Thunder Water

Thunder Water

Thunder Water, also called Jupiter Water is simply rain water collected during a thunderstorm. We have all felt the thrill of power in the air when there is a thunderstorm.... The lightning flashing, the air vibrates with the sound of rolling thunder. Lightning has long been associated with the Greek god Zeus or his Roman counterpart, Jupiter. Rain water collected during a thunderstorms is said to be charged with the protective energy of this powerful god. It can be used in spells or rituals for protection, healing, or to send negativity back to it's source.

Ways to use Thunder Water

* use it for house cleaning or as mop water to promote healing or protection of the home. Add some essential oils that boost either the protective energy or healing energy.

* put it in a spray bottle and spray lightly around a room for energy cleansing & protection.

* Use it to wash your hair for personal protection or healing.

* put it in a colored glass bottle and place it in a Western facing windowsill to serve as a protective/healing talisman and bring soothing Water element energy to that room. (Add some corresponding crystals or herbs to boost this energy)

* use the Thunder water to cleanse your crystals and gemstones.

* place it in a pot on the stove, add some aromatic herbs and spices, and let it simmer for natural potpourri and energy cleansing of the house.

* use it as desired for the water element / water bowl on your altar for spells and rituals (especially for healing & protection spells.)

Collecting & Charging your Thunder Water

Place a bowl, cup, or jar outside during a thunderstorm. I prefer using a mason jar because I can then store it in the same container.

* make note of the day of the week and the sign/phase of the moon when the rain storm occurs.  These associations may help you decide how you want to use your Thunder Water. If the moon sign favors healing, you may want to charge the water for healing purposes. If the moon is Waning, it may be favorable to use it for banishing negativity.

* To further empower your Thunder Water, you may wish to add a crystal or gemstone that corresponds with the purpose you intend to use it for. Opal is considered to be a stone sacred to Zeus, and the Ancient Greeks believed it had healing powers.  Tiger's Eye is associated with Jupiter and is a protective stone. Use what you see fit.

* If it is raining, but there is no lightning & thunder, you may still wish to collect rain water and use it as Thunder Water.  There are a few ways to do this.  1) Collect Rain water on a Thursday as that is the day of week ruled by Jupiter. 2) Collect the rain water during the planetary hour of Jupiter, on any day of the week. 3) Collect rain water while the Moon or Sun are in the sign of Sagittarius, or when they are conjunct with Jupiter. 4) Since you never really know when it might rain, decorate your collecting jar with symbols of lightning, shields, eagles, or any symbol you think represents Zeus/Jupiter; and then collect the rain at any time.

* No matter when you collect the water, hold it in your hands and visualize it glowing with an electric blue light. Ask Zeus or Jupiter (Or your preferred Deity of power) to bless and charge the water, thank Them for the gift of rain and the protection or healing this water will provide.

It's Monday! I'm Reading....

Book Review; Last Week's Book

Last week I finished reading Siddhartha  by Herman Hesse. I really enjoyed the story. The first half of the book was rather slow and hard for me to get into, but I found the second half to be interesting and enjoyable. I am glad I stuck with it to the end. It was interesting because I have been studying Buddhist and Zen philosophy. I think it helped that I have an interest in these subjects and a basic understanding of them; someone who doesn't have that may not understand the book. I would reccomend this book to anyone interested in Eastern Philosophies and books that explore Buddhism and Zen concepts!

It's Monday! What are you reading?

I'm so excited! I found The Ocean At The End of The Lane  by Neil Gaiman at the public library today! I have been wanting to read this one for a long time and I have loved everything I ever read by Neil Gaiman. Check back next Monday for my review and the next book I am reading!

Have a great week! What are you reading?

Dragonfly

There is a dragonfly in the living room today! I love these amazing creatures! This one came to visit for awhile, and it's message for me was simple. 

Dragonflies represent transformation and change - growth that comes with transitions. Dragonfly says: Emerge! Step into who you are! Don't look back... But feel the love and beauty of the process of becoming!

Dragonflies spend the first stage of their life in the water a larval form called a nymph.  Some may remain in the nymph stage for up to four years! When it is time, the nymph crawls out of the water and then it emerges from it's former body, taking on the form of a dragonfly. Shedding it's old body and embracing a beautiful change, dragonfly is now the flying creature skimming over the surface of the water.

My life this year has been a series of trials, changes, and upheaval. There have been good things, but heavily mixed with unsure feelings and worries. I imagine this is how the nymph feels. Under the water, hiding in the depths and shadows, feeling  these internal changes but not knowing what it will become. What lies above the water? Why am I drawn to it so strongly when I have lived here in comfort so long? Why do I suddenly feel too big for my body? 

Here I am. I am still shaky and weak from my emergence and transformation. Still not quite sure how to fly. But I have emerged! I am ready!

This poem is on my refrigerator wall right now; 

For a New Beginning

In out-of-the-way places of the heart,

Where your thoughts never think to wander,

This beginning has been quietly forming, 

Waiting until you were ready to emerge.

