October 28th, 2016

As a relatively difficult month wraps up, a lot of really good things have been happening. For starters, I carved a pumpkin!

The owl felt appropriately Pagan while remaining subtle. I'll be taking it to SIPA's Samhain ritual tomorrow, and I bought a red candle to go in it today, plus some soda for the ritual potluck.

I also "roasted" the pumpkin seeds in the microwave with some oil, salt, and garlic. That's how we always make them at home, and boy are they tasty!

Then today, I was in a play, Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in the style of Shakespeare. While I was walking over for the performance, I saw the geology club was having a rock sale - I got this beautiful Quartz cluster for only $1. It was sold as plain Clear Quartz, but the yellowish tone makes me wonder if it could be Tangerine Quartz or maybe even natural Citrine. I'll have to ask around.

I'm really looking forward to the ritual tomorrow evening; pictures to follow, as always.

Tangerine Quartz

Tangerine Quartz

Physical Characteristics: Crystal specimens may range from pale to very dark orange, and appear translucent. 

In Nature: Tangerine Quartz forms in the presence of Hematite and water. The Iron in the Hematite oxidizes, covering the crystal in a thin coat of rust.

Chemical Composition: SiO2

Mohs Scale Hardness: 7 (high)

Can be Found: Worldwide, though most mining occurs in Brazil

Healing Properties*: Mentally, the stone boosts self-esteem and brings a sense of empowerment. It may be helpful in recovering from shock or trauma, or can be employed as a more general pick-me-up. Like many orange crystals, it engenders feelings of happiness and positivity.

Magickal Properties: In addition to Quartz's general properties, this stone is especially notable as an emotional healer and for sparking creativity. Use Tangerine Quartz to foster relationships and to release self-deprecating or limiting patterns of thought. It may also be useful as a tool of manifestation, especially when one's desires correspond to one of the stone's other properties (e.g. manifesting a completed project, new relationship, etc.) 

Chakra Association: Second (Sacral) and Third (Solar Plexus)

Element: Fire

Energy: Projective

Planetary Association: Sun

*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!

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.