02.07.10
Posted in Essential Oils, Information, Jewelry, travel at 4:17 pm by Administrator
Saint Valentine’s Day has been part of our calendar for as long as most of us can remember. A day traditionally viewed as a celebration of romance and love. The only problem is, not only were there 2 Saint Valentines, neither were associated with love and romance.
The first of the Saint Valentines was Valentine of Rome. He was martyred just for the fact he was a Christian in 269 A.D. The second Saint Valentin was Valentine of Terni who was martyred by Emperor Aurelian. These men were early Christians who preached their ideologies in Ancient Rome and Rome was not very tolerant of people who “went against the grain’.
There has never been any relationship between romance and either of the Valentine’s but by the time they were linked to romance in the mid 14th century, any distinction between the Valentine’s was lost to time.
Although there is no direct link between the Valentine’s and romance, the Feast Day of Saint Valentine is still a part of the modern calendar and will be for a long time. We at Mystical Charm hope this Valentine’s Day brings you romance, love and all the chocolate you can eat.
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11.25.09
Posted in Healing Oils, Information, Jewelry at 12:03 pm by Administrator
Everyone in America grew up learning the story of the Pilgrims and the first Thanksgiving. After a harsh winter in 1620-21, a local Indian named Squanto showed them how to plant corn and other foods as well as where the best places to fish were. The autumn harvest was very bountiful and the Governor of the Provence proclaimed a day of thanksgiving in honor of their harvest.
An annual day of Thanksgiving was held every year for many years. It wasn’t until 1817 when the state of New York adopted Thanksgiving as an official holiday. By the mid-19th century many other states had adopted Thanksgiving as an annual custom too. In 1863, President Lincoln signed a bill making Thanksgiving an official national holiday to be celebrated the fourth Thursday of every November.
Mystical Charm wishes you all a wonderful holiday season full of fun and family. Take advantage of our $1.99 shipping while it lasts!
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11.22.09
Posted in Egyptian, Jewelry at 1:53 pm by Administrator
Hematite has a significant history, due to its shiny, metallic and slightly magnetic properties with colors varying from metallic gray to earthy red. In fact, hematite jewelry is this Examiner’s favorite, and she wears it often to compliment various outfits.
When found, most hematite is streaked with red, consisting primarily of iron, despite the type of hematite. A large supply of hematitic banded iron is located in the upper peninsula of Michigan due to its iron mines. A new process called magnetation uses huge magnets to remove waste hematite from old mine tailings in Minnesota’s Mesabi Range iron district.
Uses of hematite have varied over the years. Hematite red chalk residues have been found in old graveyards from 80,000 years ago. Near Rydno in Poland and Lovas in Hungary, palaeolitic red chalk mines have been found that are from 5000 BC, belonging to the Linear Pottery culture at the Upper Rhine. Ancient Egyptians made cylindrical seals out of hematite and used them to roll impressions onto clay tablets or pottery. (see photo) It is also used in art such as intaglio engraved gems. It was used as a pigment in various paints, especially with the red portion of the mineral. The name hematite is derived from the Greek word for blood because hematite can be red, as in rouge, a powdered form of hematite.
Hematite has been used by mineral and crystal healers because of Hematite’s association with blood. They use it in their rituals for treating blood-related illnesses such as hemophilia, anemia, heart, kidney and liver diseases, cardio-vascular weakness, menstrual cramps, and nose bleeds. Healers recommend hematite for use in treating the stress of jet lag, birth and surgery, tumors, insomnia, leg cramps, nervous disorders and fevers. Hematite was also a Native American remedy for dental problems, pimples, canker sores and alcohol abuse.
Hematite’s popularity in jewelry was at its highest in Europe during the Victorian era from 1837 to 1901 during Queen Victoria’s reign in the United Kingdom. Since then, hematite has seen a strong resurgence in North America, especially in the western United States. During this Examiner’s trip to the Bahamas, homemade hematite jewellery compliments shell jewellry in many shops.
To see some amazing hematite jewelry, visit www.mysticalcharm.com and search for “Hematite”.
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11.12.09
Posted in Fantasy, Information, Jewelry, Uncategorized, travel at 11:06 am by Administrator
For thousands of years, architects have built this world. What started as simple mud huts soon moved to stone structures and then on to taller buildings. After a while, the act of building became common place. It was only a matter of time before kings and nobles wanted to out do one another and make their building stand out. Starting from before the 1st century B.C.E. into what we call the Middle Ages, architects would turn simple water spouts into Gargoyles.
