Social Medias #Charlie Charlie Challenge

Well if it weren't bad enough that kids are still playing games with the Ouija Board and getting themselves into a flurry of spiritual mess, now there is the #Charlie Charlie Challenge. Excuse me a moment while I let out a sigh for social media.... Great, now that the moment is over allow me to give you my opinion on this social media insanity.

While I am an avid believer in the spiritual realm (obviously or I wouldn't be writing about things of this nature), and while I still hold strong that items such as the Oujia Board can be used in a safe manner provided you are well informed, it is things like this that cause trouble to stir where there was none before. There are a few issues that I have with this one, firstly the fact that it is clearly telling you that you are summoning a demon. Now, I know most of you will have the same thought I did, what kind of name is Charlie for a demon. Granted, not the most unique, or even terrifying name by any means. That doesn't mean that it isn't true, and also doesn't mean that it is. As with any type of summoning or ritual you are calling upon a specific energy in order to aid in a specific task. Let me be the first to say that demon or not, I feel bad for Charlie that he has to deal with being called all over creation in order to be asked questions like "Which One Direction Band member will I marry..".

That aside, fact of the matter is that a bunch of young, impressionable, and in most cases energy erratic youths are calling upon spiritual answers from an unknown source (one they think is a demon mind you). Doing this under any circumstances is simply asking for a myriad of issues and trouble, and while they may not realize it now they are marking themselves in a way that may even spiritually harm them in the future. Whether or not you believe in Demons is beside the point. Anyone that practices magick or ritual can tell you that if you don't know who you're calling on for help, don't call them, and of course in addition be sure you are protected anyway. Seems that nothing can strike a cord of fear with kids nowadays.

So this simple game spreads around the internet like wildfire, as easy as that is now with Facebook, twitter, vine and all that. It spreads around and people become believers, and something that may have just been a simple form of trickery with an elaborate story becomes true. Something as simple as balancing a pencil on top of another and waiting for it to move, becomes a demon summoning ritual that people fully believe. What do we know about belief? With it, anything is possible. This means that true or not, if enough people believe in the fact that they are summoning a Demon, they may as well be.

Now I came across this whole thing tonight, funny enough it happened to be in the trending column on my Facebook homepage. After I read the short article and saw the video all I could do for about fifteen minutes was shake my head. The danger here is yet unknown, but I am sure that it will be created into something more soon enough. Fact is that you shouldn't play with fire, especially when the fire tells you up front that it's going to burn.

If you would like a look at the article you can find it here #Charlie Charlie Challenge

I don't condone this in anyway mind you. I urge you not to play around with it, and seek to tell your friends the same, just for safety sake. You should however be aware, this new craze can come crashing down just like the Ouija Board has.

Merry Yule!

A shortie on Dream Interpretation

Dream Interpretation is something that believe it or not I get a lot of requests for. The only issue with that is the fact that the interpretation of the symbolism of ones dream will always have more meaning to the person that dreams it, than the person interpreting it. What I mean is that the process of Dream interpretation is about taking the symbols and events of the dream and finding out what they mean. The problem exists in the interpretation itself. For example, when a person dreams about something specific like a suitcase we would go about interpreting what the suitcase means. Now to me personally when I think of a suitcase I think of travel, business possibly. Maybe even keeping a secret. All of that is well and good but the dream wasn't mine. My interpretations carry no weight because I am not the dreamer. The person that actually has the dream has to be responsible for picking through the symbols and interpreting them with their own explanations. It's sort of a kick to the gut when I have to tell these people that they are going to have to do the grunt work, but there is an easier way.

After I have to break the news to people that they are going to have to interpret their own dreams, the next thing I tell them is to get Dream Dictionary. An easy process one may assume, but not as simple as going to the bookstore and picking the first one off the shelf, or the thickest, or the one with the prettiest cover even. The best way to choose a Dream Dictionary is to be sure that the interpretations within are going to match your own. Think of a few symbols, take the time to think about what they may mean to you and then look them up in the Dream Dictionary. If the interpretation there seems similar to your personal one, then you are off to a good start! I usually tell people to try at least three symbols, if all match up well enough with your own ideas then it will most likely be a good book to get you started off with. If not, pickup another and try again!

