March 8th, 2013

The trip to the zoo was a lot of fun! We had a packet we had to fill out, but I was smart and did most of it on the bus so I got to actually enjoy the animals. It's great that our current zoos are doing so much to protect our planet's wildlife - they've developed the SSP (Species Survival Plan) program to help breed and conserve endangered species - Brookfield Zoo alone houses 45 kinds of these especially threatened animals.

This little guy is an Egyptian Tortoise - I can't remember if he's technically SSP or not, but they are really endangered. My brother actually got to pet him when he was here last month for a special "wild encounter".

And here's a dolphin, because dolphins make me happy.

While there, I couldn't resist the urge to purchase a piece of Moonstone and a piece of Blue Lace Agate - I'd been wanting some of each for a long time, and they were only $1.95 a piece! If you're new to my blog, then here's an explanation of my process - I sit and research my stones, write information down in my notebook, and then share that information on here with all of you. I hope my compilations of data are useful to you, or are at least somewhat interesting!

March 6th, 2013

Winter Storm Saturn hit us yesterday, snowing about 9", and closing school. I nearly had a heart attack when my mom woke me up at 5:00 yesterday morning, but it was nice to get to sleep in. After finishing my homework, I spent something like 10 hours crocheting a little Totoro plushie (see the picture) - he's really cute! Totoro is a nature spirit from Miyazaki's animated film, My Neighbor Totoro; he's pretty fantastic. I'll have to put up pictures later though, as I ran out of time to take one this morning. In other news, my AP Environmental Science class is going to the zoo tomorrow, which should be a lot of fun. What exciting things have you done recently to celebrate nature?

February 3rd, 2013

As part of a birthday present for my brother, my family went to the zoo yesterday. We had a ton of fun seeing all the animals, and since it's February, there was hardly anyone else there - no lines! A lot of the animals were really active, too. A wolf was running around his enclosure looking for a place to bury a bone and came right up to the glass twice.

The penguins were also right next to the glass, as was a lion and lioness - the lioness actually sat up on her hind legs and batted at the glass for a good ten minutes, "playing" with my brother. I've never seen them do that before!

Just a note - the gentleman in the picture is not my brother, he was just another zoo patron who happened to be in one of my not-blurry pictures. In related news, I was able to purchase a piece of uncut emerald from a zoo giftshop for just $3.50! It's not gem quality or anything, but that certainly doesn't matter for magickal applications.It's a stone I've been wanting for some time, so I'm super psyched.

Emerald

Physical Characteristics: Emerald is a stone that can range from a yellow-green to a sea-foam color (like mine) to a very dark, almost-black shade of green.

In Nature: A type of Beryl, Emerald is colored green because of traces of chromium and vanadium in the crystal. Although Emerald comes in many shades, the essential component is that it is green. If it doesn't have a green hue, it isn't Emerald, even if it is Beryl - a blue Beryl is also known as Aquamarine, for instance, not Emerald.

Chemical Composition: Be3Al2(SiO3)6

Mohs Scale Hardness: 7 - 8 (middle-high to high)

Can be Found: Egypt, India, Austria, Colombia, and Zambia

Healing Properties*: Emerald is useful for healing ailments of the physical heart and also supports the back, eyes, nervous system, and immune system. The Emerald was used in the ancient world as an antidote to snake venom (anyone who has read Emily Rodda's Deltora Quest may recall this). The stone can also prevent or alleviate insomnia.  

Magickal Properties: A stone of love and romance, Emerald enhances joy, clairvoyance, memory, and faith. Being the sacred stone of Venus, it is most associated with relationships. Still, the stone supplements intuition and communication, relaxes a troubled mind, enhances prophetic abilities, and brings both wisdom and reason. Emerald wards off negativity and strengthens spiritual insight. It can be used for scrying, and works best when paired with copper or silver. This stone is allegedly most powerful during the spring season. To charge an Emerald, burn a green candle while holding the stone and focusing on your intent.

Chakra Association: Emerald is connected with the Third (Solar Plexus) and Fourth (Heart) chakras.

Element: Air

Energy: Receptive

Planetary Association: Venus, Jupiter, and Mercury

*Magickal healing should never take the place of seeing a doctor and following any recommended prescriptions, actions, or other advice. Magick works best in tandem with physical efforts, anyway, so don't skimp on those check-ups!

