Happy Doggone Halloween!

Happy Halloween!  Here's a picture of our three dogs in their shark costumes this year. Hope you have a hauntingly fun day!  

Joy Andreasen's Tarot Tuesday: Six of Cups

Today's card is the Six of Cups.
   Joy Andreasen  provides the interpretation of Tarot cards on these Tarot Tuesdays:
Today you may find your past is coming back to your experience. Either someone from your past shows up in your life, or you may find you are interested in knowing more about your family history, or you are forced to face an unresolved issue from the past. When we are children, we live in the now. We rarely worry about the past or the future, other than wondering when we will take the next trip to the ice cream Shoppe. Think about that today. Whatever you are attempting to manifest, imagine it is in the past. Imagine you already have it. Think about how that feels. The biggest roadblock sometimes to manifesting our dreams is thinking about the object of our desires as if it is in the vague future.
 ABOUT JOY: Joy Andreasen is an author, shamanic practitioner, psychic medium, spiritual consultant, Reiki Master Teacher and wedding officiant. She has been giving messages from Spirit for almost twenty years. She teaches spiritual development and shamanic classes in Winchester and Herndon Virginia which are always highly acclaimed.  She has compiled some of these messages into a book which is available on her website, www.whispersofjoy.net. Her  goal is to be of service to others in whatever way is most beneficial to their souls.

Annapolis Ghost Walk: A Ghost in the Photo!?!

Top: no light, bottom, a bar of white light appears! 

During a recent historic Annapolis Ghost Walk in Maryland we wound up getting what very likely could be a GHOST in a photo we took with the tour guide.  
"A Special Historic Haunting tour of Annapolis" was a 90 minute tour put on by Watermark and Historic Annapolis. It included a rare tour of the historic Sands House and we were led by an amazing tour guide. 

THE BEST TOUR GUIDE-  We were fortunate enough to get a guy dressed as a pirate and named "Saggy Boots" because his 2 foot high boots would sag. Not only was he handsome, but he put on a great British accent (we think it was put on), and he memorized and recited long poems he composed about two hauntings. He was amazing (and cute).

THE GHOST IN THE GRAVEYARD - Ghosts don't usually haunt graveyards, but there is a well-known ghost who walks around a graveyard in Annapolis that circles a church. The church is St. Anne's Episcopal Church. It's an historic Episcopal church located in Church Circle, 199 Duke of Gloucester St, Annapolis, MD 21401. The first church in Annapolis, it was founded in 1692. A man in all black has been seen walking around the cemetery literally for hundreds of years. Our tour guide, "Saggy Boots the pirate" said that the ghost is known to a Sexton named James Simpson. A Sexton is a person who looks after a church and churchyard, sometimes acting as bell-ringer and formerly as a gravedigger.

THE PHOTO - Our tour guide's wife took my cell phone to take our picture with him. She only had my camera in her hand, and there was no one else taking pictures. We were standing in the dark cemetery and there was no light source within 100 feet or more (across the street). There is no explanation for the bar of white light that appeared in the second photo taken immediately after the first photo. I knew we were in the company of someone who had passed on and was roaming around as a ghost, so this may have been the ghost who was standing between us. What do you think? 

Oct 31 at 2pm EVENT: Special Afternoon Halloween Tea at the Strathmore Mansion, Bethesda, MD

Learn about signs from spirits in Rob Gutro's books

On Tuesday Oct. 31 at Tuesday 2pm EDT check for last minute seats in the Special Afternoon Halloween Tea at the Strathmore!
   Rob Gutro, Author/Medium, will talk about Signs from Spirits Strathmore Hall Foundation, 5301 Tuckerman Lane (Strathmore Mansion), Bethesda, Maryland

TICKETS: https://www.strathmore.org/events-and-tickets/afternoon-tea

Strathmore Afternoon Tea

The soothing sounds of local musicians fill the room, as you enjoy Afternoon Tea in the cozy atmosphere of The Shapiro Music Room at Strathmore.
Strathmore Blend Tea is specially made for us by Master Tea Blender John Harney of Connecticut, and is served with a light lunch of delectable tea savories.
Afternoon Teas: $24 per person (Stars Price $21.60)
Specialty Teas: $28 per person (Stars Price $25.20)
Tea begins at 1pm
Call 301.581.5108 for reservations. Pre-paid, non-refundable reservations required.
Vegetarian options are available; please be sure to request a vegetarian meal when making your reservation.
Tea for Two gift certificates make great gifts! To purchase, call 301.581.5175 or visit the Shop at Strathmore located in the Mansion.
Strathmore celebrates 30 years of Afternoon Tea. Read more.

