I'm a big fan + believer of dressing in a way that represents your spirit. I feel so much like a lil' faerie inside that I end up dressing like one. I also love to get inspired by what other people wear, and I love how fashion can indicate a different time, or even a different dimension. (ELVES YOOOO!!)
How to Choose the Perfect Crystal
I know a lot of people, especially women, are attracted to crystals. In fact, for many of us, crystals are one of the first things we connect to on our spiritual journey. They're just so preeetttttyyyyy.
A lot of the time, this fascination with crystals, though undeniable, seems a bit complicated, maybe even confusing. Firstly - why are we so drawn to them? Secondly - there are so many of them, how do we know which one is right for us? And finally - what do we even DO with them?
All very good questions.
As a crystal loving lady, I've had the pleasure with working with many, many stones, in part due to my crystal necklace business that I created in 2012.
A custom piece: Andalusian Quartz
A custom piece I created for one of my biggest inspirations: Nisha Moodley {Red Phantom Quartz + Prasiolite)
Throughout this time, my job was to go to crystal stores, and select the perfect crystal for my clients in question. Some of these clients were completely new to crystals, and were partly unsure why they were even ordering from me. Others had been collecting gems for a while, and wanted to step further into their world.
Regardless - a common thread was that many women were simply not confident in their ability to choose the right stone for themselves.
So the focus of this post, though I will answer all three questions I posed at the beginning, is to give you a quick lesson on how to choose the perfect stone for yourself.
Why crystals?
Crystals are magical. And they are actually conscious beings. Meaning - just like a plant has an intelligence, though we can't necessarily hear it or see it, crystals do too. They feel you when you pick them up. Some of them, I must point out though, have been so traumatized during the collection process (ie. mining without asking permission, handled as though they are mere product, not the culmination of millions of years of evolution in the earth mother) that we might not feel their vibration as easily in the store, as we do when they've been charged, blessed, and honoured for what they truly are. (This is because the crystals feel so unsafe that they have regressed their consciousness to be focused out of their bodies - you know, like how we'll grab a glass of wine or a joint when we feel too emotional and not know how to handle it)
Every crystal is different. Every crystal has it's unique properties. Every crystal has received unique energy from it's unique placement on the planet. I believe that different crystals also connect to different parts of the cosmos - to different star systems, angels, and the like.
In all - crystals are a mystery. There are a part of the beautiful, great unknown, and to share space with them on the planet at this time is a true gift - they are teachers and healers. I could go on and on, but I'll save more for later blog posts.
How to Choose the Right One?
Ok. This is the fun part. Crystal choosing is not rocket science. It is not logical. It is intuitive, and in many cases I would say, you simply can't get it wrong.
All you have to do to choose the perfect crystal is set an intention, and surrender.
Green Fluorite - Great for the nervous systems + attracting fairies
Before you go to the crystal store, simply say "I intend to be guided to the perfect crystal for me at this time. I ask that Archangel Jophiel please clear away any negative energies from me now, so I can clearly see + feel which one will be right for me."
If you forget this prayer when you go, not to worry. The two main points are to set the intention that you'll be drawn to the perfect one for you, and to clear your field so it's open and receiving.
Now walk around. The first one that you are drawn to and touch, is likely a great one for you.
A big point here - Your job is not to select the one that has what you need on paper. (ie. This stone is great for heart opening and calming stress) It's always nice to read descriptions, but I find reading them after you've selected the stone is best. That way, your mind doesn't get in the way.
You see, these descriptions are simply many people's experiences with the stone, or the traditional history of it. Although these descriptions often have lots of value and truth, they are secondary to your own innate intelligence of what's good for you. Use your intuition & have fun reading the descriptions afterwards.
If you're confused, and you find 5 or 10 more stones while you're at the store, I would advise buying the one that you first touched.
Clearing the stone when you get home is important, and can be simply done by leaving it in direct sunlight or moonlight for a few hours. (I'll write a more in depth blog post on this later.)
Ok - Now what do I do with it?
Hehe - good question. In many cases, a well charged crystal will simply shift the vibration of any space it finds itself in. So the first way to use it, is to simply place it in a room you find yourself in often. (ie. In your bedroom, your car, or kitchen)
Another way to work with them, is to hold them. Simply hold them. Hold them while you're reading, or meditating, or having a phone chat with a friend. This is how you get to know it, while also receive it's healing benefits. Experiment and observe.
In addition, you can try one of my favourite applications, which is to place stones on your chakras, or on points of your body that are hurting. I have used crystals successfully to treat stomach-aches and menstrual cramps. This process is intuitive. If I'm hurting, I will simply grab the first stone that comes to mind, and place it on the part of my body that is in pain. Sometimes this works magic, and sometimes it only helps a bit. Again, experiment and observe.
