Before Charon commences her column, let me just say a big THANK YOU back, for her excellent blogging ability! Let it also be known that no, Charon was not in NYC the night before the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, but I was…. totally by accident. the pics came out pretty cool though… And without further ado, Charon:

It’s been a wonderful year here at IZ and I humbly and gratefully thank Gwen for the opportunity to be a part of the family. I have learned a great deal from her and all of the other guest bloggers here and my life has been enriched for it all. You, dear readers, are also being held in gratitude, for without you, none of us would be nearly as compelled to share our thoughts and recipes in the manner and with the frequency that we do.

Thanks and sharing thank you’s is an integral part of this time of year as we move into the Holiday Season as denoted on the European calendar. For a great many of us, that Season began with the Turning of the Year as noted on the old Celtic calendar on the last day of October.

A lot has happened for which I give an enormous amount of thanks. I had a birthday this month. The day prior I was married to my Best Friend by another very dear friend to us both who opened her home and attached grounds to us for the ceremony and ensuing celebration. A great many people from very far distances were in attendance, including one of my dearest friends, whom I have known since we were 4 and 6 years of age respectively.

As I write this I am a few miles from the home of my eldest brother and enjoying the remainder of the autumn leaves in a gorgeous campground. In another few hours we will join him in his home at the end of a mile long driveway atop a tall hill to share libations, stories and fellowship with other members of our extended and expanded family. Next week I share the home of our middle brother, his wife and my nephew as we prepare to join our parents for the Thanksgiving Holiday. Following that, we are with family of our own choosing, those persons whom you know from times Before and with whom you share an inexplicable but very solid bond from the moment you meet and exchange greetings.

Yes, indeed. There is a lot to be thankful for and a lot to hold in gratitude.

Even during some of my worst years, times in which eating was often a questionable possibility and utilities were many months behind in payments, I still found the changing leaves to be a comfort, the smell of wood smoke to be a reminder that conditions weren’t at all permanent. Even when things seemed bleakest and sleep was a treasured commodity in between bouts of stress over where the next few dollars would come from to keep a roof over my head I never ever stopped looking at the goodness about me.

I suppose you’d say I’m one of those blissfully ignorant optimists. But I will steadfastly maintain that ignorance is the polar opposite of optimism. Optimism, which contains a root word shared by “optimum,” and “optimal,” isn’t about being unaware or a refusal to face what most would call reality. It is about choosing what parts of the reality around and about you best serve you. It is about taking the power that Scorpio wields and putting it to good use towards manifesting what you desire rather than allowing it to fan out in chaos. It is about using the balance provided by Libra to help decide what is to be given more weight, more importance in one’s life. It is about the Sagittarian inventiveness and subsequent focus upon what we are becoming and what we want to become in the future in order that these states of being come to pass. I am far from ignorant about all that can go wrong in life, and I have had many people tell me throughout the years that it is nothing short of a miracle that I did not go the Path of the bitter, angry and resentful pessimist much earlier in life. The truth of the matter is that I didn’t see any future in that Path, and I walked away from a great many sources of strife in my life during this festive time of the year a few years ago.

In their place has sprung up a profound thankfulness for the time I have had to share with those who are no longer with us, the places I have been able to see, the people I have been able to meet and grow close with, and the improvements in my Self I have been able to make with good building materials of all sorts. All of it has been worth what it took to make room for it. I, myself, was worth making room for it.

And that last item was what took me the longest to realize.

Sometimes, dear readers, we forget that we owe ourselves some gratitude, even if (especially if) it took us a very long time to grow into the lives and selves we feel are worth that gratitude. As we grow as individuals, we make difficult decisions, have unpleasant conversations and hurt those we love along the way, but this does not mark us as horrible or reprehensible.

It marks us as human.

As we fill our glasses this holiday season, we must look about and take in all that we have and all that we are at this moment in time, RIGHT NOW. Rejoice in what is going right, well and successfully, even if it is minimal, and feel how that affects your entire outlook. Sit with it and really experience it. You will find that it is truly profound.

