NO TUMBLR.

This is gold.

catch-up is a stressful game: a further defense of astrological timing

I made this post called "in defense of astrological timing," which I recommend if I do say so myself.

This post is full of my personal opinions and beliefs. This post does not intend to represent universal beliefs. This is really just about what I do and how I practice. YMWV.

I would like to propose that timing your magic, such as waiting for a certain day or hour to perform an operation, is a solution to the intersection of two problems:

1. "When I need magic, I need it now - I have no time to wait."

2. "I am often low-spoons and I have difficulty raising energy or performing intense magic on demand."

The tl;dr is this: sometimes astrological timing seems to be approached backwards.

It is often approached as playing catch-up to your own situation. "I can't delay in casting a spell, I need the magic now." Which is indeed a very valid argument.

Approached from the opposite direction, astrological timing is not a burdensome correspondence to tack onto a spell. Rather, it is revealing opportune times for you to gather and store power throughout the year, so that the next time a situation comes up, you've already had a huge head start in taking care of the problem.

This also assists those of us with limited personal energy (as I've begun to consider I am not a "low-energy" witch but rather one who uses their energy in the stupidest least effective ways possible).

For example, suppose a vital part of your sorcery is burning a special incense before each spell. Yes, you can make a whole bunch of the incense at once.

And if you enchant the incense, that takes your power. You're transferring energy out of your personal bank account in order to store it within the incense.

Three months later when there is a vital spell to be cast, you're making a withdrawal from the incense bank and putting that additional energy towards your spell.

Actions like this reduce the amount of personal energy we need to spend during typical workings of magic.

Suppose a spell requires 50 units of energy in order to successfully manifest.

Well, if I've been slowly storing up energy in certain things (like special waters, incense, stones, and so on), I can use up some of that stored energy during a spell.

If I have 30 units of energy saved up within special objects, I only need to raise 20 further units of energy during that spell in order to make it manifest.

I can expend my own personal energy to complete the quota. Or, I can go looking for some free-flowing energy and try to channel it in order to complete the spell.

BUT

1. What if I have no energy units saved up in objects and I have to raise it all within that moment?

2. What if the free-flowing energies I need aren't present at that exact time?

If you believe in the impact of astrological timing, then you may believe that certain energies are more available during some times than other times. A specific energy may not just be around in great enough quantities for you to haul buckets of it to your spell.

It's relatively easy to spend our own power when external powers aren't available, even when we don't mean to.

This may lead to situations where the energy units I need to complete a spell just aren't around, either because I failed to store up energy when I had extra, or because I'm casting the spell at a very unfavorable time.

If I don't have 50 free personal energy units, this greatly increases the chances that my spell will just fail - like a car with a drained battery that just won't start.

You might be saying, "but I don't necessarily have a total of 30 units of free energy to just tuck into objects. I might have like, 2 or 3 units of spare energy a week, tops."

NOW WE'RE BACK TO ASTROLOGICAL TIMING!

If you are able to look ahead towards particularly well-appointed timings, you can prepare substances (such as incenses and oils), objects (such as amulets and spell vessels), tools (such as charging boards and wands), and other magical paraphernalia far ahead of time.

We know all the future appointments, right? It's just celestial maths :) You can use websites to look up special conjunctions years ahead of time.

This means that you have as much time as you need to prepare. No rushing about an hour before the ritual!

When you bring a prepared physical vessel into a ritual at an especially powerful astrological time, huge amounts of specific, wanted energies can be captured.

So remember earlier, when I was talking about enchanting incense using your own power? Well, suppose you never intentionally use your own power for anything: you always attempt to channel external energies.

But we come into the same loop: it can be easy to spend your own energy on accident, and if the external energies aren't very present you either end up with a weakly enchanted incense mix - or you burn a lot of your own power being the battery, or widening your search for the energy until you find it.

During especially well-appointed timings, though, that energy is very present and much easier to capture. You have to work less in order to capture large amounts.

You can look for appointments for healing, banishing, the virtues of various astrological signs, wealth, love, and more. By preparing some physical vessel to be enchanted by these substances, you are gathering and storing great amounts of power throughout the year.

