January 15th, 2016

I went with my mom to Goodwill today to find some silly things for gag gifts (we're having a bit of a party tonight) but also ended up getting a few other things while we were there.

I need a red taper candle for an upcoming Imbolg ritual, but when we went to Target the other day, they were totally sold out. Party City was also sold out. Apparently, people needed a lot of red candles for their holiday festivities or something. Anyway, Goodwill had one, brand-new and in the plastic, for $0.50, and my mom also stumbled across an owl candle for $0.99.

I thought the owl would be great for my shrine to Athena, so I took it home, and it seems to fit in perfectly.

Shrine to Athena, now +1 candle.

September 1st, 2015

It's been an interesting day, and I have some news, but I'm probably going to wait to share that on here until I've got all the details hashed out. I did think that I would share a picture with you all, though.

This is where I ended up putting my dragon statue I bought Saturday, on a shelf over my desk. I've attached some warding to the statue, and put an offering of water in the glass dish. He wanted some crystals set around him, so I put a Black Onyx and two Tektites on the shelf as well.

On either side of the statue, I have two Japanese amulets for academic success; to the left is my green Maneki Neko, and to the right is a little mini shrine-shaped amulet I bought at Meiji Jinja in Tokyo.

I also have two little shells sitting there, although they're hard to see in the photo. One shell is holding water, and the other is holding salt. I don't have a Kamidana at this point in time, although I would like to acquire one. In the meantime, I am using the shells to hold offerings to the Kami.

August 31st, 2015

I've been doing some more research into Japanese Shintoism, and was specifically looking at information on the Kamidana, or "God shelf". These are small personal shrines for one's home or place of business which are made by traditional craftspeople and blessed by the Shinto priests. A lot more goes into one than I was aware, so I thought I would share the information I found as a bit of an intro.

All Kamidana look a little different, but here is one style for reference.

In the back is the Kamidana itself, designed in the style of a Shinto shrine but in miniature. Depending on the model, the doors usually open and the whole front may be removable. This is necessary so that the Ofuda can be placed inside. The Ofuda is a blessed and consecrated piece of calligraphy which is what enshrines the deity, or (O)Kami-san, in the Kamidana. The Ofuda must be replaced every year to keep the blessing fresh and current.

Another thing to note is that the Kamidana should be placed on the north or west wall so that the doors face south or east. Additionally, it should be set above eye level (generally 6' or higher off the floor), and one should avoid walking under it. If the building has other floors above where the Kamidana is placed, one should put a paper with the Japanese word "Kumo" (雲), meaning "cloud", above it to ritually designate that as sky. This keeps people on the upper floors from walking through Kami-sama's space.

Directly in front of the Kamidana doors is the shinkyo, a special stand set with a kagami, or sacred mirror. The mirror is considered one of the sacred treasures of Japan, as seen in the story of the sun goddess Amaterasu and the cave.

Set around the Kamidana in the image above is a shinki set. Often, the set is seen on an ozen stand in front of the mirror. The shinki set includes porcelain dishes to hold rice and salt, a lidded bowl to hold water, and two taller vases to hold sake (rice wine) or mirin (rice wine vinegar). Any and all of these are given as offerings, although the latter two are often reserved for festivals or other special occasions.

A shinki set may also come with two more vases to hold sakaki tree leaves. The leaves can be procured fresh, although practitioners frequently use artificial leaves, as the fresh variety can be hard to find on a regular basis.

And finally, a shimenawa, or rope made of rice straw, is hung over the Kamidana to mark it as a sacred place. The white origami shide hanging from it represent lightning, and therefore also the power of nature.

There are other accessories, amulets, and etc. one can purchase when practicing Shinto, like the omamori I brought back from Japan last summer, but to my present understanding, these are the basics of setting up the God shelf Kamidana.

August 20th, 2015

I made another video for YouTube today. It's a little tour of my meditation shrine-altar-thing.

I strive to make my practice as accessible as possible to as wide a range of people as possible. I'm certain that I'm not always successful, but I'm also happy to hear suggestions on what I can do to improve my work. Yesterday, I discovered that YouTube has an option to created closed captioning for one's videos. This would allow hard of hearing or deaf individuals to watch my content, and obviously that's a very good thing. To turn on the captions, you have to mouse over the video so the timeline appears, and then click the button near the volume control which says CC.

