The beach holds many treasures, and one of them is our family’s story of “purple money.” I was reminded of this shortly after returning to Wilmington as I walked with my son on the beach. He picked up a shell, gave it to me, and said, “look, purple money.” I was pulled back in time to my younger days.
It is a bright sunny day with a gentle breeze in coastal North Carolina. Listen and hear the ocean as waves roll into the shore and the laughter of children exploring. We spent many mornings on the beach like this when my son and nephews were young. My sister and I would load up the car with all the beach necessities and plop ourselves in our sand chairs. One activity we all loved was shell seeking, and “purple money” became the hunt for the most purple of shells, shell parts, and pieces. The boys would find pieces and bring them back to us to assess the “trade value” of the money. For you see, my sister was the outpost trader with a funny accent, and she would tell the boys what supplies they could barter for. Sometimes she would tell them there wasn’t enough purple or it was counterfeit. We all would laugh.
As I started collecting shells again, I was drawn to do something with these sweet little clam shells called Cross-barred Venus Clams with their purple accents. The flower idea bloomed. There is such a sweetness in these little purple ribbed shells. The foundation of the flower had to be sturdy to hold a dozen of my little shells, so fossil clam shells are what I have been using. I pair the flowers with other beach treasures, such as pieces of driftwood or other fossil finds.
Clams have been the symbol of money for years, and our family story of trading shells comes from the original story of Wampum, a shell bead of Native Americans. These shell beads were made into necklaces and used for storytelling, ceremonies, and exchange (learn more about Wampum with a google search or Wikipedia). In addition to clams symbolizing money, Venus (also known as Aphrodite, “born of the sea”) is the planet associated with love and finances in astrology. My last connection between the flowers and prosperity is purple. In Feng Shui, purple is the color for the wealth and prosperity sector of the Ba Gua. Placing this color in this area of your home is said to attract money.
My purple money flowers are created with these attributes and stories in mind. Symbols tell a story, they hold focus on a desire, and where attention goes, energy flows. Next time you are at the beach, see if you can find purple money. What would you get at the trading post for it? Blessings of prosperity to you.
Interested in learning about my purple money flowers or other things I create? Contact me at beth@Bluejeanoracle.com or follow me on Instagram.
“It’s hip to be squared,” according to the Huey Lewis and the News song from the 1980s. This is also true from the Feng Shui perspective and the Ba Gua. Several schools of Feng Shui have different approaches, yet they all agree that to have harmony, you must balance all nine aspects of the Ba Gua. The Ba Gua is a hexagram used to determine a space’s balance and harmony. Each area or sector of the Ba Gua is associated with a compass direction, element, and color. “The magic square” format makes it easier to use and can be placed over the space’s drawing/plot plan.
There are nine areas to consider, whether you lay this over a drawing or not, for balance and harmony in life. Career (Mission/Journey), Relationship (Love/Marriage), Family (Elders/Community), Wealth (Prosperity/Blessings), Health (Heart of Chi), Helpful People (Unseen Assistance/Travel), Creativity (Children/Future), Wisdom (Knowledge/Self-improvement), and Fame (Reputation/Illumination). To have balance and harmony in all nine areas means you are “hip to be squared!” The truth is that life can be a juggling act. Using your house as a metaphor for your life, if you clean, declutter, and balance an area in your home that is associated with one of the nine sectors, change will show up in that area of your life.
Here’s an example that is commonly used in painting this picture. You are single and want a love relationship in your life. Your bedroom happens to be in the relationship sector of the magic square (not always the case). In your room, the bed is pushed up against a wall; you only have one table next to the bed; your closet is full; there is clutter all over the floor, the bed is not made, and the only lighting is the overhead light from the ceiling fan. Do you feel the love in this picture? Here are three simple remedies to start attracting the relationship you seek. First, get the bed out of the corner and add a second bedside table. Second, clean up the clutter, including making the damn bed EVERY DAY! Third, adjust the lighting with bedside lamps to soften the room. Here’s a bonus remedy, make space in your closet for another person.
Now, I am not saying you will immediately be shacking up with the love of your life. Make space for a relationship and honor love by honoring the area in your home that represents love and relationship. You can’t fake your way into believing like the Miracle on 34th Street girl, “I Believe, I Believe, I Believe…” Start paying attention to what represents love to you. Where thoughts go, energy flows. Take an inventory of your inner dialog about love and relationships.
There are many other ways to address this example that can take more time, effort, and investment. It’s not only the interior design of the bedroom, but it also involves looking at the other areas of the home. Remember we talked about balance and harmony. The most important part of the process is intentionality (and making the bed)!
