Under one of my many pen names, I asked readers what they missed most during Quarantine. Those who had adult children and grandchildren missed the opportunity to see their loved ones. Many bemoaned their inability to go to church. There was a lack in their life, a hole.

With this in mind, I questioned my own time in this unusual time. Unfortunately, rituals, gatherings, and festivals were scheduled with no new dates in sights. What I do have are my meditation practices such as lighting a soy candle for world healing on my altar and saying Loving Kindness Meditation each night. Each morning when I walk my dog, I’m grateful for the sky, the trees, the grass, the weather, the birds––the list goes on. In simple things I’m expressing gratitude.

Everything looks and feels different with a thankful spirit. Instead of being upset at hoarders I am grateful we have food to eat and toilet paper. It also gives me renewed appreciation for things such as reading or a shared conversation via the phone. This trying situation has given me inspiration for writing.

As far as church services, rituals, or even continuing spiritual classes, Zoom provided a bridge. It was good to be able to see fellow members. Even received healing from a shamanic healer via the phone and received messages from a medium via the Spiritualist church service Zoom meeting. I attended one class on Hermetic Philosophy, which was five hours long. Although it was a great class I came away with the need for a more comfortable chair.
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With Quarantine slowly being lifted, I’m not sure I’m eager to go back to things the way before. I appreciate the quiet nature walks and my intentional meditations, which I will include into my re-invented lifestyle. How has the Quarantine changed your spirituality?

The goddess Cerridwen is almost always pictured with a cauldron, which should be no surprise because part of her name Cerru is Celtic for cauldron. Others believe her name comes from “ceryd” which is Welsh for a chiding love and “gwen” which is welsh for white and blessed. Her name can be spelled as Ceridwen, Cereduin, Keridwen and Kerridwen. Interestingly there was no standardized spelling until the seventeenth century, so those who could write simply put her name down how it sounded. She is both the witch and goddess of cauldron. Into it she stirs her magic. Because of this, she is the patron of both witches and wizards. Poetry, science, prophecy, and the moon are also associated with her.
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She is considered both a Welsh and Celtic Goddess. She embodies mother, crone, and sometimes maiden.  Cerridwen is also one of the faces of the Dark Goddess. In tales, she often greets people as a tired hag. How she is treated determines how the person’s magical reception might be. (I always thought the story of the Beauty and the Beast has a little bit of Cerridwen in it. The prince was transformed into a beast because he treated an old woman so shabbily. He could not see past her exterior. The prince could not change back until he changed his ways and someone could love him as a beast.) It is also believed she could turn into animals such as the sow. The sow as a totem animal represent fruitfulness and the strength of the mother. She is also pictured as the corn maiden, who represents abundance and fertility.

Both she and her cauldron symbolize rebirth and transformation. Some lump in death with Cerridwen because you have to die to your old self to be reborn and her due to her association with the Underworld. Those who seek to work with cauldron magic would do well to call on Cerridwen since she is the keeper of the cauldron magic knowledge and secrets.

As with many goddesses, her origins are shrouded in mystery or disagreement about what tale is authentic. Cerridwen and her cauldron appear in the Welsh legend of Bran the Blessed. It is told that she came from Ireland to what is called The Land of the Mighty as a giantess named Kymideu Kymeinvoll with her husband Llassar. Ireland expelled them from their lake, which represented the Underworld, because they were afraid of them. Apparently Cerridwen could reanimate corpses with her cauldron. The cauldron went on to be given to different people as a gift in the tales. Some scholars believe the cauldron was the Holy Grail that King Arthur was searching for.
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The more commonly known tale is she was married to Tegid Foel, a man who we only know was bald. They lived near Lake Bala in Northern Wales. (Notice: another lake, another Underworld connection.) She had two children a beautiful daughter named Creirwy. Her son Morfran was better remembered and was often referred to as Utter Darkness in Welsh for his dark skin and hideous looks.  This so distressed Cerridwen that she determined to make a potion to make him wise, talented, handsome, and a great bard that everyone would love. 

