Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Holidays. Show all posts

Wednesday, January 7, 2015

Valentines Garden Boutique 2015

You are invited to our Garden Valentines Boutique where you can leisurely browse our treasures and enjoy tea, biscuits and live harp music. We will only be open one weekend this season, Sat., Feb. 7th and Sun. Feb. 8th from 1pm - 4pm in La Mirada, CA. 

Mana Keepers has been known for its "Love and Gratitude" Shop for the last decade. Our Mana Keepers Love and Gratitude Shop specializes in stone hearts. We have many different sizes, styles and mineral compositions available. We also have a wide variety of crystals and minerals that have represented love, friendship and fidelity, historically, mystically and/or legendarily. Our new jewelry pieces and crystal carvings are breathtaking and are a beautiful gift of Love and Gratitude that will last a lifetime. And wonderful ways to say "I love you" and/or "Thank you". 

I know that some of you may not be able to attend so we will be adding some of our items here on this blog for sale starting Wednesday, Jan 14th. Once and item sells online it will no longer be available at the boutique so if you see a "must have" please order right away as most of the items offered are unique and we can't guarantee we can get another or similar item for the boutique.

Please feel free to share our boutique and online shopping with family and friends as inspired. 



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Monday, November 3, 2014

Turkey Totem Quick Reference

Turkey Totem:
Giving of self to benefit the whole- Pride - Abundance - Generosity - Awareness - Virility - Fertility - Sacrifice

Most of us in the USA think of Turkey as beginning synonymous with Thanksgiving dating back to the Piligrim's in 1621. Yet turkeys represented abundance and virility for Native North and Central American Cultures for centuries before our first Thanksgiving.

Native Americans viewed the turkey as a symbol of abundance and fertility. The Creek tribes still practice the turkey dance during their annual fire festival. Turkey feathers are also used in ritual. The Mayans and Toltecs viewed the turkey as a "jeweled bird" and also referred to it as the "Great Xolotl." 

Turkey displays physical signs before bad weather so it became known as a symbol of foresight in Native Cultures. This gift of foresight is an important trait as turkey people are known to be “abundance generator's". Turkey is ready to offer itself to being it the whole because it knows that in giving she is receiving. 

Turkey's power is strongest during Fall so it's important to also look at what Autumn symbolizes:

Change - Cycles - Harvest - Endings - Beginnings - Preparation - Rebirth 

Tarot Marseilles: Death - a time for plowing the fields under, for plants and animals to begin their slumber. A clearing of a space so that rebirth may take place...

(Condensed highlights from volumes of info about animal totem characteristics. Hope you'll investigate further on your own)


Thank you for visiting. Wishing you Peace today and everyday.





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Monday, October 27, 2014

Halloween and All Hollows Eve

The Origins of the Festival: Halloween seems to have grown around the ancient Gaelic festival of Samhain, marking the end of the light half of the year and the beginning of the dark half. Samhain was in part a sort of harvest festival, when the last crops were gathered in for the winter, and livestock killed and stored. But the pagan Celts also believed it was a time when the walls between our world and the next became thin and porous, allowing spirits to pass through. A celebration much like our Halloween, with bonfires and feasting on apples and nuts and harvest fruits, was part of pagan worship for centuries. The Britons celebrated in honor of their sun-god with bonfires, a tribute to the light that brought them abundant harvest. At the same time they saluted Samhain, their "lord of death," who was thought to gather together at last the souls of the year's dead which had been consigned to the bodies of animals in punishment for their sins. The practice of wearing spooky costumes may have its roots in that belief: dressing up as a ghost to scare off other ghosts seems to have been the idea. The Romans celebrated the same kind of festival at this time in honor of their goddess Pomona, a patroness of fruits and gardens. 

About All Hallows Eve
It was in the eighth century that the Catholic Church appointed a special date for the feast of All Saints, followed by a day in honor of her soon-to-be saints, the feast of All Souls. She chose this time of year, it is supposed, because in her part of the world it was the time of barrenness on the earth. The harvest was in, the summer done, the world brown and drab and mindful of death. Snow had not yet descended to comfort and hide the bony trees or blackened fields; so with little effort man could look about and see a meditation on death and life hereafter.
Apparently how you spent the vigil of All Saints depended on where you lived in Christendom. In Brittany the night was solemn and without a trace of merriment. On their "night of the dead" and for forty-eight hours thereafter, the Bretons believed the poor souls were liberated from Purgatory and were free to visit their old homes. The vigil for the souls, as well as the saints, had to be kept on this night because of course the two days were consecutive feasts and a vigil is never kept on a feast.
Families prayed by their beloveds' graves during the day, attended church for "black vespers" in the evening and in some parishes proceeded thence to the charnel house in the cemetery to pray by the bones of those not yet buried or for whom no room could be found in the cemetery. Here they sang hymns to call on all Christians to pray for the dead and, speaking for the dead, they asked prayers and more prayers. It was in Ireland and Scotland and England that All Hallows' Eve became a combination of prayer and merriment. Following the break with the Holy See, Queen Elizabeth forbade all observances connected with All Souls' Day. In spite of her laws, however, customs survived; even Shakespeare in his Two Gentlemen of Verona has Speed tell Valentine that he knows he is in love because he has learned to speak "puling like a beggar at Hallowmas." 

Where the Name Comes From
The name Hallowe’en is a shortening of All Hallows’ Even, or All Hallows’ Evening. All Hallows is an old term for All Saints’ Day (Hallow, from the Old English “halig”, or holy, compared with Saint, from the Latin “sanctus”, also meaning holy, or consecrated). In the original Old English, it was known as Eallra H?lgena aefen.