The best practice is to take an inventory of the nine sectors of the magic square regularly. Notice what area is dominating life or lacking or limiting. Find small ways to make changes. Decluttering and cleaning are the easiest way to improve balance and harmony. One of my favorite ways to bring about change is to move 27 things. It brings a new perspective.
This is just a sampling of what Feng Shui and “Being Squared” can do for you. I have lived my life using my home as a metaphor; it tells me where my work lies. Give it a try.
Interested in learning more about Feng Shui, contact me, beth@Bluejeanoracle.com
The morning brings many gifts to those who wake in the wee hours of the day. The solitude as the neighborhood sleeps or the pause before the first light are treasures known only to those who rise in the dark of the day. It can be a very creative time with the mind and body being fresh from sleep. The stirring of Dreamtime lingers at the edge of consciousness, and this creativity can be the muse or inspiration of art, writing, cooking, etc.
There is a moment of excitement when the light comes into the sky, and no two mornings are the same. This is a great time to meditate, walk in nature, or for some other spiritual practice. It is a time of the Self, solitude, not loneliness. Being a morning person is a practice that, with time, needs no alarm. There is a hunger to meet the morning, the darkness, the light, and the day. And with the quiet of day comes a richness that fills the soul.
As a morning person, I find that it has shifted over the years and even lengthened as I wake earlier. Walking at first light may seem routine, yet it is filled with something different each day. No two sunrises are ever the same. The pallet that is painted in the sky excites the artist in me. The quagmire is that life changes and time passes, and it seems to move quicker the more we rush about as society insists. Taking time as a morning person, for yourself before anything else is a powerful practice. It certainly is something to ponder and question, and even more to be experienced.
Have you ever been at the edge of change and felt so tiny? The magnificent possibilities are before you. They are breathtaking, and you freeze? I saw this child playing in the waves on Thanksgiving Day. It was cold, windy, and gray. She waded in and then paused, watching the wave roll in, then she jumped and laughed.
I find myself at this edge of change. I am uncertain of what will come next. I am in that child-like pause, waiting for the wave. During this pause, I am taking time with nature and art, opening the creative flow again and shifting my vision and sight. I see the light shining through, even when it feels a bit dark.
When I look at this photo of the surf on Thanksgiving Day, I am taken by the illuminating light and reflection of the water, the spots of sunshine trying to break through the dense cloud coverage. It feels hope-filled, brimming with the possible. Having the ocean as a frequent teacher now is such a gift. There are no two days the same at its shore. The beauty of photos is that they are snapshots of moments we can revisit, ruminate on, and learn from.
Are you standing at the edge of something? Are you taking a pause? What is brimming with the possible? Will you invite it in? Peace and Blessings, Blue Jean Oracle
Have you ever been called by a place? Do you know what the pulse of home feels like? Though both may add to the calling, I don’t mean a house or people. I am speaking of the rich and deep call of the land of a particular location. To date, I have felt this call for two places: Ireland, the land of my ancestors, and the place I now live in. It took me a long, long while to listen to this call of coastal North Carolina. I lived in this place half my life ago. I brought my son and husband, at the time, to live closer to our family. Life and living took me away from this place. I regularly visited until my mother’s death in 2012; my visits then became occasional. Each time I returned, there was an unsettling feeling, a nagging. It persisted for years.
It wasn’t until a conversation with the land in Ireland in 2019 that I could hear the call of Wilmington, NC. It whispered at first, not giving up on me. Finally, after the isolation of COVID, the chapter ending with my retirement from massage therapy, and a few other nudges, I put the process in motion to relocate. It happened so fast, the staging and decluttering a house I had lived in for 15 years and putting it on the market. All the pieces fell into place as my heart raced and panic set in. It was happening. I was finally getting something I truly wanted.
Friends were surprised, disheartened, and even almost angry that I made this “sudden” decision to leave a place I had lived for 25 years. As the saying goes, you never really know what another is feeling or thinking. You can never walk in another’s shoes. The truth is, with the isolation of COVID, I was more alone than I had ever been in my entire life. I didn’t go out much and didn’t see these friends that were surprised by my decision to move. I existed in a place that was “safe and familiar.” I was racking up debt, trying to make my way as a creative soul, and looking down many dead-end roads. There was no spark. I felt like I was pushing a rock up a hill. And I was tired.
When the offer on the house came in the first weekend on the market, I knew the universe was conspiring in my favor. I was nervous, anxious, and excited. I had no idea what I would “do” in Wilmington; I just knew I was finally going home.