Potions take time and it took a year and a day of stirring to make this one. Inside the cauldron would be three drops of magic and the rest poison. She sought the help of a boy to help her with the stirring. He decided to stir the pot a different way and three drops splashed on his hand. He licked up the drops and gained the magic Cerridwen had intended for her son.  She was so angry that she chased the boy who now had the magic to shapeshift.

He turned into a hare, Cerridwen a greyhound. He became a fish and jumped into the lake, Cerridwen shifted into an otter and followed him into the water. Finally, on land he transformed into corn, Cerridwen became a hen who ate the corn. In turn, the corn grew inside of her for nine moons until she gave birth to a beautiful baby. Upset she had rebirthed the boy she’d set out to kill, she almost threw him into the sea, but because he was so handsome, she sewed him in in a seal skin, first. The baby was rescued by a Welsh prince. The boy named Taliesin by his rescuer became a great bard well loved by all who heard him.

This tale demonstrates that not only Cerridwen’s cauldron, but her womb has the power to transform.

Cerridwen’s symbolism include the white sow, which she shifted to in an effort to address her people. Her birds include hawks and hens. Corn is her sacred plant. Her archetypes include Crone and Shapeshifter. Samhain is the holiday she is often called in for her gift of dark prophecy and wisdom.

​If Cerridwen is calling your name or comes to mind, get ready for change. Transformation is already in motion.

Every now and then, you’ll hear someone mention Hecate. Some might call her the Queen of the Witches. Someone else might mistakenly identify her as a dog faced Goddess confusing her with the Egyptian God Anubis. Today, we’ll explore who Hecate really is and what little we do know. There is even a cult called Children of Hecate, who know nothing about the Goddess they worship because they assumed, she has a dog head. This is for them and anyone else who wants to learn more about The Distant One.
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Most God and Goddesses start out somewhere else and change. Hecate is no different in that matter. Early on, she was part of the Greek pantheon, but may have come from the Carians in southwest Asia Minor. According to the Greek Poet Hesiod, her father was the Titan, Perses, and her mother was the nymph, Asteria, who were minor deities. It doesn’t really fit with Hecate having power over heaven, earth, and sea. She also bestows wealth of all the blessings of daily life.

The fact that Zeus allowed her so much power and was basically in awe of her makes you wonder why. Other versions of Hecate’s parentage mention she is a direct descent of Gaia, the Earth, Ouranos, the Sky, and Okeanos, the Sea. It is also said her parent could have been Nyx and Erubus. Her grandmother Phoebe was the moon. Artemis was considered her cousin. The hound or dogs Hecate travels with may have been a gift from Artemis.
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In ancient Greece, most households had a Hecate statue near the entrance of their home since she was viewed as the protector. Her presence in the home kept all who lived there safe. Hecate was also the goddess who presided over spells and magic. She witnessed the abduction of Persephone and joined in the search for her carrying her torch into the underworld.

She is often represented as a triple goddess with each one holding a different symbol. She holds a torch to guide and assist. The torch is also considered a nod to her being a goddess of the night and possibly a moon goddess. In one hand, she holds a large key to unlock what is hidden away and to free the captive. The snake that she clutches in another hand represents feminine power and transformation. The three Hecate Goddesses have their backs to each other the better to watch the crossroads.

Hesiod’s works are some of the few that have endured over time. There is a feeling of Hecate being whitewashed of any dark side. There is no mention of witchcraft or her appearance in the underworld. Even the slight reference of going to search for a friend Persephone goes nowhere. It is as if a censor cut it out. Many women called on Hecate in their rituals, but used names such as The Strong One, The Tri-fold Goddess, or The Remote One. The last can be alluding to Hecate returning to her cave alone to dwell similar to her possible mother, Nyx.

