Apo...who?

So a few months ago, I was reading The Book of Stones, which is a fantastic source for metaphysical, emotional and spiritual personalities for crystals and minerals.  And as I was just starting Reiki II, and learning about long distance healing, I stumbled across apophyllite in the book as THE crystal for reiki practitioners.  So as I am wont to do, I looked on Ebay and found one.  Made a bid and got it.  Then I promptly forgot all about it.  A few weeks went by and suddenly, as if by magic, a package arrives from India wrapped in cloth and sewn shut and sealed with wax.  It was like a mummy package, and within would clearly be the answer to everything I have been seeking.  Forgot it was for reiki.  Forgot why I ordered it.  Menopause brain ain't a pretty thing.
And it was that apophyllite.  Beautiful.  I held it in both hands and close my eyes.  My heart started racing and I immediately started having a hot flash.  I put it in my desk and thought, "Uh, yeah, can't deal with that right now."  And once again promptly forgot about it.
A few weeks later, my children were helping me set up my altar and looking through some of my bigger centerpiece type stones.  All of them wanted me to use that apophyllite.  So I said yes and figured it had something to teach me.  Everyday I went to my desk (where my altar is) my heart raced, my head felt light, my stomach turned and I walked away.  Then my sister came over and held it.  She shivered and smiled and said, "I love this!  It's fantastic and so high vibrational."  To which I replied, "TAKE IT!  TAKE IT NOW!  IT'S YOURS!  PLEASE JUST TAKE IT AWAY FROM HERE!"  (Maybe I am being a tad overdramatic.)  But my sister loved it and I was just happy someone did.
Then a funny thing happened.  I ordered another one.  Why?  I have no idea, but late at night, scouring the internet for crystals, I bought another one.  It came within a few days.  Can you guess what happened?
Yeah, the same thing.  And then I went on a fabulous retreat with a few spiritual friends and brought some crystals (some meaning...way too many) in case of some intense crystal emergency.  We were passing around my sister's crystals and feeling them and commenting, when a lovely friend of ours says, "I love crystals but can't feel any difference between them really."
'Aha!  Just the sort of crystal emergency I am prepared for!'  So I grab my apophyllite and my tiger iron (my go-to for grounding energy).  I tell her to close her eyes and I put the apophyllite in her hands.
'What do you feel?  Even if it sounds odd, just tune into your body and tell me what you are feeling.'
"Okay.  Um, my heart is racing.  I am feeling dizzy.  Weird."
I take the apophyllite out of her hands and put the tiger iron in them.
'Now what do you feel?'
She takes a deep breath.  "I feel heavy.  I feel like myself again.  I feel connected to the earth."
Of course, I gave her that piece of apophyllite, since it was the crystal that gave her the confidence to know she was feeling something.
And guess what came in the mail last week...yep, another apophyllite.  Except this one, I am keeping.

The only thing that stays the same is that everything is always changing....

And change it will...

balancing chakras

So today is the day to balance those pesky chakras.  I believe my Reiki practice does this pretty well, but I just love using crystals for chakra balancing.  I use my intuition and pendulum to see which stones to use for each chakra and whether I am too open or too closed or if I am just wonky.  Most often, I do my sister and she does me.  It works well for us.  She has been having issues with grounding lately, which as an earthy earth sign is totally foreign to me, but she got some moldavite for dreamwork.  So moldavite is a form of tektite, supposedly formed when a meteorite hit the earth.  Others believe it is actually meteorite.  Either way, it is very high vibrational stone.  It is purported to help astral travel and connecting to spirit, your guides and other dimensional beings.  It's great for working on your psychic gifts and opening the crown chakra.  It's highly protective in connecting to spirit instead of earthbounds or other lower level beings. It is often called the "Holy Grail" stone because many believe it is what the holy grail was made of.  In any case, I can attest to holding it for a few minutes and feeling light-headed and floaty.  My sister has since put it in a box away for now, but is still having issues keeping her earth chakra and root chakra balanced.  I advise anyone who is planning to get some moldavite to be sure they have some grounding tools to use in case they are hyper-sensitive to it, as my sister and I are.
Today after balancing all her chakras, I sent her home with an obsidian palm stone to keep with her for grounding and staying connected.  I hope it helps her.  Her throat chakra was also completely out of whack, which leads us both to believe she is having issues with her thyroid.  So she is going to get that checked.
Then we did some tarot readings for each other.  My reading was insightful, but I still haven't figured it all out yet.  My sister's was good with The World in her outcome postition, which I love.  In truth, my sister and I read for each other a lot and we see the same cards come up for each other often.  We read differently, so what she might see in a reading is oftentimes different than what I see.  Never completely opposite, but different.  It makes the readings very interesting and insightful.  My sister has strong connection to spirit so I always take what she tells me to heart.  Well, it was a great morning!

feathers on my path

As the Harvest Moon starts to wane, I think of things I have to let go of this season.  Bad habits.  The things that no longer serve me.  I've named this blog "feathers on my path" because I find feathers everywhere, all the time, dozens and dozens of them.  They are beautiful, and I think they are to remind me to pay attention.  To everything.  Maybe they are messages from my guides.  From the spirit.  From the Great Mother.  From God.  Who knows?  But they are constant reminders for me to slow down and listen...to my inner voice, my intuition, my knowing.
My reiki self-care is hard this week.  My brain is buzzing with all of the things I need to do.  Not just laundry and dr's appts, but the things in my spiritual life that I have to take care of.  So I gridded my house this week and did a good smudging.  There is one thing to knock off the list and the energy in the house definitely feels clearer.  Now I need to clear myself.  My spirit from those things not serving me.  This is harder than I thought.