A Beginner’s Guide to Crystal Healing
Crystals and natural stones have been used in the art of healing for thousands of years. Some of the oldest amulets from a natural source date back 30,000 years and are made of baltic amber. Humans have an affinity for pretty things, and stones and crystals are no exception. These healing and protective crystals were worn as jewelry, sewn into clothing, and placed around the home. As talismans and amulets, they were banned by the Christian church after the death of Christ, but that doesn't mean that the practice itself died out (1).
I Need to Say Something
I don't have a passion in life. Simply put. This might not be Wicca related, or it might be. I don't know at this point. I'm basically writing this to get it off my chest because it is something that weighs very heavily on me most days. With my 27th birthday coming up in the next few days, that feeling is getting heavier. I'm not where I want to be in life and, growing up, it was always pounded into us that we should know what we want to be "when we grow up".
Tarot: The Fool’s Journey
The Major Arcana in tarot can be seen as a metaphor for life, with each of the 22 cards representing a major event/person/situation that we may experience on the physical plane. There's a reason that the major arcana cards are called trump cards, and that's because when they are pulled in a reading, they are given extra attention due to their importance in the deck. They don't just stand alone. Each one leads to the next, either forwards or back, depending on your movement in life and the direction that your soul needs to take in this life to achieve its goals.
Balancing Act: Making Time when Life gets Chaotic
With just work and sleep, I'm down 17 hours and 10 minutes. Then I have the other stuff I need to do: get ready for work, pack lunch, wake up Em (my daughter's nickname), get her ready if she's not staying home with her dad (which will not be happening starting next week because she starts school), drive to work, do the work, drive home from work, help with dinner, cleanup, get Em ready for bed, do laundry, etc. etc.
Witch by Lisa Lister || Book Review
Lisa Lister is a self-proclaimed "menstrual maven", a third-generation gypsy witch, and the founder of something called SHE flow, a "personal invite for women to celebrate the fiercely feminine, sensual pleasure of being a woman through movement, massage, menstrual mysteries, and magic."
Crystal Mini-Series: Amethyst
Amethyst is one of my favorite crystals, and not just because of the natural pretty purple color. Amethyst also has many magickal and spiritual uses, and I've outlined some below.
Wicca for Beginners by Sophia Silvervine || Book Review
I have to say, I didn't like this book at all. It is written in very plain language, with a lot of summarizing and not much detail. Also, if you've read my other reviews, you know how I am about sources and misinformation. This book is full of it. I'd like to start off with some quotes that I've pulled that I 100% disagree with, along with some brief notes and explanations of why I disagree. The quotes below are numbered, and my comments are in brackets.
Wicca Book of Shadows by Lisa Chamberlain || Book Review
This book is exactly what it says (I love it when books do that!). Lisa Chamberlain does a wonderful job of giving a general history of the Book of Shadows, what it is, what it can contain, how to use it, and how to create one. I was pleasantly surprised when I read this book and did not find a template for creating your own Book of Shadows. I do find issue with some statements made that could use sources for her information, but most of it seems valid.
The Ultimate Wicca Handbook by Raven Starwind || Book Review
This book claims to be an "ultimate" guide to Wicca and witchcraft, but it is anything but that. You can see by the list of things included that it looks like a lot, but keep in mind that this book is only 36 pages long. There is no detail, no spirituality, no depth, to this supposed ultimate guide book. It also seems to be very scattered in the placement of the sections. In my opinion, this book was written by someone who just wanted to write something quickly and put it out there to make money off of unsuspecting novice Wiccans. This is not an "ultimate" guidebook, and I wouldn't even…
Hot Air Balloons: A Metaphor for Life?
Recently, we went to the Bacon, Brews, and Balloons Festival here in Redmond, Oregon, and a thought struck me as I watched these hot air balloons inflate. I was also thinking about how scary it would be (for me, at least) to be up in a hot air balloon. Think about it, though. You can't control where it goes once it is in the air. There's no way to steer a hot air balloon and the only thing you can control is the altitude! A good hot air balloon pilot can plot out their course based on extensive review of the weather and wind maps, but that can all change…
