4 Selenite Uses You’ve Never Heard Of

You want your crystals to look nice, but also serve a purpose, right? Selenite has long been adored for its energetic cleansing benefits and this week I’ve got four uses for selenite that may be new to you.

Selenite is a soft, cloudy, white stone that is part of the Gypsum family and it can be found in many countries around the world. Just in case you don’t already love selenite here’s another reason to: it’s named after the Greek Goddess of the moon, Selene.

This stone is best known for its cleansing powers. Think energetic cleansing, not laundry and dusting. I’m talking personal aura cleansing, house cleansing, and icky-energy-be-gone cleansing. Selenite is also great for connecting with your third eye and crown chakra to boost your psychic connection.

Selenite Candle Bath

When was the last time you had one of those days where everyone you came into contact with was grumpy or in a bad mood? Even if you don’t let it bring you down, those bad vibes can wear on you after a while.

I’m sure you’ve seen Himalayan salt candle holders and lamps, but did you know you can also purchase these powerful little crystal amplifiers in selenite too?

Let selenite do the purification work with a selenite candle bath. The glow from these candles is soothing and will set the perfect mood for a bath. More importantly, the cleansing energy from the selenite will take away all the dirt you can’t see from any icky energy accumulated throughout your day. Be sure not to get too wild in the tub! Selenite is water soluble so you don’t want to get it wet.

You can grab selenite candle holders from several places. I was drawn to the round shape of this one and purchased it from Etsy.

Selenite Aura and Home Cleansing Spray

Selenite has the ability to purify your body, mind, and even your home! Your home is a sacred space and selenite wants to help you keep it that way.

Here’s a recipe for my new favorite thing, DIY selenite aura and home cleansing spray:

• 6-8 oz glass spray bottle

• Enough filtered water to fill your bottle ¾ of the way full

• 6-10 drops essential oil

• 2 TBSP witch hazel (I love Thayer’s rose witch hazel)

• 1 tsp selenite powder (I got mine on Etsy)

Add the ingredients into your glass bottle, shake for each use, spray, and enjoy! A funnel can come in handy to get the powder in your bottle, I crafted one out of paper for a quick fix.

Selenite for Feng Shui

This tip is short and sweet, but I know you’ll appreciate it, so I couldn't leave it out! Selenite has a high spiritual vibration that can act as a pathway for angelic energy. You can use selenite powder around the outside of your home to bring peace and tranquility. Also, you can create a yin yang balance by topping a piece of selenite with black tourmaline in the rooms in your home or office!

Selenite Wands

As I mentioned before, selenite is the crystal for connecting with the spirit world and enhancing your third eye. Take advantage of this meditation while using a selenite wand to enhance your consciousness and connect with your true spiritual self!

A quick little selenite clearing like this is the perfect way to begin a tarot or oracle card reading for yourself.

• Lay or sit comfortably while you scan your chakras with the selenite wand.

• As you breathe deeply and calmly, imagine the light as it moves freely up through your chakras.

• Allow the light energy from the selenite to clear each of your chakras of any bad vibrations.

• Spend extra time focusing on any chakra that you feel needs extra attention or clearing.

The awesomeness that our Earth Mama creates never ceases to amaze me! I hope you’ve enjoyed these tips and found something you can put into practice in your sacred space. Pick any of them to start your forever friendship with selenite!

Closing Year Rune Ritual

Are you energetically ready for the new year? Are the happenings of this year and what’s to come in the new year swirling around your energetic field? The moment December hits I can’t help but start evaluating what went well and what didn't for the year.

The closing out of one year and the beginning of a new year can cause quite the energetic upheaval for sensitive souls like you and me. Good news though, I’ve got some tools to help create meaning and ease the transition.

The first step to starting a new year off is energetically clearing out the current year.

I love to turn to rituals to help make this transition. Rituals are a powerful healing tool. I conduct rituals for almost any significant event or experience in my life. For me, rituals are a way to process emotions or feelings that are overwhelming and stressful.

Think of having a closing year ritual as a way to create an emotional container for all of your feelings around 2016 and the start of 2017.

For this closing year ritual, we’ll break out some of my favorite divination tools, Runes. If you're new to Runes, you can click here to read all about them and get a free printable.  Follow the steps below to join me in a closing year ceremony to clear the slate and prepare you for the energy of the new year.

What You’ll Need

• A candle in the color meaning of your choice

• A sharp tool to carve into the candle

• Runes(optional)

• Paper and pen

• Essential oil (EO) or incense (optional)

• Smoke wand

• Any crystals or other objects that you’re called to include in your ritual

At your altar or quiet area in your home, arrange your items in a way that feels right to you. If you have a favorite EO scent or incense that helps you get centered, then get that started.

