This year Thanksgiving takes place on Thursday, November 28, 2019. Wherever and however you celebrate, there is one small way you can honor the Indigenous tribe who once lived in the place where you will be celebrating.
Don't Be Afraid Of Who You Are
The last couple days I've been listening to songs from Frozen, and I forgot just how amazing the lyrics are to "Let It Go," which is why I think it's so popular. When they won an Academy Award for best song, the songwriters said they wrote it for their daughters, who they never wanted to feel shame or fear because of their own gifts.
In case you need a refresher, here’s a look at the full song:
The Energy Right Now
We're in an intense energy right now, which is combining the last Mercury Retrograde of the year, a waning moon leading up to the last New Moon of the year, and Chiron, the "wounded healer" dwarf planet, goes direct on December 9. There’s been a lot of planetary activity this year, and while that can be a lesson in perspective, it’s also been affecting us in a way that’s difficult to express.
When planets are retrograde, they appear to have come to a complete standstill from our viewpoint on Earth. Mercury goes retrograde three times a year, and this its final retrograde of the year. The planet technically goes direct (starts moving again) on December 6, but will not be out of its shadow period (moving at its normal speed) until December 24. Since Mercury rules communication, it can get wonky at this time and things from the past can resurface.
The dwarf planet Chiron finishes its retrograde on December 9, and it went retrograde on July 4. This retrograde brings up a lot of old hurts and feelings, giving us opportunities to heal and create new associations with pains of the past.
The Phases of the Moon
We start December 2018 with a waning moon, which is a time for releasing and shedding. We experience the Dark Moon at the end of this period, when the Sun shines zero light upon the moon. Then there is the New Moon in Sagittarius on December 7, which is a time to start anew and set intentions for the future if we so desire.
After that, we’re in a waxing moon period, meaning the energy is growing, which is a time for creating new things and building. Once we reach the Full Moon, we’ve culminated that energy and it’s a great time to start releasing again. This month the Full Moon falls on December 22, which means we will end the year on a waning moon—a time for releases.
See the theme here? Releases, new intentions, and healing.
There's a big question coming up for each of us: who & what is going to be cut out of your life this month? Who or what is making the cut, is worth fighting for and bringing with you into the new year? This came up in just about every reading I did on YouTube for the month of December, which means we’re meant to make some hard choices going into the new year.
What This Means For You
It feels like we’re making steps forward into the next chapter of our individual journeys. This relates to our spiritual, business, and personal lives, and so it makes sense that we’re being called to purge everything that no longer serves our true selves or our true purpose.
The song “Let It Go” is about releasing our fears that we can flex our abilities in the real world, that we can show others who we truly are without fear of punishment or scrutiny. For many of us, practicing our spiritual beliefs out in the open can feel like an act of rebellion. Showing our abilities, our magic, what we’re truly capable of, can feel scary. So many faiths have been persecuted, its practitioners tortured, brutalized, shunned, and killed for believing in something, practicing something deemed heathenistic, ungodly, or sinful.
This doesn’t only relate to our specific rituals or practices, but it also gets to the root of who we are. I’ve mentioned this before, but I’ve seen several past lives where I was tortured, chained to walls, dragged through the woods by my hair, and burned at the stake for practicing a belief that came naturally to me. As a result, my soul was angry and decided to turn away from my abilities, and in the subsequent lives I did not use my intuition and kept dying at a very young age, and often in a brutal way.
My own lesson for this lifetime has been to move beyond that fear, anger, and resentment of the past to embrace my abilities and use them as I was meant to. Right now “Let It Go” speaks to my own history, and my choice to release the past and move forward with my own version of “Here I stand, and here I stay.” I do not think these feelings are unique to me alone because I’ve noticed how this concept is influencing the people around me as well. Each of us is on our own path and has their own unique history, and will also be stepping through their own lessons and into their own true purpose.
It seems like we're coming into the theme of "Let It Go": What do you need to shed? What façades, secrets, lies, & false appearances need to disappear? If you've been hiding yourself, your abilities, or your true potential in a locked room of your own, how can you open the door and emerge as yourself?
Your abilities, strengths, flaws, personality, obstacles, challenges, and your personal history have combined to develop the perfect storm of who you are. That person exists for your true purpose in this life. Be you, choose you, release you into the world because the real truth is that there is no other you.
