blessed lughnasadh
Blessed LUGHNASADH or Lammas, depending on what you call it!! It is Angelica with your Wheel of the Year Lughnasadh history and reading. Lughnasadh (pronounced LOO-nah-sah) begins the three harvests on the Wheel of the Year. Sometimes called Lammas (literally translated to Loaf-mas), it honors the first harvest of wheat—the most delicate of the harvests. Celebrated on sundown July 31st to August 1st, it can sometimes be changeable depending on the timing of harvest. Our key word here is self-sacrifice…listen to this episode for more.
In this episode, Angelica Yingst talks about Lughnasadh, the first Harvest Festival, the beginning of Autumn and Harvest season, and the community and individual spiritual work and insights for this time. She talks about rituals from her upcoming book + oracle card deck called Cycles as well as discussing the Tarot Layout of the month. She mentions Corn Husk Dolls. You can check out this bougie one from Martha Stewart:
https://www.marthastewart.com/968909/harvest-time-corn-husk-dolls
Or watch it done with Magical Crafting:
blessed august
Angie talks about the sky medicine, I mean, astrology of the month, pulls a Tarot card archetype for August, and the Earth Medicine allies—Dandelion (that persistent ally wants to hang on for another month); Stone Medicine: Citrine, Dumortierite, and Spirit Quartz as well as work with the medicine of Spider. Remember these earth medicine guides can be tools for this month, and help you do your thang!
Remember I do collective Full Moon + New Moon readings for my membership group as well as a Guided Shamanic Journey with the animal medicine of the month. We also meet each Friday for circle, and you get free bonus of Q&As with me. Check out more information here:
https://themoonandstone.com/monthly-memberships
https://herbiary.com/dandelion-root-tea-caddy-2-5-oz/
new moon in cancer
Blessed New Moon in Cancer on July 17th, 2023 at 2:32 pm ET. Time to practice some deep self-care, rejuvenation. The New Moon in Cancer happens the same day the lunar nodes shift signs for the next 18 months. The north node moves into Aries, and the south node moves into Libra. So, we deal with issues around the Self + Others, particularly around boundaries and home. This can be emotional, particularly if you have gone through some deep wounding around family, home, safety and where we feel safe emotionally. It may be a time when we jettison friendships or relationships that threaten us, or do not provide nurturing or safety. Or it can be a time to heal those wounds, or at least give ourselves a kind of closure. When Venus goes retrograde later in the month, it will be hard to have conversations, but this may be a time to do the work around how to heal, how to have conversations, and intuitively how to nurture and heal the self.
Happy new mooning!
burn out + self-care
dearest moon + stoners,
I just finished the latest Complete Tarot course, and it was such an awesome mix of people and energies. I held two Live Q&As a week with that course, plus filmed a class each week, plus a layout class, and then of course, some bonus videos. My favorite bonus is something close to my heart, which are the Greek Myths that tangentially appear in the Major + Minor Arcana of the Tarot. You know, an hour of myth exploring and storytelling is my idea of a good time.
But, y'all, it was a lot. I left a situation at Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy where we had a team of eight people basically launching classes, which were the same classes twice a year. We had it down to a proverbial science. And it still wore us out, burnt us out, but I also felt like I knew how to do it in my bones. So, when I was putting all my energy into the Moon + Stone and launching classes, I thought, "HOW HARD COULD IT BE?!?"
It is goddess-dang hard, yo.
Neck deep in the middle of a session of the Complete Tarot, I had a total mental breakdown where I just went into a catatonic state and stared at a wall for 90 minutes. I had nothing left in the tank. My kids needed a chauffeur, lawns needed to be mowed, and still I just stared. I was waking at 3:30am just to finish stuff before I had to do more stuff. Still, I was posting classes at the literal 11th hour. I fell asleep staring at the wall. My tank wasn't just empty. I exploded the engine all together, so there was no amount of gas that would make me run, but I still had to run.
I say this only to say, in the midst of that, I had this commitment to share my story (in recovery, we call it experience, strength, and hope) at one of our main celebration days in AA called Founder's Day. It is always an honor to share your story, because it means someone thinks you have something hopeful to share. This was my local Founder's Day picnic. I am in Central Pennsylvania and our Founder's Day picnic has a nice turnout--150 people.
