Estimated reading time: 15 minutes
IN THIS EDITION:
CRYSTAL OF THE MONTH: GARNET
This month’s featured stone is GARNET.
Garnet is actually a group of stones, all of whom share similar physical properties and forms, but are different from each other chemically. The members include Pyrope, Almandine, Spessartine, Grossular, Uvarovite and Andradite. They occur in all lots of different colours, but red is the most common and well known.
Of these, you can find Pyrope, Spessartine, Grossular (currently sold out) and Andradite in our shop. Let’s take a closer look at these garnet species.
Pyrope Garnet
Pyrope Garnet is rich in Magnesium and Aluminium. The name “pyrope” comes from the Greek “pyropes”, meaning “fiery-eyed”, in reference to its red colour. Although it’s hue can vary from a reddish-brown to pink. It’s also known as Bohemian Garnet, or Cape Ruby.
Right: Tumbled red to pink Pyrope Garnets with fantastic gemmy areas, from Madagascar.
Spessartine Garnet
Spessartine is a Manganese-Aluminium garnet. The Manganese gives it the orange colours that fine Spessartines are prized for (although they can range from a brilliant yellow-orange to a dark red-orange to brown). Considered very rare.
Right: Spessartine Garnets in a Calcite & Aragonite included matrix, polished slice.
Demantoid Garnet
Demantoid Garnet is green in colour, and considered one of the most valuable and rare stones in the gemological world. It falls in the Andradite group. It is a Calcium- and Iron-rich garnet, with Chromium creating the green colour.
Right: Rare & highly collectable Demantoid Garnet large specimen from the Green Dragon Mine in Erongo
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Garnet, Red Pyrope Rough PieceR5.00 – R10.00 -
Garnet, Red Pyrope Tumbled StoneR15.00
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Garnet Crystal Healing BraceletR110.00
METAPHYSICAL PROPERTIES
- Garnet is a powerful energizing & regenerating stone.
- It is known to revitalize, purify and balance energy.
- It brings serenity or passion as appropriate.
- A protective gem, Garnet has been believed to warn its wearer of coming danger since Medieval times.
- Garnet can inspire love & devotion, and is called the Stone of Commitment.
- It is said to balance the sex drive.
- Useful in a crisis, Garnet fortifies, activates & strengthens the survival instinct.
- Promotes mutual assistance in times of trouble.
- Clears negative chakra energy.
BOOK OF THE MONTH: FIRE MAGIC
This month’s featured book is FIRE MAGIC by Josephine Winter.
Fire Magic – Elements of Witchcraft.
Help Your Magic Burn Brighter with the History, Lore, and Uses of Fire.
Bring the passionate element of fire into your practice with this captivating entry in Llewellyn’s Elements of Witchcraft series. Fire Magic shows you how to fully harness the flame and add new meaning and energy to your life.
Join author Josephine Winter on an illuminating exploration of fire and its many uses in witchcraft. Discover candle and bonfire magic throughout history, how fire is depicted in mythology, and fire-related celebrations for the sabbats. Learn about how to stay safe while honoring this element.
Fire Magic inspires you to reignite your passion for magic.
NEW STOCK ADDED OVER SEPTEMBER
Here are some highlights of new stock that got added to the shop during September:
Crystals:
- Large Brandberg Quartz points – probably the most collectable Quartz in the world
- Baryte & Malachite specimens – this combo hasn’t been seen in decades
- Mini botryoidal gel Chrysocolla specimens – super affordable!
- Stunning polished mini Carnelian flames -super affordable! (ONLY 2 LEFT!)
Bookshop:
- Silver’s Spells of Protection (Used)
- Angelarium Oracle (back in stock)
- Rider Waite Tarot (back in stock)
- Chakra Meditation Set (back in stock)
Other:
- Mini Cauldrons
- Crystal Chakra light catchers
- Spirit Range Cleanse & Charge Spritzers (Sold out in 3 days! More coming soon!)
and more…
WHEEL OF THE YEAR: BELTAINE
The Wheel of the Year is an ancient calendar that marks and celebrates the season changes and the equinoxes, the movement of our earth in it’s relationship to the sun, warmth and cold, light and dark. LEARN MORE.
Following the change in seasons and tapping back into the rhythms of the natural world can help give your life more meaning, and help you be more present in the natural world and in your body.
On 31 October we celebrate Beltane, the Great Festival of Life.
The earth is at the height of fertility. It’s a time for great merry-making (and baby-making).
Spring has truly sprung and there is a great abundance and renewal of life.
Looking back at our ancestors at this time of year, they would be getting fresh foods and green plants back into their diets after the last of winter’s salt meat and stored grains.
Their bodies would be responding to better nutrition and looking beyond the bare survival of winter, to the production of new lives.
In the life of Mama Earth, everywhere you look there is a celebration of new life.
Plants send forth their pollen, animals mate and reproduce.
Like our ancestors, we too start getting out a bit more, enjoying the renewal of life all around us.
Beltane is traditionally celebrated with a great feast and a huge bonfire, maypole dancing, flower crowns and hand fastenings.
COSMIC MOVEMENTS
Astrology looks at the movements of the planets in our solar system in relation to earth, and how these heavenly bodies can affect the energies we experience here.
Just like the moon creates the tides of the oceans on earth, so too can these energies have effects on the energy, emotions and desires of the lifeforms on earth.
