Eat Healthy
Well, let’s be honest. This is pretty close to the last thing that happens for the larger part of us during the holiday season.  Even the most healthy of veggie dishes is covered in some manner of sauce, often involving cheese and milk, and none of the desserts that we tend to have after these fatty, starchy meals are healthy either (you’re not kidding anyone with fruit tarts).  Obviously you should enjoy the holiday meals and treats that only come this time each year, but it’s also important to remember that this isn’t meant to be a free for all for the entire month of December.  When you’re not attending a specific event, eat healthy, even more so than you might normally do.  This helps to add a little more balance to what you’re doing to do your body by eating a little more poorly during the holidays.

• Have a cup of green tea twice a day, once in the morning and once in the evening.  Green tea is a natural antioxidant and can help with keeping things a little more balanced during this heavy eating season.
• Before heading out to a dinner or party for the holidays have a salad at home.  A big salad!  Since the chances are you wont be eating a great deal of vegetables this helps with the healthier eating but it also means you wont be going on an empty stomach which gives you a much higher risk of overeating.
• If you are a meat eater, try and keep your meat intake at home down during December.  Especially if you know that you’ll be attending dinners and parties where meat will be the main dish.  Eating a good deal of meat can make you tired and sluggish because it weighs down your digestive system and your personal energy.
• If you typically keep desserts and sweets in the house, try and cut out buying them on your own during the holidays.  Most of us tend ti either over do it on the cakes and cookies during the holidays at parties and gatherings but many of us also end up taking home a doggie bag or plate of leftover treats.  The more you have on hand the more you’re going to eat!
• And when it comes to taking home leftovers after a holiday dinner, be mindful of what you’re bringing home.  Will you eat it?  When bringing home a plate from holiday gathering be sure that it is food you will eat and will enjoy, otherwise let someone else take it!  Also, don’t bring home more than one meal’s worth of leftovers.  This is both practical and helpful to your body.  Leftovers usually aren’t worth much after two days and, again, if you have more than you would eat in a sitting that means overeating.

Drink Water
This time of year tends to be filled with soda, coffee, and alcohol in our cups.  This is all fine in moderation but we still need good old clear and healthful water.  Our bodies need the water, not just any old liquid.  When we’re not getting our water we can become dehydrated which causes fatigue. Soda, coffee, and other caffeinated beverages are not truly hydrating and the added caffeine only tires us out more, especially when it’s in excess.  Alcohol is a sedative and when put on top of coffee it tires us out even more.

• Be sure to drink the usual 6 to 8 glasses of water a day.  If you’re going to be out of the house, traveling to a gathering or visiting friends and family, take along a travel bottle filled with water.  Find whatever way you can to get that hydration in.
• Be mindful of how much coffee and other caffeinated drinks you have in a day.  Also be sure to cut yourself off from having them too late in the day.  Unless you plan on driving late in the evening or know that you need to be awake, try and cut your caffeine off by around noon or 1pm each day.  Excessive caffeine only makes you more tired and has the opposite effect that most people are after.
• Alcohol should always be consumed in moderation but remember that it is a sedative and will make you tried, even if you don’t drink in excess.  Alcohol can also make you dehydrated so be sure that if you’re drinking alcohol to take breaks in between to drink water so as to help with some of those feelings of fatigue that come with drinking.

Get Some Exercise
This time of year more than any, for more reasons than one, exercise is extremely important.  Not only does it help with keeping us from gaining the extra weight that comes with all this eating and drinking but it helps to relieve stress that can only add to our feelings of exhaustion.  All you need is to find a half hour during the day to do something physical to help aid in getting a good night’s sleep during this time of year (and really any time of year).

