Out With the Old, In With the New...

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com After a lot of thought, and a two month brake, I've decided to leave Etsy permanently. Which came because of a change in their policies, and some of the products I provide. They no longer wish to have certain items and a lot of the items they no longer want listed, I sell... As much as I love the community, I just can't compromise. So, I've decided to open an Artfire.com store, as well as a Zibbet.com store. Both are kinda "under construction", but are already up and going with a products. Here are the links to both stores: My Zibbet Store- http://www.zibbet.com/GypsyMagiQ My Artfire Store- http://www.artfire.com/ext/shop/studio/GypsyMagiQ I hope to see my old customers, and I look forward to meeting new ones! Much Love! ~Gypsy

More DIY Bath and Body Recipes!

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com DIY: Not only is it cheaper, it's cleaner. Why spend loads of money on products with long lists of unbeautiful ingredients you likely can't pronounce? Especially since those chemicals often end up doing the opposite of what you want them to do, drying things up. Get the best ingredients by mixing them yourself. And plus, there's a lot of leeway here to play around with different oil bases and organic essential oils. Consider this recipe as a launch pad into the world of do-it-yourself body oils for a smooth and supple you.

ACNE TREATMENT

For minor acne flare ups, look to honey for help!
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pure honey

1. Mix together warm water and salt and stir well until salt dissolves. Apply a cotton ball soaked in the solution directly to blemish and maintain pressure with cotton ball for several minutes.
2. To use: Use a cotton swab to dab pure honey on blemish. Leave honey on for 10 minutes and rinse well with warm water. Honey also makes an excellent weekly facial mask; simply spread on your face and leave on for 20 minutes.

Body Oil for Dry Skin

Your skin will look healthy with better results than with lotions or creams. In fact, body oils added to a luxurious bath and/or applied to the skin, just after bathing (and towel drying), can be rubbed in flawlessly for a nourishing and moisturizing effect that is anything but greasy.
2 fl. oz. jojoba oil
2 fl. oz. almond oil
2 tablespoons of vitamin E oil
10 drops sweet orange oil
6 drops lavender essential oil
4 drops lemongrass essential oil

Add all of the ingredients into a glass jar or plastic bottle and shake. Its that easy!This also is superb after shaving!

Simple Brown Sugar Body Scrub

So sublimely sweet you'll want to rub it all over your body. And by all means, please do! This brown sugar body scrub and polish creates a sumptuous take-the-spa-home experience.
1/2 cup Organic Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. Honey
1 Tbsp. Jojoba, Coconut or Almond Oil
1/4 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice

In a large bowl, begin by lightly stirring your sugar and oil together, just until combined. Next, add the honey and lightly stir again. Lastly, pour your lemon juice in and mix it all up until you're happy with the consistency. And that's it! Store in a mason jar. Makes a budget friendly gift!
Well, that's it for now. Will be adding more soon!

~Gypsy

What is Karma?

