​Trigger Warning: I understand that some of my readers may have a phobia of spiders. If this is the case, then this post may not be for you. That said, there are no pictures or graphic descriptions of spiders here, only myth and lore. The decision to read on is yours. If not, it’s all good, take care of you. I hope to see you next week. 
 
Spiritually speaking, when we think about messengers or guides in animal form, our first thoughts usually go to birds (owls, crows, and ravens come to mind for me) or perhaps something that we may feel we already connect with. We often don’t think about the tiny, nearly invisible creatures that are all around us, but we either don’t notice, or don’t want to notice. One such creature is the spider. Despite being quite unliked, and even feared, these days, they were not always so. Throughout history, spiders have often been respected as messengers, and, dare I say, good omens. Some believed it was taboo to kill one inside.
 
Across many cultures there are deities connected with spiders. They are associated with traits like wisdom, and cunning for deities like Anansi (West African), and creation and destiny for others like Spider Grandmother (Navajo), Uttu (Sumerian), and Neith (Egyptian).  These are just some of them.
 
Spiders featured in Slavic and Romanic cultures as keepers of time, fate, and hidden knowledge.
They also saw the intricate webs of these amazing little spinners as omens depending on where and how their webs were spun. The placement of the web was important. According to Earth Fairy Holistics on Facebook (You should really check her out, she has some fantastic content), across a door could mean a spirit or entity had passed through that area, and low to the ground could be a warning against travel, or speaking too much. On a sacred object it was a blessing and suggested that sacred space/energy was being held there, and was guarded. It was considered especially lucky to find one in your bed or on your hearth. The condition the web is weaved in also has meaning. A messy web is indicative of messy/chaotic energy.
 
According to Steven Farmer in his book Animal Spirit Guides, spiders bring messages about assimilating wisdom, exploring other dimensions/realities, being inspired by Nature, and being aware of possible traps. You can call on spider when things feel wrong or off and you need to regain your equilibrium on all levels.
 
I know that these tiny messengers are widely unliked or feared. Personally, I see them all the time. Though less so than I used to. I have never really been afraid of spiders. These days I tend to try and wrangle them to put them outside, though I have always had an unspoken agreement that if they stay out of my living space they are welcome to their own space. They are helpful in keeping down insect populations, especially mosquitos, cockroaches, and house flies.
 
If you have made it all the way through this post, I would love to know how you feel about spiders? Do you find them fascinating? Do you hate them, or do you feel rather neutral about them? Are you curious about the wisdom they may offer, or are you happy to just let them be?

 Many of us wear jewelry every (or nearly every) day. Earrings, necklaces, bracelets, rings, etc… Sometimes we choose them for aesthetic reasons, or sentimental reasons, but sometimes we choose the jewelry we wear for other, more magical, reasons.
The magical reasons we choose these body adornments can vary greatly, but when we do, we often take great care to choose the right stones and designs for the job, often while still finding it aesthetically pleasing. I wonder though, how often we consider the metals used as well.
Like crystals, metals also have their own frequencies. They lend their influence to our everyday lives and magical practices alike. Two of the most popular metals chosen for jewelry are gold and silver.
Gold, which corresponds to the sun, has a warm energy. It not only holds energy; it attracts and amplifies it as well. A good metal for creating and manifesting.
Silver, which corresponds to the moon, is energetically cool. Like light off the moons surface, its energy is reflective. However, it can also deflect energy, thereby giving it a protective quality. This also means that if you are trying to call something in, it may actually bounce off of you, so be aware.
Other metals used for magical purposes are:
Copper, which is used to conduct energy. It helps create movement, flow, circulation. It is also considered to bridge the gap between the physical and spiritual realms.
Lead is used for its grounding and protective characteristics, but also valued, especially by alchemists, for its potential influence over transformation, transmutation, and also exhibited potential for cursing.
Iron, often associated with grounding and strength, also offers protective energies. If you know anything of faery lore, you may have heard that it is supposed to protect against the fey and their magic, though that protection extends out to other potentially malevolent forces/energies as well. It is also said to have a dampening or barrier-like effect towards all magic, and so is sometimes avoided all together by some magical practitioners.
These are just some of the metals used for magical purposes. If you would like to learn more about using/wearing metal for magical purposes there are a few books out on the subject. I recommend Cunningham’s Encyclopedia of Crystal, Gem, and Metal Magic by Scott Cunningham.
So, do you use metals in your magical workings? Do you wear them with intention? Do you take their energetic influence into consideration when purchasing jewelry, or do you choose them for purely aesthetic reasons? Would you (re)consider their influence now?

