Crystal Hearts And Cat Hair

I’m loving the shaped crystals at the moment. When a crystal is shaped, a focal point is added to its energy, making it easier to direct, and as we know, the heart is traditionally a symbol used to convey affection and compassion, emotional intelligence and love.

In Egypt, the heart was regarded as the life essence, the first part of man that sparked into life and the last to be extinguished. As well, the heart can be used as a sign of encouragement meant for others, and in crystal work, when coupled with the individual benefits of the crystal from which the heart is shaped, then you have something wonderful and warm to work with, that leaves a feel-good residue as lingering as cat hair on your favourite sweater…

A Selenite heart for tranquillity and peace, on the left a Reptile Skin Jasper for protection, calm and harmony, and an Aventurine heart for luck, love and prosperity…

There is a protein in cat hair that can cause allergies for some unfortunate people, but keeping your cat clean and well-groomed can go a long way towards keeping it under control.

I look at my cats and every hair is a little coloured wonder… Charlie’s hairs are individually banded in shades of grey and brown, with a little ginger thrown in, just to be alternative, giving the tabby effect.

Lily is, at first glance, just an ordinary little black cat; but in the right light, she reveals her secret… she is, in actual fact, a chocolate coloured cat, with burnt ginger stripes.

Tooty’s outer hairs are very smooth and sleek, yet underneath she is fluffy and grey.

Ting is all edible shades … caramel, chocolate, vanilla and biscuit… a delicious little cat.

Only Charlie’s fur seems to possess the delectable fragrance that is essentially her… warm and comforting, somehow a mix of me and her.

I remember when my old cat, Walter, passed, I was so heartsick and sore, so utterly bereft without him… and yet, I was comforted to find a whisker that I knew was his. Undoubtedly. And I have it still.

Bismuth… By Gosh…

“What’s that…?”

“Bismuth…”

Yes, we’ve been here before… Indulge me…

I watched a film last week, called “The Lost City Of Z”, starring the rather lovely Charlie Hunnam… (he’s going on the beautiful hands list – have a look… ) and in brief, it details the efforts of an explorer called Percy Fawcett and his search to find a lost civilisation in the Amazon.

It’s worthwhile watching… and then I saw this Bismuth. It’s beautiful. Metaphysically, it is good for reconnecting, finding your place in the Universe and realising your part in the Great Pattern. It can be used to help with the acceptance of change, and it is also a wonderful crystal to use for focus, shamanic journeying and visualisation….

Walk with me, a little way then, if you will in the forest of your mind…

I held the Bismuth and all at once I was there, the heavy, steaming heat of the jungle fell like a woollen weight across my shoulders, and pooled like soup in my lungs. Forty, fifty, more different shades of green all around me, a loving, tendrilous embrace.

The jungle, alive with the sounds of tiny worlds, cushioned and softly heaving, breathing, with every step. The lungs of the world and so much more. Then, as I watched, and as I waited, a random ray of sun struck magic from the leaves. The veil parted and so – gold. And so much more…

A sacred path, a stepped pyramid, and with every step the knowledge grows… the golden step, leading us back to the beginning.

Start again with the stars, calendar your life, ordered passion and love for life, coloured by those we meet as we climb the stairs…

Charlie says: “Channel your inner jaguar…”

Trust

What makes you trust someone? What indefinable quality do we see in another person that makes us feel “Yes, this person is all right. I trust them.” How do you quantify this, define it, pin it down to declare someone “trustworthy.”

What makes us so accepting of authority figure, like priests, policemen, teachers, that we feel they are right, we are safe with them, they are worthy of our trust. Personally, I am quite a suspicious person. I do not trust easily, and once my trust has been taken for granted, then I don’t forgive easily.

Again, how do you know? I know that I have ‘met’ more people on WordPress that I would instinctively and quite happily trust than I have in real life. And then, when you have placed trust in a person, and you’ve found out you’ve been terribly wrong, does that make you less inclined to trust again? Or do you learn from your mistakes? Or feel bad, because you should have trusted your own instincts, your own little inner voice…

Love and trust don’t necessarily go hand-in-hand either. You can love someone but never trust them, although eventually that corrodes the love anyway. How do you weigh it up? The trust of a child in an adult – or the trust between adults when it comes to children.

In brief: my sons used to participate in a sport, and it has recently come to light that the instructor has been charged and convicted of historic sexual abuse and rape. I was shocked. A man, in a position of trust – needless to say, I asked my two the inevitable question, to which they both firmly replied: “No.”

Somehow, perhaps instinctively, I don’t know, I never left them alone with him. Ever. For those who suffered and their families, my love, thoughts and sympathy are with you.

