Well, my family and I have big plans these days, and what better way to start than with a Road Opener candle from Lucky Mojo? I dressed this candle under the guidance of Dara Anzlowar during the Lucky Mojo Hoodoo Rootwork Workshop last week. And I must say, it's been burning sluggishly and reluctantly until yesterday. I've had to tweak it every couple of hours, poking deep holes in the candle with a chopstick to allow the flood of melted wax to run off, so the wick had some room to burn. There was a big old wall of wax on one side, too, like a big old Thou-Shalt-Not.


That is, until yesterday.


Since yesterday afternoon, that candle is burning as prettily as you could wish. Nice robust flame, glass absolutely clear.

Also, my husband's doctor called us about a couple hundred dollars' worth of insurance snafu that we just discovered; they are going to straighten it out.

And – here's the weird part – I'm still struggling with some of my oldest fears. But now my effective "pacifiers" have dwindled down to two. I can't eat about it any more and feel better; reading science fiction doesn't soothe like it used to. No, I have only two pacifiers left:

1. Plan your work.
2. Work your plan.

Some candle signs

I'm working a "hire me" spell with this honey jar. After three nights of absolutely clean burns, the candle on my latest honey jar left the amorphous pile you see on the left. I was disappointed about it – and the fact that the person I'm trying to influence hasn't called me since the (really fabulous) job interview – until I remembered that the same thing happened to the last such jar I worked on somebody – which is working to this day.

Well, this afternoon, I was sitting in the center of the couch when I happened to look at that “failed” honey jar. From that angle (see right-hand photo), the wax looks like a seated dragon crouched on the edge of the lid!

Like many diviners, I use the usual system of tasseomancy symbols to read odd candle-wax signs like this. The Complete Book of Fortune-Telling has this to say:

Dragon.–A sudden, unreasonable terror will come upon you. Let sanity counsel your actions – this monster is born of your imagination only.

You know, the same stuff everybody has been trying to tell me all along.

A great dream for the new year!

This morning I dreamed of a mysterious plant with a blue, trumpet-shaped flower and a stem like a jade plant; I cut it preparatory to placing it in some kind of rooting medium to start a new plant.

Wikipedia says that the jade plant is also called “friendship tree” and “money tree,” and is very easy to propagate; a great dream symbol for someone who needs to catch up on their networking. Looks like my task this year is to be a true friend to the folks who know what I need to know.

What, me worry?

When I burn a candle, I prefer free-standing ones, because I like to read the wax.

I'm burning a series of candles for personal power, as you can tell by the color. Tonight I melted the top layer of the wax from the previous candles - and when I had the candle affixed I noticed that it was "standing on its own two feet," "standing pat."

A coded message

Lately, since I'm still figuring out the real-life marketing thing, I've been feeling pretty hopeless about working for myself. It's the first poverty-tantrum I've had in a long time.

I was thinking of praying Psalm 23 to receive guidance in a dream (as Secrets of the Psalms recommends), but I had a powerful dream last night before I got the chance!

I was working in a big, handsome office. A homeless man was trying to get in to harass the employees. A coworker named FAITH – a strong lady whom I know and remember fondly from real life – was keeping him out. (Come to think of it, one of the most energetic women in my small business class was named Faith.) I sat down at my desk to call the library and ask for a book. Instead, a lady named "Joan Mendez" came on the line and addressed me as "Sis." Meanwhile, I noticed that a little green eraser on my desk had caught fire. Without any bewilderment or trepidation, I put it out while talking to Ms. Mendez.

So, after I found the links highlighted above, I googled "Joan Mendez," and found:

• Joan Mendez was the sound person on a documentary called After 45 Years of Working
• a Joan Mendez has a one-man contracting business in Kissimmee, Florida
• ...was an early explorer of the Philippines
• ...was a sister of the founder of the Lima Lima Flight Team, "The world's original six aircraft civilian formation aerobatic team!"

So, Joan Mendez is a signifier for independent work, an end to drudgery. Financial independence is my sister; this is what I must learn down to the marrow of my bones!

But still no practical marketing tips :)

(At 6:37 pm, it occurred to me: in my dreams, I often get names wrong. I know a real live person with the same initials, J.M., who has given me a number of punchy, inexpensive marketing ideas. In short, I already have the tools in my hands :)

Bad news?

Well, a couple of days ago, the Corazon Brothers (see below) lost their balance: the top stone fell right off onto the glass plate that supports them.

I didn't do any cleansing or protective work; I just thought, "Well, you know ... gravity..."

The next day when I left the BART station on my way home from work, I discovered that my brand new bike had been stolen. I may have left it unlocked, but maybe not.

So anyway, by the end of the following day – yesterday – my darling husband had bought me a shiny new Raleigh bike, for about three times the cost of the old one. So, yeah, big financial hit.

But a much better bike!