​Playing cards have existed for over a thousand year, in one form or another. It is thought that they started out in China, thought with a different composition that you may be familiar with. Over time (and through much travel) they evolved into the cards we know today. It was actually the French card makers that simplified their design into the four suits that are now standard.
Many of us grew up playing games like Go fish and Crazy Eights. And we got older we may have moved on to play games like Rummy, Crib, Hearts, and Poker. Cards are not just for games though. They have also been used for divination, also known as cartomancy; most popularly between the 18th and 20th centuries. While most are in agreement that the card suits correspond to the suits of the Minor Arcana of tarot (with the same elemental and personal correspondences), there seems to be some differing in opinion/practice when it comes to the meanings/how they are interpreted. Some systems interpret the cards as if they are the familiar Minor Arcana, while others have  a list of specific meanings for each card that deviate from tarot in part or as a whole. If  you would like to learn more about using laying cards for divination I recommend Playing Card Divination for Beginners by Richard Webster.
Another great use for playing cards is as a tool to develop your intuition/psychic abilities, much like Zener cards are used. Begin by shuffling the cards. Before turning over the top card place your hand on it and see if you can determine what it is. You can start small by determining the cards are red or black; recording your results to see how many you get right. Once you are comfortable with your progress you can move on to intuiting the suit, and then eventually the card itself. At first it may seem like you are guessing, but the more you practice and develop your skills you will see it is more than that. 
My final thought on paying cards today, and the reason I wrote this post, is about something I saw on social media. A woman was describing how she just learned that the structure of playing cards represent our calendar (the Gregorian Calendar). I feel like I have heard this theory before, but had forgotten about it. This appears to be the case since about 1582 when the Gregorian Calendar was adopted in Europe to correct discrepancies in the previously used Julian Calendar.  The correspondences to the calendar year are thus:
 

• Red/Black cards = Day and Night
• The 4 suits = the 4 seasons
• 13 cards of each suit = 13 lunar cycles in a year
• 12 Court Cards = the 12 months
• 52 main cards = the weeks of the year
• Additionally, if you add the value of the cards together (where Jacks = 11, Queens = 12, and Kings = 13) you get 364 days. This is where the Jokers come in. Adding one makes the full 365 days of the “normal” year, while adding both equals the 366 days of a leap year.

 
Other themes suggest that the court cards represent specific important historical figures, and that the suits represent varying societal/economic levels from peasants to royalty. If you would like to learn more about this you can find more information on sites like https://www.copagusa.com/blogs/product-information/history-meaning-and-uses-of-a-deck-of-playing-cards?srsltid=AfmBOoq901O5jNJ0q5HBXWPBpuz8MDESVkbJJiMlo10vrItqMaJ84RPM
 
So how do you use playing cards? Are they all just fun and games for you, or do you use them other ways? Have you used them in ways not mentioned here? If so I would love for you to share with us!

​I absolutely love crystals and stones. While naturally beautiful in the shapes and structures they form in, they are also carved (by hand or machine) into other eye pleasing shapes that can be decorative, functional, or both. If you have worked with crystals you know that each crystal has its own energy/frequency which allows them to provide different forms of energetic assistance or healing. Changing the shape of a crystal can change how the energy is directed or dispersed by it, which can help the user better utilize that energy for whatever purpose they need. Some examples are:
 
Single Terminated Point: This is a crystal that has sides that come together at one end while the other end is usually flat or raw. They are used to focus energy into or out from a single point in one direction
Double Terminated Point: This is just like a point, but the sides come together at both ends. Energy goes into or out of the points on each end at the same time.
Cathedral: These crystals are clusters of tiny points and the energy they make going out in the direction each point faces. As they are shaped in a cave formation with all the points facing towards the center, all that energy is focused into the center of the “cave” and is amplified.
Sphere: Energy comes off the whole surface of the sphere equally and in all directions.
Pyramid: Pyramids have a flat square base and four triangles that come together at the top to make a point. That means it can focus energy like a regular point. Energy can come off the flat sides or up through the point at the top.
Obelisks and Towers: An obelisk only has 4 sides and a tower has 5 or more, that come to a point at the top and then are flat on the bottom. Energy flows up and out of both of these shapes through the point. The are usually used to focus energy up towards the universe (the sky), but could also be used like a wand to direct the energy in whatever direction they are pointed in.
 
I want to give special mention to this next shape. While it is technically a double terminated point, it is very specifically cut in order to provide a powerful focus to the energy. This mathematical design was created by Marcel Vogel, hence the name. Vogels are made from crystals in the quartz family, like quartz, amethyst, rose quartz, smokey quartz, and citrine. They have a point at each end (making them double terminated). The “female” end is fatter than the “male” end, and it must have at least 4 facets (faces), but they usually have more. Energy enters through the “female” end and exits through the “male” end. In my opinion, they would make excellent ends to handmade wands, and a potent addition to any grid, but are also excellent for healing purposes, and can be used for energetic entity removal when placed on the body.
 
Most any shape that has a point is effective for use in grids, directing energy one way or another for healing, or used as a wand. Clusters and cathedrals are excellent for charging, clearing, and amplifying energy because of their numerous individual crystals working together in harmony. Others, like spheres, have a less focused and possibly more gentle energy dispersal. That said, some stones and crystals just speak to us loud and proud regardless of their shape.
Of course, other shapes have functions too. The platonic solids have elemental and other correspondences, animal and other such shapes can help draw those particular energies to us, and so on. There are so many more shapes I could talk about here, but that is a rabbit hole far too deep for this blog post. I love working with crystals, both in their natural and man-made forms. They decorate nearly every room in my home, I use them for healing and spell work, and I have plenty of beautiful and energetic jewelry to wear as well. How about you? Do you harness the energy of crystals to enhance your home, work, or life in general? Do you prefer to use (or not use) particular shapes? Did shape even matter to you before? Does it now?