What are some ways to use sage?

Sacred White Sage Pillar is 10% off in April.  Use coupon WORLD10OFF at checkout.

Smudging with sprays is a well known tradition. You can Google any number of combinations with sage and cleansing and smudging and receive many wonderful resources on how to use it for cleansing.  The most traditional way seems to be the smudge stick and there are many resources available on how to clear your home using this process. The Sacred White Sage candle is the less smokey alternative to use sage for cleansing.

Through out the years, I have heard both Jacki and Patty talk about different reasons to cleanse the space.  Here are some that our customers have found useful over the years. (especially those just digging into this world)

1. Let’s get started-You woke up one morning and decided you are missing a spiritual connection to something.  Maybe it was just one yoga class too many or you read a book that made a thousand metaphysical light bulbs light up inside of you.  For many folks new to all this, it can be a scary thing.  Years of negative gunk and other peoples gunk clouding your spiritual path.  It could also be that your friends and loved ones may not be exactly accepting of your new focus.  They may be mocking or downright critical. Starting with Sage to clear all that out will put you in a much better place to get started.

2. Spiritual housecleaning-It is good to clean out your spiritual self along with your regular house cleansing every once in a while.  This could be especially important after a trauma or conflict that can leave you feeling emotionally and spiritually stifled. Cleanse it out and strengthen your connection.  

3. Spiritual Independence-Deciding to break away from family traditions or even to start down your own path opening yourself up to new ideas and beliefs will not always be an easy one.  Thankfully now, more than ever, there are communities to find and feel love and support.  Evan so, dealing with the those who will try to energetically block you from your breakthroughs and successes can make it a rough go.  A nice spiritual cleanse to keep yourself in a safe protected space and your eyes on your goals will help you feel the love and support from your higher power.

4. Clearing out toxic romances-Get them out physically and get them out spiritually.  A toxic person will try to out all kinds of hooks in you.  They do not often go without a fight.

5. Clearing out toxic friends-See above.  Whether it be unhealthy boundaries, jealousy or any number of bad habits a former friend might possess.  If you decided that they need to be cleared out of your life, clear them in all aspects.

6. Clear out the office of toxic employees- Again see above. Same problem different title.

7. Clearing out negative patterns in the office- Sometimes an attitude or negative thoughts can drain the productivity or creativeness of an office. Clear out the negative energy of that to bring back a productive workspace.

8. Clearing an object that you have absorbing negative energies-Get that gunk out of that object so it is ready to protect you from more negative energies that may come.

Sacred White Sage Pillar is 10% off in April.  Use coupon WORLD10OFF at checkout.

April’s series of blogs called “Why? Discovering your personal motivation” has been inspired by excerpts from Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith.   

Just to recap: For 2015, we are dedicating ourselves to unleashing your personal power. Since this is no overnight task, we have broken it down month by month. April, we talk about discovering what is your personal motivation.   It may seem obvious, but being honest about what and why you want the things you do can be a tricky and sometimes painful. Last week was all about confronting those excuses that keep you from moving forward. This week we talk about ways to break down those excuses and look for real solutions.   Each Saturday  there will be a new blog about motivation and what drives you.  These blogs are really just a summary of the real exercises found in Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith, for more detailed explanation, I recommend checking out the entire book.

Don’t Just Put a Band Aid On It

This month we have been talking about getting underneath the surface to discover your personal motivations. We have talked about discovering your blocks, admitting to them and now healing them. Taking on something that is rooted deep inside your fears and even beliefs you were raised with has got to be one of the most unnatural things we try to do.  We are by nature efficient machines and our mind and habits will often follow well worn path.  Why start a new one?  To even be at the step, you need to be somewhat self aware and self reflective. I don’t have to tell you that most of us are not. This is to say, if you are at this point where you have acknowledged what you blocks you and have confronted what that means, you are already half way there. You have already shown bravery and a strong sense of character to be here right now.

