Tag Archive | enlightenment

Happy September Black Moon

Sep30

It’s The 2ND New Moon of September 

The Black Moon for September occurs at 7:28pm on September 30th, eastern U.S. time.

With every full moon, there’s also a New Moon which can also occur twice in a single month and that is also a rare event for Grandmother Moon. But she doesn’t seem to receive the same spectacular acknowledgement as her brighter sister the Blue Moon.

This month, September 2016; we will see two New Moons. The first occurred on September  1st and the second barely squeaks in on the 30th.

What’s her story and can you observe this special time of the year? Learn more about the Black Moon, her history, her energy, purpose and how you can mark the night of her arrival:  The Black Moon.

Spring

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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What Interests You

Jul7

paganmetaphysicsHere’s Your Chance

To ask a question, make a suggestion, share an idea and I’ll answer it here on Springwolf Reflections.

I need to write something new for Reflections. With a million ideas, I’m not sure what I want to do. So I decided to ask you guys, what would you like to read about this week?

Leave me your ideas in the comment section and we can inspire each other over the weekend!

 

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© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

The Symbology of Rainbows

Jun19

wolf-rainbow

Rainbows

Rainbows are one of the most beautiful spectacles nature has to offer — so beautiful, in fact, that they’ve inspired countless fairy tales, songs and legends. It’s a good bet that most of the artists behind these tales were totally mystified by the rainbow phenomenon. But of course there’s a scientific reason for how they’re formed.  It has to do with light refraction, bending light, and even frequency.

When white sunlight hits a collection of raindrops at a fairly low angle, you can see the component colors red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo and violet — a rainbow. ~ Making a Rainbow at Science.HowStuffWorks.com

Single Rainbows
Rainbows appear all over the world. So of course there are a ton of myths and legends about what they mean from place to place. Some meanings also represent the actual science behind their creation too.

Most people know the story about the Irish leprechaun hiding their gold at the end of the rainbow.  According to fables, Leprechauns are tiny mystical forms of faeries who were originally linked to the Tuatha De Danann of Irish mythology. They normally take the form of an old man in a red or green coat, when they appear to humans.

But they are also known as mischievous faery creatures who like to make shoes and store their gold in a pot that they hide at the end of a rainbow.  Because rainbows don’t come around everyday, so it’s a good place to hide their gold. Yet it’s a place that will appear from time to time that allows the little fae to grab a handful of gold when they need it. And if you find that pot of gold and can get it from the leprechauns, you maybe allowed to keep what you can grab. Continue reading →

Merry Mid-Year Solstice for 2016

Jun18

WinterSolsticeHappy Solstice Celebration

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we celebrate the Summer Solstice on June 21st or 22nd. The Summer Solstice rings in the waning year and begins the slow good-bye of the sun as the days become shorter and the darkness slowly returns to the land.

As the story goes, the Oak King has ruled over the Earth, bringing the Sun to warm the ground so fields could be planted for wheat, barley and gardens can grow. When the solstice arrives, the Holly King wakes from his slumber and challenges the Oak for supremacy in the sky. Continue reading →

Please Have A Feel Good Day

Jun14

Have A Nice DayI think we all need a pick me up.

Ignore the haters.
Walk away from the fakers.
Close the door on the takers.
Change the channel on the instigators.

Choose to have a nice day!
It will piss them all off.

Many years ago when I was a student of my favorite teacher, a Shaman named Roger, I was having an unusually bad day.