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Crystal Gift Guide
The holidays are here, and if you’re thinking about picking up some crystals for your friends or loved ones, here are some guidelines that can help. As a tarot reader and healer who works in a crystal shop, I encounter a lot of people who want to purchase crystals for other people but often don’t know where to begin.
Unless your friend or loved one has said exactly what type of stone they want and you find it in the right size and at the right price, this can be tricky. First off, I do recommend visiting an actual store (if there is one or more near you) because then you get a sense of size, weight, coloring, etc. While you can find a lot of stones online, unless it’s a vendor you know and trust, you can’t always be 100% certain about what you’re purchasing.
When you're looking for crystals, please keep in mind that while crystals are meant to help with physical, mental, or emotional issues, they do not take the place of visiting an actual physician or specialist. I do not believe crystals take the place of visiting an actual doctor, and while they can be used in conjunction with medicine and treatment, they should not take its place.
When you do walk into a crystal shop, here are some things to consider.
Go By Your Own Sight
I always recommend taking a look at the inventory and seeing which stones jump out at you or you find yourself constantly looking at. Most stores include descriptions of the stone’s attributes, so you can get a sense of what it does. See if this resonates with the person you’re making the purchase for—would it help them with a conflict or issue they’re going through?
Sometimes the descriptions can be spot on, but you might also be attracted to something that would help you. It’s helpful to be discerning in these situations and see what would resonate with the other person. At the same time, you might not want to get them a stone they would reject.
For example, if you buy someone Botswana Agate because it has a calming effect and you think this person is tightly wound and needs to f—ing relax, you might want to consider how you frame it when giving them that stone. One scenario in this case would be to mention that if they put it under their pillow it can help them sleep better. And if you’re having trouble with that, you can always talk to the salesperson at the store. They can either help you (because they often know about other attributes of the stones they’re selling) or can recommend another stone in its place.
Size & Shape
Stones naturally come in raw form, or the form they’re in when they’re mined. Tumbled stones are raw pieces that have been worked over in a machine that smooths their rough edges to make them polished. Usually deciding between the two is a matter of personal taste, although some stones are less commonly found in tumbled form.
To get the desired result of the crystal, they can be placed anywhere. But some people prefer not to carry individual stones in their pockets or sleep with them under their pillows because they’re concerned that they might forget the stones are there and eventually lose them.
In that case, some people opt for jewelry, such as necklaces, bracelets, rings, or earrings. The price point in these cases can sometimes be higher than for an individual stone, but it varies depending on the original distributor. When you’re buying these as a gift for someone else, it helps to know what type of jewelry they like to wear and bring that into consideration.
If You’re a Fan of Crystals
I don’t always recommend buying what works for you because everyone’s energy is so different. For example, you might love working with Malachite, but another person might find its energy too intense.
Going by Health
If the person you’re buying for is going through a specific health issue, you can always find crystals that can provide some assistance.
For example, if someone is trying to get pregnant, you could get them Moonstone, which is good for pregnancy and relates to feminine issues, or Carnelian, which can fire up the Sacral Chakra, where babies are made. Or say you have a friend with inflamed intestines—something such as Howlite or Stilbite can calm and soothe the area.
One way you can cut down on time is to do some research online and see what crystals might help with particular issues and then put together a list, call your local store(s), and seeing if they have those stones in stock. If not, you can always ask if they have recommendations for similar stones.
Going by Chakras
When it comes to health or wellness, you can also go by chakras. Chakras are energetic centers that go through the body from the base of the spine to the top of the head. Each chakra correlates to that region of the body, and if someone you know has been having emotional or physical issues in that area, sometimes having crystals that related to that chakra can be helpful. Again, these can’t replace medicine, but if the person using it puts their intention into the crystal, it has the potential to act as a booster.
With these, your friend or loved one can wear the stone near the relevant chakra or meditate or rest with the stone on the corresponding area of the body. The colors of most stones correlate to the same chakras, although with some stones you may need to double check. But here’s a good general rule of thumb:
Root Chakra—base of spine—red, black
Sacral Chakra—just below belly button—orange
Solar Plexus Chakra—stomach, above belly button—yellow
Heart Chakra—chest & torso—green, pink
Throat Chakra—throat & mouth—light blue
Third Eye Chakra—brow & eyes—dark blue
Crown Chakra—top of head & brain—white, purple
Of course, you don’t have to follow this to the letter. If your friend is having headaches but Black Onyx is calling your name, go where you’re being guided.
