Morning Rituals and Routines

Magick of the Mornings
Most people think of Magick as something that happens at night, preferably under a starry night sky or a glowing full moon.  While the night does hold certain power, all times of day have a different type of energy and a different type of Magick to them!  The Air Element is associated with Mornings and Dawn, perhaps because this is the time of day when the air feels the freshest, and the morning light of the sun is the most life-giving and least damaging (for plants and animals alike).  Whenever you first wake up, you are still strongly connected to the Astral Realm from your time of dreams and sleep.  Upon first waking up it is a great time to pray, meditate, say your daily affirmations, and set your intention for the type of day you want to have - because part of you is still connected to Spirit, the Astral Realm, and the Divine.  It is easy for you to communicate with your Spirit Guides, Angels, Deities, and Faeries in the mornings when you first wake up.  Mornings are the perfect time to practice yoga, do some meditation, say prayers, and just set your intentions for the day, asking The Air Element to bring you focus and help you manifest the kind of day you want to have.  Every morning is a fresh start and an opportunity for a new beginning!

Morning Devotions & Meditation
It might be a good idea to come up with your own Morning Devotion, prayer, or meditation.  Write or find a simple prayer you can say every morning, and spend a few moments breathing deeply and feeling gratitude.  Focus on what you want for the day and visualize your day going just the way you want it to.  Smile.  Even if your day doesn't go exactly as you wanted, keep up this positive thinking and prayer every morning... it takes time to get used to meditating and manifesting your desires.  Mornings would also be a good time to say daily affirmations.  You can choose an affirmation the night before, or use an affirmation from our Tarot Card or Air Element studies here... that way you could have a different focus for your meditations and affirmations every week!  Maybe write down the affirmation you want to use for the week and tape it somewhere next to your bed or in your bathroom where you will see it first thing in the morning!

Morning Routines & Housework
I have gone over some basic FlyLady stuff here before, such as the baby steps.  FlyLady suggests having a morning routine of things you do every morning in your home to keep your household running smoothly.  You can infuse your morning routine with Air Energy Magick by asking the Element of Air, the Fairies, or your Angels to help you with your routine.  You can also look at it in a way that reminds you that today is a new day, time for a fresh start - and what you do around your house in the morning is a blessing to your home and family for a wonderful day!

FlyLady's Basic Morning Routine from www.flylady.net

* -Get Dressed to Shoes including Hair/Face, Brush Teeth
* - Make Bed
* -Swish & Swipe
* -Empty Dishwasher
* -Reboot Laundry (a Load a Day Keeps CHAOS Away) 

* -Check Your Calendar

* -Check Your Control Journal

* What's For Dinner?

* Drink Your Water

* Declutter for 15 Minutes

* 15 Minutes of Loving Movement (exercise)

I have my morning Routine Broken down into rooms (zones) and 15 minutes at a time.  Here's my current Morning Routine (Which I have not been doing lately, but I plan on changing that very soon! 

MORNING HOUSEWORK CHECKLIST

Getting Started

• Deep Breathing / Positive Thoughts / Daily Affirmation
• Make sure kids are doing their morning routines.  Start coffee or make tea.
• Get Dressed To Shoes / Veil
• Morning Prayer or Invocation.  Meditation.
• Take My Vitamins.  Drink Water.  
• Start a Load of Laundry

Bathroom & Self Care (15 to 25 minutes)

• Gather dirty laundry
• self-care (Hair, face, teeth, make-up)
• Put away self-care products
• Swish & Swipe

Bedroom (10 minutes or less)

• Make Bed
• Gather Laundry
• Hot Spots - Tops of Dressers & Bookshelf

Kitchen (15 minutes)

• Put away clean dishes
• Wash Breakfast Dishes
• Wipe Table & Counter top
• What's For Dinner?

Living Room & Front Entrance - (15 minutes)

• Living Room Hot Spots (side tables)
• 5 Minute Room Rescue Living Room (Floor & couches)
• Front Room Hot Spots (coffee table, bar, Launch Pad)
• Sweep Front Room

Office - 10 minutes

• Hot Spots - Homework Desk, Computer Desk
• 5 minute room rescue

Finishing up (10 to 30 minutes)

• 5 minutes of folding laundry
• Dinner Prep if possible (crockpot, etc)
• Calendar / Budget work.  Check today's schedule, pay bills if needed.
• Prayers of Gratitude, Affirmations

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Morning Routines For Kids

Angelic Guidance for the week of April 15 - 21

As many of you know, I am a huge fan of Doreen Virtue.  I consider her to be one of my personal spiritual teachers, one of my "gurus".  Although I have never met her in person, I own many of her books and oracle card decks, listen to her radio show, and watch her weekly oracle card readings on youtube.

