I've been studying with my new Teacher for a little over a month now, and I've learned SO MUCH. We've been meeting once a week on Thursday nights for formal teaching time, and she also has monthly get-togethers for folks within her sphere of influence. Here's what's been happening with me since my last blog posting:

• Been meeting some REALLY COOL new people that I can be myself around... starting to become part of a community.
• Drummed during a shamanic extraction that was done on my husband.
• Worked with stones--they really do have information to impart!
  
• Chose a new Tarot deck to start working with.
  
• Made my own pendulum for divination.
• Received a message and a talisman from Spirit during a guided meditation.
  
• Met my first Animal/Spirit guide during a shamanic journey.
• Decided to get my first tattoo. :-)

My teacher is hosting another of her monthly get-togethers tomorrow night... what's called a "Dumb Meal." Everyone brings a dish that was a favorite of an ancestor you want to honor, and the meal proceeds silently while you think about and honor the ancestor in your thoughts. Then, when the meal is done, everyone shares about the ancestor they chose to honor. I will be honoring my late father and making arroz con pollo--Dad's people were Puerto Rican. (I speak very little Spanish, though--the emphasis back then was on being as "American" as possible.) LOL, however, I'm the spitting image of my "anglo" mother. OTOH, my personality and intellect are exactly like how my dad's were.

I can't really say much about the shamanic extraction, as it is not my story to tell. I can say it was a fascinating introduction to the type of work a shaman does, the tools they use, how the shaman's spirit guides assist with the process, etc.

The weekly session with my teacher have been most interesting and informative. In our first session we talked a lot, getting to know each other a bit more, and she read my cards pretty thoroughly (she likes to use the Sacred Circle deck, which is a great pagan deck).

In another session, I worked with stones that my teacher has on hand from different sources. She asked me questions about them--exercises to help develop intuition. I wasn't very good at telling where a stone came from, but I was *much* better at intuiting *who* had possession of a given stone previously. With one particular stone I held, I got a mental picture of someone which turned out to be quite accurate!

In another session, the nature of the stones was signaled, somewhat, by their physical characteristics. One of the stones was actually giving off some heat, and I could feel it! While with another stone, the word "bitter" kept coming to me... that stone was housing a blizzard, in some metaphysical way. Interesting! One of my new friends was "sharing" my session last Thursday night due to a scheduling conflict with hers. My teacher had us look at a bowl of about 7-8 stones and tell her which ones she (the teacher) and her husband had carried around with them that week. I did really well with that exercise. One thing I'm finding out is that it's better for me not to "try too hard"--just relax and be open, and let the stones do the talking.

Re. the Tarot deck, I'm really ready to branch out and go beyond the "Christian" symbolism of the Universal Waite I've been using for years. I've looked at a few decks and decided to replace my UW with the "Celtic Wisdom Tarot" by Caitlin Matthews. Using this deck will take a little study, but I'm really looking forward to it. (I can't buy it 'till payday at the end of the month.) The joy and color of the artwork really speaks to me, as well as the Celtic lore and symbolism these cards embody.

I attended a pendulum building class last Saturday. It was a beautiful fall day and we worked outside. I chose a small, brecciated red jasper as the stone for my pendulum... the color is just amazing... my intuition told me that this stone would be the right choice for me. At first glance, I'd have thought "amethyst" would be very good for my pendulum, but my attention kept going back to this little red jasper stone. It was nowhere near as flashy or big as some of the other stones available. I learned later that red jasper is known as "the blood of the earth," and the stone works to key you in to the deep energies of the earth. It's a very "grounding" and protective stone. I learned how to "wrap" a stone--my jasper is wrapped with sterling silver wire and is on a white metal chain with some spiral "dangles" and another meaningful item (more about that later). There was a pretty regular breeze outside the day of the class, and because of that I was having trouble tuning my pendulum that day. I carried the pendulum around with me for a few days and tuned it two nights ago. I'm still quite amazed that I am able to use my energy to make the thing move! Once again, I'm finding it's better for me not to "try too hard"... just relax and let Spirit happen.

More about the other stuff next time... :-)