Oro Expeditions After Dark

By Paula Cas

Sunday at 9:00 pm EDT …

The switchboard is open at 845-277-9146 for you to join Oro and Paula Cas to discuss news and current events centering around gold mining, and topics from the normal to the paranormal. Also your favorite place to travel, prospect, metal detect, suction dredging, and any other mining activity we missed. We’ll check in on the LDMA and GPAA to see what events they have scheduled for the summer.

We’re sure to get into a little news about the Expedition, Oro and Paula. Things that have happened or just struck that certain chord to make you want to share. It’s been a long week and it ain’t over yet.

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Blackberry and their Folk Traditions

By Elder Mountain Dreaming

The Energy of Light – Crystals for the Summer Solstice

By Sonia Acone

The Summer Solstice, which falls between June 20th-23rd every year (June 21^st this year in the northern hemisphere and December 21^st in the southern hemisphere), is known in many cultures and as many names – Midsummer, Litha, St. John’s Day, Gathering Day, Drying-Up Moon, and many others. No matter what it is called, the Summer Solstice has been celebrated worldwide for centuries as a time of light, enchantment, growth, energy, and connection.

The Sun has reached its highest point and has entered into the zodiac sign of Cancer, which is ruled by the Moon, and this combination of the Sun and Moon together is wonderful to enhance the celebration of summer. It is a time when weddings take place and vows are renewed; when pregnant women are blessed (growth isn’t just for plants!); when we can better connect to nature and all of its gifts.

The longest day of the year encourages us to get outdoors and celebrate life and light. Spring has rewarded us with growth in the flowers, plants, and herbs that we’ve planted and cultivated. Now is the time to get out there and reap what we’ve sown – cut those flowers and place them in containers/vases in and outdoors; snip those herbs to hang for drying, when they can be used in cooking, potpourri and sachets. The trees are full of leaves, so no one will think it silly if you happen to walk up to your favorite tree and give it a hug and a whisper of thanks for its protection and beauty.

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Walking Meditation Garden with Hugelkultur Beds

By Druid’s Garden

The Druid's Garden

As a practitioner of permaculture and as a druid, I am always looking for ways to work with the land to create sacred and ecologically healthy spaces. That is, to create self-sustaining ecosystems that produce a varitey of yields: create habitat, offer nectar and pollen, systems that retain water and nutrients, offer medicine and food, create beauty and magic. But conventional gardens, even sheet mulched gardens, can falter in water scarce conditions. So building gardens long-term for resiliency and with a variety of climate challenges in mind is key. At the same time, I am also looking to create sacred gardens, that is, not just places to grow food (which is simple enough) but to develop sacred relationships and deepen my connection with the living earth. Given all of this, I developed a design for a butterfly-shaped garden that would use hugelkultur raised beds and allow for a space…

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Crystals for Men: Establishing Firm Foundations

By Crystal Cosmopolitan

Black Onyx, Garnet, Tiger’s Eye

In today’s world, men are often conflicted in regards to how to balance the expectations placed on them in their professional and personal lives. As the famous psychologist and world-renowned author John Gray, Ph.D. suggests in his latest book, Venus on Fire, Mars on Ice, men and women are hormonally wired to think and behave in different ways.

Men typically find satisfaction in work, which is related to the production of the hormone testosterone. However, the levels of stress in today’s work environment and the ever-increasing demands on workers in any industry today easily create an imbalance where men feel pressured to pour all their energy into work and push their personal life and emotional relationships to the margins. Over time, this imbalance typically creates a range of health problems, including those that significantly erode a man’s self-esteem.

I strongly recommend reading Mr. Gray’s book for detailed explanations and advice, but here I will turn to crystals that may help to counteract this, create a greater balance, and help in reducing stress, and thus provide you with a great foundation upon which to build a life that you desire.

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