Now there are a few keys to Dream Interpretation that not many people are aware of. The first is pretty obvious, its about recording your dreams. Whether its electronically, or on paper be sure to record as much of the dream as you can remember. The faster that you do this after having the dream the better, as many times the longer you wait the more you forget. In addition to the dream itself, be sure to log the date, time, and your feelings upon waking. This can tell you a lot when you look back on your journal after a while. You can start to see patterns in your dreaming, like if you tend to remember dreams daily, weekly, monthly etc. The feelings are important as well and will always help with interpretation. No matter the emotion happiness, fear, sadness, write it down as it has a lot to do with the symbolism of the dream as well.

When interpreting your dream, use another paper and begin to re-read your logged dream. On this new paper write down key symbols that you feel are important. Maybe it's the place, the people, the items. Whatever you choose write them down, these are going to be the key factors in interpreting your dream. After you have it all down on paper go through each one by one and look them up in your Dream Dictionary. If there is something that you have written that isn't in your book, take the time to think about that symbol and what it means to you. How does it make you feel, what do you think of when you think about that symbol etc. When you are done with that its a matter of reading through everything together and figuring out what it is that the dream is saying to you!

Not as easy, and not as hard as you may have thought right? Following this guide will get you interpreting all your dreams in no time. Don't be afraid to ask for help if you need it either, though a symbol has importance to the dreamer it may take a little nudge from a friend to get the mind going!

Yule and the Winter Solstice

In the spirit of Yule and the Winter Solstice, let us focus on our new beginnings for the year to come. Here is a simple, fun and easy New Beginnings spell that you can do for the Solstice:

Materials Needed
- Plant Pot with soil
- Seed
- Milk
- 8 white, or blue candles

Take the cup of milk, seed, and pot with soil and place them on the center of your table or Altar. Surround it with the candles. Light the candles in a clockwise pattern. Take the seed in your hand and dip it in the milk, then bring it up to your lips and give it a gentle blow, breathing your energy onto the seed. Hold the seed outward and say. "As I plant this seed, so do I plant my new beginnings for the year to come. As this seed grows and matures, so shall I grow. The path may be hard and long, like the seed becoming plant, but in the end we shall both experience a new growth and new start." Plant the seed in the pot. Take the excess milk and pour it into the Earth as an offering. Take care of the plant through the year and as the plant begins to show life your new beginnings will as well. After be sure to snuff out the candles counterclockwise and pack them away for use next year.

How to Dispose of the Ouija Board

After publishing the article on the Ouija Board, I was approached with many different questions, one of the most commonly asked is how to safely get rid of a Ouija Board without harm to anyone. Now there are plenty of us that have used this board before, and even more that have used it without exploring the safer ways of doing so. I have heard many stories of the experiences that people have had, and even more that detail how hard people tried to unsuccessfully get rid of it. Now here's a kicker, if you have used the board before and are experiencing something strange, but the board is not yours it may prove a bit more difficult of course to be rid of it. On that same line of thought, it may not be the board at all that is causing your experiences, but that will have to be saved for a later article. What I want to focus on here are ways you can dispose of the board safely and without having anyone else pick it up and have to deal with the same issues that you have as the previous user. Between those stories and some good old fashioned searching, there have been many ways that people have attempted to get rid of their boards. First lets take a look at these and why, in an energy and spiritual sense they aren't the best ways of disposal.

