...Although the mysterious aesthetics certainly look nice and are good for sales. I've always been a big fan of the practical and grounded, though, and I've always strived to demystify a tool that is seen as somehow sacred. It can be, but I find 'sacred' is often an adjective we assign to an object or place, and over time, if enough people do that, the energy of the object or place can become a thing of its own. But we're  the ones who have done that - the collective human consciousness. (Yeah, we are that powerful, especially en masse.) Reading with cards, shells, crystals, runes, or any instrument is greatly misunderstood. A collection of things (whatever they are) form a network of energy that is communication within itself. When you walk into a room, you "read the room" by using all your senses to assess everything within it to form an opinion, or inner-guidance, that helps you move forward. A reading with any instrument is exactly the same. The diff...

(As always, the below are just my current thoughts, that is all...) Duality is necessary for depth and breadth of feeling, emotion, evolution, thought... to find mergence of both, within the soul, is where peace begins. Duality is what creates the split within us that in turn gives birth to our strengths and vices. Today, I felt compelled to focus on 'judgement'. To lose your judgement of others, you have to accept yourself as you are, after all, judgement of others is only judgement of self. When one is at total peace with all their vices, their darkness and their light, is when the need to criticise, disapprove, and 'be offended' disappears. Judgement is no more. What is left in its place is a calm discernment of life as it is; of people as they are . The understanding and drive to strive for greater things become clearer and sharper when we are not reliant on judging what we mean to heal. Lose your judgement; aim for acceptance and the clarity of discernment that bri...

Let's start by saying that anything anyone tells you about "the other side" is always going to be from their own experiences, and often beliefs will cloud experiences – as spiritual workers, we do our best not to let this happen, but it's human nature and even the most objective of us still have hidden belief structures that form who we are, and I'm no different. As always, please trust your own  experiences and intuition as they will lead you on the path that is meant for you. The below points are based solely on my experiences and understanding of the other side, and not information I have read about or repeated without having a "knowing" of it in some way. My definition of earthbound spirits are human souls who, for whatever reason, have not crossed over to the other side yet after having died – call the other side whatever you like: the Afterlife, the Summerlands, the Otherworld, Heaven, whatever. Out of everyone who dies, very, very, very few remain...

Don't disturb the dead. Don't walk across graves. Let the dead rest. From ever since I can remember, these were phrases I heard or were told – I'm not sure why. I don't disagree with the principle, but why did I hear this so much? Was it because I loved graveyards? Was it because my family's background was Roman Catholic? As a young child I used to sing and play the guitar in a few churches every now and then. I loved  graveyards; they were so peaceful and I never once felt scared or intimidated being in one. I never thought I was disturbing the dead when I played in graveyards because I did not feel spirits (specifically those of humans who had passed) hung around in graveyards. In fact, graveyards were among the places my mind felt quiet and my heart felt light. The beach is the other place I experience such lightness. Don't disturb the dead. Don't walk across graves. Let the dead rest. I attribute these words and this philosophy – combined with my warine...

As human beings, we give ourselves an incredibly hard time about everything we feel. We “shouldn’t” feel this; we “should” just be able to carry on; we “shouldn’t” be angry / sad / jealous / bitter..... Acceptance and the allowance of what you feel is the first step to transforming it. Often just talking about the feeling can help this process; and flower remedies (or even herbs, as I also use herbal medicine in this way) can additionally help the transformation of the feelings into something proactive and positive. You are a human being , not a robot. This means you are pure energy and always in flow  –  ever changing like the moon and tides. So, work with the energy you feel and with the earth around you. Sometimes it’s hard. Sometimes there are earthquakes and typhoons, so put away your “shoulds” and “shouldn’ts” and remember what it is to be wild and free in your connection with life itself. Your feelings are a big part of that. Allow yourself the gift of them. Photograph...

The people in your life who are difficult - who prod you, poke you, annoy you, or sometimes are downright mean to you - are called “petty tyrants” in some shamanic trainings. These petty tyrants are there to make you face your shadow self. This doesn’t mean you go all love and light and make like a doormat for them because everyone deserves care and kindness. It means you often have to connect with parts of yourself you find very uncomfortable so you can face the petty tyrant and tell them to fuck right off out of your life. It’s about value and self-worth. That’s what tyrants do: they force you to find your value and self-worth; your purpose and your grit, and this always has to come from inside (even if stoked externally by the tyrant). No one can tell you what your value is except you. How you then choose to exercise that new-found power is up to you. Love and light is  also  part of your value and worth as a human being who has choice. Choose wisely. But never, ever, give ...

It would not be  entirely   true to say I have never felt like I belong here. I always knew I was supposed to be here on Earth, incarnated. I always had a strong sense of my "mission" or "purpose", although I couldn't always put it into words. When I say "always", I mean it  –  always. Ever since I was little and dreamt my first dream. It  would  be accurate to say that I always felt like I belonged to a higher being  –  call it Great Spirit, or God, or whatever. I never had an actual name for "it". I always knew my true home was not here, and I would return to home  –  wherever it was  –  one day. I always knew I never "belonged" to my mother  –  she was a valuable guide and nurturer, but not "home"  –  and I never really felt like I had a father because I always remembered meeting the man who became my father  –  a lovely man, but distant. A bit "stiff upper lip". Very quiet. Hard to talk to. My ...