And now, now we come full-circle: a response to the first two problems posed.

1. "When I need magic, I need it now - I have no time to wait."

If you are able to work ahead to capture and store various energies, you will not have to wait for anything - you have already capitalized upon opportune timings and have them crystalized inside of physical objects for you to use when you need them.

2. "I am often low-spoons and I have difficulty raising energy or performing intense magic on demand."

Because capturing energies when they are more readily available is much easier, you may find it to be much less draining to capture energies at opportune timings.

Then, when it becomes time to cast a spell in the moment, you will have a collection of strongly empowered objects that will fill up your spell with power on your behalf.

Your spells will still take some of your personal energy, just like any activity, but probably a lot less of it.

Transitioning to this may take a bit of work and can be awkward as hell.

I mean even if you're into it as a concept, it might not just be so easy to do, right?

If you're currently engaging in magical catch-up to ongoing or boiling-point situations, you might not have the time/energy/space to do a bunch of research on timings and then plan and prepare for a ritual, even one weeks or months away.

I don't mean to imply that it's easy or that everyone can just do it. I mean not all of us can carry around like 50 rocks or little pots of incense. Not all of us can rely on happening to have energy at some future date to perform a ritual at the exact time.

Moving into this modality of working ahead can also at times feel like stagnation: it can feel like planning and waiting instead of acting.

If you feel this might be something you're into, here are my suggestions:

Choose various "domains" of magic which are important to you: prosperity, love, defense, etc.

Slowly create or obtain vessels over time well-suited to capture energies from those domains, ideally using your hobbies if you can! A crochet bag or stuffie, a clay figurine, a painting, a song, any sort of physically creative hobby will do :) You can also modify candles, decorate charm bags, string beads, or even prepare thick cords to "tie up" available energies. I mean literally even a clear quartz with a bit of colored string tied on to identify it will do.

Start keeping an eye out for useful appointments. When one arrives upon you, see if you have the time/space/energy to perform a ritual to draw that energy into one of your vessels.

If you don't have the time/space/energy/interest (etc) in performing the ritual, ignore it and move on.

It is especially beneficial to empower small implements and ingredients you often use, so that your more common practices are less draining.

The following is pretty much UPG, unless I read it somewhere and forgot:

Initially imbuing a vessel with energy is best done on the most powerful appointment reasonably possible.

These vessels can be charged over and over again, capturing more and more power each time. Suppose the maximum energy you can capture in one empowerment ritual is 25 units. Well, you can perform the ritual again under the same auspicious timing to simply further power it, resulting in 50 units stored.

It is better to begin storing energy and do so at "minor" appointments over and over again than to put it off forever. Even if you wait for the most perfectest ever timing, you still may not have the ability, as a practitioner, to channel and store huge amounts of energy all at once. So waiting forever might be kinda pointless.

All vessels enchanted in this manner should be carefully stored so that the power doesn't leak out of them. They should not touch the earth, or else the power will go back into it. They can be wrapped carefully in black cloth and stored on a shelf. They should not be in the presence of salt, flour, iron, or other substances known to purify or break magical energies.

a little tip. use words & phrases like "always", "yes", "already", "ofcourse", "it's a fact that", "i know that" to make your affirmations feel more natural & acceptable to you. for example -

i am always being spoiled by everyone

yes i am irresistible to everyone

SP is already head over heels in love with me

ofcourse i am the prettiest woman ever

it's a fact that i manifest instantly

i know that i earn a thousand dollars everyday

also!!! write your own affirmations. don't use anything you find on the internet. ofcourse you can take ideas but customise your affirmations according to how you would naturally have your inner conversations - tone wise, language wise or even by changing several words. affirm what resonates most with your god self!

any tips on getting in touch with ur fem side? i’m ready to unleash my inner girly <3

create self care routines & stay consistent 💕!