Founder's Day, in case you don't know, is the day Alcoholics Anonymous was founded. It isn't the day Bill Wilson got sober. It is the day that Dr. Bob Smith got sober. Pull up a chair, I'm going to tell you a story.
Bill Wilson was a stock analyst who also happened to be a real alcoholic. He lost most of his money in the crash of 1929, and went on a hellish drinking spree that lasted for a long long time. He was unemployable, destitute, living with his in-laws, drinking himself into oblivion. At that time, alcoholism was seen as a moral failing (hey, in some circles, it is still seen that way). If you were an alcoholic, you ended up in an institution--jail or the sanitarium--or you ended up dead. There wasn't much hope for drunks.
Bill was in and out of the hospitals, the asylums and was basically told he would die or end up with wet brain. One day, his friend Ebby** came to visit. Bill and Ebby drank together many many times, and so Bill was excited to have a fellow drinker visiting. That is when Ebby told him he had quit drinking because he found God. Ebby had joined the Oxford Group, which was an evangelical Christian organization founded by the American Lutheran minister Frank Buchman in 1921. Buchman believed that fear and selfishness were the root of all problems. Further, Buchman believed that the solution to living with fear and selfishness was to "surrender one's life over to God's plan".
Bill really didn't want to hear about God, but he was intrigued that Ebby was sober and completely transformed. So, he tried it, but couldn't stay sober. They had steps to do and ways to take responsibilities for your life. Bill ended up in another institution in a few short months.
This time, though, he had the Oxford Group's ideas about being of service to your fellow man in the back of his mind, so in the midst of his Delirium Tremens, Bill W. yelled out to God and asked to be shown God. According to Bill W., while lying in bed depressed and despairing, he cried out, "I'll do anything! Anything at all! If there be a God, let Him show Himself!" He then had the sensation of a bright light, a feeling of ecstasy, and a new serenity. He never drank again for the remainder of his life.
Bill W. joined the Oxford Group and tried to help other alcoholics, but succeeded only in keeping sober himself. So, I say all of that for background, here is what I really want to share about this story. Bill W. travels to Akron Ohio for work. He has a terrible day. The whole reason he was there was to do business, and his business deal falls through. In AA, we always say he had a failed business trip. So, he walks into the lobby of his hotel. On one side of the lobby is a bar. People are laughing and drinking and having a good time.
He wants a drink. I mean, for the first time since his God experience, he wants a serious drink. But he knows that at the core of his sobriety is helping someone else. He stayed sober all this time by helping other alcoholics in the Oxford Group. Granted, they didn't stay sober, but he did. So, he is at this crossroads. He could go into the bar and have a drink or he could get out of his comfort zone and help another alcoholic.
I think about that crossroads every day. I am not exaggerating. I think about Bill W. standing there with all the laughing joyous people on one side of the lobby drinking alcohol and a bank of phones on the other side of the lobby. It is 1935, remember and he is somewhere where he knows no one. Obviously, no cell phone, no meetings (he hasn’t invented meetings yet), no companion, no other alcoholics.
What would you do?
He goes to the phones and calls a Church. RANDOMLY CALL A CHURCH, and basically says, "I need an alcoholic. Stat."
Actually, he does call a church and talked to Episcopal minister Rev. Walter Tunks and tells him that he is an alcoholic who wants to drink, and he has found when he helps another alcoholic, he doesn't drink, so the good Reverend sends him to a woman named Henrietta Sieberling, who is part of the Oxford Group in Akron. She had been praying for this alcoholic every day, so she sends to the guy. Dr. Robert Smith, a prominent Akron surgeon, whose drinking is affecting his practice, his life, his marriage....After delaying the meeting for a day, Dr. Bob agreed to a fifteen-minute encounter.
When they met, the fifteen minutes became six hours. Bill W. told him about his own experience as an alcoholic, he talked about what he had learned about alcoholism and then spoke of his own spiritual experience. Dr. Bob drank again within the month, but less than a month later, had his last drink. His sobriety date is considered the founding date of AA. From there, together, they found a drunk in a hospital and talked to him, and then another person. They decided on principles, ideals, and what helped. One alcoholic talking to another alcoholic.
