Fat And Thin People With Kidney Failure Experience Similar Benefits To Health And Longevity When They

The Addams Family (1991) dir. Barry Sonnenfeld

💎Crystal Grids💎

You may be wondering, what is the difference between using a crystal grid instead of individual stones/crystals?

Crystal grids create a unity of energies between the healing stones, and therefore amplify the intentions and desires you put into them. The powerful combination of crystals in a geometric pattern greatly strengthens your intention to manifest results.

What are crystal grids?

Crystal grids are crystals and stones set into patterns that harness the properties of the crystals and channel all of their energies. Just one crystal or stone can be an energy source, but combining multiple in a grid can help to direct all of their energies at once, and keep them thoroughly charged.

How do I make a crystal grid?

The actual setting up of a crystal grid is extremely easy. Most consist of a center crystal called a Focus Stone, which is the director of the stones/crystals/etc combined energy! Clear quartz is one of the greatest crystals to have in the center of a crystal grid. They help ground the grid and cleanse; quartz also contains the highest frequency to humans!

What can I use a crystal grid for?

As you pass your grid throughout the day, stop and take a few moments to let the energy flow through you. It’s a good idea to keep a permanent crystal grid in a sacred space, so that when you need the crystals, they are even more powerful! Each crystal grid can be intended for a different purpose or goal. Whatever your goal may be, they will hold and manifest your intentions!

How do I set up a crystal grid?

Decide on what goal or intention you are looking to manifest, and clearly announce or visualize it while setting it up. Do you want to bring more abundance into your life? Are you looking for help sleeping? Are you stressed every morning about work or school? You can create a crystal grid to manifest any goal!

Choose crystals and stones that are aligned with your intention. There are no wrong stones to use, so trust your intuition and don’t worry! An example of a crystal grid for love could include rose quartz, clear quartz, and fire agate.

Cleanse the energy of your space (using crystals, positive vibes or quick spells, sage, whatever works for you!).

Set up the your crystal grid layout, and place your center crystal/Focus Stone! Quartz is very good for this, and it is often suggested to have the center crystal be a crystal point, as if it’s shooting your intentions upwards and into the universe (but this is of course not particularly necessary for a crystal grid to work!).

— From my grimoire.

Women of Amphissa, 1887, by Lawrence Alma-Tadema (1836-1912).

Here Lawrence Alma-Tadema depicts a scene from a story told by Plutarch. The women sprawled on the ground are followers of Dionysus, the God of wine, and are seen recovering from a dancing ritual from the night before. These women originated from the city of Phocis, and had wandered into the marketplace of Amphissa. These two cities, however, were at war. The group lined at the back, clearly separated from their way of dress and posture, belong to Amphissa. Recognizing the danger the disoriented followers were in, the women of Amphissa form a circle around them, offering their protection and giving them food.

By representing these two very different groups of women, Alma-Tadema touches on the themes of femininity, compassion, and charity.

The Great Goddess Hecate (Hekate)

Who is Hecate? She is the Goddess of Witchcraft, Necromancy, Ghosts, Magic, and, in some instances, the Night, Darkness, The Mist, and Moon. For some She is also the goddess of motherhood, protection, and the sea. She is a Hellenic deity, born of the Titans Asteria and Perses. There’s a few beliefs circling around Her being a crone goddess or a Triple Goddess, but those are modern and neopagan beliefs—which She predates. I also consider Her to be a part of the Chthonic deities.

Symbology: Black dogs, Wolves, Keys, Torches, Flames, Torches, Crossroads, Serpents, Daggers, Birds of Prey (crows, ravens, owls), the Moon, witchcraft tools (such as cauldrons, tarot, athames)

Offerings & Devotional Acts for Her:

Figurines of any of Her symbols

keys, skeleton keys, lockets

fire witchcraft and candles, flames, matchsticks

dedicating any lunar or symbolic jewelry to Her

black/dark crystals such as obsidian and onyx

nocturnal animal imagery

black/cool colored glitter

baneful/poisonous herbs and plants

pomegranates/berries (She seems to really like blackberries)

dark blend wines

honey, cinnamon, poppy seeds, chocolates (dark)

mugwort, lavender, roses, jasmine, dragon’s blood

bones and feathers from birds of prey (please check your local laws about obtaining these)

pinpricks of blood (please DO NOT attempt this if you struggle with self harm/etc, blood magic is particularly strong and isn’t for everyone. She will understand if you cannot offer that to her).

