The-bewitching-belladonna - 🧿Bella🧿

How To Cleanse Your Deck

You've been using your cards a lot lately and you are feeling as though your deck might be losing some connection...

You are wondering why readings might not seem as accurate or maybe your deck is not giving you as full of a picture as it previously has...

It might be time to cleanse your deck!

Reasons to cleanse your deck:

You are feeling a little less of a connection

Your deck is being very vague consistently

You don't feel the same power coming from your deck

You just feel like it

You've been doing a lot of readings

There are many reasons you might want to cleanse your deck, those are just a couple of them.

How do you go about doing that?

My favorite method is using dried rosemary and waving it over my deck, then using selenite or clear quartz to charge it.

Other methods:

Placing in a bowl of salt overnight

Use stones you associate with the cleansing energy and place them with it

Doing a full cleansing ritual complete with incantation (this will vary depending on the practitioner)

Simply sitting with your deck and visualizing the old energy leaving the deck

"You can sort the cards into order (Major Arcana 0-21, then the four colors each Ace-King) as a form of resetting the deck. Shuffle it well before you use it again." - via @rosehiphobbit

This can work for any deck you have even if they aren't traditional tarot cards. The idea is to place them back in their original order.

Something I like to do when I am finished with a reading and before I start a reading is something a basic as waving my hand over the deck I am using and stating that I am clearing the energy from the previous reading from the deck.

If you forget to charge your deck when you are done, you can concentrate on the energy you need when you do your next reading with the energy you feel (love, protection, wisdom, strength etc). If you do tend to forget and leave it uncharged, consider setting up a protection so that unwanted energies don't try to settle in. I like to charge the deck after I am done with selenite or clear quartz.

Do you have any favorite ways to cleanse your deck?

altars for greek gods

this post includes hades, persephone, artemis, apollo, aphrodite, hermes, and hekate. for part 2 including zeus, hera, poseidon, hestia, hephaestus, dionysus, ares, demeter, and athena click here, for the titans and protogenoi click here.

keep in mind that this is largely UPG, new age stuff, and historically accurate offerings to the gods include meat, wine, grain (specifically barley), honey, and incense (myrrh and frankincense).

colors can be used for candles, banners, decor, whatever you want

HADES

Colors: black, red, and white for association with death. purple and metallics for association with riches/wealth

Offerings: mint, asphodel, white poplar, pomegranate, coffee, cinnamon, elm, money, chocolate

Crystals: gemstones, black crystals (obsidian, black tourmaline, smokey quartz, etc.), pyrite, hematite, labradorite

Animals: black ram, owl, serpent, Cerberus

PERSEPHONE

Colors: purple, pink, yellow, green for association with springtime. black and metallics for association with Hades. white for purity.

Offerings: pomegranate, flowers, grains, asphodel, lavender, rosemary

Crystals: amethyst, gemstones, moss/tree agate, milk quartz, jade, lepidolite

Animals: deer, ram, bat, talking birds (including parrots)

APHRODITE

Colors: red and pink for love/sexuality. white and blue for association with the ocean. gold for association with, well, gold.

Offerings: roses, chocolate, shells, myrrh, gold

Crystals: rose quartz, pearl, emerald, opal, aquamarine, rhodonite, rhodochrosite, ocean jasper, morganite

Animals: swan, dove, hare

ARTEMIS

Colors: white, blue, black, and grey for association with the heavens. brown and green for association with nature/the hunt.

Offerings: moon shaped foods, frankincense, cypress, mugwort, amaranth

Crystals: morganite, moonstone, aventurine, selenite, celestite, moss/tree agate, amethyst, quartz (specific dendritic), labradorite, silver

Animals: deer, wolf, wild boar

APOLLO

Colors: yellow, white, and blue for association with the heavens. red, orange, and pink for healing. purple and green for the Oracle

Offerings: sun shaped foods, bay leaves, laurel, cypress, playing music, poetry

Crystals: sunstone, amber, calcite (specifically honey and yellow), quartz (specifically rutilated or clear), rose quartz, silver

Animals: cow, snake, hawk, crow/raven, cicada, swan, bees

HERMES

Colors: green and gold for money/luck. white and brown for travels.

