Midnight Esbat

Honestly, you're probably already using tarot as self-care​. Using tarot in its most basic & modern purpose — drawing cards or spreads to find deeper meaning, connecting to intuition, or decoding spiritual messages — already exists as forms of self-care. All of this already counts because, usually, tarot is meant to help answer questions, solve problems, and uncover hidden secrets in our inner thoughts. And that is self-care, even if you didn't know it. ;) But, there are ways to develop intentional techniques to use in your tarot practice to progress your sacred self-care journey. Keep reading → https://vellamour.com/using-tarot-as-a-form-of-self-care/ Want to learn how to read tarot?​ → https://vellamour.com/product/learn-tarot-five-days-course/

You have a Great Work, and it is calling to you.​ I believe that every human on Earth has a lifelong mission to complete. A gift to give the world. A Great Work, which is a phrase stolen from Deborah Castellano's book, Glamour Magick. Great Work // That which I'm meant to offer the world. That gift I am meant to give away. How I help the world heal and grow. Your Great Work is an ever evolving mission that you are on throughout our life. Sometimes it seems very mundane and specific: My Great Work is to become a nurse and help people. And other times, it's very vague and even seems unachievable: I will heal people's soul with my touch. But as your Great Work ebbs in and out of tangible action and flowery words, it is still there, underneath it all. I believe it is a direct response to your karmic, inner wound. The wound that cannot be healed. The wound that your Chiron sign represents and holds space for.  Keep reading → https://vellamour.com/uncovering-your-great-work/

Are you ready to deepen your practice?​ Diving into the darkness of one's soul is some of the most complicated and integral parts of spirituality. Where you can meet the closeted shadow, the inner child, the suppressed dreamer, and the wild animal. All who lurk under the surface. Where suddenly, you're doing more than just battling and holding off demons. You're befriending and forgiving them. You're extending a hand to all the bits and pieces of yourself that have been forgotten, stifled, or protected. It's the process of unleashing the truth within you in favor of freedom and accessing the inner power that comes with being human by nature. Continue Reading: https://vellamour.com/shadow-work-how-to-2/ Want to receive a love note sent straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up: http://selfcare.vellamour.com/ Thanks to these patrons (https://www.patreon.com/vellamour) - Inspiring Alien - Teena Fultz - August - Joanna - Shayna W.

Taking time for ourselves during quarantine and social isolation. COVID-19 is not easy to navigate right now . I live in the United States, and the Center for Disease Control here has urged the country's citizens to isolate themselves in self-quarantine or to practice social distancing when we have no choice but to step out into the public. This, along with hand washing, keeping personal items sanitary, and avoiding touching the face have been really the only unanimous guidelines to follow during this pandemic. And yes, it is a pandemic. Not only is the premise of social distancing and altogether isolation pretty daunting (except for us introverts, amirite?), but watching our current capitalistic system breakdown, our government show their true allegiance, and companies decide the fate of their employees also incredibly scary to witness. But even in these dark times, it's important to practice regular and meaningful self-care. I break down an easy beauty ritual you can do to help you relax and release some tension in these trying times. Continue Reading: https://vellamour.com/release-the-tension-2020/ Want to receive a love note sent straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up: http://selfcare.vellamour.com/ Thanks to these patrons (https://www.patreon.com/vellamour) - Inspiring Alien  - Teena Fultz

Trigger Warning: We talk about mental health in this episode. I mention unhealthy behaviors based on bad shadow work or a lack of shadow work. I talk explicitly about depression and eating disorders. But if you are sensitive to suicide, self-harm, disordered eating, addiction, or other issues at all, please take care when encountering this episode.   Continue Reading: https://vellamour.com/shadow-work-1/ GET LAYLA SAAD's "Me and White Supremacy" Workbook: http://laylafsaad.com/meandwhitesupremacy-workbook Jessi Huntenburg: https://jessihuntenburg.wpcomstaging.com/  Jessi's channel: https://www.youtube.com/user/missjessiclark Resources: It’s important to do shadow work to deepen your spiritual practice, but sometimes you just need straight up therapy. These resources are focused within the United States by the way, and most likely will need to be paid for via health insurance and out of pocket.  If you are experiencing crisis  (life-threatening emergency, in danger of hurting yourself or others, feeling suicidal, or even just overwhelmed), you need to get professional level help immediately over doing shadow work. Consider these options:   - Go to the emergency room or call 911. - Call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255 (TTY: 1-800-799-4TTY) or chat with someone online: www.suicidepreventionlifeline.org  If you are not in a crisis, but do need professional help, consider these options:   - Logging into your healthcare provider’s portal to see which therapists, psychiatrists, or counselors are available in your network. You also can see who has sliding scale pricing to help find someone you can afford. (P.S. Psychiatrists diagnose disorders/illness and prescribe medicine. Therapists/counselors don’t always have those capabilities, and usually have regular appointments to help you work through your demons with various forms of therapy. I personally prefer therapists/counselors over psychiatrists.) - Signing up for a website like Talkspace. - Setting an appointment with your general doctor to talk about your options for medication, out-patient or in-patient care, rehab, or just therapy. They can refer you to other doctors or programs. - Looking at your local library, mental health facility, rec center, doctor’s office, etc for free group options like AA or others.  You are very brave for considering and reaching out for professional help. You are worthy of being healed. You are wanted on this planet. Your existence is needed. Thank you for reaching out to professionals. Want to receive a love note sent straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up: selfcare.vellamour.com

