Saying Goodbye to a Home

The Moon + Stone was featured on ApartmentGuide’s Saying Goodbye to a Home article. Check out the blog article here!

Moving Out and Moving On: Best Tips on Saying Goodbye to a Home, by Darby Mulligan on Apartment Guide, July 18, 2024

It is always fun to be interviewed about your approach and how to integrate Earth Medicine, shamanic approaches, and ritual into your daily life. This is my passion and my life’s work. Making the everyday sacred.Some friends are also featured in that piece, including one of my favorite crystal vendors Exquisite Crystals’ John VanRees Jr.

Leaving a home is like leaving a trusted friend, and there are some great tips and ideas on how to approach moving out of a home.

When I advise my clients during the incredibly stressful time of moving space, I try to help them find a way to make packing and moving sacred. When stressed, we sometimes forget to take moments to breathe and create space to honor.  Whether that is doing a release ceremony before you officially move out, journaling and setting intentions, setting an alarm every hour to sit and thank your home for keeping you warm, safe, or protected, or creating a cleaning and clearing ritual, you can take a moment to honor and express gratitude around how this home served your Spirit, what you are ready to release, and what you want to call into your new home.

We can pack up and leave a space, but we always take our emotional baggage. A great way to process and release is combination of journaling and ritual. Journal questions:

1. Tell the story of your life during your stay in this home—remember the joys, successes, challenges, and energy this space gave you. 

2. What did you learn while living in this space?

3. What are you ready to release emotionally, mentally, or spiritually?

4. What energy do you want to call into your new space?

Through this process, you can identify some things you are ready to release—maybe it is releasing fear, or stuckness. Then identify what you are calling in—if you are releasing fear of change, then maybe you are calling a sense of adventure and courage to be authentically you. Write out releases on paper. Some people like to use a little rosemary, lavender, tobacco or other herb on the paper, and tuck it into a little package. Take it outside and put it on a burn-proof plate or in a fire pit and burn. You can watch the wind carry the prayers of release to the four corners of the earth.

If you want to incorporate this into a cleansing ritual, you can take a bit of ash,  mix with lavender, salt (Himalyan sea salt is nice, but you can use any salt, even table salt), and spread on the floor before you sweep and clean your space. Open windows if you can. Do this work mindfully, Visualize the energy here, the challenges, the experiences and items you identified for release, being swept away. Always sweep toward an outside door. You can use a dustpan, or sweep outside if it is acceptable. Just take the dirt and detritus outside to bury or put into a trash can away from your stuff.

 Some great stone medicine allies for moving house are:

Citrine: Helps selling your home. Put a small citrine grid in a main living space. Even a piece in a central location can attract that incredible abundance energy, sunshiney feel and warmth you need to attract financial abundance to your life. I am partial to Congo Citrine and the Smoky Citrines from the Congo are a perfect addition to moving home, as they ground and attract abundance.

Carnelian: Bringing the energy since the beginning of time! Carnelian is a great ally for getting some energy to do the dang work of packing, cleaning, cleansing, plus it just brings so much joy and creative energy, what else do you need? Put it in your pocket and buzz around like you drank some espresso. I actually do put it in water when I need that extra oomph to get shizzle down.

Black Tourmaline: Helps with grounding and clearing as you make space for change. If it is on your person, it is like having a forcefield against other people’s stress and tension. I also love gridding my home in BT for extra protection when all kinds of people are walking through.

Lepidolite: Stress can really take its toll, so using lepidolite can help de-stress, rest, recuperate, and come at things with a new peace. During your packing breaks, place it on the heart or third eye, and rest or nap. Wake up with a new perspective. I also love it for tension headaches.

Amethyst: Protective. Visioning. The stone of acceptance, what is there not to love about our old fave?!?

Please check out the entire article at Apartment Guide.

October's Tarot Card, Earth Medicine + Sky Medicine

It's Eclipse season and the last of the two year cycle of Taurus-Scorpio Eclipses.

In this episode, Angie talks about the astrology of the month, pulls a Tarot card archetype for October (the Hermit), and the Earth Medicine allies—Plant Medicine of Mugwort and Damiana; Stone Medicine: Charoite, Moonstone + Hematite as well as work with the medicine of our Spirit Guide the Valkyrie and the Animal Guide of Phoenix

You can listen to this latest episode of Centered on Spotify (https://spotifyanchor-web.app.link/e/VXWTngQezDb) or wherever you listen to podcasts (Amazon, I Heart Radio, Apple Music, Pocketcasts, etc) or right on my website. Or just check out my blog.

Remember these earth medicine guides can be tools for this month, and help you do your thang! A medicine bundle is for sale in my shop, as always.

You can find October's Medicine Bundle here: https://themoonandstone.com/.../oct-2023-earth-medicine...

