HELLO DECEMBER!
Ascendant Books is abuzz with holiday spirit as we deck our halls and help you check your list twice. Before we dive into our Holiday Crystal Guide, let’s talk about our favourite ways of keeping calm and bright throughout the season and into the new decade!
There are many things to enjoy about the holiday season - friends, family, food, festivities - but with extra commitments sometimes comes increased stress. Here are a few tips to keep calm and holiday on:
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Honour your personal values. Rigid rules and expectations can lead to increased stress.
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Avoid over spending. This may be difficult to accomplish but stick to a budget and don’t feel pressured to follow unrealistic expectations.
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Make time for relaxation. Take a trip to the spa, hit your yoga mat, meditate or do whatever creates time out from the hustle and bustle.
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BE KIND TO YOURSELF. It’s the season of love and generosity so don’t forget to include yourself!
Ascendant Books has unique gifts of all sizes and prices for everyone on your shopping list and we love to help you shop!
CALMING CRYSTALS TO CARRY ON
OUR DECEMBER CRYSTAL BAG INCLUDES STONES TO HELP YOU STAY CENTRED AND CALM DURING THE HOLIDAYS:
Red Aventurine
Combining the elements of earth and fire, this stone helps to energize the physical body and increases mental alertness. It’s a stone of vitality and renewal and will help sustain you during the busyness of the season.
Bronzite
Promoting peace and harmony, bronzite helps you to stay calm during challenges. With strong protective energy, it helps to cleanse negativity while promoting internal calm.
Chrysocolla
Known as a stone of communication, chrysocolla helps to block negative energy with the force of serenity and peacefulness. It has the ability to teach us that genuine power is expressed through gentleness.
Fluorite
With the ability to cleanse and stabilize the aura, fluorite neutralizes negative energy and stress. It helps to anchor you during times of stress and enhances decision making in order to clarify the best choice.
THE TALES AND TRADITIONS OF EASTER
EASTER ENERGY
Easter is celebrated as a Christian holiday all over the world, but many traditions associated with Easter have their roots in pagan traditions. Easter eggs, easter bunnies and other familiar things associated with Easter, have symbolic meanings that began in ancient celebrations.
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The pagan festival known as Eostre was connected to the Goddess Ostara, the Goddess of Spring and dawn. Budding plants, rebirth and fertility are all associated with Ostara.
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Ostara was often depicted with a hare which also represented spring and fertility. In some ancient cultures, a hare was associated with nighttime and was also a symbol of the moon.
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In Germanic mythology, it is said that Ostara healed a wounded bird and turned it into a hare. The hare showed its gratitude by giving Ostara eggs as gifts.
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The egg is a symbol of fertility and renewed life and has become one of the most common symbols of Easter. The art of dying easter eggs varies in cultures throughout the world and is acknowledged as an Easter ritual.