The practice started in ancient Egypt where gargoyles ejected the water used to clean sacred vessels which was done on the roof of the temple. In ancient Greece, water would pass through the mouth of a lion carved into the building out of marble.
A great number of medieval cathedrals are adorned with gargoyles. The most famous of these is the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. During it’s construction, a number of gargoyles were constructed. Some were designed to convey water, others were put in place to ward off evil spirits. The king of France had a number of enemies at the time and ordered the architect to design every fourth gargoyle in the likeness of on of his enemies. To this day if you look closely at the gargoyles on Notre Dame, you will notice every fourth one looks much more human than the others.
Both ornamented and unornamented water spouts were common on buildings until the early 18th century. At that time, more and more buildings were using pipe guttering to convey water directly to street level. In 1724, the London Building Act made pipe guttering compulsory for all new construction and gargoyles fell out of favor.
What started as a simple means to convey water took on a life of it’s own. Next time you find yourself in a European city, take a look up and see what details you notice.
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11.04.09
Posted in Fantasy, Information, Jewelry, Runes, Symbols at 10:21 am by Administrator
Simply put, amethyst is a purple variety of quartz. Impurities in the quartz, such as ferric iron and possibly manganese. Somehow, science has a way of taking the mystical portion away from just about anything. Amethyst is much more than a simple crystal.
Amethyst has been a precious stone for thousands of years. The name comes from a-(not) and -methustos (intoxicated). Amethyst literally means “not drunk” since the ancient Greeks and Romans believed it had the power to keep one from feeling the effects of wine. They would make charms and drinking vessels out of amethyst believing it could keep them from getting drunk.
There are stories about how amethyst got it’s purple color. Most involve Dionysis (the Greek god of wine) turning a beautiful woman into crystal and then weeping tears of wine over her because of what he has done (ancient gods seem to have a very ADD quality about them) thus turning the crystals purple.
Today, amethyst and other crystals are better understood. There is no evidence to suggest that wearing an amethyst crystal will keep you from getting a hangover, but there is evidence that amethyst works in concert with your bodies natural electromagnetic field to induce healing and tranquil feelings. Amethyst can also be used in meditation to channel your thoughts and open blocked energy paths.
Whatever your feelings, amethyst is a beautiful crystal with more than it’s fair share of mystery and romance.
Mystical Charm hopes you have a wonderful holiday season full of fun and family.
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11.02.09
Posted in Fantasy, Information, Jewelry, Runes, Symbols at 11:23 am by Administrator
For a number of years, we have had stories of people with superhuman powers battling for control in one way of another. We have Superman, Spiderman, Batman, Wonder Woman and many more. These are stories most of us a familiar with us from comic books and movies.
Thousands of years ago, ancient people had the same thing. They told stories of gods with superhuman powers fighting monsters and traveling to far away lands. Each culture had it’s particular gods and stories to tell about them. In the far north in ancient Scandanavia tales were told of Thor and his hammer, Mjollnir.
Thor’s hammer is said to have the power to level mountains. If thrown it would return to Thor’s hand. To wield Mjollnir, special gauntlets had to be worn and a belt that would increase the power of the hammer. There are many stories about how the hammer was forged and not everyone agrees which is the most accurate.
Today, the stories are told in comic books and soon to be in the movies. Thor and Mjollnir have endured the centuries and is still today a major icon. Scandanavian people still pray to Thor just as some people pray to a saint. The symbol of Mjollnir is found in many places all over Scandanavia, in towns and on the crest of many families of Nordic descent.
Germanic Neopagans are fond of wearing pendants depicting Mjollnir as a sign of their faith. There has been some controversy in the United States as to it’s religious undertones since it resembles an upside down cross. These are usually the rantings of overzealous Christians who have little or no understanding of cultures outside their small town.
Mystical Charm hopes you have a wonderful Autumn season and looks forward to your comments and insights.
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09.30.09
Posted in Essential Oils, Fantasy, Information, Jewelry, Symbols, travel at 11:34 am by Administrator
Trick or Treating is the part of Halloween most kids are familiar with. In 2005, 93% of all kids in the United States said they were planning on “Trick or Treating”. I fondly remember going door to door, saying “trick or treat” and receiving a handful of candy. Our neighborhood was so big, my friends and I wouldn’t take a plastic pumpkin, but instead a pillow case. Often we would do one half of the neighbor hood, stop by the house to empty the pillow case and go out again for the second half. It took us months to eat it all, but by Christmas we would have it mostly gone.
