I have to tell you about my friends book, A Rebel Chick Mystic’s Guide.  It's a self-help book for brave, misfit women (or for those who aspire to be), written from the heart and soul of a spiritual, rocker chick.Lifelong psychic Lisa Selow leads you to uncover your true self, reveal your life purpose, and carve out your spiritual path. She invites you to engage in positive rebellion by subverting your goodgirl persona, letting go of limiting beliefs that you’ve inherited, and creating your own definition of perfect. Lisa encourages you to be a different type of rebel, one that defies the stereotype of being a loner, without a cause. Instead, you’re called to make a difference, rocking the world with your unique gifts and talents.Through enjoyable, engaging exercises, Lisa facilitates your creating your very own manual for living according to your own rules. She shows you how you can, as...

Candles and Spirits As you evolve and grow so will your counsel of guides; they may be added to or guides will rotate as your needs change. You can go consciously into meeting new guides or developing deeper relationships or you can wait until they call you…..and they will call you. Meeting your guide can be as simple as a meditative journey or as intense as a ritual that you prepare for weeks and touch upon just the right astrological moment. Lucky for you, this time of year is about ancestors and spirits coming closer to your day to day, waking life. Candle magic is a powerful bridge between you and your guides and ancestors; they send out the call of your intent and light the way for your guides to find you. The symbol of the flame representing spirit and divine energy is found throughout time and distance. The illumination...

Let your actions be as loud as your voice. Let your voice ring with your truth. Let your truth be of love and light. ~ Jacki Smith   This statement came to me as I was engaged in online conversations about spiritual traditions, their exploitation and how to bring them back to the truth.   It was in that moment that so many comments of the past week came together. The secrets tapes of Mitt Romney’s speak to his rich cronies. The reaction of many people who want to hate him for it. The murder of the American Ambasador and his aids in retaliation for someone else’s words. The reaction of Americans against Muslims The reaction of my friends, family and fellow pagans concerning government assistance. The fear that I am hearing in the media about everything from our food, to our rights, to who is allowed to love whom, to other...

“What would my identity by without my job?”   This is a statement I have heard recently on the TV, from my customers, from my friends and it has also come out of my mouth.   When a statement that hits to the core of me is repeated in my life, It’s a sign that I am ready (or desperately need) to address it. I have been at the helm of Coventry Creations for 20 years now; even my past accountants would tell me that I am ruined to work for anyone else in my life.   I laugh about how I don’t know how to do anything else except run a business.   I know that’s not true and I also know I could work for someone else but the real question is, would I want to. I stress at times that I don’t know what to talk about other than my work.  I...

Saturday evening proved to be a big deal for Coventry Creations.  Jacki Smith and Patty Shaw who are in Denver for INATS (International New Age Trade Show) received two prestigious COVR awards.  For those not in the know, COVR Awards are presented by the Coalition of Visionary Resources who selects winners for the best products in the metaphysical industry. Of course, we knew that Jacki was nominated but the competition for the magic/shamanism category was very stiff.  On Keep it Magic, Jacki (being quite humble) emphasized being a finalist.  However, on Saturday Evening the winner was chosen, and Jacki walked away with the award for her #1 Bestselling Book, “Coventry Magic,” which was published by Red Wheel/Weiser.  What came as a surprise is that Coventry Creations was up for an award for Vendor of the Year.  I can honestly say that Jacki (who I talk several times a day almost daily)...

I am obsessed with Pinterest.   I have been using the online corkboard for a few months, and really enjoy seeing all the wonderful images that people from all walks of life post.   Yet, Pinterest can also be used as a powerful tool for writing, collecting, blogging, and you guessed it MAGIC. I am always looking for new tools to work with and new means through which magic can come through me.  After all, I think everything is a form of divine guidance.   I have been using Pinterest as an oracle for a little while (and recently wrote a guest post on it), and have had amazing and accurate results. So, curiously I asked myself whether or not I could use this for magical guidance as well.   After all, Jacki turned the Coventry candle lines into an AMAZING oracle deck.  Pintermancy? In my article on using Pinterest as a divination tool –...

