Working with the Heart Chakra

Post originally from 14th July 2014 

For quite a while I've been putting off working with my Heart Chakra. For me it is the hardest work work with. I find trusting hard, and I find trusting with my heart even harder, especially in in the last 18 months. My heart and feeling have been through the mill. Though, today, I felt it time was time to begin working with this chakra. Normally this is the kind of work i keep to myself, but I thought I would open up my heart and share with you all. In a hope to rebuild the trust within myself. I'm not perfect, I am likely the least perfect person.

Now, what can be seen on my altar? As always, my craft is very intuitive and personal to myself. But I will walk you through it. First off, you see the altar cloths. They are Green and Pink, the colours that are closely associated to the heart chakra (I also ADORE pink). Next you can see that I have chosen items to represent the elements.
* Chalice - At the back - this represents Water
* The Rock (Moss Agate) - on the right - this represents Earth
* Incense - at the front - represents Air
* Candle - to the left - this represents Fire.
In the centre of the four elements you can see a blue ring with a green card. The ring is an Agate Slice - for me, this represents Unity and the Spirit. The Green car in front is one of my Chakra Cards about the heart Chakra. This give me something to focus on.

In front of the card there is a Green candle. This is from a Chakra set I got and it is scented Lavindin, Orange and Tangerine - it's quite refreshing actually. To the right of the Green candle you will see a selection of pink stones. These include Pink Agate and Rose Quartz. To the left of the Green candle you'll see a selection of green stones. These include New Jade and Aventurine. In front of the Incense holder you can see a little selection of more stones. These are Rhodonite. This is a stone that I have been very drawn to lately.

Finally, you will see that I have drawn 2 cards from The Goddess Oracle. These are Aphrodite and Hecate. These are the reason why i have chosen to work with my heart Chakra. The Aphrodite card represents LOVE and the Hecate card represents CROSSROADS. I'm very much at a crossroad in my life with respects to my heart chakra.

~ Info on the Heart Chakra ~

The Heart Chakra is located in the centre of your chest, just over your heart (I know, obvious right). The colours that are associated with the Heart Chakra are Pink and Green. (I've found the paler pinks have more of a connection than the brighter pinks, but this could just be me). The metaphysical themes that are connected to the Heart Chakra are - Unconditional Love - Compassion - Self-Love - Acceptance - Truth. Physical themes that are connected to the Heart Chakra are - The Heart - Chest - Lungs - Coronary - and Vascular System. The gland that is associated with the heart Chakra is the Thymus.

~)O(~ Rainbow Love, Light and Blessings ~)O(~

Working with the Base Chakra

I decided to work with my Base (or Root) Chakra today. I have a few health problems at the moment, and it is important to me to keep myself going, and not give up because my body hurts, or I am suffering from fatigue. I was looking at the Chakras today and tired to work out which would be the best to work with. It took a while, believe me, but I finally settled on the Base Chakra, because of it's 'physical' associations rather than the metaphysical.

Now, what can you see on my altar? As always my craft is very intuitive, and what I have here I was guided to have on my Base Chakra Altar. (If you decide to create your own, you may be guided to have something else). First, you can see the altar cover. When i was in Scotland a few years ago I fell in LOVE with this material, and for a very long time, I didn't know what to do with it - but I was looking in my box and found it this morning and WHAM perfect for what I wanted for my altar cloth. Red is the primary colour of the Base Chakra. Next you can see that I have items to represent the elements.
* Chalice - At the back - this represents Water
* The Rock (Smoky Quartz) - on the right - this represents Earth
* Incense - at the front - represents Air
* Candle - to the left - this represents Fire.
In the centre of the four elements you can see a blue ring with a red card. The ring is an Agate Slice - for me, this represents Unity and the Spirit. The Red card in front is one of my Chakra Cards about the Base Chakra. This gives me something to focus on.

In front of the Red card you can see a red candle, this is scented with Cassia, Clove and Nutmeg - it's a really spicy and invigorating scent, (it reminds me of Christmas at my grandparents house). To the right of the red candle you can see a selection of red stones. They are: Red Calcite, Garnet, Red Jasper, and red Tiger's Eye. To the left of the red candle you can see a selection of different types of Clear/Rock Quartz. In front of the incense holder and to the right of the card is Obsidian, Elestial Smoky Quartz and Hematite. To the right of the card is Obsidian, Jet and Onyx crystals.

Finally, you can see that I have drawn three cards, they match the reasons why I am working on my Base Chakra quite well. They are from the Goddess Oracle. They are Shakti, Pachamama and Kali. On the left Shakti represents ENERGY. In the centre Pachamama represents HEALING and on the right Kali represents FEAR. These are all very important to me right now.