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com We,ve all heard the word, and maybe even a few sayings, but what exactly is Karma? I ran across this on the web and thought I would share! Karma Karma is one of those words we don't translate. Its basic meaning is simple enough — action — but because of the weight the Buddha's teachings give to the role of action, the Sanskrit word karma packs in so many implications that the English word action can't carry all its luggage. This is why we've simply airlifted the original word into our vocabulary. But when we try unpacking the connotations the word carries now that it has arrived in everyday usage, we find that most of its luggage has gotten mixed up in transit. In the eyes of most Americans, karma functions like fate — bad fate, at that: an inexplicable, unchangeable force coming out of our past, for which we are somehow vaguely responsible and powerless to fight. "I guess it's just my karma," I've heard people sigh when bad fortune strikes with such force that they see no alternative to resigned acceptance. The fatalism implicit in this statement is one reason why so many of us are repelled by the concept of karma, for it sounds like the kind of callous myth-making that can justify almost any kind of suffering or injustice in the status quo: "If he's poor, it's because of his karma." "If she's been raped, it's because of her karma." From this it seems a short step to saying that he or she deserves to suffer, and so doesn't deserve our help. This misperception comes from the fact that the Buddhist concept of karma came to the West at the same time as non-Buddhist concepts, and so ended up with some of their luggage. Although many Asian concepts of karma are fatalistic, the early Buddhist concept was not fatalistic at all. In fact, if we look closely at early Buddhist ideas of karma, we'll find that they give even less importance to myths about the past than most modern Americans do. For the early Buddhists, karma was non-linear and complex. Other Indian schools believed that karma operated in a simple straight line, with actions from the past influencing the present, and present actions influencing the future. As a result, they saw little room for free will. Buddhists, however, saw that karma acts in multiple feedback loops, with the present moment being shaped both by past and by present actions; present actions shape not only the future but also the present. Furthermore, present actions need not be determined by past actions. In other words, there is free will, although its range is somewhat dictated by the past. The nature of this freedom is symbolized in an image used by the early Buddhists: flowing water. Sometimes the flow from the past is so strong that little can be done except to stand fast, but there are also times when the flow is gentle enough to be diverted in almost any direction. So, instead of promoting resigned powerlessness, the early Buddhist notion of karma focused on the liberating potential of what the mind is doing with every moment. Who you are — what you come from — is not anywhere near as important as the mind's motives for what it is doing right now. Even though the past may account for many of the inequalities we see in life, our measure as human beings is not the hand we've been dealt, for that hand can change at any moment. We take our own measure by how well we play the hand we've got. If you're suffering, you try not to continue the unskillful mental habits that would keep that particular karmic feedback going. If you see that other people are suffering, and you're in a position to help, you focus not on their karmic past but your karmic opportunity in the present: Someday you may find yourself in the same predicament that they're in now, so here's your opportunity to act in the way you'd like them to act toward you when that day comes. This belief that one's dignity is measured, not by one's past, but by one's present actions, flew right in the face of the Indian traditions of caste-based hierarchies, and explains why early Buddhists had such a field day poking fun at the pretensions and mythology of the brahmans. As the Buddha pointed out, a brahman could be a superior person not because he came out of a brahman womb, but only if he acted with truly skillful intentions. We read the early Buddhist attacks on the caste system, and aside from their anti-racist implications, they often strike us as quaint. What we fail to realize is that they strike right at the heart of our myths about our own past: our obsession with defining who we are in terms of where we come from — our race, ethnic heritage, gender, socio-economic background, sexual preference — our modern tribes. We put inordinate amounts of energy into creating and maintaining the mythology of our tribe so that we can take vicarious pride in our tribe's good name. Even when we become Buddhists, the tribe comes first. We demand a Buddhism that honors our myths. From the standpoint of karma, though, where we come from is old karma, over which we have no control. What we "are" is a nebulous concept at best — and pernicious at worst, when we use it to find excuses for acting on unskillful motives. The worth of a tribe lies only in the skillful actions of its individual members. Even when those good people belong to our tribe, their good karma is theirs, not ours. And, of course, every tribe has its bad members, which means that the mythology of the tribe is a fragile thing. To hang onto anything fragile requires a large investment of passion, aversion, and delusion, leading inevitably to more unskillful actions on into the future. So the Buddhist teachings on karma, far from being a quaint relic from the past, are a direct challenge to a basic thrust — and basic flaw — in our culture. Only when we abandon our obsession with finding vicarious pride in our tribal past, and can take actual pride in the motives that underlie our present actions, can we say that the word karma, in its Buddhist sense, has recovered its luggage. And when we open the luggage, we'll find that it's brought us a gift: the gift we give ourselves and one another when we drop our myths about who we are, and can instead be honest about what we're doing with each moment — at the same time making the effort to do it right. http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/thanissaro/karma.html I hope this shed some light for you! I also hope this will make you think about your actions or you inactions. I know I've always been on my p's and q's!