If you have followed the “why” factor question to discover the core of what is blocking you from progress you may have already picked up on that most of your “resolutions” of change of have been band aids more than solutions. In Coventry Magic, Jacki has a step by step process of getting you to where you really need to look to solve. The book goes into greater details about which tools you can use as a result of this mind exercise to help yourself heal, but here are the step she suggests you use to get there:

1. Write down your challenge, issue or wish

2. Ask yourself, why do you need this in your life?  You do not have to justify it, just give honest answers. (because really you will only be fooling yourself if you don’t)

3. Keep following the layers down by asking why.  Once you get down a few steps, truths start to reveal themselves. Find the underlying reason.

4. Ask yourself, where did that come from?  When you understand why and what you can change it.

5. Looking at what you wrote, look at the words and phrases and underline the ones that really stand out to you. Now you are at a point where you can start to build up your words for manifesting this reality.

“Now you can start to empower your magic.” Jacki Smith-Coventry Magic

April’s series of blogs called “Why? Discovering your personal motivation” has been inspired by excerpts from Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith.   

Just to recap: For 2015, we are dedicating ourselves to unleashing your personal power. Since this is no overnight task, we have broken it down month by month. April, we talk about discovering what is your personal motivation.   It may seem obvious, but being honest about what and why you want the things you do can be a tricky and sometimes painful.  Last week we talked about things that block you. This week, it is all about confronting those excuses that keep you from moving forward.   Each Saturday  there will be a new blog about motivation and what drives you.  These blogs are really just a summary of the real exercises found in Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith, for more detailed explanation, I recommend checking out the entire book.

Looking at the Crap you Hide From Yourself

Nothing is ever as it seems to be. A trope yes, a popular line in a movie and song yes, but also true. You are always broke, on the surface, there may be a million and one reasons for this.  Rent it too high, your do not get paid enough, you don’t get enough hours, children are expensive, healthcare is expensive.  These are all true and sometimes crippling, but these are the symptoms of something bigger happening.

There are many things people will do to to combat the symptoms. Th scratch off lottery tickets, they go gambling, get rich schemes, prosperity spells and my favorite, just complaining a lot. They are easy to do because they require the smallest amount of effort, but they don’t really get to the core of it do they?  In Coventry magic, Jacki talks about why many times prosperity spells fail: “These spells (money) never dig a bit deeper into why you keep having prosperity issues.” Just with anything that makes a true difference, you need to dig deeper, you need to put in effort and you can’t expect it to just come to you.

Last week, I talked about using the “why” factor to get to the core of what is blocking you.  Now let’s take those blocks and really confront them.  Be honest about what they are any why you haven’t wanted to deal with them. For me, what I have been wanting to change for over 2 years now is my inactivity.  I was once a runner who lifted weights took pride in my health.  Lately, I have been struggling with this.  I look for excuses everyday to not do something that I used to love.  What changed?  This is a struggle for me to even confront. My go to are really just excuses so I follow the statement with a why.

I never run anymore   

    Why is that?

I am so out of shape that it will hurt too much

    Why is that?

Because I am not patient enough to start all over again

    Why is that?

I would rather watch TV or sleep in.

    Why is that?

because I have become tired all the time

    Why is that?

I eat a high in sugar diet which is causing me to be lethargic and have sleepless nights.

    Why is your diet sugary

I am too lazy to cook

I could keep going with this, why do I feel that I am lazy, but we could be here all night on that one.   Being lazy is my block.  Confronting that and really understanding that will be a long journey but I have identified it and admitted it. Next week we will talk about trying to work on your problems in a real way instead of just trying to fix the symptoms. 

April’s series of blogs called “Why? Discovering your personal motivation” has been inspired by excerpts from Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith.   

Just to recap: For 2015, we are dedicating ourselves to unleashing your personal power. Since this is no overnight task, we have broken it down month by month. April, we talk about discovering what is your personal motivation.   It may seem obvious, but being honest about what and why you want the things you do can be a tricky and sometimes painful.  This week, we talk about aspects that may block you from discovering your motivation.  Each Saturday  there will be a new blog about motivation and what drives you.  These blogs are really just a summary of the real exercises found in Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith, for more detailed explanation, I recommend checking out the entire book.