1: Breaking the Board

One of the most common is to take the board and literally break it in half, or as I had heard from one story “nearly a million pieces”. The idea is that if the board is broken the connections that it has made are lost and therefore cannot affect the user any longer. It's a pretty common, and mostly fear based reaction. I've heard plenty of stories as well that talk about how they found the board in the house intact even after they were positive that they had broken it. Now validity of these of course is up to the interpreter, personally I can't make any assumptions as I wasn't present but true or not I listen. So the idea here is a good one, in theory at least. If the connection is broken, so are the consequences brought forth by the board. The only bad part here is how it's being done. By breaking the board you are basically allowing all the energy that has collected in the board itself by its use to be released. It's like letting out a bird from its cage without tagging it, the energy or spirit that was attached to the board is set free. You certainly don't want a chaotic energy darting about your home, especially after having other issues from using the board, so this idea isn't a good one.

2: Burning the Board

Another common one, and still another bad idea. In the same line of thought as breaking it, burning the board will destroy it completely breaking the connections made. I've heard people recount how after the board was burned and disposed of it was found intact again. I have also heard people say that no matter how hard they tried the board simply wouldn't catch fire. There were also a few that said the board caught fire well enough but didn't burn, or leave any trace at all that it had been set ablaze. So the idea behind this is twofold. One part of it has to do with destroying the board and breaking the connection. The use of fire has to do with cleansing the board as the connection is broken. A valiant idea and along the right lines, but what you are still doing here is allowing the energy to escape and giving it free reign. You may as well just keep the board if all you're going to do is allow the energy or attached spirit to roam around.

3: Throwing away or selling the Board

Sounds quick and easy right? Toss the board in the trash, or maybe on the side of the road or even at the dump. Maybe sell it at a garage sale and make a quick buck, or like some I've seen on Ebay, claiming the board is cursed or haunted and try to make a few hundred off of it from some gullible victim. So you've managed to get rid of it, and if it had something attached to it you've allowed some unsuspecting soul to now have to deal with what you had to. Not the best Karma there now is it? Needless to say this isn't the way to go about getting rid of your board, if you need it gone why allow it to cause any trouble for anyone else. Selling it causes an entirely different rant from me of course. Taking advantage of people is wrong no matter how you look at it. Whether or not the board is actually troublesome isn't the issue, fact is that you are trying to make a quick buck and may be harming someone in the process.

4: Burying the Board or tossing it in a body of water

Another idea that seems good at the time. Of course what no one thinks about is the fact that buried things become uncovered at some time, I mean just recently there was a time capsule unearthed from the 70's. There's no telling either if the items that are used to create the board are bio degradable enough to be safely buried anyway, but that's another subject. As for dumping the board into a body of water, river, stream, lake, ocean....all I have to say is don't you think there is enough dumped in the water as it is. Besides that you may be getting rid of the board physically by using this method but that doesn't mean that the spiritual parts of it are removed at all.

The list here does go on, and on, and on. There are many interesting ways that I have heard people try to rid themselves of the Ouija. These however are the most common that I have heard which is why I chose to use them here. Now that we know some of the ways not to dispose of your board, lets discuss the method used to do it safely. What you need to keep in mind is that not only do you want to break any connections to the board physically but you want to do so on a spiritual level as well. Let me explain a bit more. When using the board you are making a spiritual connection to it each time that it is used. That connection needs to be broken as well in order to be sure that anything brought in, or attached by or to the board is severed. The issues that many experience aren't caused by the board, but by the spiritual connections that are made when one uses the board. Energy, spirits etc. attach themselves to the item in order to continue to draw energy from the user each time the board is brought out. Every user that touches or plays with the board is making a spiritual connection with it. Now that doesn't mean that everyone will experience some sort of supernatural phenomena. In fact many stories that I have heard are one or two people out of the many that used the board that actually have any sort of experiences at all. When you look at this from a perspective of energy it could be that those one or two people had the strongest and most susceptible energies and that is why they are chosen.