I've laid out very simple ways to use crystals - there are books and courses that deal with crystal healing - but for now, it's best to start intuitively and simply. Just have them around, hold them, and use them when you're in pain. Make up your own ways to use them.
Charge your drinking water, or bring them into the bath. Plant them in your garden, or leave them under your pillow at night.
Have fun, you can't mess up, just go with the flow, your intuition, and know that once you start working with crystals, you will have them in your life for years to come.
Amethyst - Protective & for the Higher Chakras
Herkimer Diamond - Healing & Opening
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The Sacred Truth - What is a Witch?
I remember being mildly fascinated, and also mildly terrified, of witches as a child.
Often, as a girl of 4 or 5, I would feel strange spirits in my closet - they frightened me - and I would regularly tell my mother about the witches in my bedroom. The only song I remember writing as a child, when I was also around that same age, went like this: “Witches, witches, 1 2 3, witches witches, come for me”.
The interesting thing about this, is by 4 or 5 I had already bought into the mainstream way of viewing witches - as evil vixens, sometimes hags, complete with green skin, warts, and weird bubbling cauldrons they were concocting in order to ensnare innocents wandering around their lair.
The truth about witches is that, yes they were, and are, very real.
But the magic they use is misunderstood. Rather than relying on some crafted mechanism such as wands or cauldrons for power, they rely on the power of their thoughts, their feelings, sometimes their tools, but most importantly, their consciousness and their alignment with Source energy.
They have an intimate understanding of the natural ways, and are innately drawn to the offerings of the earth and the stars. Each are born with intrinsic gifts, that when watered with time, perseverance, and mentorship, can lead to astounding pursuits.
Witches have a unique connection to the Otherworld that guides them to commune with spirit guides, angels, ancestors, plants, and the forces of nature. They are eagerly interested in herbal medicine, the dreamtime, the healing arts, ritual, astrology, and the effect that the mind can have on any given situation.
They’re connected to the darkness, and understand that the terms ‘dark’ and ‘negative’ are not, in fact, synonymous - it is simply a collective fear of the unknown that has sparked such a comparison. They’ve discovered that through the simplicity of the Law of Attraction, they can work with the Universe to affect great change.
And, maybe most importantly, they are keenly and unabashedly loyal to the Divine Feminine.
This type of power (that of the Goddess) was feared by the patriarchal society that sprung up thousands of years ago, and lead to the demise and belittling of the sacred witch - the medicine woman, the healer, the priestess, the wild woman. During the witch hunts of 1450-1800, an estimated 100 000 women were killed.
Today we would call these women herbalists, healers, storytellers, and astrologists, but still, the indwelling magic of something greater than that exists. We, as the women who are innately drawn to these realms, still belong to the ancient coven of witches.
And many of us are undeniably bat-shit fearful of it.
Some of us have past life memories, whether we consciously remember them or not, of being pursued and killed for our involvement with the otherworld. Churches, of many faiths, have repeatedly condemned any path that strays from connecting solely with one masculine God for our truths. (We know, as witches, that the One, a Source, really does exist, yet we honour that said force has many ways of expressing itself)
It is no gimmick, and no small thing, the path of the witch.
For many of us, these subconscious memories spark pain, causing us to shy away from what we know we are sublimely talented at, and reach for more mundane, less risky choices. Powerful healers + teachers everywhere are working 9-5s they feel bland in, too afraid to step out of the mainstream and rekindle their connection with the wild woman.
If you are one of these women, bless you, and know that it is not so scary as you may think to step back out again and pick up where you left off. The rush of being on the leading edge of creation, working with our guides and shifting energy to allow the wild woman back in, is a journey far greater and more exciting than the fear that is holding you back.
Simply say a prayer to the divine feminine that runs through us all:
‘Please guide me to release any and all fears I am holding on to, that are blocking me from embodying my wild woman. I am consciously choosing to open back up to my natural gifts. Please show me the way.’
Say this prayer a few times, perhaps even for a few days, aloud, and with vigor. She hears you. She will answer. Just be patient, and observant, while the forces within work their mysteries.
As women, and yes, as witches, we have the opportunity, and the challenge, to rise above our current paradigm.
We have the opportunity, and the challenge, to choose our fullness and radiate acceptance, while we rekindle our sacred gifts.
And we have the opportunity to be together while doing it.
We belong to our sisters.
And if, by now, you are still left wondering ‘Well.. Am I a witch?’ Here’s a clue...
If you want to be a witch. You are one.
Much love + magical mysteries,
See you on the other side.
xo Beth
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Keep Up With Astrology
Image: Soul Nebula
Ever since I started keeping up with astrology, I don't feel quite so alone.