• If you have a gaming console with motion capabilities, purchase yourself an exercise game or one of the many dance or sports games that are on the market.  Playing one of these for a half hour will not only go by super fast but it will be fun and wont feel like exercise.
• Remember to do something you enjoy so that you’ll want to keep up with doing something each day.
• This doesn’t have to be a hardcore work out!  Grab your iPod and head to the local high school track after hours or early in the morning if weather permits and take a 30 minute stroll.  If this isn’t possible, head for the mall but leave your credit cards inside!  Better yet, go early in the morning before the stores are open.  Those groups of senior citizens that go mall walking before shopping hours really are on to something!

Get Rest
Sometimes during the holidays it feels like there just isn’t enough time in the day to get the rest we know we need.  And for us Pagans who are honoring muli-faith and multi-family events, it can be even more tiring because we have both our own rituals and events to attend and then those of our friends and family.  At night we may find that we’re just too wound up to sleep and that naturally builds over days into being in a zombie-like state of existence.  A night of 8 hours of sleep starts to dwindle down to 4 hours and soon we can’t remember if we went to sleep or passed out the night before. Take steps to make sure you’re still getting the sleep you need, which for the average adult is between 6 and 8 hours a night.

• Try setting your alarm for 15 minutes before you would normally get up.  When your alarm goes off you don’t need to jolt right out of bed.  Give yourself those 15 minutes to gently come into awareness for the day.  Make sure that you are fully awake before your feet hit the floor.  When you’re not, you only start your day off tired and it’s hard to truly overcome that feeling.
• Consider changing your alarm to something less, well, alarming.  Purchase a Zen Timer alarm clock or look for a clock that had different nature sounds that can act as alarms.  Many of us now use our iPhones or other smartphones as alarms and many offer different tones for using the alarm that are removed from the loud electronic buzzing that we grew up with.  Being gently woken from your sleep state helps to keep you from feeling suddenly tired all over again once you’re awake.
• For the last hour before you plan to go to bed shut down the computer, turn off your phone, and turn off the television.  Spend that hour reading, meditating, or doing something else that has you still, quite, and less stimulated.  Electronic stimulation before bed makes it hard to fall asleep for many people and only has our minds reeling with all the things we’ve dealt with during the day.  By taking the time to either meditate or read a book purely for enjoyment we have the chance to step outside of our routine and all that we’ve had going on for the day so we can truly relax and unwind.

While all of these tips are naturally good healthy living ideas, they are especially important for this time of year.  With the stress we are often under with the holidays we quickly become run down and our immune systems weaken making January flus and colds common occurrences.  But it’s also important for us magickal folks to keep in mind because a state of fatigue means that we’re going to be dealing with low energy, something that may be a concern if you do energy work for yourself or others regularly (especially professionally) or if you plan to work magick and ritual for the Sabbat.

Be sure to have a happy, healthy Yuletide season so that your new year starts out with a bang!

This year give the gifts of…

Listening
Sometimes the most important gift that someone can receive is an ear to bend and a shoulder to lean on.  Be mindful of those in your life right now that could use your undivided attention for an afternoon or evening.  Offer to take your loved one out for a nice dinner and let them open up and share what is really on their minds.   Listen without judgement and let them say what is on their minds.  Often it’s not so much what you say that makes the difference but what you don’t say.  When you say nothing and let them vent and get things off their chest, it allows them to see their own situation with a clear head and they will often find the answers and healing that they need on their own.  They will always remember that you were the one that allowed that happen just by being there.

Laughter
Much like the gift of listening, the gift of laughter can be something that will mean the most to someone who is dealing with a difficult time in their lives around the holidays.  Is there someone that you know who’s been dealing with illness, a break up, the loss of a job, or some other tragedy that has them a little down this holiday season?  Then it’s time for the best medicine of them all, a good laugh!  There are many ways to accomplish this; you can arrange a night together with you friend where you can watch ridiculous movies from the 80s together and laugh at bad acting and even worse story lines.  If your friend likes stand up comedy get tickets to see a comedian they enjoy or just go to a local open mic comedy night.  One year I had a friend who had dealt with some horrible financial issues and a few deaths in his family and he was completely out of sorts for Yule.  I went and bought a $2 Christmas stocking and stuffed it with ridiculous things from the Dollar Store and a few random gag gifts.  Watching him open the things inside and seeing him laugh for the first time in months was one of the best gifts I received that year!