I have been called an over-protective mother quite a few times, but I didn’t enjoy being pregnant and giving birth so I was bloody sure as Hell nothing was ever going to happen to my children when they were little and in my care.

Forgive me ranting, but of course I am aware that I have to let them go, grow up, make their own mistakes. I have to trust them to do that, and become their own men, the men they are destined to become. Regardless.

Amagreen And Awards

Firstly I would like to say a great big thank you to Jean, Shoko and Kali at The Canadian Cats, Binky and Granny at AngelsWhisper and Nicolle, of Stories of A Highly Sensitive Introvert, who nominated me for the Blogger Recognition Award and the Black Cat Blue Sea Award. I am truly grateful for their kind thoughts – please go and visit, if you don’t already know them, lovely ladies, all of them.

So. As this is a combination post, I thought I would choose a combination crystal… Amagreen. This fascinating crystal is a new one for me, so I must thank and credit the wonderful www.healing-crystals-for-you.com for the information I am relaying back to you, for as I said, this is a new crystal for me too.

So far, I have found it to be a pleasant and calming stone, with a wonderful balance of purple amethyst, white quartz and green prasiolite. It releases a loving energy filled with compassion to encourage emotional healing. It can also be used to help awaken psychic abilities.

The green element – prasiolite – is connected with the heart chakra, while both white and purple are connected with the higher head chakras; so it is a wonderful combination stone that promotes deep love and empathy; but also emotional intelligence and how to use it.

This brings me neatly to my nominations from The Canadian Cats and AngelsWhisper – wonderfully sensitive and caring ladies, and good friends who were some of the first people to befriend me here, on WordPress.

For the Blogger Recognition Award, you have to tell the story of how your blog began, I did that here. As a post-script to that story, I am currently learning how to continue the blog – not the writing aspect, but the actual technical side – gulp… – as I am not the most computer literate person in the world, and my son has always taken care of that side of things for me. However, he is writing me careful, step-by-step instructions on how to publish a post etc. to prepare me for when he leaves for university in October.

As part of the procedure for the Blogger’s Recognition Award, you also have to give two pieces of advice – well, they also remain the same. Essentially: interact. Answer comments, talk to other people, visit other blogs. I’ve made some really good friends this way. The second piece of advice is: be nice! I can’t stress that enough, there is very little point in being unkind, or unpleasant, that’s like acid indigestion. You will just rot away from the inside out. (An additional piece of advice would be make sure you’re computer literate…)

For the Black Cat, Blue Sea Award. I must thank Nicolle for nominating me – her questions can be seen here and my answers are:

1. What would you like bloggers to do more of that they aren’t doing right now?

   To be honest, I don’t really know, the blogs I follow are high quality, and easily accessible, so just keep on doing what you’re doing!

2. Tell us four things about yourself, one of which is not true, and see if we can guess…

   a) I have a secret passion for Justin Bieber

   b) I was persuaded to start an Instagram account by Gary

   c) I’m a natural brunette

   d) I have over 40 pieces of Rose Quartz

3. Describe a perfect day that balances all the things you love.

   My perfect day… hmm… a decent night’s sleep – uninterrupted preferably, by having to remove live rey from the house thoughtfully brought in by Lily. Then sunshine would be good, and just basically relaxing with the cats in the garden! (I’m so boring…)

   I’m not going to nominate any specific blogs, so I will throw them both open to anyone who would like to have a go. And, thank you, as always, to anyone who’s been kind enough to stop for a like, a look, or a subscribe.

The Royal Portrait – Princess Charlotte Oddpaw

Ice Cream…? And Music!

I always say this… but this time, and after Sunday’s post, I definitely mean it… we will be going award free here at Crystal Cats. I have really appreciated everybody who has thought of me, and as a collector, I have been privileged to receive at least one and sometimes more of the WordPress tags and nominations that go around, for which I will always be grateful.

But here… William, of A 1000 Mistakes offered me ice cream (I’m so shallow) to participate in this music tag, as created by Life In A Blogshell, so how could I refuse…Thank you William – please go and visit him for a great blog and music and the history behind the songs…

For “The Shuffle The Music Tag” just put whatever device you use to listen to your music on, and press the shuffle button, and write a little something about the first fifteen songs that come up, what they mean to you, their history, whatever takes your fancy. Then nominate seven or more people to participate, obviously letting them know.

Here we are then – this is my go at the Shuffle tag…. And I warn you now I have somewhat eclectic music taste!

