Bring your favorite piece of jewelry to our table tomorrow, (Sunday, Nov. 10th) at the Magickal Marketplace and we will clean it for FREE. We will have all our new stock of beautiful earcuffs and matching earrings available for up close and personal perusal, as well as purchase. See you there!
Sunday, November 10th
Time 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Location:
Winnetka Tower
8000 Winnetka Avenue
Winnetka, CA 91306
View Larger Map
Saturday, November 9, 2013
Friday, October 25, 2013
A Rainbow of Peace
The Rainbow Peace earcuff is back in our store as of tonight. I love this 'cuff because it gives me an excuse to pull out many beautiful colors and weave them into a symbol that means so much to many people.
When I first made this earcuff, I had no idea so many people would buy it. It's one of the most simple designs I ever created, yet in the simplicity there is so much power in the meaning of the rainbow splash of color and in the peace sign. Whip out your tie dye t-shirt and guitar and go start a sit in somewhere or wear it as a quiet statement of your pride in your sexuality. Or even just because you love rainbows. Whatever the reason, may it's powerful message of Peace and Diversity be with you always.
Wednesday, October 23, 2013
Wednesday's Pick - Fresh Water Pearl Ankhs
A while ago we showcased our first Egyptian Ankh earcuff and earring sets on an appropriate day of the week - Wednesday. A variation on that design using fresh water pearls came to us when we saw these stunning royal purple pearls. How could we resist recreating these popular beauties with such beautiful, new gifts from the ocean. We couldn't!
To remind our readers, the Ankh has powerful associations including the Symbol of Life, Immortality, Spiritual Reflection, The Three Upper Chakras, The Masculine God, Divination, Regeneration, and as a Symbol of Magick. However you incorporate it into your worship - and you don't even have to be an Egyptian Pagan to use it, it will be sure to bring you the power built up over it's 2,500 years as one of the most well-known totems on Earth.
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
Aries Full Moon Lunar Eclipse: Shadow of Illumination
(Excerpt from the student research papers archived in the Coven of the Dragonfly Moon, Temple of Hecate)
We are entering the final eclipse vortex of 2013. The gateway opens this Friday night with a full moon burning bright in Aries, ruled by Mars, sign of cardinal fire, initiation, spring and action; and it closes in two weeks with the Scorpio new moon on 11/3, on the tail end of holy day, Samhain (AKA Hallow's Eve or halloween.)
Of all the signs, few have more intensity than Aries and Scorpio and to weave them together with the power of an eclipse is nothing short of terrifying and illuminating, not to mention transformative in every way imaginable.
I will address Scorpio as the new moon draws closer, today is all about Aries. Among other things, Aries is not fond of sharing, she likes to lead, so I will give her my full attention now.
My mentor's moon is in Aries. When she learned this, many years ago when her astrological horizons were just beginning to expand, it made so much sense. She had always related to her sun in Gemini, most who meet her can guess she is a member of the clan of Twins. But there was always something else that laid just below the surface and came out anytime a leader was needed or her independence felt threatened. Enter the revelation of an Aries moon. The moon in our astrology rules the feminine/emotional part of our chart, the energy we need to cultivate to meet our needs on emotional levels, it is also connected to karma, and where we spent the previous incarnation.
Following the lunar cycles, as well as honoring your own moon sign, are remarkable ways to reconnect with our feminine/intuitive/emotional cycles, bringing balance in a world that is greatly solar and masculine. Additionally, awareness of the lunar helps us to reconcile old karma and receive the support we need to move towards our soul purpose in this life.
The full moon is notorious for stirring up the waters of the world, including our unconscious. When an eclipse, a perfect alignment of earth, moon and sun, occurs, it is always within the full or new moon. The alignment on a full moon constitutes a lunar eclipse, which heightens, even breaks open, the lunar teaching already at hand.