Like I said, I think about that moment when Bill W. thought he was at his lowest. The last thing he wanted to do was call a church. He wanted to have a drink, but he thought it through. He had a spiritual awakening, and he wanted to keep his Spirit awake, so he went out of his comfort zone and took the path toward the phone. He called someone and said, "I'm an alcoholic." That is probably the last thing in the world he wanted to say out loud, and when he said it, he not only saved his life, but millions of other people over the last 88 years.
We are always at the crossroads, friends. Always. We stand in the morning at a crossroads. Do we want to go numbingly into the bar, or do we want to move towards our spiritual awakening? I always say this to my sponsees—you are either moving toward a drink or toward God or your Higher Power. That one step changed the history of the world, and your one step might too. Mine might. We just never know. We just never know when we meet the person who inspires us to change the world.
Why am I telling you this? Well, when I spoke at Founder's Day in front of 150 people, I woke up not wanting to do it. I, like most people, get nervous public speaking. I used to stutter and break out in hives when I was in front of other humans. Plus, I reasoned in my head, I made this commitment in February before I knew how busy I would be. I had just had a mental health sitch, where I was catatonic, recognizing my traumatized brain was in a state of dissociation, and I was deeply depressed and distressed. I wasn't calling my people. I was just existing one minute to the next, praying for these feelings to be over soon.
But nonetheless, that Saturday morning, I got up, sang up my prayers, did my morning Reiki, and drank my coffee. I drove to an AA meeting and made coffee, greeted people, did my best to share where I was, then I went home and got dressed and went to this picnic and stood in front of 137 people, plus a shit ton more who didn't count in, and told them about the most vulnerable part of me--the alcoholic part, the broken part, but I didn't stop there. I told them about my crossroads, hoping to help someone stay sober for one day.
Since my mental breakdown…
sidenote upon reflection: do I need to call it that? I don’t know. I am not crying all the time. I am just existing and numb, but it felt like a breakdown that I am hoping to transform into a breakthrough. But yeah, it kind of was a breakdown…
(back to our regularly scheduled update) Since my mental breakdown a few weeks ago, I had to keep working. I had to sit with my insane schedule of up at 330am and working for 16 hours. It didn't fall lightly on me that a few months ago, I saw a post by inspirational coach Annie Adamson that said:
"I would never hire a coach that…Doesn’t prioritize their health mental physical spiritual
Red flags 👋
🚩 Working overtime
🚩 Not moving their body
🚩 Skipping meals
🚩 Not taking time off
🚩 Ungrounded
🚩 Overly caffeinated 😝
If you are looking for a coach, ask them about their priorities. If they are not striving to live their best life, do not hire them…Looking for a good coach can be a daunting task. They could have all the "skills" and the best "intentions" but if they are not healthy it WILL effect you and your results." Ooof, man, that hit me right in the old kisser, or rather in the solar plexus.
Working overtime - uh, me.
Not moving their body - uh, me
Skipping meals - also, me
Not taking time off - um, I try.
Ungrounded - okay, I am pretty good at this one or am I?
Overly caffeinated - not overly, but at least a bit caffeinated.
I kept turning it over in my head. Is it fair to my students and clients that I feel like I am drowning and slowly dying inside and still doing a tarot reading for them?
The truth is that I have been working for the last eight years for a business where my boss took 2 months sabbatical, months and weeks off at a time, had a four day work week, 6 hour days. She modeled this, but I was working my fingers to the bone with no bonuses, health insurance or vacation days, waking up super early just to get everything done before my kids woke up. I have had to work every vacation for the last seven years because I wasn't granted a vacation. Because I had zero $ for vacation time, even though I gave tirelessly for this business, because you know what, I WASN'T EVEN A FULL TIME EMPLOYEE.
That is not my boss's fault, that is mine. She modeled good work-life balance. She modeled time off. I just didn’t take it. I tolerated working myself to death. I allowed myself to burn out. And to have my own business these last 10 years, I have had to work weekends, evenings, all my days off. I had to find babysitters, and drivers and cooks. I have stumbled in at 11pm after a long circle, only to get up again 4 hours later and do it all over again. And sometimes for 2 people who paid me $80 collectively, not mentioning rent and stuff I bought for the circle.
