Results

So, by now I should have had something put together about the results of the experiment. There's a perfectly good explanation for this, I assure you. After the second day, The experiment ran into a problem- mainly that I had a severe reaction to something I ate, and was unable to get to sleep at a reasonable hour to wake up the next morning at the right time. Because of this, I was unable to complete the experiment as I wanted to. I do however have two days of data, and in the future I plan on re-doing the experiment with a something in mind.

The weather: I was really happy and energetic the first two days. However these days were also days with lots of sunlight, a rare event in Portland. It's entirely possible that this had nothing to do with waking up during the hour of Jupiter, and more to do the fact that I was finally getting a healthy dose of sunlight.

So while I have some data that suggests that there might have been some positive effect, I can't discount the fact that those days were also the first days I actually saw sunlight for over a month. I'll re-do the experiment during a time when there aren't huge factors that I need to consider when determining the "source" of an event.

In other news, I finally have one of the tools I needed to complete the Sekhmet blade, and I'll be doing that shortly.  With luck, I should have some photos soon after.

More Planetary Studies, and an Experiment

I think I may have started to notice an interesting pattern in regards to planetary hours and their influences.  I've noticed that when waking from a night of sleep, into the hour of the moon; I'm much more groggy and have a harder time of being able to tell if I'm awake or dreaming. A trend along these lines seems to stick with me most of the day. My head will feel like it's in a fog, and it'll be harder to focus.

While I've been unable to find any material on whether the hour you wake up into has a significant effect on your entire day, I'm starting to wonder if this is the case. If so, this is something that could be, and should be harnessed to increase my success in health and finances. So, as an experiment, I'm going to try to wake up ever day for the next week, during the hour of Jupiter. If I see an improvement in my overall health and the money I'm bringing in, I'll probably start experimenting with the other planets in the same manner. It would also be interesting to see if the hour in which you go to sleep also has any affect on the trend of the following day. That'll be for another experiment though :)

Spring Cleaning

Apparently while I was gone, some neighbor decided to start harassing us. Until this morning when we found a scribbled note shoved under our door, demanding that we clean our apartment because it makes the "the whole floor smell" it was unknown that this was even directed at us. We're fairly sure we know who it is, and I'm determined to deal with this maturely.

I'll be the first one to admit, our apartment isn't the cleanest, but it isn't filthy. Despite that, I've been planning on starting spring cleaning, now that it's warm enough to open the windows, and cleanse this place from top to bottom. Time to cleanse, and protect my sanctuary that I call home, and deal with this harassment magically, since apparently these people are pulling passive aggressive bullshit, and have decided that we're a viable target. Time to bust out the sage, and pick up some oils.

On movies and pagan deities

I saw Thor last night, and while I'm not Asatru, I am white, and have some Germanic heritage. The movie didn't bother me. I thought it was fun romp, laughed a lot, and still can't understand the controversy over Heimdall being portrayed by a black actor. The actor played the role well, regardless of his skin color. Some Heathens are crying out about how this is disrespectful to the god, and to their religion because of it's inaccuracy to what the old stories say the gods looked like. I don't get it. I really don't.

As an Egypto-Pagan, I understand that my personal religion is different than that of those who follow a Heathen path, but as someone who follows a path that incorporates Anubis as well as Sekhmet, I see a lot of misinformation and falsehoods about them all the time. Anubis is constantly being misunderstood by the mainstream as a "death god" or "god of the underworld" In film he's often portrayed negatively (Remember the Mummy Returns?) and even evil. This doesn't bother me. I see it as "this is not my god that they are portraying in the movie, just an entity that may or may not look similar and shares the name" They did not channel the god's essence into a film and somehow twist it in a form of blasphemy. Movies take an idea and run with it. They're fiction. Movies are meant to be fun, not fact. The exception is documentary-type work, that is intended to show an event in history.  In that case, we have every right to get out the red marker and start underlining everything wrong  with the film.

Skin color is nothing compared to having the very essence of who your deity is changed and re-packaged. I can understand people getting upset over the latter, but even then we have to realize that these are MOVIES, fantastical films meant to tell a fun story. These aren't our gods, they may share some characteristics, but these are fictional characters played by humans, or created by computer.  There's no reason to get upset about a comic book series from the 60s getting adapted into a movie that is intended to be nothing but fantasy.

Home again

As much as I loved my trip to California, spending time with great friends, and exploring the beautiful Santa Cruz coast; It's good to be home again. While I've traded the warm breezes, and bright sun of California, for the damp winds, and cloudy skies of Oregon, it's still home to me.

I received about half a dozen legit-seeming emails from people interested in working with me in Orange County after I left.  It looks like California isn't done with me yet :) I'll make a trip again sometime in the future, and I'll plan better this time. I learned a lot while I was down south, including more about what wonderful friends I've been blessed with in my life. California will definitely be seeing more of me, one way or another. This trip was about tying up loose ends, finding closure, and seeing how much I've grown and changed since I was forced to leave California in late 2005-2006.

While I'm having some difficulties here, I'll adjust. I'm always growing, always changing, and It's definitely been for the better. And next time, when I travel back to California, I will find a way to travel back to the desert, and return to the hill where I met Anubis years ago when I almost died on a cliff. A part of me did die at that time. It was the part of me that felt alone, and fearful. It was the part of me that gave up when faced with a challenge. That part of me is no more, but I will return to pay my respects to my past, and the god that gave me the strength I needed.