The way I've been doing it, I basically have to transcribe everything. This is a quick thing to do for one video, but not so quick when one has 20+ videos that need captions. I have about half of them done now (through 2011, I believe, as well as my most recent two), but I think I'll have to finish the rest some other time, as the joints of my fingers are starting to protest my typing.

Tomorrow I leave for school. We packed the van, and I don't think I'm forgetting anything. Wish me luck!

August 8th, 2015

What an exciting day! I bought my first laptop this morning, and also restocked on poly pellets for my weighted blanket. I had requested Athena's help in finding the right laptop for the right price, and I was able to get exactly what I needed.

As a thank-you offering, I actually painted this picture frame last night and am adding it to her shrine (temple?) today.

As you can see, I still need to make a picture to go in the frame, but I was very pleased with how it came out. It shows many of Athena's symbols, including olive trees, an owl, a dove, a bowl of gems, Her golden helmet, spear, and Aegis shield, a snake, a spindle, and tiger lilies. I also have quite a bit of Turquoise, which is Her stone, so I plan to put a piece of that on my shrine as well.

August 6th, 2015

It's been a pretty productive day today. I got quite a bit of cleaning done, first with a load of laundry, and then by pulling out the bottom drawers of my dresser and removing all the accumulated junk. While I was at it, I found my little pewter hummingbird stone which I'd never been able to locate after it fell back there a year or two ago.

I have it sitting as part of a miniature shrine to the element Air on top of my dresser. With it is a yellow candle and matching knit bunny, as well as a replica arrowhead and a watercolor painting of an owl I did. I have similar mini shrines for the other elements as well. This one probably gets the most use, since I stand in front of it to do my hair.

May 30th, 2015

How is it the end of the month already? Where did the time go? I got back from school for the summer on the 15th. Since then, I've been doing an assortment of things - knitting, mostly, with some crochet and a bit of reading thrown in. This morning, I got to setting my Litha altar up, did a little rearranging on my smaller shrine, and finally - after four years - filled up my notebook version of this blog. More on that later, but for now, a few pictures:

I just bought this pendant off of this Etsy shop; the woman who owns the store, Rebekka, uses only natural, high quality stones, and hand wraps all of them. A lot of her pieces are Labradorite, which are absolutely stunning, but she's also done work in different quartzes (Amethyst, this Tangerine Quartz, etc.), Opals, Aquamarines, and more. She gets her pieces in the mail pretty immediately - the only reason I had to wait a bit on mine was because I ordered it over the holiday weekend - and she sends it through priority mail, so once it ships it arrives quickly as well.

Here I am wearing it. Sorry, the lighting isn't great. I really like it! 

EDIT: Rebekka's store has moved - she now has her own website! Click here to view her work.

Museum Reception

Last night, the campus museum hosted a reception to celebrate the opening of its new exhibits. I think I was the only freshman who went, but there were a lot of faculty and older students in attendance. I bring it up because as I was walking through the exhibits, I noticed this Japanese tsuba, a decorative hand guard for a samurai's katana.

It caught my attention, because its eyes, which were covered with a brighter metal (gold leaf, maybe?), shone in its display. Upon taking a closer look at it, I immediately recognized Raijin, and felt a rush of validation when I looked at the information card and saw that it was, indeed, Raijin being depicted.

Raijin is the Japanese thunder god ("rai" being thunder and "jin" an alteration of "shin", which in turn is the same "shin" in "Shinto", and means "god"). He is often shown with (or competing against) Fuujin, the wind god. According to Shinto mythology, after Izanami and Izanagi created Japan, the Buddha entrusted eight Raijin to protect the Dharma (assigned a variety of meanings, but primarily referring to natural law). This sort of syncretism between Shintoism and Buddhism was and is very common among the Japanese. When there is a storm, Raijin beats his drums (note the drumsticks he holds in the tsuba) and produces thunder. His drums are usually topped with a mitsudomoe symbol, a variant of the tomoe and a trinity figure thought to represent Man, Earth, and Sky. The mitsudomoe is also visible in the tsuba as the circles above and below the central slit for the blade - the top retains its bright metallic covering, making the three-pronged symbol easy to see. Those who are familiar with Japanese mythology might look at Raijin's iconography and assume him to be a demon, or oni. Some versions of the myth do indeed suggest that Raijin is a reformed oni, thus explaining the resemblance. One legend says that Raijin likes to eat children's bellybuttons, and so some parents may warn their children to keep their navels covered during thunderstorms. Another story, found in Judika Illes' Encyclopedia of Spirits, states that Raijin saved Japan from the 1274 Mongolian invasion by firing thunderbolts at the Mongol ships.