Incense Making Basics

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Most of the time when we think of incense or oils what comes to mind is the packaged stick stuff or the thick purple perfume knock off at the gas station or the dollar store or where ever. But real incenses are more complex, but many aren't hard to make at all! They are spirit lifting and the best ones are NOT mass produced. Surprising to most, they are so very easy to make! So, before I go off babbling about my favorite subject, let us dive into the tools that you should have on hand, shall we?

For Incense you will need:

mortar & pestle (to finely powder herbs)
coffee grinder ( is optional, most purists dont use them, but for me, they help with the rougher woods)
a bowel or 2 (to hold ingredients)
spoons/measuring cup/scale (so you can properly measure out how much of what went in where)
incense burner (a non metal or plastic bowl to place ash or sand in)
sand or ash (to place the bamboo coal on once lit)
tweezers (to hold the coal so it can be lit and placed on the ash or sand)
incense ingredients (woods, resins, flowers, essential oils, etc.)
bamboo charcoal (contains non of the stinky or harmful salt peter (sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate)
a notebook ( to record your recipes, amounts, successes and failures)

This is the way that you would make a 'non-combustible' incense. That means that it does not light on its own, therefor it does not contain harmful additions such as sodium nitrate or potassium nitrate. The very first incense that you should undertake should be a simple one. Maybe you have a favorite woodsy smell, maybe pine or sandalwood. Or maybe you favor more spicy scents such as cumin or cardamon. Either way there are more incense recipes in books and on the web than you can shake a stick at! So, here is the one secret to creating a no fail incense...every incense should have at least one resin or wood in each recipe.

If you are just starting out making incense mixtures then you should keep the number of ingredients down to three to begin with, perhaps one wood and two herbs, or one resin, one wood and one herb, etc. As you get used to making incense you can slowly expand the number of ingredients you use. Resins, often, will make a mess of your mortar and pestle and its best freeze them to get them powdered. I save them for grinding last, because you can grind and powder everything before you have to clean the mortar and pestle. You can weigh or measure each ingredient in our recipe after grinding, then keep one bowl for all our dry ingredients and another for all our resins.
Mix all your dry ingredients together first (herbs & woods), separately mix all your resins together then add your resins mixture to your dry mixture and mix together thoroughly. We like to throw the completed mixture into our mortar and pestle again and grind it all together one last time to help blend the aroma of each ingredient into the others. At this time, if you were planning on using any essential oils, now's the time.

You did it! See, I told you it wasn't all that hard, pretty easy right!?

~Gypsy


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May Give-Away!!!

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I just love give-aways! They make me happy to supply one lucky winner with a surpise! I think when the winner is anounced, that often, Im more excited than the winner is! I cant help but love to share what I do with others. So, this time the give-away will be a surprise! the items will be of my choosing and they will be all items that I myself would wish that I could win! So, items could be anything from hand crafted oils, loaded candles, gemstone jewelry, meditation beads, hand crafted incense or so much more!

Ok, so here we go...I want to put together an all around gift (at least a $25.00 value)! The product/s can range from anything about or something not yet seen on my Etsy site! There's just something about a big surprise, isn't it!?
The drawing will be held on May 20th. Winner decided by random.com

Visit My Facebook Page to Enter. 'Like' the page and comment 'giveaway' to enter. https://www.facebook.com/GypsyMagiQ

Visit my Blog to Enter. Find the post for 'May Give-Away' and comment 'giveaway' to enter. http://www.gypsy-magiq.blogspot.com
If you are visiting my blog for the first time, you may comment, but I will need an email address to contact you!

***AND FOR EXTRA SUPER DUPER CREDIT, EVERYONE WHO SIGNS UP FOR MY NEWS LETTER FROM TODAY UNTIL MAY 20TH, 2012 WILL RECEIVE A COUPON CODE WORTH 20% OFF AN ORDER AT MY ETSY SHOP!!
*Coupon Codes are valid for 2 months and are only valid in my shop.*
So Comment, Like, & Sign Up!!

