You are invited to Z Botanicals and Apothecary’s first ever Holiday Fair this Saturday, from 12-5 at our herb farm at 328 Quechee Road, Hartland, Vermont 05048.
We are so excited to have talented local woman artisans vending their beautiful handmade wares in our apothecary. We will have pottery, crystals, jewelry, natural health and beauty products, art, baskets, house plants, and so much more! Come check out our beautiful apothecary, sip on a warm and delicious beverage, and get your shopping done early while supporting local businesses.
Wildhearted- handmade floral, beeswax candles, dried flowers, sun catchers, pressed flower art, and more!
Renegade Apothecary- handmade herbal beauty and health products
Z Botanicals Apothecary & Herbal Sanctuary- a wide range of farm grown, herbal health and beauty products. We will also have handmade harvest baskets, beautiful calendars, herb books, and much more!
I hear we are in an Age of Aquarius. A time of shifting tides, a new earth paradigm. I read exponential change is upon us. Our ancestors built temples and stone meeting places that align with celestial cycles. It seems like we are in a mosaic and trying to see the picture simultaneously. I feel the energy within my crystals and jewels, or are they vibrating from the energy within me? It doesn’t make sense but my inner knowing guides me to believe there is a higher awareness, a divine plan, and be open to healing, magic, and love.
On Tuesday (11/8), the Earth, sun, and moon will align, and create a Blood Moon eclipse. This is our last total lunar eclipse until 2025. Did you observe the last New Moon with me on Tuesday, October 25th? The last full Moon was Sunday, October 9, 2022.
The Moon is My Calendar by April McMurtry
Perhaps you did a ritual like a crystal grid, made moon water, or made an offering to your ancestors. Well, a new cycle is upon us, and it is time, if you feel called to do so, to energize your crystals and (re)affirm your intentions. A time to identify what is blocking you, or what needs to be released.
Under the energy of INTENSE BLOOD MOON ECLIPSE use this time as a practice to deepen your commitment to the thoughts, wishes, dreams, blessings, you want to attract into your life.
Since you last honored the Luna phase, have you completed a project or ended a cycle? Have you come to a realization or a breakthrough? Did you do an intention setting ritual and need to adjust your focus? What is blocking you from your plan you set this fall, this year, or this cycle? Reflect, for this may be a powerful time for celebration, forgiveness, or selflove.
Intention setting with the full moon and crystals – for beginners and starseeds
Light a candle. Create a space to grid out your gathered stones and objects.
Grab your jewelry, crystals, and natural objects you recently acquired or collect your talismans you have from the last ritual. It’s okay to work with the same crystals over many moons.
Place each one individually in palm of your hand / spell your intention / program your crystal / into being by saying it aloud. Focus your will, energy, desire, truth, into the form of an affirmative statement, an intention. Thinking of this heightened time we are living in, our inner truth is what needs to guide us, as we lean on community for support. Intentions can begin with statements like: I surrender to… I am creating… I see myself… I call in… I am surrounded by…
When you are done with each crystal, jewel, object, grid them out – or place them on a windowsill- where the moonlight hits just right. Spend a few minutes, eyes closed, visualizing your thoughts, wishes, dreams, blessings already happening in your life. Create space for the new energies. Thank the universe in advance for manifesting your intentions. Blow the candle out.
Smoky Quartz Ritual Crystals
Your soul, your intentions, your crystals won’t give you what you want, but they will send you what you need. Keep up the practice, all good things in all good time, mindfully direct your energy this cycle, and be open to receive.
You set an intention and allow things to come to you through the vibration you are setting. However, vision requires action. What I mean by this is that as physical beings we have to make physical moves in our lives in order to effect real change. Taking action towards our goals is a way of meeting the Universe halfway, of affirming that the intentions we’ve set are important to us.
ledbysource.com
So let your crystals and jewels be physical reminders of the manifestations you stated this cycle. May they walk with you and support you as we all navigate these times of change, divisiveness, recalibration, and magic.
We can expect some unexpected revelations in this full moon and lunar eclipse activity. This is a time to listen to your intuition it will most likely be very strong as our senses are at an all-time high. We are collectively vibrating much higher than we ever have as a human.
Victoria VLight
Think of time as Cyclical, plant seeds of intention, allow time for bloom and decay. Even though you know the ending of the song, sing it again, anyway. For we have faith it will eventually evolve into a happy ending. It is darkest right before the dawn. ♒️
My hope is we all gather tools and support, like crystals and each other, that help us ascend and rise above the currents of duality, decisiveness, and other. I hope we shift out of division to embrace interconnection, cooperation, diversity, and peace. May dualities merge into harmony. Let’s use crystal meditations to tune into our oneness with nature, create space for our healing and the healing of life all around us.
When I was young, the eve of Halloween was reserved for roaming the neighborhood late at night, unsupervised, and I was down for whatever. The boys had shaving cream, eggs, the girls had toilet paper, pumpkins got smashed, and police were on patrol. Not the best use of my time, but I thought it was cool.
As an adult, the eve prior to Halloween is still cool, but known as Samhain (“SOW-win”). It’s an ancient Celtic / Druid / Pagan / All Hallows’ Eve / Witches New Year / festival ushering in the “dark half of the year.” Where there is Halloween, it is also the time in the Wheel of the Year between the autumn equinox and the winter solstice.
All these special times of the year invite us to reach back and learn from ancient, hidden traditions, gather in community, reflect, release, plan, celebrate, honor. I invite you to bring in your ancestors’ energy, immerse in nature, while working with your crystals.
Samhain (Sow-en) honors the season of the Dark, where access to the Spirit realms is amplified and you can consciously attune with and dream what is coming for this next year.