In his poem to Hecate, Hesiod does mention her name was invoked at every sacrifice, which makes her a very powerful deity. He also calls her the nurse to the world that helps every living thing that would call on her.
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Why wasn’t more written about Hecate? Most of what was written could have been destroyed since she played such a vital part in daily life. The best way to wipe out a deity is to destroy information or corrupt it. It also could be she liked to being mysterious. The historians and authors could have feared mentioning her name. Since she was born of Titans, she was and is a power to be reckoned with. There is some information that she may have married Porkys, a minor sea god, and had a daughter, Skylla. There is little mention of her daughter, although sometimes she is connected to a monster of the same name who Circe constantly feuded with. In some accounts, Hecate had many children with Hermes. Circe was one of them, which would mean Circe and Skylla would have been sisters.

We may not know exactly who Hecate’s people were, but there is more of a chance she was the offspring of Nyx and Erubus, who are night and darkness. Her mother, Nyx, has the power to bright night or death to anyone. Even blustery Zeus was careful not to offend a woman who could cut a life short on a whim.

Samhain is a perfect time to honor Hecate since she is being invoked in so many seasonal rituals along with Cerridwen, the Goddess of Cauldron Magic. Locate a crossroads near you and leave your offerings of food and wine. She is especially fond of garlic, eggs, pound cake, honey, and burnt offerings from your ritual. When you return home, clear your Hecate altar and hang Hecate’s Wheel above your bed.

Remember Hecate is the Goddess of Protection and every daily blessing. She is worthy to be recognized every day by simply lighting a candle and saying her name with reverence as befitting her.

Next blog: Meet Cerridwen.

The Chipmunk
 
Usually when you say the word, chipmunk, people think of cartoon characters or the striped critter that sometimes visits your bird feeder. While some people might refer to squirrels as annoying rodent, most people think chipmunks are adorable despite being members of the same family. That is unless its burrows are undermining a human house foundation—then, it just because an animal that needs to relocate.
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Chipmunks are hard workers who hoard food in their burrows for the upcoming winter months. They manage their food intake during the cold time to survive another season. Not sure how many of us could do that. Depending on the location, they may come out in the cold months. Since I fed the birds year around, the chipmunks also took advantage of the bird seed.

Chipmunk people, those who have a chipmunk as their spirit animal, can be energetic, social, quick to react, and at times their impulsive nature gets them in trouble. A good example of this is when I stepped outside my door to find our dog barking at a loose section of wood. Behind the board, three chipmunks trembled. The first to react veered to the left only to have my dog close behind. The other two did nothing except shake. The impulsive one got the dog. The other two got me. I didn’t chase them, but did give them a lecture on the importance of relocating. It was similar to the lecture they had the year before.

In many Asian cultures, the chipmunk is the bringer of good luck. Children and adults in these areas carry a chipmunk-shaped charm to bring good fortune. A chipmunk turning up in your life can be a sign of good things coming your way. Native Americans believe luck and helpful spirits must be on the side of the chipmunk since they seldom think before they react.

In many ways, they are similar to their squirrel cousins, but are bit more adaptable. A chipmunk can eat anything from flower blubs to dog food as long as it’s available. Curiosity may lead the rodent into troublesome situations, but its agile mind, creativity, and fast speed help it to escape.

Chipmunk people can be adventurers, but they don’t always make good leaders due to them not considering the consequences when acting. It may appear your chipmunk friend has fortune on his or her side, since you only see their successes, and not their missteps.  It isn’t as if they are trying to hide them, they just move on to the next thing and don’t dwell on what didn’t work out. Chipmunk people live without regrets, which is a marvelous gift.

If you ever have time to watch chipmunks, they always seem to be having a good time—even when they are working. There is a lot of play in everything they do. A chipmunk showing up may remind you to come out to play or to balance work with leisure.