An Aries Full Moon brings illumination and heat to the surface. It questions where we are compromising our autonomy, our truth, it also demands us to look at what we are (or are not) fighting for in terms of that truth. Aries is not a feminine sign, like Cancer or Taurus. Aries is ruled by Mars, God of war and without the appropriate guidance, the Aries lunations can trigger wars and violence as the natural imbalance and struggle between male and female is ignited.
When I say male and female, please know I do not mean man and woman. Both men and women have male/female energy and much of her, and others, work is geared towards a marriage of sorts between the sun/moon, yin/yang, action/reception, etc within each of us and the collective consciousness.
Therefore, an event like the Aries full moon, kissed by the penumbral lunar eclipse, is an amazing opportunity, on all levels and realms, to balance the warrior (Aries) the Goddess (Moon) and create healing.
Our guide this cycle is the element of fire. Fire meditation, burning ceremony, fire dancing, etc are all wonderful activities. The energy is so strong, though, that in order to receive it successfully, we do not want to over do. Aries brings out the agro in us all and something as simple as lighting a candle out under the moon, maybe doing some slow breathing and a few warrior yoga poses or stances from martial arts or Tai Chi, along with open meditation, can be just the ticket.
How can you honor the warrior and the goddess in a way that is receptive and supportive? How can you be open to receive the shadow of illumination being whispered to you on the lunar eclipse without letting our own ego and agenda muffle the message?
Our world hangs in a delicate balance today. Coming through the 2012 portals and the mutability of 2013, there has been dramatic upheaval personally, politically, environmentally and socially. The difference between tilting towards destruction and shifting into restructure is exactly the teeter totter game being played by Aries and Scorpio this month. But they do not play alone. We all have weight in this one, but it's tricky. It starts in our hearts, in our emotional and subtle bodies. Don't give into the desire for drama this week. Slow down, ground, listen, breathe. But do all those things focusing on the fire within, your passion, your flame, your power and truth. Fan it, play with it, dance with it, let it sing and write and cry.The illumination will come. So will the healing.
Many blessings to you, and all beings, on this sacred full moon.
We are entering the final eclipse vortex of 2013. The gateway opens this Friday night with a full moon burning bright in Aries, ruled by Mars, sign of cardinal fire, initiation, spring and action; and it closes in two weeks with the Scorpio new moon on 11/3, on the tail end of holy day, Samhain (AKA Hallow's Eve or halloween.)
Of all the signs, few have more intensity than Aries and Scorpio and to weave them together with the power of an eclipse is nothing short of terrifying and illuminating, not to mention transformative in every way imaginable.
I will address Scorpio as the new moon draws closer, today is all about Aries. Among other things, Aries is not fond of sharing, she likes to lead, so I will give her my full attention now.
My mentor's moon is in Aries. When she learned this, many years ago when her astrological horizons were just beginning to expand, it made so much sense. She had always related to her sun in Gemini, most who meet her can guess she is a member of the clan of Twins. But there was always something else that laid just below the surface and came out anytime a leader was needed or her independence felt threatened. Enter the revelation of an Aries moon. The moon in our astrology rules the feminine/emotional part of our chart, the energy we need to cultivate to meet our needs on emotional levels, it is also connected to karma, and where we spent the previous incarnation.
Following the lunar cycles, as well as honoring your own moon sign, are remarkable ways to reconnect with our feminine/intuitive/emotional cycles, bringing balance in a world that is greatly solar and masculine. Additionally, awareness of the lunar helps us to reconcile old karma and receive the support we need to move towards our soul purpose in this life.
The full moon is notorious for stirring up the waters of the world, including our unconscious. When an eclipse, a perfect alignment of earth, moon and sun, occurs, it is always within the full or new moon. The alignment on a full moon constitutes a lunar eclipse, which heightens, even breaks open, the lunar teaching already at hand.
An Aries Full Moon brings illumination and heat to the surface. It questions where we are compromising our autonomy, our truth, it also demands us to look at what we are (or are not) fighting for in terms of that truth. Aries is not a feminine sign, like Cancer or Taurus. Aries is ruled by Mars, God of war and without the appropriate guidance, the Aries lunations can trigger wars and violence as the natural imbalance and struggle between male and female is ignited.