That is just the reality of this life as a healer, reader and human. Or it was my reality. Maybe I should say, that is the reality of someone who is mired in scarcity thinking and self-loathing. This must be what I deserve, because I have never not worked. Not since I was 13. I always had a job. It is where my worth was based, and that isn’t fair to anyone, most of all me.
+ + + + +
I stand at a crossroads again. There is an office on the left side of my consciousness. In it are shelves of books about all my special interests--tarot, crystals, mythology, shamanic healing, religions, mental health. There are classes I should teach, people who need readings, there was journeys to perform, and it is filled with people begging me to help them. It looks so inviting to me. But it is set up like a casino--no clocks, no loved ones, just me giving of myself until I drop.
On the other side of my consciousness is a simple row of telephones. They go to a direct prayer line to Great Spirit. If I walk to the phone booth, I get to ask for help with my workaholism and my boundary-less practice. I get to plug in. I get to move my body. I get to eat more than energy bars and mixed nuts. I get to keep it simple and log off of social for a minute, and ask my kids if they want to meditate with me. I might even play guitar. I will definitely be in therapy. And I will allow the 1000 yard stare to let me know I have a feeling I need to feel.
All of that is to say, I know some of you are searching around for how to schedule a one-on-one session with me or my classes. I have been struggling with some mental health challenges, including burn-out, chronic pain and fatigue, which has pushed me to make the difficult decision not to see clients for the time being. I will be focusing on self-care, mental health, and reconnecting with my spiritual practices.
I am still offering Live Q&As at the end of the month. I appreciate all your support of my personal practice. I will inform you via newsletter if I offer one-on-ones again. (I assume this will look different than it has in the past, like maybe one day a month in person and one online, or something, but this will not be offered again until at the very soonest, Winter 2023, but you never know how I will feel with some distance and healing time.)
Much love
* “Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS), sometimes referred to as wet brain, is a brain disorder related to the acute and chronic phases of a vitamin B1 (thiamine) deficiency. Thiamine depletion is seen in individuals with poor nutrition and is a common complication of long-term, heavy drinking. It's possible to reverse the symptoms when caught early, but left untreated, WKS can lead to irreversible confusion, difficulty with muscle coordination, and hallucinations.
Wernicke-Korsakoff syndrome (WKS) is sometimes colloquially referred to as “wet brain.” This term, however, used to talk about WKS is stigmatizing and stems from the inaccurate belief that individuals willfully contracted WKS due to prolonged alcohol misuse. Using phrases like “wet brain” can create a negative bias, perpetuate the idea that addiction is a moral failing—and not a medical condition—and prevent individuals from seeking the help they need for WKS, which is a severe, life-threatening brain disorder that is actually comprised of two conditions.
The first part of WKS, Wernicke’s encephalopathy, is a severe and temporary condition characterized by confusion, loss of muscular coordination, and abnormal eye movements and vision changes.
The second aspect of WKS, Korsakoff’s psychosis, often follows or accompanies Wernicke’s encephalopathy. Korsakoff’s psychosis is a persistent, chronic condition that can cause significant impairment in learning and memory and interfere with a person’s ability to function normally.”
from the website American Addiction Centers
** Edwin Throckmorton Thacher (29 April 1896 – 21 March 1966) (commonly known as Ebby Thacher or Ebby T.) was an old drinking friend and later the sponsor of Alcoholics Anonymous co-founder Bill Wilson. Thacher was a school friend of Wilson, and battled his whole life with alcoholism, frequently landing in mental hospitals or jail. After one bender, three members of The Oxford Group, Rowland Hazard, F. Shepard Cornell, and Cebra Graves, convinced the court to parole Thacher into their custody. Hazard taught Thacher the Oxford Group principles and the idea that a conversion was needed between patients. Hazard lodged him in the Calvary Rescue Mission, operated by the Calvary Episcopal Church in New York City. He is credited with introducing Wilson to the initial principles that AA would soon develop, such as "one alcoholic talking to another," and the Jungian thesis which was passed along to Rowland Hazard and, in turn, to Thacher that alcoholics could recover by a "genuine conversion".
full moon in capricorn
Here is my personal one…whew, it was a doozy.
personal note about one-on-ones
July 1, 2023 - Personal Note:
Dearest clients,
I know some of you are searching around for how to schedule a one-on-one session with me. I have been struggling with some mental health challenges, including burn-out, chronic pain and fatigue, which has pushed me to make the difficult decision not to see clients for the time being. I will be focusing on self-care, mental health, and reconnecting with my spiritual practices.
