Chakra Series: Solar Plexus Chakra and Your Unlimited Power

This week's focus will be on the 3rd chakra, the solar plexus, the Manipura. The Manipura is your power center. It is the home of your magical power. Have you been feeling as though your magics need a boost or that you are in a magical slump? Then here is where you need to start looking to fix it.

Your ego, your self, your courage, and your ambition are all controlled by this chakra. You will be able to stand your ground, make goals and stick with them, and you will know your self-worth. It is interesting that your courage rests in this chakra and cowards are called yellow-bellied. Because the more courage you have the more brilliant this chakra will shine.

This chakra is a beautiful fiery golden yellow. It is your sun, your furnace, your source of unlimited power. This is also a source of your prosperity. I know you would like to get this in good working order.

With this chakra in smooth running order your possibilities will be unlimited. You will be able to create your world as you want it. You won't just see how you want your life, but you will be able to follow through with it. You will have your power and know how to use it.

So, how do you build the fire in your power furnace?

"With the realization of one's own potential and self-confidence in one's ability, one can build a better world." ~His Holiness, the Dalai Lama

First we will look at the symptoms of Manipura deficiency:

shame
low energy
victim mentality
indigestion
ulcers
irritable bowel syndrome
diverticulitis
low self esteem
tendency to be cold, physically and emotionally
easily manipulated
eating disorders
muscular disorders or spasms


Your solar plexus is where your "gut feeling" intuition originates. When it is out of balance, you will have a hard time differentiating what your gut is telling you.

If your Manipura is in BALANCE you will have:

confidence
a great sense of humor
an ego that is in balance
a warm personality
and a good self esteem
prosperity
bliss
self-assurance
wisdom in decisions

Manipura means jewel (mani) place, city (pura)
This chakra sits in the upper portion of your abdomen between your diaphram and naval.

Associations with this chakra include:

Musical note E
Deities Vishnu and Lakshmi
Ten petaled lotus
Ram mantra
The fire element
The sense of smell
Pancreas
Digestive system
Gall bladder
Liver
Adrenals

As always, you can also have an overabundance. Symptoms include:

Aggression
Hunger for power
Temper tantrums
Manipulative
Arrogance
Hyperactivity
Competitive








What are some things that you can do to balance your Manipura?

1. As always, meditate:

2. Yoga poses for the solar plexus chakra:

3. I love this series: 

http://timelessrituals.blogspot.it/p/chakrart-third-week.html#.U1Ey9PldWSo

4. And of course, some of the stones that you want to work with:

Of course the stones you want to work with are going to be anything in the fire colors, orange/red/yellow. Some of the stones that I listed on the root chakra and the sacral chakra can be used since they use the red and orange colors. Also, I previously did not take pics of hematite, but it is an excellent stone for all three chakras, so I finally took a pic of it today.

Orange calcite helps with irritable bowels syndrome, problems with your gall bladder, and general intestinal disorders. It also helps depression and will clear away tensions and anxiety.

This one helps you with decision making and clear thinking. And also action for getting things done.

Amber helps out your spleen, liver, and gallbladder. It also helps for you to have a sunny disposition and works to boost your self-confidence.

Boosts your energy and works on your liver, endocrine glands, and your gall bladder. It helps to strengthen the solar plexus chakra by clearing the aura and releasing tensions.

Prehnite is more of a green color, but it is a golden green. It helps not just your solar plexus chakra but it also will help with the next chakra in the series, the heart chakra. Prehnite helps by enhancing your precognition which will help with your judgement skills, your "gut feelings".

Hematite helps with nervousness and anxiety and also increases intuition. It also helps with OCD and eating disorders.

I hope that you are enjoying the chakra series.

Brightest Blessings,

Saga

Chakra Series: Sacral Chakra and Your Flow

This article is part of Kallan's wonderful Sunday Stew. Please hop on over and read all the different flavors added by each chef. I know that you will love it!