Solitude
Sometimes what someone really needs is to just be left alone.  This is just as valid and necessary in the healing process as is listening and laughter.  Be mindful of those around you who are dealing with difficult times who are at the stage of needing to be left in solitude to deal with their situation.  If someone tells you they really don’t want to be cheered up right now, it isn’t always a passive aggressive way to get attention.  Some people really do just want to be left alone for a bit.  Send a nice card and let your friend know you’re there for them when they’re ready and in the meantime respect their space with love and respect.

Favors
Offering to do a favor for someone can be a wonderful way of letting them know that you’re there when they need you and that you’re open to helping them at their most needy time.  Perhaps you know a friend will be moving soon; you could offer to help them without them having to ask. Maybe you have an elderly neighbor who normally pays someone to come and shovel their driveway after a snowstorm.  Offer to do it for free.  You can also get fun with this and create little favor coupon books as a physical gift to give to a friend or family member with things like “Good for one trip to get your groceries” or “Good for one bath for your dog”.  Think of things that you know would be a nice break for the person you’re making it for and for fun things that they might just enjoy like “Good for one Mai Tai at sunset on the beach.”

Letter of Appreciation
It might sound a little silly, but a letter from the hearth expressing your love and appreciation for someone can mean the world to them.  We spend so much time today trying to reduce our thoughts down to 140 characters so we can send it in a tweet or a text message that we never really say what we want to say to someone.  The most we might ever do is send and email nowadays and that isn’t the same as taking the time to sit down with pen and paper and hand write a letter to someone who means so much to you.  This could be your spouse who you see every day or a friend that lives on the other side of the world.  It doesn’t matter who often you speak each day or how many times you might see each other in a week.  There are certain things that we sometimes can’t get out just right face to face and taking the time to write a letter, picking the right words and putting our energy into what we’re saying, can end up really getting the true thoughts and feelings we have across in a way that the person will be able to relive and reabsorb whenever they are down and need a reminder that they are loved and appreciated.

So this year, as you’re struggling to think of what to give as a gift to the most difficult to shop for people in your life, remember what the Yule season is truly about.  It’s about spending time with your family and loved ones.  While today we do this more out of tradition and enjoyment and not out of the worry that we may not all be together again like our ancestors may have thought, it is still the true reason for the holiday.  It’s not really all about gifts and gadgets.  Take the time to give from the heart, giving something that can make a world of difference in someone’s personal life.

Now, I know how some people might look at that.  “Oh, what new age hogwash is this now?”  Well, in part there is truth to it no matter how much you believe in the idea of how our thoughts and body function together.

When I was learning Usui Reiki I started to learn to pay more attention to how my thoughts impacted my physical body.  One of my Reiki teachers presented the idea of how Reiki works on an instinctual level by using the example of how, even from the time we’re children, if we hurt a finger, for example, the first thing we do it put it in our mouths.  If we bang our knee our reaction is to rub it.  There is an innate inner response to use touch to try and sooth the pain.

In a similar sense we have an internal guidance that tells us what we need to do to care for our physical body, but unlike the finger-in-mouth reflex we don’t always pay attention to that guidance.  I used to always resist taking naps when I was tried because I thought that meant I was lazy.  Then I started to slowly give in.  I would try to push through the urge to nap and would find that I was highly distracted, thinking about going to bed at night and not getting much done.  When I started to take a nap here and there, eventually making it almost a routine, I found that a few things happened.  When I got up and got back to whatever work I had to do for the day I was much more productive.  This thing that was nagging at my inner voice wasn’t there anymore.  I also started to notice that my dreams during these nap periods were often lucid and had very psychic overtones.  So I stopped seeing these as times where I was being lazy by times that my body and my mind really needed to take some time to function in a different way; I can tell you I was most certainly “working” during a lot of these naps!