As you probably guessed, chipmunk people are likable, but are hard to pin down since they are off on the next adventure. Most are chatty and love to express themselves and usually take jobs involving communication. Travel is something they absolutely adore and often may call no place home. They make friends easily, but seldom do the heavy lifting required in relationships.  If you have met a chipmunk person, it could have been a brief, heady experience. Chipmunk people fare well with other chipmunk folks. Then again, they have no issue being alone and enjoy their own company.

If a chipmunk messengers comes into your life, expect something good. It can be anything from a new adventure to unexpected money. The striped rodent can also remind you to play more or step out of your comfort zone. It may show up when you need to see the pros and cons of a particular situation. Their appearance can be a reminder to stay flexible, too. If nothing else, the clever chipmunk can make you smile.
 
Chipmunk Connections
Active
Adventurous
Adaptable
Agile
Clever
Communicative/Communication
Creative
Fast
Flexible
Freedom-loving
Friendly
Gatherer
Independent
Impulsive
Loner (at times)
Lucky
On the move
Playful
Vocal

Most practicing witches want to know if their beloved pet is helping their craft. When witch hunts where at their apex, all a person needed was a cat and a broom to be accused of being a witch. Not too surprising almost all women had a broom and a cat in their household. The broom was to ride on, of course. The cat, or other beast, such as dogs and horses served as a familiar. These animals were also tortured and killed in the witch trials, too.

The familiar assisted with witchcraft. In medieval times, and some folks still believe, that the familiar was a demon taking an animal shape. In more modern times, the familiar helps focus energy, rather like how the right life mate amplifies your psychic energy, which is another blog.
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Most people want to know how they know if their pet assists. You probably already know this by intuition, but if you’re looking for confirmation. Here are a few things to look for.

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Is it Attracted to Your Magic Tools?
*Many witches share photographs of their cat perched on top of their Book of Shadows or snuggled up to a cauldron.
My current dog spends more time with the healing crystals than I do.

Other people have mentioned that their pet has no interest in their magical tools or tries to destroy them. (The destroyers must be non-believers.)
 
How Does Your Pet React During Rituals?
Is your pet actively involved in the ritual such as sitting inside the circle or does it take this time to be demanding?
Many people have reported when they started a ritual that the pet stopped whatever it was doing and joined the circle.

I’ve had a dog who quietly slept through everything, another who would run back and forth through the circle disrupting the energy.  My current dog lays beside me during any ritual. He usually jumps into action when I bring out the crystals.


Does Your Pet Recognize Spirits/entities in Your Household?
Animals rely on gut feelings as opposed to logic. When your dog stares at nothing, then starts growling, do not assume it’s crazy. Same goes for a cat that might dart out of an empty room in a panicked state.

Don’t assume this behavior means your house is invested with boogey monsters. What it can mean is your pet has encountered an energy it is unfamiliar with.

When we moved into our current house, my old dog refused to go in the back bedroom. Both husband and daughter complained about there being a feeling of oppression in that room and didn’t like to go back there, either. There definitely was residual energy left behind by a foster child who once lived in the room.  The room has been cleansed, but the energy remains. Eventually, our dog slept in the room because he made peace with our own ghost boy. (Occasionally, things fly off the walls and doors slam shut. No biggie.)

To find out more on signs of your pet seeing ghosts, click on this link. https://wagwalking.com/sense/can-your-dog-see-ghosts

Does Your Pet Assist with Healing?
Most people who practice the craft also practice the healing arts. It can be anything from Reiki to Integrated Energy Therapy. When I visit a local healer, her dog comes and sits underneath the healing table to assist.

My own dog joins in whenever I put a crystal circle or grid around anyone for healing. He usually lies next to the crystal, but doesn’t break the circle.

My dog is also very responsive to crystal healing and using crystals to calm him during thunderstorms.
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Can I Have a Familiar Who Isn’t a Pet?
Yes. This animal will make repeated appearances related to you doing magic. Because it is a wild animal it probably isn’t inside your house. You may see it on the day you planned or finished a ritual, even a meditation.

