The moon was full in Virgo last night, and the Andean Opal called to me - perhaps since I spent yesterday morning immersed within the history of Andean and ancient Inka shamanic culture.

The full moon always shines directly into my work room's window - so, after smudging them with Sweetgrass, the newly wired Andean Opal pendants went onto the crystal grid to catch the rays of Virgo silver.

Andean Opal lends itself to working with the heart chakra, and any old feelings that need releasing, either personally, or down the family ancestral line. It is a stone that connects well to “earth energy” and Gaia, and can be used to access lost civilisations and ancient mysteries. Its link to lost civilisations also aligns with the ocean and all the secrets lost to the ocean amidst the passing of time. Those doing healing work – particularly shamanic healing work – may find this stone very beneficial. It can also help one to journey, meditate, and access the third eye.

Add the Virgo full moon, and you have a stone carrying the additional energy of 'service to others', and where Andean Opal is concerned, service to the land, and to the ancestral lineage.

You can purchase these two pendants below.

It's been a busy week for me, and mostly - since the Shungite Collection released - I've had a week of holistic health consultations, which I simply love to do as much as my jewellery. But, I have to say, come Thursday night, I was longing for Friday, feeling a little tired and a little blue. When I feel "a bit blue", I fire up beautiful, nurturing Sweetgrass. Always woven into a plait, it carries the spirit of maiden, mother, crone - wise women across a lineage. It's a very supportive and warming herb to burn; always uplifting for me, and I instantly connect to my ancestral line and guides the minute its sweet smoke hits my senses.

So, the past two days, Sweetgrass is what I've used to cleanse my sacred space before wiring stones or threading any beads.

And speaking of blue, did you catch my latest additions to the shop? Taking a small break from the pendants (more will be introduced next week), I've been enjoying creating fixed-length necklaces, and yes - oddly - the theme has been rather blue.

Beach / Boho Choker - £8.95

Amazonite on cotton cord - £6.95

I'm bringing you three brand new Green Calcite necklaces and one pendant. Green Calcite has long been a favourite stone of mine, and these pieces of rough stone, hung on leather, make truly rustic looking jewellery. Energetic properties of the stone:

Shungite is a black beauty. A graphite-like, carbon-based stone, it's reported to be over 2 billion years old, which is a mystery because carbon-based minerals only allegedly evolved after life on earth (the oldest known forest is only about 200 million years old). So ... how did Shungite get here? No one knows for sure, but it's said it was formed after a meteorite hit, forming a sea bed which became Lake Onega in Karelia, Russia (the only origin of Shungite). The Shungite has seemingly purified the lake, despite pollutants in it, therefore, Shungite is used as a purifier for water. You can leave it to soak in a glass before drinking the water. It's also known as an EMF detoxifier, so you can sit it on your WiFi, near your phone, or wear it on your person as a necklace. (Ref: The Crystal Bible, vol 3, by Judy Hall.)

My personal, empathic sense when first working with this stone: the first word that ever came to mind for me was MYSTERY (and I suppose that makes sense given its mysterious origins). Those searching for the mysteries within their own life (unknown family history, hidden secrets, etc) may well find Shungite a very helpful tool. In addition, I sense it will aid any ancestral healing work. You can probably tap into timelines with it, too - definitely past, and very likely future. Despite its black look, I actually feel very light and buoyant when I hold or wear Shungite. I feel quite happy, actually, so the healing of the shadow comes to mind. Transforming dark to light, low to high, dense to airy ... it'll help you find that equilibrium within yourself, as you need it and as you heal anything you are trying to heal at a soul level. It's a truly mysterious and beautiful stone that is new to me, and I will definitely be working with it, and wearing it often.

Four of Air
I promise, I shuffled really well! Yet here we have another Air card. Air is Swords in traditional Tarot decks, and symbolic of the mind and mental processes. Today, it's all about resting the mind and not over-thinking. Not worrying about things you have no control over. Taking a break from either physical or mental assertion. You deserve it. Rest now. Take time to recuperate and you'll come back stronger, with a clearer frame of mind and more easily able to see the way forward. Today, things will sort themselves out if you ease up. Relax and heal.

Crystal Healing: Blue Lace Agate can help you achieve the above.

It's not just about the stone when you buy a piece of my jewellery. At least, not to my mind. Energy is in everything - literally, we are all made up of it - and the conscious energy of the intimate and immaculate design of life weaves through all.

Metal is from the earth (sometimes from outer space), just like stones. And just like stones, they have their own healing qualities, even physically so in their chemistry, though I tend to work with their energetic properties more. But the two are never separate.

Known as carrying the energy of Venus, this is a powerful conductor of electricity, used to direct lightning, and in countless industrial products we use. It is the earliest known metal to be used by humans (IRO 9000 years ago). I use copper when I want an oomph to any magickal or energetic work I'm doing, from healing to channelling. Because it's a good conductor, it can help you be a good conduit. (It doesn't do any of this on its own - just like stones and crystals, you have to consciously work with their vibration.) Copper can encourage love, can be used in all issues of lust and the womb; feminine balancing, clearing, and strength.

In terms of wiring, brass can be more tricky to work with as it's a little less malleable. On a physical level, it has lower conductivity than copper, but it's still good. The beautiful thing about brass - energetically - is that it's warming. It's a lovely heart metal. Think of brass instruments and how you have to use your lungs to work them. That entire area from your throat to your stomach gets a workout. Brass is good for familial and societal nurturing, bringing communities and people together, encouraging synchronicity and partnership, bringing hope and happiness... I actually love it quite a lot, and don't use it as often as I should in wiring. I'll make it a point to.