So when you’re inner guidance is nagging at you about something with regard to your body, listen!  Whether it’s to take a nap, go for a walk, change the way you eat, whatever it is!  Then think positively about whatever actions you’re taking knowing you’re following your true divine guidance.  And don’t dwell on not feeling well.  If you’re feeling sick, cold, tired, in pain, do something about it!  And remember that what you think you become…if you keep dwelling on feeling sick, you’re only going to keep feeling sick.  But if you focus on feeling well (less pain, etc) you’ll find you get better much faster…truly.

Current Mood:  centered 

Acai berries on the vine/tree.

Now, before you say “Rowan, what the hell!?!”…let me explain.  I used to have a smoothie just about every day, usually in the morning, rather than a “regular” breakfast.  My body is weird because it doesn’t react well to eating a big breakfast first thing in the morning and I can’t eat right away when I wake up.  I have to wait at least a half hour before eating and the traditional big breakfast is something I will have more like a brunch or a lunch meal.  So started having smoothies for breakfast, and at one point I was living down the street from a Jambajuice and I was going there to get smoothies with some of their awesome supplements in them (the pomegranate and blueberry smoothie with bee pollen was always a favorite).

I want to share one of my favorite recipes since I made it this morning and it was loooooovely!  I call it a Blue Smoothie since, sort of like a Green Smoothie, all the things that go into the Blue Smoothie is mostly blue (or purple).  Here’s what you need…

1 medium banana
4 oz. Acai juice OR 1 Acai smoothie packet
8 oz Naked Blue Machine Juice OR 1 cup frozen blueberries and 8 oz. milk (or soymilk)
1 tsp. Maca powder
a handful of ice cubes

Blend away in a blender!!!  Then YUM!!!  So perfect for the morning because it packs both a power punch and a nice boost of antioxidants.

The Maca Powder is an important ingredient, and I know it’s something that a lot of people aren’t going to be familiar with.  You can purchase Maca Powder at just about any health food or vitamin supply shop.  It’s a wonderful supplement from the Incas that has so many wonderful benefits.  

• Increases energy, endurance, and stamina
• Improve sex drive
• Enhances and helps fertility
• Reduces hormone dysfunctions (great for women going through menopause) and regulates hormonal imbalances
• Helps the circulatory system
• Enhances memory, learning, and mental ability
• Helps to naturally lift depression
• Improves the look and health of your skin
• Helps support strong teeth and bones
• Is great for people who workout because it is a safe and natural alternative to any type of anabolic steroid because it helps to build muscle

Maca Powder, at least the jar I buy which is a raw organic, costs about $20 but it last a good couple of months because you only use either 1/2 or 1 teaspoon at a time (it’s up to you how you want to work with it).  But adding this to the Blue Smoothie really packs a powerful wallop!

And there you go!  Blue power to get your day off and running!  Green ones are great too but some people find the greens in the fruits that are in a green smoothie still too much but the Blue Smoothie packs a great amount of the same energy and power with a bit of a different flavor.

Give it a try and be beautifully blue all day!

Current Mood: contemplative

The Angel of Alchemy is a card of healing and a card that asks you to evaluate and take notice of your life.  You may be dealing with a health issue or someone close to you may be dealing with something that might require a healing miracle.  We can see these miracles happen and we can invite them into our lives if we’re willing to let it happen.  We need to let the Angel of Alchemy know we are ready and willing to make changes to bring in healing.  This angel may be leading you into a situation where you will find the right doctors or the right methods of dealing with your condition (or the condition of a loved one; if this is the case you may be coming into a position of being a guide toward this person’s healing process).