Good Luck!!

~Gypsy!

Hoodoo and The Bible

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com Lord, I wonder what's has got the matter
Wit' time, you know, wit' time
It seems like the hours
Oh, everything done changed

But I hold up my hand
I'm just tryin' t'make her understand
Lord, you know, everybody tells Little Junior
That somebody done hoodooed the hoodoo man

Now, I'm goin' down to Louisiana
An' get me a mojo hand
My little woman
She done quit me for some other man

Junior Wells — Hoodoo Man Blues lyrics


Hoodoo has always been close to my heart. I too practice this form of magic. Hoodoo is often confused with Voodoo, and the two are very different, like apples and oranges. Often people dont think of Hoodoo as a magical practice at all, some think of it as pure nonsense. Thinking its practitioners superstitious, and the practice not worthy. That can be further from the truth. I would like to share some information on the subject, hopefully this will enlighten someone to the practice. This is going to be one of many I hope to post on a subject that I love!

Some History...Hoodoo and the Bible

Hoodoo is often called Conjure or Root Working, a form of African American 'folk magic' melded with Native American and European practices. Hoodoo began with slaves in the deep south. Now Hoodoo has spread in all directions. The practice is often handed down from family member to family member. Myself, I wish that I could afford a copy of Hyatt's books. Hyatt wanted to document the practice from not only practitioners, but from former slaves themselves. Which to me is an invaluable resource. To me, you can get no further to the source.
Hoodoo has a close relationship to the Bible. Yes, thats right the Bible. Often using and Psalms and passages from the Old Testament. Many think that the greatest Hoodoo manual is the Bible its self. Many would think that as blasphemy, but it isnt so. Which Psalms and verses were used where, varied from practitioner to practitioner. These words were faithfully recited over candles and sickbeds, remedies and mojos, as well as other charms. Certainly, some were used in connection with roots, herbs, and other medicinal and special items. It is said that many cures are brought about by trees, roots, and herbs, but powerful cures are brought about by Word of God. Sometimes more than one of the Psalms or verses would be used with others.

A wonderful reference on this can be found at This great site..
Many such as Zora Neale Hurston, who wrote in her book,"Moses: man Of The Mountain", that Moses was 'the finest Hoodoo man in the world'. Obviously Moses and magic appear in the Bible, with Moses and the Pharaoh where Moses preformed miracles, freed the slaves from oppression, and many other things that would make one believe in the power of Moses. Which led to the use of "The Sixth and Seventh Seals of Moses" being a staple in a practitioner's belongings.

Above all oils, potions, barks or roots, stands The Bible and all of the magic it beholds.

I got my mojo working, but it just don't work on you
I got my mojo working, but it just don't work on you
I want to love you so bad, 'till I just don't know what to do

I'm going down to Louisiana, to get me a mojo hand
I'm going down to Louisiana, to get me a mojo hand
I'm gonna have all you women, get you under my command


Muddy Waters - Got My Mojo Workin'

Many Blessings!
~Gypsy Come Join The Fun At The Pagan Blog Project!

Herkimer Quartz "Diamond"

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Herkimer 'Diamonds' are extremely useful in a healing environment, where their clarity and brilliance and high vibration help in the removal of energy blocks and introduce a clear, high frequency to the aura. Herkimers can assist in meditation by opening one's higher chakras and help one remain focused on the meditative state. They are highly stimulating to the third eye, crown and etheric chakras and tend to increase psychic sensitivity.

Herkimer Quartz 'Diamonds are a variety of Quartz crystal found in and around Herkimer, New York,USA. Herkimer Diamonds are beautiful double-terminated quartz crystals. Incredibly, these phenomenal gemstones are believed to be close to five hundred million years old. The crystals are magnificent works of nature found in the rock, appearing to have been precision cut by man and having a diamond-like geometrical shape thus, the name “Herkimer Diamonds” Many collectors believe the Herkimer Diamond should rival a true diamond. Their reasoning for this is a true diamond found in the “rough” is exactly that, a rough appearing glass-like stone. A real diamond must be cut by man to give it smooth faces and a geometrical shape.