When I say male and female, please know I do not mean man and woman. Both men and women have male/female energy and much of her, and others, work is geared towards a marriage of sorts between the sun/moon, yin/yang, action/reception, etc within each of us and the collective consciousness.
Therefore, an event like the Aries full moon, kissed by the penumbral lunar eclipse, is an amazing opportunity, on all levels and realms, to balance the warrior (Aries) the Goddess (Moon) and create healing.
Our guide this cycle is the element of fire. Fire meditation, burning ceremony, fire dancing, etc are all wonderful activities. The energy is so strong, though, that in order to receive it successfully, we do not want to over do. Aries brings out the agro in us all and something as simple as lighting a candle out under the moon, maybe doing some slow breathing and a few warrior yoga poses or stances from martial arts or Tai Chi, along with open meditation, can be just the ticket.
How can you honor the warrior and the goddess in a way that is receptive and supportive? How can you be open to receive the shadow of illumination being whispered to you on the lunar eclipse without letting our own ego and agenda muffle the message?
Our world hangs in a delicate balance today. Coming through the 2012 portals and the mutability of 2013, there has been dramatic upheaval personally, politically, environmentally and socially. The difference between tilting towards destruction and shifting into restructure is exactly the teeter totter game being played by Aries and Scorpio this month. But they do not play alone. We all have weight in this one, but it's tricky. It starts in our hearts, in our emotional and subtle bodies. Don't give into the desire for drama this week. Slow down, ground, listen, breathe. But do all those things focusing on the fire within, your passion, your flame, your power and truth. Fan it, play with it, dance with it, let it sing and write and cry.The illumination will come. So will the healing.
Many blessings to you, and all beings, on this sacred full moon.
Thursday, October 10, 2013
Mercury Retrograde - Are You Prepared?
Did you know the HMS Titanic sank during a Mercury Retrograde?
How about the Bush election fiasco in Florida with the infamous "hanging chads"? Mercury shifted out of retrograde at about 9 p.m. - just after the TV news stations wrongly predicted that Gore would win in Florida. The book, Mercury Retrograde, Your Survival Guide to Astrology's Most Precarious Time of Year says, "For more than a month afterward the breakdown in voting systems bred chaos and court battles."
Fascinating? Absolutely. A train wreck if you don't know how to handle it? You better believe it.
The week leading into Mercury retrograde is often fraught with even worse problems than during the Retrograde itself. I got a grim reminder of this when my computer's hard drive failed this morning. When I saw in my Facebook feed that the next one is coming up on the 21st of this month, it totally didn't surprise me.
Most of my friends cuss out this time in the astrological cycle, railing that they can do nothing about it. Not true. While you can't ALWAYS be prepared for the communication and mechanical train-wrecks that happen during this unstable wobble in the planet Mercury's orbit, we CAN shift our activities to those that produce very positive results...reflecting on where our life is going, our business strategies, product lines, renegotiating and reviewing contracts of all sorts and so forth.
If you want to be prepared for this one and others that will hit approximately SIX TIMES EVERY YEAR, you better get started and read up on it. I highly recommend the book, Mercury Retrograde, Your Survival Guide to Astrology's Most Precarious Time of Year! Get and get reading so next time you won't get caught unprepared.
How about the Bush election fiasco in Florida with the infamous "hanging chads"? Mercury shifted out of retrograde at about 9 p.m. - just after the TV news stations wrongly predicted that Gore would win in Florida. The book, Mercury Retrograde, Your Survival Guide to Astrology's Most Precarious Time of Year says, "For more than a month afterward the breakdown in voting systems bred chaos and court battles."
Fascinating? Absolutely. A train wreck if you don't know how to handle it? You better believe it.