We used to have a wolf spider that lived in our house for years and defied all our attempts to catch it and relocate it. Was he a familiar? I’m not really sure. I only know he’s gone, now.

​As for your beloved pet, even if he or she doesn’t meet the basic requirements for familiar, it still provides the most powerful magic of all—Unconditional Love. 

​​A few are dismissive of my personal beliefs. My relatives do not care to hear that our ancestors are having regular sit-down chats with me. Physical evidence should be harder to dismiss you would think.

 Last year a protective symbol appeared in my backyard and wasn’t put there by human hands. It was a large triangle pointed toward my house in parallel lines of mixed stones. Ninety-six to be exact. Some were river rocks, one was a white rock shaped like a femur bone, a few were ruby zoisite, which is the stone of patience and transforming negative energy to positive energy. The beautiful polished stone originated from Tanzania, which is far, far from my yard. The zoisite is also a calming stone, which I may have needed because my new neighbors and their aggressive canines were ruining my backyard for me. 

When we moved in seven years ago, I liked the couple who lived behind us. They were a good-natured couple with a friendly golden retriever who would often visit whenever a cookout took place. Ray, the elderly golden, would calmly approach whoever was grilling and take a seat near them. He usually was rewarded with a burnt hot dog for his good manners. The old neighbors moved and were replaced by neighbors with extremely vicious dogs.
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Animals are my thing, but these dogs were far from friendly. One appeared in my side yard and tried to attack me. My neighbors finally got a fence they attached to my own, but that did little to calm down the hounds. They were outside all the time and constantly barking at me, or any family member who dared to venture outside. Whenever my aged pooch came outside, they went crazy. Somehow, they bit one of the other neighbor’s yorkies through the fence putting permanent punctures in the tiny dog’s ears. No one was a fan of these dogs.

One day, I noticed the neighbors with the crazy dogs had their garage door open exposing large Trump and Truth flags. They were huge rally flags people waved to be seen by photographers. The negative energy just wasn’t coming from the dogs.

The yard had been my natural sanctuary. After long winter months, there was nothing I liked better than tilling the soil and planting seeds. My husband and I used to sit in our lawn chairs and watch the birds at the feeders. Even the birds were disturbed by the dogs’ constant barking and hurling themselves against the fence.  The fence panel came loose after one of the crazed dogs consistently hurled itself against the it. I found myself inches away from the dog’s snapping snout. The possibility it had been trained to attack liberals crossed my mind. More likely it had roamed free over several acres of land and assumed it was guarding its territory.

In retrospect, I’d like to pretend I handled the moment in a mature, serene matter. I did not. A series of curse words flew from my mouth some directed at the snapping dog as I pushed the sagging fence in place. Then, I screamed for my husband to bring the hammer and nails. We hammered the fence back in place, but couldn’t do the same for the serenity that have been ripped from my backyard natural sanctuary.

It was a summer without fire pits because we could barely hear ourselves talk with the dogs constantly baying, howling, and throwing themselves against the fence. The neighbor whose dog was bit moved. The neighbor on the other side of me moved, too. It was as if they couldn’t wait to get away. A feeling I understood. My husband did his best to serve as a buffer between the neighbor and me by asking the neighbor not to spray his toxic chemicals near the fence line since I had wild flowers growing on the other side.

Retreat was my only option. Instead of enjoying the summer in my yard, I watched the birds from inside the house and the occasional park. During this time, I asked the fairies to help me. Not with the dogs because I hadn’t thought of that, but with the various plants and wildlife that took shelter in our yard.

While waiting for a time when I could use the yard for myself and for rituals, I put out gnome statues to attract gnomes. I also scattered quartz crystal in the flower gardens hoping to attract the fairies. Fairies is a general name that covers over two hundred different entities. My goal was to bring out the gnomes. Traditionally, gnomes are caretakers of the garden. They are also believed to protect minerals or buried treasure. They will often draw crystals into the ground since they love them so much. Some beliefs center on gnomes being both good luck and guardians. This is why the statues are placed in gardens, houses, even barns.