A raw Emerald point
Birthstone or Astrological Sign
Sometimes people will go by the crystals that correlate to the month of someone’s birth or their astrological sign. These can work, although if this person already collects crystals, they might have some of these stones already. For example, one of the stones for my sign is Tiger’s Eye, and I have about five pieces of various shapes and sizes in my crystal collection.
Some birthstones are also rare or expensive, such as sapphires and diamonds, although one variation that’s a little more affordable is a Herkimer Diamond. You can often find Emerald in crystals shops in its raw form, and the price point is usually pretty affordable. The stone doesn’t look bright green and shiny, but it’s a great healing stone and might be a delightful surprise for the person.
Crystals from left to right: Rose Quartz, Aventurine, Healer’s Gold, Amethyst, Moonstone, Blue Howlite, Black Tourmaline, and Citrine (center).
Suggestions of Crystal Gifts
Here are some of my suggestions for overall crystal gifts. If you don’t want to read all the way through these, I suggest scrolling and seeing which words pop out and grab your attention, and then reading those descriptions.
Selenite
This is one of my favorite stones. It’s white and comes in both raw and tumbled form, and in various shapes. It clears energy, amplifies the other crystals around it, and brings in love. It’s a stone you can’t really have too much of because it can be placed inside rooms, under pillows, or can be used to help clean other crystals. It can also be protective and protect from toxic energy, whether that’s at home, at work, or out and about.
Rose Quartz
I have a hard time plugging this one because it’s so common and so pervasive. Although this is for good reason: rose quartz has a subtle energy that can help heal emotional wounds and bring a calming peace. It’s a light pink color and also comes in various shapes, either raw or tumbled.
Black Tourmaline
Black Tourmaline typically only comes raw, and it’s a black crystal, which relates to the root chakra and feelings of security and safety. It absorbs negative energy, so it’s great to hold to your body and release into. You can also place it under a pillow to absorb negative thoughts or energy during sleep, and protects the wearer from other people’s negative energy, making it protective. This is a great stone to get for someone who works in customer service or interacts with a lot of people (or toxic energy) on a regular basis. It’s not always the prettiest stone, but it doesn’t mess around.
Howlite
This stone is naturally white, although it is often dyed blue and labeled either blue howlite or turquoise howlite—or it’s branded falsely as turquoise. It’s another calming stone that can help someone relax or sleep well. It correlates to the crown chakra, so it’s a great one to put under a pillow.
Healer’s Gold
I recommend this for your friend who is a healer, masseuse, therapist, counselor, reader, what have you. Healer’s Gold is great for anyone who spends the majority of their time helping others because it absorbs the energy of others and helps them recharge their batteries. I think this one is a safe bet, even if you suspect that your friend might already have it.
Aventurine
This stone comes in many colors, but mainly green. It’s a stone of luck and good fortune, which pretty much anyone will want. It usually comes tumbled, and if you’re at a store that has a variety of colors, you can go by the person’s favorite color or the attributes that stand out to the most.
Citrine
This stone usually comes in both raw and tumbled form, and is white and yellow. It brings in Sun energy, so one way to translate that is it brings light and warmth into the person’s life. It’s also a stone for success and attracting money, and it can be placed inside a wallet to help attract money. It’s a self cleaning stone, so it doesn’t have to be cleansed, but it can be placed in the sun, since it shares a similar energy.
Orgonite
Made of crystal pieces, copper, and resin, this is man made and has a lot of great properties. It can block EMF (Electronic & Magnetic Fields) and help ward off toxins. It absorbs and transmutes negative energy, so it can be placed anywhere it’s most needed. Since it’s made in resin, you can find it in a variety of shapes, but most common is as a pyramid. The crystals inside can vary from Amethyst to Rose Quartz to Lapis Lazuli to just about anything else.
Amethyst
This one is another staple, usually available in tumbled or raw form, and is meant for overall healing and divination. It can be placed anywhere on the body, but it does correlate to the Crown Chakra on the top of the head. It’s purple, and sometimes you can find Chevron Amethyst, which has Snow Quartz inside of it.
A Note About Moldavite
Moldavite is a green crystal that was formed from the impact of meteorite that crashed into Southern Germany about 15 million years ago. While other Earth-based crystals carry the Earth’s energy, Moldavite and other forms of Tektite posses a faster frequency. This means that their energy feels much faster than the speed of our planet or any of the crystals we’ve mined from this planet.