The week leading into Mercury retrograde is often fraught with even worse problems than during the Retrograde itself. I got a grim reminder of this when my computer's hard drive failed this morning. When I saw in my Facebook feed that the next one is coming up on the 21st of this month, it totally didn't surprise me.
Most of my friends cuss out this time in the astrological cycle, railing that they can do nothing about it. Not true. While you can't ALWAYS be prepared for the communication and mechanical train-wrecks that happen during this unstable wobble in the planet Mercury's orbit, we CAN shift our activities to those that produce very positive results...reflecting on where our life is going, our business strategies, product lines, renegotiating and reviewing contracts of all sorts and so forth.
If you want to be prepared for this one and others that will hit approximately SIX TIMES EVERY YEAR, you better get started and read up on it. I highly recommend the book, Mercury Retrograde, Your Survival Guide to Astrology's Most Precarious Time of Year! Get and get reading so next time you won't get caught unprepared.
Saturday, October 5, 2013
New Moon Purging
Tonight is a night many Pagans observed the New Moon, having precious little time in our busy world to do it on the weekday. Tonight I attended a new group in Hollywood to see if we would be a good fit for each other.
The New Moon is an introspective time, one to contemplate one's inner work and the things that hold us back. It requires that we be honest with ourselves about our shortcomings and issues and work towards moving past them. In this Libra Moon, the New Moon right after the Autumn Equinox, the Children of Hecate especially, and many strong Pagans who follow other paths, begin the work of letting go of what no longer serves us - bad habits, tempers, intolerance and so forth.
Even deeper, but easily discerned for those who are honest with themselves, are those things that bring out anger in us about others. This is a very clear sign of those things that bother us about ourselves - the shortcomings and failings we possess. Our physical reality, including our surroundings, our work - right down to the friends and lovers we take on in life - mirror our inside world. That is why they distress us so much to see them in others - they remind us of ourselves.
Tonight we each charged a black candle with all the things that hold us back, the things we want to get rid of in preparation for Parting the Veil next month at Samhain. We were instructed to burn it down to the ground outside to symbolically release those negative things we put into them during ritual. I have not participated in a ritual with others for a long time, let alone done such intensive work. Tonight changes that.
May your deep introspections be enlightening, beneficial and blessing.
)O( Luna
Wednesday, October 2, 2013
The Blessings of the Autumnal Equinox
After the brutal heat we've been experiencing in Southern California for the last 4 1/2 wretched months, the Equinox brought it to an abrupt end this two weeks ago, thank you, thank you, THANK YOU, Most Blessed Goddess and God!
This time of year is only rivaled in my heart by Samhain/Halloween as the most sacred and blessed time to be alive. Besides the desperately-needed relief from the heat in the southwest, the profound change in weather signals a collective calm, an exhalation by Nature and her Children, a time to catch our breath between seasons, reflect on what has gone before in the year and what is to come.
In touching base with a local women's New Moon Group, their leader sent out a beautiful reflection on how precious this time of year is and what it has brought into her life. She says, in part, "This is the gift of the Goddess in Libra. Libra, mutable air, sign of the scales, ruler of the autumnal equinox, is charged with bringing harmony and balance. In between the extreme seasons of summer and winter, she offers compromise and one more chance to balance our stores and our perceptions, before the year ends.
"Air is a mental energy and no task is more suited to cardinal air than that of reflection. Taking the time to look at the past year without criticism or judgment, to see it for the transformation it was and the potential for growth it created. Libra asks us to look at the present moment, as well as the past, with grace and gratitude. To see if we can really rest in our center as the year wanes, letting go of what no longer serves and turning our intent for the seasons ahead to what the Goddess is asking of us, right here and now, rather than what we think she wants."
Like the author, my life was turned upside-down in the latter part of last year, continued to rocket ahead and change EVERYTHING in my life until this Equinox, where life, the Goddess and Libra are allowing me a breather to see where is has thrown me and where I need to go from here.
If you, dear reader, have encountered this as well, you will see what I mean.