Aluminium is an interesting metal. Its energy tends to be of a higher vibration than one might expect. It speeds things up, and is quite a joyful, yet calming metal, that is a good conductor of energy and flexible both physically and energetically. It's connected to the number 13. It's probably the most common metal found in the earth, and its found easily at the top of the earth's crust. In terms of wiring, it's the easiest wire to use - so light and very, very flexible. Its often used as a beginner's wire for jewellery making as its very forgiving of mistakes. And of course, it doesn't tarnish as easily as other metals. You can bend thicker wires easily with aluminium, so it can be great for wiring larger stones. Personally, I like it less for wiring because I miss the weight of the other metals, but energetically, its an aid to transformational work - shadow work, transmutation, death and rebirth - and has a very "whatever will be, will be" feel about it; it helps you find balance when things are a little pressured. Just like brass, I should probably work with it more.

Loved by so many people, there are many different qualities and finishes to silver, from Tibetan silver, to antique silver, the famous Sterling Silver, and the very high quality "fine silver" (very pure), the last two being the most expensive. Silver is a moon metal, and a goddess metal (often used for night goddess, or dark goddess work) carrying the principle of the feminine, like copper. Whereas copper is a more present energy, silver aids in past life and inner-child work, helping to heal traumas and old wounds. Silver works well for ancestral work (as does gold), as well as dreamwork, journeying, and meditative states.

The regal metal. The metal of Leo and lions, crowns and kings. Gold has been held in high value by the human species ever since it was discovered, and no one knows exactly when that was, although we do know the Romans and ancient Egyptians prized it. There is record of fine gold jewellery made by the ancient Mesopotamians nearly 3000 years ago. There is a long-held association between gold and the sun. Alchemically and in Latin its known as Aurum, which means yellow - and Aurora in ancient Roman means "morning glow" and also refers to "the eastern country" or the direction of the east, where the sun rises. Energetically, it aids you with ascensional work, higher consciousness work, and higher spiritual attainment. The halos of saints and enlightened beings (their aura) were all depicted as golden. It's also a very cleansing metal, and purifying. Gold wire for jewellery (usually bought as 24 carat) is expensive, just like 924 Sterling Silver, and fine silver.

Not used so much in jewellery - unless very cheap fashion jewellery - is tin, stainless steel, and steel alloys. Sometimes, though they are used to make jewellery findings because they're so cheap, plentiful, and don't tarnish as easily. They will each have their own energetic properties, too (tin is an interesting one), although I think I'll save that for another post, another time.

And this was very much the feel as I wired the first Piscean Crescent Moon pendant and the second. The energy weaved into the work, and this is how one does anything with conscious awareness - it's an awareness of the unseen around you and in you. The unseen was wired - with my movements, feelings, thoughts, and intention - into the work, creativity feeding creativity until the spell was complete. Life can be a spell. Spells can be woven into anything and everything. It's all about conscious awareness.

Moonstone will very much be a key stone to work with in 2021, I think. Its ability to help you (on the unseen level) find and seek to rebalance (heal) old traumas of the past is strong, and with 2020 bringing up a lot of old trauma for a lot of people, moonstone is needed. This stone in your pocket, or on your person, or by your bed, can - over the year - ease you into a better way to do things; a breaking of patterns and habits; and encourage new growth through the cracks in your heart. This applies to all moonstones, although I am specifically talking about the commonly-coloured variety - there is also green moonstone and black moonstone. I'll talk about those soon.

Moonstone is my latest collection of stone pendants, with more to be added soon.

I have to say that seven years ago, I never thought I would be wiring jewellery - I certainly never thought I'd be enjoying it and even setting it up as a career or income stream. Even six years ago, in 2015, when I wired my very first stone, I still didn't think it would be a flame that flourished.

The first stone I wired was a tiny, clear, and shiny Aquamarine that I bought twenty years ago. I love that stone, but had always resisted carrying it anywhere with me because it was so small.

In 2014, my mother passed away. She had a craft room filled from top to bottom with all kinds of craft materials (and I mean ALL kinds). It was a hobby of hers that I feel she'd have liked to make more of, but never did, or was never able to. Now, my sister and I did not keep many of these things (neither of us had a room or storage space for all of it), so we took any smaller items we liked. I took the jewellery-making stuff. I have no idea why - I think it was because they were well-packed into art bags, boxes, and trays, and were small and compact. I never even knew if I would use any of it. It was on a whim and sentimental. My mother loved jewellery (and clearly liked the idea of making her own), so it was a part of her I could keep alive for a little bit longer.

In 2015, I picked up that tiny aquamarine, wanting to keep it with me for the day, but not wanting to lose it. All the jewellery-making tools came to mind, and I thought ... I wonder if...?

'I wonder if' became this:

My god, I was so happy! The thrill and joy was definite. So, I decided to wire something else, and something else, and something else.

Through a couple of stops and starts owing to finishing book series', selling two family homes, and moving our small family from London to the south coast, WBW Jewellery was finally born in February, 2021, in a way that feels lasting.

And as I write this, I've just looked at the date and realised it will be seven years tomorrow since my mother passed away. How funny. How utterly predictable when you work with the flow of energy, that energy will be manifested at such pivotal times.

When I say that I'm bringing you WBW Jewellery from my heart and soul, I really do mean it.

​Dianna xx