pyrite

I have to admit that prior to becoming a crystal healer, or even becoming an adult, Pyrite was one of those geological words I actually knew. And whenever I was hiking and caught a glimpse of gold in the wild, "Fool's Gold," I would scream like an Old Tymey Prospector, quoting Little House on the Prairie. As a crystal healer, though, Pyrite though has become one of my closest crystal allies. I use Pyrite often and plentifully in crystal healing sessions, in meditation and in mojo bags.

Pyrite is an iron sulfide with a Mohs hardness of 6-6.5. If you have purchased Pyrite, you might have seen wee little cubes of it, because its crystal patterns is cubic, as well as octahedral, and pyritohedral. (Don't you love when you have little cubes of crystals!?!?) It is a perfect golden color, and it comes from the Greek for fire, because when you strike two pieces, you can create a spark. (Good to know if you are on a crystal healing adventure in the wild!)

Pyrite traditionally works with the Solar Plexus chakra for manifestation, action, willpower, creativity and confidence. Many people feel it is a masculine stone, which helps strengthen masculine energy (great for people who need to balance Feminine/Masculine energy) or for those who might want to work with God energy/Father Sky. I also use Pyrite on the Earth Star Chakra to help ground those feelings of not enoughness. Naisha Ahsian groups Hematite, Pyrite and Cuprite as an Earthing triad--balancing male and female polarities and manifesting one's spiritual path in alignment with Mother Earth, as Naisha says.

Based on her recommendation, I have worked with them together, and find it a wonderfully balancing team. I'm going to write more about this in my newsletter this week. For my personal work, Pyrite is a huge ally for manifestation and creative work, and making dreams come true. I love the strength of Pyrite's energy. It is a powerful stone that commands attention, and in that way can help you command attention. I often use it when I am helping men get in touch with their masculinity, which believe it or not is a huge issue. How to be emotional and masculine. We don't talk much about the difference between crystal healing on men and women, but I do use different stones on men and women. (I also use different stones for each individual.) But Pyrite is my go-to solar plexus stone for men.

It is a wonderful ally for Persistence. When you are energetically waning, Pyrite is a great tool. As I read somewhere, if you can't have a nap, grab some Pyrite.  But in terms of creative projects that have lost their fire within your belly, Pyrite can help rekindle energy to finish. In fact, Pyrite is wonderful for any creative project--art, music, writing, performance. A grid with Pyrite is also an awesome way to go to work with its energy. It resonates beautifully with Citrine. And with Carnelian for creative and sexual power. (That is a powerful combination for the bedroom.) It's wonderful for the memory (perhaps that is what persistence is, the continued and extended memory of your passion). It is also a stone of the leader,so use it when you need to bring in those qualities. One of my beautiful Tarot colleagues said that she sees Tarot cards as symbols in her other psychic work, and when I was writing this, I saw the Emperor. The Emperor is the energy of Pyrite.

I hope you connect with my thoughts on Pyrite. I would love to hear what you think and how you have worked with Pyrite. Don't forget to sign up for my newsletter to read more. This week I'm going to talk about balancing feminine and male energies, including some great meditations to do so. 

tarot of the week--eight of pentacles

Is it possible we haven't discussed eights at all on this blog?!? 

Funnily, this week I had a reading where three of the four Eights were pulled. And basically, in a row (though they are not pulled the row, as you may or may not know). Again, I wonder to no one in particular why I chose to do these cards this way...but Eights we will touch on today as we venture into the Pentacles.

Like all of the Tarot's Even cards, Eights are about balance. The Even cards each deal with a different kind of balance, however. Twos are about Balancing Energy. Fours are about Stability (or a four legged table's balance). Sixes are about Restoring Balance. The eights, however, are about balancing power and success, each dealing with this balance of power in their own way. In this way, when you lay the Eights in front of you, there doesn't seem to be a theme. But if you look at them as Restriction of Power, or the Exertion of Power, you can see the theme of Balance of Power in them all. The Eight of Wands is the card that comes after movement has been blocked (restoring balance of forward motion), Eight of Cups is moving on physically and emotionally to restore balance, Eight of Swords is about restriction of power (feeling powerless), and the Eight of Pentacles is about financial power through hard work. If we look at the Eights in terms of where they fall in the numerology of the Minor Arcana, the Eight proceeds the completion of the Nine. So the Eight raise the last blockages to completion, the final leg of the race, so to speak. It is why the Eight is so disturbing, because Swords deal with perception. The last illusion is that one is trapped, powerless. 