He asked me why I was allowing the hate and jealousy of others control my emotions and my day? To be honest I didn’t know what to reply to that question. They made me mad, they hurt my feelings. He said “No they didn’t. You decided all on your own to listen to their words and you made the choice how you were going to feel. They didn’t make you feel that way, you allowed them to dial in a particular emotion and hit the ‘go’ button”. Continue reading →

The Reiki Principles

Jun13
Traditional Reiki Hanko

Traditional Reiki Hanko

Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki Precepts

Reiki is a Japanese word translated as “Universal Life Energy” by Hawayo Takata.
She brought the possibility of a relationship with this energy to us through Usui Shiki Ryoho, a healing system founded by Mikao Usui in the early part of the 1900’s. In 1973 Hawayo Takata, a Hawaiian woman of Japanese decent, was the only Reiki Master of the Usui Shiki Ryoho system in the world and was considered to be its Grand Master. She was also the first person to bring Usui Reiki to the United States after becoming a Master in 1938, teaching the system at the University of Hawaii.

Takata trained 21 Reiki Masters before her death in 1980. One of those Masters was Rev. Beth Gray, who was my first Reiki teacher for Reiki I and II. I have been a practicing Reiki Healer since 1989. I became a Reiki Master Channel in 1996.

Because of the evolution of Reiki around the world, some good and some not so good, the Principles given to all Reiki students has evolved and changed over time. Some call the Principles a Motto. A Motto is a short sentence or phrase chosen as encapsulating the beliefs or ideals guiding an individual. Where as a Principle is a fundamental truth or proposition that serves as the foundation for a system of belief or behavior or for a chain of reasoning. For the traditional Usui Reiki Channel, the Principles are a guiding force in our every day life, it is a fundamental truth within the Reiki healing system. So I’m not real fond of calling the Principles, a “motto”. Continue reading →

Planning and Preparation For The Solstice

Jun11
Fairy Moon Dance by Julie Fain (Juliefainart.com)

Fairy Moon Dance by Julie Fain (Juliefainart.com)

Create A Happy Solstice Celebration

Here in the Northern Hemisphere, we celebrate the Summer Solstice on June 21st or 22nd. The Summer Solstice rings in the waning year and begins the slow good-bye of the sun as the days become shorter and the darkness returns to the land.

Many have started planning for their celebration and gatherings. If you’re preparing your list and getting ready with your shopping, you might want to incorporate one of my most favorite rituals for this holiday. Because the Summer Solstice is also the Time for Faeries. And I love to include a ritual we call Walnuts For Wishes: A Recipe and Ritual for the Fae.

This ritual requires a few items you may not have laying around your home or in your ritual cabinet. So if you want to add a few things to your list for your own implementation or a variation of this ritual, now might be a good time to start planning it.

You can learn more about the Summer Solstice through these articles here on Reflections:

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© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

2016 Equinox and the Full Moon

Mar18
Moon Phase by Udell Enterprises, Inc.

Moon Phase by Udell Enterprises, Inc.

A Special Conjunction

This year, the first equinox coincides with a full moon. For Pagans this heightens the energy for both the Equinox holiday and the observance of the full moon.

The equinox marks that time of the year when the Earth begins to shift on its axis. It marks the change of seasons for each hemisphere; from Winter to Spring in the north and Summer to Fall in the south.

It’s best known as being the time when the number of hours for the day is equal to the number of hours for the night. But this isn’t accurate.

..day and night are not exactly equal at the equinox for two reasons. First, daytime begins the moment any part of the Sun is over the horizon, and it is not over until the last part of the Sun has set. If the Sun were to shrink to a starlike point and we lived in a world without air, the spring and fall equinoxes would truly have ‘equal nights.’ – From The Old Farmer’s Almanac

Here in Richmond Virginia, the equinox officially occurs on Sunday, March 20, 2016 at 12:30 AM EDT. That’s midnight on Saturday night. You can visit TimeAndDate.com to find the exact time in your area.

This astronomical event has long been observed as a spiritual occurrence. And that’s certainly true for Pagans around the world. But what that holiday celebrates and who or what it honors depends on if you’re in the Northern Hemisphere or in the South. Since Pagans begin their holiday observance at sunset and celebrate during the night hours, this becomes an important honoring of the event. Continue reading →

What Creates A Successful Union

Mar9
Respectful Love

Respectful Love

Respectful Commitments
While I’m waiting for scans to run on my laptop, I was reminded of what makes a relationship work. It can be applied to any relationship, but in particular to intimate relationships. Whither it’s a marriage or a long-term partnership, you can’t sustain any relationship for the long haul without respect.