Like with everything else, the Angel of Alchemy has the power to work miracles and do wonderful things in your life but you have to be open to letting them happen and willing to working with her.  One thing that she asks you to do when she approaches you is “What do you have left to do before you die?”  You could almost say she’s the one that provides you with a blank sheet of paper that says “Bucket List” on top of it and says “Here, fill this out” and then she waits to see what you want to do.  Then she’s going to help you to try and fulfill those desires.  If you’re willing…

Take this as a sign that now is a time to start evaluating your health and your life.  What do you have left to do with your life?  If you knew you only had a month left to live, what would you do with that time?  If you knew that someone you cared for only had a month to live what would you do for them or with them?  Take this opportunity to work some miracles in your life and lives of those around you.

This piece of lapis lazuli to the right shows the inclusions of golden pyrite flecks and is a way to tell it apart from sodalite which can often be found with the same deep royal blue colors.

The name sodalite comes from the the Latin “sodalitas” meaning “comrade”.  The stone acts much like a comrade for those who use it as it’s a stone that can bring peace of mind and help heal the heart from fear and worry.  It is a stone that brings balance and reunites thoughts with feelings.  In this way sodalite can be a great stone for placing in rooms where people may be working together on issues that bring up emotions on a deep level but still requires a sense of level-headed rational.

Sodalite is a stone that can also help with bringing things into a state of clear vision, helping to remove illusion from a situation.  When you’re feeling as though someone isn’t being honest with you or if you feel there is more than meets the eye in a certain situation but you can’t seem to put your finger on it you can try the following simple meditation process with a piece of sodalite to help get a better handle on things.

Meditation for Clear Vision
1.  Begin by either holding your piece of sodalite or placing it in your work or meditation space.
2.  Take a moment to let go of any expectations about the meditation as well as letting go of your expectations or thoughts about the situation itself.  Ask yourself why you might be hanging on to any of these expectations rather than seeing the reality of the situation clearly.
3.  Write down the facts that you know to be true about the situation and then your expectations or the things that you feel you perceive about those facts.  List these side by side so that you can see what the reality is of something and then what your expectation or belief about that thing is, basically creating two columns for your list.
4.  Take a moment to look for any patterns.  Do you find that when you’re challenged with a specific type of situation you always react in a certain way?  Take some time to notice those patterns and highlight or mark off those items on your list.
5.  Sit with your sodalite and meditate on these expectations and this reaction pattern.  See if you can gain some insight from the vibration of the stone to help you find ways to clear away those reactions and seek new ways to respond and react to these types of situations or problems.

Another somewhat similar way that sodalite can help us is to remove and ease issues of sensitivity.  If you find in the above exercise that part of your pattern is related to over-sensitivity, this crystal remedy is aimed at healing these issues might be able to help.  (This remedy is meant to be used externally only.)

1.  Take a piece of sodalite and place it ins a glass of spring water along with six drops of frankincense essential oil.
2.  Place the glass in a window where it will get direct sunlight for one full day, allowing the water and the stone to absorb the sun’s energy.
3.  One the following day you can pour your water into a small bottle or jar, with the stone if it will fit (if it doesn’t fit that’s fine too, the energy of the stone is in the water).
4.  Before using your remedy decide which of the chakras is associated with the problem that you’re having.  It could be related to the heart by feeling emotionality sensitive, the solar plexus because of issues with courage, or even the sacral chakra if you’re feeling sexually jaded or vulnerable.
5.  With a little of the water anoint your chosen chakra and say “I bless myself in love and truth and clear the way for clarity to be with me always.”  Do this as part of your daily meditations or as an affirmation as needed until you feel the issue become less difficult to deal with.

Holding sodalite on the third eye during meditation can help to open the third eye chakra as well as give you some relief from thoughts that are over-analytical or overemotional and giving you an opportunity to see things from a bit of a different perspective.   While meditating release those thoughts that are plaguing you and feel the energy of the stone come in through the third eye and then radiate out into the aura, sending that soothing, calming energy through your whole energy body, clearing away stress and bringing balance to your emotions.