The Eight of Pentacles doesn't have the illusions to restriction of power as the other Eights do. In fact, for a financial or career pull, this card becomes a wonderful ally, reminding you to continue working hard, honing your skills, you are almost there! In this card, we see a man on a bench, carving a pentacle into a coin. Behind him, the village readies for him to begin selling his wares. His role is that of the apprentice. He is working hard to learn his craft, and this learning comes in the form of repetitive creation. This is how we learn after all--doing the same thing over and over. Though the sky in the background of this card is grey, it is not considered a dark or depressed card. This is often called the Card of the Apprentice. Generally, it comes when someone is considering or in school, finishing their degree, working in an apprentice-type job, or as an intern. This is the long road toward financial completion. But this work can be a project (like writing a novel, or working on an art project), or a relationship, like someone in counseling if this is a relationship issue.

The card harkens to the Seven of Pentacles, where a man is depressed, standing in a field, hoeing his pentacles. Wondering when the fruit of his labor will be manifest. This is the man taking back his power and learning a new skill, honing his craft, making something for his future. So, the achievement of power is through work here, and that after all is the theme of Pentacles--finances, home, security, career, hard work. Though he is an apprentice, you do not see his mentor. It is because the card emphasizes personal power through hard work, self-discovery, and education. So, though this card is about apprenticeship, it isn't about searching for a teacher, per se. I want to emphasize that concept, because there are cards that do recommend you find a teacher--the Hermit, for example. The Three of Pentacles is about finding a benefactor (financial partner). This is about honing your skills. Working hard, mastering your craft, so to speak. I pulled this card often in the months before I launched my business. So at that time I did a ton of free readings and crystal healings, figuring out where my strengths lay, how to work with people, etc. That was me honing my craft.

I want to talk about three Pentacles that people often conflate. I talked about them above a bit, but let's look at them together. The Three, the Seven and the Eight. The Three of Pentacles is the card of the Artisan. This is someone on their soul path, creating art or rather his job is based on his unique skills. It doesn't have to be art, music, or writing, but often is. The benefactor plays a role in his work, after all, he works on commission. So this is often about financial partnership. The monk represents the blessings of a Higher Power, so it is soul work, often. Something the artisan sees as his soul path. This work is technically, spiritually and financially fulfilling. (The three in this card.) The Seven of Pentacles is a card of impatience that fulfillment hasn't come yet. So, it also is about hard work, but almost that frustrating toiling on hard work. I have pulled this when someone is in the last stages of their phD, for example, or in a position in their job where they aren't being promoted. There is a feeling of dissatisfaction, frustration, impatience here. The fruits are growing on the vine, but they are either not enough, or not ripe yet. The Eight is also about hard work, but the Apprentice knows his fruits are of his own creation, and right there. There isn't a sense of frustration here, just hard work and learning. So compared to the Seven--the Eight is a spiritually balanced card, while the Seven is one of imbalance. 

I hope that helps. I often go where my brain (or Spirit) leads me on these blog posts, so maybe I was the only one who confused these cards when I was learning, but I think it is useful to look at the cards of the same suit together, or the same number. I think if I make it through the Tarot, I will begin to do that on this blog, looking at numerology, or the suits together. We can learn a lot about themes that way. I also apologize for not writing last week, or my newsletters. I'll be back to my usual schedule this week. Again, any questions or topics you would like discussed, please feel free to write them in the comments.

tarot of the week--ten of wands

Just as Aces kick off the suit with all the potential and energy of the suit, Tens complete the suit and carry it into the next phase of the Seeker's life. With the Cups, we see the happy family beginning their "happily every after" time. Swords, ten of which poke out of the back of a man in battle, the new beginning is one of freedom, transformation, whole soul change. With the Pentacles, we see legacy, estate, the passing on of wealth and money. These end cycles are represented by both the most positive images (literally rainbows and dancing, lush gardens and large homes) and the most disturbing one (a man killed with swords in his back). 

