#healing

Time to enjoy nature.

We want you to help us end rape culture and create a culture of support for survivors: https://themonumentquilt.org/

The Monument Quilt: A public healing space by and for survivors of rape and abuse. The Monument Quilt is an on-going collection of stories from survivors of rape and abuse. Written, stitched, and painted onto red fabric, our stories are displayed in city and town centers to create and demand public space to heal. The quilt resists the popular and narrow narrative of how sexual violence occurs by telling many stories, not one. The quilt builds a new culture where survivors are publicly supported, rather than publicly shamed.

Learn more and add your voice to the Monument Quilt project! https://themonumentquilt.org/

“It was a date that turned into rape. NO means NO.”

Make your own ‪#‎MonumentQuilt‬square! https://themonumentquilt.org/make-a-quilt-square/

FORCE is blanketing the lawn of the National Mall with a giant quilt made of stories from survivors of rape and abuse. Your square and your voice will join thousands of other survivors and allies to create public space where survivors are honored and supported, rather than silenced and shamed.

https://themonumentquilt.org/about/

Happy Friday, its Venus day! Venus is all about beauty, both inner and outer! It’s about creativity and love energy. How will you pour love into yourself today?

Venus Bea-u-Tea
Hibiscus
Jasmine
Mangosteen
Pomelo peel
Honey/agave/maple syrup

This tea is only delicious, but it improves skin and can help boost collagen production. If you’d like you can also add marine collagen.

#herbalism #Venus #astrology #healing #beauty
https://www.instagram.com/p/CcXyK8MuHl7/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

Happy Monday, everyone! I don’t know why each weekend only feels like two 1-hour lunch breaks, but here’s to starting another week (and month!) with hope and perseverance! ✨

I also wanted to share with you three pieces I created last week during a workshop on cultivating well-being through the arts! I have to admit that I lost count of the similar workshops I attended while in lockdown, but being in the same (virtual) space as people who are looking to exhale and turn inward brings a calm to my heart and mind. It’s such a beautiful and serene communion between strangers, and I’m really glad that art makes that possible.

Good morning! Grateful that I woke up today feeling more rested than during the holidays.

I spent most of the weekend in mini-sessions for managing my headspace and healing. It has not been easy, but I do think the journey is worth it. :) Sharing with y’all this photo from one of my “clearing” art sessions. The work I do every day (studying, doing research, and designing) relies a lot on details, so I enjoyed doing the complete opposite and living in the calm brought by painting the sky and water. It feels great to release the heavy energy and let the light in! I hope I can keep these little rituals throughout the year and beyond.

✿ ICYMI: January 2021 calendar wallpapers are up on my Ko-fi shop!

How Are You?

“I’m okay.”
At least that’s what I tell you
and what I tell myself
Because for as long as I can remember,
there’s been this odd feeling
deep, deep, deep inside of me
that I can’t quite explain
and it wouldn’t go away

Some days it consumes me
downplays even the littlest of the good things that happened to me
It’s as if I deserve this
and I have no right to be happy
I am easily irritated
I push people away
even if all I wanted was to call out their name
and ask them to stay

But what frustrates me the most
is that I no longer appreciate
all of the things that made my worries dissipate
I look at art; I used to make art
because art is supposed to make you feel something
But how is that even possible now
when the void only keeps on growing
and at the end of the day, you still feel like you’re missing something?

That’s why I say I’m “okay”
Two letters or four,
however you spell it
It looks simple and easy
It doesn’t ask any questions
It doesn’t take much out of my depleting energy
And that’s what I want right now —
what I think I need

Some people see past my fictitious testimonies,
my false confidence, false smile, false laugh
So it looks like I’m not succeeding
in the illusion that I keep conjuring
They tell me to man up and to stop overthinking
They tell me to snap out of it; there are bigger problems than my own
Gee, Karen, I didn’t know it was that easy! I should have thought about that sooner
Now, I think you’ve cured me!