When I officiate a wedding, a handfasting, or any commitment ceremony, I always include this:
“A marriage cannot exist and thrive without mutual respect. Respect of ideas, feelings and expressions of conscious and desire. Without respect you cannot support each others dreams, or care for one another in sickness. You cannot share the intimacy of your love, or honor the sacrifices you each will make to sustain your partnership and your family. Respect will maintain your love for one another even when those moments of dissatisfaction arise and angry words are spoken.”

Respect will pull you together in times of stress and struggle. Instead of pushing you apart and creating dissatisfaction, blame and anger that can tear your love apart. It creates a united front based on support and wanting to overcome the challenges life can throw at you. Working together and holding each other up when one of you loses the energy to fight sustains your strength as a partnership. Reminding each other that “we will be ok” goes a long way to helping each of you to fight another day and triumph over adversity.

But respect also works when times are good. When you’re walking down the street and feel the pull to walk arm in arm. For the 20year relationship that sits at a restaurant and still reaches across the table to touch each others hand. It reminds you of why you fell in love in the first place and promotes those soft intimate moments to rub a shoulder, or caress a knee when laughter overcomes you both. Respect is what’s needed for any long-term relationship of love. When you respect your partner, nothing can pull you apart.

Additional Reading:

© Springwolfs Hanko

© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Usui Shiki Ryoho Reiki

Mar8
Healing Through Compassion & Affirmation

Reiki: Caring with Compassion

From A Traditional Reiki Master

Reiki is an ancient art of healing. It is often referred to as a Zen art of hands on holistic healing, where the healer is a channel for the Divine Universal Life Force Energy.

From the Reiki Alliance:
Reiki is a Japanese word translated as “Universal Life Energy” by Hawayo Takata. 
She brought the possibility of a relationship with this energy to us through Usui Shiki Ryoho, a healing system founded by Mikao Usui in the early part of the 1900’s.

Usui Shiki Ryoho can be translated as “the Usui System of Natural Healing.”
Until the mid-1990’s, this was the most common translation and was used by nearly all of the various forms of hands on healing practice that came from Hawayo Takata’s teaching. At this time, Phyllis Lei Furumoto decided to return to the Japanese title of the practice to identify the form of practice and the system that she teaches: Usui Shiki Ryoho.

Takata trained 21 Reiki Masters before her death in 1980. One of those Masters was Rev. Beth Gray, who was my first Reiki teacher for Reiki I and II. I have been a practicing Reiki Healer since 1989.

Traditional Reiki Hanko

Traditional Reiki Hanko

I convinced a friend to take Reiki, who said she would if I took the classes with her. I call these my refresher classes, this time with John Harvey Gray (Beth’s husband). I really found the refreshers beneficial and they inspired me to take the next step and I became a Reiki Master Channel in 1996.

Over the past two decades of practice I have learned a few things and changed my view of some aspects of Reiki. I originally wrote a set of  articles about Reiki and what I had learned in 1999, and shared them on my website PagansPath and they have seriously needed updating. Primarily because of the evolution of Reiki around the world, some good, some not so good. And because my views on the traditional teachings have also evolved. With practice comes greater understanding and insight.

I overhauled this section in January 2013 and added my Reiki Introduction to my business site, Spring’s Haven. I continue to add and update to these articles, along with sharing perspectives about Reiki here on my blog.  Below you will find links to both the Reiki Introduction and the additional blog perspectives.

Additional Reading:

 

© Springwolfs Hanko
© 2016 Springwolf, D.D., Ph.D. Springwolf Reflections / Springs Haven, LLC. All Rights Reserved.