A Haunting Truth About England's Royal Burials

Queen Jane Seymour by Hans Holbein

As Halloween Approaches here's a hauntingly odd history lesson for you...(thanks to Tom who researched and wrote it). It's quite macabre...

On the evening of October 24, 1537, Jane Seymour, Queen of England and third wife of King Henry VIII, died. Only 11 days before, she had given birth to a son, Edward. While England was celebrating the birth of the young prince, everyone had thought Jane was going to be just fine. But late in the day on October 23, she developed a fever. And just 24 hours later, she was gone. There is no consensus on the cause of death: puerperal fever, massive bleeding, or was part of the placenta accidentally left inside her causing an infection. We just don’t know.

There’s a blog that I regularly follow that discusses all things Tudor. On the anniversary of Queen Jane’s death, there was the usual posting, but something about this year’s entry caught my attention. It said that after Jane’s death, Henry ordered that her heart and entrails be removed and buried separately under the altar in the Chapel Royal at Hampton Court Palace. Now, why I never knew about this little useless factoid before, I don’t know. But in this month where we like to read about such gruesome things, I thought I would do some poking around and see how common this was for British royalty.

The Chapel Royal, Hampton Court Palace

What I found out is, this practice was rather typical, not just for British royals but for virtually all European royal houses. Because royals were not immediately buried, but rather paraded around the country or often would lie in state for weeks after death (Edward VI, Henry's son, wasn't buried for an entire month), embalmers had to be creative and would have to do certain things to slow down decomposition just a bit.

The practice involved cutting open the body, cleaning out the insides of the corpse, removing all the internal organs and such, wash the resultant body cavity with disinfectant, and then stuffing it with clean linens soaked in herbs, spices, and fragrant oils so the bodies wouldn't smell. In Queen Jane’s case, the heart and entrails were saved and buried separately. After three weeks of mourning, her corpse was buried in the choir at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

The choir at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.

After the prescribed time of mourning had passed and in preparation for burial, the corpse would be wrapped in a wax cloth shroud and the seams sealed with wax. Then the body was placed in a lead liner which was then placed inside an outer wood coffin.

The burial vault of St George’s Chapel was opened in 1813. This engraving shows the coffins of King Charles I (left), King Henry VIII (center), Queen Jane (right).

Links to further reading:
https://www.theanneboleynfiles.com/rip-queen-jane-seymour/
http://queryblog.tudorhistory.org/2009/06/question-from-kristian-jane-seymours.html

Coffins of King Charles I (left), King Henry VIII (center), Queen Jane (right).

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherhowse/3557176/The-burial-of-the-heart.html
http://onthetudortrail.com/Blog/resources/tudor-tombs-and-burials/
http://royalcentral.co.uk/blogs/a-royal-burial-st-georges-chapel-25426

How's that for a Halloween story?

Q&A with Medium Rob Gutro: Would My Spirit Pet Want me to Adopt Again?

Here's a question I often receive from grieving pet parents:

Q: Would My Spirit Pet Want me to Adopt Again? 

A: For most pets, loving another animal is not a betrayal, it’s a way to honor their memory. That's true unless your dog or cat always wanted to be the "only dog in the house." I know some do.

Usually, though, our pets in spirit do want us to adopt again and save the life of a dog or cat that would be euthanized, and not get a chance to experience the same powerful, deep love they experienced. In addition, our pets in spirit always come around and teach the new dog or cat some of the habits they had in life. Saving the life of a dog or cat isn't saying anyone loved their late pets any less, it's giving a gift to a pet that otherwise would not have had any love in their life, and love is the best gift.

Video: Mike Ricksecker's Friday Night Ghost Frights: Ghost Stories From Ghost Towns!

In this week's video of Mike Ricksecker's Friday Night Ghost Frights you'll hear real ghost stories from real ghost towns in Oklahoma and Illinois. Three true stories that include witches, hauntings, and paranormal investigations.