What is Your Block?

We all have flaws. (this is hard for me to admit as one of my flaws is that I do not like to back down or to admit that I was wrong) It doesn’t us bad people, but it can create self sabotage and negative consequences.   With a bit of self reflection and humility, most of our flaws are forgivable to the ones who love us and want to love us. The problem is that fatal flaw.  We all know someone with a fatal flaw, especially in the world of dating.  You will meet this attractive, charismatic, seemly well put together individual who can’t seem to make relationships work.  Sometimes the flaw is clear to you: they are obsessive, they are cruel to those who would care about them.  Sometimes it is something you can’t quite put your finger on, but it is there none the less, and the person afflicted with this fatal flaw turns the blame outward instead of looking at negative patterns or blocks. We all have that friend or that ex who can’t seem leave victim land long enough to realize it is them leaving bodies in their wake.

Jacki writes in Coventry Magic, that some of these “flaws” are actually blocks we have put up for ourselves.  Where I am sure they were originally created as some form of protection, the file has become corrupted and it may no longer be doing its proper job, or even working at all. Jacki says “your magic always works; you may not be able to see it in your current condition. When you need to work some magic in your life, it is because something is truly lacking.” Before you can see that fruits of a change you are trying to make, you need to confront the roadblocks you have set up for yourself.

So what are your blocks anyway? In previous blogs, I have talked about what Jacki calls the Why Factor.  This is an exercise which follows a question line to get at a core of an issue. Following statements that represent your blocks with the questions “why is that?”  With every answer, keep digging, asking “why is that” until you discover the original stopping point or fear.

Once you have identified the blocks that you would like to overcome, the next step is to take a hard look at where they come from and how you can get around them or destroy them all together.  Next week, we will talk about confronting these fears and excuses in order to move past them.

March’s series of blogs called “Clearing Negative Patterns” has been inspired by  excerpts from Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith.   

Just to recap: For 2015, we are dedicating ourselves to unleashing your personal power. Since this is no overnight task, we have broken it down month by month. March, we talk about what it takes to break negative patterns that keep you stuck.  We start with the acknowledgement that habits are very challenging to actually break and how to even start that process. Each Thursday, there will be a new instalment about breaking these habits and clearing negative energy.  These blogs are really just a summary of the real exercises found in Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith, for more detailed explanation, I recommend checking out the entire book.

Habits Can Be a Bitch to Break

There are habits that are not great for you.  Biting your nails, twirling your hair or even popping your pimples.  Then there are habits that are really, truly and I mean seriously unhealthy for you. These habits are addictions, they stunt you and keep you unhappy or from growing, yet they comfortable and familiar and so hard to let go.

Our brains are wonderful and efficient machines, but man it can be so zombie like. For many people, including myself, I am amazed how disconnected my worker bee brain from my conscious thoughtful brain.  Since our computer brain is efficient, it likes to hard wire pathways into the brain that make certain actions or thoughts easier to go to.  Think of it like the path of least resistance.  Your brain in some ways is so good at what it does, it can gid pathways to deeply in your mind that it seems almost impossible go a different way.

This is what you are dealing with with are dealing with a habit.  To really change something about your bad habits it is going to take a lot of effort.  I am talking about daily work.  It will take planning, introspective thinking, identifying the root of your habits and working daily on rewiring those pathways in your zombie brain.  It will require becoming more conscious in your everyday steps.  Think about things before you do that, ask yourself why you do it.  Why do I drive this way to work?  What is the first thing I do when I get home? How do I spend my time with my children?  Why do I ask the questions I do?  Just keep in mind even doing this is going against those already established paths that you have in your mind.  This will be tiring, frustrating and your instincts will tell you to just give up. HOWEVER,  if you can keep doing it, day after day. You brain will slowly start to rewire, slowly dig new paths and every day it will seem more and more natural and if you keep to it, you may even find that you have started to actually change in a bad habit or two in the process.

