New Crystal friends

Yesterday I went shopping with M. to our local New Age Shop. I felt in the mood to look for one or two crystals as an addition to my Crystal Family. I do have quite a nice collection of crystals. Some tumbled, some rough and some bracelets and pendants  but just like collecting tarot decks, there is always room for another addition. 

A while ago I was so clumsy to break my Rose Quartz donut and I really missed having a smooth larger piece of Rose Quartz. It is my go to stone for Self Love.

The other crystal I've been  looking for was a Snowflake Obsidian. This is a crystal which is great for shadow work and balancing the darker en lighter aspects of yourself. This stone is softer and more gentle to work with than a Black Obsidian. 

It reminds me of the Goddess Holle, a Germanic Mother goddess who encompasses an all round image of the Feminine Divine: from Spring goddess to death goddess and everything in between. Her memory is  kept alive in the fairy tale of mother Holle who shakes her feather bed to let it snow on earth.

I did find both of these crystals which made me so very happy. Last night I let them sit on my altar in an Abalone shell with a few Citrine tumbled rocks and Clear Quartz chips to cleanse them . So today they are really mine and all ready to be making their first appearance on my blog.

I've found a lovely little wooden treasure chest where they fit in together perfectly. Our little gnome is taking his task to protect them very seriously.....

Apple blossoms and presents

For today no daily draw but instead I wanted to share some pictures of our apple tree, we’ve planted last Autumn and I also wanted to show the presents I’ve got yesterday.

Yesterday was a good day. Like the Page of  Swords, M. and I wanted to clear our heads and we went to a town nearby for some shopping J

We had discovered a beautiful New age shop where we could drool over the crystals, tarot decks, incenses, books etc. M had bought some nice things for herself and the sweetheart had found two perfect gifts for me too:

First she showed me a fragrant piece of wood. It was Palo Santo (Holy Wood). It was a lovely coincidence because yesterday I had seen this wood for the first time in a video from “Between traditions” where Avalon used it for cleansing her reading space. It smells so good. I haven't burned it yet but the wood itself smells lovely too. Then she showed me a bracelet of red garnet chips. I really love this deep red color a lot. I immediately fell in love with it. Its properties are: energy, willpower, passion en self confidence. That sounds a lot like a Queen of Wands bracelet to me. Isn't it strange; I‘ve seen so many beautiful things in that store and I couldn’t decide what to buy and she just picked out the two perfect presents for me

Following are the pictures of our apple tree. Slowly the blossoms have started to bloom. Now it is a coming and going of bees who will hopelfully pollinate them

This is promising for  a good harvest (apple pie! J)

My Goddess Altar

With this video I would like to share my altar for the Goddess that I've set up in my room. I've told you that this blog will also be a place for me to share my search for the Goddess and to write about my ever changing relationship with Her. This is much more difficult for me to write about in English than about other topics. Sometimes I don't even have words to describe my connection with Her in Dutch. But I'll give it a go.

For me at this time in my life, the Goddess is an indescribable force. She is too immense to comprehend so I commune with Her Aspects in deity form. I see Her in every goddess all over the world . I don't think it matters which deity you choose for every deity is a part of the Goddess. I don't think that even the earth mother is the all-embracing Goddess. Even she is a part of Her. Because it’s She who is behind every other deity.

In my point a view it doesn't matter how you honor Her as long as you honor Her with your best intentions. You can’t make mistakes in rituals or prayers. You can’t fail in Her eyes when you do your best. I believe the way we try to relate to her is more about us than about Her. She always relates to us; every moment of our life. We however still have to stop in our daily life and make a shift in awareness through meditation, prayer etc.

We often like to follow ancient lore, because that’s giving us the certainty we do everything right. And many aspects of the goddess have imbued the female archetypes. That’s why we don't honor for instance Freya for wisdom. It just doesn't feel right. But deep down I think it also doesn't really matter. Likewise any stones or herbs associated with any deity can be mixed up at random. That’s what I mean by you can’t make any mistakes. It is all about how we feel. And if we feel great and empowered then we can align with Her much more easily.

The divine

This is why you see goddesses of different pantheons on my altar: Isis, Bast, Hekate, and the earth mother. The old lady near the vase represents every old crone goddess. I also have sometimes representations there of Holda, Demeter, Tara and so forth. It variates by my feelings for Her and what aspect of Her I think I need to work with. The other items on my altar represent the elements (stones, shell, feathers and candles).  Also I have some symbols thereon (crystals, pumpkin, owl, book…) And there are always cards. I cannot imagine my altar without cards. Oracle or Tarot, it doesn't matter. I tend to choose the cards for my altar because they represent attitudes or situations I want to focus on.

My view is my own and I want to emphasize in no way  that my view is any better than anyone else’s. I would like to know very much how you experience God(dess) and how you've set up your altar.

I've got Presents!

This morning I drove my daughter to town. She had some shopping to do and it is was raining cats and dogs. The shop was nearby a new age store where I went to drool over some beautiful things they had in displayed. I thought it was time for a treat. So I bought myself a beautiful smooth Labradorite. The properties of this crystal suits me fine. It helps to hold on to your energy and don’t let it slip away in draining situations. It is a very protective stone and I am utterly in love with the iridescent surface. I’m carrying  it with me in my jeans pocket, so we can become best friends.

My new BFF

My daughter had decided to buy me a present too. That was a lovely surprise! When we had returned to our car, she gave me two beautiful wrapped packages: a gorgeous carved little box for burning Incense cones and two boxes of the finest incense of  “The Mothers Fragrances”.  We always burn incense of that brand. It has such a natural, soft smell.

Yay, I'm so happy!

Autumn is coming…..

Finally the temperature is dropping to normal for this time of year.

I am really an a fall/ winter person. When summer is almost over I begin to long for the indoor activities. The wonderful peace and quiet of my own living room, where I can read a book and enjoy a hot cup of coffee . I long for my long-sleeved shirts, for scarves and for socks and boots. Lots of earthy colored candles  can be lit again…. .

Yesterday I have pulled out my Watercolor supplies It has been too long since I have played with them. Yes that is the main issue: dare to Play. Don't be scared if it is not going to good enough. It doesn't have to become a  beautiful painting on the wall. Just play. I recently had bought some small books in a local  thrift store about how to make watercolor paintings. One was about making flowers. So I made a flower and It felt so relaxing to copy this flower right out of the book  with the watery paint on my paper. Just one flower, nothing more. It was fun to do and I am sure I will play again.