Happy Holidays dear readers. Here’s a full-bodied cocktail to get you started down the Path of gratitude.

THE HOLIDAY MUSE

4 parts red wine (sweeter rather than dryer works better for this one)
2 parts Port
½ part Grand Marnier
½ part lime juice

Sip this slowly and savor it. It is very rich and very filling.

Cheers~Charon, The Most Dangerous Beauty Alive
theswordswallowers.com
oddangel.com

Charon Henning is one of a handful of female sword swallowers in the world today. She’s performed on carnival midways and at wine tastings, on theater stages and grassy lots.

Charon also reads tea leaves professionally, a skill she inherited from her grandmother on her mother’s side of the family. Tea-leaf reading is a wonderful and elegant form of entertainment, suitable for many time periods and venues.

Charon loves being on the road seeing new places and meeting new people. Want to catch Charon on the road for her live show? View her tour schedule here. Or, book Charon’s talent for your next event!

How to Clear the Energy of Your Home or Office

Illness, violence, arguments, drug-use, thoughts, and moods influence the energy of a place. When you enter someone’s home or office, part of you automatically notes how it feels. Conscious or not, this awareness seems to be a survival mechanism, keeping you alert for protection and safety.

Sometimes I meander through our neighborhood “open houses” to satisfy a curiosity about what type of home is selling for what price. These homes all speak to me about their dwellers. In some of the homes, the energy is such that it’s hard to breathe. If realtors were aware of how this energy affects the unconscious of potential buyers, they would clear the home energy first, before putting it on the market.

Clearing a place serves to reset the energy. Just as you would clean dirty floors in a new home, it’s important to clean the energy. If you can’t see this energy, that doesn’t mean it’s not there. Before you bring anything into your new home or office, clear the space. Otherwise, you’re living in someone else’s energetic dirt, which can affect you.

I once toured a famous historic home near Boston. Our small group was told about the home’s original owners – folks who lived there when the first shot “heard ‘round the world” occurred. It was one of those places I had trouble breathing in, which was one sign the energy was stagnant. When we entered an upstairs bedroom, I could not only feel illness in the air, I could smell it. I said, “Someone had a long illness, probably died in this room.” The tour guide and the others looked at me as if I’d grown a second head. The guide then confirmed that an older woman had died there. I knew part of her was still hanging around.

The energy of folks doesn’t go out the door when they leave. It clings to walls, drapery, furniture, carpet, and the air. When I have moved, I’ve tried to find out what was going on with the former tenants. How was their relationship? Their finances? Their mood?

This coincides with the ancient practice of Feng Shui, which advises us to know the history of the home and its inhabitants before moving in. For example, if someone was ill, or if they fell upon desperate times, financially or otherwise, it’s unadvisable to move in behind them because the same thing can touch you. This can work positively as well. In one home I lived in, a two-story duplex, each of the tenants downstairs began as a single woman and moved out newly-wed.

We aren’t always going to know what happened in a place before we move in. This is why I would clear any home or building as a rule. Clean thoroughly, wipe down walls, shampoo carpets and floors, and let fresh air blow through each and every room. Bring in as much natural light as possible. Sounds, chanting, singing, living plants, fresh flowers, and certain crystals are also helpful in moving and transforming energy.

In tougher cases where something seems strange or you know there was negativity or death, use additional clearing techniques. The main one I use comes from the Native American tradition. This technique was explained to me years ago by a Native American medicine man in the hills near Lake Arrowhead. A friend had just bought a fixer nearby which had a dreadful energy, to the point we didn’t want to enter one of the rooms at all. We wanted the medicine man to come to the house, but he said it wasn’t a good day for him and we could do it ourselves.

Of course, he said to use the Native American herb white sage, wrapped into a tight bundle (sometimes called a smudge stick or sage wand). Open all the windows or just crack them if it’s windy. Open cabinets and closet doors. Light the tips of the sage with a match and extinguish the flame so the wand lightly smokes. Walk counterclockwise around the home, into each room. Allow each corner, cupboard, and closet to receive the smoke. When finished, pass by again in a clockwise direction.