The energy of these crystals moves faster than the speed of Earth. While you may not feel a difference with other crystals, with Moldavite you tend to notice.
This can actually work well for a lot of Earth signs or people who have a great deal of Earth energy in their astrological chart because it can help pickup their pace. But this can be too much energy for the other elements, and make them feel jittery and sometimes angry.
Unless the person you’re buying for LOVES Moldavite and can’t get their hands on enough of it or is an Earth sign who has been vocal about wanting to move stuff forward in their life, I’d think twice about it. Even then, you might want to add a disclaimer because it can be a lot of energy and most crystal shops don’t accept returns.
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Overcoming Judgement With Self Love
I've seen a lot of posts on here about people dealing with haters and shit talkers in their personal lives. The truth is, we've all got them, and we've all done it to a certain extent.
Image Source: @broken_isnt_bad
If someone is pushing your buttons, they might be pointing out something within yourself that needs healing and love. The Universe is continuously pouring out its love to you, and it can come to you through a warm fuzzy feeling. Love doesn't have to come from another person or thing.
In Reiki we learn that you're the conduit, that you're opening up your body to give healing energy to another person. It's the same thing with love, and you can give it to yourself day or night.
Let's face it, judgement comes when someone sees their own inadequacies, fears, insecurities, whathaveyou reflected back to them. Most of the time it's not really about you. But words can still hurt, especially when they're picking at your wounds.
That Universe love is something you can access anytime for any purpose. If you want to work on healing something, feel compassion, or remember that you're not alone, you can always take a moment to yourself and ask for what you need. It may not make a world-altering shift, but it can help you through a difficult moment.
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A Lesson from the Retrogrades
With seven planets retrograde right now, including the infamous planet Mercury, it seems everyone has been atwitter about the effects they're feeling right now.
But first of all, let's unpack what a retrograde is. When a planet goes retrograde, it means that from Earth it appears as if the other planet is moving backward. But in reality, it's not.
The planets are moving just as they should in their regular orbits around the sun. Because of their seemingly backward momentum, the typical affects of these planets on our daily lives change. It doesn't, however, mean they are responsible for all of your problems.
Image Source: @wildwoman_witchcraft on Instagram
The retrogrades really come down to perspective. Sure, it looks like those planets are moving backward from our position on Earth. But from the Sun's perspective (or even an alien watching from above), every planet is moving exactly as it should within our solar system.
So for one thing, yes, retrogrades can explain why your phone gave itself a factory reboot (ok, maybe this happened to me) after you held one button down a little too long. But it shouldn't be a scapegoat.
Image Source: @adamtots on Instagram
As an empath who's been accused of being "too sensitive" her entire life, I understand that it doesn't take much to feel these planetary shifts because they can bring up a lot of complex feelings. What I've discovered is that you have to find a balance—allow yourself space for your feelings, and allow others the space for their feelings as well.
Mars Retrograde has knocked some people for an emotional loop, and that planet doesn't go direct until August 27th. But instead of getting annoyed or angry or frustrated with people who are extra affected by this retrograde, change your perspective. Think about how the Sun would see this.
Yes, it might appear as if a particular person is moving away from you or acting in strange ways you don't understand. But see the situation from beyond yourself. I believe The Universe doesn't make mistakes. This person is following their personal trajectory, just as you are following yours. These planetary shifts are shaking up everything right now, but everybody is on the right track for their personal path.
Even if it's uncomfortable or awkward, they are on their path around the Sun, just as you are on yours. Their changes and backward movements will undoubtedly impact your life, but it's likely part of a shift that's necessary for your highest good.
If you're feeling afraid of the changes going on around and within you, you can always have a chat with your spirit guides and angels. Ask them for protection, and ask that whatever happens in your life, that it be for your highest good and happens in a way that you can handle.
All that being said, some of these retrogrades are coming to an end soon! Here's a handy guide telling when each planet will go direct (AKA look like it's moving the way it should).
We Are Those Witches
The recent one-year anniversary of the women's march, and the memes and sayings that have been included with it have reminded me of a commonly used phrase: "We are the granddaughters of the witches you could not burn."
I think what we're seeing on a national and individual scale actually goes much deeper than that. I've done past life regressions and had experiences, whether in reiki sessions, sound baths, or while doing breath work that have shown me glimpses of previous lives when I was a witch.