Tarot and protection- addendum

While on a trip, it's not be a bad idea to do a reading on the safety of time you actually travel. While faced with the decision of leaving my traveling companion behind, to stay longer in SoCal, I did a reading to look at the viability of staying another day or two, and finding my route back home by myself. The reading was grim. The 5 of cups reversed was influencing things negatively, and my future was the ten of swords, the final outcome was the five of pentacles reversed. The 10 of swords and 5 of cups had shown up in a previous reading of my traveling companion, but the meaning wasn't clarified. It showing up in a similar way as before, but more clear, was very worrying. So I decided to continue with my companion to return up north. I found myself thinking however, a little while after we got into the car. "Did those cards only represent that particular path of the future, or is it in play now?" No less than 15 minutes after I had that thought cross my mind, the car started to go almost out of control, and my traveling companion wasn't responding. We almost hit the guardrail north of LA going 60.

I'm not sure if we would have if I hadn't interfered or not, but I sure as hell don't think it was just a "coincidence" and plan to take this lesson seriously. 

Tarot and protection

I've been using the tarot A LOT on this trip, and it's a good thing too. It's helped me to weed out the creeps from the professional photographers in my modeling. When you're an independent in a strange city, much less the LA area, I've discovered that it's extremely important to exercise caution. The LA area is apparently much more dangerous than I gave it credit for. Growing up in a small town, despite growing up in a town with gang violence didn't properly prepare me for what I'm dealing with out here. Even my experience with the sleezeballs in Seattle doesn't compare to what I'm seeing out here.

I've been contacted by multiple people for work, and responded to countless ads for models. The majority of people who've actually responded, or contacted me have been sketchy at best, dangerous at worst. Apparently out here, calling yourself a "model" can be code for saying you're a prostitute. This has given me some serious problems with people yanking me around, and trying to get more out of me than I ever agreed to. I've decided to turn to the tarot to evaluate every potential person that has shown interest in working with me.

Because I've now used the tarot spread to evaluate clients multiple times, and it's proven to be invaluable, I want to share the spread I'm using. I found it here.

The spread goes like this, and the link I discovered it from, called it the  "Golden Moon" spread, based on the individual who created it. 

1...2...3
4...5...6
7...8...9
....10...

1. About this person
2. What you should know about this person
3. The persons distant past
4. The persons recent past
5. The persons present situation
6. How he acts towards people
7. His intentions
8. Secrets he's keeping
9. What you should watch out for.
10. How to protect yourself.

This spread gives a detailed view of the individual you're wanting to know about. It also gives enough information that it becomes possible to extrapolate further information about the individual that explains the "how and why" of why they may act a certain way, or currently have certain traits.

In at least two of the readings I did earlier today, potential clients were of dubious safety, if not downright dangerous. The readings spoke of how the individuals used illusion to mask their true intentions and could not be relied on or trusted. That was enough for me. Am I loosing money by not taking the jobs? In theory, yes I am. But that's only a theory. There may not have been any money in the first place, and my readings have been accurate enough that I truly believe that I am avoiding serious harm by evaluating potential clients through the tarot. This spread has proven to be a valuable tool to me, and I will continue to use it whenever I feel it's needed.

Tarot work update

Just came back from a great photoshoot, and it looks like I was pretty much on the ball. I overestimated any potential negatives, which is a good thing in this case. The photographer had been moving around a lot though, and was working on establishing himself in a new territory, and was somewhat unsure of himself. I've got some more work coming up, and I'll be using the same spread to examine each person I will potentially be working with.

Tarot work

So here I am in sunny California! What are my plans here? Well, hopefully to get some modeling gigs and make a little bit of money. The trick here is how to stay safe, and make sure that I'm not getting into anything I'm not expecting.

For this I've started turning more and more to the tarot to evaluate potential opportunities, and the people offering them. Since I'm going it on my own, without an agency, and working with mostly independent photographers, this makes things much more interesting, and safety is something I really have to consider when I'm in unfamiliar territory.

In this case, this afternoon I'm meeting a photographer at the subway station, and then we're headed to his studio. I've never met this person before. I can only go by what my gut tells me, and what other people can, if they have available references. I discovered a nifty tarot spread on a tarot forum that seems to be helping e greatly with this problem. It focuses on evaluating individuals through ten cards, to give you an overall view of their personality, quirks to watch out for, and how they got to be where they are.

So far I've discovered that this individual is prone to being a perfectionist, feels like they have little control in their lives, and goes from project to project. They've found some success, but seem to be somewhat melancholy despite it. They strive for acceptance and trust with those they work with, and desire to be seen as someone of authority. They have a lot of energy, and could be considered a bit of a fast-talker.

I can best deal with this person by being assertive if needed, and communicating clearly. Pretty typical photographer with some self esteem problems, and easily dealt with if they end up being shady. I've been doing this stuff for a few years, I know the type. Probably harmless, the cards aren't warning me of malicious intent, just that they might be a poor communicator and feel self conscious.

I'll be letting people know if I was on the money with all of that after I get back from the shoot. I've been trying to study the tarot a lot more lately while I've been on this trip, so It'll be interesting to see how accurate I am about something so specific.