Offerings: money, crocus/saffron, strawberries

Crystals: jade, malachite, fluorite, pyrite, lapis lazuli, citrine, alexandrite

Animals: tortoise, ram

HEKATE

Colors: purple, blue, and green for magic. red and black for association with underworld

Offerings: garlic, saffron, crossroad dirt, black salt, ashes, sage, cedar, yew

Crystals: labradorite, obsidian, hematite, black tourmaline, amethyst, bloodstone, serpentine, lepidolite

Animals: wolf, boar, serpent, lion, horse, cow

Sometimes, your intuition fails you so you can have a little fun.

My intuition is powerful. That’s not me bragging. It’s just a fact about me. I have black hair, brown eyes and a powerful intuition.

Which means life barely surprises me. I see false friends coming from miles away. Same with true ones, celebrations and disasters.

When I met my great love, I knew he would be that from the first second I looked at him. Call me cheesy, but it’s the truth — I saw him walking towards me, and the world around us slowed down. Everything faded to black and white. Only he was in color. Only he was alive.

My Sun was his Rising. My Rising, his Sun. We were mirrors. It was magical.

But it wasn’t meant to be. We were soul kin, not soulmates. Each other’s mentor, but not each other’s forever.

My intuition saw him coming, and my intuition saw us dissolving. No shocks, no surprises. No pain, even. Or maybe just a pinch. Life is quite predictable for a fortuneteller after all.

But in the past year and a half, my intuition decided to let me have some fun. So she stepped back.

The first time I saw this stranger looking at me, I thought to myself, “What a beautiful man.”

But that’s it. The world didn’t slow down. Nothing faded to black and white. No one around us “died”, with only him looking alive.

Over the course of 18 months, I continued with my life. He was just a random guy from a far-off department whom I noticed every two months walking past me in the hallways. Each time, he was looking at me, and each time, I was looking back. But that was that.

Slowly, “The Beautiful Stranger” became “The Cute Guy on the Third Floor”. Then he grew into “The Office Eye Candy”. And now apparently, he’s become “The Center of My Life” suddenly. I wake up with him every morning, and sleep next to him every night.

I did not see him coming. I did not see him staying. I cannot see what he really is or will eventually be. A lesson? A detour? A happy ending?

I still can peek at my future. My career, my friendships, my wellbeing. But not him. Even my tarot cards refuse to talk about him. Whenever I ask them anything, they give me the silent treatment.

The Hanged Man: No comment.

Wheel of Fortune: Whatever will be, will be.

Temperance: Just wait and see.

Two of Wands: What Temperance said.

Two of Swords: No can do.

Page of Cups: Just enjoy it, will you?

My intuition has left my body... and it feels heavenly.

Is this true love or a commercial break? I have no idea. All I know is that every day, it makes my day. So I promise to cherish it for as long as it wants to stay.

If your powerful intuition suddenly stops talking to you too… it hasn’t abandoned you. It’s just guiding you to something new. You’re not being deserted. You’re being liberated.

May Lord Apollon always give light to you in your darkest moments.

May Lady Artemis assist you in forging your own path - the one least traveled.

May Lord Ares plant your feet on the ground and keep you steady.

May Lady Athena remind you of the power you wield to turn the tide in your favor.

May Lady Aphrodite smile back at you in your own reflection as a reminder of your worth.

May Lord Hephaestus encourage you to look back with pride at your own strength and resilience.

May Lord Hermes guide your steps when they're filled with uncertainty.

May Lady Persephone emphasize all of the beauty that exists in the world around you that has gone unnoticed.

May Lord Dionysus nurse your passion for life, celebrating even the smallest things with you.

May Lord Poseidon aid you in knowing when to assert yourself and when to go with the flow.

May Lady Hestia warm you on your coldest nights and shelter you from every storm.

