How to Make Your Spring Altar Come Alive

My Spring altar with a pic of my shamanic mentor Francesca De Grandis

If you're looking for inspiration to decorate your spring or fall altar then look no further! Each month at the New and Full Moon I post suggestions for your altar to go along with the zodiac sign of the Moon such as: gemstones, goddesses, foods, herbs, tarot cards, colors, affirmations and creative prompts.

Feel free to take my material and use it to dress up your altar so that your Moon Meditation is an especially blessed event. I hope that the wildflowers below, picked from the sunny Southern California hillside behind my home inspire you as much as they do me! Blessed Be.

At each New and Full Moon I also include a Lefty card from my Lefty Oracle Deck. The Deck is divided into the elements of nature: earth/air/fire/water and of course Spirit. I channel a short, inspirational message specifically for that moon and include a Lefty Affirmation. I encourage you to try out non-dominant hand drawing to stimulate your brain and help you focus and center. Here's what an art therapist has to say about drawing with both hands ie. bi-lateral hand drawing:

“In the case of bilateral drawing, there is an assumption that because both hands are engaged that both hemispheres of the brain are stimulated…I believe bilateral drawing, guided by a helping professional, is helpful simply as a method of self-regulation...Making marks or gestures on paper with both hands simultaneously also creates an attention shift away from the distressing sensations in the body to a different, action-oriented and self-empowered focus. It capitalizes on embodied, self-soothing experiences ...and takes advantage of the power of “drawing on both sides” to alter one’s own internal rhythms for self-regulation and well-being.” ~ Cathy Malchiodi, PhD, Art Therapist

Lefty Oracle Deck by Kathy Crabbe

Lefty Oracle Card Spread for a Soul Reading by Kathy Crabbe 2

Lefty Oracle Card Spread for a Soul Reading by Kathy Crabbe

To dither or not to dither, that is the question (from the Lefty Oracle Deck) by Kathy Crabbe

Miss Talitha spider-sister (Lefty Oracle Deck) by Kathy Crabbe

I call wrinkles 'god-points' and so far I'm winning (Lefty Oracle Card) by Kathy Crabbe

My desk

Kathy Crabbe Creative Soul Guide in Temecula Wine Country, California

About Kathy

Kathy Crabbe has been an artist forever and a soul reader since awakening her intuitive gifts at age forty.

Kathy lives in sunny Southern California with her architect husband and pet muses, Abby the shaggy black dog and Djinn Djinn, the small scruffy one in an adobe home they built themselves.

To order a Soul Reading please click here.

Consulting with your Spirit Guides: A Morning Meditation

I'd like to share a small sample of my day in the hopes that it might motivate you to try something different for yourself. I begin each day with yoga, meditation and intuitive consultation in a circle with my spirit guides, angels, goddesses and ancestors. I work with  oracle cards of my own design and Norse runes.

Kathy Crabbe, I call wrinkles 'god-points' and so far I'm winning, 2007, mixed media on paper, 8x10”. 

I begin today's Intuitive Consultation with the words, "Just for today I am guided intuitively by my angels, guides and Ancestors." If this feels selfish to you, then ask yourself, "Is liberation selfish?" I open myself to sharing, loving, being and doing all that supports my highest and deepest good. I open myself to Creation, to love, caring and healing. How? By reverence for life and for death.

I write down any channeled guidance or oracle card insight I receive plus my Sacred Mission for the day. For example, today's sacred task is to paint Paloma, a Goddess who appeared to me yesterday (blog post coming soon!) What is your sacred mission or task of the day?

Before you close your circle don't forget to thank your guides and angels and when you blow out your candle make sure to send healing, health, wholeness and holiness to all those in need and please feel free to mention their name(s) aloud when you do.

Blessed Be.

p.s. if you're interested in 'pulling' a card from my Lefty Oracle Deck you can do so here: Creative Soul Cards

To purchase a Creative Soul Reading using the Lefty Oracle Deck please click here: Creative Soul Readings

To check out more of my meditations please click here: Meditations

How to Calm & Center - A Quickie Meditation

How-To Calm & Center (a quickie meditation that really works!)