Now what we are going to discuss here is not the end all do all by any means. I'm sure that there are other ways and opinions that are just as good what I can give you is the way that I would do it, and maybe from there give you an outline to work with if you go looking for other ways as well. We are keeping with the pattern here of focusing on breaking the spiritual connection to the board, rather than the board itself. You see the board itself is simply the tool, it's the item that is used in order to help facilitate the connection between you and the spirit world. The tool has nothing without the energy that you put into in in order to make those connections. When you use the board and make that call, your energy is then connected to the board that is, in turn reaching out to connect to a spirit or energy. Think of it like a psychic circuit, the board is simply an extra battery and not needed to actually make the connection at all, but there to give it a small boost. This doesn't mean that the board doesn't absorb some residual energy and retain it, just that the major connection that is happening in between you and the spirit world not you and the board. Now to reiterate from the previous article regarding the Ouija Board, if you were to use the board in a safe, psychically protected manner, you wouldn't have to worry about severing connections and getting rid of the Ouija Board. When using a protected space, only positive spirits and energies are allowed to communicate with you, and those that wish to induce any sort of fear, harm, or chaos are not capable of coming into the space. So where do we go from here? Well there are a few ways that you can sever that connection if needed. They are quite different depending on the severity of course of what has been occurring. In order to make it a bit easier, I'm going to list some ways here from least severe, to most severe.

1: Salt bath and Sage after use

After using the Ouija, if you feel that you may have made a connection that is not positive in any way, the easiest way to sever those connections is to cleanse yourself and space with some sage, and/or take a slat bath with kosher or sea salt. By immediately cleansing yourself and the space you are removing any negative energies that remain after use of the Board. Doing it so quickly leaves no time for the energies to find themselves a space to hang around and wait for another time. It's important to note here as well that when you are cleansing the space you should leave the board out and where it was when it was being used, this way the board gets a nice cleaning as well. Afterward you can put the board away, and I would suggest to use a protection next time you decide to have a little conversation. It would be a good idea as well to suggest it to any people that may have been with you during the session to, no need to allow others to have to deal with anything negative either.

2: Full Cleansing

If you have gone a while after using the board and maybe are just starting to experience things it would be a good idea to do a full cleansing of your home. Top to bottom, in to out be sure to sage and bless the entire home all the way through. Sometimes negative energies that are brought in through the connections that are made are not always as noticeable. Traditionally I tell my students and those that ask to do a full home cleanse at least once a month. This way you are continuing to add to the protection and cleansing space and are helping to add another barrier to allowing negative energy in the first place. If you are cleansing once a month, even if the negative energy is invited in there is little chance that it would be able to hang around because of being brought in to a clean space. If you aren't doing a cleanse on a regular basis, then the moment that you start to notice anything possibly paranormal it would be a good idea to do it right away. If you need a way to do it, see my previous article If a problem comes along...you must smudge it.

3: Cleanse, Protect, Bind

This is a three step process. The first step is going to be to do a full cleanse on the home inside and out. Be sure to get into all corners and spaces and leave no stone unturned. The next step is to preform some sort of prayer, or protection ritual. Once the space has been cleansed and negativity being pushed out, bringing in protection and positivity along with white light of the Goddess/God, Source, Universe etc. will keep that energy away while the next step is preformed. As for the prayer or protection, you can use anything that you are comfortable with. Suggestions could include the Prayer of Archangel Michael, The Lesser Banishing Ritual of the Pentagram, or any other prayer or protective chant that you are familiar with. After that the next step is to bind the board itself. In more serious cases its not just the attachment of energy that you make with the spirit world, but the energy that has accumulated in the board as well. Taking the board and pouring Kosher or Sea Salt over it in the box will start to form a protective and cleansing barrier. Sage the board as well if you like. At that point, you can either wrap the board in something white, like a sheet or pillow case or tie it up with ribbon. You can even add some Frankincense and Myyrh to the mix if you want. The focus you should be keeping in mind is binding the energy that is with the board. You can say another chant or simply focus on the goal if you wish. The final step is to then put the board away in a place where it will not be found. Don't bury it, toss it out or anything like that. Simply put it away, out of sight and mind and energetically bound.