This week I wanted to share with you the video she posted for the coming week.  It speaks of the empowerment that comes from our own personal choices, and also the importance of seeking for an accepting the help or guidance of others.  I think this week's reading goes quite perfectly with our Fairie message for this week, don't you?  The Fairies have urged us to cleanse and detoxify our bodies; cleansing ourselves of harmful toxins we put in our bodies.  Watch this reading for the week by Doreen and see how it might fit in with our week as we embark upon a somewhat uncomfortable - yet empowering - journey of detoxification!

I also found another Oracle card reader who works closely with the Angels who posted a similar style of reading for the week, using a different Oracle Card Deck.  I was delighted with how these two readings seem to really align with and support each other!  Once again keep in mind our goal of detoxification as you listen to this reading;

Overview from both readings & my thoughts as they apply to our "Detoxification" reading from Friday.
Beginning of the week;
Page of Water.  Intuition, sensitivity, fears.  (deciding to give up an addiction or detoxify your body can be scary, overwhelming, and set your sensitivity on edge.)
What do Your Desire? - set your intention clearly in your mind, decide why you are doing this and that you deserve to treat your body with respect.
Manifesting Dreams; My dreams are coming true!  Again, all about setting your intention clearly and trusting that you can manifest your desires, and you CAN accomplish this goal!  Oh, and check out the picture on that card- full of fresh fruits and vegetables!

Middle of the week;
King of Air; Brilliant, impartial, professional, diplomatic.  You gain confidence as the week goes on, and possibly encounter a person or people who are supporting you along the way.
Energy Work; The power of self-healing, taking care of your body... these are now coming through on a spiritual and energetic level as well!
Awakening Ancient Wisdom; Deep inner knowing is emerging within me!  This card perfectly complements the King of Air - confidence, knowledge, support, and wisdom! Pay attention to sychronicities and signs that will be affirming that your detoxification process is going well, and trust that this process will bring you great inner wisdom!

End of the week; (Weekend)
Eight of Water; a new emotional level.  You will have moved on from fear and sensitivity of the beginning of the week, to a point where you are feeling ready to move on to the next stage in your life.  Isn't that one of the goals of detoxification?  Removing some blocks and freeing ourselves to see and feel what we really want!
Be Honest with Yourself - Clarify what you are feeling.  Now that you have detoxified your body, you can take a more honest look at how you are feeling, without worrying about whether your feelings and intuitions are being clouded by certain toxins or physical ailments.
Exceeding Expectations; I soar into excellence!  If you have followed through on your detoxification and the advice of the cards from earlier in the week (Setting your intentions clearly, manifesting what you want, being confident, getting support from others, doing energy-work and self-healing) then you have something to be proud of and you have probably exceeded your own expectations!  You have removed blocks and physical ailments and are now able to be truly honest with yourself.... you are ready to soar to the next level of healing and learning!

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Thanks for reading and make sure you come back often as we learn more about the Air Element, and listen to and apply the advice of the Fairies and The Angels as we continue our Air Element Studies!

New Website Launched!

Hi friends!  I just wanted to let everyone know I have been working on my website, and it is officially launched and "open for business"!
Please come check it out...

Soul Healing & Readings with Josephine

I have many new readings I am offering, plus a percentage of the cost of all readings will be donated to R.A.I.N.N. (the Rape, Abuse, and Incest National Network)  I am really excited about the new site and hope you will come join me!

There are forums available for members and we will be posting about and discussing a variety of topics, I hope you will join in on the fun and Soul Healing!

ALSO - everyone who is a member by the end of the month (August) will be entered into a drawing for a FREE reading! 
See you there!

Lady Jo
http://readingsbyjosephine.webs.com/

Special Offer!

I have a special offer going on at my Website for a limited time only! Come check out the Pisces Astrology/Tarot Combo Reading!

In this reading I will explore the Pisces/Neptune energy in your astrological chart, PLUS a 7 card Tarot Reading specially designed to look at the Pisces energy present in your life right now! This reading would normally be priced at $45.00.... but for a limited time I am offering it for only $30.00! Come check it out, and take advantage of this great deal!

Special Offer - Pisces Reading

Goddess Giveway at Bringing Up Salamanders

A great Giveway going on over at Bringing Up Salamanders! Follow her blog and leave a comment about which Goddess you would like her to create for her Etsy shop (which is already full of a multitude of great Goddesses, Gods, and other cute trinkets) and you'll be entered into a drawing!