Close your eyes. Deep breath.

Sit with eyes closed, just listening.

Breathing deeply

Relaxing your body.

Checking in and asking, "How do I feel?"

Picking music that fits your mood (ie. "Flow, River of My Soul" by Single Gun Theory)

Letting the music energize and sweep you up.

Now, you're ready to go!

Finding Our Heart-Home

Sometimes it feels like I spend more time shutting out the world than I do being in it, through meditation, deep thinking, deep feeling. The time spent on this is immeasurable - time does not equal money. How little money can we exist on? How to simplify so that basic needs are met, leaving room for art-making, play, deep reverie? A longing for one-ness with the universe, the Divine, the source, the thread connecting all I do. Sometimes we seek outside of ourselves to fill this emptiness, this loneliness felt deep within our soul, but outside sources can never fill this bottomless pit. Instead we need to recognize our yearning for what it truly is, a search for source, a longing for re-connection with our Divine self.

When we realize this - that our heart-home lies always within reach and that our true home is always within ourselves, we are home, we are blessed, we are free.

"I love the ground whereon he stands." From the song "Black Is The Colour" by Marcy D'arcy & The Prodigal Sons from the album "Women of the World Celtic II"

The photos above were taken after experiencing a sound healing bath played upon quartz crystal singing bowls at the Integratron in Landers, California.

How To - A Quick Meditation Pick-Me-Up

A quickie meditation guide to help you balance and recharge your soul and bring you peace of mind.

Meditation How-To

1. Find a comfortable place to sit - I prefer my ergonomic typing chair.

2. Light a candle.

3. Burn sage or incense (or say a prayer) to clear and cleanse your space and yourself. I like to say a Native American blessing "May I walk in beauty" as I brush sage smoke under my feet.

4. Call upon divine guidance: God/dess/Divine/Angelic Beings - whatever works for you - the name is not important!

5. Close your eyes and focus upon your breathing - in, out, in out. Let your whole being relax and let go of all tension and worry as if you are floating on a cloud, upon the water or enveloped in a fluffy bath towel as small angelic hands massage and nurture you, body and soul.

6. Next is a quick chakra cleansing. Chakras are seven major energy centers within the body. They process energy and connect us with our spiritual essence and the realm of pure consciousness. I begin by envisioning a ball of pure gold/white light above my head which represents the Divine and then I breath in and let that light change and flow through my chakras. I breathe color and emotion into each chakra as I work my way down through the colors of the rainbow (being an artist I love this part!):

Crown of head - violet - I experience feelings of blissed out knowing, spirituality. Forehead/Third eye - indigo - Feeling in tune with my sixth sense, psychic sight
Throat - blue - Speaking my truth, communication
Heart - green/pink - Feelings of pure love for everything
Solar plexus - yellow - Feelings of inner strength, creation of self
Sacral/Pelvic - orange - Feelings of desire, creativity
Base of spine - red/black - Grounding and connecting with survival instincts

I finally exhale when I reach the base chakra and allow all my tension to empty into the earth as I ground the energy and repeat the exercise starting at the top (above my head) and continuing in a giant circle until all colors and feelings are flowing, focused and clear.

6. If you have a question or concern for the Divine or your guides then you may ask it now and be prepared with paper and pen! I begin my request with a prayer and request that I receive information that is only of the deepest, highest and most profound good for my soul. While you wait for a response, be conscious of any images, feelings or words that come up - this is the message you've been waiting for.

7. Continue to let your consciousness drop as you feel more and more relaxed, letting go and releasing all pain, discomfort and stress, as you continue to let your thoughts flow in and out.

8. To end your meditation say a prayer of gratitude and blow out your candle as you send out a prayer of healing to all those in need.

And voila, you will be refreshed, recharged and ready to continue on with your journey. I wish you many sparkly blessings along the way!