This week will be the 2nd in the Chakra Series. Your energy centers are important to your health and well-being and your relationship with the Universal Energy. As I said last week, they are your spark plugs in your "vehicle". We want your vehicle to be a running smoothly, so let's give it a tune-up. This week's focus is on the Sacral Chakra, the Svadhisthana. Svadhisthana means "one's own abode".

Whereas the Root chakra was all about learning to love yourself and developing your relationship with yourself to give yourself a good foundation in the world, the Sacral chakra is all about developing your relationships with other people in your life. It is about your movement in this world of ours. Your flow of movement. It is your center for developing your emotions and sexuality. This is your pleasure center.

The Sacral chakra is located 2-3 inches below your naval. It's associations are: the sense of taste, the water element, your hands, the deities Vishnu and Rakini, and Sobek (a crocodile fertility symbol). Its color is bright, brilliant orange. It resides over your urinary tract, reproductive system (men and women: ovaries, testicles, womb, genitals), kidneys, lymphatic system, and your bladder. It is                    represented by a 6 petal lotus. It resonates to musical note D.

Many religions teach that erotica and sexual pleasures are evil, but these are essential for your well-being. By embracing your sexual side and enjoy all things pleasurable, you help this chakra to "blossom".

When this chakra is out of balance:
1. You can be rigid. Not just sexual rigidity, but also in your beliefs or behavior.
2. You can be emotionally insensitive
3. Fearful of change
4. Lack desire and passion.
5. You will also have bad social skills.
6. Get bored easily.
7. Feelings of guilt.

On the flip side, you can also be out of balance by having excess (only a few listed):
1. Mood swings
2. Sexual and stimulation addictions
3. Emotionally dependent
4. Over-sensitivity
5. Sex addiction

Signs that this chakra is a-ok and not out of balance:
1.You will have passion for life
2. Ability to nurture yourself and others
3. Gracefulness
4. Emotional intelligence
5. Healthy sex-life.

You will also have sex appeal if you have a strong Sacral chakra.

Since your Sacral chakra is all about the flowing of your emotions, you do not want it to be out of whack. When it is open and properly conducting your energy your emotion will show themselves appropriately, you will express them clearly.

Here are some things that will help your Svadhisthana unblock and spin at the correct speed.

1. Yoga poses for your 2nd chakra:

2. Take a bath, anoint orange candles with corresponding oils. Good ones to use would be amber, rosemary, sweet orange, or ylang ylang.

Since this chakra is about your emotions flowing through life in balance and since its element is water, a warm bath is an ideal place for meditating on affirmations. Let the water flow over your body while you meditate on things such as "I create and nurture freely" or "The harmony of the Universal Energy flows through me and I accept all the good things that it gives me" or "I allow myself to experience pleasure" "I am passionate and enjoy my body".

Sacral Chakra Music Note D meditation

Vam Seed Mantra

3. Make some sacral chakra juice.

4. Meditate while listening to the sound of rain, or water running. Use the corresponding stones and crystals. This time think orange: Moonstone, citrine, fire opal, amber, carnelian, golden topaz, tiger's eye, sunstone, goldstone. Also malachite, even though it isn't an orange color, it is great for working with this chakra because it can work with the reproductive organs.

http://timelessrituals.blogspot.it/p/chakrart-second-week.html#.Uy-tI_ldWSo

Chakra Series: Root Chakra and Who You are

This article is part of Kallan's wonderful Sunday Stew. Please hop on over and read all the different flavors added by each chef. I know that you will love it!

I used to be a yoga nut. When we moved five years ago to our home we currently reside in, I stopped. I started working on our home, thinking I would get back to it soon, and before I knew it 5 years had gone by with only a sporadic here or there practice by me.

I recently picked it back up. My main reason for starting back was my stiffness. Gosh, sitting here and painting and never moving had made me sooo stiff. Being a lyme disease "survivor" I have to watch my joints. My legs are a trouble area of mine, so moving is important.

My very first day back, I realized how much I had missed it. My goal is to work my way up to 2 hours a day of yoga. I am up to 45 minutes every other day right now.