I look around me and see how people can just simply be happy
My friends are going to med school,
they’ve defended their thesis,
they sleep in on weekends,
they have time to watch a movie
It looks like things come to them so naturally
Then only one thing invades my thoughts in the wee hours of the morning:
why can’t that be me?

Deep down I know that those things can be misleading;
that these people also have things that they’re keeping
We might have the same struggles,
there’s just a little difference in the details
It’s just that these bad brain days
make me feel like I’m beyond repair,
and this distorted way of thinking is here to stay
and keep me in despair

I tried everything there is:
books that help you rediscover your purpose,
catch up with my good ol’ friends,
chant while in the sitting position called “lotus”,
and redirect my focus to school things instead
I’ll admit that it somewhat helped
and suddenly, things are no longer as intense
So here I am, thinking, “Did I…just make that up in my head?”

So one day, I find myself singing again
ABBA, Beyoncé, Kanye, you name it
I’ve set my mind on grad school
I’m working on defending my thesis
You wouldn’t even believe that I got eight hours of sleep last weekend
I also just watched a whole season of good TV
I didn’t even know that the agents of SHIELD had been battling the Kree
Gosh, I don’t want this feeling to end

But that good, happy place doesn’t last
and the emptiness creeps in way too fast
I thought I’ve had a good grip on this new reality
How did I let it get taken out of my hands?
Here we go again
It’s barely been a minute since I actually felt sane
Here we go again with this random period of crippling paranoia
“Can we please chill for a minute, dear brain?”

No.
And it was there when I came to understand
why people jumped in front of moving trains,
why they threw themselves off buildings,
why some chose to drink the night away
— a quick fix
Acting as quickly as the void that swallowed them whole;
as quickly as their desire to put it all to an end

They say that the truth will set you free;
they say it’ll bring about inner peace,
help you go to bed and finally get a good night’s sleep
but there are always two sides of the same coin
and we rarely talk about the other story,
the one where the truth can be filled with pain and agony
the one that makes us feel that we’re locked up in a box
and then suffocated by a bag full of life’s atrocities

I wish more people would see this truth
that I’m still me and you’re still you
that we are not the demons inside our minds
that every day is a fight to no longer be slaves of the pain we feel inside
I long for the day
where I could be honest
look you in the eye, take a deep breath, and say,
“The truth is, I am not okay.”

I wrote this spoken word poetry piece in the quiet of the morning in my favorite café. All 827 words in under 20 minutes. There were no tears shed in the process of writing and practicing until today, where I broke down mid-performance in front of my literature professor and 16 of my classmates. I guess it was only then and there where I really felt every word I uttered. I was so focused on extracting those feelings and putting them into words, I neglected to understand what they meant. So here I am, back in the café, coming to a realization that there’s still so much pain left inside of me, even if for the past few days I feel like I’m finally getting back on my feet. It’ll probably take a little bit more effort (and maybe even that spiritual retreat next week) to achieve some sort of inner peace, but I’m glad I made this progress of acknowledging my truth today.

If you ever find yourself resonating with this piece, I wish I could surround you with fluffy clouds, cute lil’ bunnies, and all the good things. If you need a friend, my inbox is open 24/7.

IRON

Energy: Projective
Planet: Mars
Element: Fire
Deity: Selene
Associated Stones: Quartz Crystal, Holey Stones
Associated Metals: Lodestone, Meteorite
Powers: Protection, Defensive Magic, Strength, Healing, Grounding, Return of Stolen Goods

Magical/Ritual Lore:

Because iron is seldom found in pure form except in meteorites, the earliest iron available for use by humans was obtained from these strange celestial objects. Meteorites, which were observed falling from the heavens, were used to make simple tools, supplementing bone and stone implements by earlier humans.

Throughout most of the world, humans eventually learned how to remove iron from its ore, which made it available for wider use.