I am still offering Live Q&As at the end of the month, and working on a number of creative projects, like writing a longer tarot book, publishing my oracle deck, writing a book about cycles with personal rituals, and creating more in-depth healing mentoring circles. I appreciate all your support of my personal practice. I will inform you via newsletter if I offer one-on-ones again. (I assume this will look different than it has in the past, like maybe one day a month in person and one online, or something, but this will not be offered again until at the very soonest, Winter 2023, but you never know how I will feel with some distance and healing time.)
Thank you for your patience and understanding.
blessed midsummer
Blessed Midsummer, friends, it is Angelica Yingst with a bonus episode celebrating another turn of the Wheel with Summer Solstice celebrations. Some call it Midsummer, Summer Solstice or litha or Leetha, as others pronounce it. I could not get a clear pronunciation of it. I found an Irish speaker who said Litha, but Wiccans will sometimes say Leetha. Ultimately, the word for the holiday comes from the Anglo-Saxon name for the month of June — Ǣrra-Līða. That essentially translates to “the first liða” — and July is effectively named “the second liða.”
hello from the Abyss
Yes,I created this digital art. Thank you for asking.
I had the most incredible dream last night: Kali first came, with her tongue and severed head necklace, then Kuan Yin with this pearlescent aura, almost like the chatoyance of a crystal with layers of light and colors of gold and pink (quite the contrast from Kali) and then la Virgen de Guadalupe with her grief and eternal love, she showed me the protectiveness of her aura, all spiky and sharp. They came in one by one, appearing to me, holding me, healing me, nurturing me, caring for me, the Mothers, as though I were convalescing, recovering from something or maybe even dying. They all held me as I lay on the floor crying.
I watched this as an omniscient viewer—above and away from the pain of this scene.
I still don’t quite know if this was the past or the present or the future, and also maybe it doesn’t matter so much. Maybe I just needed to be reminded that I am held by the Mothers, by the goddesses of Time, Compassion, and Love.
Lately, I have been in a deep hole of Not-Enough. Time looks down and says, “You will never get ahead of me, honey.” And then Energy says, “Angie, I sent you some fatigue, so you slow the fuck down already.” And then Chaos brings her deviant whirlwind of memories and triggers, she throws down random shit she found in her basement. There are kid-illnesses, construction projects with their loud beeping and noises. There are also sounds of machine gun fire from the local Army base. "OH, also, that new medication that is supposed to alleviate your joint pain has a side effect, excruciating migraines, you will love that," she laughs. "I also found a bunch of rabbit holes that will distract you for a while from what you are doing, because I know how much you love being sidetracked. Have fun!”
I decorated my abyss with a galaxy lamp too, so I am just making this place home for a while. Sometimes when you stare at the abyss and it stares back, just imagine me in there reading about the Eleusinian Mysteries and how you make bath bombs from scratch.
+ + + + +
I am neck deep in the middle of a session of the Complete Tarot.
I always have the most amazing students, who are insightful, wise, and interesting. And when I am pulling classes together, I love to innovate, change things up, weave more in. But dang is it a shit-ton of work. Have I mentioned (this hour) how much I love the Tarot—the art, the symbolism, the depth of meaning, the research?
I mean, it fires me up. For this session, I have brought in all the symbology and iconography as a step of the teaching. Is it too much information? Maybe. Possibly. But thus quoteth the Buddhist prophets of Brooklyn, the Beastie Boys—I can’t, I won’t, I don’t stop.
I also recorded a bonus video telling the stories of the Greek myths that appear in the Tarot, and I just wanted to keep going and going, but that’s how I ended up in the abyss of Not Enough time, energy, and stability. I reminds me of this Tarot Meme that makes me laugh.
So, that's what is up with me. I'm in a hole and it involves pain, exhaustion, and lots of research. It's not as bad as it sounds. What is up with you?