The day I discovered the stones I was cutting grass. I may have discovered the femur stone first since it was white and stood out against the grass. Afraid I might run over them with a lawnmower, I picked up a couple stones and put them in a bucket. There were dozens of stones all in a pattern in the tall spring grass. I took a photo of them, then picked them up. When my husband arrived home, I asked him if this was an elaborate trick of his---not like this behavior was part of his nature.

He hadn’t done it. We have a six-foot privacy fence and the gate is locked from the inside. There was no rational explanation. After we threw out normal possibilities, we had to accept it was a mystical occurrence and my husband urged me to put out the rocks as I found them. I did.

Since I did not consider myself an expert on natural phenomenon, I carried my photo around and asked those with more expertise to examine it. Powerful, protective magic one described it. Another told me I definitely had fairies in the yard, most likely gnomes since the stones had been selected and pushed up through the ground as opposed to being laid on the grass. At a crystal workshop I attended, the instructor laid out a similar stone grid to provide psychic protection. The grid in the backyard was for me, my household, and all who were in the yard.

Strange things started happening. The neighbors with the obnoxious dogs often put up their dogs whenever they spotted me in the yard filling up the bird feeders. They also put up a barrier around their back porch where I couldn’t see them. Their attitude struck me as fearful as they all scurried into the house whenever they saw me. It was that crazy woman who sang to the flowers and tied ribbons to the trees. They were ribbons with intentions. I didn’t care what they said. What I wanted was things to go back to the way they were.

One day on my walk through the neighborhood, I noticed my annoying neighbor had put up a for sale sign. The next day their house sold causing me to wonder if they had underpriced it. A week later they were gone as were their dogs. The new neighbors were a quiet couple that had a garage full of boxes as opposed to Trump flags.
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Odd that the neighbors would move, especially since the wife told me this was their last home. There would be no more moving for her. Since a year had come and gone, it was spring again. This time when my husband went to mow. All the stones were missing possibly because they’d accomplish what they were supposed to do.
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Yes, the neighbor with the out of control hounds did move, but it was more than that. The gnomes wanted me to know they were there and showed me in a very real way. They also taught me the importance of patience.
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My witchy friends asked me if I put a spell on the neighbors to get them to leave. I did not. The yard is my magical place and many spells had been done there as well as charging of crystals. Maybe my energy was incompatible with the recently departed neighbor’s. All I truly know is gnomes are great to have on your side. Now, it is time to select the perfect thank you gift. I’m thinking crystals with a scattering of silver coins.

Today is International Women’s Day. It made me stop and think about all the women I have known. There have been fellow students, teachers, relatives, co-workers and friends, along with an occasional randomly met stranger who led to a profound epiphany.

Let’s start with a stranger. When I was in India, I entered the country after watching The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and thought I understood the culture. My husband and I decided to visit a nearby mall and to get a feel for the place, we walked there. Our unusual dress, height, and skin made us stand out like a neon light. Most people made a slight circle around us, not knowing if we might be dangerous. One woman garbed in an ironed cotton sari and a baby on her hip headed straight for us. 

She murmured words I couldn’t comprehend. When we didn’t respond, she spoke louder. Finally, she touched my sweater and pressed her baby’s arm against my sweater, too. By this time, we were on our way back and one of the hotel guards ran out, shouted something at the woman, and rushed us inside the hotel. We later learned the woman was born into the caste/class called untouchable. People actually paid her not to touch them. We must have been a disappointment.

In our short stay, I had the owner of an exclusive tea house brag that he was able to run such a fancy place because of his birth. It made me remember the first woman we met who had no choice about her birth, but she still had enough respect for herself that she cleaned her face, braided her hair, and ironed her sari before going out each day. She couldn’t change the circumstances of her birth, but she could still have pride about what she could do. We classify people here in the United States, too. Somehow one person is good, while someone else isn’t. This person matters, while another person doesn’t. This person is important while that person receives a wide berth. Even if we don’t admit it, there is a definite class system in the US.