My favorite type is Kundalini yoga. I love the Ana Brett and Ravi Singh dvds. I also like Maya Fiennes. I also meditate every night in bed before going to sleep. I cannot tell you how much better my attitude has been. I've been working with chakra meditations. I thought that I would do a chakra series for the blog.

Chakras are your energy centers. The universal energy flows through these energy centers. There are 7 main chakras. You don't want these chakras to get blocked. It can lead to illnesses, bad attitudes, among other things that each individual chakra governs. And also, I firmly believe that if your energy centers are running smoothly, then of course as a magical practitioner, you will be more powerful. Because this energy is what you harness, what you use. Your body is your vehicle. When you are driving your car, you have to keep it running smoothly by changing the oil, changing your spark plugs, etc....so think of your body as your Universal Car. Your chakras are your spark plugs. Are yours corroded? Are they firing properly? Is your energy able to move through them so that you can go? No? Then do something about it!

This is especially important if you are also a Reiki practitioner. How can the Universal Energy be engaged and used by you if you are all blocked?

Your base chakra is the Root Chakra, the Muladhara, meaning "root support" This 1st chakra helps for you to stay "rooted". It is the basis of your being. Its color is a vibrant crimson and it is located at the base of your spine, and your energy lives in this chakra, being sent from it into your other chakras. Your root chakra governs your identity, your basic needs, your self-sufficiency, your stability, and your ambition. It governs moving forward in your life with independence. The body sense that it governs is smell. Its element is Earth. Other symbolism associated: the elephant "strength", Sanskrit mantra lam, the deities Brahma and Dakini, four-petaled lotus in a deep red color

Your root chakra is your foundation of being, of well-being, of survival. Your foundation must be stable for you to move ahead and not only survive, but also thrive!

This chakra governs your lower digestion, anus, bones, prostrate, kidneys, adrenals, and sexual activity. Also, your nails and teeth.

Some symptoms of root chakra imbalance would include problems like constipation, being tired, lower back and hip pain, auto-immune issues, eating disorders, poor sleep, and obesity.

Since your universal energy is drawn up from the earth and then is sent through your other chakras by way of this vibrant powerhouse then it MUST be in good running order.

This chakra wants you to root yourself firmly, know your true self, and not float aimlessly like a feather on the wind. It wants you to know your true self, your purpose, and deal with your life and your circumstances, whatever they may be.

What are some symptoms of Root Chakra imbalance?
1. clumsiness
2. sleep disorders
3. hemorrhoids
4. diarrhea
5. low self esteem
6. adrenal fatigue
7. constipation
8. greed
9. poverty
10.poor sense of smell
11. insecure

Now these are not all of them, I listed only a few.

If your root chakra IS balanced then you will have:

1. prosperity
2. good physical health
3. stability
4. acceptance of self
5. groundedness
6. feelings of security
7. good judgment

again, only a few listed.

What are some things that you can do to fix the blockage in your root chakra?

1. Go earthing. Sit outside with bare feet and imagine roots coming from your root chakra and your feet and going  into the earth. See the universal power coming up through your roots and filling your body. See your root chakra as a vibrant red ball that is spinning brilliantly. Do deep breathing while you enhance your connection with the earth. Do this for a few minutes every day. If the earth is too damp to do this, then stand outside in mountain pose and do it. Other yoga poses that are good for this chakra are standing forward bend, warrior pose and bridge pose.

2. Meditate on daily affirmations. "I am open and ready to receive love, prosperity, and abundance from the Universe" "I am beautiful, wanted, and loved" "My body is a temple of the universe and I will take care of and nourish it" "I am worthy of love and acceptance, I am beautiful, I accept all the love the Universe sends to me"   You get the idea. This is self love, baby. You are worth it and you are beautiful. You root chakra will make you stronger with each affirmation.

3. Forgive yourself for mistakes that you feel you have made in the past against yourself and against others. Know that at the time you felt that you were doing what needed to be done and move on with your life. No regrets.

