• Monthly Columns

    Jazz’s Gems

    A Quick Summary on Jade       Typically when you think of, or see jade, you see green jade. Although it does come in other colours, I will be touching  mainly on the green variety. It is best for abundance, soothing nerves, prosperity and helping one achieve their goals and dreams. It gives you an existential pick-me-up in a way. It is a softer stone so you need to be cautious when wearing it or cleaning it, but jade is a great addition to any home, work or as a piece of jewelry. Green jade is an abundance stone that brings harmony and happiness to your relationships and also your…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Banishing Snakes with Fire: 13 Rituals to Reclaim Your Authentic Self by James Dey Harris

    Book Review Banishing Snakes with Fire: 13 Rituals to Reclaim Your Authentic Self by James Dey Harris Self-published 238 pages Publication date: December 30, 2021     Banishing Snakes with Fire is a beautiful book. Author James Dey Harris takes us on a journey through the inner and outer landscapes of his life from childhood and offers us practices to make this journey in tandem with him. He explains that he wrote the book while doing the work – prospectively – inhabiting each phase of his soulful exploration as he recorded it. It’s not a retrospective look at the healing and self-revelation from the mountain top once he’s already arrived,…

  • Reviews

    Book Review – Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness by Daniel McQueen

    Book Review Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness by Daniel McQueen Published by Park Street Press 240 pages Publication date: September 28, 2021                       “Psychedelic Cannabis: Therapeutic Methods and Unique Blends to Treat Trauma and Transform Consciousness” starts with an impassioned plea from Daniel McQueen: the world is in trouble and trauma is killing us. If we want to save our planet, we need to heal our personal and ancestral trauma, and learn to work together.  In Part One, McQueen introduces cannabis and summarizes why it’s such an important useful plant ally for trauma…

  • Monthly Columns

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times

    Celebrating the Old Ways in New Times for February 2022   (Photo by Wout Vanacker on Unsplash )   Bright Blessings! The holidays are behind us and it’s a new year. How time flies! For some that means you are still procrastinating about putting the Yule decorations away, doesn’t it? And the kids have absolutely begged you to leave them up, haven’t they? Have a mug of hot wassail and admire your work a bit longer why not? While you are at it, think about all the good things you accomplished in 2021. If you can’t think of anything? I can. What about the time you made somebody’s day because…

  • Monthly Columns

    Good Vibrations – Subtle Energy Techniques for a Radiant New You this New Year by Cyndi Dale

    No matter your biological age, energy medicine offers great anti-aging benefits. From the get-go, I must admit that I have my own secret ingredient. I have spent almost two decades following my youngest son’s baseball career, with most of the games occurring between February and June in the upper Midwest. Guess what that means? Yup. I am typically sitting on the bleachers in glacial weather. The downside is that I am usually miserable. The upside? My wrinkles freeze in place. Short of recommending my own unique practice, there are numerous activities that promote longevity, good health, and a youthful appearance. The ones I share herein are backed by science but…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Sacred Spoon

    Gut Healing Kombucha     Kombucha is a fermented tea that has been used for centuries to help aid digestion and alleviate ailments associated with the gut biome. Our gut biome is a major player in our bodies overall function. It controls many functions from simple digestion to our mood and immune system. It is vital that we keep our gut biome happy and healthy with probiotics, prebiotic, and a healthy diet. Kombucha’s astrological correspondence is Venus, as this heavenly body rules over the digestive system and its element is earth because of its influence over healing and life, and remember your brew is a living thing. The stones associated with…

  • Monthly Columns

    Jazz’s Gems

    Bloodstone         Bloodstone is a beautiful dark green gem with bright red specks in it. It shows up in your life when you need a boost of energy. It is a variety of chalcedony and is also known as Heliotrope. This mood stabilizer is associated with Aries, Libra and Pisces and it is the birthstone of March. If you are looking for something that will heighten your intuition- this one’s for you! It will also strengthen your heart, both physically and spiritually.        If you are anemic, Bloodstone will help. It will also detoxify the liver, intestines, kidney, spleen and bladder. It heals all things related to…

  • Monthly Columns

    Jazz’s Jems

    Malachite       Malachite is a very versatile gem that is green with some dark green or black concentric bands. It is similar to rosasite, serpentine, chrysocolla and pseudomalachite. The main places you can find malachite would be Russia, Australia and Africa. It is mainly copper ( around 60%), so it is a useful ore as well. It is also known as the “Mirror of the soul” and a “stone of transformation”. Malachite is connected to the heart and throat chakras, is associated with the planet Venus, and it’s zodiacs are Libra, Scorpio and Capricorn. It is also used with the element Earth.        This green stone is soft…

  • Crafting Articles

    The Sacred Spoon

    Chakra Balancing Meals – Crown Chakra Detox Meals Our final chakra is the Crown chakra which represents our connection to the universe, our wisdom, and our spiritual center. Having a blocked crown chakra can show itself in a disinterest in one’s path, an inability to or disinterest in mediation or rituals, or a lack of prayer. For the crown chakra one may choose to fast, but personally i worry about the effects of fasting long term on the metabolism. For this reason we will be covering quite a few detox recipes instead. These can be combined or used separately, but all can be used to plan a few days of…

  • Monthly Columns

    Notes from the Apothecary

    Notes from the Apothecary: The Orange     Oranges: juicy, bright globes filled with vitamin C and sunshine. The orange is a citrus fruit that’s one of the most cultivated fruits in the world, and may have been cultivated by humans for around 2,500 years. The sweet orange as we know it today is a hybrid of mandarins and pomelos, and is very different from bitter oranges, the likes of which often line the streets of towns in Mediterranean countries. I once made the mistake of plucking and peeling a juicy looking orange while in Spain, only to have my mouth shrivelled by the intense bitterness! Sweet oranges, in comparison,…