Turn Around Tuesdays - The Aquarius Papers

I don't have one specific blog post here to talk about, because I think this blog as a whole is entrancing and beautiful. Maybe I'm biased because it is written by my brother. But see for yourself and see what you think of The Aquarius Papers.

Simple truths, thoughts about God and Humanity. Beautiful pictures, poetry, random thoughts. You never know what Prometheus will blog about from one day to the next, and neither does he. He just promised himself to write something every day, to take a picture every day. It all started out like this; "How To Not Need Anything"


I hope you will enjoy reading this blog, and possibly even subscribe to it! This post has been brought to you by "Turn Around Tuesdays". No squirrels were injured in the creation of this post, though they may try to tell you differently.

I Write Love On My Arms

I have struggled with depression since I was a teenager. I have learned coping skills since then and for the most part I am a positive and happy person. But when life gets stressful and the depression kicks in, it can be hard to practice what I preach. I told a friend last night, "I can't throw myself a life jacket." I was sitting here considering whether or not to call a depression crisis hotline, as I just felt that I needed someone to talk to. But I was scared, I've never called one of those hotlines before. And I kept giving myself excuses. I'm not suicidal, I'm not crying, I'm not cutting myself or self medicating with drugs. But other signs of depression have been here. I'm so tired, but I can't sleep at night. At night I lay awake in near panic-attack mode, my mind spinning with the worries and stresses o my life. In the daytime, I can function, but it's a struggle just to keep myself out of bed. On the days I do go back to bed, I sleep all day. On the days I manage to stay out of bed, I feel that it is all I can do to take care of the kids and the daily household chores. Taking a shower or bath? Too much work. Making important phone calls? Too hard. Eating? Too much effort.
So I was stting here looking online at a list of Depresson Hotlines, trying to decide whether or not to call someone. Which one? What would I say? Would they judge me? Would I be wasting my time calling a hotline that says "Suicide Hotline" - when I'm not suicidal? Excuses. I picked up my deck of cards (at the urging of an online friend) and drew a card. The 9 of Swords. (Above). Okay... obvious, right?
I called a local Crisis Hotline. It was the best thing I could have done. The person I talked to was so compassionate and understanding, and seemed to know exactly what to talk to me about. I talked for an hour to a stranger about my life and my feelings, and this phone call was probably the biggest act of self-love that I have taken in a long time. Aside from talking me through my feelings, she gave me some ideas and hope, along with some community refferal numbers to call for further assistance. I guess I'm writing this because I want others to hear first hand that these hotlines can help. If you're feeling overwhelmed, stressed, or depressed, call someone. It was the best thing I could have done.

Today is "To Write Love On Her Arms Day". TWLOHA is a Depression Awareness and support group. Each year they ask people to write love on their arms to spread awareness about Depression. As I wrote "Love" on my arm today, I realized how far I have come over the years. Last night I reached out and asked for help. In the past, I wouldn't have done that. I would have silently suffered until I reached my breaking point. Here on my arm where the words Love are written, there used to be scars. The scars have faded and over the years I have finally learned how to Love myself instead of hurt myself.

Turn-around Tuesdays - Pagan Dad's Imbolc Children's Story

Over at Wicca Moms, they do what is called "Turn-around Tuesdays", a blog meme in which you take a moment to write about another blog post that you have read and enjoyed. This week I'm gonna "Turn it around" to Pagan Dad for this post - Children's Story For Imbolc

I love the Children's stories posted for each Sabbat at Pagan Dad. These stories include the history and myth of each Sabbat through the Wheel of The Year, in a way that is easy for a child to follow. In this story, The baby sun King has been Reborn, but the Goddess, in her Maiden form, is leeping and cannot be woken. The young Sun King must journey to see the Oracle and find out how to wake the sleeping Maiden... thus reflecting why, even though the days are longer and the nights are growing shorter, the sun is still distant and not quite warming the earth yet.

So, check out the blog at Pagan Dad, and make sure you also stop by "Turn Around Tuesdays" at Wiccan Moms, see what others are king about, and may make your own "Turn Around" post!

A Winter Goddess in a Grimm's Fairy Tale...

I found this at http://paganparenting.org/ and wanted to share. It is a folktale that is most likely connected with with the Germanic Goddess, Holle, who was celebrated in Winter. It's a good story, and seems fitting of the season, read it and enjoy!

http://paganparenting.org/spirituality/deities/motherholle.html

please come check out my new Journaling blog!

I would like to invite you to my newest creation in blog land; http://journalyourselfawake.blogspot.com/

If you're ever wanting a journaling excersize or a blog theme feel free to check it out. Especially if you like self-discovery or exploring spiritual awareness. I will be posting a new journaling exersize each week.