Sodalite is a stone that is easy to find and based on the color choices you have available to you you can even pick one that resonates even more deeply with your specific issues making this stone of comradery one that you’ll use time and time again.

There are two sides to this card.  You can look at it through the eyes of Death or the eyes of the Maiden.  The Maiden is frightened but she isn’t pulling away.  She knows Death wants something from her but she also desires something from death otherwise she’d find a way to leave.  Is it the comfort of knowing Death is with her?  Is there something about the way Death touches her that has her feeling somewhat comforted?  She may still be frightened but not enough to change her situation.

And what about Death?  Death lacks life and vitality but the Maiden is full of it.  Death can easily prey on her and take what it wants and she willingly gives it.  Does Death seek to drain her at all costs or is Death just trying to get a taste of what the Maiden has to offer?

The key to this card is imbalanced relationships; somewhere you may have a very imbalanced relationship with another that is based on a give and take of extreme proportions.  Are you taking and taking from someone without giving back or are you the one who’s boundaries and trust has been violated yet you refuse to leave the situation?  Someone may tell you over and over that they love you but their actions say otherwise; you feel it deep in your heart that they’re just taking advantage of how you feel for them but yet you worry that if you leave you could be walking away from the one person that really does love you.

Death and the Maiden come through to remind you that you need to stop and look at your relationships and see where there are major imbalances and find ways to fix them.  Are you dealing with someone who is taking from you or are you taking from someone else?  How can you bring balance back into that relationship or is it too far gone to save?  If you can’t find a way to bring things back into balance it is time to let go and leave.  That can be the hardest thing to do but it’s also the noose around your neck that may be keeping you the situation to begin with.  It’s time to make a choice and it’s ultimately your choice to make.

Depending on who you ask there are either hard and fast rules to how to work with layouts or it’s all about going with what seems right to you on an intuitive level.  I tend to take a bit of a balanced approach between the two.  I think that it’s good to go with what you feel intuitively drawn to do when working with layouts, but I also feel that creating a system to use as a framework for how you’ll do your layouts helps with the overall process.

Crystal layouts can be used for just about anything; you can use them for directing healing energy to specific areas of the body that are experiencing illness or pain, to balance the chakras, and for healing emotional and spiritual energy around the body and in the aura.  When you’re just getting started and trying to get a feel for how layouts work a simple chakra balancing layout is great to start with.  This is a layout that uses eight stones, one for each of the seven chakras as well as a quartz point as a balancing stone.  If you have been collecting stones for a while chances are you have all you need to get started with already.

Simply pick a stone for each of the seven chakras.  Here are some suggestions and stones I like to use with the chakras, but if you have other stones you have found work well for you, use those.  This is where you can get creative and work with the stones that you personally resonate, so experiment with different stones and crystals; even if they seem really “off” to you there’s a reason that a black stone is calling you and wants to be used on the heart chakra, so give it a try.  You can also refer to this past article on picking stones for specific purposes.

Root: red jasper, garnet, bloodstone
Sacral: carnelian, orange calcite, topaz
Solar Plexus: citrine, tiger’s eye, golden beryl
Heart: rose quartz, jade, rhodonite
Throat: lapis lazuli, kunzite, aquamarine
Third Eye: amethyst, sodalite, azurite
Crown: selenite, celestite, angelite

This layout is just as you would assume; the stone you pick for each chakra is placed on that chakra point on the body.  If you are using this layout for someone else, have them lay down, place the stones on their body, and give them a few moments to let the energy settle in.  Check in with them and see if there are any particular stones that feel hot, cold, heavy, etc.  This will often help to indicate areas that are in need of extra energy and attention.  After determining these areas, if there are any, take the clear quartz point for balancing and hold it in your dominate, projective hand.  Hold it like a wand and point it at the root chakra stone and send the intention through the quartz that the energy from the quartz and the energy from the chakra stone balance and clear the energy of this chakra.  See the energy and the color of chakra coming into balance and growing bright and clean.  When you feel as though you no longer need to direct energy to this chakra move on to the next one.  When you have come through the full chakra system, visualize the energy running through all the chakras, from the crown to the root and back again, and see if all working together with ease.  Check in again with the person you are working with and see if they have felt any changes and if they feel anything different now.  If there are areas that they still feel stand out in some way, take a few extra moments to do this and check in again.

