September 7th, 2013

Oh my, did it slip into September somehow? Good gracious! I seem to have missed the memo. However, I had an exceptionally productive Saturday for a change - I spent something like 12 hours crocheting a lacy steampunk choker. Why? Because my high school is going to use steampunk costumes for our upcoming production of A Midsummer Night's Dream - I'm going to play Puck and wanted to get a head start on costume design.

I also redecorated my altar for Mabon. It's so nice to be up-to-date on things; I can actually feel the energy change in my room!

It's got a much simpler design than I've had in previous years; right now, I'm appreciating austerity (or at least, a look that's austere for me).
My mini shrine got an update as well; after a field trip to the Anderson Japanese Gardens yesterday, I had several new items for incorporation, compliments of the gift shop.
First and foremost, I bought a package of Japanese incense, scented like lotus flowers. It smells wonderful even without burning it. I didn't realize the package came with its own incense holder, so I bought a ceramic one shaped like an origami crane.

I also bought a Maneki Neko, the beckoning cat who calls forth good luck. The kanji, 学問運, is read "Gakumonun" and means "academic luck"; he's going to be my college kitty! The kanji appear on a gold coin which represents wealth and is also a play on the Japanese idiom "To give gold coins to a cat", which is the equivalent of "Pearls before swine".

 

My final big effort of the evening was to painstakingly reduce the number of stones on my shrine - it was getting way too cluttered! I moved all the stones to boxes and pouches, and put all of those into a large cosmetics bag to keep them together. I left out only a few pieces: a Fossil for earth, Emerald for air, Garnet for fire, Amethyst for water, and a geode for Akasha.

I also left my Quartz point and Petrified Wood for the Goddess and God, respectively. Two snail shells were added to the same effect, and I finished it off with a mussel shell for water offerings.

June Altars

I never got around to posting a picture of my Litha altar, did I? Allow me to correct that!

I tried to tone down the decorations a little bit this time around so that my altar wasn't totally covered in stuff, but I do still have some pieces here I really like. In the center is my new Selenite candle holder, and dispersed throughout are varying sizes of snail shells. On the left is a big mussel shell that I used to hold water during my ritual, and in the back right you can see a mason jar full of lavender, which I also used during the ritual.

Then I set up this, a mini shrine next to my bed. I didn't want to make it too obviously Pagan (I don't know who I think I'm fooling, but oh well) so it mostly ended up as a repository for my expansive stone collection. I figured, however, that the stones probably preferred being out in the open to sitting in a bag in my dresser. It'll also create a pleasant area for meditations - I need to get back in the habit of doing that!
In the center I've got a new candle and candle holder along with some decorative grapes, silk flowers, and an instrumental shaker. The Birch branch is real; it fell off one of our Birch trees the other day during a storm. In front of the candle and to the left is a large pointed Quartz crystal. To the right of that is a Geode I found years ago, and to the right of that is a chunk of petrified wood from Montana. The Quartz I'm using to symbolize the Goddess, and the Petrified Wood is for the God. I once saw a description of Geode as being symbolic of the World Egg, so I thought it was appropriate to have it in the middle. Just in front of that is an Ammonite resting on top of a clay pentacle I made in seventh grade.
On the right side of the shrine is a box painted with the Japanese symbols for the elements. I'll probably use the box as a place to put petitions and wishes for empowerment. In the same spot on the left of the shrine are three little origami offering boxes. I put pieces of cracker, cake, bread, etc. in these before leaving them outside.
And then, finally, I have the rest of the stones. I tried to arrange them according to their elemental correspondence. They don't balance perfectly, but the distribution is more even than I'd expected. Because I can, I'll go through and name them all for you, moving top down, left to right.
Earth (right side): Malachite, Emerald Calcite, Turquoise, Amazonite, and Moss Agate.
Air (bottom): The only one you can see in this picture is my chunk of Emerald. I also have Sodalite, Aventurine, and Fluorite.
Fire (left side): Citrine, Garnet, Tiger's Eye, Quartz, Hematite, Obsidian, and Bloodstone; there is also a Red Jasper you can't see in this picture.
Fire/Water (top left corner): Unakite*
Water (top): Copper, tumbled Quartz, Moonstone, Rose Quartz, Amethyst, Blue Lace Agate, Goldstone, and two dyed Agates.

*Click the "Unakite" tag for more information about this unique stone.

Garnet

Garnet

 

Physical Characteristics: Garnet can be found in a variety of colors, including red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, brown, black, pink, and colorless.

In Nature: Colorless Garnet is the most common, and is used in industry as an abrasive. Blue Garnet is the rarest. Some varieties change color when moving from sunlight to incandescent light.

Chemical Composition: X3Y2(SiO4)3, where X represents a divalent cation (Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺, etc.) and Y represents a trivalent cation (Al³⁺, Fe³⁺, etc.).

Mohs Scale Hardness: 6.5 - 7.5 (middle - middle-high)

Can be Found: United States, Madagascar, Russia, Tanzania, Kenya, Turkey

Healing Properties*: Garnet has been employed as a talisman against death and injury, while drawing victory, peace, and tranquillity. Garnet staunches blood flow from injuries, and cleansing with Garnet vibrations is beneficial to both the thyroid and spleen.

Magickal Properties: Garnet is a stone of love and passion, boosting sensuality, sexuality, and intimacy. It increases one's personal level of energy, bringing positive thoughts, and builds both self-esteem and career success. The stone warns of impending disaster by paling in color, similar to rubies. Given as a gift, Garnet enhances loyalty and affection. A stolen Garnet will plague its thief with bad luck until it is returned to its proper owner. Placing the stone under one's pillow at night drives off nightmares, and wearing it as jewelry helps the bearer generate popularity among his or her peers. Also, the stone may be used in meditations on past lives, as it enhances truth and clarity. Not only does the Garnet ward off negativity, it actively returns it to its sender. For example, use a Garnet to repeal the negativity from malicious lies or gossip.

Chakra Association: The First, or Root Chakra, although Garnet may also be associated with other chakras according to its color.

Element: Fire

Energy: Projective

Planetary Association: Mars

*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!

March 2nd, 2013

I can't believe how quickly time has gone by the past few weeks. It seems like we just had Valentine's Day - now it's early March! My Grandma and Uncle spent the last few days at our house. I was gone a lot of the time at school, but Thursday night we were able to go out to eat at a nice restaurant, and yesterday we went to the Field Museum in Chicago. One of my favorite exhibits is their dinosaur exhibition. This is only one of the pictures I took, with my brother standing in it for scale, but I found the size of this fish skeleton simply hilarious. I mean, come on, it's gigantic!

Also while here, my Grandma and Uncle had a really belated Christmas with us - from my Uncle, I got a cool book of Japanese folktales, and while I got several things from my Grandma, my favorite was probably a piece of grey stone in which dozens of tiny red-black garnets are embedded. She and I share a love of stones, and I thought it was the coolest thing! Now, of course, I'm obligated to research and write about garnets.