The Ten of Wands is one of those cards that people often dismiss with a casual, "Yep, I'm carrying a lot." But the Ten of Wands is so much more than that, deeper we go to uncover the truth here. The Suit of Wands holds the element of Fire--creativity, passion, ambition, enterprise and business. It is an action-oriented suit, one that really speaks to the fire in one's belly. It is charismatic, dynamic, inspiring. Or rather we are charmed by our projects, and we influence others to believe in us. There is a competition here underlying these cards. That is part of the suit of Fire, ask any Leo, Aries or Sagittarius about that wild competitive streak in them. There is vision here, drive, self-motivation. We start businesses under the Ace of Wands, and in the Ten we see the business grow and change.

So, imagine that your Seeker, or you, is watching their inspiration grow through the Wands. Ace is the melding of Divine inspiration, passion and creativity to begin the journey to starting your business. At the Two, you begin achieving, understanding your personal power. In the Three, you contemplate expansion, taking stock. In the Four, there is celebration. In the Five, you have minor competition and struggles. In the Six, you have overcome those struggles for victory. The Seven holds more defense, but you have the upper hand. After all, you have traveled through this far, and you know how your business should be run. In the Eight, all the blockages are removed from the Seven and Five, and it is full speed ahead. The Wands land in the Nine, and we stand at the ready--exhausted from the battles, but not quite having won the war. In the Ten, we see a man carrying ten wands on his back, trudging to town. His wands have sprouted fruit, and he is going to sell the fruits of his labor.

So, where is the growth here? The completion? This is the time when the Seeker needs to expand again and possibly hire some help. We often nod when we get this. It makes sense. We are carrying burdens for our family, for work, for friends, and it is too much to juggle and walk. We do this for success, but what Tarot warns us in this card is that our independence and self-reliance can only get us so far. We may experience success, but we need to share our burdens and hard work to grow into the next phase. So, this is the new phase--delegating.

There is much to acknowledge here as a positive. The sky is clear, the wands have leaves, and the man is moving forward. He keeps going. When the Ten is pulled, you can be sure the person sitting in front of you is working hard, but it can mean he has too much on his plate. When someone owns a business, I see this card as hiring a new person, or delegating to someone who already works there. Often this card comes when someone is a primary caregiver for an elderly or infirm relative. I often suggest self-care, and asking for help, even hiring help. In physical terms, this card sometimes comes with backaches, neck aches, spinal issues.

You can read many interpretations of this card, and most of them are negative, or rather have this warning of failure in the offing. This is not my feeling of this card at all. I see it as a warning, but not of outright failure...the build-up and suit of Wands doesn't lend itself to that interpretation. There is hard work, inspiration, passion, and drive here. In the Ten, the passion gets worn down by hard work, but it is not extinguished. But because of the high standards of Fire signs and the element of Wands, asking for help can be seen a kind of personal failure. It is a fear of vulnerability. Fire signs needs to ask for help. Nearly across the board you can assume that about a Fire sign. They bear their own burdens, secrets, and self-imposed standards. It is difficult for them to rely on others, to trust, or to turn to others for help in any area of their life. The most successful Fire signs are those who master the art of delegation, rely on others and ask for help. That is what this card is about, and it is a lesson for us all.

Wands are leaders and visionaries. They own businesses, create massive projects, (or small ones). They teach others innovative solutions. They run the show. They bring people together, and inspire them. This is their gift. This card asks you to do what you do best, which is create these amazing works and businesses. Let someone answer the phones and carry the large sticks, sell the wares. Let them carry the burden of the daily toil. It is time to free yourself to start new businesses. Put down the bundle and start a new fire.

mercury retrograde

Since today (February 6, 2014) kicks off a three-week Mercury Retrograde period, I decided to cover some stones to help you deal with the unnerving effects of this period. 