If you want to use this on yourself the process is essentially the same; lay down and place the crystals in their appropriate places, but then you can either simply hold the quartz in your projective hand while directing the intent and energy to each of the chakras or, if you’re comfortable enough to do it, you can raise your hand to hold the quartz over the individual stones and chakras as you work.

Layouts for specific needs..
It’s quite easy to create layouts for just about anything.  There are two factors to take into consideration; placement and stones to use.  Picking stones can be as simple as using color correspondences (pink stones for love, blue stones for healing, black stones for banishing, brown stones for grounding, etc) or you can use a crystal bible or book to help you find stones to work with.  Placement can mean placing stones on the body at the chakra points or on specific areas that need healing, or you could place the stones around the body to create a shell of energy to surround yourself or someone else.  Decide on what your specific need is and this will help you determine where to place your stones.

Let’s say that you have a friend dealing with terrible stress and pressure at work.  They are feeling tired, anxious, and are having problems sleeping and eating because of the stress.  You might want to begin by placing onyx and quartz stones around the body in an every other stone pattern; this will creating an energy circuit with one stone (black) drawing out energy and the next one (clear or white) replacing that void with new energy.  You can place as many or as few of the stones as you wish around the body, however I would recommend no less than four so there is one at each side and one each at the head and feet.  Next you may want to place a rose quartz on the forehead and one on the heart, both to help calm the anxiety.  Then place some red and/or green jasper on the abdominal area for the digestion issues.  Once the stones are in place check in with your friend and see how they are feeling and what stones might be feeling particularly heavy, cold, warm, etc.  Allow them to lay in quite meditation (you may wish to guide them through a relaxation and grounding meditation if necessary) and simply send the intention that the stones will do their specific jobs.  After about 15 minutes or so, check in again with your friend and see how they are feeling.  When they’re feeling things are balanced and when you feel things are clear, simply remove the stones.

Here are a few tips:

• If you have Reiki training, or training in another modality of energy healing, you can certainly add that to the process of crystal layout work.  If you use Reiki you can place appropriate Reiki symbols into the stones before placing them in your layout to add Reiki energy to your healing work.
• Place your stones with intention.  You can either state the purpose of each stone as you put it in place, either out loud or to yourself, letting it know what you need it to do.  Sometimes vocalizing this so the person your working on can hear will help them with any nervous feelings they may have about the crystal healing process and it can also help direct their own focus, energy, and intention during the session.
• Cleanse your stones before and after using them whether it’s on yourself or someone else.  These stones are going to be absorbing, clearing, and balancing energy that is out of whack, so to speak, so you don’t want to carry that into other work or other sessions.  Use whatever method you usually use or that is appropriate for each stone (check out this post on crystal cleansing and charging for suggestions).
• If a stone falls or rolls off the body during a session do not return it to the place it was.  When a stone is ready to stop working or when an area no longer needs that stone’s energy, it may likely fall off the body for no apparent reason.  The person may unknowingly twitch and the stone may roll off which is another subtle way of the body saying it no longer needs to energy of that stone in this session.
• If a stone wont stay on the body at all to begin with try using a different stone.  For example, you’re planning to use a rose quartz for emotional healing at the throat chakra because the person is using hurtful words with others and you place it on their throat but it keeps rolling off you might want to try using another stone for emotional healing and speech, like blue lace agate.  You may also want to considering using something specific to the exact case of the problem.  If the person is using these words because of a problem with their personal sense of safety and courage (i.e. they say hurtful things to others to make themselves feel better) you could try using black agate instead.  You decide to try the black agate and it stays put and feels good to your friends.  You’ve got a winner!
• When all else fails, use clear quartz.  If you don’t have enough stones for something or you feel you need to fill in the blanks somewhere, or if you just don’t know what to use, clear quartz is your catch-all.  Simply place it with intention for what you need done and it will do the trick.