Select Your Rune

First, you’ll need to select a Rune symbol that represents 2016 for you. Start by taking three deep breaths, then allow thoughts of 2016 to come into your mind. From here you can intuitively select your Rune if you have a Rune set, or research them and select one that you feel represents 2016 for you. I love this website for learning more about each Rune symbol.

Select Your Candle Color

Once you’ve selected your Rune, you’ll need to select your candle color. The color of your candle should energetically match the meaning of your Rune symbol. Here are quick descriptions of the meanings of each color.  If you're new to candle magick, you can click here to see all our blog posts about candle magick.

• Red - Strength & Passion

• Yellow - Joy & Inspiration

• Blue - Harmony & Communication

• Green - Abundance & Acceptance

• Purple - Transformation & Intuition

• Orange - Creativity & Intellect

• Pink - Love & Friendship

• Black - Grounding & Protection

• White - Unity & Healing

Carve and Light

Using a stylus or sharp object carve your Rune into your candle. Feel free to add any other words or decorations that you feel called to add to your candle carving. Create a space for your Rune candle and light it.

Honor and Release 2016

In this safe space take the time to honor and release the happenings of 2016. Here are a few ideas for honoring and releasing 2016 as you sit in the presence of your Rune candle. You can do as many or as few as you’d like.

• Write a gratitude list about the events of 2016

• Write a list of all the ways the meaning of your Rune showed up for you in 2016.

• Meditate and be witness to what thoughts come up about 2016

• Have an especially difficult year? Cry, scream, let it out.

Closing

Light your smoke wand to clear the energy of the area, thank the Universe for your experience of 2016, and blow out your Rune candle.

Like all rituals that I suggest, take what you like and leave the rest. Rituals are personal, please include anything that would bring meaning to closing out your year.

Next up on the blog, you guessed it, let’s get set up for a 2017 full of love, light, and openness.

3 Anxiety Reducing Tips for the Holidays or Post Election

Do you sense it? That palpable feeling of uncertainty, anger, and anxiety in the air?

I intended to share this blog post closer to the holidays, but hey, I think we might all need it now and the holidays really aren’t too far away!

If you’ve been sitting in a combination of befuddlement, anger, and anxiety over the last few days, like me, you might be getting to the point where you’re asking yourself, “what now?”

Well, I might not have the big answers for you but I do have 3 quick tips for reducing your anxiety, which will hopefully give you the tools you need to answer, “what now?”, for yourself.

Not only can lingering feelings of anger and anxiety make it hard to move forward, but they can also seep out onto others and wreak havoc within your body. Here are 3 of my favorite go-to’s to help heal mind, body, and soul during intense times of anger and anxiety.

Golden Milk Latte

Turmeric is the main ingredient in golden milk (I could write a whole post just about the health benefits of turmeric alone) but I’ll save that for another day! Studies have shown turmeric to help with inflammation, depression, and anxiety.

This recipe has quickly become my favorite anxiety soothing beverage. Bonus, it’s delicious. Move out of the way pumpkin spice!

Golden Milk Latte Recipe

• 1 tsp of golden milk powder

• 2 cups of coconut milk or your favorite milk substitute

• Honey to taste

• Heat your milk substitute on the stove, whisk in your golden milk powder, and add honeyto taste.

Gold milk powder ingredients will vary, though my favorite blends include ashwagandha root. Ashwagandha root is an adaptogenic herb that is also helpful with combating anxiety. If you’re live in Phoenix, I purchase my gold milk powder locally from Strawberry Hedgehog Soap shop (available in her store only) but you can also purchase it here.

Have turmeric at home and want your soothing beverage now? Not a problem, add 1 tsp. of turmeric to your milk substitute then blend in some cinnamon, ginger, and cardamom, to taste.

Earthing: Get Grounded

Have you had a hamster wheel of thoughts and emotions cycling through your head over the last few days? It’s to be expected, anger and anxiety often come with a whirling array of constant thoughts that can be hard to silence.

Getting a big dose of grounding energy is a great way to help silence the mental chatter and may even lower your cortisol (stress hormone) levels.

There are countless ways to invite grounding energy in, but sometimes the simplest are the most healing. Have you heard of Earthing before? It’s the idea that you can be healed from the Earth and there’s actually some science behind it too. A recent study indicates that skin contact with the earth can actually lower cortisol levels.