Raijin is never found without his loyal companion (and perhaps pet), Raijuu, the thunder beast. This spirit, often taking the form of a white or blue wolf or fox, is the source of electricity and lightning, and has the dubious honor of being the inspiration for the Pokémon, Raichu. Another explanation of the bellybutton story is that Raijuu likes to fall asleep in people's navels, and Raijin must strike him with lightning to wake him up, thus harming the sleeper. Those who believe this version of the story may sleep on their stomachs in bad weather, whereas others say that Raijuu only sleeps in the bellybuttons of people sleeping outside.
Modern practitioners wishing to honor Raijin could call upon him for protection during storms or a power outage. While I imagine there are specific rites one may do to honor the thunder god, a small monetary offering is standard fare among the Japanese kami. Unless you live in Japan, it is unlikely that you live near any sort of shrine to Raijin. If this is the case, money could be donated via the internet to help provide relief for storm victims or to help maintain Japanese shrines which honor the thunder god and associated deities.

July 16th, 2014

I decided I'd round out my Japan posts with photos of all the lucky charms (omamori) I bought from different shrines and temples. For the sake of scale, all of these are between one and three inches long.

From Itsukushima:

A general "good fortune" talisman, embroidered with the island deer.

A talisman for good luck in academics, taking exams, etc.

From Kinkakuji:

A "traffic safety" amulet, which I'm assuming extends likewise to safety during travel.

From Kiyomizudera:

A squishy little talisman portraying the god of business success.

A dragon talisman for good fortune.

From Jishu:

A talisman for improving "the luck in love of one's zodiac sign". I'm a Pisces.

From Meiji:

I was so worried that I'd lost this one because I couldn't find it the other day, but when I got my keychain holding all of these out to take pictures, there it was! This amulet promotes oneness of the mind and body.

The writing on this carved wood reads "kodama", which is the Japanese word for "tree spirit" (similar to the European dryad). These spirits of the forest are generally benign, unless their tree is attacked, in which case they may curse the person who cut it. According to the Meiji shrine website, these wooden bells are made from the wood of sacred trees which have finished guarding the shrine precinct and allow for the oneness of human spirit and nature.

And then there's this: my little desktop shrine for academic excellence.

All of these are definitely coming to college with me.

Meiji Shrine

Of all the historical sites we visited in Japan, the Meiji Shrine was by far the newest, having been founded in 1912 to honor the Meiji Emperor's role in the Meiji Restoration. Construction began in 1915, and was completed in 1921. The original building was destroyed in WWII, but has since been rebuilt.

All of these are empty sake (rice wine) barrels donated to the shrine annually as an offering. The writing gives the brand name; many companies have been donating barrels every year since the establishment of the shrine.

The Torii gate is enormous. The three gold medallions are the Imperial Seal - sixteen petalled chrysanthemums, a repeating motif throughout the shrine grounds. 

This is the interior of the shrine.

These boards, called "ema", are available for purchase by patrons for the equivalent of $5 (500 yen); one writes a personal prayer or petition on it, and the following morning the shrine priests bless them and hang them on the displays around the tree. That rope around the trunk? It's a special Shinto decoration demarcating sacred space.

I was not exactly clear on whether the bonsai tree display was a year-round thing or if it was a temporary exhibit, but while I was there, the shrine was exhibiting lots of donated bonsais. This particular specimen was 300 years old.
Not exactly pictured is the forest surrounding the shrine, with hundreds of thousands of trees, all of which were donated and planted when the shrine was first established. It's an absolute delight to walk through. Not only is it stunningly beautiful, but you get a real sense of both history and magick, like the trees know something you don't and are whispering about it to each other. That's what I thought, anyway.
The Meiji Shrine had some of the coolest amulets, in my opinion, so I got a couple of them. One was a mini wooden shrine for improving academic excellent, another was a wooden sphere for the union of spirit and nature, and the third was a silver charm for the union of body and soul. Unfortunately, I can't seem to find the latter; it's possible that it got mixed up in the packaging when I was taking my things out of my suitcase, which is somewhat upsetting. Still, I figure that if it's meant to come back to me, I'll find it sooner or later.

