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NOTE: This article includes links to external sites. These sites are not affiliated with atlanteanglow.com in any way and are not to be viewed as endorsements of any kind. They are merely suggestions for cursory research. Atlanteanglow.com does not accept responsibility for broken links. Site names are denoted next to the links for your safety and convenience.  Wood Dragon (c) 2024 R. G. Breus Gong hei fat choy! February 10 through February 24, regions of East Asia will be ushering in the year of the Wood (green) Dragon, the most powerful sign of the Chinese zodiac! The Dragon brings with it life and vitality. Falling in the fifth year of the twelve-year cycle of the Chinese zodiac, the Dragon grants us the endurance, and often a much-needed boost, to continue along our life's path through the latter half of the astrological cycle. While the Dragon can be unpredictable, it is seen as the luckiest, most benevolent sign of the zodiac, one that can bestow great blessings beyond one's wildest dreams. Those lucky enough to be born under the Dragon sign are said to be dominating, charismatic, alluring, powerful, intelligent and successful. In this, the Dragon seems very similar to the sign of Leo in Western astrology. This Lunar New Year, you can harness the Dragon's power with "lucky" colors of green, red and gold. Entice the Dragon's favor by placing offerings of oranges, pomegranates and pears on your altar along with tea and incense. Celebrate with your favorite Asian dishes or try something new from this selection of Chinese recipes from Woks of Life. Know that you don't have to break the bank on Lunar New Year, however. Ramyeon (ramen), popular in Korea, will do just fine. Make it as basic or as fancy as you wish. Luckily for us here in the West, ramen noodles are ubiquitous and easily accessible. Luckier still are those that live near Asian markets or restaurants that serve Longevity Noodles (Woks of Life), which are long noodles meant to be eaten without breaking or biting. This dish is served during the New Year and at birthdays because of the widely held belief throughout the Asian continent that long noodles bring long life. So, if noodles are the dish du jour this New Year, don't break them. This isn't just a tenet staunchly defended by Italian mothers; in the Far East, superstitions abound that broken noodles mean broken (bad) luck. I suppose this is where I should remind you to be careful and celebrate responsibly. Don't drink and drive. And don't break your noodles! Archangel Cassiel: Patron of the Far East and Keeper of Dragons Still, I wouldn't worry too much. If you break a noodle, it's fine. There's no such thing as "bad luck" with the angels around. As Archangel Cassiel once expounded: Luck isn't something that randomly happens to you. Luck is what you make it. It is something you can learn to control. Master, even. Luck is how you choose to perceive your experiences. Every experience you encounter can be a lucky one, even if it brings pain and hardship. There is always something beneficial or positive--an auspicious life lesson--to be found in otherwise difficult circumstances. Finding that lesson and learning from it, growing from it, is where your luck resides. Just remember, the sagacious one knows how to turn venom into medicine.  Archangel Cassiel is patron of the Far East, and the dragons are tightly connected to him in that he breeds and raises the mercurial beasts. In his heavenly mansion, tucked away in the deep, rocky caldera of a dormant volcano, live the dragonkin we humans know in this world as "Asian dragons," "Chinese dragons," or "cloud serpents." I've dubbed this type of dragon in spirit as the "Cassielian dragon" since it's not the only type of dragon in Heaven. The Cassielian dragon is slender and serpentine and comes in a myriad of colors. Some have wings, some don't, but they all choose to reside solely in the archangel's mansion when they're not out exploring. Cassiel deeply loves these creatures, and the feelings are mutual. Wherever the archangel lands in a world, the dragons happily follow, hence why they are so deeply embedded within Asian cultures, albeit in a limited capacity. The shy and quiet angel revealed that unlike here on Earth where every twelve years the Chinese dragon manifests within one of the five Chinese elements--earth, metal, water, wood and fire--the Cassielian actually manifests within countless elements! There are plasma, wind, rain, thunder dragons. Mineral dragons, such as ruby, emerald, amethyst, and diamond. There is also a rainbow dragon, so named for the way it bends light through its crystal scales. And while we have the dragon that can manifest as a metal dragon in Chinese astrology, a Cassielian can take that a step further into gold, silver, and iron, just to name a few. According to the archangel, these dragons are their own species of spirit--intelligent and wise. In a category all their own, neither animal nor human, dragons are sentient observers of the Cosmos. When they aren't roosting in Cassiel's mansion, they reside on the edge of the veil between Heaven and Earth. They exist as angels and human souls exist, beyond the confines of time and space. Dragons souls can even incarnate as human in human worlds if they wish. The dragon souls among us are here for the same reason all other souls are, to experience the illusion, the construct. They are here to be a tourist in the most touristy place ever created--Earth (and countless worlds like it). These souls are no different from that of humans. They have their trials and tribulations, they have their strengths and weaknesses, their advantages and their flaws. Dragons that become self aware while incarnated can learn to harness their spiritual strengths. They can use those strengths as a springboard toward great achievements. But to be fair, so can humans! Remember, the point of incarnating as human is simply to have an experience--to grow and learn. In this, dragon souls aren't here to be gods among men. Most dragons write for themselves quite the mundane life just to see what it's like to be human. And following in the footsteps of all manner of souls that venture into these worlds, dragons will even write particularly challenging scripts in order to push their mental and emotional fortitude to the limit. This, in order to return Home with a better sense of what it means to simply exist. To be. It's a quest we all accept in one manner or another, so regardless of whether you're a dragon soul incarnated human, or a human born in the year of the Dragon, or you simply love dragons, Archangel Cassiel is the perfect guide to help you navigate a deeper connection with the wise and dynamic dragonkin. From them is much to be learned and understood. They've unique perspectives of the Cosmos and our place within it, perspectives that I believe are grossly underexplored and underutilized by humans both here and in Heaven. Still, in the meantime, celebrating the Year of the Dragon and bringing the festivities into your home can help you better connect with Archangel Cassiel himself, which would be the first step to getting to know the dragons. Have a beautiful and most auspicious Lunar New Year. I wish you many blessings in 2024. Gong hei fat choi! (Learn to pronounce it here on YouTube.) 