4. Lie on your bed and listen to to a pre-recorded meditation made for the root chakra. C note corresponds with your root chakra. Here are a couple of good ones from Youtube.

and Lam

5. If you are lying down while doing the root chakra meditation, you can also use corresponding root chakra gemstones and crystals, by lying them near the area or over the area of the chakra. Good ones for the root chakra are:  Smoky Quartz, Ruby, Hematite, Black Tourmaline, Agate, Garnet, Obsidian, and Bloodstone. (Think red or black stones)

6. If you don't mind burning corresponding incense or using essential oils, you can use: Myrrh, cedar, clove,  rose, patchouli and cinnamon.

A good site:

http://timelessrituals.blogspot.it/p/chakrart_3.html#.UzGI0fldWSo

For further reading:

The 7 Healing Chakras by Brenda Davies, M.D.

The 7 Healing Chakras Workbook

Chakra Balancing by Anodea Judith


Good sites with Root chakra info:

http://www.chakra-lover.com/root-chakra.html

Purifying Your Home and Your Spirit

This article is part of Kallan's wonderful Sunday Stew. Please hop on over and read all the different flavors added by each chef. I know that you will love it!

The month of February gets its name from the Latin februum, meaning Purification. The ancient Romans dedicated the month for closures and prayers and purification. The purification rituals were held on the 15th, which was the full moon.

I consider snow to be cleansing to the planet. This month has been pretty snowy so far, so it is holding to the idea of purifying in the month of February (in my mind anyway, lol).

For the second half of this month I will be adding to my exercise and yoga by doing a juice cleanse for 3 days. I love juicing. I've been juicing for around 3 years and it is something I really enjoy. I have a Green Star juicer. One of my most favorite juices is a beet/pomegranate juice. Juicing is not for the faint of heart. New juicers expect it to be like the juice you buy in the store and it is nothing like it. The flavors are much stronger and better and the juice is alive. I found a few cleansing juice recipes:
http://www.thecultureist.com/2013/06/24/10-healthy-juicing-recipes-for-detox-cleanse/

I also recently purchased a new candle water fountain. My old one bit the dust, I could have just replaced the pump, but it was looking pretty rough after almost 7 years of use. I found one similar to it on Ebay, which made me very happy. When it is lit it creates a nice moving watery light on the ceiling and I can really go into meditation mode with it and my mp3 player playing the guided meditations that I enjoy so much.

A few of the guided meditations that I like:
Guided Chakra Meditation
The Healing Waterfall

The next thing I will be doing is a whole house deep purification.  This will include a good deep cleaning with essential oils and an excellent whole house smudge with frankincense, cedar, and sage. I'll make sure that I get every nook, cranny and corner. The frankincense is a great energy cleanser.The sage will help remove energies that are stuck. Cedar is an energy cleanser and will add protection from the bad energy.  All three of them will raise vibrations. After burning the "cleansers", I'll burn the sweetgrass to bring in some positive vibes.

I will list a few other things that I have been doing and using:

One of the best things to do to purify yourself is to drink lemon ginger water upon rising. Especially if you are a woman. I've had wacky hormones since the Lyme disease and lemon water is a great flusher and purifier. I drink 8 ounces every morning.
The Detox Diva explains the benefits:
http://thedetoxdiva.com/everyday-detox-ginger-lemon-tea/

If you don't want the ginger in it, lemon water is still excellent.
http://www.lifehack.org/articles/lifestyle/11-benefits-lemon-water-you-didnt-know-about.html

Dandelion tea. Dandelion tea will love your liver, and therefore your liver will love you.
http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-7134/8-reasons-to-drink-dandelion-root-tea.html

Dry skin brushing. I haven't done this in a while, it is overdue. Why would I want to dry skin brush? It is excellent for cleaning your lymphatic system. It helps to keep your skin to looking young. So, my question would be, why would you want to? Here's a good article explaining the benefits:
http://healthylivinghowto.com/1/post/2014/02/daily-detox-tip-dry-skin-brushing.html

Salt baths. If you don't follow Wellness Mama, you should:
http://wellnessmama.com/4513/health-benefits-of-salt-baths/

Herbs that are good for purification, and they will also add a few good things to your home such as protection, peace, love, and prosperity.

