Using the Universe in crystal form

One of the great advantages of being a solitary witch is that you can continually develop and design your own path. The solitary is beholden to nobody and although some solitaries do choose to follow a rigid tradition, most of us use the freedom of being alone on our path to evolve a craft of practises and beliefs which have an emphasis on personal meaning and which work the best for us.

My own twisty turny witchy path has been influenced very heavily by my interest in astronomy - note astronomy not astrology, I have little patience with star signs I'm afraid - What I am interested in is working with the individual energies and characteristics of the planets and drawing those strengths and powers into the workings that I undertake.

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A couple of years ago I put together a collection of sphere shaped crystals that formed the basis of a representation of the solar system (and yes, I included Pluto as a planet, lol). My intention was to design a physical representation that could be used in both its entirity to draw down the energies of the solar system and individually to call upon the individual characteristics of the planets.

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Once I had spent many enjoyable weeks amassing the collection (and maxed out several credit cards...) I then had to start thinking about what I would use each individual planet for. Some were relatively easy, planets like Mars and Jupiter have very definite associations of strength and power. But once I moved toward the gas giants, Jupiter's moons and the dwarf planets beyond Pluto I encountered far fewer of the commonly accepted associations and I had to start thinking for myself and deciding what each of the celestial bodies actually meant to me.  It was an interesting meditative exercise, sitting with each of the crystal representations and trying to merge my scientific understanding of the planet/moon with the emotional connections it represented to me. Some links were easier to make than others - I use Jupiter's moon Europa to generate a sense of calm and peace as the moon's surface is physically very smooth and I use one of Jupiter's other moons Io to raise fiery energies as the surface is covered in volcanoes.  Others were harder to find a resonance with, Mercury in particular took me a long time to build up a relationship with. Some associations were based on the physical characteristics of the planet, i.e. the powerful winds on Jupiter, some on the behaviour of the moon or planet, i.e. Triton, the only large moon in our solar system to have a retrograde orbit and therefore excellent for work in rejecting conformity and finding your own path. Other associations were made with the perceived colours of the planets, I associate Saturn very much with the colour pink and so it follows that I base a lot of my relationship work on my dealings with this plant. You can see more of my own personal associations on this section of the website - planets.

In the beginning I worked primarily with a few planets and moons that I felt comfortable with, predominantly the Earth's moon (as being a witch the moon is heavily linked to my own relationship with the craft) but over time I established very definite personal connections in my mind and I even expanded the collection to include some lesser known celestial bodies like the moons of Uranus and Saturn. I have now moved beyond the solar system with a representation of Proxima Centuri our nearest star in the galaxy. I would imagine that eventually I will expand to include some of the more well known exo planets and pick up some of the missing bodies of our own solar system - I have always felt that the moons of Mars are a bit conspicuous by their absence.

The influence of the Universe energies on my path has been substantial and my workings have become closelvery affiliated with my crystal collection. I use the spheres with some regularity to form a working circle and I notably performed a powerful finding spell recently by calling on the energies of the close orbit between Pluto and its similar sized moon Charon. I often clasp the Earth in my hands when grounding and I've even lent elements of my collection out to others who have needed them. (Husband: I'm feeling a bit down, Me: Hmm, I'll just nip up and stick Saturn under your pillow...) Working with the Universe has given me a powerful source of energy to tap into and a very tangible understanding of what it is to call upon external power. It is perhaps similar to the Wiccan ritual of Drawing down the Moon, but with more scope for diversity of different energies. Predominantly and most importantly for me my crystal solar system has allowed me to develop my path as a witch down a very unique and personal structure that I have been able to design and evolve myself. This independence of thought is one of the most crucial elements of being a solitary witch, I create the path, I don't just follow it.

Image (top) http://www.deviantart.com/art/Solar-System-92938702 (holly66696669)
Other images personal to the Deguwitch's collection

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