~ Info on the BASE Chakra ~

The Base Chakra is located between at the very base of your spine, (pretty much your bum). The colour that is largely associated with the Base Chakra is Red. The metaphysical themes that are connected to the Base Chakra are Survival - Physical needs - Connection to the Earth - Materialism - Self-Defence. The physical themes that are connected to the Base Chakra are Skeleton - Bones - Blood - Cell Structure - Spine - Large Intestine - Teeth. The glad that is associated to this Chakra is the Adrenal gland.

~)O(~ Rainbow Love, Light and Blessings ~)O(~

How and Why cleanse your crystals under the Full Moon

When I say "cleanse" I'm not talking about a physical cleaning, I am referring to the clearing of energy from within the stone. This has many other names, re-tuning (or tuning) is another popular one that I have seen in reference to this.

One of the safest ways to cleanse the energetic signatures of your crystals is to use the energy of a Full Moon. When we work with crystals they absorb our energy, good or bad, they take it into themselves (think of a sponge soaking up water). The more energy they absorb, the more their original energy frequency is changed, and crystals become more and more ineffective for their original purpose. After working with crystals for long periods or for intense work you will want to cleanse them, so they can go back to it's original vibrational energy.

One of the most common questions I am asked when it comes to cleansing crystals is "how often should I cleanse crystals?" This is a toughie to give any definitive answer to, but the simplest answer is to listen to your intuition, and to your crystals. If you with a crystal quite a lot, them you will be cleansing it more often. if you only use a crystal once or twice a year, then you won't need to cleanse them much. I always charge my crystals under the Super Moon, they all get dug out and set somewhere (my kitchen windowsill) that gets the light of the Full Moon. This way they are cleansed and charged with the energy of the "biggest" moon of the year.

Why is the moon such a popular way to cleanse crystals? This is a really easy question to answer, it is the most popular because it is 1) the safest for *all* your crystals and it is the easiest as it needs nothing more than the Full Moon (which happens every month - who'd have thunk) and your crystals. The Full Moon phase of the moon lasts for 3 consecutive days. you have the day before, the day of and the day after, so if you forget, you have plenty of time to get them out. If you have a larger collection (like mine) then you may need all 3 nights just to make sure they all get a bathing in lunar light.

Now to the nitty gritty of cleansing your crystals by the Moon. What if I can't put them outside? When do you take them out? When do you bring them in? What if it's raining, cold, etc...? I live in an area that isn't too safe to have things like crystals outside, but I am lucky enough to have a west facing kitchen, and I can put them there for safety. You can do the same. If you can't put them outside, see if there is a place where you can put them inside that will catch the Moons light. I usually collect my crystals up throughout the day, and then around sunset I set them out in the windowsill. Amethyst and Rose Quartz can be damaged (energy wise - and in colour) by prolonged exposure to the sun. So, sunset is the best time to put them out. When to collect them in? In the morning. Thats when I remove mine off the windowsill. Whether you can see the moon or not doesn't matter, if it's raining, it doesn't matter, if it's foggy and really unpleasant outside, it doesn't matter to crystals, they can still absorb the energy. Though, if it is raining, you will need to cover your crystals if they are outside, or bring them inside as some crystals do not like water.

When you set them out you can lay them out on a tray, in a glass bowl, in a box etc.... I say use a glass bowl because - I have 3 kitties that like to py with my crystals, and if I left them out on a tray, I would be finding them all over my kitchen in the morning - you have them in a safe place that can allow though the most amount of light. You can leave crystal jewellery out too. One advantage of the window thing, is I use the latches to hang my favourite jewellery up.

You don't have to put your crystals out every full moon. with a collection like mine, that is quite a task. However, I do put out the crystals i use and wear the most out every Full Moon. I always cleanse my Amethysts that I use in my pouches too (I make up my pouches every Full Moon too. if you have a relatively small collection and wish to put them out every full moon, that is fantastic, but for those with larger collections and large specimens it is not always possible, so perhaps break it down into sections and rotate your way through your collection.  

I hope this has been helpful for you and has answered some of your questions about charging crystals under the Full Moon.

~)O(~ Rainbow Love, Light and Blessings ~)O(~

Cleansing Your Cards

Cleansing your cards is very important, it will "get rid" of any stagnant or negative energy that is clinging to the cards. There are a few ways to cleanse your cards, they are:

1) Leave your cards out (spread out if possible) somewhere that can get the light of the Full Moon
2) Spread out your deck and put all of your card in Numerical order (each suit and Major Arcana) - This works for Oracle and Lenormand cards too
3) Store your cards with cleansing crystals. The best (in my experience) are: Carnelian, Selenite, or an Amethyst Geode/bed. You can use a single crystal, or a combination. The Carnelian/Selenite are crystals that rarely (if ever) need cleansing themselves.

Have fun with your cards, they should never feel like a chore. If they are, it may be time to cleanse them. If they begin to feel "sticky" or "heavy" this is another sign that the cards need cleansing of the previous energy

~)O(~ Rainbow Love, Light and Blessings ~)O(~

Protecting Boundaries with Agate