{"video":"Mother Devastated After 11-Year-Old Son Suddenly Dies: MyFoxDETROIT.com","width":"400","height":"300"}Every time I sit down to create a blog for this week I am keep circling around losing a Coventry family member this past weekend. Nothing seems to matter more than that and to write about anything else would be disrespectful of the smiley 11 year old boy who left a gaping hole in the lives he touched. I don’t even know what to write about; except this subject needs a voice and since it is stuck in my throat I will use my voice. Damiurs Turner, a smart and smiley boy is no longer waking up in his mothers care every morning and Nicole doesn’t have her son to hold. What do we all do with this aftermath? What does anyone do but keep moving and make sure that our loved ones know that they are loved. This week as I think about...

My daughter asked me today what “tycoon” meant.  In our discussion of the meaning, I decided to look it up and I learned something new about myself.  I am a tycoon. Yes, I am a tycoon!  According to the origin of the word and in conjunction with the reviews I get from my industry, I am the definition of that exactly.    (Re: definition #2)tycoon [taɪˈkuːn] n1. (Business / Commerce) a business man of great wealth and power2. (Historical Terms) an archaic name for a shogun[from Japanese taikun, from Chinese ta great + chün ruler]  (I guess that also means I am a shogun too, but being the leader of my company and having to be strategic in my leadership, I am loosely claiming that title too.)  A Tycoon is someone who is a great ruler.  It has less to do about wealth and more to do about respect. Being respectful of others...

“You know what you should do…”  - that statement makes me cringe every time I hear it.  I don ‘t even think this is the first time I wrote about how much I dislike that statement and I am willing to give it a go-round because I disdain it soooo much. I had the privilege of sitting in a training session of a bunch of entrepreneurs.  The first rule is you cannot advise, you can only share experiences of how you got through a similar situation (and you can’t make it up to prove a point either).   This Gestalt method of interaction keeps everyone on a level playing field and I have found that it keeps my mind open to hearing what other people say without rehearsing my response.   That day I took pages and pages of notes (and applied much of it within the next 2 months in a way...

I was with my favorite Tuesday breakfast gals this afternoon – I know, it’s Thursday and it’s not breakfast, but we broke out of our mold and did something different.   Today we culminated a spell I helped them start at the last Tuesday’s breakfast.  I love to good spell burning bonfire any day of the week. As we stood around the fire watching our work be released to the spirits, I was just fascinated with how it burnt and shared the magic of it with my gals.   We all were in awe (and I snapped a couple of pics) but what I thought was a shared awe about the culmination of our spell was a compliment to me.  One of the gals said that she loves how passionate I am about my work; that she admires how I follow my bliss.  This of course got me to thinking about how I...

"If you are always judging yourself against where you want to go, you will never measure up. Measure yourself against who you are today and if your actions align with type of person you wish to be." – Jacki Smith Yup – I am quoting myself from Monday’s Facebook posting.  This has been on my mind for a while; what am I feeling so driven by?  Why does my to-do list take up two pages, single spaced 10 pt font?   What am I measuring myself by?   As I sit with this information, I listen to the much smarter part of myself; higher self, spirit self, master self, God…  Whatever the name you use, I just know this is where I get my smarter answers, where I start to get out of my own way, let go and let the smarter part take over.  This smarter part of me showed me last...

In Coventry Magic I have a chapter called “Is Magic the first resort, last resort of just the scenic route?”  It’s on page 6, so it’s something I really felt needed to be addressed early on in your magical practice. “If you take care of yourself in the here and now, most magic will be unnecessary.”       So many customers ask me for magical solutions that a call or conversation will take care of if handled with delicacy.  Really, what this comes down to is looking for a shortcut or literal magic pill that will make your problem poof.  That is deciding to go the long way ‘round the block to avoid the barking dog next door. “Before you cast a spell, take responsibility of your actions that contributed to the mess at hand and see if this issue is easily resolved by owning up to your shortcomings.”    What weaknesses you...

Change your attitude around money spell!There is enough to go around and you just need to change your attitude from  ”I wants” into “I gots!” This is a spell you do over and over again, every time you light these three candles. Candles: Vision Quest (Blessed Herbal Candle) Uncrossing (Motor City Hoo Doo) Everything and then Some (Wicked Witch Mojo) Light the Vision Quest to really get in tune with what your attitude is about money.  Do you spend too much or on the wrong things?  Do you always think there is too little?  Do you have the attitude that you always have to work hard?  Ask your self the question – “What is my core attitude about money?” Write down your answer.  Take some time and let it all come, get as deep as you can. Light the Uncrossing Candle to let go of that attitude.  As you pull up...