What is Mercury Retrograde? It is actually a giant planetary optical illusion. All planets revolve around the Sun, but there are times when it appears from Earth, because of our motion around the Sun, that a planet will stop and go backwards, then stop again and move forward, or go direct. This isn't happening at all. It is physics. Think of when you are at a stop light, and are rolling forward very slowly, and the car next to you is moving more slowly than even you, it actually can appear that the other car is rolling backward. We are actually overtaking Mercury on the orbital highway, so to speak, so this is why Mercury seems to move backward. All planets move around the Sun in orbits, but because Earth perceives this retrograde, astrologers believe it affects us Earthlings. By the way, this happens to all planets from our point of view on planet Earth.  In the beginning of 2014, Venus went Retrograde, and astrologers suggested that we not get any new hairstyles, or changes in our appearance. "No plastic surgery!" they warned, since Venus rules appearances and beauty. Mercury is perhaps the most well-known retrograde, because it happens three times a year, and is closest to the Sun. 

Mercury is the messenger God in Ancient Greek mythology, and so the planet rules communications--electronic, telephone and in person communication. It affects electronics, or those things that deliver messages (messengers). So computers go on the fritz, phones drop in toilets. Last summer, my dishwasher had a wee clog, and my husband pulled it out to fix it, lost a little itty bitty screw, and we had to buy a whole new dishwasher (apparently, they don't sell just the screw. Go figure). Mercury Retrograde warns not to sign any contracts. I signed our house contract during the last Mercury Retrograde in November, and I can attest that it was a nightmare (still is a nightmare). We have confusions, misunderstandings, arguments, taking things personally...oy. So, any texts, emails or communications you receive during this time, breathe. Apply the Four Agreements--be impeccable with your word. Don't take anything personally. Don't assume. Do your best.

One of my mentors and favorite teachers Athena from Sage Goddess actually enjoys Mercury Retrograde. Read her wonderful article on it. I wouldn't exactly say I enjoy it, but I have learned the hard way to respect the power of Mercury Retrograde, and work with the energy through crystal healing. It truly is a time to slow down. Do your homework on any project. We don't make decisions impulsively in Mercury Retrograde. We plod along, which ultimately serves our Highest Good. It can be a wonderful period of reflection, self-care and bear medicine.

I would avoid making plans during this period. As they say, "We plan, and God laughs." This is particularly true during Mercury Retrograde, so just bow out politely, or be non-committal. If you don't want to say, "It's Mercury Retrograde! ARE YOU NUTS?!?" Just say that you are taking time for yourself right now. There is nothing wrong with that. You deserve time alone. My suggestion, if you are interested in Astrology and the moon cycles, is also to see how this Retrograde period is interacting with the rest of the sky. This piece describes the way Mercury Retrograde manifests in each sign. This cycle we are in Aquarius (until the 18th of February) and then in Pisces for a few days is about freedom and independence and intellectual battles. This does help tailor our stones too.

But let's get a base line for what stones to use in a Mercury Retrograde. Firstly, we want to use some grounding stones to help us focus on our connection with Mother Earth and our inner Higher Selves. Any Retrograde period can make us feel turned around, which causes us to feel ungrounded. For this, I suggest Hematite + Pyrite as a combination. In the last few months, I have felt strongly that these two metallic stones work in harmony as a kind of Yin Yang grounding couple, actually functioning as two sides of the plug, so to speak, into Mother Earth. Working with Hematite alone can be very beneficial as well. You don't have to have everything I suggest to make this work, just use what you have and improvise. If I say grounding stone, and you only have obsidian, use it! I also love Smoky Quartz for this time period, and a Smoky Citrine is even better. Smoky Quartz is a wonderful enhancer and ally when working with other stones, so I love seeing this in a grid with other other Mercury Retrograde stones. I always suggest Black Tourmaline for an EMF absorber,and so consider it during this time period when electronics go haywire!

Because Mercury Retrograde rules communication, it only stands to reason that we use Throat Chakra stones like Aquamarine, Blue Lace Agate, Hemimorphite, Amazonite, and my favorite for Mercury Retrograde is Fluorite, often called the stone of the student. It really helps with clarity and understanding. 