Monday, September 30, 2013
Monday's Lunar Pic - Silvery Moons
The moon and silver have been associated with each other since the first woman walked the cool Earth and gazed upon her quiet, serene beauty. Its lunar surface, reflected back to us in silvery light, was so obviously opposite from the garish light of the sun that she had to be its polar opposite; cool as opposed to the sun's heat, quiet and as reflective as the water she drives in Earth's tides. The tides that whisper in a woman's womb each month, so of course the moon was feminine in nature. Wear her with quiet pride, with love, with the secret sign to all those women that know that Moon imparts all her Sacred Mysteries to her human daughters.
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Day of the Sun - Amber and Gold
After running around like a mad person today, by the time I sat down to list items for Saturday, the clock had turned it into Sunday. Guess the Gods had decided they could wait as I crashed for a two-hour nap as soon as I got home from San Gabriel Bead Company. If you are a bead whore as bad as I am, you also squeed if you went in these past three weekends and saw all the local Southern California bead stores were participating in their annual So. Cal Bead Shop Hop.
Pegged as American's largest bead shop hop, I wish I hadn't been so busy the last two weekends and taken advantage of the fun of running from bead store to bead store to bead store with my fellow bead whores. We are already planning next year's attack of the hop with much looking-forward to.
So, quickly (so I can go back to bed and dream of beads), three new items are up in the Etsy store this early, early morning; Striped Amber Faux Earring Triangle Drops, Striped Amber Faux Earring Drops and our beloved Copper Feather Drop Earcuff.
Why these particular ones? Well, Amber is a color sacred to the Sun and to Sundays. Copper may be a moon color, but the Copper Feather Drop sports a gold feather at the end and you don't have to be a MoonWitch or a SunWitch to figure out gold has been the color of the sun since dirt. Feathers have many associations in European folk magic, but since there are no real gold feathers, this one can be symbolic of whatever you want. Stop by the store and check them out. They are reasonably priced for great impulse buys that won't kill your pocket book - $5.95 & $7.95. Have fun shopping!
Pegged as American's largest bead shop hop, I wish I hadn't been so busy the last two weekends and taken advantage of the fun of running from bead store to bead store to bead store with my fellow bead whores. We are already planning next year's attack of the hop with much looking-forward to.
So, quickly (so I can go back to bed and dream of beads), three new items are up in the Etsy store this early, early morning; Striped Amber Faux Earring Triangle Drops, Striped Amber Faux Earring Drops and our beloved Copper Feather Drop Earcuff.
Why these particular ones? Well, Amber is a color sacred to the Sun and to Sundays. Copper may be a moon color, but the Copper Feather Drop sports a gold feather at the end and you don't have to be a MoonWitch or a SunWitch to figure out gold has been the color of the sun since dirt. Feathers have many associations in European folk magic, but since there are no real gold feathers, this one can be symbolic of whatever you want. Stop by the store and check them out. They are reasonably priced for great impulse buys that won't kill your pocket book - $5.95 & $7.95. Have fun shopping!
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Thursday's Pics - The Day of the Dragonfly
Thursday being a day sacred to the Old Ones Jupiter and Juno, Zeus and Hera and Thor, the colors associated with them made today's Etsy store choices my favorite ones; Green and Royal Blue.
The Asymmetrical Midnight Spiral Goddess Earcuff and Earring Set and it's matching earrings were absolute joys to make, rich with these "oil-slick" like colors. Their iridescence is hypnotic - I could make jewelry from these colors all day and never get bored of them. Their otherworldly glow extends even to tarot bag fabrics, which I can never seem to leave in the fabric stores when the catch my attention.
But by far, of the ones to add to the store that give me a shiver of excitement and purest burst of love are the Dragonfly Priestess Series. Copper, dragonflies and swarovski crystals made these simple, little designs so magickal for me, I can scarcely form the words for how they touch me. Read their story in the store listing - they were truly made with the purest love for the art of jewelry-making I could ever express.