May Lady Demeter keep your plate full and your cup overflowing.

May Lady Hera show you how to keep your head held high, even when the world heckles you.

May Lord Zeus raise your strengths and talents higher to prove to you how amazing you truly are.

May Lord Haides sit with you on days of worry and offer a grounding hand to hold.

A photo of a candle being lit on our recent Aphrodite Altar for Valentine's Day

Noumenia Blessings!

On the day when the first sliver of moon begins to show, we give offerings to our household gods. These gods often include, but are not limited to, Zeus, Hestia, Hermes, Hekate, and Apollon in their household aspects. I adorned my hearth with flowers and gave offerings of home baked honey cakes, wine, honey, and incense, while reading the Orphic Hymns of the household gods. I always find the Noumenia to feel like a clean slate, where we can go into the next lunar cycle with a fresh start.

My advice regarding romantic relationships with Hellenic deities

This is a bit of a complex topic, but I feel like it's worth my time to write something about. Intimate and sexual relationships with gods is nothing new. Mythologies are filled with stories of gods taking mortals for lovers and even spouses. Like any relationship between a god and a mortal, it's going to vary from god to god, and mortal to mortal. Being romantically involved with a divine being is going to be different for everyone, so I'm going to offer some insights and advice based on my personal experiences.

You don't have to say "yes". You don't have to date anyone you're not interested in, even if they're a god. A god can take "no" for an answer. A divine being will not force themselves on you or coerce you into any arrangement against your will. If it's not something you want or are up for, just politely decline. If it's something you're nervous about but still might be interested in, request some time to think about it, and give your answer at a later time.

You need to set boundaries. The first thing I did was writing down a list of conditions that I will abide by, and boundaries that are not to be crossed. A divine being will respect your boundaries and will have no problem agreeing to reasonable conditions. Once again, if you need time to sleep on this and ponder this through, simply communicate that you wish to do so. Gods are patient. They literally have forever. They will give you the time you need. They will wait.

You can expect reciprocity. A relationship with anyone, mortal or divine, is a two way street. It's going to be a give and take. You can expect certain things from them, and they can expect certain things from you. There's going to be a level of commitment and devotion, and some amount of work involved.

You don't need to rush. Like mentioned above, gods have eternities. Time is not an issue for them. Take your time, get to know them, figure them out, and build a relationship with a foundation. Don't jump into anything you're not ready for. The Hellenic gods are creative with romantic gestures. They will be happy to woo you, to court you, to press their suits to you.

You don't have to be exclusive. The Hellenic gods themselves are not known for monogamy. They're not going to mind your existing or future romantic bonds with other mortals or other gods.

Most importantly: you don't have to marry them. Taking a lover is not automatically a step toward marriage, at any point, by any means. No one has to marry their lover in the end, no matter how long the affair lasts. This was the first condition I put down: I will not marry you. I have no intention of binding myself to a god in a marriage contract. I'm not interested in being a godspouse. I already have a husband in the mortal realm, and that's enough for me. No divine being would require a marital pact for you to remain in their favor. A love affair can end amicably. An oath of marriage, on the other hand, will be much harder to walk away from, and the Hellenic gods aren't ones to take kindly to the breaking of oaths.

“Knowing your own darkness is the best method for dealing with the darknesses of other people.”

— Carl Gustav Jung

When I say "connect with nature" I don't just mean the aesthetic forests with deer and beautiful flowers.

I mean the weeds growing through concrete, the fungus that grows on the rotten shed, the nettles that always seem to return and the scary, spindly cellar spider in the corner of the bathroom.

Nature is not always pretty or magical - the pigeons and seagulls you swat at are nature too, the wasps and flies that hover by your meals are animals too, store-bought strawberries and the leaves that fall from your neighbour's tree are not all that different from the Giant Sequoias and it's seeds.

If you want to connect and understand nature, I mean *really* connect to it, in it's entirety, you have to seek out and learn about the ugly, scary and mundane things as well. You don't have to like it, just don't forget that it's there.