So, how do we work with these stones in a Mercury Retrograde period? We can carry some grounding stones with communication stones in a little mojo bag. I don't like to carry more than three stones at one time. So maybe Hematite, Smoky Quartz and Aquamarine in a mojo bag. Or Blue Lace Agate, Smoky Quartz and Ametrine. You can wear some grounding jewelry. I was actually thinking of creating some Mercury Retrograde earrings to wear during this period! But wearing some gemstone bracelets like Hematite, or Black Tourmaline with an Amazonite, might be a wonderful way to work with these stones' energies. You can sleep with them, carry them in your pocket, bathe with them, drink them in a gem water (be sure to check a toxic stone list before doing this. Black Tourmaline is not recommended for waters.) My favorite way to work with stones during  a time period is to create a grid that holds the energy and counteracts some of the effects of Mercury Retrograde. 

An easy and helpful grid for ANY time of the year, but particularly Mercury Retrograde, is a grounding grid. I suggest this grid for businesses where lots of energies are coming and going or for time periods that are chaotic, like moving house, or job changes. 

You can also connect this grid to a larger room or house grid by connecting the stones. I used a center stone of Black Tourmaline on a flower of life grid cloth for lower chakras. Radiating from the center are six spokes of black tourmaline rods into a stone, then the other six spokes are Black Obsidian Arrowheads pointing INTO the center of the grid. We are directing energy within, rather than outward. This is important when you want to ground your energy. Out from the Arrowheads are Hematite and Pyrite like the two holders of the reigns of that energy. it is a simple and easy grid. I also sage when doing this grid and sometimes do a Shamanic Journey to have guidance on what stones or animals to use in grounding. I also have this bust of my Spirit Guide that I use to include him in my work during this time period of Mercury Retrograde. I don't think communication mix-ups happen to you and your guides during Mercury Retrograde.

I also love working with the Medicine Wheel grids for grounding and spiritual connection to ancestor work, Mother Earth and all living beings. This would be a wonderful grid for the Mercury Retrograde period.

This is a large Medicine Wheel grid I put together for meditation work I was performing for grieving mothers.

This grid is as ancient as the people, I believe in my heart of hearts. It is aligned on to magnetic North, and contains a symbol of all the elements. It is truly a working altar, so to speak, and a connector to all the Elements and Mother Earth. Starting East, the direction of Air, dawn, new beginnings, I used Citrine, a feather, sacred tobacco as the herbal offering, and incense; South, direction of Fire, passion and completion, I used Red Jasper, sage as the sacred offering; in the West, the direction of Water, reflection, emotions and contemplation, I used Black Obsidian Arrowheads, this time pointing outward, the sacred offering of Cedar, a bowl of water, and a shell; in the North, the direction of Earth, I used Clear Quartz (though Howlite is traditional, as well as Snowy Quartz), the sacred offering of Sweetgrass, and Wood. I actually used Clear Quartz in the center, and Selenite for the spokes and direction markers.

This next grid I designed specifically for Mercury Retrograde:

This grid's center is a Fluorite pillar. I put a mirror underneath the Fluorite to amplify its energy, radiating out are six double terminated clear quartz crystals with Amazonite, and Fluorite again around the edge. Because I only had four Fluorite tumblies, I used two larger magenta Fluorite pieces on the North/South axis on this grid. The Octahedron is particularly special to me. On the other spokes around the outer edge are Hematite, and inner grid are Pyrite. 

Play. Use your intuition. Work with different crystals that are special to you. Whatever you do, share your grids and crystals here. I'd love to see what you are doing for Mercury Retrograde.

tarot of the week--the hermit

If we learn to open our hearts, anyone, including the people who drive us crazy, can be our teacher. ― Pema Chödrön

So often I get this glimpse into the Card of the Week in readings I do the days before I write. The Hermit was pulled in one card readings this week, and I felt so strongly I was going to be writing about him today.

