by Derek Sanderson www.sandersonphoto.com

Into the Mystic Elizabeth Hazel Lady Vala Runesinger

I'm best known to the public as an author and horoscope columnist. My highly acclaimed book, Tarot Decoded (Weiser Books, 2004) is the first handbook of tarot dignities, and gives a wide range of techniques for expanding tarot readings using numbers and astrology. This book enjoys a five-star rating at Amazon.com. To read Amazon.com reviews, use the link above and scroll down.

I'm a professional astrologer, tarotist and rune reader, and available for consultations. I've studied these arts since the 1970's and continue to explore, study, and hone skills.

As Lady Vala, I've created incenses, perfumes, flower essences, and other products that are astrologically correct and smell fabulous! Some of these products have been designed specifically for ritual use. The Kozmic-Kitchen shop (Faerie Garden Gifts) product pages are under construction. This site features rituals (under "Spiritual and Magick") and spells I've written over the years. I practice in a coven, and also as a solitary mystic sorceress.

My other life-long interests include music and art. In the past few years, I've become fascinated with interior decoration, home renovation, and feng shui. Although acquisition of these new skills were initially catalyzed by a leaking roof that ruined several rooms in my home, all those art classes and a good eye for color have resulted in fabulously redecorated rooms. My "style" could best be described as Parisian color sensibilities mixed with a touch of wizard chic.

No doubt about it, I'm a cat person, and delight in being the guardian-hostess for four beloved kitties-- Mister Bartie, Miss Pixie Puss, Timmy and Selkit. Each cat has a distinct personality, and their kitty hijinks bring lots of laughs. Although the cat population precludes expansion into other species, I enjoy good relationships with my friends' dogs.

This is Bart. Bart is the only creature on earth that produces Barticle Particles. They are sort of like gamma particles, only better. If a person breaks a glass in Chicago, and another person decides to wear red socks in Los Angeles, it is Barticle Particles at work. As a particle producer, Bart is the only kitty with gainful employment. He is a hard-working Taurus kitty. Even though he is terribly shy with people and hides when visitors arrive, he loves cuddling with me. Bart was the youngest kitty for many years; now he's the oldest kitty. It has taken him a while to come to grips with being the Alpha cat, but he's doing a great job now.

This is Pixie, aka Miss Pixie Puss. She was named after Pamela (Pixie) Colman Smith, the artist who drew the Rider-Waite-Smith tarot deck. Pixie was the runt of the litter, but you wouldn't know it to look at her now! Pixie is very sweet, but let me tell you, if there's something wrong, she lets you know about it in her little girly voice. She will tell you all of her problems, which mostly involve the other kitties. She loves to flirt with men. She picks her own moments for cuddling and attention, and enjoys sitting in my lap under a blanket during the winter months. She has a secret hiding place in a high shelf in my closet. Pixie is a Sagittarius with a Taurus moon; she can get pretty loud when she cries for her dinner.

This is Selkit, who was named for the Egyptian Scorpion goddess who guards the gate to the afterlife because she bears a striking resemblance to an Egyptian temple cat. Selkit has a tragic yet triumphant history. When she was eleven months old, she fell down the stairs and was partially paralyzed. After nursing her through several relapses, she is walking and eating normally. But all of those steroids had a side-effect: Selkit is huge! Her nickname is "Olga of the East German Shot-putting Team." Although she's named after a Scorpion goddess, Selkit is an extremely friendly Aquarian cat. She's never met a person she doesn't want attention from. She'll never be a member of Mensa, but with her beauty and charm, she's a winner every day.

This is Timmy, and he's still a kitten. I have high hopes that he'll grow up to be a twenty pound bruiser, because Bart just doesn't have the personality to be the household gargoyle. We have daily motivation talks about him getting bigger than Selkit, and he is a member of several "clean plate" clubs. Timmy adopted me about a minute after I got home from England. He is the sweetest, cuddliest kitten, and is very smart and well-behaved.

Timmy adores Selkit. At first he kept trying to latch onto her nipples. This confused Selkit a lot, because her nipples are strictly ornamental. He shows her how to use her kitty toys, which apparently she thought were defective. Timmy is a Beltane baby, so another Taurus; and got his name because Tim was the only wizard name he would answer to. (Tim is the wizard in Monty Python's "Holy Grail.")