For a long time it has watched your desire,

Feeling the emptiness growing inside you, 

Noticing how you willed yourself on,

Still unable to leave what you had outgrown.

It watched you play with the seduction of safety

And the gray promises that sameness whispered,

Heard the waves of turmoil rise and relent,

Wondered would you always live like this.

Then the delight, when your courage kindled, 

And out you stepped onto new ground, 

Your eyes young again with energy and dream,

A path of plentitude opening before you.

Though your destination is not yet clear

You can trust the promise of this opening;

Unfurl yourself into the grace of beginning

That is at one with your life's desire.

Awaken your spirit to adventure;

Hold nothing back, learn to find ease in risk;

Soon you will be home in a new rhythm,

For your soul senses the world that awaits you.

~ John O' Donohue ~

For whatever reason you are reading this post today - Dragonfly has fluttered into your life at this moment. Embrace the transitions, the changes, and challenges you face - they are just a part of your beautiful emergence; as you step into your true purpose.

Namaste.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eaVxcpefX-0&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Rainy Day and Apple Pie

I wake up to the smell of rain. A fog lays low over the trees. The rain has stopped, but it still sounds like it is raining because of the water droplets falling from the trees. I make my coffee, make the kids' school lunches, send them off to the bus stop.  

The soundtrack of this day is the album "August, And Everything After" by Counting Crows. I sing along as I wash the dishes, drink my coffee, and do my morning yoga.

On the porch, a crate of apples is being washed in the rain.  A friend picked apples from a neighbor's tree a couple days ago and brought them here to The Sanctuary. Noticing the apples, I feel inspired. Today is the day to make apple pie!

I find a recipe and head out in the rain to the grocery store for a few ingredients we don't have.  Wait for the kids to get home from school because I know this is something they will want to help with.

Easy Apple Pie

Ingredients;

2 nine-inch pie crusts (one for bottom, one for top)

1/4 cup flour or flour substitute ( I am using Almond Meal)

3/4 cup Sugar

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

Dash of salt

2 tablespoons butter

6 cups thinly sliced apples

Preheat oven to 425°F

Place one pie crust in the pie pan.

Mix the flour, sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Stir in the apple slices. Place apple mixture in pie crust. Dot with small segments of unmelted butter. (This will melt and mix in as it bakes.) Cover with top pie crust & pinch edges to seal. Cut a couple slits in top crust to vent steam.

Bake 40 to 50 minutes until crust is golden brown.  Remove from oven and let cool slightly before serving.

Recipe found at www.momswhothink.com

(Not your store-bought apples!)

(Almond Meal instead of Flour)

I sprinkled some sugar & cinnamon on the top crust right after taking it out of the stove.

It's cooling on the counter, and now the smell of apple pie mingles with the smell of rain.  Dinner tonite is tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches followed by some of this amazing pie! It doesn't get much better than this! 

Welcome, Fall!

It's the Fall Equinox! Day and Night temporarily balance back to Equals, and from here the days gradually grow shorter, nights lengthen, and colder weather begins to settle in. Here in the Pacific Northwest it has been unseasonably warm. . . summer stayed a little longer than usual! But today, right on cue, as if the area got the memo that says "Time For Fall"!, the weather has taken a turn toward cooler days.  Leaves are turning color and falling, and there is a brisk autumn bite in the air.
I'm from Arizona, where there aren't really "proper seasons", so I'm really excited to experience true Fall weather this year! Every weekend I drive from Olympia to Portland and back to pick up my husband from his job. The difference between last weekend and this one was breathtaking! Last weekend everything was still summertime green, and this week there are bursts of fall color all along the drive!  (A couple pictures I took today along the drive are included in this post.)
I'm excited for fall... I welcome it and embrace the change! Rain, cooler weather, harvest festivals, corn mazes, Halloween, warm cozy clothes, hot chocolate, apple cider! Today I welcome the Fall!

Siddhartha by Herman Hesse

Joining in at Book Journey to share what I am currently reading!

"Siddhartha" 

By Herman Hesse (1951)

Following along with my theme of a couple previous posts here, I decided to continue reading this book. I had started reading it earlier this year, but then packed the book up when we moved. Since I am working on meditating more often and subsequently learning about Buddhism, I figured now would be a good time to finish reading this one!

From the back cover:

"This classic novel of self-discovery, set in India during the lifetime of the historic Buddha, has inspired generations of spiritual seekers.  The tale of a young Brahman's quest for the ultimate reality follows his spiritual journey - from the extremes of excess and sensuality to the rigors of asceticism and self-denial. Ultimately he learns that wisdom cannot be taught - it must come from one's own experience and inner struggle. Told in an evocative, symbolic style that gives the story a sense of the timeless, the novel is admired for it's engaging prose, human sympathy, imagination, and ironic humor." (Dover Publications, 1999)

Meditation - Affirmations to help you meditate

Meditation - Affirmations to help you meditate

MEDITATION

Affirmation 1: "I cherish my meditation times."
Affirmation 2: "The Wisdom I seek is within me."