1. “Paint It Black” by The Rolling Stones

One of my earliest memories as a little girl was seeing the last of the American troops returning from Vietnam, on an English children’s news programme, and this song, among others is inextricably tied in my memory to the troubles of that time.

2. “I Love My Life” by Robbie Williams

Everybody needs a bit of Robbie in their lives – this was the second song released from his eleventh studio album, written to encourage positivity and hope. Love you Robbie!

3. “I Don’t Know How To Love Him” from “Jesus Christ Superstar” music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Tim Rice, sung by Yvonne Elliman

I saw the film of this amazing rock opera for the first time when I was about seven and was totally blown away by the music… thus beginning my lifelong love of music, theatre and the musicals. It actually came to my home city on tour, and although the actress playing Mary did a creditable job, no-one has ever matched the soaring splendour of Yvonne Elliman’s rendition.

4. “Pompeii” by Bastille

No idea what this is doing on my phone; to be honest, the first time I listened to it was for this tag. A pleasant enough tune though.

5. “Empire” by Shakira

Ah yes, I have my son to thank for this one… he likes her. Me? I’m not so fond, considering she lost me a bet of £10.00…

6. “Wonderwall” by Oasis

Mad for it! This song was released in 1995, some years after my student days, but I will always remember being in Manchester for the birth of Britpop, and even now, this is still one of their most popular songs.

7. “Somewhere Only We know” by Keane

This was popularised by Lily Allen and the John Lewis Christmas advert, but its poignant lyrics struck a note with me during its initial release in 2004. Just listen – and feel.

8. “Symphony No.25 in G Minor, K. 183” by Mozart

Another film reference… “Amadeus”, a magnificent epic – somewhat glamorised – about the life of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, released in 1984. I went to the cinema to see it and was at once captured by the eloquent beauty of Mozart’s music. “Too many notes!” Never!

9. “Wrecking Ball” by Miley Cyrus

The first song that made me feel like a parent… when I saw the video to this, I thought: “What on earth is her father thinking, letting her do a music video dressed like this..?” However, it’s a great song, actually, and I should think that her dad, Billy Ray Cyrus, is justifiably proud of his beautiful and talented daughter.

10. “Especially For You” by Jason Donovan and Kylie Minogue

Cheesy? Oh yes. Wonderful? TOTALLY! I loved Jason in “Neighbours”, followed his music career with interest and was over the moon when he came to my home city on tour with “Priscilla Queen Of The Desert”, playing Tick. Kylie? Oh, she’s all right too…

11. “Baby’s On Fire” by Die Antwoord

I have my son to thank for introducing me to this South African Zef hip hop rap-rave group, Ninja and ¥olandi Vi$$er. They also starred in the film “Chappie” and are actually pretty cool…

12. “Grace Kelly” by Mika

Flamboyant and fabulous – to me, this song is about the confidence you can have in just being yourself.

13. “The A Team” by Ed Sheeran

The lyrics to this song are just hauntingly sad.

14. “Yes Sir, I Can Boogie” by Baccara

Oh I love this song! A real “feel good” hit from the ‘70’s – I vaguely remember my father dancing to this, for some reason, and I was overjoyed when the song made a reappearance on the Dairy Milk advert, with the lovely Brendan Gibson playing the boogeying boss… chocolate, a spinning office chair, a nice man and a good tune – recipe for a great advert!

15. “Take Me To Church” by Hozier

A line of this song stayed with me: “I’ll tell you my sins and you can sharpen your knife…” an almost-love song, but very dark… banging tune though.

I hope you’ve enjoyed this wander through my music… my nominations are: The Canadian Cats, Angels Whisper, Ella, Caz, Lady Joyful, GarfieldHug, Gillyflower and Gary. A truly wonderful group of people I am delighted to call friends… it’s over to you!

Addict

Picture this:

The pain, the hurt, the betrayal. She loved her little boy. Admittedly, he had not been brought into the world for the best of reasons; but once she had him, and held him, she resolved at once to be the best mother she could possibly be. This person – this perfect little person – this alchemy of maleness conjured from her female body was a source of pride and love and tender protection. Into their world of two came more, friends, acquaintances, family. And the rot began.

Picture this:

Pain. Pain as if your liver, your lungs, your very heart were on the outside of your body, no longer protected by flesh and bone, but exposed and painful, as painful as someone pressing on a fresh bruise or digging a screwdriver into the tender flesh of your gums over and over. And the rot took hold.

Picture this:

The little boy grew, and absorbed, like a sponge, all these outside influences, and in spite of his mother – despite her – became an addict. Her own mother betrayed, colluded, enabled. And her body ached, her heart hurt and her soul wept.

