Only in Britain...

Will you find a hilarious man rapping about something of genuine importance! How to make a proper cup of tea!
Up and coming comedic genius 'Doc Brown' is behind this wonderful piece of work.
*Contains Swears* Probably NSFW, unless you work somewhere super-cool.

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Enjoy your week beauties. And do so with lots of tea.
xoxo

To Strengthen a Tarot Reading

"Wisest Ashataroth, please send,
Your guidance and your wisdom lend.
Help me read with clarity,
And speak the truth,
-So mote it be."

(This is my oldest and very first tarot deck that I was ever to purchase, at the tender age of 14. The cards are stained, and bent, corners furling, over used, and much loved. The jewelry is a tiny little ethically sourced real bat skull, painted in a jade green.)

The tarot card was first invented during the 15th Century, originally as part of numerous card games. They did indeed begin life, as a simple pack of playing cards.
 First making an appearance in Europe, the cards were most commonly associated with France and Italy.

Later on in life, Romania took the art of Tarot as a form for trade.
It is hard for us to picture a gypsy clan, without a wonderful old woman, covered in shawls, at her caravan doorstop, beckoning you inside to have your cards or your palm read.

There is evidence in written form that some sort of divination was placed into these cards in 1540, But it wasn't until the 18th Century, they became a common symbol of the occult and began to be used in divination and magic routinely.

Some of the french free-masons make connections with the pictograms on the cards to the ancient egyptian gods. For example they believed the card we now commonly know as 'The High Priestess' was a representation of Isis.

They also believe that the very word 'Tarot' comes from the Egyptian words 'Tar' and 'Ro' - literally translating to the Royal Road of Life.

The Tarot deck has been used worldwide, and can be found in documentation dating back through many famous characters.
Casanova stated in 1765 that one of his Russian mistresses was constantly using her own deck for divining life's intentions.

A typical tarot deck is made up of 78 cards, and is split into two parts.
The Major and Minor Arcana.
There are hundreds of decks out in the world, and the best way to learn is to find a deck that suits you, read through the accompanying book, and then teach yourself the cards. Feel them out for yourself.

There is a lot of bad press for tarot, with cards such as 'The Devil', 'Death', and 'Judgement', unknowing people tend to see tarot and in fact divination as a whole, as communing with the dead. Which is not the case.

 Most divination is no more dangerous than reading your horoscope. Something most people (even the most judgmental of witchcraft) will do everyday, whilst reading the daily paper.

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Happy fortune telling, my gypsy sisters!

Feel free to share your decks with me, I love to see other peoples tools.

Things to come...

I'm busy working on things for you little bunnies.

In two weeks you will have a blog on camping in style! Full of pictures and handy tips for entertainment.
I'm also working on a few ideas for a new magic-infused blog post, and possibly another DIY tutorial.

Is there anything YOU want to see here?
Let me know.

We're currently in the transition of saying goodbye to winter, and hello to beautiful spring.
Thank winter for it's presence, and welcome in spring.

Happy Ostara
xoxo

Vegan Carrot Cake Smoothie Recipe

These little glasses of energy and delicious goodness, are super easy to make.
I've got a new addiction.
This is the first smoothie I've ever made myself, I've never been a huge smoothie drinker...but these might have changed my mind.

Ingredients;

1 grated carrot

1 cup of almond milk

2 tbsp rolled oats

1 tbsp chia seeds

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

A pinch of ground cloves

A generous grating of nutmeg

1 tbsp agave nectar

1 frozen banana

Simply place everything in your blender, and thoroughly blend, until you have a smooth, smoothie type texture. This is enough for about 3 small glasses, so store it in the fridge, and use it within at most 2 days. 

I like to top mine with some desiccated coconut, gives it a nice sweet kick.

Enjoy, my pretties xx

Some days I do have good hair days...

My next post will be a vegan carrot cake smoothie recipe!
Are you excited?

Jadene And Scarlet

I got to shoot my beautiful friend, Jadene, and her gorgeous daughter, in a sort of impromptu mother and daughter shoot. Shot at the local riverbank as the sun was setting.

Cute, Right?
Let me know what you think.

And remember if you would like me to take photos of you and/or your loved ones, you can contact me through my facebook photography page.
   https://www.facebook.com/RazorlustJadeAddisPhotography

Twilight

The sun was setting in a red and pink sky. The birds were chirping, and the river was lapping at it's banks. If I closed my eyes, and took it all in, I could forget the worries of my life. The wind blew gently against me, whipping small tendrils of hair around my face.
 I was there to shoot a mother/daughter combo set, with a wonderful friend. I'll get those up here in my next post. I've just finished editing them.
But I had such an experience with nature today, I felt so grounded.
Below are pictures my friend took of me, in these moments of bliss.

I felt like an elf princess this evening - with my homemade head jewellrey, walking boots, and Joe Brown coat. In a state of peace.

What does the tea say for you?

Reading tea leaves.
Divination Day.

Good fortunes to you all.

xoxo

Magickal Lavender

My drying room.

Lavender is probably one of the most common herbs/plants that everyday people know about and use. They'll have a lavender bubble bath to help them sleep, a lavender mist spray for their pillows.

Lavender is definatley not one of my favourite scents, but I cant deny it's properties.
I bathe in the stuff, literally.
In summer I put lavender in my lemonade.
And when I'm stressed nothing is more soothing than cooking up a batch of Lavender biscuits. (Look below for the recipe.)

Part of this trust in Lavender has to come from my nan. Any ailment, and illness; "Put Lavender on it!"

Lavender is the most recognized smells in the world. And is known mostly for it's aids in sleep and reducing stress.
 It's even good on a biological level, as it attracts lots of bees, due to it's excess pollen. And the worlds bees are in serious crisis right now.

Lavender benefits the digestive system.
It reduces migraines and headaches.
It soothes and calms the nerves.
It aids in all types of skin problems; burns, insect bites, sunburn, acne, abscesses...
It's an antisceptic.
It's great for depression, and anxiety.

(There is possibly some link between excess exposure to Lavender and increased hormone levels in men. So as always keep these things in mind, and research what you are putting into and on your body.)

Calming Lavender Biscuits

Ingredients;

2 tbsps homegrown Lavender buds
100g Butter

50g Caster Sugar
100g Plain Flour

Directions;

Mix your butter and sugar together, like a normal cake batter.
Pour in your flour a little at a time, and getting your hands in there, mix it in.
Now add your lavender, and give it a thorough mix. 

Get 2 spoons and dollop the mixture onto grease proof paper.

This size recipe will make about 6 - 8 biscuits.

Chuck the biscuits into the oven, on a medium heat, on the center shelf.
Cook until slightly browning.
Roughly 15 minutes.

And it's that simple!
 Aromatherapy in a biscuit. And a quick healing fix, for those tough days.

            

Alice.

Whilst my body is craving a long soak, in a hot bubbly tub; my mind is lost in the woods somewhere. My mind still stuck in the books I've been reading.

Model; Myself (Jade Addis)
Photography; Pink Photography

“I can't go back to yesterday because I was a different person then.” 

― Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland



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Next time, I'll delve into the wonderful world of lavender. You might want to check back, because it's going to feature my lavender biscuit recipe! ;)