It’s healing. It’s that simple. Most people who come for a Reading just need a confirmation of what they already know. The cards more often than not give them the “yes” they are looking for to move ahead. Sometimes there is a “have you considered this [challenge / scenario]?” But there is rarely a “no”. It’s not up to anyone to say no to something you fully want to do, anyway. All you need is guidance on how to go about doing it. Personally, I don’t think Tarot, or any clairvoyant or seer, can tell you anything you don’t already know on some level, because Tarot is a mirror  –  it reflects what is already here (albeit sometimes hidden). So it is not about “prediction” as such  –  it is about bringing to light the hidden. I don’t need to know anything about you to Read cards for you. Although a good, clear question is handy. Even without a question, though, the Reading will centre around a focal issue in your life, or something you’re supposed to pay atte...

All the fantasy stories and imaginings you put yourself in as a child, are the closest to your history and where you come from that you will get. They are also signposts to your soul contract (your mission on earth) as the child that you were will have instinctively known and carried out actions to help you progress in the right direction for your contract. I stress that even challenging and stormy times as a child readied you for the reason you are here, incarnated. Some of it might be karma, but karma can be shed in an instant with first, awareness; and then the desire to end the karmic cycle through either action (if possible) or intent. And it is done. Most hold on to karma because they are afraid to let it go. When you do not know who you are (free of karma, and simply free) you will hold on to old pains and familiarities because you think they define you. You think they root you. When the truth is you are already the root of the seed that grew. Photo: Sunset Over the Hill, by Di...

I undertook some regression work today, and I was reminded of something very important: love, when we allow ourselves to feel it in its entirety, crosses time and space. We should never be afraid to love, no matter how painful it feels to love. And when we can no longer be with those we love with all our hearts, allow the heart to carry on loving. Love is never weak or stupid, or a waste of energy – because your love never, ever belongs to another. It's yours – it's YOUR love you feel at any given moment. And it can't ever be given away because it is endless. Love is a never ending source of itself . It can be directed wherever you want to direct it, but don't stop feeling it. It's big. It's powerful. I felt that power today as I lay in a chair and was asked to transform shadow into light, and sorrow into joy. I allowed myself to feel and acknowledge a love I hadn't allowed to exist in its fullest form since a time before this one; since a world before this ...

This post is specifically written with empaths and highly sensitive people in mind, but anyone can use these grounding methods at any time as they are practical and can be ingrained into everyday life. In later posts, I'll talk about more spiritual and meditative / visualisation-based approaches to protect yourself and your boundaries, but in this post, I'm listing very "normal" things that you can do (that won't raise eyebrows!), daily, and quite easily, to help balance and ground your emotions, and ease any feelings of overwhelm. All of these things work for me - I use at least one method a day. Physical exercise . This is going to apply mostly to those of you who  like  working out to some degree (if you don't, see number 2 below). Try and fit in half an hour of stretching, and or stepping, rowing, cycling, spinning, weights ... whatever floats your boat. The act of movement shifts your mind away from feelings and emotions, and into the present and the phys...

First, the difference between having empathy, and being an empath. In simple terms: Having empathy is the ability to resonate with another's feelings; to be in tune with someone's emotions. Being an empath is to feel what someone else feels as if the feelings are your own, and I mean this literally. (Empaths are seen as fictional by most  –  not real.) I know a lot about the Otherworld - I've been journeying there ever since I can remember and in many ways, it feels more like home than here. (I will be writing about those journeys and my experiences in the Otherworld  –  please bear with me  –  it takes time to fill a blog, and there's a lot to write about.) But, it should be noted to anyone reading this post, that I've only very recently admitted to myself that I'm an empath. I'm an empath. I don't remember that word (or term) really existing when I was researching spiritual things in my late teens. I remember reading about emotional vampires and psych...

(Recommended reading at the bottom of this article.) When I was a child, I used to sit on the floor, cross-legged, and, unintentionally, rock back and forth, and back and forth, and back and forth. I would always wander off into a daydream whilst doing this, and I never knew I was rocking until I came back from the daydream and caught myself rocking. My mum would hate it. I remember her walking into my bedroom more than once, because I did not respond to her calling my name (I didn’t hear her – I was off dreaming), and she’d find me rocking. She’d exhale sharply, and say, “For goodness sake, stop rocking like that – you look like one of those neglected orphan children!” I suppose I had a sad look on my face? I never really knew what she meant, but it obviously pressed her buttons (more than once). For some reason she associated rocking with trauma. I never felt sad or lost (or traumatised) while rocking, or daydreaming. I felt calm and balanced. I rocked a lot, right up until my teena...

When I was around twenty-one, I paid rent to live in a self-contained room in a house. The bathroom was separate, but all the kitchen equipment was in the room. The room was on the second floor and had a beautiful view across a green hill and a couple of fields. I had a wooden, carved snake. A cobra I think. I bought it from an ethnic African store on the High Street of some town in London – it could have been Richmond. It was a couple of feet tall. I’ve always loved snakes – they’re one of my totem animals (a guardian one in fact, but that’s a post for another day). I placed this snake beside my door, inside my room. It was, to my mind, the guardian of the door – I often told myself this jokingly, and I would usually give it a pat on the head when I left the room before locking the door behind me. I’m sure we all have small, slightly daft things like this we do, that don’t really mean a lot at face value, but we do them anyway for whatever reason that might be. Sports people are well ...