"Whatever" I muttered to myself as I put the phone away. It's the day before the total eclipse and already the energy is shifting and changing. I can feel it bringing in the new karmic patterns, even as the doors close and old ones fall away. In this case a friendship that had run its course, served its purpose, and finally came to a tumultous ending. 

"This eclipse is definitely doing weird things to people" I thought to myself as I scroll past "rapture" posts on social media and the christian end times craze that ultimately became the nail in the coffin that ended that particular friendship. One that had definitely been going in a different direction since the beginning of the year. 

Every 6 months the lunar and solar eclipses happen on the nodal points of the moon. In astrology these are karma points, ending and begining karmic cycles. The current north node/south node axis is on Aries and Libra. Meaning the eclipses will happen in these signs for the next 18 months or so. This zodiac axis is all about our identities. Aries is about the self. Who are you when no one is looking and who do you truly want to be? Libra is about relationships. Who are you in relation to everyone around you? This energy has deep emotions surfacing for me that definitely relate to "identity", stepping more fully into my own power and owning my voice. 

On top of that, we are in a mercury retrograde that also happens to be occuring in Aries and, oh boy, has it been a retrograde season for me! When it began earlier this month the headlight, front brakes, and battery all went out on my car followed by me realizing that my license was expired while trying to get my taxes done. 

"It says here that you will owe $2,000 to state when all is said and done. I'm not sure why that would be though. I thought it would be federal" The tax lady says to my husband and I before we leave. 

"They should really reschedule tax season the years it coincides with a mercury retrograde" I think to myself as we leave the tax office and head home. 

I spent the drive magically reaching out to Saint Matthew the tax collector "please help us figure something out" I pray casually. 

"Hello?" Jonathan (my husband) answers the phone and its the tax lady letting us know that she re-entered all our paperwork and we only owe $40 to state and federal. 

"What did you do?" he says to me as he hangs up the phone. Saint magic at its best! "Thank you St Matthew!"

The next day I head down to Penn DOT to renew my license and on my way back I got pulled over by the police only to realize that my inspection and registration were both expired as well. Ticket, fuck! $300... Damn it! However, on the positive side, I have to give an offering of gratitude to my guardians and guides because if that had happened only a day earlier I would have really been fucked.

Time to renew the protection charms in the car since I'm pretty sure mercury retrograde has completely fried them all at this point. 

We get everything renewed and up to date and the court date set. I will literally check all my paperwork, fluid levels, tire pressure and even the "blinker fluid" (LOL) before every mercury retrograde from now on! 

"iF yOu WeRe A rEal PsYcHiC yOu WoUlD hAvE kNoWn wHo WoUlD sHoW Up (laugh face, laugh face, laugh face)" -BLOCK- another comment on my post advertising my magical and psychic services in a local facebook group. 

"Boy they are out in full force this week" I think to myself as I check my private messages and schedule the clients who reach out to make appointments. Tarot readings and Spirit Board sessions are the most popular.

As I look at my calendar I notice the astrology for the upcoming week and realize that the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in Taurus is coming up! 

"This is a perfect opportunity to make talismans!!" I say to myself as I go dig out the three metal discs I have been saving for just this opportunity and start working on a design. This is my first planetary talisman and my first time engraving metal. 

Jupiter is the planet of prosperity, luck and expansion. Uranus is the planet of innovation and the unexpected. Taurus rules finacial assests. My wheels are turning... this will be really great energy for unexpected money making opportunities! 

I hear my psychic consultant line go off and I grab my tarot cards and head to the other room to answer it. These readings are usually quick. Most people want 10 min tops. When I started doing this work it was really intimidating to have to quickly deliver predictions, but over the last year its really helped me to develop my tarot skills to the next level. In person client readings are always going to be my favorite though. 

May is the month that expo season begins and right now most of my days are busy hand burning spirit boards for the Paracon at Pennhurst that will be happening the 18th and 19th of May. I can't find the precut shapes that I used to make the planchettes anymore, so now we are cutting them out ourselves. This is my first year doing the paracon and is the first paranormal expo that I'm doing. I've been doing expo events for the last 10 years but they have all been spiritual and holistic events. Since I've started making spirit boards I'm trying to branch out more into the paranormal and curiosities community. 

"Cha-Ching!" my phone goes off showing someone has purchased an astrology chart on my website. I enjoy working on client astrology charts, especially at night in bed while my favorite shows are on in the background. 