4: Call a Professional

For the most serious cases, I suggest that you call in a professional. It can be a Priest, Rabbi, or Spiritual Adviser that you know and trust. Explain the situation to them and they can lead you in a cleansing of the house and possible remove the board as well.

After all of this, it should give you a safe idea on how to rid yourself of the board, should you be unfortunate enough to have suffered some paranormal experiences because of its use. The final way though would be to either not use the board at all, or use it in a safe and protected manner.

The Ouija Board: A Metaphysical View

 

Because of the recent popularity, and currently released movie I thought it time to take an old article of mine out of the files and repost it.

Simply saying the name ‘Ouija Board’ brings up a variety of mixed emotions in people. Many have had experiences with this talking board in their juvenile years, and many more refuse to even acknowledge the experiences that they had. In the metaphysical world, a world filled with future psychics and spirit mediums where does the Ouija Board stand?

The Ouija Board, as I have come to understand it is a tool much like any other. The Tarot Cards, Pendulum and Crystal Ball all have their purpose in the metaphysical world, so too does the Ouija Board. Before looking into the metaphysical of this fascinating board, we need to understand where it came from.
In the 1800’s the world saw a rise in the Metaphysical and Spiritual realm. People would gather for Séances and Table Tipping in order to once again contact those that had passed from this life. During the 19th century psychics and mediums alike began to invent different ways to communicate with the dead. Some of these were rather long and tedious like table tipping, while others bean to shape the instrument we know as the talking board. One of the first was an intricate pulley system that held a pendulum. The pendulum would hang over a paper with the letters of the alphabet on it and move in accordance to questions asked by the medium. The pendulum would then point to the letters and spell out its answer. Before long this instrument began to take further shape, and a moving planchette was created in order to hover over the letters of the board.
This form of communication with the dead was one of the clearest yet, and the form of the Ouija Board took shape. In 1892 a man named William Fuld took over a toy and novelty company. Seeing the popularity of the board the mediums were using he decided to create and patent it as a toy, a product that everyone could have access to. Fuld named it the Ouija Board and sold millions of the toys dominating the competition. After Fuld’s death in 1927 the family sold the patent to Parker Brothers, who still hold it and produce this talking board today.

From device to toy the Ouija Board has been around us for years. With its background and superstition it is no wonder why those in the metaphysical world feel strongly about it. The original purpose of the board was to communicate with the dead, and it seems that it has fulfilled its purpose of that even after being packaged as a novelty toy. In fact many people have their first psychic experiences linked to the use of the Ouija Board, though not all of them are pleasant. The metaphysical world sees this talking board as a gateway to communicate with the other side, just like any other tool or ability used within the psychic realm. As they say “With great power, comes great responsibility” and the Ouija Board is not left out of the equation.
One of the things that many psychics speak of when it comes to receiving future oriented information or communicating with the dead is the idea of psychic protections. So what is a psychic protection going to do for you and why is it needed to use the Ouija Board? Before we can understand the use of protections, we need to understand energy. Energy is around us all of the time and is neither positive nor negative. The actions that a person takes with the energy give it a positive or negative charge, forcing the energy to act in a specific way. That being said, it is important to understand that there are spirits that are both positive and negative. The idea of psychic protection is to create a sacred space. This space allows all energy and spirits that are positive to enter and pushes away the spirits and energy that are negative. From a spiritual standpoint this is one of the major faults of the Ouija Board. The board does not come with a protection to use; in fact it doesn’t even mention it. Without the psychic protection, the users are allowing any entity to communicate with them whether it is positive or negative.
If you talk to some of your friends and ask them if they have used a Ouija Board, most of them will tell you the strange and sometimes frightening experiences that they had. It is due to the fact that no protections are used that the negative energies are allowed in. These types of energies ‘feed’ on the emotion of fear and so cause fear in us in order to survive. On the spirit realm a medium or even a person using the Ouija Board look like a bright shining light. The positive spirits see this as a doorway to communicate and possibly re-connect with loved ones and pass along messages, the negative spirits see this as well. Any entity that is positive does not seek out to hurt, harm or scare anyone, they simply seek to communicate and pass along messages to their loved ones. However the problem arises when the negative entities get there first. When you use the Ouija Board, the planchette moves around and spells out the answers to your questions. Often times when a negative energy is attached it will start off by being kind, maybe even telling you the truth. Then it begins to scare you in order to gain energy from your fear based reactions. The psychic protection prevents this from happening, think of it like a bouncer at the door to a club, if your not on the guest list your not getting in…period!
These protections are done in many different ways, from white light to calling forth the Archangels every religion or spiritual path has a protective method with it. Some of the newer talking boards out there do come with a protection. The Psychic Circle for example is a board that in it’s instructions tell you to say a prayer of protection before playing. The metaphysical view on the Ouija Board and talking boards in general is a mixed one. Many feel that the board can be an important tool in connecting with the other side; however it should be done in a way that is spiritually safe for the players.