Hair : try to find a routine to keep your hair healthy and neat! especially if your hair isn’t naturally straight try to lay off of the heat & give your hair a break and try protection styles when needed. ♡

Nails : personally getting my nails done is relaxing to me and I love when my hands and feet look pretty my go to is always pink French 💗, try to get your nails done every 2-3 weeks. If you don’t wanna spend the money there’s a bunch of tutorials on YouTube for how to do them at home. ♡

Body : take care of your body, create a shower routine that you love, with scents that you adore. shave ( if you choose to) ,exfoliate & you can even make a playlist of songs that make you feel glamorous, I personally love songs from Doja Cat & Saweetie whenever I wanna feel girly or y2k hits. Make sure you make a skin care routine that’s good for your skin type , treat yourself as if you were at a spa just at home. Use Face Masks, light a yummy candle make a tea. Feel good & love yourself! ♡

Makeup : explore different kinds of looks & find out which best suits you! I prefer the natural look, but I’m branching out and finding new ideas. you can make a routine as simple as lashes with your favorite lip gloss or lip combo. ♡

Fashion :wear whatever you want without caring what anyone thinks If you wanna be the ultimate girly girl appearance wise ,own a lot of pink clothing with fur and try to get into heels & purses 👛& jewelry like diamonds or gold hoops. ♡

SPOIL yourself , literally make a wishlist and go shopping and pick out whatever makes you happy! ♡

Hope this helps, good luck 🎀

get out of the house. visit museums. go to open air festivals. go to concerts. meet new people in the park. use apps to meet people with common interests. try new things, try hot yoga. try pilates. try rock climbing, try a new gym, a new trainer. attend a public event, a yoga class, aerobics class, join a book club. get a professional massage, have a full day of spa activities. read a life changing book on selfcare, mental health and wellness and implement it daily. make new friends that you actually hang out with physically, frequently, that you have lunch dates with, coffee dates with, sleepovers, that you heal and laugh and grow with day by day, friends that are friends in every sense of the word. be open to opportunities every day for anything that brings you joy and sunlight and adventure. life is meant to be lived, tasted, experimented, savored to the last maddening drop. life is not a neat little checklist put away on your shelf for wnhen you feel ready to tackle them. life is here. life is right here right now. what are you waiting for, a magical tomorrow to give you permission to live the life you want? you already have permission, all you have to do is decide it. it's in your hands. now, in 10 years, in 30 years, in 50, the choice is yours. the only thing standing in the way of that reality and the current one... is your actions.

15.05.22 // Lumen's diary

~ WHAT ARE PLACEBOS? HOW CAN YOU USE PLACEBOS TO MANIFEST? (WITH IDEAS & EXAMPLES OF WHAT YOU CAN USE) ~

Long Post Alert ⚠️

the placebo effect is when an improvement in medical symptoms is observed, despite using a non-active treatment. it possibly occurs due to psychological factors like assumptions or classical conditioning.

• placebos are used in the form of fake treatments, pills, injections etc. which if taken with certain assumptions in mind can produce effects of an actual treatment. for instance, in one study, people were instructed to consume placebo sugar pills and explained instead that it was a stimulant. after taking the pill, their pulse rate sped up, their blood pressure increased, and their reaction speeds improved. (keep in mind that the pills were fake!)

• possibly, the placebo effect is caused due to a person's expectations and assumptions. if a person assumes a pill to do something, then it's possible that the body's own chemistry can cause effects similar to what a medication might have caused. the placebo effect demonstrates the powerful and undeniable connection between the mind and body in what we feel and experience

• in a lot of cases, despite people being aware that they are being given a placebo, they assumed it to work & it was still mostly effective & showed improvement. placebos can be used in manifesting to trick our mind into setting intentions & assigning meanings to actions that are in favor of our desires. which means you can perform certain actions and decide that it has a certain effect on your desire. these actions may or may not be directly related to your desire. you don't necessarily need to take actions or use any techniques to manifest. this is simply a helpful tool.

~~ USING PLACEBOS FOR MANIFESTING ~~

any action taken with a preconceived assumption repeatedly, creates a placebo. in law of assumption, we can form our own beliefs/assumptions by affirming & persisting in our desired reality. we assign meaning to everything in our reality & by affirming or our dominant thoughts, we retain those assumed meanings or change them in order for them to be in the favor of our desires.