Much love. Angelica
PS I have some classes come up, so check out my Events page for all the stuff I have planned until the end of the year.
everything you ever wanted to know about astrology
Buckle up, Buttercup!
I spent a few months dotting her Is and crossing her Ts with this mega-questions from Natalie:
My question is: would you be willing to talk a little bit about astrology?
My questions kind of fall into 3 buckets:
1. Maybe you could give a high-level overview of how you think about and approach astrology, including sun sign versus moon sign versus rising sign.
2. And/or maybe a quick description of each sign. Along with how you characterize them. I suppose this could be a full podcast in its own right. Or maybe even 12 of them lol.
3. And/or how do you incorporate astrology into your readings and your life?
Sure, I could have broke all these questions up and not given you a 1.5 hour podcast, but then you'd have to wait, and I spent so much time connecting the dots, telling you the Ancient Greek myths associated with the constellations and zodiac, breaking down each sign, house, placement, etc....so, you don't have to! Take your time and listen. I worked hard to make it manageable and understandable for someone who knows nothing about astrology. It is a lot. I am a lot. I mean, it is part of my shizzle—to be a lot. But that is what happens when you ask a Capricorn Sun, Taurus Moon and Gemini Rising to do a little research. You will soon very much understand that. Enjoy this episode!
Blessed May!
Happy May! Here is the Tarot, Earth and Sky Reading for May with some significant lunations:
The Card of the Month is the Three of Wands and we are working with the Medicine of Arnica, Smoky Quartz, Carnelian and Green Aventurine with the specific beautiful energy of the beloved Condor. You can purchase a medicine bundle of May’s medicine in my shop.
May 1st is also Beltane, or May Day, the energy of fertility, sex, creativity and joy comes through loud and clear and we honor our own fertility and flirty natures. I recorded a podcast with all the history and lore of Beltane as well as a reading.
Tarot + Earth Medicine Reading for April
Listen to this month’s tarot + earth medicine reading on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts, or right here on my website!
Blessed Vernal Equinox
Blessed Vernal Equinox, friends! This episode of Centered is a reading, history and insights around Vernal Equinox or what modern pagans and Wiccans call Ostara.
Disclaimer for this episode is that I nerd out on some religious and cultural history of this time of the year. I include talk about Christianity, Judaism and the bible. I tend to give you biblical verses for context not preachiness. One thing to know is that I have a degree in Religion. We tend to say that Theologians, of which I am not, focus on what God thinks about humans, and Religion scholars focus on what humans think about God, so I am coming from the latter of these. And in this quest to put things into context, I often will go to the source within that religion. I do my best. I was raised Catholic and am now a pagan. I’m an earth-worshipping, tree hugging, faithful and faith filled believer in the Goddess and God, and often will just say God to mean it all. I want you to know that, because I don’t want to mislead anyone. I tend to see our alikeness in religious beliefs rather than our otherness. I could literally talk Religion all day. And maybe I will some episode.
So, there is no one traditional religion or culture where you would find all eight pagan/Wiccan sabbats as a holiday system. Wicca, also known as Witchcraft or the Craft, seeks to reestablish the link to the earth and the cycle of seasons by following what Wiccans call the "Wheel of the Year." Celebrations, known as Sabbats, serve as the spokes of the Wheel, reminding practitioners of humanity's intimate connection to nature. The Lesser Sabbats, tied to the solstices and equinoxes, and the Greater Sabbats, purportedly tied to harvest and livestock cycles, occur approximately every six weeks. Through observance of the Sabbats and Esbats, rituals taking place every new and full moon, witches keep in touch with the progression of the year and nature's rhythms.That came about in the 1950s with the creation of Wicca by Gerald Gardner.
Ostara celebrates the vernal equinox. Ostara is one of the holy days that Gardner solidified for pagans. Ostara, named after the Eostre, the Germanic Goddess of the Spring (others say she is Celtic) is celebrated on the Vernal or Spring Equinox. Like many other spring celebrations in other cultures, Ostara symbolizes fertility, rebirth, and renewal. This time of year marked the beginning of the agricultural cycle, and farmers would start planting seeds…listen to continue.
