Madame Z's Corner: Garnet

Madame Z provides monthly posts featuring a different healing stone each month. She gathers her info from many different sources including the books: The Pocket Book of Stones; The Way of the Green Witch; Healing Crystals and Gemstones; The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals, and Stones; and Grimoire for a Green Witch; the websites: That Crystal Site; Wings of Spirit; and Healing Crystals for You; as well as relying on personal experience. Healing stones are not a substitute for medical treatment. Anyone with serious medical or emotional issues should consult with a health care professional. When purchasing a healing stone, it is best to buy the stone you are drawn to. Healing stones should be cleansed and charged periodically. We cleanse our personal stones at least once a month, and sometimes more often if we feel they need it. Cleansing can be accomplished by holding the stone in a stream of water. A natural stream is best, but since most of us do not have access to one, filtered water is a good substitute. Some stones should not be placed in water. These stones can be placed in dirt or smudged with white sage. To recharge the stones, place in a sunny window or in moonlight for a few hours.

Our spotlight stone for January is Garnet. Garnet is the most well known birthstone for January, although there are a few others such as serpent stone and red zircon. When most of us think of garnet we picture a red stone, like the stones in the earrings above. However, it also can be found in other colors; green, orange, and black, for some examples. The majority of this post will focus on the properties of the red variety.

In Hinduism and Buddhism garnet is thought to bring wisdom and enlightenment. It is also believed to arouse Kundalini energy. Garnet is considered a stone of motivation, helping to dispel procrastination. It is thought to have a stimulating effect on the libido and to bring passion, vitality, and love to life. This amazing stone is believed to release negative energy in passionate people, but should be avoided when agitated or angry. Garnet is thought to ease emotional healing of guilt and shame, and to provide psychic protection.

Magickally, garnet is believed to balance energies and is associated with courage, rebirth/renewal, and creativity.

Physically, garnet is thought to bring warmth to the wearer, to strengthen the heart, and to aid in circulation. It is considered beneficial for the lungs and in the treatment of anemia, too.

The red variety of garnet is associated with the root chakra.


Black garnet is considered a grounding stone. It is believed to attune one to the elemental forces and is associated with the root and Earthstar chakras.

The green variety of garnet is associated with the heart and solar plexus chakras. It is thought to bring a feeling of inner peace and contentment.

Garnet should be cleansed with warm, filtered water, and charged with sunlight.

We experience red garnet as a very invigorating stone. It brings a feeling of happiness and vitality. Those extremely sensitive to energies may find garnet too stimulating to wear for long periods of time. While most will have no problem with garnet or any other stone, our human staff member, who is very sensitive to energies, has reported sleep disturbances from prolonged exposure to red garnet's energy.

We have no personal experience with the other varieties of garnet.

Grimoire's Sneak Peek #2 - Secret Santa

Last month, us feline members of the staff decided to do a Secret Santa exchange for the Holidays. Everyone thought it would be a great idea to support our fellow ETSY sellers by purchasing the gifts from other shops on the site.

We all love the catnip joints (legal in all 50 states!) that the real Santa left for us on Christmas Eve. I understand he picked those up from StarkRavingCat.

 

Madame Z's Secret Santa gave her this awesome catnip fortune cookie. It came from SEWPhabulousPetToys.

 

Also from SEWPhabulousPetToys was this truly Phabulous gingerbread man that I received from my secret gift giver.

 

Lady Fray's gift was a catnip mouse from CritterProject. 100% of their profits go to the care of shelter cats and dogs. The mouse even came with an extra catnip pouch to refill it with later on. I (oops, I mean her Secret Santa) decided to keep that for himself.

 

Finally, the gift we all agreed was the greatest, the Yule log our esteemed CEO Jezebel received. I don't know what's in it, but man is that good stuff!!

 

Her gift came from the shop SmallWondersArt.

 

So, as you can see we all had a great Holiday here at the Ravens'!

Hope all of you had an awesome Holiday, too! And have an even more awesome New Year!!

 

 

 

Grimoire's Seak Peek

Welcome to 2015! We are in the process of remodeling our work rooms and will not be creating new products for a few weeks. Both ETSY shops will still continue to have their finished products available for purchase during this time. We hope to be up and running at full capacity as soon as possible.

In the meantime, our January spotlight stone will be Garnet. We picked this stone because it is a January birthstone. Madame Z's post may be a little late this month, as mine was, but items featuring this warm and vibrant stone can now be purchased at a savings of 10% at ravensmysticmoon.etsy.com. Our other shop, ravenheartdesigns.etsy.com, does not carry any garnet adorned items. Use coupon code: jangar15 to receive your 10% discount on the item of your choice over there.

Thank you to all who visited our shops, blog, and facebook pages in 2014! Thanks to all of our wonderful customers, we were able to once again donate 10% to two local homeless shelters- City Rescue Mission in Saginaw, Mi; and Good Samaritan in Bay City, Mi! We appreciate your assistance in meeting our goals!

Holiday party with former staff and consultants aka Disaster House 2014

Aaron, our former, and only other human staff member, was over earlier this month. He brought along his wife, the lovely photographer Melissa, and their adorable kids. The little ones did some modeling for us about a year ago.

We decided to make a party of it, so Hubby fired up the grill. (Yes, we know it's cold out. We're the kind of idiots who grill all winter long and sit out by bonfires in pouring rain, snow, and sleet.) While he was taking care of dinner, I thought it would be fun to make a gingerbread house with the kids - and quickly learned why they are sold as kits.