Patchouli, lavender, sage, basil,

Citrus is also very cleansing and purifying. The floor wash that you can make is a great floor wash. Last year I had a great overabundance of basil, so I made some orange/purple basil cleanser. It was fabulous. I followed the same procedure, but I just added in around a cup of basil.

Link to instructions

This is a great purification recipe for an incense or potpourri.
1 cup of dried rosemary leaves
1/4 cup of dried peppermint
1/8 cup of crushed cloves
1/8 cup of crushed cinnamon sticks
a few drops of rosemary essential oil

More herbs that are good for purification: Bay, Cedar, Chamomile, lavender, lemon, lemon verbena, rosemary, thyme, copal, frankincense, myrrh, sage, parsley, fennel, pine, peppermint


After the home is all fresh and cleansed then I will cleanse, charge, and place a few crystals.

A great book to read for further ideas is Magical Housekeeping by Tess Whitehurst. I absolutely love this book.

I am excited about my Spring cleaning this year. It seems that winter has been a little longer, and I am looking forward to welcoming the lightness. Tell me what you do to welcome Spring into your home.

Bright Blessings,
Saga

Graphic credit: I made the cute spring cleaning jpg with designs purchased from http://aprilisadesigns.blogspot.com

Spiritual Protection Bags

This article is part of Kallan's wonderful Sunday Stew. Please hop on over and read all the different flavors added by each chef. I know that you will love it!

Since the Veil is getting thinner, the ability to communicate with Other Side is becoming easier and easier. While most people relish this time of getting closer to their spirit friends, there are some that feel it and they dread it.

My older son is one of the "dreaders". Read my post about him HERE. He has always been able to see spirits to a higher degree than me. My son and one of friends came over for some more spiritual protection the other night.

After I performed the spell for my son that put his spirit in a jar, I've had some interesting results. This will also be a lesson to all of you that "board". Since I did the spell, I have not been able to speak to anyone but this spirit that I trapped, on the board. It was heinous. It was continually telling me that it was "assigned" to Curtis and that it was sent as a lesson. My spirit guide couldn't come through at all and honestly, it was getting tiring. I also had to wax the top of the jar. The lid kept loosening.

I spoke with Christian Day about it and he offered me a very simple solution, that in my aggravation, I didn't think of. (Thank you, Christian) He said to simply put the jar inside a ring of salt. It worked like a charm. My spirit guide, Orion, was able to come through and he informed me that the spirit had been lying, it was not assigned to Curt. I knew the little bastard (my nickname for it) was lying to me. But, I thought I would include this story so that you would understand how some spirits work and that you cannot fall for everything that is told to you on a board. This spirit had attached itself to my son because of his energy and it enjoyed being around him.

Now, I mentioned that my son brought a friend with him that also wanted help. I have his spirit in a jar also. I have performed the same spell for him. His was a psychic attack placed on him by a priest of Santeria. It happened when he was still a teenager, in Florida. He has known for the past few years that something just wasn't right, and he felt like he was being followed. My spirit guide confirmed this during our board session.

Since both boys were having trouble with spirits, I thought that I would make protection bags for them to carry to keep the spirits at bay. They are a little different in their contents and I am going to walk you through the steps for each.

We will do Curtly's (my nickname for him) first. He is open to spirits constantly, so in his I included items to ground him.

The stones used in his:

Tiger's eye: This stone helps to keep away unwanted spirits

Citrine: Helps to ward the negativity that can be caused by spirits.

Clear Quartz: This one helps to turn the negative energy to good energy, if there is any that gets past the citrine.

Red Jasper: Good for cleaning and stabilizing the aura

Hematite: To help with grounding

Howlite: This stone is great for protecting against unwanted spirits.

and finally his totem which is an elephant made of dolomite

Dolomite: Excellent for balancing the spiritul, emotional, and physical features of a person

For the herbs in Curt's I used:

Cinnamon (pictured above): General protection and to ward negative energies (I would be lying if I didn't say that I also had future girlfriends in mind

Dragon's Blood (pictured above): Protection from all evils

High John Root (pictured above): please forgive my misspelling of conqueror in the pic, I had only had one cup of coffee and I saved before I fixed it. High John is just a good all around root, and it is great for psychic protection.