Video: https://youtu.be/aa9C78MlTt8

 

 

Joy Andreasen's Tarot Tuesday: Temperance

Today's card is Temperance: A winged angel, with the sign of the sun upon his forehead and on his breast the square and triangle of the septenary.

   Joy Andreasen  provides the interpretation of Tarot cards on these Tarot Tuesdays:
Today is a day to think about balance. Moderation in all things is a key to a happy life. Don't get too emotional but also don't be a hard ass. Be compassionate but don't be a doormat. Be responsible but don't be a stick in the mud. Be spiritual but live with your eyes open. It is easy to live your life on one side of the road and never experience what the other side of the road feels like. Be open minded but not gullible. There is a thin line that separates moderation and excess. But remember there is one thing you can't be too much of and that is HAPPY. BE HAPPY BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF OTHERS OR THE DETRIMENT OF YOUR SOUL.
 ABOUT JOY: Joy Andreasen is an author, shamanic practitioner, psychic medium, spiritual consultant, Reiki Master Teacher and wedding officiant. She has been giving messages from Spirit for almost twenty years. She teaches spiritual development and shamanic classes in Winchester and Herndon Virginia which are always highly acclaimed.  She has compiled some of these messages into a book which is available on her website, www.whispersofjoy.net. Her  goal is to be of service to others in whatever way is most beneficial to their souls.

Our Dog Sprite's Spirit Gives a Double Sign!

One of the signs that our Dachshund named Sprite has sent us since he passed in July 2013 is a yellow and black butterfly.
  Yesterday morning when I was outside, I noticed a small yellow and black butterfly next to our fading butterfly bush (since it's getting colder, the bush is getting ready to hibernate) and thought "That's Sprite's butterfly."
 When I came inside and brought up facebook, a memory of Sprite came up! 
There's no such thing as a coincidence when it comes to spirits.
Sprite was definitely letting us know he's still very much around and gave us 2 signs to make sure we knew it.
Just watch for the signs!


FACEBOOK POST: October 21, 2012 ·

Giving dog baths before seeing grandma and grandpa tonight! Sprite was very good!

 

 

 

 

To learn about more signs that pets send us from the Afterlife, check out my books "Pets and the Afterlife" and "Pets and the Afterlife 2" by Rob Gutro, available on Amazon.com in Paperback and E-book.

 

 

 

 

 

Q&A with Medium Rob Gutro; Old Urns Brought into Home Cause Bad Feelings

Here's an interesting email I received about a family that took in two urns that were being discarded. A woman in the home was very uncomfortable and got a sudden visit from someone she thought may be associated with the urns. Here's her question and my answers to what may be happening there.

QUESTION:
My father works for a moving company and he recently moved a woman who was willing to get rid of a bunch of old items, including two urns. Strangely, my dad's co-workers opened the urn. Now the urns are now at my father's house.. Truthfully, I did not have a good feeling about having them there to begin with but now I have a feeling that they (the spirit or ghost) are mad or either trying to communicate. This morning I woke up in a panic and heard a something directly in my ear!  
It's almost as if it (the ghost or spirit) got scared and ran out of the room. I didn't see anything leave but I heard it. 
ould it be a possibility that these spirits are mad since they are in an unknown home with people they don't know?

ANSWERS: 
There are 2 possibilities here. 1) If there are ashes in the urns. Then, Yes. The spirits of those people are unhappy that their remains have been "given away" and not buried or scattered in an place to honor them. 
  What you experienced was a visit from a spirit (who has crossed over).
   The urns and ashes need to be buried somewhere, or the ashes need to be sprinkled in a wooded area - and the urns tossed away. 
OR 
2) If there are no ashes in the urns, they were the pride of someone who passed away and that person has come back in spirit to tell you they don't want anyone else to have them. Again, you can bury the urns or discard them. Either way, they should not be in your home. There's apparently someone attached to them who is not happy that they've left their previous location. 

3) The best idea would be for your dad to return the vases to the woman. The spirits clearly do not want their remains to be apart from her. They will not rest until they are reunited or buried or scattered with honor.
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For more information about Ashes, urns and the paranormal check out "Ghosts and Spirits" or "Lessons Learned from Talking to the Dead" by Rob Gutro in paperback and E-book on Amazon.com