Once this occurred, it was soon limited to purely physical applications and was restricted in magic and religion. In ancient Greece, for example, no iron was brought into the temples. Roman priests could not be shaved or scraped with iron during bodily cleansing.

Ireland, Scotland, Finland, China, Korea, India, and other countries have severe taboos against iron. Again and again in ancient rituals fire was made without iron, altars built without its use, and magical rituals performed only after divesting the body of all traces of the metal.

Herbs were usually collected with non-iron knives, owing to the belief that the vibrations of this metal would “jam” or “confuse” the herb’s energies.

The Hindus once believed that the use of iron in buildings would spread epidemics, and, even to this day, a gift of iron in any form is thought by some to be unlucky.

However, iron did have its place in magic. Specifically, it was worn or used in protective rituals. Its powerful, projective vibrations were thought to be feared by demons, ghosts, fairies, genii and other fantastic creatures.

In China, dragons were thought to fear iron. When rain was needed, pieces of the metal were thrown into “dragon pools” to upset the creatures and send them into the sky in the form of rain clouds.

In old Scotland, iron was used to avert danger when a death had occurred in the house. Iron nails or knitting needles were thrust into every item of food-cheese, grain, meat and so on-to act as a lightning rod, attracting the confusing vibrations that death may arouse

within the living and thus sparing the food of possible contamination.

Classical Romans drove nails into their house walls to preserve their health, especially during times of plague.

Because of its protective effects iron was sometimes thought, conversely, to be sacred, and thieves in ancient Ireland wouldn’t dare to steal it.

Magical Uses:

Iron-pure projective power, active, seeking, blinding, confusing, guarding.

For heavy protection, place small pieces of iron in each room of the house or bury at the four comers of your property. In earlier times, iron fences were sometimes used to halt the flow of negativity into the home.

During protective or defensive magic, wear an iron ring engraved with the symbol of Mars. Or, obtain a three-inch thick white candle and eight old iron nails. Warm the nails by a fire (or in a red candle's flame), then thrust each into the white candle in a random pattern. Light the nail-studded candle and visualize yourself as guarded, protected, secure.

Wearing iron or carrying a small piece of this metal enhances physical strength and is an excellent talisman for athletes.

Iron is also used during healing rituals. A small piece is placed beneath the pillow at night. This was originally done to scare away the "demons" that had caused the disease but can be thought of as strengthening the body’s ability to heal itself.

Iron rings or bracelets are worn to draw out illnesses from the body. This dates back to at least ancient Roman times.

A curious ritual from Germany to cure toothache: Pour oil onto a piece of heated iron. The fumes which rise from the iron will act on the problem.

In old Scotland, healing stones-quartz crystals or holey stones were kept in iron boxes to guard against supernatural creatures who might steal them.

Iron is also worn for grounding, for closing down the psychic centers, and for impeding the flow of energy from the body. This, of course, isn’t the best during magical ritual but is fine when the subject is under psychic or emotional attack, is physically depleted or wishes to focus on physical matters.

Iron horseshoes and the nails that attach them to the hooves are ancient magical tools. They might have first been used in ancient Greece, where they were called seluna and were associated with the Moon and the goddess Selene.

A horseshoe hung in the home over the front door confers protection.

While theories differ as to the “proper” way to hang the horseshoe, I always place it points up. Ideally, it is to be nailed with three of its original nails.

An old iron horseshoe nail is sometimes bent into a ring (if you can find one long enough) and worn for luck and healing.

If you have had something stolen from you and have a fireplace handy, try this spell. Take a horseshoe nail that you’ve found by chance. Drive this into the fireplace, visualizing the stolen object returning to your home. It is done.

There are still magicians and Wiccans who remove all traces of iron from their bodies before working magic, but this custom is fading into oblivion.

Titanite on Feldspar

Rose Quartz

Watermelon Tourmaline

Marcasite

More transparent gems here

Aragonite

Marcasite

More transparent gems here

Green Fluorite

Green Adamite