Taking midnight walks, setting up altars and rituals at crossroads, paying respects to the dead and practicing your craft in a cemetery 

Any playlists, poems, literature, whether it be your own or just a piece you associate with Her, also make wonderful offerings. 

Lunar Influences & Connections: Reaching out to Hecate tends to work best at night, and really any time the moon is at it’s peak. The Witching Hours, midnight to 3A.M., during strong lunar influences (blue moons, blood moons, eclipses, new moons, etc) all hold strong bonds with Hecate. Also, any time it is particularly foggy or your surroundings are covered in a mist is a good time to try to connect with Her.

Disclaimer: These are correspondences that have been gathered through my personal experiences working through my craft with Her. If you find She responds better to different offerings/during different times, by all means, stick to it! Your bond with Her is your own and should be cultivated in whichever way works best for you and Her. Thank You!

Here's the thing about shows like South Park and Family Guy that make their money off of being edgy and offensive. They fundamentally reduce their viewers' capacity for empathy. If I found a joke funny, and you found it offensive, you're just too sensitive. This is directly related to the ride of the alt right and the election of trump. In this essay I will

stop saying yes to the shit you hate

Stuck.

(it’s 2am, and according to your therapist, you have “a whopping case of ADHD”

storm’s coming

All you storm and weather witches listen up here, all of us secretly really get off on storms and that crackly energy in the air and the rumble of thunder and the flash of lightning and the wild feeling of freedom. So we don’t want to be caught off guard when a sudden storm arrives and we haven’t got all the jars out or we’re in the middle of something right?

Well, here’s an updated list on how to tell when a storm’s coming your way:

- read the clouds: 

cumulonimbus clouds - cumulonimbus clouds develop when cumulus clouds (pillowy, cotton wool-y, flat base) develop vertically or billow upwards. a cumulus cloud that turns into a cumulonimbus can develop into a powerful thunderstorm within an hour.

arcing “arcus” shelf clouds - these wedge-shaped clouds resemble a shelf, and can be described as rolling. these can also be a sign of foul weather incoming, especially if they’re turning darker.

cloud color - you may be thinking “well no shit Raven, dark clouds = stormy weather”, but well here’s dwelling into some specifics. Sure, very dark clouds mean the weather is going to turn stormy real quick, but did you know that green clouds mean severe weather? like those gray-greenish clouds that are very deep and tall? yeah those mean something big and mean is on its way. black clouds mean that there is a coming storm that does not have strong winds. brown clouds mean that there is a coming storm that does have strong winds. gray clouds usually mean a new or a light storm. however, gray skies mean that the storm is affecting a large area and may remain for awhile “red sky at night sailor’s delight, red sky in the morning sailors take warning” has some grain of truth to it too. red sky in the morning means bad weather is moving in.

- use your nose:

take a deep inhale - it’s true, you can smell incoming rain. ah, nothing like the sharp, strippingly fresh smell of ozone before a storm. there’s a whole science behind this, and I can cover how some chemical reaction caused by an electrical charge like lightning or a generator involving atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen molecules splitting, but that’s not the point here. the point is, you can smell the ozone. sweet, pungent, a zing, sharp, bare, that’s my description for it. so get ready to use that nose of yours.

- halo around moon and sun:

high clouds will refract a ring of light around the moon or sun, a halo around the moon indicates that a warm front is approaching. like that saying “ring around the moon? rain real soon”. I’m using a lot of sayings, huh. double halo around the moon could mean strong winds. 

- watch smoke from a fire

pressure determines which direction the smoke is gonna go. high pressure? smoke goes upwards. low pressure? smoke goes downwards. when smoke spirals downwards, bad weather’s on its way.

- humidity

now, I live in an area where humidity is at a constant high, so this probably won’t work for me and everyone else who lives in high-humidity regions. but here goes. high humidity precedes a storm, so check for signs of humidity like frizzy hair, curly leaves, swollen wood, or just feel it.

- count the stars

if you’re out at night, the stars could be an indicator. the more stars you see, the clearer the skies are. no stars mean heavy cloud coverage and could signify coming storms.

- observe the birds and the animals

birds -birds can sense bad weather coming and they usually fly low or seek refuge before a storm, and they’ll go quiet. that’s part of the reason why it’s so oddly quiet before a storm.

butterflies and bees - they will usually return to their homes before a storm for safety so you probably won’t see them out and about. 

adapted from my older (and jarringly slightly inaccurate) post on @sharpshootress. just as I posted this, a storm started right outside my window, how fitting.