A Picnic With Orbs

I went out on a Sunday picnic with a few friends last week. Because of the late arrival of some people, our afternoon picnic at Fort Canning turned into an evening/night picnic. 

While sitting out under the stars, I took my camera and started shooting some random pictures. Whlie I was looking through the LCD screen of my camera, I noticed some strangely shaped shadows moving from one dimly lighted area to another in the distance. They were only visible through the viewing screen but not when I looked out in the distance. I decided to snap pictures whenever I saw a shadow moving across the screen.

During one of the instances when I was snapping a picture, I caught a small orb in the following photo. Because it was so strange I pointed it out to Wolfy who was sitting beside me. 

He decided to take the camera and called out into the night....

"Everyone who wanna take photo gather around..."

Then snapped the following picture.

I then snapped a few more photos a few seconds later to show that the orbs were not random dust particles on my lens. It was also a dry evening, so there was no condensation or water droplets of any sort. 

(control photos to show lack of dust particles
and water droplets taken a few seconds later.)

Apart from adjusting the levels and contrast to improve the lighting of the picture, the photos are unaltered in any way.

UPDATE: Meet Up Oct 31?

Hi everyone, its that time of the year again. Wanna meet up 31 Oct (sat) evening after 6pm? Last year was pretty good in that we had a place to do a Samhain ritual. However, our faerie friends have been evicted by their landlord a few months ago and have not found an alternative place. So no, we do not have a place for a ritual... but I still think we should do something on that night.

Today I found an event we can attend on 31 Oct.

It's "Fright Night" at the Asian Civilisations Museum. Its free entry 5pm to 1am and there's activities there.

FRIGHT NIGHT AT ACM!

To win some of the prizes available at the event, you have to dress up :) Its a great event and quite fun :D

Are you available to meet up then? Do sms me..... You know my sms or leave messages in comments or chatbox...... Please let me know early.

3 Years... No Change

There is this online forum that I started to frequent sometime in 2005. It was a forum for wiccan, pagan and other types of spirituality. I think however, that a lot of people who like to cast spells are attracted to the site.

I stopped going to the site for a long time because I got tired of it and well.... I didn't find anyone that I really wanted to talk to. Anyways, I decided to go back for a look. Was a little disappointed. Most of the slightly more interesting people are gone and well, its been about 3 years and nothing much has changed there.

I think one of the moderators has noticed quite a number of people on the forum who seem to hold the view that magic and spells don't really have a real effect on the physical world, but is either an art or means of expression.... or just a tool that changes a person psychologically.... altering the person's perception to accept certain situations. He/She has started asking the question "If you don't believe in magic as a supernatural force that affects the world... why bother (with casting spells and stuff)?"

I thought it was a very good question, but I think also indicative of the present state of the pagan community in the western world. I guess I'd relegate spellcasting to some kind of psychological tool too if I did it for years without any real result....:P

I guess its pretty foolish to think I'd be able to meet someone who might be able to help me answer some questions online.....:P Most people are likely just as lost as the next person... Still its a pretty interesting place to pick up on wiccan/pagan pop culture and trends.

Sometimes I Forget....

In this lifetime, I have met quite a fair share of people whom I have met before in another incarnation. Recently, I met someone whom I believe was a fellow colleague in my lifetime as a witch-hunting priest. Despite the centuries the person still exhibits the same kind of character traits that he had in a prior lifetime....

Sometimes I gotta remind myself that people generally don't remember who they were before and sometimes they don't even believe in past lives.

I wonder why people forget. I mean, if you really wanted to "learn lessons" lifetime after lifetime... so to speak... why do we forget? If you forget the sequence of events... how do you learn where you went wrong?

Anyways... I gotta remind myself.... people forget who they are.. and even if you could tell them why they are reacting and feeling a particular way... you can't..... dammit :P 'cos well, people cannot accept it.

Well, the person in question met me today.... and we spoke a bit.. and then he just sat there and because there was nothing else to say, he took out his nintendo and started playing a game. I really really wonder why he's even there in the first place. I asked him if he wanted dinner and he said no... he just sat around....

