November 23rd, 2016

Happy Day-Before-Thanksgiving to those of you reading in America. I got home from school last night, and it's smelled like apple pie here all day long - I'm really hungry now!

I also wanted to share these cool new crystals my grandma gave me.

This one's a Selenite tower; I have a pair of them now, but the other is at school.

And then this is a massive Rose Quartz generator point - it's literally the size of my hand! I think I'm in love.

I hope you all have a good week and enjoy the festivities. Things have been hard for a lot of people lately, but maybe a little food and thankfulness will go towards some sort of resolution. And if you're out there knowing you have to spend the holidays with prejudiced, bigoted people, then know that I am sorry, and I hope things get better soon.

The World of Faeries Festival 2015

The Fairy Fest was simply amazing this year! The theme was The Eleventh Hour: A Journey Through Time, so of course I wore an updated version of my steampunk fairy costume, while Destiny went with a lovely red and blue outfit of her own.

(That's me on the right.)

Destiny borrowed a pentacle necklace of mine until she could buy her own.

We heard fantastic music from award-winning Native American flutist, Randy Granger (pictured), a Japanese Taiko drumming group, the band Patchouli, the "Harp Twins" who do contemporary music played on harps, and more.

There's always so many interesting characters...

...and fantastic creatures...

...and if one looks carefully in the fairy garden...

...one might spot a little hummingbird up in a tree!

Destiny bought herself several things, including these stones:

From left to right, these are Labradorite, Rose Quartz, and Citrine.

I also bought myself many exciting things, but those will get their own post. 

The weather could not have been better (except for a thirty-second downpour Sunday afternoon), and we met up with many delightfully Pagan vendors, some of whom we already knew and some of whom were new this year. All in all, another amazing weekend!

September 13th, 2014

Today has been an interesting day. It started off a little slowly, as cold Saturdays have a tendency to do, and I was more than comfortable staying in bed for a while. However, I'll be going home next weekend for my little brother's birthday and still needed to find him a present, so I decided to figure out the bus system and get myself to the mall. Mission "read a bus schedule" having been accomplished, I let myself wander for a while, checking out the different stores. Nothing really caught my eye until I found a toy store wherein I got a big set of child's art supplies for him.
Coming out of the toy store, my eyes lighted on a shop with a very eclectic assortment of goods in the display window, along with a couple of Himalayan salt lamps. Anyone who goes to enough of these places comes to recognize such salt lamps as the staple product of a new age store, so I walked in. I was not disappointed. The energy was fantastic, and as for the products... Suffice it to say that if I had had the money, I would have emptied the place.
There were masks, dresses, skirts, shawls, jewelry, art pieces, instruments, an entire table of gemstones, and if that weren't enough, the back half of the store was both clearance and buy-one-get-one-free. I could have cried with happiness. In the end, I ended up with several things for myself, as well as for a friend who also has a birthday party next weekend.

The first thing I discovered was the crystal table. It shouldn't surprise anyone that I was drawn to it like a moth to a candle flame. While I already posses a majority of the crystals on display, they had some stunning generator crystals that I had to tear myself away from. The picture at left is more or less what they looked like, and they came in Clear Quartz, Amethyst, and Rose Quartz. I really wanted to get one, and I was surprised by how reasonable the price was - I had been expecting $30, but these were about $15. Still, with everything else I was buying, I didn't know if I wanted to spend another $15 just then. I may go back tomorrow, though, because I really was drawn to them. It was immediately apparent why they were considered generators - all I had to do was hold my hand over them, and I could feel like a rush of cool air the energy spiraling around the central point.

I discovered the mask collection in the back; they were all excellent quality, and right up my alley where costuming is concerned. I bought this one:

Perhaps I'll wear it for Samhain. They had boxes of large white taper candles on sale for a dollar, so you know I snapped some of those up, and then I looked up and noticed these, tucked on a little shelf.

They're Tektites! I've been looking for these for ages - who knew you had to go to a mall in the middle of nowhere to find them? What are Tektites? If you don't already know, you'll just have to wait for me to post about them. Mwahahaha....

December 26th, 2013

I was bored this morning, and frequently when I am bored I play with my photomanipulation software. For lack of another idea, I decided to make a quick illustration of the chakra crystal layout I did yesterday, in case my halfhazard explanation in the previous post was somewhat ambiguous. All the images are shopped together off the internet, so don't sue me, please.