Meditation;
"At least once a day I sit quietly and go within to connect with the wisdom and knowledge that is always there.  This wisdom and knowledge is only a breath away.  All the answers to all the questions I shall ever ask are sitting there waiting for me.   Meditating is a joy for me.  I sit quietly, take a few deep breaths, relax, and go to that place of peace within.  After a little while, I come back to the present moment refreshed and renewed and ready for life.  Every day is a joyous new adventure for me because I choose to listen to my own inner wisdom.  This wisdom is always available to me.  It comes from the essence of that which exists behind the universe of time, space. and change.  When I meditate, I connect with the deep inner unchanging part of myself.  Here I am energy.  I am light.  I am the answer already arrived.  I am Eternal Beingness being here now."

~ From "Meditations To Heal Your Life" by Louise L. Hay

_--------------------------

I've recently joined a group of others in a challenge to meditate every day for 100 days. Our goals in doing this are; 

*To develop a habit of meditation, making it a part of our daily life.

*To deepen our meditation practice and get better at it.

*To explore different styles of meditation and find what works best for us.

I've shared a couple affirmations here to help anyone who wants to meditate more. It's easy to let the negative self talk discourage us.  How many times do you say to yourself; "I just don't have time to meditate." Or "I'm just not good at it, it's so hard to clear my mind." And "I can't sit still that long, it hurts my back." Etc.

When you find yourself thinking this way, replace those thoughts with positive affirmations like the examples given above. Make your own positive affirmations to help you feel confident about meditating, and share them here in the comments!

Siddhartha Guatama Buddha

With the creation of my new blog, I'm jumping in and joining the Pagan Blog Project ( http://pagan blog project.com )

This week is the letter S and I have chosen to write about Siddhartha.  In the above picture, my meditation table with a card picturing Siddhartha  Guatama Buddha from The Ascended Masters Oracle card deck by Doreen Virtue.  There have been many Buddhas, and anyone can become Buddha by practicing and living a life of non-attatchment and enlightenment.  Siddhartha Guatama was the "first" Buddha and most of the main teachings of Buddhism come from the lessons he shared.

Born to a wealthy family, he rejected the luxuries he could have had, in a search for true happiness and contentment. Spending long hours meditating he realized that true contentment comes from neither the rejection or the love of belongings or status, but from an attitude of non-attatchment. Non-attatchment means it is okay to have and enjoy things/people/experiences in your life, but to never become too attached to anything by realizing nothing in life is permanent.  He teaches of "The Middle Path" between a life of excess and a life of self-denial; finding a balance while learning to live in the present moment and not to let your inner peace be dependant on impermanent things.  

Siddhartha Gautama Buddha taught the importance of meditation as an important aspect of attaining this Middle Path of enlightenment.  Through meditation one learns to quiet the mind and still the body, wanting for nothing and finding peace in just existing.  

This week, take time to be still, be silent, meditate as often as you can, and think on the lessons & teachings of Siddhartha Guatama Buddha.

Book Review: "Rant" by Chuck Palahniuk

Rant: An Oral Biography of Buster Casey
By Chuck Palahniuk ©2007
Published by Doubleday

Date I read this book: Sept. 16 - Sept 20, 2014

My rating: Four Stars! I enjoyed this book so much!

Before I recommend this book to anyone, have you read anything by Chuck Palahniuk before? If yes... You have an idea of what you're getting into and no further warning is needed. If you have not read books by this author before, (Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, Diary, Lullaby, Haunted, Survivor, Choke) then fair warning should be given: this author has a way of pushing the boundaries of "acceptable" subject matter and will do his best to make the reader uncomfortable to say the least.  If you have seen "Fight Club" the movie, this will give you a good idea of his writing style. Intellectual, psychological, disturbing, fascinating.

In "Rant", the life of Buster Casey is told by the people who knew him, it is like reading sound bites from interviews. Trying to figure out who is giving you "the truth" is part of the mystery... As you read you figure out more about the people he knew and their personalities as you go.
But what is it about? I'm avoiding spoilers here but I will try to find a few words to describe the story.
Disease.
Rabies.
History.
Class. (As in separation of people by class & stature)
Government control.
Escapism.
Fate.
Crashing Cars.
Parent / Child relationships.
Sex.
Time travel.
Philosophy.
Morality.
And a whole lot of "What The F%@& Did I Just Read"? (In true Palahniuk style)

All in all, I enjoyed this book a lot. When it comes to this author, there are books I loved, and books I didn't. This one fits into my "Best of Palahniuk" list along with Fight Club, Invisible Monsters, and Diary.

New blog!

I've moved! Because of my scatterbrained nature, I can't remember the password to my old blog and e-mail. I'm wanting to share my journey & thoughts with everyone so this is the new blog! Under construction as right now I am creating it from my phone!  Hopefully I can eventually move the old blog posts from there to this one!
Excited to share more with you as our journey continues! My family and I just moved from Phoenix AZ to Olympia WA so changes are big and good! I hope to share many things here... Pictures, thoughts, poetry, arts & crafts, gardening, recipes, astrology, tarot, parenting.... All of the million things that make up my life!