I mean I have a theory why he is hanging around.... well.. its not cos of me....:P However, right near the end, when I pointed out that it might be an idea for him to go home and rest.. he had something to say to me, but forgot what it was.... just like that... at the spur of the moment.

His face contorted for a fraction of a second and then he'd forgot what he wanted to say to me... it looked important.... but he simply could not remember.... he seemed very confused... like he didn't know why he was even there meeting me.... Personally I think he is pretty confused and conflicted.... which might explain his behaviour and reactions at times. I mean I would be too if the thing I believed in conflicted strongly with my own desires and personality.

Again... sadly I know how that feels. I spent years trying to deny that I had a great fascination with magic and the supernatural. It got so bad in my teenage years I felt a terrible burden. The thing I believed in no longer helped me at all.. it just made me feel guilty about being me. It took me years to admit that conflict... so I can imagine for someone else it would also take years... or never.... some people never emerge from that kind of spiral..... its hard for people to really put aside what they believe, especially if they have been in the system that perpetuates that belief from their youth.... I was in one such system.... it never made me feel good or confident about myself.:(

I guess... you might ask, if you don't feel good about yourself and if what you believe doesn't assist you in being a better person or making your life better... why go on? Well, I think for me at least, it was hard because the primary blocking factor was fear.... its the whole fear of going somewhere unpleasant when one does cos one doesn't worship the "correct" god. For some people, it might be the fear of not ever seeing their family or friends ever again....


I'm quite.... tired of this whole thing about "correct" gods... or not.... This issue has been hitting me in the face the whole of september till now. I've been meeting people with issues surrounding faith and conflicts about who they are versus what their faith tells them is correct.... 

I don't know why I am meeting them. Is it because I am to learn something from them or because I have to tell them something... I truly do not know

RIght now, I don't think I'll be sharing anything much with the ones who are showing up ... cos well.... I guess they aren't in a state to listen...

Also, I don't think I really really want to be groaning any more about how my dad can't understand me or how certain religions are terribly biased against who I am and what I do... I mean... it doesn't help...

I know that members in the local witchy community do feel prejudiced and persecuted.... and often they point out a certain religion or two as the culprits.

I think its pretty useless to groan....I'd rather focus on me... and on what I believe in now. Testing the boundaries of what I believe.... testing my conntection with the Creator.... testing my own magic and my belief in that....

I'd rather spend time being the best ..... magician or whatever it is that I am and finding the proof I'm always looking for.... I mean, I'd rather have access to a power that works rather than to a lot of empty words.

Nitty Gritty Stuff ..... Grrrr

Today's briefing/meeting.... was ... tedious.... I like my occasional colleagues in general because they are nice, normal, well-meaning people, but boy... they sure can talk..... for 3 straight hours :(

I am a strong advocate of short meetings. I notice they never get anything done in the marathon sessions.

And well, when I got to Da Bear's later, I found out that they had taken out the entire ceiling! Da Bear's shop is located in a building that was built in the same year I was born. Now that's really really old in Singapore where they are always tearing down and building stuff before its even a decade old. Unfortunately, due to bad bad mismanagement, the building is dark, extrudes a very very funky smell.... (F wrinkled up her nose when she passed by)... and has a constant source of giant flies.... (they have never ever located the source of these flies. I have swatted a few myself... You need to hit them a few times before they stop moving :P)....

I have this theory that they probably walled up some corpse when the building was first constructed. I mean, it explains the smell and giant flies. .... Of course, the other explanation is that the building has poor ventilation and according to the reflexologist on the same floor, the sewege pipe burst and was badly repaired... more than once. And I thought that the smell came from the Chinese herbal people downstairs....:(

I really really wonder why they put up with the place. I suppose there is no where along Orchard Road that is so decrepit that rental is at minimum level.

The dust from workmen ripping out bits of the old aircon really irritated me. Seeing I could not get anything done painting wise I left..... Hopefully, they would have gotten the place cleaned up by tomorrow.