The solitary figure on the Hermit remains one of the most mysterious and recognizable archetypes of the Tarot--the Wise Man. He isolates, go into seclusion for Spiritual Awakening. Siddharta joined a good of ascetics to find enlightenment. Christian monks join a silent orders and seclude in a monastery. Some see this figure as the Magician mid-quest, finding answers to the mysteries of the Elements, the Universe, and the Infinite. Others see him as Merlin coming out of his cave, or Moses coming back from the Mountain with his tablets.

Wisdom. Knowledge. Intuition. Spiritual connection. Guides. Teachers. This card represents all that embodies the spiritual quest. But let's take a deeper look at this card. Firstly, the number of the Hermit is IX--nine, the number of completion. So, a phase of this Hermit's searching has come to an end. Whether it is the solitude that ends, or the period of teaching is up to you as the Reader. We often can tell this by the other cards around this card, or we get a kind of clairsentience about it. Most often than not, I find this is about the former.

And as they say, "It is easy to be a Holy Man on top of a mountain." What that means is that connecting with Spirit and the Divine when we are cut off from the distractions and irritants of life is easy. We absorb and learn through meditation, prayer, books, reading, writing, opening to Spirit, but it is when we interact with other messy, imperfect, complicated humans that our true spirituality rises out of us. That is how we measure our spiritual wellness. The Hermit completes his cycle of Solitude. He has learned all he can learn alone in the woods or on the mountain. He must now find a teacher, a community. So much of this card is about humility.

What? You say...humility? Why you just said this is about the Hermit's wisdom?

That's right. Wisdom is having the humility to find a teacher despite your considerable knowledge. This card might say at the bottom, "Listen more than speak today." Or as my friend's grandmother used to say, "Just because you know it, doesn't mean you have to say it." We embrace the curiosity of our Higher Self, Guides, Angels and Masters who are always curious about this human experience. When our anger flares up, our Guides don't say, "Stop being angry." Rather they say, "Get curious about this anger. What is still rising in your attachments? Where are you afraid? Why are you afraid?" 

I love Pema Chodron's quote above, because it epitomizes this card. We cannot always assume our teachers are there to teach us how to do things. Sometimes they are there to teach us how not to do things. Sometimes they provoke a resentment, which teaches us about where we need work. Or we see resistance rise up in us, or our spiritual principles challenged in a way that makes us hot, uncomfortable, unsure...these are all ways of teaching and learning, if we allow ourself to get curious about ourselves. The Hermit is ultimately curious about himself and his Spiritual practice and beliefs. He is ready to challenge them. He is ready to put them to the test. Do they work in real life? Pema Chodron has this wonderful lesson about this very concept called Troublemakers.

So much of the Major Arcana is about our spiritual condition, and no card epitomizes this journey more than the Hermit. It is card of the Seeker, the person on a quest for some empirical truth. The Quest is often the only truth there is. So, I pull this card when my client is  on the crossroads--either they've been working with a teacher and are ready for their own Vision Quest, or time of Solitude, or the opposite--they've been learning at home alone and need to find a mentor or teacher of some kind. This also comes up when someone is ready to go back to school for more education, or begins a spiritual journey. Most often than not, I get this for people who are intuitive who need a mentor or guide to open fully to Spirit. 

What I adore about the Hermit remains this concept of humility and spiritual growth. Funnily, this is my life card, and it is no surprise to me, honestly. I have been spiritually seeking since Catechism, and my life has been marked by my spiritual lessons and teachers. Though the underlying theme of the Hermit is our connection to the Divine, to Spirit, to our own Higher Self, this connection comes out in the humility to allow yourself to be teachable. Every. Single. Person. is a teacher, if we allow them to be. If our Higher Self had a card, this would be it. This Higher Self knows that the expression of enlightenment is service to mankind. By service, I mean, we teach and learn and show by example. the power of compassion and love in all our interaction with others can be the most influential spiritual lesson of their life.

Reversed, this card might mean that humility is lacking in your Spiritual health. You might have wisdom, but are not applying it, or living by your morals or principles. It can also mean that you are lacking connection to your spiritual beliefs and need to reconnect with your Higher Self. A great affirmation for this card is:

I embrace my beginner's mind and allow myself to remain teachable from my guides, angels and all people I encounter.