THE MIRROR OF ERISED

If you read the Harry Potter books you recognise the title. "Erised" is desire spelled backwards. In the stories, if you looked into the mirror you saw what you most desired. Harry, the orphan, saw in it his parents alive. His friend Ron saw a Quidditch trophy.

I wonder, what I would see if I could look into that mirror? It is sometimes hard to know what our deepest desires really are. Our desires motivate us and create the reality we live in. Desire is formed from need, from a feeling of lack, and is bourne into this world by our beliefs.

My experience giving readings tells me that most people are more interested in how to find love, the romantic kind, than a better job or more money, or even spiritual guidance. Romantic love, whether it is fufilled or not, is the true Mirror of Erised.

Romantic love, at least at the beginning, when one is "in love", is really just two monologues. And the monologues are all about how good the other person makes you feel. True love always comes later, and must be accompanied by Love- the conscious decision to give love "in sickness and in health, for richer or for poorer," etc. The floaty, happy feelings of "in love" are in truth an empty promise. No one else can fufill you except for you.

There is a beautiful quote from Kahlil Gibran: "Two halves don't make a whole, but two wholes make two and a half." But being "in love" can be a powerful reflection of what is not whole in ourselves. In our "Self's".

In many ways, being in love is really about weakness. With desire comes need, and with need comes belief. It is easy to believe that you are A-OK until your own desire comes head to head with another person's.

I subscribe to the Harville Hendrix school of thought. That we choose our partners based on the negative traits of our parents, or primary caretakers, when we were small children. He proposes a path to healing through recognising this, and then working on the reactions you have to the needs your partner has that are in contradiction to your own.

We can only grow when we look honestly in the Mirror and see our deepest desires, our deepest needs-- as selfish as they may be--and our deepest weaknesses. And because every thought and action creates a magnetic field, we always attract what we are, and what we believe is possible.

If you are attracting partners that "make" you unhappy, or are not what you feel you deserve, then the good news is, you can change all of that. It is not another person that "makes" us feel love-- or pain, or anger, or anything else-- it is our own needs, and our belief systems. It is our own lack of wholeness.

All of our relationships, not just romantic ones, are mirrors to the deepest, darkest, most hidden parts of ourselves. The parts we don't ever show anyone; the doors we always keep locked; the monsters in the cellar.

With the Love Lady Venus in Capricorn for the next two weeks- visiting her brothers, Lord of the Underworld, Pluto, and the Big Daddy, Jupiter- now is the perfect time to make friends with those monsters. It is a good time to clear those skeletons from the closet. I've been down in the dungeon lately, and I can assure you that it is not so scary as you might think.

In fact, by confronting the weakest parts of yourself, you can find incredible strength. Romantic love might be the weak sister of Love, but she is sister all the same. Once you know your desires you can learn how to make them strengths. You can find the ultimate power: the power of unconditional Love-- for yourself, for your partner, for your parents, for anyone who has ever "made" you feel pain.

Even if you have no companion, make the journey anyhow. I learned the power of this several years ago when I fell "in love" with a man who was in a relationship. There was no improper intercourse between us (yes, bad pun, I know), but for me it was the same euphoria.

One afternoon I was meditating, and I found myself so overcome with feeling that I forgave all of the people in my life that had hurt me, including the men who had raped me when I was young. It was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.

To this day I am still able to ride the wave of even minor infatuations to a higher understanding of the role that unconditional Love plays in healing and strengthening my own weaknesses. Even if your last relationship was bad-- or all of your relationships-- you can learn from it. I am certain of it. Because you are the only constant in the equation. The variables are your partners, and only by changing yourself and overcoming your own weaknesses will you be able to attract the kind of relationship that you want.

People often ask me what do I mean by "magick" and "witchcraft"? I mean Love, and learning to direct it into the world in such a way that everyone you come in contact with benefits from the Love you have in your heart.

But you can only do this by knowing your heart. By looking without fear or false hopes into the Mirror of Erised, and knowing what that reflection really is.

PRAISES, THANKS, & BLESSINGS!!!

PS-- Remember Mercury is retrograde right now. Drive safe. Double check all the documents. Have back-up.