Ameya + Woman Rising Mystery School
Ancestors
This time of year is when the barriers between the physical and spiritual world break down. Samhain is a sacred time when the veil between the physical world and the world of the mysterious unseen are at their thinnest, allowing the souls of the dead to come into our world where we can communicate and interact once again.
It’s a potent time to align with the mystery, ask for guidance from our ancestors, acknowledge our grief, celebrate their memory, and connect deeply with invisible forces that are always among us. A thinning of the veil occurs, allowing more interaction between humans and souls of the Otherworld. The doors to this Otherworld – the realm of deities and the dead – are opened, allowing spirits to more easily enter our world.
This liminal period enables both ancestors to visit their families and malicious spirits to haunt townspeople. The customs of Samhain include rituals to welcome ancestors and honor deceased loved ones while also taking action to thwart and protect against evil spirits.
Ritual Altar
We can honor this point in the year, the seasonal cycle of not just Halloween in America, but Samhain in your spiritual practice. We can use the unseen magic and the wisdom of our ancestors as we try to stand tall and still among the swirling reality of these challenging, transformational, and modern times. The Earth needs her witches to help others feel the benefits of living in flow, harmony, and healing with Nature. Through an Ancestor Altar we can intentionally invite in divine energies to support us in our souls’ journey. Ancestors can heal you, support you, and guide you, just like crystals can. Discover how rooting into our Ancestral energy will tend the fire in our souls, increasing our sense of power, purpose, belonging, and knowing.
Along with crystals, prepare your altar. Last year I had photographs, Italian herbs, candles, and some trinkets of my mother and her mother. Here are some other suggestions:
Samhain and/or Ancestors Altar Find a space in your home to create an altar. Decorations could include fall leaves, acorns, Dark Goddess statues, candles, stones. Try to incorporate rich, deep colours like purples, burgundies, and black, and harvest shades like gold and orange. Cover your altar with dark cloths, welcoming the coming darker nights. You can also honor ancestors with this altar. Gather photographs, heirlooms and other mementos of deceased family, friends, or even pets. Arrange them with your Samhain décor or create a separate one especially for your beloved ancestors. Light the candles in their memory; while you do so, speak their names out loud, express well wishes and thank them for being part of your life or lineage. – JONITA DSOUZA
Suggested Items for your altar: • A cloth to cover your alter in your ancestor’s favorite color, or the color of autumn • Black candles to light the way • Acorns, which hold the memory of those who have passed on, and the promise of what is yet to be • Gourds, which represent new life/resurrection • Pumpkins, which provide protection • Rosemary for remembrance • Photos of your loved ones, including pictures of your beloved pets • Personal items of your loved ones include clothes, jewelry, handwritten note, glasses, ashes, etc. – SEANE CORN
Ancestral Land
In Celebrating Samhain, our ancestral voices are becoming louder and louder. Ancestors can help navigate us in the dark. Take a moment to express your gratitude towards the land you are in, for the blessings it provides. Today, now more than ever, we need to be seen as caretakers of the Earth and help others love and respect it like we do. By doing this ritual we are strengthening our connection with all that protects, supports, and sustains us. We can harness the energies of Samhain to transform, heal, and shine our lovelight.
Communing With Nature
Take a meditative walk in nature. Observe and contemplate the colours, aromas, sounds, and other sensations of the season. Experience yourself as part of the Circle of Life and reflect on death and rebirth as being an important part of Nature. This would be a great time to pick up some leaves, stones and any other natural objects that call to you as you stroll to adorn your home and or altar. ~ DESIRÉE DUNBAR
Crystal meditation
You can do a simple gratitude ritual by placing your hands on the Earth and saying a small prayer of gratitude. If you do not have access to Earth around, you can simply hold a crystal and offer your prayer of gratitude. You can say something like this –
“Thank you, Earth, for the land that I live on and for allowing me to steward life with you. Thank you for allowing me to walk upon your soil, cultivate you, and live in partnership with you. Thank you for supporting my home and my family. Thank you, home, for allowing me to live within your walls. Thank you for giving me shelter, warmth, and security. Thank you for allowing me to live my life in your womb, for staying strong and sturdy, for supporting me, and for your beauty.
Thank you, plants, minerals, and animals that dwell on the land that I steward. Thank you for allowing me to experience your beauty, share in your wonderment of life, and for the honor of living with all of you on this earth. Thank you for the wisdom and joy you bring to humanity.
I bless you, I thank you, I honor you.” ~ JONITA DSOUZA
Over the years I have learned about these energies, wheels of the year, and rituals from some inspiring teachers, and their wisdom is mentioned above. I’d like to credit the following women: Flora Ware, Desirée Dunbar, Jonita Dsouza, Aurora Farber, Ameya, and Seane Corn ॐ
Merging with Autumn Equinox energies, this New Moon is a perfect time for taking baby steps on a new path, as you work towards becoming more authentic, opening your heart to receive gifts, messages, and guides illuminating your soul path. Or perhaps, this Equinox New Moon is a great time for taking small steps towards a new journey, in any way that makes sense, for you, today, in this season of your life, right now.
We take this time to intentionally plant seeds during this time that will contribute towards our hopes, dreams, and wishes, coming true, further down the road. For the universe wants to see your soul shine. A crystal meditation and intention ritual may open up portals, windows, and doors to new possibilities, opportunities, collaborations, partnerships, ah ha moments, insights, and downloads coming through.
The new moon in Libra invites us to integrate what might seem like opposites, to alchemize the polarities.
April, creator of THE MOON IS MY CALENDAR
Join me in welcoming the New Moon with a Crystal Grid, Crystal Intention, and Crystal New Moon Ritual.
Boho Bahia 