The Asymmetrical Midnight Spiral Goddess Earcuff and Earring Set and it's matching earrings were absolute joys to make, rich with these "oil-slick" like colors. Their iridescence is hypnotic - I could make jewelry from these colors all day and never get bored of them. Their otherworldly glow extends even to tarot bag fabrics, which I can never seem to leave in the fabric stores when the catch my attention.
But by far, of the ones to add to the store that give me a shiver of excitement and purest burst of love are the Dragonfly Priestess Series. Copper, dragonflies and swarovski crystals made these simple, little designs so magickal for me, I can scarcely form the words for how they touch me. Read their story in the store listing - they were truly made with the purest love for the art of jewelry-making I could ever express.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Wednesday's Pick - The Egyptian Ankh
In researching the lore of the Egyptian Ankh, I ran across much lore and many attributed associations with it. Here are a few:
Symbol of Life
Immortality
Spiritual Reflection
The Three Upper Chakras
The Masculine God
Divination
Regeneration
As a Symbol of Magick
Some say an ankh can be used for healing and to promote psychic communication with the divine. This last is at least backed up by Egyptian depictions in wall paintings and on papyrii. It is also said healers often placed the Ankh over wounds or areas that required attention, to promote regeneration and divine healing.
Whatever symbolism and meaning you attribute to it, its power can be enhanced in your life by keeping representations of the Ankh around you - on your altar, in your jewelry, images in paintings and in your sacred Book of Shadows. If you want the power of thousands of years of magickal attunement to back up your workings with the Ankh, do your research into which attributes are accurate and date back the longest in human history. Do as much of your research off the internet as possible to confirm your 'net resources are from reliable sources - don't take their words for it! Without a doubt, the Ancient Egyptians hold the oldest records by far of its power and held it as one of their most sacred objects, so be sure to delve deeply into reliable lore surrounding their cultural references to this powerful symbol.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
An Enchanting Etsy Team!
I want to give mucho luv and a big shout out to the AWESOME Etsy Team of Keepers of Enchantment. A thriving, happy team of over 1,200 members, they shocked me yesterday after I joined by including my Celtic Purple Triad Single Earcuff in the beautiful Treasury Purple Haze!
I especially love the 4 Handmade Porcelain Deep Purple beads by beadfreaky. I spent almost an hour going over her wonderful, handmade beads and buttons alone, contemplating adding them to a line of designer divination and tarot bags - my next, crazy, non-beadwork project for our other Etsy store. There's just one problem; I favorited so many of her dragonfly, tree of life, goddess and hamsa designs, I wouldn't know where to start! How about by cleaning out my bank account and buying them all, lol!
Seriously, though, if you're still reading this far and are an etsy seller who sells pagan wares, consider joining them. They are wonderfully generous and I can't wait to get to know them better. This is what an extended pagan family is all about - the love.
I especially love the 4 Handmade Porcelain Deep Purple beads by beadfreaky. I spent almost an hour going over her wonderful, handmade beads and buttons alone, contemplating adding them to a line of designer divination and tarot bags - my next, crazy, non-beadwork project for our other Etsy store. There's just one problem; I favorited so many of her dragonfly, tree of life, goddess and hamsa designs, I wouldn't know where to start! How about by cleaning out my bank account and buying them all, lol!
'Purple Haze' by kukochan
A collection of enchanted and psychedelic pieces, made by the members of Keepers of Enchantment
Seriously, though, if you're still reading this far and are an etsy seller who sells pagan wares, consider joining them. They are wonderfully generous and I can't wait to get to know them better. This is what an extended pagan family is all about - the love.
Monday, September 16, 2013
Monday's Pick - the Day of the Moon
The colors of Monday's pick from our earcuff and earring collections reflect pale blues and lunar silvers. They come in many styles that can be mixed and matched. Wear them as you gaze upon the moon and say hello to her for us. We will be looking up at that same moon and thanking it for reminding us her calm presence is always a strength in our lives.