Imagine that.

Opalite And Opinions About Cats…

This form of Opalite, as shown in the pictures, can also be known as Tiffany Stone, Opalised Fluorite and Purple Opal. It is, in actual fact, a man-made glass compound and opinion is divided as to whether it is a genuine crystal with any metaphysical benefit.

However, it is a pretty stone to look at, and make things from, and as a wise lady I know always says, it’s good to work with colours. It has a milky, opalescent gleam to it, and like most crystals, it is useful as a focus for meditation. It has a subtle energy to it that is said to help clear any spiritual blockages and lend support during life changes.

Opalite encourages both strength of will and character, and is said to bring inner peace and calm. It is credited with improving communication channels and encouraging us to voice our thoughts and feelings.

A good stone to tie in with the title – this is the follow up post to “Obsidian And Older” where a very interesting debate arose, essentially: do cats’ personalities change after hey have been neutered.

I must thank everybody who was kind enough to share their views, opinions and personal experiences,  and as much as I would like to say I have come to a definitive conclusion, the overall answer is as varied as cats and owners themselves… Some cats are just basically grouchy, while others are furry angels and some are a combination of both…

I must emphasise, though, that unless you are a professional breeder, then ALWAYS have your animal neutered. The over-riding urge to reproduce is removed, as are all the accompanying health risks, and the overflow of unwanted babies is not an issue.

There are outside factors to consider, such as whether the animal came from a home, a farm, or a feral mother, for example. One kitten may be warm and playful, while its litter mate is shy and timid. Another point – I had my four girls spayed at three different vets with varying results. Charlie’s operation actually cost the most and when she recovered, I did notice a personality change. Although still reasonably loving towards me – after she’d got over the indignity of stitches and a bald spot – she would have very little to do with Lily, when previously they had been close enough to curl up together to sleep.

Ting and Tooty still remain close, and while Ting is loving, Tooty is quite timid. Age. There’s another factor… cats’ personalities continue to develop as they get older – as indeed do dogs. Erin can be grouchy maiden-auntish, but will drop into puppy play… if she feels like it.

My old cat, Walter, was the last kitten from a litter his mother – also my cat – had, by accident. Unloved and unable to find him a home, I ended up keeping him myself, and he went on to become one of my most beloved cats. So… Nature vs. Nurture – a favourite point of debate. Are cats born with their own inherent natures, to develop as they age; or does circumstance, upbringing and what they learn from those around them have a bigger influence?

Thank you to everyone again, who shared their views, experiences and opinions; although ultimately, I suspect, as with Opalite, opinions will remain inconclusive. I do know one thing for certain, though… cats definitely learn from each other. I’m surprised I’m not ten feet long, being wrapped around so many furry paws!

To Beard… Or Not To Beard?

I’m quite into beards at the moment. Not personally, as being female, I would have a bit of difficulty growing one, although I do sometimes grow the occasional one tough facial hair… a remnant from a previous life as a cat, I like to think…

I remember when I was a little girl hearing my father refer scornfully to “beardy weirdies”, and I was at once fascinated. Why were these men weird for having hair on their faces? How did it get there? Were they weird to start off with, or did growing a beard make them weird? Did it grow so far and then just fall out? Did they brush them? Remember, this was in the ‘70’s, and although the straggly hippy beard was still to be seen, the majority of men my father knew were clean shaven, apart from a few of the R.A.F. officers with whom he socialised, who sported immaculately groomed moustaches….

Obviously, as I grew older, I realised that my father meant it as a derogatory remark more to do with politics than actual appearance, but my fascination for facial hair was already – ahem – fertilised… Presently, beards are actually quite fashionable, and I am entranced by the amount of time and product men can use in maintaining a well-furnished face. My sons are both very fair and unable to produce a satisfying amount to require anything other than the occasional shave…

I know that if I were a man, I would grow a full beard at least once in my life, just to see what it felt like and because, well, because I could! Some men’s faces definitely suit beards, whether to add character or hide a weak jawline… some men suit the naked look… some men are lucky enough to be good looking with or without facial adornment… yes, I’m talking about you Mr. Jeffrey Dean Morgan…

I had a somewhat morbid fascination with my History teacher’s beard. It was dark, and curly, but one year, a grey spot appeared right in the middle of his chin, with a ginger ring around it. Every year, the grey spot grew larger, as did the corresponding ginger ring… I left before his face was entirely consumed by grey, but even now, I wonder… WAS HIS SKIN GREY AND GINGER UNDERNEATH THE HAIR – LIKE AN APPALOOSA PONY’S???