Many books on crystals cover the process of layouts, many even offer a few suggestions of different layouts to use.  Creating your own as you need them is simple.  You can’t do it wrong and you aren’t going to make anything worse if you use one stone over another or place it a little too far to the right or left of a chakra or an organ or body part that you’re targeting.  It’s all about your intention when placing and working with the stones.  The crystals and their natural energies will do the rest.

Goddess of Beauty
You are a wondrous being of light; there is nothing to change or fix

Sometimes when we’re going through times where things feel off or things are in a transition stage we can find ourselves feeling like there is something wrong with us or something that we have done wrong that has added to the problems or confusion we’re experiencing.  This isn’t always the case in reality and it’s just a matter of our perception.  Instead, if we stop and take the time to really look at ourselves and what we have added to the situation we’ll often find that we’ve done nothing wrong and have probably added light to the situation.

In this card three chakra points are highlighted.  The third eye has a bright white teardrop marking on it, the throat has a rainbow teardrop marking, and the heart has a butterfly over it that is sending out streams of white and blue energy.  If you’re dealing with a period of self-doubt or feeling that you’re not the light-filled being that you are, take a moment to focus on how you perceive (the third eye), how you receive (the heart), and how you express (the throat).  There could be some things in these processes that need attention in order to express your light more fully into the world and to be able to inject it into a situation that needs it for healing.  Truly see what is going on in and around you without the filter of ego.  Receive that loving healing energy of those around you and the energy that the Universe and the Divine send you when you need it.  Then take all of that and, together, find ways to express yourself and your true essence in to the world.

It’s interesting seeing this card today because on my Facebook page I’ve been doing a daily Soul Card posting using a great set of cards called Soul Coaching Oracle by Denise Linn.    Today’s card was Essence, a card that talks about peeling away the layers of falsehood to get to our true soul essence so that we can express it into the Universe.  I see that card mirrored in this one a great deal.  We can transform just about anything when we are willing to transform ourselves and do the work to strip away the things that aren’t serving us or our goals.  When we get down to our true essence we find our true beauty.

Today’s Affirmation
I am a being of light and beauty expressing my true essence in the world.

Angel of Union
“A partnership is blessed and destined for greatness.”

As I look at the card in the deck for this image the one thing that stands out the most for me is the white dove that creates a canopy over the two figures in the foreground of the image.  The dove is what speaks to me the most today and that message is one which is a reminder about how much peace between two people matters in order to see thing accomplished.  You and another person, be it friend, family, life partner or even a business partner, can have a great deal of care and respect for one another but if there is no peace to guide you in your union then nothing can really come of it.  This can be difficult at times and just as much as we may love one another we can also have moments of great frustration that, if left unchecked, can become viscous and heavy emotions that can suck the real life out of any partnership.

In order to attain this greatness within whatever union in your life is most important, think today about how you create, contribute and maintain peace between you two.  Is there a lack of balance of peace?  Do you need to work to bring more peace into this relationship in order to feel truly united?  The dove doesn’t just bring us peace but also acts as a guide, as a messenger and symbol of the Divine guidance and Divine peace that we all have access to.  If we can only close our eyes, clear our heads, and truly listen from the heart rather than from the head we can find the messages of peace and guidance that will bring us to our ultimate greatness.  Honor each other, honor the Divine, and bring love and peace into all you do together.

Today’s Affirmation
“I create peace for my partners in life, work and play.”