Beyond the Reiki gateway: The Songs and Science of Crystals with Angie Yingst
I was so honored to be on the Beyond Reiki Gateway Podcast talking about all things crystals!!
Do you love crystals? Have you ever wondered how they work their special magic?
Tune in as Kathleen and Andrea welcome Angie Yingst to the pod! Angie is an Advanced Crystal Master, Reiki Master, Tarot reader, and Earth Medicine Practitioner. She owns the Moon + Stone Healing Studio and hosts the podcast Centered with Angie Yingst.
In this must-listen episode, Angie shares her treasure trove of wisdom and knowledge about the mineral kingdom, as she seamlessly blends science with spirituality. She describes the "songs" of the crystals and how listening to them can assist us on our own unique paths.
Angie Yingst also offers practical tips on working with crystals so you can optimize their healing benefits in your life!
Listen to the latest episode of Beyond the Reiki Gateway on your favorite podcast app!
You can listen to The Songs and Science of Crystals with Angie Yingst 🎧 ➡
Also available on YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BTRGPodcast
#BTRGPodcast #beyondthereikigateway #universoulheartreiki #mainstreamreiki #crystals #kathleen_johnsonrmt #andreakennedy #spiritualgrowth #reiki #reikimaster #energyhealing #spirituality #Clairsentience #spiritualgrowth #reiki #reikimaster
Centered Episode 49: Tarot Q+A
In this episode, I am talking about Tarot + the spiritual work of the healer. I have questions that I keep finding that I forgot to answer earlier, or just held onto for a bit, so apologies if that was you. I like to create Q&As that are related. I also have some events and things coming up that you might be interested in, so I have that after my questions, if you hang out that long. Enjoy this episode of Centered.
The questions:
Can you talk about how to create your own tarot layouts? How did you start doing that? And how do you recommend doing it?
What is a significator and why don’t you talk about them?
Beka Caudill asked Is there a certain day you suggest doing your tarot pull for the year? Any specific questions to ask?
Julie Milletti asked Are there times when you don’t do anything spiritual — tarot, meditation, earth medicine practices, etc.?✨
Full Moon in Virgo
Blessed Full Moon in Virgo!
It is a great time to look at our work--our soul work, or our jobby job. We have to find that spiritual fulfillment there, and if not, this full moon can help us balancing what our vision of work is supposed to be.
Also, Saturn is moving into Pisces, y'all. I mean, like Saturn is all about structures, and Pisces is very watery and mutable, so what does that look like? No idea. But weird, I imagine. Flowy. We have some years to get used to it. But I imagine we about to get in our feels, yo. And especially around our structures. This could technically be the Age of Aquarius, or the Age of Water.
Since 2017, Saturn has been in its own planets (Capricorn and Aquarius), now it is going to butt heads with our resident empath Pisces, the co-dependent nurturer and indulger. It's going to be a trip, but instead of getting in yo head about it, just enjoy organizing your pantry and color-coordinating your filing system with Virgo's Full Moon, and while you are at it, honor the people you are of service to. They love you! #themoonandstone #fullmooninvirgo
Tarot + Earth Medicine Reading for March
Blessed March, friends! They say March roars in like a lion but leaves as a lamb. But this March is roaring in with so much astrological shifting, we may want to roar, cry, mew, dance the Macarena, and hide under a blanket with a computer to take over the world.
This is the month we have all been waiting for, or at least, that is what we were told in the beginning of the year by astrologers. All these retrogrades, they said, just wait until March when everything shifts. I was in my live membership group circle and someone mentioned the crazy astrology in March, and I had totally forgotten. I was so caught up in what I thought would be a mild February. It was anything but for me. I was definitely getting ready for March.
So, if you have felt like me and are saying to yourself, “What gives? I thought this would be the calm time of the year.” You have laid the foundation, friend, to shift, change, adapt and let yourself get taken by the inevitable transformations of March’s astrology and energy.
Of course, I discuss this all in the Tarot + Earth Medicine Reading for March in my latest podcast. Click to listen here or at my Anchor site. Or you know Spotify, ApplePodcasts, etc…whereever you get pods, you can get mine.