However, my most immediate irritation comes from dealing with..... vendors.....:(

As a semi-employed person of variable income.... I've had to resort to peddling all sorts of stuff over the years to pay the bills and make my life a little more comfortable. I work with a friend in the local crystal and stone business... to get the certain rare items from contacts overseas.

The big big problem with some of the contacts is that they are terrible when it comes to simple customer service... You'd think that a person running a business would at least establish certain protocol like a proper system of answering emails and invoicing.... or even a proper payment system......:P Dammit.... some people just don't have any of that.... I really really hate it when people give me incomplete or 1-word answers to questions I've spent time to properly phrase in the email. I mean..... I didn't even get an order number for tracking! So HOW do they know who I am or what I'm talking about!

Grrrrrrrrr......

I'm really feeling a lot like.... NOT getting this latest order filled....:( Thanks to Doreen Virtue and the current fascination with angels, I'm now on the hunt for some "angel stones".... :( The problem is that these specific stones are pretty rare... the people that have access to them..... I swear..... they must be country hicks or something 'cos they are NOT running a modern business!....:P

Well.... I guess I'm feeling awfully grouchy... usually I don't talk about my businesses.... but really...... It's kinda getting to me I guess... :(

The Official Bumming Period Is Almost Over :P

My official annual bumming period is almost over... :P I actually have other bumming periods as well, but I'm being recalled back to "work" next week :(

Well, this means I'm gonna have less contact with the people I wanna avoid at Da Bear's. Hopefully this also means I'm gonna meet new people.

I'm actually feeling a bit of anxiety regarding the big meeting tomorrow. And I'm not too sure why I'm feeling this. The "company" has called a large briefing of all "team leaders" .....:P I hate the meetings, so very long...its gonna be a 4 to 5 hour snooze session. :( I really really do not feel like going tomorrow....

Although it has its perks, sometimes this "job" can be really really onerous. I dunno how much more of it I can take before I decide to do something else. However, I am told that this is a job that suits me in a certain way.....:P After all, one HAS to do SOMETHING to survive..... and honestly, most people who do "magic" for a living do not earn much... unless they are total frauds who also don't mind milking people for every single dollar. The new age industry is full of those.

I mean, I demand a high degree of proof from practitioners, and personally I feel compelled to hold myself against my own metre of evaluation. I think that is the only responsible thing to do.

At this point I recall James Randi's million dollar challenge, found on < http://www.randi.org/ >. The challenge is simple actually, to claim the prize money a person making a supernatural or paranormal claim has to reproduce that supernatural claim/incident/ability 2 times in front of a panel of credible evaluaters. This test can also be done in public in a program aired by a major international network.

Despite having been around for years. No one has ever been able to claim the money. It saddens me because some very sincere people have tried this challenge. So far, no one can prove the existance of the supernatural or of a paranormal or psychic ability. It also really does not help that a lot of obviously fake psychics have also attempted this challenge.

Some psychics have excused their failure claiming that the unbelief of the people they are exhibiting their ability to has caused it to fail. While I think that the energetic intentions of people are powerful enough to cause or prevent stuff from happening, I personally think that the failure to show a paranormal or supernatural ability is more tied into the fact that if there is any psychic power at all, it is very very diluted in this day and age. And that, those who do have the ability and are strong enough are well... mostly living in third world countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and some parts of South America ... to name a few places.

I have heard more than once from different individuals that if you want to look for a strong spellcaster the best countries to find them are Tibet, Thailand and Indonesia... I even got comments that western magic on the whole is "too weak". Personally, I don't disagree with the comments made. I mean, if you are an Asian, ask yourself honestly, who do you fear more.... an Asian bohmoh/witchdoctor from the jungles of Borneo or a western witch living in the States.

And unfortunately, well, guess who has greater access to http://www.randi.org/? No wonder the culture of spirits and magic is weak in "developed" countries.

I think I may have mentioned this before on the blog. Once, some years ago, in a state of mental exhaustion over my own personal demons, I asked F if she knew where to find a real spellcaster, who is "strong enough". Now F knows enough new age people on two continents to fill up just about every category of new age practitioner.... heck she even knows Doreen Virtue....:P has this to say....