Next time your at a party or a friends house and they want to play with the Ouija Board or talking board, remember to protect your area. Allow only positive spirits to enter and give their messages and you will surely have a good experience with this psychic tool.

The Extra Large Medium - Charles A. Filius

Years ago I was introduced to a man with a large heart, and an even larger personality. A boisterous soul that had phenomenal gifts, this man was Charles Filius. I clearly remember at one point in meeting and speaking with Charles that this man must be a special kind of crazy, and for all intent and purpose he is but how many of us in the Psychic and Mediumship field aren't right? A Cartoonist who, by his own words was drug kicking and screaming into Mediumship was able to find himself within that field and in my opinion it is exactly where he belongs.

I have been lucky enough to know Charles for years now, and each time that I attend one of his sessions I am blown away, which is not an easy thing to do mind you. I had the pleasure last night to see him again as he made a trip to Florida to a small business in Sarasota called The Spirit University.  Charles had a Mediumship demo there, that when I found out that he was coming, immediately knew that I had to go. It was an evening that was not only much needed, but was met with much love and many surprises. I was greeted there by some of my past students from my time at a Metaphysical store that I had not seen in years, and then had the pleasure of once again seeing Charles at work. Charles is unlike any medium that you have ever seen, his mixture of passing along messages from Guides, Angels and Loved ones along with a hefty dose of humor is a combination that I think only this man can execute. There is a special event that occurs in every group session that Charles does, the fact that everyone there gets something out of it. No matter if you are read, or not each message that is brought through is for everyone in some way. There is a greater knowledge on the Other Side, an all inclusive effort brought on by all the Angels, Guides etc that when they find an open channel, they waste no time in passing along exactly what needs to be heard.

I brought my Mother along with me to his session. She has had a psychic reading before but has never seen a Medium. She, like most people that are new to this did not know what to expect exactly. She knew what Meduimship was, thanks to a certain big personality from Long Island, and no it isn't me I mean Theresa Caputo. She knew that above all else she wanted to hear from her parents who have both crossed over. Though she didn't get read she said something quite unexpected and wonderous to me on our drive home. She said that her heart felt better, that through the messages that were given to others she felt a sense of healing and of release. She said that through the session she was able to share in the joys, sorrows, loss, and reconnection that Charles was able to bring that night. All I could to at that point was smile, knowing that is exactly what it is about.

There aren't appropriate words to describe the senses, feelings, and emotions that are experienced through one of his sessions, so all I can say is that at some point I hope that you can experience it for yourself. Charles still stands to this day in my mind as an influential beacon of light, laughter, and love. Thank you sir, for the experience that you provide and the messages that you bring.

Charles A. Filius - The Extra Large Medium

C.A. Filius - Cartoonist