Personal note from Monica: If you would like me and are curious to know more about how habits work in the the brain, I just started a book called The Power of Habit: Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business by Charles Duhigg. I am really excited to read and learn more about that brain of mine and to  help me understand and build bridges between my thinky side and my zombie side.

This series of blogs called “getting comfortable in your skin” has been inspired by Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith.   

Just to recap: For 2015, we are dedicating ourselves to unleashing your personal power. Since this is no overnight task, we have broken it down month by month. January, we talk about getting comfortable in your own skin.  Before you can become your most empowered self; our thought process is first you have to figure out who the hell are you before anything?  Last Wednesday, I wrote about looking down deep to discover what is really important to you. If you would like to read it, it is called: Getting into your body here and now.

Forgiving Yourself

I call them memory ninja attacks.  You are just about the drift off to sleep and then BAM a super embarrassing memory pops into your head leaving you wide awake and blushing.  We over focus and question everything we do.  Re analyze our actions, things we may have said, mistakes that we made.  The thing is, it is really just us that remembers them.  We all live in our own clouds replaying our own events to really focus on others. With this in mind, the only person really holding onto the existence of this event is you, so let memory go and give yourself a high five for being mature enough to know the only judging you is you.

The problem with not letting things go, to not allow forgiveness, is the scars that form around our personalities to avoid any more hurt.  We become less willing to take chances, less confident in our choices. How can you discover your true self when it is covered in the fog of memories you cannot let go?

The more honest we can be about what really motivates us, the more we can focus on the little things that will either help us to come to terms with our fears or help us feel more fulfilled in life. It is also much easier to give ourselves a break for not always being successful.

To start your own journey,  pick up a copy of Coventry Magic we can do it together! I would love to hear any updates on your progress and findings

Our newest limited edition: The Power Brokers are here!  Introducing our special  pour of the the ladies The Love Edition. These candles combine ideas of empowerment and self improvement while focusing on matters of the heart and learning to love yourself.

Heather Heartful for Love Spell.  This is charisma in a candle. Lovespell is about bringing out all your charm leaving everyone enamored with you.  This is also a great candle to burn before things like presentations and job interview. Just be careful using it before speed dating!

The Power Brokers will only be available for a short time.  Whether you are looking to gain confidence, finding love or being an independant woman; these ladies are here for you!

This series of blogs has been inspired by Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith.   

I am sometimes shocked to see photos of myself nowadays. It's not like I have changed too much, but in my head  I am the cutest photo I have ever taken, that is my expectation.  Then in the seconds it takes for the actual picture to pop up, I feel a mini betrayal from my phone. That was not flattering phone! What were you thinking giving me a double chin phone!?

The truth is, we are not always really who we think we are.  This could be in a positive way like you consider your self boring, but you have everyone in your office in stitches most days.  It can also be in a more negative way(I am picturing the failed auditions from American Idol, talk about false sense of self!)

January’s theme for Coventry is getting comfortable in your own skin.  This is why we have the Affirmation line on promotion. Affirmations are all about reflecting and exploring with in. (coupon code AFSP10)  This is the first in a year long series of unlocking your personal power. The first thing you need to become your superhero self?  Figure out who you even are.

In the living with moon magic video for the full moon from last week, Patty gets the process started by suggesting questions to ask yourself to find out what you really value.  Be really honest with yourself about what you really find important. I may say losing weight is really important to me, but if I dig deeper, I find it is less about being thin and more about my fears of what unhealthy food is doing to my body and my long term quality of life.

So to get us started, I am putting myself out there and doing it too.

Here are my answers to Patty’s questions:

How old are you?I am 31 years old

What are you slacking off at?So many things, but honestly, I am slacking off at engaging in my relationships and being more physical.

What do you like about your job? That we work as a team, I feel very loved, supported and in a safe place.