I am quite pleased by the current hipster fashion for beards, long, silky pelts that are sometimes threaded with beads, or plaited… or both… I applaud your ability to grow beards, gentlemen, and am secretly quite envious…enjoy your symbols of virility and masculine power, but please, answer me this – Do you keep things in them?? I would…!

Murder Mittens Inc.

Sometimes a phrase stays with me, whether it is a stanza of haunting beauty, a vivid description or something so unbearably funny it makes me laugh out loud on the bus or snort tea through my nose… My dear friend GarfieldHug – please go and visit, she is as wise as she is witty, and as warm as she is funny – posted a picture of various animals with alternative descriptions. For example, snake = danger noodle, manta ray = majestic sea flap flap, otter = sea cat snake… you get the idea… even now I’m laughing!

It reminded me of a picture I’d seen previously, of a tiger cub with its paws resting on a wall, captioned “Murder Mittens”. Also funny – I love this sort of word play; but I turned to look at Lily as I was reading this on my phone – she was curled up, sleeping, next to me – but as I looked, she stretched, luxuriously.

Her tiny, delicate, blackberry toes spread apart involuntarily and gleaming obsidian scythes appeared, seemingly out of all proportion to her toes. Every cat paw is a Mother Nature miracle of engineering and tendons, designed to pull these knives back when not needed, or release them…

Lily is the smallest cat, but she uses her murder mittens to great effect. Sparrows and blackbirds have all fallen prey to her (I cry for each feathered soul and send it on its way with love) as have two different types of mouse. Oddly enough, she seems to kill the birds outright in preference to the mice… oh no, she likes to bring them home to share. I have had mice in the airing cupboard and the sofa – none of the others bother, although Charlie once caught a very small mouse…

Perhaps this is why Lily does bring them home for us… she pities us for our lack of ability. I remember one occasion – I was in the back bedroom upstairs, that overlooks the back garden, and I could see Lily, Ting and Tooty, all gathered in a circle around something…

Suspicion aroused, I rushed downstairs and was less than impressed to find them slapping a poor little mouse between them with their murder mittens, for all the world like a gang of mean girls picking on the goody-two shoes. I rescued the poor little creature and sent him on his way with a stiff warning:

“You should know by now to stay away from here…”

“Thanks Missus, but that black one… she’s a terror… lost Bill and Ted the other week…”

Having been the recipient of a few swipes from murder mittens, I could only sympathise – and be thankful that I am the size I am in proportion to my murder mitten wielding dainty demon…

Carnelian And Comfort Cats

When I was a little girl – a very little girl – I had a teddy bear called Pinky Bear. I acquired him as we were walking through a market, my father carrying me, and I apparently reached out and neatly snagged this teddy bear from a toy stall. I refused to be parted from him – indeed, Pinky Bear had many individual adventures, including being lost on a train – and his soft, marshmallow pink fur epitomised comfort and security for me.

I no longer have Pinky Bear, but somehow, the colour pink retains an air of love and comfort for me… Carnelian is not normally a stone to which I am drawn, although I have written about it before, as it is a useful addition to any crystal collection, but Lizian’s latest order caught my eye…

Pink. Wonderful, striped shades of pink, some reminiscent of smoked salmon – I like that too… And I have also discovered recently that Carnelian is a wonderful stone of comfort. It deflects rage or anger that is directed towards you and helps your own anger or resentment to be gently dissolved, and a workable resolution reached.

Carnelian can help to lessen the bleakness of a situation where you feel emotionally isolated, and yes, bring the comfort you may remember from a much-loved childhood toy. Carnelian helps to restore the love and faith you have in Life, accepting the never-ending cycle of Life and Death, but not fearing it.

It imparts courage and confidence, the strength to carry on and can help to sharpen mental focus. Red Carnelian, as shown in some of the pictures, is useful for energising body and mind. Pink Carnelian, as soothing and warming as a cosy blanket, helps to restore trust and love, a comforting, happy stone.

Having shared the majority of my years on this Earth with a cat, or two, or three… or even four, it is safe to say I derive a lot of emotional comfort from the presence, love and companionship of my cats.

My old cat, Walter, was perhaps the supreme Comfort Cat Champion; his soft grey and black fur saw plenty of tears in his lifetime:

“There, there… tell me all about it and let’s see what can be done.”

I was so desperately lonely and bereft when his time came to cross the Rainbow Bridge… but now I have my quartet of princesses, the Furry Four, Mummy’s Girls, of which Charlie, Madame La Princesse, is undeniably Number One.

And when I am overwrought, or emotional, then I know there is comfort to be had, and love, in the presence of a warm, furry purrer…