I spent the weekend in Traverse City, MI doing readings at the Higher Self.  I love being the visiting reader - I get to meet some of the neatest people and get to by a psychic voyeur into their Akashic Records.  I love people’s stories; the ones that they tell and the ones that I get to peek at through the Akashic Records.  I find people fascinating with the way they survive through adversity, interpret the words of their parents and how they forget or don’t see the beliefs that were instilled in them from birth.   We are all geniuses’ in the way work around these limitations and are still able to create a life that suits ourselves more than our parents. Some of these beliefs are legacies passed down generation to generation through our family tree.  They are in our genetic coding and help make up who we are. ...

There was a dream had last night that involved a tricky situation and hurt feelings; It showed that under the surface there was a curse hidden in a bomb.   I felt like this dream was a message that I left out a crucial piece out of my protection spell, I forgot to protect myself from their energy.  As soon as I got to my altars, I added this to my spell; “Protect me from their negative intention and the curses that anger can generate. “   I did all the appropriate ritual to add this to my protection work and went on my way.    Throughout the morning, this issue kept tugging at my attention and I was starting to feel a bit paranoid so I drew two Tarot cards to confirm what my intuition was telling me.  The first card concerned the situation; what was this dream about.   The second card concerned whether...

If you can't say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.  That’s the golden rule and respecting it is so important to your well being it’s taught in every walk of life and here’s why.  Thoughts are energy and act like free radicals.  They attach to us and affect us in more ways than just influencing our feelings.  As we all know happy thoughts create a sense of contentment.  We are much better at looking on the bright side when we are filled with the hope and creativity happiness inspires.  If we want to be happy and healthy, we are going to have to BE happy.  Uplifting happy thoughts of gratitude, joy and generosity to name a few literally feed our cells with love.  That’s the stuff that creates and maintains our health, vitality and longevity. By now I’m sure you can imagine what negative thoughts do to us.  Negative...

I have been watching a few wars on social media and have been saddened by them.  I am hurting for not only for the people attacked, but also for the people who are attacking.   I am saddened because I think how much pain do you have to be in to go on the offensive?  What damage has to be done to you till you feel that ripping another person apart is the appropriate and justified thing to do? I contemplate where I was when I went on the holy crusade to take someone down and if I am to be honest with myself it had more to do with the pain and injustice I felt, than what the other person really did.   I watch as others, in this fast paced social media time, be blinded to their own ego and hurt feelings and jump right into a place of justifiable emotional...

Description of the Card: Orestes begins his voyage to Argos seeking revenge upon his mother Clytemnestra for murdering his father Agamemnon as ordered by the God Apollo.   Divinatory Meaning:  When the Six of Swords appears in a reading it suggests a time when the querent comes to a deeper understanding of his current circumstances, and learns that he must move past stagnation and anxiety despite difficulties he may face in the future. How to Use the Six of Swords in a Spell: The Six of Swords is an often misunderstood card.   Our natural tendency is to see the card as simply moving forward after a rough or difficult period, and although this can be true there is a much deeper insight that can be gleamed from this card. Last week, Jacki Smith and I discussed adversity.   Let’s face it – we all experience difficulties and tribulations at some point in our...

Oh for Pete sake, everyone in the office is sneezing, coughing and dragging around.  When you feel that first tingle or prickly feeling you have to act fast so the flu, fly’s by as quickly as possible. Keep these homeopathic remedies in the medicine chest at all times; Boiron Oscillococcinum;  take this within the first 24 hours of the start of your symptoms of flu.  This is for fever, chills, tummy troubles and general aches and pains of flu.  This is not a pain reliever, it is a flu kicker. You feel better because your body is defeating the flu.  Just follow the directions on the box.  I have found this product online, in health food stores, and CVS and Right aid. It is very well distributed. If your flu gives you non-stop drainage of your sinuses, a killer headache, sore throat and ears, and a stuffy nose take these homeopathic...

“Oh, I knew her in high school, she was such a greasy hair freak. Always saying weird conspiracy theory things to me and swear she was hitting on me.”   Words from a stranger as they overheard me talking about a friend.  I have to admit something here; I was not singing the praises of my friend when this person that I don’t know started chiming in and adding to the conversation.  I was talking short-hand with someone else who heard the whole story of how much I adore this friend; it’s just one thing about her that makes me crazy.   I was mentioning the crazy when I was overheard.     My comment back to the stranger was, “Well she is married now and works in mental health.  She is a good friend of mine.”  The comment back was, “Oh, she’s straight now… Right!  God help anyone who takes her advice.” I...