Remember I do collective Full Moon + New Moon readings for my membership group as well as a Guided Shamanic Journey with the animal medicine of the month. We also meet each Friday for circle, and you get free bonus of Q&As with me. Check out more information here:

https://themoonandstone.com/monthly-memberships

personal note about one-on-ones

July 1, 2023 - Personal Note:

Dearest clients,

I know some of you are searching around for how to schedule a one-on-one session with me. I have been struggling with some mental health challenges, including burn-out, chronic pain and fatigue, which has pushed me to make the difficult decision not to see clients for the time being. I will be focusing on self-care, mental health, and reconnecting with my spiritual practices.

I am still offering Live Q&As at the end of the month, and working on a number of creative projects, like writing a longer tarot book, publishing my oracle deck, writing a book about cycles with personal rituals, and creating more in-depth healing mentoring circles. I appreciate all your support of my personal practice. I will inform you via newsletter if I offer one-on-ones again. (I assume this will look different than it has in the past, like maybe one day a month in person and one online, or something, but this will not be offered again until at the very soonest, Winter 2023, but you never know how I will feel with some distance and healing time.)

Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Episode 3: the Minister & the Shaman with Reverend Howard West

I am so honored to share this conversation with my friend and spiritual advisor Rev. Howard West. Howard is an ordained Presbyterian Minister with at Masters of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and he specializes in geriatric spiritual care, dementia, end-of-life care and caregiver support. He has served for more than 15 years as Executive Director of Spiritual Life Services of Country Meadows Retirement Communities.  Howard is also a trained counselor with a Master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Pittsburgh with almost three decades of experience collaborating with self-help groups that address family and relationship problems, addiction/codependency, depression and other mental health issues.  Howard has a B.A. in East Asian Studies (China specialization) from Penn State University, is fluent in Mandarin Chinese and is a daily practitioner of Chinese martial arts including Taichi.  He also has a long-term interest in eastern spirituality and its impact on physical, emotional and spiritual health.  When Howard and I met, his first question to me was, “Are you a shaman?” From there, we became fast friends. Our spiritual connection runs deep, always coalescing in discussions about how much we actually have spiritually in common. I once said to him, we should really have a podcast called “the Minister and the Shaman” where we answer questions from people and I admit that when I started this podcast, I immediately thought of Howard and some of our amazing conversations about spirituality, religion, trauma, psychological issues, & emotional sobriety. I consider Howard to be one of the most important spiritual advisors, influences, and friends. We have birded together, as Howard has an uncanny ability to be observant and aware in nature. No mistake that he is an avid outdoorsman and nature photographer. His connection to the Earth and nature is profound and humbling. I’m so honored to have this as one of many conversations we will have together, so here is my conversation with Reverend Howard West.

I'll Follow You Podcast

Allison Felus, the Queen of Peaches, has a new podcast this year. She posted it on Instagram in the beginning of the year, and I started listening right away. The thing I love about it is Allison has just an easy way of dialogue. She lets people tell their story. She also interviews her people—people from all aspects of her life and her personality. She is a musician who works in publishing. She is an accomplished writer, and she is a psychic. She is also a crystal healer and energy healer. I just adore her. She is thinky and smart and spiritual and interesting. She wants to talk about art and writing and thinking and Spirit, but without all the bullshit. Like I said, she is one of my people too. I did this interview a little bit ago, before the shutdown. I don’t know why it didn’t occur to me to post this here. Mainly because this is a forgotten spot on my things I like to do. So, I am going to be sharing stuff here more often. As you probably figured out, Allison invited me to talk for an hour or so, and here it is. Please enjoy and check out Allison’s other podcasts too. They are endlessly fascinating!

eclipse reading

One of the gifts of Tarot is how versatile and beautifully flexible it can be with our own spiritual work. Tarot flows through our own journaling and work in whatever way we need it. I've been journaling my daily Tarot readings again, after taking a wee hiatus, and it reconnects me to my Higher Self, my guides and my daily self-care regimen. 

As a professional Tarot reader, I sometimes fall out of the habit of journaling. When I connect with Spirit for other people, I end up taking something away that I also needed to hear. And to be honest, sometimes I get burnt out from the cards. I know what they mean, so I'll throw a reading, then look at it. "Meh, yeah, I know. Quit harping on me, Tarot." But the truth is--Tarot has so much nuance and layers of meaning that this thought is just me being lazy. When I journal, I take a new deck, and use the book, or I go really in-depth with one card in relation to my question. 

The best part of this new journaling journey is that I have been creating so many NEW layouts for myself and others. This time, though, I am creating graphic layouts to help others go deeper with their cards. 