Sage alone creates a void, so it’s advisable to use another herb blended with it such as lavender or sweet grass. This pulls in a more positive energy as the older, stagnant energy exits. If you just have straight sage, use your intention to bring in higher, more positive energy. Our medicine man also advised us to throw sea salt in the corners of the house for good measure and leave white candles burning (with supervision).

There are many different variations on how to clear a space. I’ve found a thorough cleaning combined with the simple use of sage is usually enough. Ongoing, sage can be used to reset the energy of a place after there has been any sort of upset.

SAGE GIN FIZZ
2 oz gin or vodka
.75 oz simple syrup (raw sugar)
.75 oz fresh squeezed lemon juice
5 sage leaves

Muddle sage, simple syrup in collins glass.
Add ice, gin, lemon juice.
Top with tonic water. Stir well.

Dr. Christina Grant is a holistic healer and spiritual counselor who uses astrology in her work to help people better understand their purpose and life circumstances. She works in person and by phone. She has helped hundreds of people attain physical, mental, emotional and spiritual well-being through personal transformation. Her writing is published nationwide. For more information, to contact her, schedule a session, sign up to receive her newsletter, or to read her blog, see WWW.CHRISTINAGRANT.COM

good things are worth waiting for. good things like say, COMIDA MERCADO FRESCO. a year and a half ago, i consulted on the cocktail menu at comida, and was proud of some of my most creative libations it. unfortunately, it was only open for a few months when it burned down, due to a highly suspicious blaze. so much work… and for what? it is only now than i can finally know for what…. comida is back and it’s better than ever.

the original comida opened on march eleventh, making it a pisces. i honored comida’s sun sign by creating the ZODIACO PISCES, which called for blueberry jam and pisco.

when the fire happened, i unwittingly, and quite prophetically i might add, likened its demise to the sign of scorpio. i predicted that like a phoenix, and the invincible sign of scorpio, comida would rise again. the PHOENIX RISING, which called for mezcal and absinthe, was created in its honor.

now, one and a half years later, comida has reopened in park slope brooklyn, fulfilling it’s restaurant destiny. here’s the ironic part: comida has reincarnated back as a SCORPIO! it reopened on november fifth… what are the odds of that? i take that as a sign that all is as it’s meant to be. so in honor of comida, the scorpionic mexican restaurant, a toast to never giving up on what you want…

margaritte malfy, comida’s co-owner, concocted this scorpion bevvie. margaritte is a sun in capricorn with a scorpio ascendant! the habanero pepper in this drink belongs to none other than spicy scorpio…

MARGARITA DE FUEGO Y HIELO:
2 oz partida silver
1 oz watermelon puree
1/2 triple sec
1/4 oz fresh squeezed lime juice
3 or so slivers of chile habanero
***shake over ice. strain into glass. rim glass with chipotle salt.

(CHIPOTLE SALT: mix sea salt with chipotle powder until color is light brown)

(WATERMELON PUREE: blend watermelon with water until smooth and watery. store in fridge this goes bad quick)

astrological advice for outwitting conniving coworkers, slacker staff, and the boss from hell… it’s all in hazel dixon-cooper’s new book: WORK ON A ROTTEN DAY. the “cosmo astrologer” has applied her infamous brand of zodiac wit to the workplace… just in time for the holidays. here is a sampling of each sign’s “career cheap shots” below. (GLOBE PEQUOT.COM $19.95)

ARIES: constantly confronts others
TAURUS: holds a grudge
GEMINI: plays both sides against each other
CANCER: uses emotional blackmail
LEO: interrupts and expects your attention
VIRGO: sabotages projects by omitting important details
LIBRA: tells the boss you’re incompetent
SCORPIO: attacks you privately while maintaining a professional public facade
SAGITTARIUS: exhibits phony friendliness
CAPRICORN: exacts sly revenge when you least expect it
AQUARIUS: deliberately confuses an issue
PISCES: takes days off when you’re overloaded