The next day at the grocery store I make sure to pick up pound cake and red roses for the upcoming Saint Expedite feast day. I was really wanting to make pound cake for him from scratch but I just won't have enough time so, Sara Lee it is. Man this week is packed, magically speaking. I get home in time to engrave all the talismans during the planetary hour of Jupiter. One for me and the other two will be sent to friends to be tested and see what their experiences with them are after the conjunction. 

The day of St Expedites feast day I set up his altar early in the morning so that he has all day to enjoy his offerings. Expedite is a really important Spirit to me and I want to make sure to give my love and thanks. He has come through on some really miraculous last minute things, including being the last ditch effort to get my Etsy store turned back on after being offline for 3 weeks last year. He had it back open by day 3 of his novena!! I'm obsessed! 

Later that day, as I'm scrolling around on FB marketplace I see a large copper bowl with bull handles... today is a Friday and the sun has just entered Taurus. All of this is ruled by Venus (copper, Friday and Taurus) and the synchronicity is just to much for me. I run out to pick it up immediately!! About a half hour after I picked it up my right eye swelled up. I checked with my spirits via my yes/no coin and they confirmed an evil eye was present. I spent the rest of the evening doing an egg cleanse and working with the healing sacrifice cloth I did for St Martin last year, to heal my eye. The egg cleanse showed the spikes and webs indicitive of evil eye energy and several small bubbles of general negative energy. I've been quite active online recently, sharing a lot of pictures of my practice. I guessed I pissed someone off... or there is a lingering evil eye attached to the copper bowl. The timing is suspicious. The swelling has already started to go down by the time I go to bed. 

A green leatherbound spine that says "6th and 7th Books of Moses" in gold lettering high on a library shelf. "That one" the voice whispers as my hand reaches out to take it....

I grab my phone to quickly write down the parts of the dream that I remember and then go put that book in my amazon cart. I know what grimoire it is. One important to the Pennsylvania folk magic traditions. "Saved for later". Now to coffee!

Double double, toil and trouble, fire burn and cauldron bubble... its Saturday morning and the negative chaotic energy has reached its limit with my eye. Plus I have a "new" antique cauldron that I'm dying to cackle over so in the pot go the strongest hex removal herbs in my cabinet; rue and agrimony to deconconct for 15 minutes. Followed by hyssop, for cleansing, to steep after the burner is turned off. Once cooled and strained, I add 1 oz of ammonia as the strongest energy stripping potion I have! 

I wipe down that copper bowl and set the rest aside for a spiritual bath later that I will take before the conjunction and talisman ritual. 

When the second Jupiter hour came around for the day, I conscecrated and inscribed my black plate with the seal of Jupiter. The talismans will capture the conjunction energy on this plate. I confered with my familiar spirits on a few details for this ritual. First, the seal of Jupiter that I used was a pentacle so "Do I use 5 blue candles on each point?"... "Yes" was the answer I recieved. "Or do I use only 4 since 4 is the number of Jupiter?"..."No". Next, I wasn't sure the optimal place to put the plate during the conjunction ritual? "Inside my hearth?"..."No". "On my window altar?"..."Yes". Confidence renewed, I went up to take my cleansing bath. 

At 10:27 PM Jupiter officially hit the point of conjunction with Uranus and all the candles and cedar incense were lit and the energy invoked! I was also pleasantly satisfied that it also happen to coincide with the final Jupter hour of the day! 

I woke up early on the following day, Monday. Get my kids off to school and start to get ready... Today is my court date for my ticket that you almost forgot about, didn't you!?! By "get ready" I mean; brush my teeth, put on make-up, anoint wrists and neck with High John the Conquerer oil as I do spell work to dismiss the ticket. 

We go down to the court house and wait a few minutes. Talk to the cop who wrote the ticket and thought that the best we were going to get was the fine reduced, which I was already happy with. Wait a little more. Then we go before the judge... ticket dismissed. Totally grateful!! 

I glance at my calendar, tomorrow is the full moon. In scorpio no less... "Ooh and on a Tuesday too! That is going to be super powerful for fiery protection work!" I mutter as I make a note of a couple Mars ruled herbs I need to pick up from the store. With the big conjunction and talismans now complete, and the court situation handled, I can turn my attention to the full moon activities I want to do and also prepare for Walpurgis night coming up on April 30th (Beltane eve), The halfway to Halloween mark and a prominent day in folklore. The quintessential night of the Witches Sabbath!