From the bottom up, the list runs as follows:

• Grounding Cord - Andalusian Cross Stone
• Base Chakra - Red Jasper
• Sacral Chakra - Carnelian
• Solar Plexus Chakra - Citrine
• Heart Chakra - Rose Quartz
• Throat Chakra - Turquoise 
• Third Eye Chakra - Lapis Lazuli
• Crown Chakra - Lepidolite
• Higher Crown Chakra - Clear Quartz

Get comfortable - you may want a mat or a blanket, the latter especially if you're likely to get cold. I always find that energy work makes me feel warm, so I didn't use one, but you may find differently. You may want to play music - my family was watching a movie, so I popped in my earbuds, but sometimes silent meditation can be even more powerful. Lay out the stones, from the bottom up. You needn't use the same ones on my list - any stone of the same color or correspondence will do the trick if it's meaningful to you. Getting the last few in place can be a little awkward if you're working by yourself since you can't move around as much.
Then relax - your eyes can be open or closed as you prefer. Breath regularly and focus on each of the chakras in turn. As you contemplate the meaning of each energy vortex, look at your life specifically, see how each chakra relates to it, and decide what changes, if any, need to be made on an energetic level to bring things into balance. If, for example, your work with the heart chakra shows you that your relationships have been lacking due to an inner lack of self-acceptance, then broaden the energy flow to the region, filling it with white light that assimilates into the chakra's pink or green glow. On the other hand, some chakras might be too open, bringing too much of an energy into your life. If this is the case, temper the flow of the energy vortex, bringing it back down to its appropriate level. Work with the stones' natural vibrations to bring the energy centers into equilibrium.
Seek any additional insight from the meditation. Then allow excess energy to drain into the ground. Visualize it returning to the earth and being recycled through the planet's endless cycles. Before you return to your daily life, you may want to do a quick aura combing with the Quartz crystal. Just run it through your aura on all sides, allowing it to fill in any holes in the energy and smooth any rough patches. It only takes a few minutes and feels great afterwards. Make sure to cleanse your crystals after working with them.

December 25th, 2013

Merry Christmas to all those of the Christian faith, most of my family included. I got a lot of wonderful presents from my parents and Santa, but there were a few in particular I wanted to share...

I received Llewellyn's 2014 Faerie calendar, with illustrations by Linda Ravenscroft, and The Crystal Bible, by Judy Hall. The former included this great picture:

The label read "Titania and Puck". After playing Puck in our school production of A Midsummer Night's Dream this year, I was especially appreciative thereof.

I spent most of my day reading my new book and marking the stones I already own with sticky notes. It gives a little bit of physiological information about the individual crystals, but most of the entries are delegated to explaining the metaphysical properties they have, and how they can be used in healing. The book also has an index with lots of great information, including zodiac associations, divinatory meanings, and more. Each stone is illustrated in full color.
Other than the obvious reason of "now I have a Pagan resource regarding minerals", I'm incredibly pleased with my gift because it enabled me to identify a very unusual stone of mine.
I was given one of these by my grandma earlier this year:

Neither of us had any idea what it was. Then, reading through the appropriately named Bible today, I learned that it is what is called a Chrysanthemum Stone. Look it up! Or don't - now that I know what it is, I can do a proper post about its properties in the near future. I also decided to try one of the crystal layouts recommended in the back of the book. It was a chakra layout, and a reasonably simple one at that.
I took a lie down on the floor - my bed is really too soft for this sort of work - but a firm mattress or mat would work just as well. The book said to lay a brown stone in front of the feet, a red one at the base of the spine, an orange stone below the navel, a yellow one on the diaphragm, a pink one on the chest, a blue one on the throat (don't move around too much or it'll slide off), and an indigo one on the forehead. Then place a violet stone above where your head is laying, and a white or clear stone above that. I chose to use Andalusite, Red Jasper, Carnelian, Citrine, Rose Quartz, Turquoise, Lapis Lazuli, Lepidolite, and Clear Quartz, respectively. Then I put in my headphones and played some quiet New Age music while I meditated for about 20 minutes. It was ridiculously relaxing and insightful, and it seemed to clear up both my headache and the back pain I usually get from lying on the floor. I'm definitely going to have to get into the habit of working with my stones more frequently!
And then, finally, I figured out why I've been feeling somewhat off-balance all month. After Thanksgiving, I moved my mini shrine to make space for my Yule tree. Unfortunately, I never thought to change the orientation of the things on the shrine, so that my objects for water were pointed South instead of West, and so on. I about clapped myself on the forehead when I saw that, but it's all fixed now and the energy imbalance is corrected. What a day!

