When things get tough…

With all the intense and, at times, chaotic and challenging energy right now, I wanted to highlight a stone of COURAGE. So, naturally, I’m talking about CARNELIAN this week🔥😍

This crystal is overflowing with fiery and passionate energy! It pushes us to get up and go forth on our pursuits and goals, while abolishing feelings of stagnation, apathy, and fatigue.

It opens up our desires on a sensual and sexual level as well as in relation to what we want to manifest in our lives. It increases sex drive, and fertile energy.

Carnelian is also a stabilizing and protective stone.  It helps keep you grounded and encourages courage in the face of life’s many and varied challenges.

This can be an excellent stone for those who lead very hectic and perhaps chaotic lives. When surrounded by the stabilizing vibes of carnelian, you will be able to function on high energy levels.

In closing, with Mercury in retrograde for the next few weeks, Carnelian may be a great choice to work with for that extra kick of courage and endurance 🧡💎🧡

Harvest = Gratitude...

It’s almost as if the two words are the perfect marriage. In my mind, you can’t have one without the other... because without the appreciation, the harvest will not be abundant.

Here, in the northern hemisphere, we will celebrate the first harvest holiday, often called Lammas, on August 1st. Some start their celebrations on the eve of July 31st and then continue on through August 1st.

The word Lammas means loaf mass or sometimes feast of bread. The first harvest of wheat, barley, and rye begin and thus the bread making abounds!

This is a time to give thanks~ thanks for all the blessings and opportunities that we have received. It’s a time to open our hearts and let our appreciation and love flow through and out so that we can beam that nourishing gratitude energy into all of creation. This intentional act will then, in turn, radiate that positivity back into us. It’s NATURAL MAGIC at its best!😍💫

It’s also a perfect time for house cleansing and blessing. I’ll be opening my windows and doors and working some good old fashioned rituals to bless my home and all within 🙏 Also, being big on food offerings, I’ll be sharing a nice plate of fruit, seeds, bread, and a huge dose of LOVE to the Earth 💖

Some of my favorite Lammas correspondences are…

~For the altar/sacred space: yellow and white candles, frankincense incense, summer flowers, and words written for gratitude.

~Appropriate Colors: yellow, orange, white, gold, and green.

~Foods: corn, wheat, rye, barley, berries, honey, wine, honey mead, and all kinds of breads.

~Activities: making corn dollies, games, outdoor sports and competitions, house blessings, gratitude rituals and meditations, baking, sharing food and drinks with loved ones and the earth.

How will you choose to honor this year’s first harvest?🌽❤️🌾💞

What happens when we choose to believe in ourselves..

It’s pretty intense to become aware that much, if not most, of our lives are a creation of what we believe. Yes, sometimes, things that happen and we have to accept that..but I’m talking about the rest of it.

What are we choosing for ourselves? Far too many of us wind up settling for the daily struggle of our usual routines. And on top of it, we tend to go through the days with our minds and actions full of self doubt and insecurity.

Why not change this? Why not break with that routine and create a new one. One the begins with actually believing in ourselves and our ability to transform.

But what does that look like? It’s easy to say but seems much harder to enact. Or is it? Perhaps it only appears hard because it’s more of an unknown. What’s familiar tends to be more comfortable. But transformation rarely happens within our comfort zones.

So we have to be willing to be flexible and step outside of those comfort zones. There’s really nothing to lose. If you don’t like it you can always go back to your old ways. But to never try will certainly lead to zero growth.

Small changes can affect large outcomes…remember that!

Start each day by stating your intention for that day. Say it aloud 3 times. Say it in the mirror if you’d like. Then close your eyes and feel it. Allow yourself to imagine what it feels like. Then smile 😊 it may feel silly but it will also have an affect on your mood and consequently , your day.

Take a different way to work. Break up the normal. Wear colors that you normally don’t. Say hello to a stranger or pay someone a compliment.

Make a list, once a week, of at least 3 things that you want to do or achieve that week ~ this could be simple things or more complex or a little of both.

Maybe your list looks like…

1. Have lunch outside

2. Exercise 3 times

3. Spend time with a friend

Or this..

1. Start a journal

2. Organize clothes

3. Meditate 10 minutes a day

Or even…

1. Cook something new

2. Read 20 minutes a day

3. Walk barefoot in the grass to ground and recharge

You get the idea.. it can be whatever you wish!💫

But the result is the same~ belief in ourselves will grow🌹when we set intentions and follow them through, it fills us with confidence and a sense of purpose and power. And the more we believe in ourselves, the more we can be able to change and create our lives in a way that suits us and our desires best. Give it a try, there’s nothing to lose and EVERYTHING to gain🔥