Hawthorn Berries: Good general protection

Angelica: Great for banishing evil spirits

Nettle: Protect against psychic attacks and to remove negative energies

For Curtly's friend, his will be a little different, but not much. I will tweak his for more of a psychic attack protection.

He got the same stones as Curtis, minus the totem, and add an amethyst.

Amethyst: Protection against witchcraft

For his herbs he got a little different mix.

He was given the dragon's blood, hawthorn, nettle, high john, and cinnamon like Curt, but I also added:

Dill: general protection and protection against psychic attacks

Clove: This is a great protection against intentional magical attack and psychic attack

Pennyroyal: protection against psychic attacks

Blue Vervain: protection and peace

Vetiver root: this root strengthens the body's auric field and offers protection

Then as an afterthought, I added Mandrake to both bags:

Mandrake: good all around protection

Needless to say, their small bags were packed. But, they both were happy with them. I forgot to take a picture of the finished bags, but there is one of them in second picture of the stones, to show you what I used.

I hope this helps anyone that needs a protection as the veil thins. If you have any questions or comments regarding this, please don't hesitate to send me a message.

Brightest blessings, 

Loren

Spirit Communication Aids

*This article is also part of Kallan's wonderful Sunday Stew. Please hop on over there (when you are finished here) and read all of my friend's contributions. Trust me, you will love the flavor that each chef has to offer :)

Spirit board and matching planchette made by yours truly. This crow

and pumpkin spirit board will be a giveaway item in one of the upcoming

Samhain Siren giveaways that starts October 1st! Make sure that you don't miss out on it!

My oh my, when I started my blog I never even thought that I would be doing so many posts on spirit communication. I was making a blog for my artwork and maybe an occasional post or two on spirit communication......lol, so I thought anyway. I have been letting the spirits lead me and this is where they have gone. So, it looks like you will have another post on spirit communication boys and girls. After all, the veil is thinning. No time like the present to learn more, right?

Today's post will be about gemstones, crystals, herbs and incenses that will aid you in your spiritual communications. I will be adding pics of everything with the descriptions because I just hate to read about an herb or a stone and not see what in the world it looks like.

All of the pics are of my own herbs and my rock and gemstone collection.

Now, of course you don't need ALL of these. Just a couple will be fine. I'm just listing them so you can see what properties they aid in and you can make your choices. I have an extensive collection of herbs, because I grow them and I have been collecting rocks and minerals for 20 years.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN:

Sage and Myrrh

Before you begin you should cleanse your work area with sage. Myrrh is always a great addition to that because it aids in removing negativity. I use these before any spirit work that I do. During my work I burn herbs that aid in communication, these are discussed in a bit. Sometimes, I also add in a bit of frankincense. Frankincense is good for calming your mind and awakening your spiritual awareness. So, using them all together pre-work will get you in the right frame of mind and prepare your area.

Gemstones and Stones

Selenite

This beautiful stone helps you to attain higher states of consciousness by calming and focusing the mind. It fine tunes spiritual contact and it enhances the energies of any other crystals that you may be using. 

I love Selenite. It is a beautiful stone and it is also useful for cleansing your aura. This is definitely a stone to have in your communication collection.

Blue Lace Agate

Blue lace is a stone that is connected to the throat chakra and the third eye chakra, so that makes it a great stone for spirit communication. It aids in meditation and can also bring peace to an overactive mind. It also helps to cleanse your aura.

Quartz

Like selenite, quartz is an amplifier. However, quartz is the ULTIMATE amplifier. It trumps selenite.  It not only boosts the other crystals you use, it will concentrate your energies towards your goal.  It helps you connect  and speak with your spirit guide and it creates a bond to the spirit realm. This is one that you don't want to miss out on and if you could only pick one, this would be it.