What is your favorite outside of work activity?I don’t have any activities I am kinda in a rut, over focused on work and netflix.  So I guess my favorite activity is Netflix.

What have you been avoiding doing?Turning off Netflix

Who do you miss spending time with the most?My friends, especially those far away.

What do you feel you have had to give up last year, but you didn’t want to?This one is odd, we bought a house last year.  We recently returned to the states after living abroad many years. Buying this house meant, at least for now, giving up the idea of getting to go back there.

How much money do you want to see in your savings? What about your life prevents this?I wanted enough for 3-4 months of bills saved up.  Family trips and spending too much on food kept my from 100% my goal, but I did manage to save a bit.

Next I am going to take these answers and see what I can realistically pull out as my expectations for a more empowered me. Look for the article: Reality is the key word here coming next Wednesday. To start your own journey,  pick up a copy of Coventry Magic we can do it together!. I would love to hear any updates on your progress and findings!

The Ghost Candles

The Veil between our world and the Spirit World is the thinnest in the Autumn. The Ghost Candles are a limited edition that we make this time of year to help work with these Spirits or Energies.  We have Home Clear and Bless, Ghost Repel, Night Terrors and Seance.

The Halloween Candles

This year, Jacki got together with Artist Tami Jo Urban to create the Halloween Candles.  These beautiful candles were sold in limited supplies to stores throughout the country as well as are available at coventrycreations.com. This years’ edition features Night of the Witches, Hekate, Day of the Dead and Santisima Muerte(the bony lady) To Check out more of Tammy Joe’s art, visit her website at www.tamijourban.com.

To get more information on these candles, how to use them and where you can get them, please visit www.coventrycreations.com under store and coventry blogs.

Ask Aunt Jacki: How do I use the 2014 Halloween Candles?

Talking to our Ancestors

The Curiosity of who we are inevitably leads to the question of where we came from.  We honor our ancestors for many different reasons.  Sometimes it is necessary to dive in deeper and get up close and personal with our loved ones.  If you feel the need to communicate with those who came before you, we can offer our help in the way of the Limited Edition Seance Candle and the Witches Brew Original as a way to clear the space and help you be in the right space to communicate and understand the messages you receive.

Ghost Candles are back @coventrycreations!

#Ask Aunt Jacki.  Why is The Autumn such a Spiritually Charged Time @coventrycreations. 

Magic Made Easy: How to Anoint a Candle Using Dragon's Blood Oil

Dragon’s Blood Oil is a wonderful oil to use when helping define and empower spells.   When working with candle magic, there are lots of tools that you can use to help direct your energy to where you want to go.  I chose Spiritual Cleansing Blessed Herbal Candle  to empower by rubbing the oil in a downward direction. Using the oil in a downward direction is useful when you want to send something away, which I most certainly did!  After anointing and lighting the candle, I like to take a few moments to read the blessing on the spiritual cleansing candle and visualize my goals coming to pass. It is a simple and wonderful technique, to learn more about candle magic, we recommend looking into Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith.  Please never leave a burning candle unattended.

To anoint your candle, there are just a few simple steps below.

Here is what you will need: a candle, a blessing,  dragons’ blood oil. candle holder, matches or lighter.

#Ask Aunt Jacki. Does @Coventry Creations Really Hand Pour their Candles?

The Evil Eye isn’t just a beautiful and ancient symbol, it is a powerful protection too. It is very easy to use the Evil Eye Witches Brew oil for protecting your home and your business. Using the oil in only a few steps, you can create a protection in your doorways and allowing only positive energy to enter.  It is a simple and wonderful technique, to learn more about candle magic, we recommend looking into Coventry Magic by Jacki Smith.

To protect the entrance to your house or business just follow the simple steps below

Here is what you will need:

Witches Brew Evil Eye Oil, Small container of water, a sponge or cloth, a doorway and a protection blessing (can be found at www.coventrycreations.com under Evil Eye oil)

#Ask Aunt Jacki. How do I set up an Alter?