My Observatory..heheh.

I did post a pic of Saturn I took earlier. Pretty pathetic due to my current digital camera limitation. That being said, I thought I would post a pic of my telescope. I got it at the end of last Summer scoring quite the deal.

Here is a pic of the scope with my daughter Madalyn.

The Scope is a Meade LX200 12". The scope is a Schmidt-Cassegrain and does a great job of planetary and fairly good job for deep sky. In a nice dark area it is ideal for astrophotography.

This is a shot I got of the moon by holding a point and shoot camera up to the eye piece.

I hope to get some more good stuff this Summer during campouts!

Talin

Smokey Quartz

Part two in the ever compelling blog series on Crystalomancy....B)


Here are some pics of one of my favorites. I was actually kinda done buying crystal balls when my sweetie found this one and I had too...I am sure you will understand...

This stone is somewhere around 8 inches across
















These pics aren't the best...no fixed focus on my digital...but they give an idea of the translucency

Notice the pretty rainbows in some areas too.

The properties of smokey quartz are:

Smoky quartz is an excellent stone for removing negativity and negative energy of any kind and transforming them to positive energy. It is also a very protective and grounding stone. It brings physical, protection, psychic protection and protection from negative energy. It enhances survival instincts, and can help one reach personal and business goals, as well as assisting in making wishes come true. Smoky quartz is beneficial for groups, and engenders cooperation. It also helps with creativity, prioritizing needs and wants, and wisdom. In addition, smoky quartz is a stone that brings abundance, prosperity, and good luck.

(borrowed from http://www.crystalsandjewelry.com/metaphysical_healing/stoneinfo/smokyquartz.html)

Really ideal for divination don't you think?

More to follow!

Talin

My Crystals

A while back I decided that one of the skills I want to develop is the ability to scry with Crystals. Crystalomancy is a very, very old practice. I would have to put it up there as one of the most famous forms of divination. The method that I am using deals with alot of keys. Keys are things you do, or items you use to "get you in the mood." In this case, getting in the mood is technically preparing your mind to get in touch with your higher self, or to travel in the astral plane. So, depending on the crystal, I like to play some mood music, Enya, what havya, lay down a cloth on the table, light a candle, which I postion behind the crystal to illuminate it. The placement can be important because I don't want the candle shining in my eyes. Then I burn some incense. Nag Champa or Super Hit, because I love them! I put the crystal up on a stand and gaze into it. I usually focus and unfocus my eyes travelling inside the crystal. I may see colors, images, what have you. I haven't done much of this, but will! Here is one of my Crystals:

I don't remember the exact particulars on this one, but it is heavy! This is a natural rose quartz. Crystal balls, which I prefer for gazing, are not naturally formed this way of course. Crystals grow in different ways, but very commonly in columns like you would see in a cave. Or, they can grow as strems of crystal sandwiched in stone. Then the cutter will break out a section and start rounding the ball until it is smooth and as perfectly round as possible. I get most of my crystals from China. They take as long as 10 weeks to get here by boat.

Spiritual and Healing Properties of Rose Quartz: Pink quartz (rose quartz) allows you to be in touch with your basic self. It will allow you to get to know your true self and to love that true self in all its beauty. It can also allow you to communicate internally with your spirit guides, which means you may or may not be aware of them but they are teaching you all the same.
Rose Quartz is a good stone for someone who has trouble loving themself or accepting love from another because they do not believe that they are worthy of being loved. It loves soft running river water to clean and recharge and moonlight forum post from whitehorse woman

I don't envision using non-translucent crystals much for scrying, as I love to be able to see into the crystal. But I do love this particular stone!

Talin

Snow!!!!!

Finally! After years of whining and complaining, we finally got some appreciable snow! The kids had a blast and I just love the energy of falling snow!

This was a pic of my Japanese Maple as the snow was falling in the evening.

Pic of our back deck.

Snow Bunnies!

Rowan the Cheeseball!

Our Snowman! Not the largest, but our first...B)

Fun Winter!

Saturn!

Ok, so I braved the cold last night and actually went out and hooked up my telescope. I calibrated the scope and told it to go find Saturn. Boom! There it was! Totally visible! I tried to get a picture but our little digital just isn't up to this task. Someday I will get a Nikon and post some pics. Here is the attempt..heheh

I guess it kind of gives you an idea. It was so awesome, it is hard to describe what it feels like to actually see this. It gives me chills. It's like peering into another realm. I mean, I know that Saturn is there and real. But to point a telescope up to one of those bright spots in the sky, then to peer into the eyepiece and see Saturn! Amazing!

Zuuuuuuuune....

I got a Zune for Christmas. Ok, yeah, so I already had an iPod, but considering I really want Apple to go away and have for years I am happy to be supporting Bill in a whole new way!

I got the brown version which looks like milk chocolate. I gotta say I love it so far. The coolest is that I signed up for the all-you-can-eat music subscription. for $14.99 per month you can download as much as you want. You will always be able to play them as long as you continue to subscribe. More Microsoft annuity money..hehe. But I like the idea as I can listen to them on my computer or on my Zune which is how I listen to music anyway.

I did manage to put a movie on my Zune also with the help of some downloadable programs from the net. These programs enabled me to rip a DVD and then scale it down to fit on the Zune. Looks perty cool! Now I want a nice case, a dock for charging, and a speaker system.

Talin