When I was dealing with the anger and sadness of the loss of my Grandma and Father last year, I had a strong desire to lean on trees and lie on the ground. It was strange and I didn’t know why it was happening, but I went with it. After learning more about Earthing it makes sense, and now I listen to those gut instincts and get in some grounding time when I need it.

I know it might be getting cold where you are, and sometimes it’s too hot here in the desert. My second grounding go-to is an earthy essential oil, it’s not quite the same but it can help in a pinch!

Anxiety Tea Bath

The power of a bath is often overlooked but your skin is your largest organ! Can you think of a more relaxing way to get in your favorite calming herbs? With open pores from warm water, your body can soak up the healing powers of herbs quickly.

Think of this as making a giant cup of tea for your body. Many herbalists actually prefer this method for administering herbs. Here’s one of my favorite recipes from Rosemary Gladstar’s book Herbal Recipes for Vibrant Health.

Mix these herbs into a muslin cloth bag or a cotton cloth that you can tie a knot in one end. Tie or wrap the bag of herbs around your faucet so the running water runs through the herbs.

• 2 parts chamomile

• 2 parts lavender

• 2 parts roses

• 1 part comfrey leaf

• I love to add in some Epsom salt and essential oils to the mix for the ultimate calming bath.

Will any of these tips heal the world? Nope. I simply want to offer you some of my favorite tools when sometimes taking any action to move forward seems difficult. There is much work to be done here on this Earth plane, and I don’t want you or me to be a ball of angry anxiety as we embark on it!

Have a favorite de-stressing tip? I’d love to hear it, feel free to send me a DM!

5 Simple Full Moon Rituals

Here we are, at the culmination of everything you set out to manifest with the new moon. You planted seeds of goals and intentions with all of your best effort and resources, and you have finally arrived at the full moon.On the 16th of this month, the moon will shine in all of her full-bodied glory. The full moon will be at her peak of life and power, and I'm going to share with you a few ways to tap into this power!

Burn a Habit

It's been said that the light of the full moon illuminates the things that no longer serve us. Take advantage of this by releasing fears, bad habits, and negative self-talk. How, you ask? Burn them to the ground! (With caution of course.) This ritual will serve you best if performed on the waning moon side of the full moon, which is usually the second day of the full moon.

Under the light of the full moon write down these items on little slips of paper. Add them to a mason jar with a lit candle in it (OR if you are super rad and have a cauldron handy, then use that instead). As you see, these “bad habits” go up in smoke. Send them up to the moon!

Gratitude List

Since the new moon, you have been manifesting your intentions and surely you have experienced some success! Begin a list that includes all you have to be grateful for. Don't forget to include the items you perceive as failures. There are lessons to be learned there! When you’ve completed your list, give a gift back to the moon for all she’s given you! Try an offering of dried flower petals.

Smoke Cleansing

The energy of the full moon is extremely purifying, couple this with your favorite cleansing smoke for a powerful combo! There are a variety of herbs to choose from for this purpose. Fallen cedar, lavender, mugwort, and desert sage are all great options! Waft the smoke around yourself and your space while visualizing any negative energy floating away with the smoke, then visualize purifying light from the moon filling in the place of any negative energy.

Ask for More

Float your desires in water to ask for an increase of something in your life. The moon has a special relationship with water. The energy of the earth and the moon pull at each other, but the earth just can’t hold onto its water. During a full moon, the Earth’s tides are amplified. So, to amplify results for your desires, float them in water in a glass bowl under the light of a full moon. This ritual will serve you best if performed on the waxing moon side of the full moon, which will be the first day of the full moon.

Moon Bath

Use the full moon’s detoxifying properties to draw out mental, emotional and physical toxins. If possible, add Himalayan salt crystals to your bath during the full moon. Himalayan salt crystals are a super pure mineral-rich salt that is mined from ancient sea beds. It has a number of detoxifying benefits...balancing pH, reducing inflammation...and when mixed with water this crystal's energy can be felt in full force! Dissolve 1-2 cups of Himalayan salt in warm water for your cleansing moon bath!

I hope you enjoy these tips and make it a regular practice to honor the moon’s cycle. By doing so you will align yourself with the rhythms of Mother Moon and feel more in sync with Divine Feminine energy.

Healing Sounds: Tibetan Singing Bowls

Can you really receive healing energy from singing bowls?

