If Your Religion... Part 1

This has been brewing for a fair bit now, so I'm just going to set it down.

If your religion makes you scared...you're doing it wrong.

Case in point, a friend of mine wanted some medical attention, and had to go to a free clinic. They didn't do much but what she had already done, but then gave her some "information". One would think they'd give her info about her medical question...but no, what she got instead was Christian propaganda pamphlets.

I have a somewhat secret fascination with them, and have a few really good ones I've collected. I read them as two people...one is the long term pagan that laughs behind her hand, "ROFL...that's awesome! They're really stupid!" The other is the person who could be affected by these words, and more often than not comes away as unsatisfied with their proposed answers as I was the twenty or so years ago when I discovered I wasn't Catholic.

Of these two that my friend gave to me, one was pretty innocuous. "Is Witchcraft the Way?" tells the tale of a nice woman who was a witch for many years (point in their favor...she was a nice, kind woman who was just looking for spiritual meaning. Not some psycho, blood sacrificing, nut job or emo, dark spirit raising, goth wannabe that's usually in these anecdotal accounts), then she started having problems with bad spirits and dark energy (you know...the stuff the rest of us deal with all the time, right? *rolls eyes*), and eventually a very nice Christian man told her "the truth" and she's ok now, cuz she's Christian.

Meh...whatever. Oh, but I did like the part where she's told that the spirits of the elements were actually devils in disguise. How tricksy of them...

Anyway...it was the second one...that was the treasure trove find. This nasty piece of work was called, "First Six Days in Hell", and is supposedly a literal account, extrapolated from Biblical references on what it's going to be like for you when you go to Hell.

And it assumed you would...so you'd better get ready with this handy guide. It was horrifying, my morbid fascination with these things was really stretched with this one...the burning torture that was described, along with the deep, soul crushing inevitability of it, it was truly a piece of work.

Of course, if you just "accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior" you can escape going to Hell and never experience what was described.

My question becomes, "Who wants followers that are there out of abject terror?" This isn't just fear that they're trying to evoke. This is deeper, primal..."if these are just the first six days, imagine what an eternity would be like"...some of these images are the stuff that night terrors are made from.

No thank you...I'm good.

How is this acceptable? How is this ok to do? In what sense of morality is it acceptable to terrify people into following a god that is supposedly all good? Jesus gave us one commandment, "Love one another as I have loved you." Where is the love in that pamphlet? Really?

I find this sort of thing irresponsible, and hope that most people just throw it in the trash, not reading it without the philosophical and spiritual protections that I and most of my friends have.

It's not enough to be good because you're afraid of punishment. One should be good, because it is the right thing to do. Pamphlets like this don't help create good Christians, they create fearful people without an inner core of ethics. Sometimes they're more damaging than those who do wrong because they want to...at least you can predict their behavior.

I know it's not my usual blog fare, but I hope you've made it this far and at least got something to think about. I'm not condemning Christianity as a whole. There is beauty and grace in the religion and if being Christian helps you to be happy and good, then I celebrate that. No, it's the desperate fear mongers that I am pointing my finger at hoping that one day they are forced to wake up and understand that using fear doesn't attract good followers, just other fearful people.

I choose another way. And so should you, whatever it may be.

Till next time, be well,
Red

Stonewise: Picasso Stone

So I know this is way late. I apologize, and blame my lack of motivation and apparent inability to get out of a warm, snuggly bed. In any case, I'm here today, and will endeavor to have next week's post up on the proper day.

Anyroad, today we're looking at Picasso Stone, sometimes called Picasso Jasper, Picasso Marble or Picture Jasper. It's an unusual stone, without a lot of folklore attached to it, but I love the deep greys it can come in, so let's see what we can, shall we?

Ardriana says:

An obvious grounding stone, which aids general healing. Brings out hidden talents and gifts. Invites total recall of dreams to answer life's mysteries. Inspires self-control and respect. Picasso Stone assists one to understand one's destiny by meditating on the patterns in the stone. It also transforms intuition into intellectual action. Reduces anxiety and stress.

How I use it my jewelry...as a relative new comer to the magickal world, it's sometimes difficult to find uses for this interesting stone. However, while searching for stones to make up my Air bracelet:

(ha! It's a good week when I fit in some shameless self promotion. ^.~)

...*ahem* oh yeah, while researching stones that resonate with the element of Air (*not* easy mind you), I discovered, with Ardriana's help, that Picasso Stone has been linked to labyrinth studies, the dark lines in the stone acting as a meditation tool similar to the pattern created in labyrinths.

How cool is that? And Picasso Stone comes in some of my favorite grey colors (you might have noticed this in my blog layout heh...). It's a quiet stone, which I'm still discovering, but I think it's proven itself to be particularly powerful when wanting to promote self awareness (that doesn't devolve into self centeredness), and mental acuity.

I don't own a lot of Picasso Stone, just a few pieces, since it's taken me a fair bit to understand the attraction, but that won't stop me in the future!

