Happy Birthday to Me!

Hunter's Moon

August 11 - September 10

Unlike western astrology which uses the sun and planets to determine a person's personality, Native American astrology uses the moon and elements of the earth in their belief system and I find it very accurate. As someone who loves the earth and all she offers us, I find this very appealing. Having been born under the sixth moon of the year, I am a child of the Hunter's Moon.

Children of the Hunter's Moon vibrate to the element of water and their direction is the west. My animal totem is the wolf, my plant totem is the pine and my mineral totem is turquoise. Although I was obviously born in the summer, my season is autumn as this moon represents the waning light of summer and the very beginning of the darker days of fall. My color, like my stone, is turquoise.

Hunter's Moon children are more likely to be influenced by female energy, with deep insights and intuition. They are very good at organization, bringing all they undertake to fruition and completion, just like a wolf on the hunt. Hunter's Moon people are also, unfortunately, rather smart-mouthed, flippant people who could learn to exercise a bit more tolerance of others. They tend to be solitary people, though they do enjoy the company of others as well.

I have adored turquoise since I was a little girl, so it's no surprise that this is the stone I vibrate to. Turquoise is one of the greatest of all the healing stones and brings clarity to those who carry it. It brings balance (which is often much needed by Hunter's Moon children who are known for going overboard a lot of the time), and it purifies and cleanses.

Pine is a strong tree, providing wood for the lodge and fuel for the fire. It is a tree of life and of strength, yet complementary to this is the color turquoise, the color of water and tranquility.

My great great maternal grandmother was a full-blooded Native American, and while I know very little about her (as the unspeakable stigma attached to a white man marrying a person of color back in the late 19th century caused my family to permanently disengage from them both), I feel her blood coursing through my pagan veins. Much of what I believe and what I engage in on a spiritual level is directly related to traditional Native American beliefs and always has been. And as I celebrate yet another birthday, I honor my ancestors who through their own lives here on this earth, helped to shape and make me the person I am today.

Blessed Be to all my family through the ages, Blessed Be to my readers, and Blessed Be to everyone else who is celebrating their birthday today. By honoring where you come from, you honor the person you are today and the person you will become through your years on this journey.

Happy birthday to me! (and my cake made by David and Griffin was delicious)!

Turquoise and Coral

Do you have any favorite stones? Any that really speak to you and you are forever drawn to them again and again? I do. I have been drawn to turquoise since I was a very little girl. Granted, it is my mineral totem for my birth moon in Native American lore, but I had no knowledge of this when I first fell in love with the stone and drew energy from it. My other favorite stone is coral, which not surprisingly perfectly complements turquoise, both with its vibrant color as well as with its properties.

Turquoise is a receptive stone that vibrates to the energy of the element of Earth and is represented by male divine energy, the God. In Native American culture this is the Great Spirit. It’s a stone that offers protection to the wearer as well as bringing healing, courage, and luck. It’s the sacred stone of many Native American Indian tribes and was used to protect them in battle and when placed in tombs, to guard their dead.

Turquoise can be worn to guard against negative magic, accidents, disease and any and all dangers. When worn, it promotes courage and for this reason it makes a valuable amulet for travel.

As a healing stone, turquoise strengthens the eyes, alleviates fevers and reduces headaches. Place the stone against the troubled part of the body and visualize the illness entering the stone. Water into which you have dipped the stone can be drunk for its healing properties.

Like all blue stones, carry turquoise to attract luck and good fortune.

Coral is also a receptive stone but this one vibrates to the energy of the element of Water and is represented by feminine divine energy, the Great Mother Goddess. The stone has the power to heal as well as offering protection, peace and wisdom.

Coral isn’t really a stone, nor is it a plant, but is the skeleton of a formerly living sea creature. Hindus believe that the ocean is where human souls go to live after death and thus coral is a powerful amulet for the living. Coral contains the life essence, the primal energy, of the Mother Goddess, which to me speaks volumes.

It is a very feminine stone and is used to effect inner changes within the person wearing it. It eliminates depression, anxiety, fear, panic and nightmares. I simply love that in ancient times, women wore it to regulate their menses because they understood the link between coral, the sea, the moon and women’s cycles, something that is lost to modern women.

Again, this stone, like turquoise, is a stone of luck, of protection and cures eye issues. It can also cure indigestion and troubles with the blood.

Personally, I prefer the stones to be natural and not polished. I love to see them as nature made them: flawed, irregular and rough. Wear them together and see how powerful they can be: the masculine and the feminine, the God and the Goddess bringing strength, health and luck in all you do, balancing courage and power while giving the wearer the wisdom to know how to use it all wisely.