February 1st, 2013

Happy February, everyone! Happy Imbolc, too (I know Imbolc is tomorrow, but we're going to the zoo, so I probably won't have time to add a post). Imbolc is a fantastic time to expel all the negative energy that has been building up in the house over the winter. First, clean the house really well physically - vacuum, mop, sweep, wash the windows, and put away all that junk that you know is piling up on the desk. Then, if you have a besom you use only for magickal purposes, grab it. Otherwise, make one. Try binding some birch branches or broom together with white ribbon. Sprinkle every room in the house liberally with salt and blessed water, and then sweep every room in a counterclockwise fashion to banish negativity. Repeat a banishing chant if desired. Finally, sweep the room again clockwise, invoking positive energy to fill the space. Don't forget to do the garage, and if possible do the closets as well. A very blessed sabbat to everyone!

February 26th, 2012

The 24th - 25th were simply amazing. I picked up Raincloud and her cousin, Lara, after school on Friday, and we then drove to Hazelnut's house. We had pizza and an awesome cake:


And Hazelnut opened presents from her family. I also gave her a little gift; a clay "pencil dragon" I had made.


Then, the four of us headed upstairs and I gave Hazelnut a second, more magickal, present.




I hadn't thought mom would let me buy Hazelnut tarot cards, but she ended up not caring, so I got The Wildwood Tarot from Barnes and Nobel. The illustrations seemed really Pagan and earthy, from what I could tell from the box, and Hazelnut had been hinting that she'd been wanting tarot cards for a while. I suppose I underestimated her in that aspect, she nearly exploded when she pulled off the wrapping paper. :D The four of us hung out all evening, reading everything from Rupert's Tales to various poems. The morning of the 25th, we woke up bright and early (6:00), and took the train to Brookfield Zoo, where we spent the day. Talk about trippy. We had been there hardly an hour when all of a sudden we heard this eerie howling. The wolves were more than out and about; the big alpha male was seated on a rock, calling away for a good 20 minutes, with the others gathered around, listening. They were beautiful creatures; shaggy and grey with pale faces and darker legs and tails. Later, we were searching for the penguins in their exhibit, when we realized that they were literally right in front of us, directly up against the side of the enclosure, and that we'd been looking over their heads the entire time. Indeed, all the animals seemed over-active, as though determined to put on a good display for Hazelnut's birthday. The sea-lions were practically doing flips for us, and an African Wild Dog walked directly up to us and touched the glass with his nose. On the other hand, the Grizzly Bears were most decidedly asleep, curled up in a giant mound of hay so that they looked like great lumps of brown fuzz. We also saw the peacocks; two or three males and at least as many females, being trailed by a horde of guinea fowl. A while back (was it last summer? The summer before?) a peahen adopted a bunch of guinea fowl chicks, so I think the ones we saw must have been the same ones, all grown up. As we were on our way out of the zoo, Hazelnut stopped by a gift shop and got replicas of two amazing instruments: an Andean Flute, and a miniature African drum. Not only will they be great for rituals, they're fantastic looking, and can also be employed for fun, or for meditation. We were passing out the zoo gates, when a most enterprising peacock decided zoo life bored him, and walked right out the gate himself. We were quite panicked at the thought of an escaped peacock, but were assured that the bird was allowed to roam as he pleased, and that he was perfectly all-right. "Escaped" peacock taken care of, we proceeded to return home. I didn't want to leave, but unfortunately, I had church this morning, so I couldn't spend another night with my friend.

Today, I haven't done much besides church and homework, but I just thought I'd mention: the Forget-Me-Nots I planted just started to germinate; I've got one itty-bitty plant! Good thoughts for him, please!

December 19th, 2011

So, after going to my mom's church yesterday as per the usual, we stuck around for the church's gingerbread house decorating, and watched The Polar Express. Then mom and dad took the boys and I to Brookfield Zoo as a surprise, to see all their holiday lights. They were really quite impressive, and we got to see some of the animals too. I'll be posting pictures of course, but mom has to upload them first. Anyway, today then I went to school to help build set for our spring musical, and went Christmas/Yule shopping with mom. I got some gifts for the boys - animal figurines for Nick and a toy car for Ben - and another little thing for Hazelnut. ^_^ Tomorrow she and Raincloud are coming over and I'm really excited!