And now you know a bit more why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Stonewise: Garnet

Since today's Shop Item of the Day is the Kindred Bracelet (oh how the mighty have fallen into shameless self promotion...ok, so maybe I wasn't mighty...)...anyway, I figured that I'd focus on garnets for today's Stonewise.

So first a quick look at what Ardriana Cahill says:

Garnet is actually a group of minerals. Almandine has the most colors. Pyrope is usually red. Spessartine, orange red or browns, combined they are Malaya. Phodolite is purplish red or pink. The rare Uvarovite is dark green. These are just a few. Garnet got its name from granatum, the pomegranate.

Folklore: Albertus Magnus related this stone to blood magick. In the matriarchal age, it was sacred to the Goddess Isis, and was believed to be solidified drops of her blood. Garnet was associated with the Goddess Persephone and thus, the afterlife.

Magick: Witches give garnets to friends and family as the Karma Stone. Given to kindred, it insures safe passage to the Summerland and makes sure that loved ones will meet in the next life. Carry garnets to protect travelers against accidents and after dark. Garnet is the stone of passionate love and desire. Enhances bodily strength, endurance, and heightens sexual awareness.

Ancient Warning: a stolen garnet brings catastrophe on the thief until it is returned.

How I use it in my jewelry...Well, first and foremost I use it as the "kindred" stone. Most of my family has a network of garnet giving, ensuring that we'll all meet up next time too (we're Irish...any excuse for a party!).

I grew up thinking that garnets were "poor mans rubies and emeralds", but I love how deep a blood red it is, and generally prefer it to rubies. The green is usually deeper than emeralds too. Garnets are precious stones, so finding them in bead form is a little difficult. I use them sparingly, not because I don't like them, but because they are expensive.

When I was younger, and just started going to The New Pioneer to buy stones, I would play in the little stone box looking for chips of garnet and peridot. These pieces are tiny, and sometimes I would struggle to tell the garnets from the amethysts, because of how purple they are (I'm pretty good at telling them apart now, hehe). I still have those chips, and count myself lucky to have them even though the large tumbled faceted pieces (like in the pic above) have gotten more common.

I don't have many pieces of garnet, but those that I do have are special to me for one reason or another. I carry one in my pocket that I received from a beloved sister stone witch, my best friends have them from me...when we claim someone, we don't tend to let them go.

How you know a little more about why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Stonewise: Aventurine

Aventurine is often called the abundance stone, so I thought it was appropriate to have a look at this beautiful green stone the day before Thanksgiving.

First let's have a look at what Ardriana has to say shall we?

Aventurine is made of tightly packed quartz which contains crystals of chrome rich mica that gives the stone a metallic iridescence. Aventurine has been confused with Amazonite and Jade.

Folklore: Aventurine was revered by the ancient Tibetans. They used it to represent the "eyes" in sacred statues, thus symbolizing increased divinatory powers. Once called the "Stone of Heaven".

Magick: A good fortune stone for health, money and business success. It suggests a springtime regeneration. Speeds general healing. Increases perception and intelligence while it stimulates creativity.

How I use it in my jewelry...Aventurine is an interesting stone to look at because it has translucent properties though it isn't always translucent. Sometimes it looks like a scattering of crystals caught under a quartz glaze, with the odd streak of metal shimmering through it. Other times it's more dense, a deep green, like a primeval forest. Pale green Aventurine sometimes has streaks of darker crystals running through it. Each color variation has it's own character and beauty to it and I can get lost looking inside a piece.

Most of the time my magick intuition just uses stones based on their colors...red for strength, blue for peace, and green for healing. Aventurine is no exception, as I tend to use it in my healing jewelry, beautifully complimenting the other green stones I use like Moss Agate or Malachite (ahh...shameless self-promotion anyone?).

Aventurine can be a quiet stone that is sometimes overlooked next to some of its flashier brethren. One has to really delve to find the treasure in it, but once found, you can't miss it again. I look forward to discovering and learning more about blue and peach Aventurine, and figuring out how I can use it in new designs down the road.

And now you know a little more of why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Stonewise: Green Moss Agate

This week's Stonewise takes a look at Moss Agate. There are so many types of agate that to do a post just on them would take *way* to long...so we'll just start here.

Ardriana's stone book says...

Moss Agate is translucent with fern patterns and white and/or yellow spots that form miniature forest scenes. Named after the Arabian seaport, it was known to them as Mocha Stone.

Folklore: Legend held that it helped open communication with unseen spirits.

Magick: With its connection with spirits and the Fey, this stone is said to lead you to hidden treasures. Discerns the truth, accepts circumstances, balances emotions and heals the heart. Wonderful stone to increase self-esteem and wear to draw friends. Spend a few minutes identifying the mossy forms inside and understand why it is also an imagination stone.

How I use it in my jewelry...Sometimes I look at a stone for the first time and the nature of its magick is perfectly clear to me, even if it's something that no one else has said. For me, moss agate is a deep earth stone, which means deep healing. It's the center piece of my Woman's Moontime bracelet and my Healing necklace. (It's nice to see that some of my intuition can be worked into established practice...balancing emotions during a moontime can be very difficult...)