Of course, this new eclipse energy is kicking my ass. I mean, really. So much shadow has reemerged, and I realize now that this eclipse energy emerged for me in June, and has grown darker and deeper through this summer. We are at a culmination of release energy. I created an eclipse tarot layout at look at this shadow work. This layout can be used at any new moon, not just eclipse new moons. It is about going deeper with your own discomfort. One thing I always find confounding is this idea of Letting It Go (Elsa, I'm sorry!) I mean, sometimes I just look at someone with the head turned to ask, "UH, HOW?!?!" This layout has a card that asks just this question, "How do I let it go? How do I release?" I also ask, "What do I need to forgive?" Forgiveness work seems the key to this eclipse energy. Forgiving the self, forgiving others, forgiving our childhood, forgiving our bad decisions...so, that was my thought here. Forgiveness, shadow, release.

I hope you enjoy it and I would LOVE to hear your experience with this layout. And as a sidenote, I thought tomorrow that I might do a Live Reading on FB of this layout for the entire audience. I do offer distance readings, if you are interested in having a reading with me. Send me an email at angie@themoonandstone.com

measuring progress

My vulture medicine altar had been up for a good long while, and not only did the things I want to transmute and release come, but all kinds of challenging aspects of my personality I wasn't quite done with arose too. You know, those things that feel so intrinsically part of your personality that when someone challenges you about them, you rise up and say, "BUT IF I CHANGE THAT, I WON'T BE ME!" I have heard friends (and myself, perhaps) say that about drinking, smoking, eating chocolate, drinking coffee, about gossiping and cynicism, about anger. In my experience, that is the first thing I probably need to change. Bugger.

 The Vulture medicine is not for the faint of heart, but it was necessary. I don't always want to look at certain aspects of myself, let alone release them. Those old ways of being are comfortable, worn, tried and true. And yet they are serving a pattern that fires me up and makes me feel shame. Discomfort often precedes spiritual shifts.
 
I spent the day canning bushels of Asian Pears and tomatoes from my parent's garden and orchard. Farm work is often tedious and consuming. Like I said in my last newsletter, I have had some shizzle arise, and it has been occupying a large amount of brain power. In fact, I am shocked at how much it has consumed my thoughts, how distracted I am, and how often I have to call my friends and spiritual advisors just to discuss it. Mind you, it is not actually happening to me. I'm just thinking about it. As I peeled and boiled and milled and mashed, I thought about how much I don't want to think about it. The baby crawled around my feet, trying to eat dropped pieces of fruit, and the children danced by with fairy wings and giggles. All this life I have is so beautiful. There is so much I am grateful for. I want to release this damnable thinking. And then I would find myself thinking about that thing again. Then back to how I want to release the thinking and how it is not serving me and besides, I AM DONE WITH IT! But then that old thought, "But I have always worried about this stuff and this person. If I don't worry about it, will I actually be me?"
 
The Full Moon rose above the neighboring horse farm this evening.The moon illuminates the horses, then the fields of wildflowers and the barns, and then our bamboo grove, then our home. As it rises, we feel the light enter the room, like a person. We were putting the children to bed, and I heard a hawk screech. I yelled to my husband, "Check the chickens, I just heard a hawk." The chickens were fine. My husband laid out a blanket under the moon where we could sit out with a cup of tea and talk after everyone was asleep. As I steeped our tea, I looked at my altar. Suddenly, all the vulture medicine felt wrong. I needed different energy. I pulled one of Pixie's animal painting cards (at the right), and Hawk arose. AHA!! That was the screeching we both heard. Hawk wanted to come screeching into our lives right now, helping us with vision and intuition, focus and staying present.

Hawk medicine is also about healing the heart, Pixie wrote. My husband and I created the altar together. We choose two oracle cards and both were Quan Yin--compassion and let it go. We set an intention, and I verbalized that I want to release this issue I have been talking and thinking about all week. In fact, this week we celebrate nine years of beautiful marriage. This is what should be occupying my mind. And so my intention became clear after reading the Quan Yin oracle card from the Goddess Oracle deck, "Transform harshness into gentleness by refusing to see anything but the shining light that is within each person and situation."
 
Later, as we sat outside talking about our lives and our future and our relationship, I began to speak once more about the situation and stopped myself. "No," I said, "I'm done talking about that situation." My husband reassured me that I could talk about it. And I said again, "No, I don't want to talk about it." And he just nodded and said good.
 
People often ask me how to release things no longer serving. It is part of what I help people do in my moon cycle coaching circles, in crystal healing sessions and in my tarot readings. I often use ritual--burning slips of paper, burying items, giving away others. I create altars and crystal grids. I wear stones that help my intention. But the work of release isn't simply all of this facade of release. Our progress arises through the way we interact with the world. When we set intentions, we often don't receive immediate, monumental relief from our ways of being that no longer serve, we begin with gentle curiosity and a subtle awareness of our behaviors. We pay attention. We decide to change one conversation we could have, one way of criticizing the world, one moment where we are not present. Through those thousands of very small decisions, we create profound changes. That is the extraordinary release we are granted, if we do all that tedious and consuming work of paying exquisite attention to ourselves.