The second woman who still resonates in my memory years after I met her was a
nursing home resident named Katherine. As a teen I worked at a local convalescent
center. Katherine had checked herself in due to alcoholism. I’d often spend my
lunch with her, listening to her tales. They were glorious—at least the early ones
were.  She was an intellectual during the times when women only attended college
to snag a husband. Often with a cup of coffee in one hand, she’d reminisce about meeting her much older husband and their epic journey to New York City to work and live. It was a hard life, but they had each other, enduring love, and a spirit of adventure. When he died, her world fell apart.
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She tried to recreate it with another man, but that didn’t work either. Instead, she turned to the bottle to forget and lost her coveted journalistic job. What I learned from her, is to enjoy what you have as opposed to attempting to hold onto things or people who are gone. There is joy in every day if you look for it.

The third woman who put her mark on me and probably everyone she met was my grandmother. She had a hard life, from being forced to quit school at twelve to help run a family business, to being married at fifteen to a rigid, unforgiving man who was more than twice her age. Illness, financial hardship and finally the death of her husband forced my grandmother into getting up before dawn to work in a bakery. After her early morning shift was done, she caught a bus to spend the rest of her day working as a domestic for an affluent family. On the weekends, she ironed and sewed other people’s clothes.

That would have been enough to make anyone bitter, but she was the opposite. At some point, my grandmother saw no merit in complaining about things she couldn’t change and chose to look for the good. She always had a kind word for everyone. Whenever I want to complain about something, or sometimes, when I catch myself in the middle of a full-scale rant, I think of my grandmother and stop.

In Western Society, there is no respect for the old, especially women. When women make the slow slide down the other side of fifty, they vanish. They aren’t in advertising unless it is for a walk-in shower or lift-chair. When they do show up in movies, they are usually the villain or an irritating bore. Agatha Christie should be praised for introducing an older woman as a main character, but my last woman isn’t an author, but a dear friend.

I met Grace about eight years ago at a Pagan Pride Festival. She, along with another woman, was handing out information on a Goddess group in the area. I took the pamphlet and moved on, unaware of how this small contact would change me. It’s funny, as I get older, I change my definition of old. While Grace will always be chronologically older than me, she will never be old, or at least my version of old. Instead, she is the one up on her feet dancing, encouraging the younger women to join her.  While most of us attempt something new cautiously, ready to pull back if it doesn’t suit, she runs in full tilt. Grace has taught me to laugh, dance and be authentically me—and not some Stepford Wife Drone. She also taught me to accept my shadow tendencies. Every part of us has merit and every experience is a lesson.

When I think of Grace, I am not afraid to age.  She has shown me this is the very best time of life and to celebrate it.
Even though this is Women’s Day, I found this interesting when I tried to find pictures on a photo site. I started by typing in the word girls. I hoped to get some kindergartener in a Wonder Woman costume. Instead, I got several photos of women between twenty and thirty. Despite the marches and the fight for equal rights, it takes a very long time before females are categorized as women. Many die before that even happens. Why is the word frightening to whoever set up the site? Interestingly enough, what I didn’t find under the girls listing was actual females under the age of eighteen.

Another thing to ponder on International Women’s Day.
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A few years ago, there was a scam artist posing as an investment counselor. He took millions of dollars from elderly people. One of the unfortunate investors stated he should have listened to his dog who did not like the scam artist. He went on to comment that people who didn’t like dogs shouldn’t be trusted.

Dogs are so ingrained in our culture. They work beside us, protect us, and give us unconditional love. As wonderful as they are, they are only a small part of a diverse animal kingdom. Every creature matters in some way. They serve a vital part in the eco chain. Take one a way and the chain dissolves. The wolves of Yellowstone demonstrate this phenomenon.