Dressing up in costumes and going door to door for treats goes back to the Middle Ages and includes Christmas wassailing (going door to door to sing Christmas Carols). Trick or treating most closely resembles the practice of souling, where the poor would go door to door on Hallowmas (November 1st) and receive food in return for prayers for the dead on All Souls Day (November 2nd). This started in Britain and Ireland and was even mentioned by Shakespeare in the play “The Two Gentlemen of Verona” (1593). The custom of wearing costumes goes back to the Celtic tradition of attempting to copy the dead souls in order to placate them.
The term trick or treat was confined to the western United States before 1940. After that it slowly made it’s way eastward until the sugar rationing of 1942 to 1947. The widespread use of the term didn’t make it to the east coast until 1952 when Walt Disney made the cartoon Trick or Treat.
In Scotland and northern England, children do what is known as guising. Children wear costumes, go door to door and tell a ghost story in order to receive their treats. The practice goes back to the middle ages but became associated with Halloween in the 20th century. As a matter of fact, guising has made it’s way to America and in some parts of the country is now practiced exclusively on Halloween.
Mystical Charm hopes you have a wonderful Halloween and spectacular Autumn season.
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09.26.09
Posted in Information, Jewelry, Symbols at 8:37 am by Administrator
The Dharma Wheel is a globally recognized symbol for Buddhism and represents the Buddha’s teaching of the path to enlightenment. The wheel has been used as a Buddhist symbol since the early period of Indian Buddhism. The Dharma Wheel symbol was found in Indian art in the time of the Buddhist king As’okah.
More generally, the Dharma Wheel is known as the Dharmacakra symbol. It is a chariot wheel (cakram in Sanskrit), designed with eight spokes. The wheel has deep symbolism associated with it. Since its shape is circular, the wheel represents the perfection of the Dharma teachings, while its spokes refer to the “Noble Eightfold Path” of Buddhism. The hub, located in the center, represents discipline - essential to meditation. The outer rim refers to mindfulness which holds everything together, just as the rim holds the spokes in place.
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09.23.09
Posted in Fantasy, Information, Jewelry, Symbols at 4:20 pm by Administrator
Focusing chakras helps a body in many ways, especially in the spiritual sense, by aligning the energy within a person. This helps one find inner peace. Many Examiners have written articles about the chakras of the human body. One excellent article was written by the Inner Peace Examiner and is titled, “Chakras 101.”
For advice on how to align your chakras, the Enlightened Journey Examiner wrote an article called “Aligning your chakras within seconds.” It provides an excellent way to align your chakras within a minute.
A rainbow of colors correspond to each chakra. Wearing a particular color helps one focus their energy to that particular chakra. In addition, wearing a chakra bracelet, necklace, or other jewelry can also help as a reminder to focus their energy.
In the photo above, the following chakras are each associated with a particular bracelet:
Root Chakra - Garnet (base of spinal column)
Carnelian Navel Chakra - Tiger Eye (spleen area)
Solar Chakra - Green Aventurine (stomach area)
Heart Chakra - Sodalite (heart area)
Throat Chakra - Amethyst (throat area)
Brow Chakra - Third Eye (facial area)
Crown Chakra - Quartz Crystal (top of the head or above the head)
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08.27.09
Posted in Information, Jewelry, travel at 1:21 am by Administrator
Exploration and the Renaissance made an impact on the design of jewelry. Now jewelers had access to gems and materials from all over the world. They also had access to cultures and arts they had never seen which only stimulated their minds to create beautiful works.
Where gold had once been the dominant material in jewelry, the period saw an increase in the use of gemstones and jewels. When Napoleon became emperor in France in 1804, he revitalized the countries love of jewelry. Under his rule jewelers introduced parures, suites of matching jewelry such as an emerald tiara, emerald rings and an emerald brooch.
Another trend that saw a resurgence thank to Napoleon was the cameo. Once the people of France saw his cameo studded crown, everyone had to have one. This period also saw the introduction of costume jewelry. Fish scales were used instead of pearls and conch shells instead of stone for cameos. To differentiate the arts new terms were coined. Jewelers who worked with cheaper materials were called bijoutiers, while jewelers who worked with more expensive material were called joalliers. Terms that are still in use today.
Mystical Charm and Holy Land Favorites are proud to offer jewelry in their extensive collection.
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