 

The roof pieces burned, one of the gable ends stuck to the cookie sheet and crumbled when it was removed, and the sides did not hold together. Finally, out of desperation, I grabbed the glue gun.

 

It held together long enough for the kids to have fun decorating it with gumdrops, m&m's and red hots.

 

And really did not look too bad considering all the difficulties and the ages of the little ones....................................Then, the roof caved in.

 

The most important thing is we all had a good time with, what will now forever be referred to as, 'disaster house 2014'. (And I have learned to just buy a kit in the future!) Thanks to Hubby, we also all had a great dinner. As an added bonus, all the feline members of the household hide whenever there are little ones here, so no 'help' from Grimmie......

 

Who spent the evening completely worn out from the excitement of hiding all day.

It's holiday decorating time!

So........ the other day Hubby and I decided to start putting up the holiday decorations. Not a feat than can be accomplished without plenty of feline help, mostly from our problem child, Grimoire.

 He thought it would be helpful to try to chew on the outdoor wreaths while I was trying to put new bows on them.

 

Lady Fray wandered out to have a look at the situation, but luckily for us humans did not find it as intriguing as Grimmie did.

 

 

While Hubby was taking care of making the outside look festive, yours truly tackled the inside. Decorating the tree with lights and ornaments was a true challenge, but I had Grimmie right there to lend a paw every step of the way. I was unable to get any pics of the tree trimming. Lets just say the lights all survived it unbroken, the ornaments are still all in one piece, and the claw marks on my hands where Grimmie missed the light string and got me instead, will eventually heal.

 

After all the excitement was over Jezzie wandered out to give her approval.

 

Madame Z was still trying to adjust to the fact her cousin, Lady Fray, now lives here, and was not in a festive mood.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Welcome our newest staff member, Lady Fray

All of us at the Ravens' have had an exciting time getting aquainted with the our new staff member, Lady Fray. Although, we did have some concerns at first about how well she would fit in.

In the beginning, she seemed to have a great work ethic, going above and beyond the normal expectations, even to the point of ordering take-out and eating in her office instead of going out.

 

But then the problems began. On the night we witnessed her grab a catnip toy, get stoned off it, and run around hissing at other staff members, we knew the stress of all that work was getting to her.

 

Happily, she has learned to balance her schedule better. She now takes some time out for play to ward off any repeat, stress induced, incidents.

 

We still are not fully sure what her duties around here will be. Our CEO Jezebel has been giving it plenty of thought and the two have had a few meetings regarding future projects.

 

For now, Lady Fray is still getting a feel for how things work around here. She has taken an interest in the embroidery section of the shop, as well as, learning the computer end of running an ETSY business.

 

 

 

And of course, Grimoire is there to lend a paw (whether she wants it or not) and show her the ropes.

 

Madame Z's Corner: Goldstone

Madame Z provides monthly posts featuring a different healing stone each month. She gathers her info from many different sources including the books: The Pocket Book of Stones; The Way of the Green Witch; Healing Crystals and Gemstones; The Essential Guide to Crystals, Minerals, and Stones; and Grimoire for a Green Witch; the websites: That Crystal Site; Wings of Spirit; and Healing Crystals for You; as well as relying on personal experience. Healing stones are not a substitute for medical treatment. Anyone with serious medical or emotional issues should consult with a health care professional. When purchasing a healing stone, it is best to buy the stone you are drawn to. Healing stones should be cleansed and charged periodically. We cleanse our personal stones at least once a month, and sometimes more often if we feel they need it. Cleansing can be accomplished by holding the stone in a stream of water. A natural stream is best, but since most of us do not have access to one, filtered water is a good substitute. Some stones should not be placed in water. These stones can be placed in dirt or smudged with white sage. To recharge the stones, place in a sunny window or in moonlight for a few hours.

 

Our December spotlight stone is Goldstone. Goldstone, which is man made, can be found in a variety of colors, including green, blue, and red. Goldstone was created from glass combined with copper. It's the copper that gives this intriguing stone it's glittery sparkle.

 

Goldstone in general is thought to increase self-esteem and self-confidence. It is also believed to help stabilize moods and to bring a feeling of vitality and zestful energy. Goldstone, as mentioned above, contains copper which is thought to assist in conducting the higher spiritual energies entering our world. Copper is also considered to be extremely helpful in treating inflammation and increasing blood flow.

 

Physically, goldstone is believed to relieve pain and inflammation, detoxify the body, and protect against bacteria. It is also thought to help strengthen bones and the circulatory system. It is even considered helpful in overcoming depression.

 

Blue Goldstone is associated with the throat and third eye chakras. It is believed to protect psychic and empathic sensitivities, and to repel negative energies. This sparkly stone is also thought to stimulate learning, communication, telepathy, and channeling.

 

Physically, blue goldstone is believed to relieve migraines, to enhance eyesight, and to help one overcome bulimia and anorexia.

 

Magickally, it is thought to enhance invisibility.

 

Green Goldstone is thought to open and balance the heart chakra. It is believed to bring a feeling of warmth and to open one's mind to the world around them.

 

The red variety of goldstone is associated with the root, sacral and solar plexus chakras. Like the green variety, it too is believed to bring a feeling of warmth. Like most red stones in general, it is thought to increase energy and motivation.

 

To cleanse our goldstone we use filtered water. The recommended way to charge goldstone is by placing it on a windowsill on a starry night, but we have also used moonlight without any problems.

 

Personally, we have the most experience with the green variety of goldstone. We experience it's energy as bringing a calmness, but also as providing an energetic, zesty feeling. Green Goldstone is one of our favorite stones.