"How do I stop being so lovey-dovey?"  A few days ago a friend of mine, Alice, asked me how she could stop being so lovey-dovey. When I asked her what she meant, this is what she said:   “Valentine’s Day is coming up. I love Valentine’s Day, but since this year I’m going to be alone, I don’t know how to channel my lovey-dovey energy. I don’t want to be sad for the holiday, so how do I stop being so lovey-dovey?” So, I told her that instead of rejecting her natural “lovey-dovey” feelings, she should channel that energy and put it back inward to herself. But of course to that she asked me: “How?” Continue Reading: https://vellamour.com/self-love-valentines-day-2020/ Sorry for the crappy editing. I just edited out my coughs and then BAM I posted it. xD Want to receive a love note sent straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up: selfcare.vellamour.com

My mental health is trash.  Okay, I admit that even though I like to preach about self-care. I am not always the greatest at prioritizing it in my own life. 2019 was not a good year for me in the slightest. (Was it for anyone, though?) I want to start 2020 with a different approach to how I set intentions. "But it’s already February… shouldn’t you have been doing this in January?" Yes and no. 2019 was all about shedding the old decade, coming to terms with lessons learnt, and establishing a foundation for the 20s decade. I used January to sort of create a base in which to build upon in 2020, and so it’s finally time to come up with the blue prints for what I want to build. And Imbolc is the perfect sabbath to ritualize this practice! Continue Reading: https://vellamour.com/imbolc-2020-setting-intentions Want to receive a love note sent straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up: selfcare.vellamour.com

Sorry for such shitty audio.  I’m not saying connecting to your ancestral history, being inspired by local lore, or finding yourself called to from establish pantheons a bad thing or “icky” (I shouldn’t have used those words in the ‘cast). What I am saying is that none of those things connect to me because of my specific code of ethics and because of my specific heritage/ancestral history. How can I connect to local spirituality when my direct ancestors colonized and oppressed the people who began those traditions? How can I reclaim a culture and spirituality that my ancestors abandoned in favor of privilege? How can I cherry pick pieces of other cultures without being indoctrinated or called to them correctly? Those were the questions spiraling through my head when I decided to take a step back and create my own path of witchcraft. And even tho at the time I knew how to use all my tools and perform the spells, since none of it was fueled by energy, spirit, or faith, it was all empty for me. So, I decided to focus on one path, find my own ORIGINAL spiritual connection, and build the faith I needed to maintain that spirituality. It wasn’t easy—it required a lot of darkness and shadow work along the way. I hope that anyone else listening or reading this who feels similarly can be comforted that creating a path is DOABLE, and even repeatable (I mean, I created a framework for it). I would love to hear your opinions about all of this. How are you feeling? Were you able to easily find your way, or did it take you a while to discover where to go (like me)? Continue reading: https://vellamour.com/spiritual-orphan-lost-in-witchcraft/

Okay, what is a beauty ritual? You’ve heard me talk about beauty rituals before, but I’ve only ever defined it once. Oh, and yes, this is my own, made up definition. Beauty Ritual: applying magical methods to otherwise mundane beauty routines Seems pretty simple, right? But I’m sure you still have questions! Like, how exactly do you apply the magical methods? What routines do you apply them to? Can you apply magical methods to any beauty routine? What if you don’t have a beauty routine!? Suddenly beauty rituals don’t seem so simple! Continue Reading: https://vellamour.com/beauty-ritual-101/ Watch it instead:  https://youtu.be/PToZcEX_FMs Want to receive a love note sent straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up: selfcare.vellamour.com

Magic requires your whole self, not just a piece of you.​ It’s honestly that simple. You will get a better outcome of your spellwork when you activate your physical self, your mental self, and your spiritual self. Most new witches, or people dabbling in ritual and manifestation work, only activate the physical and spiritual side of themselves when diving into a spell. They don’t even realize just how important all aspects are.   Continue Reading: https://vellamour.com/mind-body-spirit-activate  Watch it instead:  https://youtu.be/Kq0qDE38lvU Want to receive a love note sent straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up: selfcare.vellamour.com

First, if you're here, you belong here. If you’re here, you probably identify, or want to identify, with the label — Beauty Witch. And that alone means you’re in the right place. You’ve found your community. 🙂 But what exactly drew you in to the label Beauty Witch? What makes it feel relatable, intriguing, or validating? What exactly is a Beauty Witch, by definition? And what makes us one? Continue Reading: https://vellamour.com/what-is-beauty-witch Watch it instead: https://youtu.be/JZl1P_Uz1Hs Want to receive a love note sent straight to your inbox every Friday? Sign up: selfcare.vellamour.com