Mondays most of the modern world is a day of chaos at the office, hustling kids off to school and planning what worldly projects one will tackle for the week, but your Moon-day evening is your own sacred time - especially if you are nocturnal or it's just your wind-down-from-the-day-time at home.
Return to that calm time to center and ground yourself and all that crazy energy so you can find a place of peace and serenity. For me, Saturdays and Mondays are that time, especially when I can see a setting crescent moon on my back porch, surrounded by plants, trees, incense and candles. Invite the husband/boyfriend or leave him to watch t.v., this time is for the feminine in anyone and everyone. Nurture it with what floats your boat on a moonlit evening.
It is made even more special when you dress for the occasion. Cool whites (like the moon), dark blues and blacks always harmonize with lunar energies. Even better when you can go to the beach and walk its sandy shores with the lulling surf in the background! Pick something loose-fitting that floats on the breezes and is comfortable, take time to reach down to the sand or earth and dig your hands in, calm your mind and listen to your surroundings. They have much to tell us.
The book Spell Crafts reminds us blue is for healing, peace, psychism, patience and happiness. The color of the water,symbol of the ocean, sleep, twilight and the sky. To the Zuni Indians it was used to represent the West, the Land of the Dead - our final place of rest, along with the setting sun. Whenever I can catch a setting sun and start out my time with the moon that night, it is always a good meditation!
Sunday, September 15, 2013
Sunday's Pick and Offerings - Carnelian Healing Sun Goddess
Today's listings in my Etsy store featured the Carnelian Healing Sun Goddess Series. I chose to list these on a Sunday because that's the day sacred to the Sun (SUNday) and because of the fiery orange/white color of these beautiful stones I discovered in a bead shop long ago. They are paired with Gold - it being the Sun's metal, of course.
Carnelian is a healing stone, according to the renowned pagan author and Wiccan practitioners Scott Cunningham & David Harrington in their wonderful book, Spell Crafts - Creating Magical Objects.
For those who practice Yoga and pay attention to their Chakras, The Chakra Bible has much use for Carnelian. It is used to balance the Muladhara, the Sacral Chakra and can be used to reduce back pain. It also assists with rheumatism, arthritis and kidneys to balance water regulation of the body. It is associated with the Hara/Navel chakra's orange/yellow colors, thus helping with digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Regarded as a protective stone, Celtic warriors carried it mounted in jewelry or their armor to accompany them across the Great Divide or Afterlife.
I love the books I found in my library to help do the research - the are fascinating! Spell Crafts and The Chakra Bible are invaluable resources for those interested in Chakras and/or color magick. Here are the links to review them:
Saturday, January 26, 2013
The Whocate Project
“That Which You Believe Becomes Your World”
The Whocate Project is about celebrating myself as I truly am. Just before my 50th birthday this past December 30th, I realized now more than ever that what I have been writing about in my 13-year off-and-on story project is me on many levels.
It started out as an online role playing game with a dear friend in Canada. We RP'd for about 4 years, then as happens in life, we wrote less and less, saw each other less and less on line and eventually went our separate ways. I didn’t realize at the time something important beyond writing was happening, taking shape, showing me my inner world and yet was a reflection of it in the real world. As we stopped writing and real life swallowed up my time and attention, I forgot the essence of the magic in those stories that was trying to tell me what I really and truly am.
Capricorns sometimes take forever to learn their life lessons, a few of which are to be true to your inner self, be happy with who you are and finding your bliss. My sign fits me to a tee, it seems, as now, at the half-century mark, I am finally coming into alignment with who and what I am and can potentially be.
So who is Whocate? For me, she has been my inner developing world, a creative force, a reflection of my inner self in the physical world around me. I see her and influences of her every time I hold a dragonfly, pluck the strings of a harp, meditate and look up into an evening sky at the moon in any of her phases. She is what I learned is my potential, the results of my inner world reflecting into the real world through studying it in the pages of books such as Mind Magic, How to Master Life and Magical Use of Thought Forms.