I’m sure you’ve seen them in your yoga class, or maybe you’ve even got your own singing bowl. They’re becoming more and more mainstream in Western culture, but what’s all the fuss? Can these pleasant sounds really help heal us from the inside out?I’ve done the research for you and have learned that singing bowls can in fact help you heal. (More on this and where to start your collection later.) I also learned about an unexpected communication link between singing bowls and the Buddha, but here’s a little history first.

Where Do They Come From?

Tibetan Singing Bowls date back to 560-480 B.C. and knowledge of the singing bowls were only passed on by high-ranking lamas or spiritual masters. To complicate the passing down of this study, the teachings were traditionally spoken between teacher and student. There’s virtually no written text on the topic! I, however, came across an interview with a lama (spiritual leader) regarding the mystical singing bowls!

Communication from The Buddha

In the interview, the lama told all about how the singing bowls are a means of communication for Buddha, how cool! So, if you are listening to singing bowls, here are a few things you might learn directly from Buddha.

Emptiness: The sound of the singing bowl gives the teaching of broadness and emptiness. This is the essence of Buddha’s teaching. In emptiness, all things are possible. Having a bad day? Emptiness allows feelings and emotions to not linger for too long. It allows us to not take everything so seriously, which I really need a lesson in on a daily basis!

Healing with Singing Bowls

Ok, now here’s some awesomeness for ya! The medical director at the Deepak Chopra Center in California found that both chanting AND Tibetan Singing Bowls are chemically metabolized into internal healing agents and painkillers! Here’s the lowdown on how the singing bowls promote healing in our bodies:

Vibrations: All matter vibrates. When we have an ailment, it is a part of us that is vibrating out of tune. Singing bowls can literally change the matter within you by sending vibrations to your body that bring everything back into harmony. This can be done by having singing bowls played around your body, or even having them played while they rest on top of your body!

Emotional Response: Singing bowls heal us physically because they touch us on deep emotional planes. The sound creates a spiritual awakening that quiets negative self-talk and synchronizes our brainwaves to bring awareness of a mind/body connection.

Mind-blowing right?! Well, if you got as excited as I did about these you might want to start your collection now. I found an amazing shop on Etsy that sells small, very affordable, singing bowls that you can even coordinate with your chakras, check them out here.I’d love to hear any singing bowl experiences you have had, or if you have a favorite singing bowl, let me know! Send us an email.

Cleansing & Charging Your Crystals

By now you’ve been putting your crystal collection to good use (I hope you’ve been enjoying using the Metraton's Cube grid!). You’ve undoubtedly realized though, that these sweet little gemstones take on the harshest of vibes! Think of the amethyst you might keep under your pillow to rid yourself of restlessness, or the sunstone you’ve been carrying around to help pull yourself out of a funk.  Everything I explain below can be used to clean and clear your crystal jewelry as well.Have you considered a way to cleanse your crystals of these negative energies? Like everything that we value in our lives, these precious stones need our TLC.

Cleansing Your Crystals

Here are two of my favorite ways to cleanse your crystals:

AMETHYST CAVE

I know what you’re thinking, “sure, let me just run out to my backyard and hop in my crystal cave!” Although that would be fun, this type of cave is much more compact. An amethyst cave refers to a cathedral-shaped structure. Geodes and clusters will also work well for this. Just leave your crystals on the amethyst for 24-48 hours.

SMOKE & HERBS

A well-liked method for clearing crystals, I suggest exploring some plants and tools that are related to your ancestral lineage. Some examples of  smoke and herbs are:

• Lavender

• Mugwort

• Cedar

• Rosemary

If you want to learn how to make DIY herb sticks, check out this blog post.

Charging Your Crystals

Success! Your crystals are now super fresh and ready for charging. Charging is meant to keep your gemstones in tune with you and your personal uses for them. Try to charge them soon after cleansing them so they don’t pick up any of those bad vibes.Just like cleaning, there are several methods for charging your crystals but here are a few:

SUNLIGHT

Light, life, abundance, and vitality. Be careful not to keep your crystals in sunlight for too long as this can cause fading.

MOONLIGHT

Inward fulfillment. Crystals can be left outside under the moonlight for a few hours for charging.

WAXING MOON

If you are hoping to use your crystals for an intention focused on new beginnings then place them under the light of a waxing moon as it is moving towards a full moon.

WANING MOON

If you are looking to decrease something in your life, such as illness, place the crystals under a waning moon as it is moving away from a full moon.

I hope all of this talk about cleansing and charging has been helpful. I sure did learn a lot! There are as many methods of clearing crystals and charging them as there are people.

Please reply and share some of your tried and true personal favorites! For more ways to cleanse and charge your crystals, click here.