"There isn't any around.... your best chance of finding one is to go to traditional lands and just start walking into the desert or forest and hope to bump into one..."

:P

Needless to say, that was one of the lowest points in my spiritual path.... I remember spending nights sleeping curled up in a tight corner on a cold tiled floor simply because I was frozen in fear and it was too hard to overcome some of the stuff I was experiencing, and I had problems understanding what I was encountering.... I had felt if I spoke to someone like me, I could come to terms with my own issues......

But there you have it..... there wasn't anyone else at that time.

Since then, I've been looking for people like me... and sadly.... if they are "strong enough" or if their gift manifests itself sufficiently.... they end up in the loony bin talking to unbelieving doctors. Well, I did recently meet someone like that..... I wonder what I will learn from the interaction...

I guess only time will tell.... :)

I live in hope.

Going Bananas....

I am going bananas... :P

Well, I'm really really getting annoyed by the domineering boyfriend of the doormat gal at the shop. I really really cannot understand why she keeps defending him although he critizes her in public. I cannot imagine any normal gal sticking with a guy like that for long... :P

There is no real reason for me to be THAT ANNOYED with him, but I simply am. I can 't stand seeing him around because ... for heavens sake.... I mean, with a round, protruding tummy, bad manners and a girly voice, he's gotta be the most unattractive and uncharismatic guy around. And yet people around him seem to treat him with respect... and that annoys me no end. And it annoys me even more that his good looking doormat girlfriend is able to tolerate his nasty personality. I think one of the guys at the store tried talking to her once about "not taking that shit from him", heck, I even tried talking to her about his .... "manners" towards her... but NOOOOOOOOO she cannot see it... the stupid stupid ..... GIRL!

I was about to say "cow" ... but she really is quite an attractive gal... and dammit she can't even see that she is a great looking woman.

How do people end up like that?!

Honestly.... my divination and the powers that be tell me that he has cast a spell on her... and she can't see through it. There was once this conversation between them where she said, "I can't figure out why I even like you...."

He replies, "No need to ask why... there is no reason wan la... you just like me lor..."

I think subconsiously that ... PRICK knows!


As much as I'd like to believe that people who are gifted with the powers to do magic are all.... well.... born with some degree of enlightened knowledge... there is a certain category of .... talented people who are the bane of existance... Quite a long long time ago, while I was still studying with F, I identified this particular breed of .... being...

I originally called them the "wild magic child".... really not a very good name because it doesn't quite describe what it is that they do. F calls them "enchanters".... why? Well, because primarily they use their magical charm to affect the behaviour of the people they meet face to face. Owing to the unique characteristics of the "enchanter"... they are likely the biggest troublemakers you will ever likely encounter....:P

So how do you identify them? Generally, they ALL share the following traits:

1. A very charismatic person in terms of either appearance or personality. Generally they are able to charm people they meet face-to-face. This charm wears off once they are gone. So keep a look out for individuals whom people seem to dislike or speak ill of ONLY outside their presence... Once that individual arrives on the scene it will seem as if he or she can do no wrong....:P And people tend to treat them favourably....:P

2. They LOVE being the centre of attention. If you try to steal some of that attention away from them, they will pounce on you faster than you can say "eep!" It doesn't matter how long you know them or what kind of relationship you have with them, they will either bite back or sulk to no end IF you try and steal away their limelight.

3. They LOVE being all kinds of drama. Their life is like a major rollercoaster ride. Some of it almost reads like a very very bad soap opera. This drama can either be happening to them or someone else, but when they tell it to you, they are ALWAYS at the centre of the drama. :P This is because they really really dislike having a boring life. They are always looking for exciting new people or situations to interact with. And if they cannot find any, well, more often than not, they are the ones who directly or indirectly perpetuate that drama.

4. They are always psychic and HIGHLY INTUITIVE. They read people like books. They tend to proliferate in new age circles... well, look out for the person who tries their best to compete with you as to who has the most dramatic spiritual experience...:P THAT, more often than not, is a damned "enchanter".