She is me. And though her story and mine are not done yet, this is where we have been, where we are now and where we are going…
Thursday, January 24, 2013
Doing what you love
Someone once told me at a business college seminar, "If you want to make a living at what you love, first, find what you love and do a lot of it".
I am learning that that is only the beginning of what is needed to be successful.
Certainly there is a Law of Attraction element to that advice. Doing a lot of something will get you noticed eventually. And getting noticed will get you admirers, fans and sales.
For me, the hard part was discovering what I loved. I know that may sound crazy, but it's true. And I bet a lot of other people go through this too. In this rushed age of stress, job necessity and distractions all around us, we really are pulled off-course more than we care to admit. To find what you love, sit back, take a calm, quiet moment and look back at your life. What were you alway pulled back to do? What makes you happy? What are you naturally good at? These give you the answers. I was always creative, so I knew for a start that the answer lay in that direction. After trying lots of creative things, I hit upon something people saw me do that I loved and loved it as well and told me so. Others input and reactions can tell you much about yourself if you sit still and listen to it.
Doing a lot of what we love (once we find out what it is) also sharpens our skills at what we do. One isn't born the greatest musician, doctor, test pilot or beader of their generation. We all have to work at it. And when our skills get better, that also gets us noticed. Many people do a lot of something and get quickly and easily bored with it. That is a warning sign it is not what they love - what they were born to do.
So why is it that so many people love what they are doing and are not successful? Maybe perhaps they are not passionate about what they do.
Passion fuels fire. Fire never goes unnoticed. Even if it is just a little spark at first, if it is fueled by what we do and our passion for something grows, eventually it will explode onto the scene and then no one will be able to ignore it! Sound familiar? How often do we see companies on the internet or in real life that suddenly made it big? It never happens that way. They worked to get to where they were and it took time and effort and of course, passion.
Passion and fire have another element in common that is vital to success at doing what you love - sacrifice. Fire eats up what is around it in order to make it grow. Passion means you will start doing less of something else (even if it is nothing) to make more time to do what you love and want to do. Also sound familiar? How many marriages are torn apart because one spouse works too much, sacrificing their quality time for money? It's an inbalanced way of living, but a good example of how powerful passion is and can be and how it can take you places you long for and never even dreamed of going - for good or bad.
So, in closing, 1. discover what you love, 2. do a lot of it, and 3. be passionate at it.
If you like this topic and want me to delve further, please leave a comment. Together we can help you find your passion. Don't let it take 50 years to find, like I did.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Steampunk Cogs and Clockfaces
A nice find at the Pasadena Bead & Design Show. Got them from StringBead. The best price I've ever found for steampunk Cogs and Clockfaces, too! Am toying with the idea of using them in my Tardis Pod cosplay. But will I have time to start and finish the costume along with everything else I'm doing? If not, they're going into jewelry!
Monday, January 21, 2013
Designer's top pics at the Pasadena Bead & Design Show
After two days of crazy shopping at the wonderful Pasadena Bead & Design Show in Pasadena, CA, here are our pics for favorite vendors and what they offered: 1. Beads & Magic Wishes - for their amazing selection of colors in size 15 delica beads. 2. String Bead - where we found steampunk cogs and clock faces for 50 cents a piece!!! 3. Sonoran Beads - SilverSilk. Silver Wire wrapped around tiny, silver or gold beads. The wire comes in some beautiful colors. 4. L.A. Source Gems - out of Alhambra, CA. for their selection of brand new snake skin jasper. 5. Filigree Me for their wide selection of antique brass stampings. 6. Metalz n Beads for Carol's wonderful help and advice on surface treatment of metal and patinas. You are the "Patina Queen"! 7. The Lipstick Ranch for their amazing copper stampings. 8. And of course, Paula of Paula Radke Art Glass for putting up with us waiting patiently to interview her inbetween her many customers and class students.
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