Often we ladies, especially those with our moons / suns in water signs, can feel intensely, think profoundly, and contemplate muchly, without necessarily feeling like anyone else is doing the same.
Tapping into astrology is a bit like tapping in to the collective consciousness. The different aspects, retrogrades, directs, moons in signs, and much more, affect us all in different ways, but often, have a common theme. When we reach out to understand these common themes, we realize we're all in this together. We're all experiencing the same things, the same human dramas, the same feelings of love and lightness, the same feelings of heaviness and darkness.
It is my belief that, wherever you're at, astrology can have something for you.
To tune into the ever changing tides of the cosmos, I often find myself on Mystic Mamma. This week, she shares well known Astrologer Kaypacha's report:
“We’re all diving down into the underworld of our unfelt feelings these next couple weeks. Let it up and let it out and don’t make it too real. This period can best be described as ‘weird’ so don’t get too ‘weirded out!’ I suggest it is all about ‘enlarging your space’….. we all need to give ourselves a bit more room to move, feel, react, and release….. take some time to yourself, for yourself and let others have their space, too…. Self knowledge sometimes costs but is well worth the price in the end.”
For the rest of Kaypacha's widsom, head this way!
Happy Cosmic Learning!
xo Beth
Let's Bring the Pagan Back - A Celebration of Winter Solstice
Oh my Goddess. It has finally come!
Winter Solstice.
Photo: Lauren Treece
It's amazing that so many years can go by, without ever having consciously realized the significance of this day, of this time.
Our Pagan brothers and sisters have been celebrating and marking this time for thousands of years. Unfortunately Christianity was intimidated by the thought that anything other than Jesus and their priesthood could have power and influence over people, so they sanctioned a holiday just 4 days after this sacred time to distract and overpower.
Now I do love Christmas, and I regularly call on Jesus, as he was a great master, but let's just say it like it is, Christmas was not originally a time to celebrate Christ's birth. (In fact, many Santa Claus and Christmas stories originate to a tale of a Shaman and a magical mushroom, no joke)
Its date was chosen to compete with the Pagan, Goddess, or Earth Loving celebrations. In many places, such type of gatherings were banned or outlawed, as it was considered sin to mark the times of the seasons, connect with the Otherworld, and go into the depths of the human soul. What we do not understand, we fear, and in those times of oppression, the differences seemed greater than the similarities.
Thank Goodness that it is here. The time has finally come.
To celebrate in the open again. We've been born into such an open, loving generation. Although we often hear of reports of the contrary (understandably, these are chaotic times) - it's actually amazing to sit back sometimes and revel in the freedom that we all have.
The church has lost it's grip, we are awakening to the fact that we do not need to go to a priest to be atoned for our 'sins', we do not need to follow an empire that is based on the singular celebration of the masculine, and we do not need to learn the teachings of Jesus through controversial manuscripts written by the hands of men. We can find all this, and more, in our hearts.
Art: Anne Stokes
We can celebrate the Goddess, we can celebrate the seasons, we can celebrate our connections, and hopefully, we can look back at the last few thousand years with compassion and forgiveness, though I know there is an anger and a violation within many of us that first needs to be honoured before we can heal.
So now, in my awakeness, in my growth, and in my childish wonder, I can honour that the darkest day of the year is upon us, and it is time to give the last of our pains, our troubles, our impatience, and our fears from 2013 to the dying embers of the flame. For tonight, all will be in darkness.
And a universal rebirth will take place.
Tonight I'm joining a group of beautiful souls at a friends house, to gather with music and the holiday spirit. I will no doubt come home to spend some time in the darkness, in my favouritest of places, my bed, to simply feel and experience the vibration of this event. Woot woot!
Tomorrow, I will spend time meditating on my heart's visions, and my core desired feelings, and will be creating a vision board from the insights. In truth, I've actually spent the last month reflecting on what I really want to create in 2014, so I feel really excited going into the manifestation process having become so clear on my desires. I'll share the fruits of my labour with you in a later post ;)
I'd love to know - How will you be celebrating?
Has this period, the solstice, grabbed your attention more than in recent years? Or does it seem just like any other day? Either way, it's beautiful, it's perfect. Either way, solstice will work it's magic.
Either way, we will be renewed.
If you'd like some more ideas on how to celebrate and mark this beautiful day, head over to Mystic Mamma to read her ritual ideas and celebrations!
Lots of love folks, and have the best Pagan New Year ever!
xo Beth
Ps. Please note I mean no disrespect to the essence of Christianity. I was raised as a Catholic and attended Catholic school up until my graduation, and I know that at it's core, the true faith means to spread only love. I merely feel I have a duty to share some of the AHA moments I've had surrounding the Christian/Goddess dichotomy. Thank you. xo