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If you like these readings for the month and want to dive deeper with me, I have my Moon + Stone Healing Memberships. I do readings for the group on the Full Moon and the New Moon and provide a monthly shamanic journey to all members. We circle up for Coffee on Fridays and talk, pull cards, explore topics. There are a few price points for everyone and for one tier, I do a personal reading.
I just wanted to share that, since so many of you ask for how to work with me, or learn from me, I also have a place where you can schedule distant sessions with me.
And one more thing, I am starting a monthly Live Q&A, which will be very similar to my office hours at Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy. You can sign up here. The last Wednesday of the Month. More about that coming!
Holding Space
I love the phrase “Holding Space”. I love the way it makes you think about space as something tangible and weighty. I definitely think of space this way—substantive, tangible, having its own energy. I walk into places and feel my energy rise and feel joyful and other places that drag me down and creep me out. The lovely side effects of being a highly sensitive person, neurodivergent, psychic, weird. Whatever you want to call it. I also feel that from people. Authenticity. The energy signature of each person is a bit different. It is how I feel my father with me even though he died five years ago. I feel his energy.
When I studied with my mentor, Pixie Lighthorse, we covered holding space—creating a safe environment for our clients and for ourselves. Of course, all my teachers cover sacred space and how to create an energetic neutral environment, but this was different. We talked about how to HOLD space. How to create a vessel for safety and trust. How to honor our clients. How to respect ourselves. We talked about psychological terms like transference and counter-transference. I can hear you say, “But those are psychological terms, Angie, and you aint a psychologist.”
True dat.
But the psychological model can be very useful for all of us who hold space for other people. Without a governing body, energy workers, Reiki practitioners, tarot readers, yogis, spiritual coaches, all of us really can get lost on our path. We burn out from working on people. Boundaries get crossed without us even knowing their should be a boundary there. Most of us need some guidance or guideposts on the way. A kind of moral compass and guide book for this landscape of energy.
When I got my first certification, I hung a shingle. I saw friends and colleagues, expanding my business online and in-person. I loved it. I held Moon Circles with no qualification other than I had been to Moon Circles. And as I got deeper into the work, the clients came to me with complex issues that needed a multi-pronged approach, and I had no idea what to do.
This is me saying—I made a lot of mistakes in my practice and my circles.
I let myself get triangulated. I became friends with clients and then had them calling with at all hours with Tarot emergencies. I tried to do everything for clients. I had my work and classes stolen from me by students. I let people not show up to appointments or come in late and got more and more resentful without talking to them. Truthfully, I was just a person in over her head in a community that were searching for more than I was trained to give.
Studying with Pixie changed my perspective. I am a professional and holding space is the most important part of my job. For my sanity and for the wellness of other people. I love research. I call myself a research monkey (though, honestly, the more I think about that, the more it sounds like I let people experiment on me). When I began my healing journey, I found called to work on others. When I began my healing trauma, I went down some really important rabbit holes for being trauma-informed in my practice. I felt I had unknowingly allowed my own privilege and bias not inform my practice. I have always taught ethics and boundaries in my circles, but through the years, it deepened and expanded with the core of my beliefs residing in love, kindness, and compassion. From there I rebuilt my approach to not only be loving, kind and compassionate to my clients, but also loving, kind and compassionate to me.
As I have said before, my philosophy can be summed up as “Do no harm, but take no shit.”
Ethics + learning how to hold space were the cornerstones of my successful energy healing practice. They’re the North Star that guides you to successfully have a thriving practice and honor your precious clients and protect your energy.
I am very honored to bring you the full scope of holding space, ethics + trauma-informed crystal therapy. My goal with this class is to EMPOWER you to have a practice that fulfills you, brings out the best in you, and serves your client’s highest needs.
I originally taught this class at Hibiscus Moon Crystal Academy, and am offering it here. Read more about it here:
scheduling
another q+a episode on centered with angie
Just a quick little episode of Centered answer these questions:
from Shannon:
I would love to know more about your Earth medicine journey and how you personally recognize and find meaning in the gifts Gaia offers you.
and then another from Melanie:
Hi Angie. What is the significance of the "Rising" sign and 12th House? I have my birth chart. They said I'm an Aries with Leo Rising and Cancer in the 12th House. I don't know what to do with that info. ❤️