Jishu Shrine

Another exciting part of the Kiyomizudera Temple is the shrine built on the same grounds.

Jishu Shrine

Jishu is a shrine to Ookuninushi, the Japanese god of love and good matches (think Japanese Cupid). 

This is the entrance to the shrine itself; note the tell-tale Torii gate through which one must step to enter.

This is the shrine itself, in front of which are two rocks, placed six meters apart. It is said that if one can walk from one stone to the other with their eyes closed, they will find true love. A friend or significant other is permitted to help, which is especially good since the shrine is both small and very popular, so there are a lot of people to walk around. 

Jishu sells lots of love talismans; I bought a small red one with the Pisces fish on it to "improve the luck in love of one's zodiac sign". I'm a Pisces in Western mythology, and a rat in Eastern. Most Japanese zodiac memorabilia uses the Eastern animals, and frankly, I don't care for being a rat, so I was excited to see a Pisces charm and figured I'd get that one.

June 23rd, 2014

I do want to write up posts about my time in Japan, but first, a bit of news from today. My family and I are spending the weekend at my chosen university for next fall, going through the whole freshmen orientation business. The campus is set in a beautiful landscape, mere minutes from a wildlife refuge, national forest, and a park that's actually called Garden of the Gods. Not only that, but five minutes from my dorm is a Gaia Interfaith center, and there's a forest preserve in the middle of campus. It couldn't be a more ideal setting for a Pagan (well, other than no candles or incense in the dorm room). Moreover, there's a ton of diversity in the student body, so I can't imagine I'll be the only Pagan in the area. Like the icing on the cake, we were taking a bus tour this afternoon when we passed the campus forest preserve and saw a doe standing along the edge of the trees. She looked right at me, and I knew that could only be a sign of Goddess-given approval. I can't wait to start here in the fall!

Okay, back to Japan. The first shrine we visited was Itsukushima Shrine on Miyajima Island, across the bay from Hiroshima. 

Itsukushima Shrine

Itsukushima is one of the most famous shrines in Japan, and is listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Because it is a Japanese shrine, it is Shinto. Japanese temples are Buddhist. That being said, Shintoism and Zen Buddhism coexist peacefully on this island nation, and indeed, over 70% of the population considers itself both Buddhist and Shinto. Many famous places are actually home to both temples and shrines in the same acre of space. As a general rule of thumb, Shinto rites relate to one's daily life, while Buddhist rites deal with death and remembrance of the deceased. In Shintoism, the color white is considered sacred. Many paper temple decorations are white, as are the robes worn by the priests.

The shrine celebrates the god of the island itself, specifically the god (kami) of Mt. Misen, the island's tallest mountain. That being said, there are websites which say that this shrine venerates Susanoo, the moon and storm god, his daughters, or various local goddesses. I am basing my information off what was listed on the UNESCO website, given that that seemed like the most reliable source of information.

Itsukushima was supposedly founded in 593, but no written record of it exists prior to 811. The original buildings were reconstructed and expanded in the 1100s (1168, according to written record), after which the shrine received the patronage of Taira no Kiyomori, the most powerful shogun of the era. He believed he owed his political power to the god of Itsukushima, and worshiped there often. As a result, some Japanese may consider the place a shrine to Kiyomori as well.

Fire severely damaged the premises in 1207, but reconstruction efforts kept the blueprints very similar to what had been there in Kiyomori's time. Since then, the shrine has never been reconstructed all at once, but individual buildings have required work as storms, typhoons, and tsunamis have done damage. They have been meticulously repaired in accordance with historical materials and practices. The Japanese government now personally oversees work done on this historical religious site. A relatively recent addition? Fire extinguishers, since Itsukushima is built entirely of wood and plaster.

But enough history. It's the pictures that you actually want to see.

Here's your first view of Itsukushima as you approach Miyajima by ferry. That vermillion Torii gate is not the shrine itself, but it is the gate of purification that designates the presence of all Shinto shrines. This one is particularly impressive - for one thing, it's huge. For another, it's set well out on the beach such that it appears to float on the water at high tide. In ancient times, pilgrims could not enter the island until they had passed under the Torii by canoe and ritually cleansed themselves.

