New Crystals and Stones April 2017

New Crystals and Stones

Whenever hubby travels he often looks for local rock shops where he goes. He travels to New Orleans pretty regularly and has a couple shops he checks out for me each time he goes. He brought back some real beauties this time, some from my list and some he picked himself.

*Red Calcite
*Orange Calcite
*Green Calcite
*Blue Calcite
*White Calcite
*Septarian
*Diopside
*Scolecite
*Rose Quartz
*Kambamba Jasper
*Shungite
*Fire Agate


**What are your most recent Crystal additions? Feel free to reply in the comments.


Please consider also following me on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest): @RenaraTarot

Crystals and Stones to Get Started With

Crystals and Stones to Get Started With 

There's so many crystals and stones out there. It's easy to get overwhelmed by all the pretty sparklies. Which ones do you choose to get started? Here's a list of crystals and stones to get started with. These are generally easy to find and should be fairly affordable, usually not more than a few dollars per stone. You can choose tumbled or rough, it doesn't matter which. Size also doesn't matter. Bigger isn't necessarily better in this case. Any size will do. You don't have to get them all at once. This list just represents a fairly well rounded selection of crystals and stones that represent all the major colors of the rainbow as well as many of the most commonly recommended and used crystals and stones.

• Garnet
• Carnelian
• Citrine
• Green Aventurine
• Fluorite
• Moss Agate (optional, but a nice green stone)
• Tree Agate (also optional, another nice choice for a green stone)
• Blue Lace Agate
• Sodalite 
• Amethyst
• Lepidolite (optional, but a nice additional purple stone to have; great for calming the mind)
• Smoky Quartz
• Rose Quartz
• Selenite 
• Tiger's Eye
• Snowflake Obsidian
• Fluorite (point, not required but it shows the many pretty colors Fluorite can take)
• Blue Kyanite
• Moonstone
• Clear Quartz 

Not shown but also recommended:

• Jasper (there's so many different Jaspers, choose one or more that you're drawn to)
• Calcite (available in a variety of colors, can be included or substituted for any of the listed stones)
• Black Tourmaline 

What was your first crystal or stone? Feel free to reply in the comments.

Please consider also following me on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest): @RenaraTarot 

Chronic Illness Plus Acute Illness Sucks

I just recently got over having a cold. Hubby caught the cold initially and unfortunately passed it to me. This cold was a bad one. Lots of coughing, very hard hitting. Hubby (who is healthy) usually kicks a cold in a couple of days, but was down with it for about a week. I was down for a week too.

Being regular sick on top of chronic illness SUCKS! Acute illness (colds, flus, etc) makes you feel awful. Put that on top of feeling awful from chronic illness and you've got a double whammy. Acute illness makes all your chronic illness symptoms worse. It takes longer to recover. Sometimes acute illness causes chronic illness flares.

If you get an acute illness while dealing with chronic illness, be gentle with yourself. Rest, rest, rest. And then rest some more. Allow yourself time to heal. Rest even after the acute illness symptoms stop. Slowly ease yourself back into your regular routine. Eat well, hydrate a lot, and rest. Take good care of yourself.

I spent extra days in bed and am taking a bunch of days to try to slowly get back to my normal routine. I've watched a LOT of Netflix and slept a lot. I knew I was starting to feel a bit better when I started feeling bored and didn't have to take such long naps. But I did my best to resist the urge to jump back into my normal routine. It was hard, but going slow is best when dealing with chronic illness.

What helps you the most to get through acute illness while also dealing with chronic illness? Feel free to answer in the comments.


Please consider also following me on social media (Instagram, Twitter, Tumblr, Pinterest): @RenaraTarot