This stone fascinates me. It looks like someone took a piece of moss and suspended it in crystal even though there's no green matter in the stone at all. Some could ask if the way I use the stone would work at all, seeing as the stone isn't moss. But that's what it *looks* like, and how I feel when I see it...sympathetic magick is about honing your will to do your bidding, so forcing yourself to be aware that it's not moss when that's what it looks like is counter productive, no?

When I first started collecting stones I was all about quartz, the clearer the better. I loved the perfect piece of ice that I could roll through my fingers. The perfect black piece of obsidian. The perfect shiny blob of hematite. Moss agate was one of the first stones that taught me the beauty of imperfection. It was interesting because each piece was completely different and they were still beautiful. There's a part of me that still loves those perfect pieces...but I've widened my definition and that makes so much more beautiful to me.

And that's a little bit of why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Friday Wrap Up

First off, I'd like to thank everyone who's posted a response to my blog. I appreciate your feedback, and I promise to continue trying to give you interesting content. And now on to your regularly scheduled blog post...

I still feel kinda sluggish from last weekend...how sad is that? The week seemed long without me getting much done.

However, I did get the Twilight set sent on to it's new home (it should be there today or tomorrow), I miss it. ^^;

It's interesting how I reacted to this set. Usually I start with an intention, look for the stones that will be the most potent for it from my stocks, or shop if I have to, then put the design together. This time I was given colors and had to start with the stones before I could come up with the design.

To be honest, at first I had no clue what I was going to do. This wasn't a combination I had even thought about, much less toyed with. Designing in my head is a new thing for me...I've grown up with stories of people in my family designing stuff in that corridor before sleep...part of me always envied that...

In any case, I struggled with this for several days before the fateful drive up to the Sekhmet Temple and saw the colors reflected in nature. It was a powerful moment, the complete answer came to me, not just the pattern of the stones, but the magickal properties of the design. Another new experience and one I hope to repeat.

I lived with the necklace for a couple weeks before the stones I ordered to finish the set arrived, and the more I had it, the more I liked it. I've only done one other piece where the stones are set in a gradient, my Sunset Anklet, and it's not a pattern that I think of first when designing.

Anyroad...then came the earrings. I fought with those are over two hours. First I couldn't decide on the pattern. Then it adjusting the chain lengths and getting all the wire loops done...reaming the large amethysts...I was very frustrated when I was done, but then I looked at them there on my workspace...and knew the work had been worth it. I love everything I put together, but there some designs that strike me, and those earrings are one of them. I hope they (and the rest of the set) serve long and well.

For the rest...well, I do have two new designs that I will try to have photoed this week, and a bracelet commission, which I'm excited about. I do get to do a little stone shopping this weekend too, so hopefully there will be another new design or three before the next wrap up post *crosses fingers*.

I hope you all have a fantastic Friday the 13th, and an even better weekend.

Till next time, be well,

Red

Stonewise: Carnelian

Today's Stonewise looks at Carnelian. This stone is quietly powerful in many ways and is a must have for any stone witch's collection.

First we look at some information from Ardriana Cahill's book of stones:

Carnelian is a red chalcedony colored by iron oxides. It is placed in the sun to change brown tints to red. The best carnelians is found in India.

Folklore: Carnelian gets its name from the Latin word carne, meaning flesh. Napoleon, while in Egypt, discovered the magick of the stone. Also called the Mecca stone, it was sacred to Moslems as Mohammed wore an engraved carnelian ring as a charm for a blessed afterlife.

Magick: The carnelian is the stone of the orator, promoting articulation, clarity of thought and eloquence (the ancient Greeks thought that if you could articulate clearly over the crash of the ocean with one under your tongue, you would be muse touched with eloquence). Increases courage, especially in the overly shy. Helps focus decision making. Used for carnal passions, sexuality, earthiness and the material world.

How I use it in my jewelry: Once I read about placing a carnelian under the tongue to promote eloquence, it has become one of the creativity stones for me. It's a central component to my Creativity bracelet.

Carnelians work with citrines and gold tiger's eye to promote creativity.

I love the glassy texture of the stone. There's always a translucence to it, even if you can't see through it. Orange is not one of my favorite colors, but I love the rich, vibrant color of the stone.

One year, while visiting The New Pioneer, the owner took a 20lb bag of tumbled carnelian pebbles and set it in front of me saying, "Go ahead and look through there." I could hardly believe my luck! First thing I did was stick both hands into the bag and just feel the energy of all those stones. I probably spent a half an hour picking out 20 or so pieces. I keep these in a box on my desk to help give me eloquence in my writing. Every once in a while I put them on a windowsill so they can soak up the light.

I can't say that it's one of my very favorites, but somehow I have a lot of them. Probably in the top 10 for most stones owned (the box full helped with that ^^). I think it's interesting that even though I don't have a special connection with the stone, it's so prevalent in my collection...seems that one or two always end up in my tray when I'm over at the Pioneer. Carnelian is powerful magickally for me as well, because of all the folklore behind it...people have been using this stone for thousands of years and the weight of that history is noticeable.

And now you know a little bit more of why I do what I do.

Till next time, be well,

Red