Also on the island, besides the shrine, are dozens of these cute little deer (Yes, that's me next to him. Pictures or it didn't happen, right?). They're considered a Japanese national treasure, and are denizens of the shrine in their own right. Being completely used to human presence, one can walk right up to them, and they'll just keep on minding their own business. You aren't actually supposed to pet them (a rule that doesn't seem especially well-followed), but if you have so much as the slip of a paper receipt showing, they will try to eat it. Go figure.

This is a Komainu, a "lion dog" spirit always displayed in pairs and usually at the entry gates to Shinto shrines. Originating in China, Komainu spirits and their statues are found today in Korea and Japan as well. Lions are mystically believed to frighten away evil in the East, and so they sit and guard these sacred spaces. In many pairs, the animals are identical but for one thing: their mouths. Often, one will have its mouth open and the other's will be closed. The open-mouthed spirit is saying "A", the first letter of the Sanskrit alphabet, while the closed-mouth spirit says "Um", the last letter. Together, they say "Aum", representative of the beginning and end of all things (think Alpha and Omega); the word has significance in Buddhisn, Hinduism, and Jainism, but is relevant to cultures the world over.

This is a much closer view of the Torii gate; note how small the people are by comparison. Leave a coin at its base and make a wish.

These are the handwashing stations which can be found outside all shrines and some temples. The proper way to use them is as follows: holding the dipper in your left hand, scoop a cup of water and pour it over your right. Switch the dipper to your right hand, and pour water over your left. Then cup your left hand and pour water into it. Sip this water and use it to rinse your mouth; then spit it out onto the bamboo or rocks outside the water enclosure. Finally, allow the remaining water to run down the handle of the dipper to clean it for the next person. This represents purification of the body, while passing through the Torii gate is purification of the soul.

And finally, the shrine itself. Inside, one can walk the corridors in quiet contemplation, pray as desired, marvel at the tiny crabs inhabiting the sandy courtyard at low tide, and if you happen to make it at just the right time, watch a Shinto priest perform a ceremony. Available for purchase are paper fortunes (better than fortune cookies) in a variety of languages - English, Chinese, Japanese, and Korean are the usual ones - or Omamori, which are lucky amulets. These come in a wide variety of colors and meanings, and each can only be bought at that specific temple or shrine. They are often monogrammed, at the very least, with the name of where they were bought and with their purpose. From Itsukushima, I got a purple amulet (or in this case talisman might be more accurate) to enhance studying and a pastel one embroidered with island deer for general good fortune.

That's Miyajima! If you ever have the opportunity to go, I highly recommend it. It is absolutely stunning, not to mention of vast historical, cultural, and religious significance. I can also tell you that the maple leaf is an iconic symbol in the Miyajima area, and that you can not only see many wild Japanese maples (Momiji) but you can also get lots of maple leaf themed snacks and souviners. Yes, I shopped more in two weeks than I've done in my entire eighteen years. No, I do not have a single regret.

June 22nd, 2014

Well, I celebrated Litha on time, even if my posting about it isn't. Yesterday was the first day of summer, solstice, and longest day of the year. I completely redecorated my altar earlier in the week, developing a new style to incorporate a fancy metal chalice, which was a graduation present from my Aunt C, and several of the things I bought in Japan. Yes, Japan! I finally got to go!

We left on Wednesday, May 28th, and stayed through June 11th. Among other memorable activities, we visited several temples and shrines, each of which will warrant their own post, and I bought a number of amulets blessed at these shrines as magickal souvenirs. It was an amazing trip.

Before I left, I put together a little travel-safety amulet of my own. I'll share it here, in case you're looking for a quick and inexpensive spell for before an extended journey or vacation.

Hummingbird's Travel Amulet

Begin with a small drawstring bag. Have on hand a handful each of rose petals and lavender, a piece of turquoise, and a small representation of a bird (if traveling by air), a fish (if traveling by sea), or a horse (if traveling by land), either as a photograph, drawing, or other token.