I've seen one life when I was chained up by my wrists in a dungeon where I was tortured. While doing breath work as part of my reiki two training, I came back to this life to do some healing on this experience. I was then transported further back in time to another life, where I lived alone in the woods in a cabin I built with my own hands. Looking at the cabin and the feelings it stirred in me, I knew I lived there a long time and saw hardly anyone. But at the time, it was the only way I could be safe.
One reiki healer saw a life where I was hung in a village surrounded by woods for being a witch. I was told by another reiki healer that I was being held and tortured in the Vatican for being a witch, and that my eyes were gouged out while I screamed and swore like sailor.
I believe that we are the incarnations of witches, warriors, shamans, healers, medicine women, and—lest we forget—the midwives who were tortured, beaten, and ultimately murdered.
Our current state of affairs is reminding us who we are and the true power that dwells within us. It may have been beaten back over the centuries by social conditioning, a forced patriarchy intertwined with religion, and actual physical violence, but it has never diminished.
For me, there is a difference between being the granddaughters of witches and being the reincarnations of witches because it reminds us of our true power. There is a deep well of knowledge, courage, and strength within each of us.
Have you ever been a natural at a certain skill? Is there something you've ever begun to do and you realized you took to it quite easily? I believe past lives inform our everyday experiences far more often than we realize.
I may be the descendant of a witch who went unnoticed and survived the witch trials, but from what I've studied of my family history, that would go back further generations than I am able to count. My own memories, however, lie much closer to the surface. I can see these lives and experiences as if they part of my past from this life.
For me, this realization feels intimidating at first but also empowering. At the time, we had to keep ourselves and our abilities hidden, and if we did not succeed, or if someone merely had a a target on our back, we paid with our bodies and our lives.
Even though we find ourselves in a tumultuous time, I think taking back that strength and inner knowing, reclaiming that brutalized past and personal experience helps us realize our own abilities.
Because of what I've seen and experienced again, I have been able to reconnect to a part of myself. That connection is still growing, but I'm also able to compare those time periods to this one.
We are in a much safer time now. We are able to #WaketheWitches, as author Lisa Lister would say, and blaze a new path forward for ourselves. We can move beyond the pains of the past and remember our own matriarchal societies. We can forge new societies, new companies, and new mindsets about the role of women in this world.
We have the ability to do for ourselves what we were never able to do before.
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What Are You Grateful For This Year?
What are you grateful for this year?
Are you grateful for your family? For those who have stood by and supported you, cheered you on and rooted for you no matter what? Are you grateful for a fulfilling career and pursuing something you love? Are you grateful for your innate gifts or learned skill and your ability to use it? Are you grateful that you can be yourself, your true, unfiltered, unabashed, awesome self? Are you grateful that something painful is now out of your life? Are you grateful that you were able to leave a situation behind that was unhealthy or no longer served you?
Gratitude is something wonderful to practice anytime, not just around Thanksgiving. Whenever things get tough or stressful or aggravating, it's always helpful to make a gratitude list. You can write it out or even make one in your mind, but it helps elevate your mood and raises your vibration. When I started making gratitude lists, I had recently ended a long term relationship that had turned violent. I was being gaslighted and got angry as more and more levels of lying were peeled back from that relationship. Each time I made a gratitude list, I started with very specific things so I could make the list as long as possible. After a while, it got easier, and more and more things began to come into my head while I was making the list.
Spending time with family around the holidays can also be difficult, especially if you feel like you aren't measuring up to someone else's expectations. But before you sit down to the dinner table, take some time to yourself to think about how far you've come. The last two years alone have been tough for a lot of people, and with Scorpio's presence in Jupiter and the New Moon lately, you've probably had some revelations come to light. Even if you've realized that you want a new job or feel nervous about starting something new, take a moment to acknowledge that you know what you want.
No matter how small they may seem, acknowledge the accomplishments you've made in the last couple years, or even the last six months.Take a look around you and notice what you feel grateful for. If it's someone living, you can always thank them for their role in your life. Even if it's someone who hurt you, you can acknowledge how much they taught you about yourself.
And if nothing else, when someone asks you what you're grateful for this year, remember that we are all drops in the same ocean. At times we can feel separated and distant from one another, but we are far more connected than any of us realize. You are not alone in this big sea. At any given moment, you've got a million other drops around you who are there to help you, act as a shoulder to cry on, give you a leg up, or make you laugh. That's always a wonderful reason to feel grateful.