You can use this knowledge to your advantage by planning around them and taking cues from them.
PAM GREGORY
Pam Gregory talks about the Full Moon in Aries and the first half of October in her latest video, which you can watch here:
THE ASTROTWINS
Here’s the Astrotwins take on the month ahead:
“Your October 2022 horoscope begins in Libra season. This is a time when we usually seek harmony and middle ground, enjoy pleasantries and quality time with other people.
Alas in 2022, “balance” isn’t exactly the word. We’ve got a solar eclipse, Mars retrograde and three planets stationing back from their retrograde jaunts—plus the astrological earthquake of Saturn and Uranus back in an incendiary square.
Translation?
There are a lot of moving parts and shifting energies to contend with, making it hard to plan anything concrete this month. As it turns out, the only constant may indeed be change.
Consider yourself notified!”
READ THE FULL REPORT HERE
SPIRIT PROMPTS
Our new Spirit Prompts section gives you suggestions for the month of things to do to help you connect to and enrich your spiritual world. They tie into the the Wheel of the Year and astrology forecast, to help you make the most of the energies around you.
Take just half an hour each week to do one of the activities.
By doing just one, or all of these prompts, you can feel more aligned with your spiritual nature, feel a deeper richness of life and a sense of belonging to something bigger than yourself.
We would LOVE to hear from you about which prompts you like best!
- Week 1: Gratitude Journal Prompt
- Week 2: Ritual of the Month
- Week 3: Earth Time ~ Earth Healing
- Week 4: Meditation
GRATITUDE JOURNAL PROMPT
Tapping into gratitude is one of the most powerful transformative energies you can bring into your life – we highly recommend this practice! Studies have shown that by training your brain to think of things to be grateful for regularly, you can foster a more positive outlook on life in general, as well as become stronger and more resilient to stress and life’s pressures. If you don’t have a journal, then just use a piece of paper.
RELATIONSHIPS
Write down the names of every-one in your life (past and present) whose relationships have supported and/or nurtured you in some way.
Family, friends, teachers, work mentors, even pets. You can even think of places in nature or anywhere in the world where you have found or do find a sense of comfort, healing or peace.
RITUAL
Rituals are not linked to any one religion or religious belief. Rather, ritual and ceremony are acts that can enrich your life and spiritual world. These practices help you to connect to your spiritual self, stepping outside of the ‘daily grid’ and into a space of magic.
LOVE MAGIC
Beltaine energy is all about passion, fire, love, and relationships. So this month, do a ritual to spice up your love life.
It can be:
– with your someone special, or
– looking for your someone special, or
– you yourself -tapping into your own healthy sexual power, and experiencing Divine Universal Love.
We recommend using our Love Mojo Bag for this working but you can adapt the guide below to suit whatever you have available.
TAP INTO PASSIONATE LOVE
1. Have a bath or shower using a pinch or two of the herbs and oils combined in envelope 2 (ylang ylang, patchouli, rose). Put them in your bath water, or on your sponge, and soak up the loving energy.
2. Next, write your name on a piece of paper. To spice up an existing relationship, add your partner’s name. To attract a new love, write down “my perfect love partner” or “twin flame” (NB don’t put someone’s name down without their knowledge or consent – that’s bad juju).
3. Roll up the paper and put it inside the mojo bag, along with the crystals in envelope 1 (Rose Quartz heart, Pyrope Garnet, blue Kyanite and Twin Flame Quartz) and the remainder of the herbs and oils in envelope 2.
4. Place the bag under your pillow /or/ in your pocket (or bra for those who wear one) /or/ next to your bed.
EARTH TIME
Our Earth Time segment invites you to engage with our beautiful and precious earth by providing an Earth Healing or Earth Connection activity each month, in line with the energy of the month.
EARTH HEALING & OFFERING
1. Go to a public park, or side of the road, and pick up litter for half an hour (or longer, if you like). As you do, think about Earth Mama and all the incredible Spring bounties she blesses us with. Green foliage, flowers, all the fresh vegetables and fruit coming back into season, life bursting forth all around us.
2. Keep your mind on this as you clean up the area, and allow yourself to be fully present in the task, entering a light meditative state.
3. When you are done, take a little Rose Quartz crystal and bury it in the ground somewhere on or near the space, as an offering of thanks and love to the life giving Earth.
This activity is a truly beautiful expression of earth stewardship and earth healing. You will feel the energetic difference in this space for a long time!
MEDITATION
Meditation helps to calm the mind, lessen anxiety, improve focus and concentration, lower blood pressure – and thousands of other benefits. A regular meditation practice is essential to whole body health.
Our meditation segment gives you inspiration for a meditation tied into the energies and main themes of the month. Use our basic meditation structure to prepare and enter into your meditative state.
HEART CHAKRA MEDITATION WITH PREHNITE
Prehnite is aligned with the heart chakra, and is also known as the ‘heal the healer’ stone.
Imagine sitting inside your heart chakra and seeing green, heart healing showers of energy pouring down on you, Universal, Unconditional Love from Source, ever expanding outwards. Picture your heart chakra like a flower opening up and blooming in this shower of energy.
When you feel done, picture the flower close again, still glowing with beautiful love energy. Gently and slowly come back to the present moment.
Wishing you a magical, mindful month ahead!
Crystal love,
Shaz, Russell and the Mystic Cat team.