Then, cast a Circle and cleanse all the items with holy water. Individually empower the items as follows:

- Rose petals: positive relationships between your party and the people in the region you are visiting (rose is an herb of love, after all)

- Lavender: general calm and peacefulness throughout the trip

- Turquoise: safety in travel (a property for which this stone is well-known)

- Animal token: to guide you there and back again

Put all the ingredients in the bag and say a final blessing over it. This could be as simple as presenting the pouch to the elements and Spirit and asking their respective blessings. When you've finished, pack the amulet in your luggage. The best part? The herbs make your clothes smell good.

As per the usual, any of these ingredients can be freely substituted to tailor the spell to your specific needs. If you have any particular worries about the trip, you may add a token to solve them. If you think you may use my spell, send me a comment. I'd love to hear what you thought of it!

March 30th, 2014

So I never posted pictures of my Ostara altar, and I thought I should remedy that before the month is out:

As usual, the lighting was not cooperating, but what can you do? I also took a picture of my shrine, which is set for general use and is currently housing a bunch of birthday cards as a sign of gratitude.

And finally, here's a close up of the card from my grandparents, which I thought was too quintessentially Pagan to be ignored:

For the first time all spring break, it's actually warm outside, and I have my windows open for the first time in 2014. It's so nice to have sun, heat, a gentle breeze, and the sound of windchimes all at once. Here's to spring!

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 17th, 2013

Today has been full of cleaning. So far, I've scrubbed down the tub, the walls of the whole first floor, and the kitchen cabinets. I swear, I'm going to smell like a pool for the rest of the day.
Our neighbors across the street had a garage sale this morning; I wandered over and picked up a cool Buddha statue for $2.00. It lights up, too, although I felt that feature was maybe a touch tacky.

He's holding the peaches of immortality, some lucky coins, and a bag (possibly of rice?). After a lot of research and some good guess work, I discovered that the kanji on the necklace, 福, means "good fortune". In Japanese, it is pronounced "Fuku". I think this particular Buddha might be related to Hotei, one of the seven Shichifukujin (七福神), gods of good fortune. At any rate, I really like it and placed it on my little shrine.

Here's what it looks like all put together. I added a shell to hold water and incense, and yesterday rearranged my stone collection so that the crystals are grouped by chakra association. I felt like that balanced out better than dividing them on elemental lines. As you can see, I'm having my new statue keep an eye on my medicine pouch - I don't think he'll let it wander off, do you?

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.

Thrift Shopping...

In an additional bout of excitement, my mom took my brother and I to Goodwill on Thursday to do a bit of (thrift) shopping. I found some good quality candles and a glass candle holder, all for less than $4!

Together, I've got an unopened package of eight small white tapers, a medium-sized baby blue taper, and a larger purple one, plus the holder, which I really needed. Now maybe I won't have to try keeping my tapers vertical in a jar full of gravel.

 

Also, while cleaning out our shed a week or two ago, my mom found a glass top for my cute little bunny rabbit table. I don't know how well you can see it here, but in any event, I now have another surface in my room on which to set things. I've been wanting to put together a little shrine for a while; maybe I'll make that a summer project.

March 11th, 2012

Whew! I've thought I was busy before, but this last week has literally been a whirlwind! I've had play practice, musical practice, and/or choir practice every day, so I haven't been returning home until 8:40 or so, hence my lack of posting. My mom actually had to have surgery on Friday, so that's been adding to the craziness. However, she's recovering well, and ought to be home tomorrow. Nevertheless, positive thoughts are appreciated. :) Today I actually have some quiet time while Ben is at a birthday party. I'm thinking of putting some bread and honey out at the shrine I built with Hazelnut in the garden. It's tiny, but powerful. The weather has been wonderful recently, so I can visit now without freezing my toes. I really feel it has helped in getting in touch with the local fairies and devas (nature spirits, for those unfamiliar). Things have been gong a little nuts here of late, and I'd like to figure out where the imbalance is. We've had internet, cell phone, computer, washing machine, and tire issues, and for whatever reason, everything I plant keeps growing and then dying on me. I can't decide if the issues are interconnected, or a whole bunch of energy imbalances that require correcting. Additionally, I looked back on all that feng shui stuff I posted last Spetember, and yet, that doesn't quite seem to add up either. Currently, Saturn and Mars are in retrograde which could be potential contributes, but they don't have a major impact on communication with others, and a majority of the appliances we've had fail have had to do with communication. No, it's time to take this one up with the local flora and fauna.