Amethyst

Amethyst is my personal favorite......because hello? Purple! I love this stone! As you can see, it comes in a variety of purple shades, but that is not what makes it such a great little communicator. What amethyst does is open up your upper chakras so that you are able to reach higher states of consciousness, which in turn helps your intuition and clears your energy pathways. It aids in concentration and helps alleviate fears. This stone doesn't just cleanse the aura, it protects it.

Citrine

I named the big one in the back of this pic Coffee cake. It looks like a piece of coffee cake to me.

Anyway, this is a good stone to use when practicing automatic writing, because it helps to make you more intuitive by aligning your chakras with the ethereal plane.

Celestite

Here we have another blue stone. That's a good rule of thumb. Sky blue equals spirit communication. 

Celestite is a gorgeous stone, it just sparkles. It helps in opening your connections to higher realms by helping you to relax and clearing your thoughts. It will help strengthen your link to higher beings, like angels or your spirit guide. 

Prehnite

You probably can't see it very well, but this is a light green stone. It is a darker sage green color. 

Prehnite will help your receive communications from angels and spirit guides. It will also help you to listen to the wisdom from your Higher Self. Definitely a good stone to have.

Moldavite

The reason that I am holding the stone up in this pic is because moldavite is kind of translucent. So that when you hold it up, you can kind of see through it. It is a more rare and pricier stone. Even small pieces are a bit costly. Moldavite is a tektite. Meaning that it comes from a meteorite crash. Moldavite comes from Moldauthein, Czechoslovakia. It is glass bottle green. 

Moldavite works by elevating your consciousness to the highest of the spiritual dimensions. It also enhances the effects of any other crystals that you may be using by taking them to their highest vibrations. It also enables communications with your Higher Self and it promotes altered states of consciousness by opening, clearing, energizing and aligning your chakras. How is that for a stone? 

Sodalite

Sodalite puts you in touch with your Higher Self by raising the vibration of your conscious mind, which in turn raises your spirtual perception. Your third eye is also stimulated, which aids in meditation.

All of these stones aid you in raising your awareness, aligning chakras, and taking your consciousness to new heights. 

Now let's look at a couple that will bring you back down and help to ground you when you are finished with your communications.

Hematite

Black Obsidian

Herbs for Spirit Communications

Lavender

You carry lavender to help see ghosts and it aids in meditation. So it is a perfect herb for communication.

Roses

Roses are useful in enhancing psychic awareness and contacting spirit guides, so they are great added to an incense blend for communication.

Chamomile

Chamomile is good for meditation and helps you learn knowledge of your past lives. It is also very calming.

Mugwort

Mugwort is an excellent spirit herb. It aids in many things: astral projection, divination, intuition, meditation, psychic abilities, spirit guides, and visions. 

Wormwood

Since wormwood is in the same family as mugwort it does have some of the same great abilities for communication with spirits. You can use it to summon the dead, open your psychic centers, and divination.

Lemongrass

Lemongrass aids with communication by promoting visions and enhancing your psychic awareness.

Copal

Copal is offered to departed souls during "Day of the Dead" rites, it also clarifies the mind and holds protective influence.

Peppermint

Peppermint is sacred to Hades, so of course it will be included here. It aids in psychic development, dreams, divinations, exorcism, and spirit offering. 

Calamus Root

Calamus root is said to make the user be able to "travel for miles without touching the ground". This herb is highly revered by yogis and will enhance your awareness and increase communication. It's yogic name is "Vacha", which means speech. It works on your fifth chakra and helps you to speak from your highest level of consciousness. 

Sandalwood

Sandalwood has protective properties so it would be good to include in your incense if you choose to make your own.

Magaly from pagan-culture.blogspot.com graciously sent me pics that she took of her gorgeous Star Anise from the Dominican Republic! Thank you, Magaly. (I'm currently out and couldn't take a pic)

Star Anise 

Star Anise is good for not only psychic protection, but also developing and controlling your psychic powers. It aids in contacting other planes, divinations, and exorcisms. It is good for using as a base for any psychic incense.

I hope you have enjoyed all the information. Next week we will talk about making a medicine bag pouch with items for protection against spirits. I will also include incenses and stones for that. 

Brightest Blessings,

Loren