embankment - 1 2
Ritual Action - 1 2 3 4 5 6
River - 1 2
Road/Path- 1 2 3 4
Robot - 1
Rockets -1
Rodents - 1
Roller Coaster - 1
Roof - 1 2 3
Rooms - 1 2 3
Root -1
Rows - 1
Rulers - 1
Run - 1 2 3 4

Index Of Dream Details: K - O

K - O

An ongoing and developing index of dream details with links to dreams and kabbalistic symbol analysis pages. Under Construction

Click on detail name for analysis page. Click on numbers for links to related dreams. This page will continually update.


Kabbalist - 1 2
Kabbalistic Curse - 1 2
Kedushah - 1 2
Keys - 1
King - 1
King Kong - 1
Kitchen - 1
Laboratory - 1
Land - 1
Language Anomalies - 1
Laughing 1
Leather - 1 2
Lift/Lifted - 1 2 3
Light - 1 2 3
Lilith - 1 2
Line - 1 2
Lions/Lion's Den - 1 2
Luminescence - 1
Lurk - 1 2
Magazines - 1
Magiah - 1
Magical Environment - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Magical Powers - 1 2 3 4 5
Man - 1 2 3 4
Mansion - 1 2 3
Meat - 1
Mechanical - 1 2
Medicine - 1 2
Medieval - 1
Meercat - 1
Metal - 1
Milk - 1
Mire - 1
Mission - 1 2 3
Morning - 1
Mother - 1 2 3 4 5
Mouth/Jaw/Teeth - 1 2 3 4 5
Mummy - 1
Mystery Husband - 1 2 3 4 5
Native American Shaman
Nazi
Neck
Net - 1
Night - 1 2 3
Nightrobe - 1
Nothing - 1 2 3
Nurse - 1 2 3
Observe - 1 2
Outstretched Arm - 1

Index Of Dream Details: H - J

H - J

An ongoing and developing index of dream details with links to dreams and kabbalistic symbol analysis pages. Under Construction

Click on detail name for analysis page. Click on numbers for links to related dreams. This page will continually update.


Halachah/Law - 1 2
Hall - 1 2 3 4 5
Halves/Split/Divide - 1 2
Hand(s) - 1 2 3 4 5 6
Hang - 1 2
Happy - 1
Hate - 1 2
Head - 1 2
Headcovering - 1 2
Headlights - 1
Heal - 1
Heart - 1 2 3 4
Heavens - 1 2 3
Heel - 1 2
Hidden Places - 1 2
Hiding - 1 2 3
Home - 1 2 3
Hood - 1
Hope - 1
Horns - 1
Horrified Expression - 1
Hospital - 1 2 3 4
Hotel - 1
House/Mine - 1 2 3 4
House/Mother, Parents - 1 2 3 4
House/Other - 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
Hunt - 1
Ibbur - 1
Ice - 1 2
Illegal - 1
Immune - 1 2
Impurity - 1
Incredulous Shock - 1
Insects - 1 2
Instrument - 1 2
Invisible/Visible - 1 2 3
Israel - 1 2
Jedi - 1
Jewishness - 1
Journey - 1 2 3 4
Judging/Deciding - 1 2 3
Jump/Leap - 1 2 3