August 18th, 2013

Meet my medicine pouch. I got it at the Faery Fest and am more than pleased with my purchase. The leather bag, empowered to reduce stress (because Goddess knows I deal with a lot of it), has a small Quartz crystal wand tied to it and contains six other small stones. The pouch came with a little blurb explaining the role each stone plays in stress-reduction. In the order they appear in the picture, top to bottom:

• Aventurine: Fosters a feeling of serenity and dissolves distressing feelings
  
• Chrysocolla: Helps one remain calm under sudden or intense stress
  
• Dumortierite: Instils a "take-it-easy" attitude and helps one to be more relaxed
  
• Moonstone: Balances and soothes changing emotions and nerves
  
• Rose Quartz: Opens the heart
  
• Sunstone: Instils a sunny attitude

The provided sheet also described how best to cleanse and empower the stones. According to the given instructions, one ought to either place the stones on the soil of a healthy house plant or leave them in direct sunlight for at least two hours. In this case, it seems wiser not to run them under water because the stones are so tiny - don't want one going down the drain by accident! I was already in the middle of cleansing all my other stones with some holy water yesterday, so I just went ahead and did the same with these.
Once cleansed, one should hold the stones in one's palm and imagine oneself surrounded by bright white light. Center and repeat the following (or similar) affirmation three times: "I feel calm, happy, and free as I easily let go and focus on my Life Force energy".

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.

August 17th, 2012

I have some really sad news today. Last month, Nick got a pet frog named Dot from a family friend. While we were on vacation, dad called to tell us that she had escaped. He searched for a long time, and set out plates of water, but never caught sight of her. Then last night, I had a dream that Dot had died. Today, as we returned home from our trip, I really hoped that it had only been a dream, and that we'd find Dot alive and okay. Unfortunately, it seemed she never found the water, or perhaps it had been too late even after dad set it out, because we found her dead under Nick's window. Nick was positively devastated, of course, and the rest of us were very sad as well. We buried her in the backyard, in a flower bed by the pool and marked the spot with a stone and some chamomile flowers. Later, I also made a circle around the area with some dried lavender I had harvested. Tomorrow, when I'm less worn out, I'll do a ritual to cleanse the house of negativity. In the meantime, I'm wearing my rose quartz and am trying to keep a positive attitude around Nick.

Dot, you were much loved. You were too young to go, and I hope that in the Summerland, you find a brilliant pond waiting for you.

Merry did we meet, and although our parting was perhaps not the merriest of occasions, I take comfort in knowing that we will merry meet once more.

July 7th, 2012

Can I just say that I love Rose Quartz? I've been working some experiments with different stones lately, and today Hazelnut and I were really hoping to get together. However, we hadn't planned anything in advance, and you know how parents can be when you spring things on them. So I grabbed a piece of Rose Quartz, known for it's tendency to attract love, happiness, friendship, and other such positive emotion, and asked mom if I could have Hazelnut over. She agreed, right off the bat! And then I asked dad, and he said it's okay, too. Huzzah for positivity!

~~~~~~~~~~~

Rose Quartz is a stone with a pale pink to rosy hue. The coloration is caused by various minerals in the crystal, such as titanium, manganese, and iron.

This type of quartz is excellent for bringing peace to a home or workplace. It is known for the ability to calm violent tempers and soothe arguments. It causes negative energy to dissipate, and encourages optimism. Rose Quartz is also notable in its characteristic of manifesting self-love, as well as bringing positive relationships.  Here, it can be used for romantic love, to make new friends, or even to find the perfect pet.

Rose Quartz is also a stone of healing: place a piece next to the heart chakra, located in the center of the breastbone, to release negative energy and draw positive thought. In this way, one can also banish self-defeating thought, bad habits or addictions, and repressed emotion. The stone is a comforter to those dealing with poor body image, bullying, physical assault or harassment, and other negative experiences. It increases self-esteem, confidence, self-trust and trust in others, and acceptance.

Because of it's healing, loving qualities, Rose Quartz is an excellent "give-away" stone, appropriate for small children, teens, adults, and grandparents. Everyone can benefit from a piece of Rose Quartz. The stone is attractive, and as such, can be worked into beautiful jewelry, charms, and other gifts. Rose quartz also makes an excellent tip for a wand, particularly one to be used in a love spell.

One final note: if you are suffering an abusive relationship with someone, are being hurt, or are hurting yourself, Rose Quartz can help. But don't just leave it at that. A piece of mineral cannot solve all your problems. Talk to the authorities, a parent, a friend, or other trusted adult. Seek help, no matter what. Magick should always work in tandem with "mundane" effort!