Unfortunately, their natural magical and psychic gifts mean that more often than not, they end up working in the holistic field. It does give them the attention they want, the magical element appeals to their talent for it, and very often they can talk people into giving them oodles of cash for little or no effort on their part...:P

5. They are DAMNED LAZY. In fact, the words "I can't be bothered" is almost like a catchphrase for them. See, its not that they cannot be hardworking, its just that, living in a world where things come easily to them as long as they can turn on their charm, it makes them pretty... well.... complacent. I mean, why work hard when you can charm and manipulate your way around both socially and energetically?

Unfortunately, most of them are also serial psychic vampires... their reasoning is something like... why work on increasing your own personal energy when you can just steal it from people... and how do they steal it from people? Well, they just turn on their charm and reach out.... when people are attracted to them, they can tap on their energy more easily...

I'm really not surprised that doormat gal is always looking stressed and tired....:P I could tell her the reason for it, but she'd never believe me.

This laziness also shows up in the way they do their work. They love shortcuts. I mean, people do take shortcuts now and again, but dammit, "enchanters" love to find ways to get things done faster because they do get bored easily and their attention span on things that don't really matter to them is not that great. It is almost a pattern in their life, and their work .... if you examine it closely ... is usually not at a high standard because they take too many shortcuts. :P


Despite their general laziness.... they can be motivated to work hard... ONLY if its something they really want. That is why a lot of them don't do well at school, unless they are studying the subjects they really like... or at least THINK they like.

And you'd think that they would like.... really really study hard when it comes to magic right???? Well, lets just say this, they can easily read a paperback about magic.... if it is thin and in easy words... and if it promises them oodles of power. However, if you hand them a THICK and I mean Dion Fortune thick book on...."How to be an initiate?" Most of them will skim through the pages picking out bits of information without reading everything carefully.

After that, they would pretend to be an expert on the subject.

What do I mean? Well, it goes like this....

Someone once told me the story of this lady she knew.... who by all characteristics is a classic enchanter-type. As a practitioner in the holistic field, she would visit every single guru and teacher in the state and take introductory classes (1 to 2 classes or if like Reiki... only 1 level in it) and then at a later date when trying to impress some people, talk about it like she was a master of the field. Some of "enchanters" even have the audacity to even "teach" others about their "field of expertise".

Well, if you encounter someone like that, and they claim to be an expert in a particular field... just TEST their knowledge by getting them to explain something in depth... and then watch them stumble. Generally if REALLY GRILLED by someone who is an expert, they would be able to spot the lie. You just have to grill them with a ruthless focus. DO NOT be distracted by their wittiness or charm. Focus on the logic of the explanation. If it doesn't make sense, you will be able to see them try to generalise their way out of it through either making vague statements or some kind of debate.

6. Although they do not appear it, generally most "enchanters" are also backstabbers. Why? Well, its 'cos they LOVE to gossip. Or else, love to be the one who is able to deliver the most interesting or shocking information that is available... and often they forget that some of their informants have requested secrecy :P


So why am I sharing this info? Well, 'cos I'm super pissed with a certain "enchanter" and dammit, stupid "enchanters" have been the bane of my existance for many lifetimes.

Both myself and F have asked the Creator why it is that "enchanters" were created.. since it seems there is a definite class of people who share these traits. Till this day, I do not have a definite answer, but I suppose that being who they are, they create a certain level of chaos in the world and that sometimes has the effect of jolting people out of their stagnancy. If you survive their presence and identify them and how they are "pulling your strings" you will certainly learn some lesson from all of it. If not, don't cry, 'cos you are likely not the only "victim" of all the trouble they stir up.

I suppose the universe/Source/The Divine/The Creator has indeed planned for some people to be the proverbial "bad guy". I sometimes imagine that in all the stories people tell about the "evil wizard" that evil spellcaster is most likely an "enchanter"... :P

Well, if you read this and do not believe a word of what I am saying... then go ahead and DO NOT believe. After all, it does all sound a little bit far-fetched... But if you feel that there's something familar in what I'm saying, well, keep an open mind and... keep your eyes peeled..... the least you can do is NOT let these tricksters decieve you.