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 Chantel, elf priestess and walking night light, throwing heals and dragging souls back from the GY. Late last month:
AG: Chantel, you should write something special for your birthday blog. Me: Birthday blog?? I wasn't planning to write anything. The only thing on the birthday itinerary is playing video games. AG: But, don't you think people will want to know you're turning fifty this year? Me: No. AG: It's the big five-o, though! Me: Back during World of Warcraft's Burning Crusade, I was excited about hitting level 50 because the maximum level in the game at the time was 60. But after a decade and finally making it to level 120 in the Battle for Azeroth expansion, level 50 looked rather noobish, ya know? Everyone had level 50 achievements! That's all to say, fifty is the new thirty-five. It's just not that big of a deal to me. AG: Chantel, we're not gamers. Me: Look. My dad, born in 1912, outlived friends and family. He lived to eighty-five as a type-one diabetic, eating Oreos, drinking half-and-half straight from the carton, all while sitting under a tree for the entirety of his 25-year retirement. Now that's an achievement! Fifty? Meh. AG: Well, not everyone is making it to eighty-five. Perhaps we should be grateful for every milestone? Me: Oh, I'm immensely grateful! Doctors told me twenty years ago that I wasn't going to make it to forty, so I count my blessings and thank the angels for pulling me through. AG: What a beautiful sentiment to add to what will, no doubt, be an insightful birthday blog. While you're at it, perhaps you could even touch on what the angels might have to say about longevity? Me: Longevity? Fifty isn't that old! Besides, I'm here more to watch this game than actually play. I'm just here to help a few players get through this particular map while connecting them to the game moderators who, on occasion, drop a few cheat codes here and there. AG: Again, we're not gamers. In plain English, please? Me: The players are us humans. The map is this life we're in. And the game moderators are the angels, gods, etc. AG: Right. Me: See, I'm one of those casual players that used to be hardcore. I've played this map before and have unlocked a lot of achievements. I'm only here now because everyone I know is still playing. So, I'll hang out in chat and reminisce about the good old days of previous expansions while grousing about recent updates. Sure, I'll join in on a quest or two, but I'm not really attached to the game itself anymore. A ton of players have that level 50 achievement, right now, but I'm more interested in how many team assists and saves I've made, or how many angelic guides I've unlocked! (I'm about to hit thirty!) Above all, it's the relationships I've made and fostered in-game. Those mean much more to me than hitting level 50. AG: Right. Let's go back to longevity. Don't you want to live a long life? Me: Here? Have you not seen this current map? *maniacal laughter* AG: .... Me: Oh, goodness. You're serious? Guys, I can appreciate that this game means a lot, if not everything, to so many. And I'll happily support and assist those players and encourage their enthusiasm. Still, there are other maps out there to play, countless other worlds to see. This is but one. Quite a unique and extraordinary one, to be sure. But I've arrived, I've played, I've done all of my exploration early on. Fortunately, I saw much of this game's beauty and splendor well before the trolls joined the server and ruined the social aspect of the game. AG: Wait, are we still talking about spirituality or...? Me: Much of this game's beauty, magic and splendor lies hidden. There's so many wondrous things to experience, and I remain here to help a few curious souls discover these treasures. Most importantly, I remain here to help these souls traverse this brutal, unforgiving map by showing them the snares, pitfalls, and relentless spawn-camping by the trolls. AG: Spawn-camping?? Me: Spawn camping is a form of bullying by craven rapscallions who know they can't win on skill or merit, so they show up where players enter the game to block them and keep them from actually playing, thus preventing players from making any progress. It's a dirty ploy that ruins the game, but us seasoned players know a few tricks to help others get around the campers. Connecting with the moderators, for instance, helps immensely. Even though they can't alter the game or permanently ban the trolls, they know a ton of work-arounds. They also know the map and all its Easter eggs, so checking in with them makes the game so much more engaging. Without them, I'd have rage-quit this map a long time ago. Anyway, when I'm not helping out or my assistance isn't required, I just nudge my avatar around the map every now and then so as not to appear idle and get kicked off the server. I'm sure one day I'll forget to do that and I'll look up and suddenly see the log-in screen where the server has signed me out. That day will come for every one of us, but being as I have no attachment to the game, I'll be fine with it. I doubt I'll bother logging back in, at that point. I'll just move on to another game. Or, I don't know. Maybe I'll go and touch grass. AG: But...fifty? Me: You need filler for the right column of the newsletter, don't you? AG: Pretty please?? |
AuthorChantel Lysette, International Author and Psychic Medium Archives
May 2024
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