Many have suffered from many forms of abuse caused by humans. It’s hard for them to relate to or find comfort from other people, but can find solace in pets. Animals don’t judge you on how you look or how much money you make.
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Being in harmony with nature, which is also being in balance with animals, which includes birds, fish, and reptiles. This enriches your spiritual experience and raises your vibration. How is this managed.

1. Awareness-go outside, observe the animals that are around you. Take time to learn about them. Their appearance isn’t random they chose to be in your proximity.
2. Respect-this involves not using products that would kill or endanger the animal or insect, bees or marine life.
3. Journal-it’s important to keep track of the animals you meet. It may help to decide if a particular animal visits you when you are feeling confused or worried. Each animal has a message for you. Keep track of your dreams, too.
4. Messengers-often both faeries and spirits use animals to make contact. A recently departed spirit might direct a butterfly, dragonfly, or other creature to visit a loved one. Faeries have been known to ride cats, rabbits, and birds.
5. Blessing-everyone has the power to bless with their words. When you see an animal that didn’t make it across the road. You can bless it by saying, “Bless you. May your spirit roam free.”
6. Balance-once you get more in touch with the animal kingdom and you’ll find there is more balance in your life.

 

Blurb:
Whispered instructions from the dead.
An unpredictable psychic sense.
A destiny not yet fulfilled.

Meara is enmeshed in an impossible spiritual battle. As her body fights to regain consciousness, a vision compels her to complete her quest and finally bring peace to the warring nations, but her quest will not be easy. A pervasive evil thrives on the chaos and will stop at nothing to ensure the conflict continues.

By all outward appearances, she is an easy target to defeat, but unbeknownst to her oppressors, there’s more to her than meets the eye. She carries with her a long legacy of faerie magic and the means to end this conflict and restore order once and for all.
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Follow Meara’s harrowing journey in Blaze, the third and final book in the Faerie Lights Trilogy!

​Crystals can come from anywhere including rock shows, festivals, individuals, and even found on the ground. The very nature of the crystalline structure allows a chunk of quartz to both absorb and magnify intentions. When you picked out stones using your non-dominant hand you may have felt repulsed by certain minerals. It might not be the mineral itself that repulsed you but a dark emotion stored within the crystal. (See article on picking out crystals below this one if you missed it.)
It’s a little like getting clothes at the thrift shop. There are some great finds, but because they’ve been worn by other people sometimes musky perfume or cigarette smoke clings to the fabric. The normal procedure is to wash the clothes before wearing. It’s a little bit like that with crystals. Crystals are witnesses to an entire parade of human emotions and events. You definitely want control of what you’re bringing into your home.

Cleansing Your Crystals
Some crystals are okay with being washed in rainwater or ocean water. Sea salt poured into a bowl serves as a great cleanser. Leave the crystal overnight in the bowl. In the morning, remove your mineral and toss the salt outside preferably away from your house. Selenite and quartz clusters can clear the new to you crystals, too. A small crystal can rest inside the quartz cluster while a larger one could be cleansed by waving the selenite wand around it. Your final method is running the specimen through incense or sage.
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Charging Your Crystals
Think of your crystals as batteries that wear down. You’re expecting them to do a great deal for you, especially if you intend to use them for healing or meditation. Many people use the sun or the moonlight to charge their stones and minerals. If you decide to put your stones out on a sunny day, keep in mind that light-colored stones such as Amethyst or Rose Quartz can fade in the sun. Keep them outside less than an hour.
Moonlight is gentler on the stones, which means they and can be left out the entire evening. Be aware of the weather because even rain can partially dissolve some of your softer stones. Do not forget about them and leave them outside in the sun. Even when you display crystals in the house, keep them out of direct sunlight. The exception is clear quartz because it is already clear, which is often used in windows to protect the home.

Next blog lesson will be aligning your crystals.