• your placebos can/cannot be directly or logically linked to your desire & that's perfectly okay. for example, if you're manifesting a good singing voice, you could assume :

1) every time i drink hot milk, my singing gets better.

or something like

2) everytime i practice, my singing gets better.

here, in the first example there's no connection between milk and - having a good voice but it would still work if you assume it does. and in the second example we see a conventionally conditioned belief that practicing or hardwork can bring our desires - and it will, if you assume it does. so everything really comes down to what you assume & how you train your mind to dominantly think.

why this works : everytime you drink hot milk and reaffirm that it is giving you a better voice or everytime you practice, you assume it is making you a better singer, IT WILL- your assumptions eventually create your reality. you're god, your rules work here! i mean think about it why do superstitions & rituals sometimes work? it's because the people doing them assume & believe it does!

~~ AFFIRMATION IDEAS/EXAMPLES FOR PLACEBOS ~~

specific person:

• everytime i wash my face, SP calls me.

• everytime i snap my fingers, SP falls deeper in love with me

• everytime i eat apples, SP does something special for me

• everytime i listen to hozier songs, SP misses me

• everytime i think of SP, SP thinks of me

money, career & job :

• everytime i spend money, it comes back to me tenfold

• everytime i see a traffic signal, i get a thousand dollars

• everytime i feed my dog, i get a promotion

• everytime i jump twice, i get praised for my work

• everytime i wake up early, i get a salary raise

desired body:

• everytime i go for a walk, i get a slimmer nose

• everytime i drink water, my waist gets tinier

• everytime i sing a song, my eyes become more hazel

• everytime i call my bestie, my hair grows longer

• everytime i do my homework, my lips get plumper

for school/university :

• everytime i sleep early, i top my exams

• everytime i take an evening walk, i become more interesting

• everytime i look at my crush, they fall in love with me

• everytime i charge my laptop, i become more popular

• everytime i touch my books, i get smarter

for manifesting abilities :

• everytime i clean my room, i become better at manifesting

• everytime i have dinner on time, i maintain a perfect mental diet

• everytime i meditate, i instantly manifest

• everytime i flush the toilet, i release limiting beliefs (xD)

• everytime i write an affirmation, it instantly turns true

for being treated like royalty:

• everytime i do my skincare, everyone spoils me

• everytime i smile, i get free clothes, makeup & bags

• everytime i comb my hair, i get endless compliments

• everytime i exercise, everyone worships me

• everytime i eat oats, i become irresistible

feel free to use any placebo for any of your desires. you can customise them according to your daily habits or whatever you find easy, fun and comfortable! happy manifesting ♡

As sammy said every time you catch yourself wavering, correct your thoughts as if they were a child and redirect your mind back to your affirmations. Discipline your thoughts, your mind as though you are teaching a child right from wrong by telling yourself your affirmations and standing firm in the state of knowing they are true.

𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃 𝐌𝐘 𝐖𝐎𝐑𝐋𝐃

i am entitled to my desires. nothing can and nothing will separate me from them. everything is already done; the second i desire something is the same second i have it within the 4d and it gets reflected into my 3d just as instantly. my reality is always shifting to make me happy because that’s what it’s supposed to do. i was born to be content since i am the operant power. everything comes to me easily, i don’t have to lift a single finger. i’ve been manifesting for as long i can remember. i have always been a master at stepping into my desired state in little to no time. it’s so easy for me i even do it in my sleep. i never dwell or doubt myself because i know i am truly powerful and can change any circumstance in a matter of seconds. all i have to do is declare it as true and it becomes just that. isn’t it wonderful?

Falling in love and identifying birds have similar effects. Normal life is altered; every experience heightened; what was mundane begins to explode with meaning. You think birds are just birds—undifferentiated fluttering, then you find one magnified in your lens. You recognize its unique markings, lines, and color. Your heart pounds. It is a cerulean warbler. It is your new mate. I believe both things have equal power to change your life.

Debbie Blue, Consider the Birds: A Provocative Guide to Birds of the Bible