I will still be using this as my main Blog, and this is where I will be posting my personal entries of the journaling suggestions at the other site. If you know anyone who would be interested in Journaling for self-dsicovery, please send them my way!!

my FlyLady Control Journal - Daily

Okay, I'm a Capricorn, but no, I wasn't born organized. Actually I'm quite domestically disabled. So after years of living in C.H.A.O.S. (Can't Have Anyone Over Syndrome) I am trying to pull myself together, get decluttered, and find a system that works for me. I found FlyLady.net a couple years ago, and I love it!! It's a motivational system where you build routines to keep up with the Daily Cleaning, and work on decluttering as you go. I also found a group on CafeMom - Fluttering Flybabies, which helps keep me motivated and stay on track with my routines; or get back on track when I fall off.
FlyLady suggests that you make a "Control Journal"; a book where you keep track of your routines, among other things, to keep you motivated. I've been working on re-vamping my routines and making my new Control Journal, and thought I'd share it with you. Also, if I have it online or on my computer, I can easily access it and see what I should be doing rather than chatting or blogging. So this is the first 3 pages of my Control Journal, the section which holds my daily routines. Some terms may be unknown to those who aren't familiar with FlyLady... such as "Hot Spots"... check out the website if you're curious! It may look like a lot, but if I keep moving and stick with it, I can have all this main stuff done and out of the way by lunch time, leaving the rest of my day for whatever I want. I have learned that it's when I don't do these things daily, the mess and clutter gets out of control, and unorganized Capricorn though I am, I simply don't like it when things are out of control!!

Date;
Events / Plans;
Room of the Day;
Zone of the Week;
Mission of the Day;
Habit of the Month;

Morning Routine
Get Dressed To Shoes
Make Bed (Master Bedroom)
Feed The Cat
Breakfast
Take Vitamins / Drink Water
Brush Teeth and Hair
Swish and Swipe Bathroom
Check Hot Spots
Check Calendar / Schedule / Control Journal
What's For Dinner? (plan ahead)

School Days - Getting the kids ready;
Make sure the kids are dressedto shoes
Help kids brush teeth and Hair
Check thier backpacks
out the door @ 8:30 am (Walking to school)

Daily Home Blessings
Clean up from Breakfast
Hot Spots - Livingroom & Kitchen
Hot Spots - Bathoom & Master Bedroom
Unload Dishwasher / Reload
Wipe Table & Countertops
Shine Kitchen Sink
5 minute Room Rescues (15 minutes total)
* Livingroom
* Master Bedroom
* Kid's Room
Sweep Kitchen Floor
Take Out Trash
Clean up from Lunch

Laundry - Try to do one load a day!
* Sort
* Wash / Dry
* Fold & Put away

Zone Cleaning
* Zone Mission of the Day
* 15 minutes Decluttering Zone

Daily Project / Theme
* Each Day of the week has a different Theme for cleaning, and each day I have a different room of the house that I give a little extra attention to cleaning * see comments below for Daily Themes*


Evening Routine
Wash Dishes / Run Dishwasher
Wipe Table & Countertops
Sweep Kitchen Floor
Shine The Sink
5 minute room rescue livingroom
Put Out Clothes for tomorrow
Check / Set Alarm Clock
Shower / Brush Teeth & Hair
Yoga / Meditation

Look ---> I've got a Blog!

I wanted a place where I can write my random thoughts and experiences, of all the random thoughts and experiences that I have. I'm all over the place when it comes to the internet. There's my Tarot website and Blog, but that is reserved for Tarot-ish talk. I'm really over MySpace. I mean, that is just so 90's, LOL!! I still use it for finding good bands and listening to music, but to tell the truth, I hardly log onto my MySpace at all anymore. I've got my FaceBook - but I don't feel like I can be totally open or "me" there, due to certain family and friends I have on my feed. (Don't judge me; yes I'm a semi-closeted witch, but I'm sure we'll get into the family thing eventually here) Then I have my alternate FaceBook - which I use for my Tarot Reading website / persona. While I am more open there about my beliefs, under my mask of anonymity, I doubt that those certain friends and clients would like to hear about my mundane and sometimes T.M.I. rants on parenting and housewife-ing. Then I've got my CafeMom - OMGs I LOVE CafeMom!! The perfect place for talking about the kids, getting or giving advice on parenting, and reading all about other mom's Baby-Mama-Drama. And while I'm quite addicted to and quite happy journaling away on CafeMom, I somehow still felt I needed my own space to be me.

I love to write, I think that sometimes I have something important to say. Sometimes what I say is unimportant but needs to be heard - or read, anyways.

So Here I am. What shall I talk about first?