Herkimer Diamonds are not diamonds. A true diamond is one of the hardest elements known to man, scoring a ten on a one to ten hardness scale. Herkimer Diamonds are harder than all quartz crystals. They fall at about 7.5 on the Mohs hardness scale, giving the real diamond a close race.

The majority of the Herkimer Diamonds have eighteen faces. Six triangular faces form the termination points on each end of the crystal. These are separated by a group of six square or rectangular faces. This conglomeration often results in a diamond shape. Variance in the plane of a face surface on a Herkimer Diamond has been measured at less than two thousandths of an inch. Even with today’s technology, man has a tough time duplicating the precision nature has performed on the Herkimer Diamond.

Herkimers can be clear or included. Inclusions are often black carbon deposits. Some Herkimers are smokey rather than colorless, and larger crystals frequently exhibit skeletal Quartz formations. Inclusions of water are found in a small percentage of these crystals. Water included Herkimers are special healers of the emotional body. They assist one in looking at one's deepest self and in bringing the light of Spirit into dark places. In clear Herkimers, water inclusions channel the stone's effect on the heart center, creating an illuminating and uplifting energy that causes experiences of rapture. In foggier Herkimers, the water inclusion helps one to see what one fears most within one's self, while making one open to receive a clear, self-loving feeling.

The Mohawk Indians who lived in this area were known as 'The People of the Flint' but today it is believed that the original translation was in error and the correct translation of their language describes them as 'The People of the Crystals'. The Mohawk River and it's tributaries drain the central portion of New York and have eroded the bedrock for eons. This weathering released Herkimer Diamonds into the stream beds for collection by the native people. Both the Iroquois and Mohawk Indians who first roamed Herkimer County, found diamonds laying loose in the soil. There is evidence of the crystals being used for tools and weapons. At some Indian burial grounds, arrowheads carved from Herkimer Diamonds have been excavated. There is no evidence so far that the Indians used these crystals for adornment. However it is thought that the indians believed the quartz crystals to be "spirit stones".

Why You Should Own A Herkimer Quartz Diamond

~ Herkimers are believed to be the most powerful of all the quartz crystals.
~ They are also called the attunement stone.
~ They assist in telepathic communication.
~ Help to attune one to their higher self.
~ Herkimers are believed to be the most powerful of all the quartz crystals.
~ They are also called the attunement stone, allowing the one using it to attune themselves to other people, environments or groups.
~ They are believed to carry the energy of healing and of love to facilitate healing of others. and of the planet.
~ They stimlate clairvoyant ability.
~ They assist in telepathic communication.
~ Helps one to open to their inner visions.
~ Herkimers are believed to be the most powerful of all the quartz crystals.
~ They are also called the attunement stone, allowing the one using it to attune themselves to other people, environments or groups.
~ They are believed to carry the energy of healing and of love to facilitate healing of others. and of the planet.
~ They stimlate clairvoyant ability.
~ They assist in telepathic communication.
~ Help to attune one to their higher self.
~ Herkimers are believed to be the most powerful of all the quartz crystals.
~ They are also called the attunement stone, allowing the one using it to attune themselves to other people, environments or groups.
~ They are believed to carry the energy of healing and of love to facilitate healing of others. and of the planet.
~ They stimlate clairvoyant ability.
~ They assist in telepathic communication.
~ They help to clear and open the chakras.
~ Relieves tension and promotes peace of mind.
~ Helps to bring you compassion for others.
~ Also known as a dream stone, it is excellent for vivid dreaming and remembering dreams (put one under your pillow).
~ Helps to recall past lives.


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Many Blessings!
~Gypsy