Jack-o-lantern 
The classic Hallowe’en jack-o’-lantern, a carved grinning pumpkin, is both a new and an ancient practice. Originally, it seems to have come from an old Irish legend of a man called Stingy Jack, a miserly farmer who played a trick on the devil but was too stingy to go to Heaven and too clever to go to hell, so as punishment was cursed to wander the earth, lighting his way with a candle inside a hollowed-out turnip. When the tradition moved to America pumpkins were used instead of turnips.
Trick or Treat
On All Saints’ Day. The idea would be that the beggars would say prayers for the souls of the dead in exchange for food. “Guising”, disguising oneself as a ghoul to fool evil spirits, also took place. Begging at the door grew from an ancient English custom of knocking at doors to beg for a "soul cake" in return for which the beggars promised to pray for the dead of the household. Whether this directly led to the practice of children dressing up as scarecrows and ghosts and going door-to-door demanding sweets with menaces is unclear. It is possible that the tradition emerged independently in America. The first recorded use of the phrase “trick or treat” stems from 1927.

Thank you for visiting. Wishing you Peace today and everyday.



POI
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Día de los Muertos Quotes and Images





















Thank you for visiting. Wishing you Peace today and everyday.



POI

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Wednesday, October 15, 2014

November's Love and Gratitude Boutique

Love and Gratitude are the greatest gifts we can give and receive. As we enter Fall most of us think about changing leaves, Halloween costumes, getting back to school and turkey dinners. While autumn encompasses all those things it is also a wonderful time to give  thanks to the people that make a difference in our lives. 
Lapis Lazuli - Quick Reference
Thankfulness opens our hearts, expands our minds and shows us that even the most mundane experiences are filled with wonder. My blog post "Gratitude, the balm that soothes the soul" includes a ten-minute talk and video presentation that is a feast for the eyes and food for the soul. The images elicit wonder and stir the imagination. Louie Schawrtzberg combines his images with the words of Benedictine monk David Steindl-Rast in this moving and breathtaking piece titled “Happiness Revealed”. And the attitude of gratitude is at the root of our deepest joys.

November is a wonderful month to focus on the things we are grateful for. If we are lucky we have family and friends that enrich our lives. Mana Keepers' wants to help you honor these special people with beautiful gifts inspired by Mother Nature. 

Our boutique will be open for three dates in November: 11/9/14 - 2 to 5pm, 11/15/14 - 6 to 10pm (In the Flow Studios Arts), 11/23/14 - 2 to 5pm.


Amazonite Properties - Quick Reference
Mana Keepers has a large selection of stone hearts. The perfect way to gift a lifetime of love and gratitude. We offer nature-made/nature-shaped stones as well as nature-made/artist-shaped stones from all over the world. Dewdrops Images brings the healing power of Mother Nature into everyday lives.

We have hard to find crystals and minerals as well as traditional favorites, nature inspired artwork, photography and music. 


Amethyst Proporties - Quick Reference
Dolphin Totem - Quick Reference
Here are some of the pieces we'll have available. You can use the link under the picture for information about the stone properties.


Red Jasper - Quick Reference
Aqua Aura Meaning - Quick Reference





Adding a little sparkle to your Spring garden


Shiva Lingam Stones: Quick Reference
Hematite Properties - Quick Reference


Malachite - Quick Reference
Clear Quartz Properties - Quick Reference 

We hope you'll stop by, enjoy some tea and maybe find that perfect "thank you" gift. I'd be grateful if you would help get the word out and share as inspired. Thank you, Mahalo, Gracias, Salamat po, Merci
Mana Keepers La Mirada
11/9/14 - 2 to 5pm
11/15/14 - 6 to 10pm (In the Flow Studios Arts)
11/23/14 - 2 to 5pm

For mor info email info@manakeepers.com or visit our Facebook event page at https://www.facebook.com/events/770349553036522/

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Friday, July 4, 2014

Happy Independence Day USA

Honoring the beautiful diversity and inclusiveness that makes these United States of America. Thank you Lady Freedom for the eternal reminder. "E Pluribus Unum" ~ "Out of Many, One" 

#manakeepers #ladyfreedom #usa



Thank you for visiting. Wishing you Peace today and everyday.



POI
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Saturday, May 10, 2014

Happy Mother's Day 2014


Thank you for visiting. Wishing you Peace today and everyday.



POI
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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

Happy Earth Day




Thank you for visiting. Wishing you Peace today and everyday.



POI
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Saturday, April 19, 2014

Egg Symbology and Easter

“The present was an egg laid by the past that had the future inside its shell."  Zora Neale Hurston

In ancient times the egg was a symbol of the universe, of creation, and in some cultures, luck wealth, and health. In Jewish tradition it symbolizes promise. In Christian tradition it is a metaphor for resurrection, immortality, and the trinity. 

The egg has symbolized new beginnings and creation for millenniums. Traditional folk religion regards the egg as a powerful symbol of fertility, purity and rebirth. Eggs mean growth, protection, new beginnings, resurrection. The Vernal Equinox celebrates the coming of spring and the egg is an important part of this ancient festival.

Alchemists use the egg as a cosmic symbol. Dream eggs can symbolize cosmic potential or the disappointment of cracked or broken dreams. An egg's static outer form belies the active movement and radical transformation occurring inside its shell. Although hidden, that internal activity involves evolution of life itself and encompasses each and every stage of life's development.

Later Christians embraced the egg symbol and likened it to the tomb from which Christ arose. Though pre-Christian in origin, this egg symbolism was in agreement with the Christian concept of Resurrection and the transformation of death into life.

So Christians "baptized" the egg as a symbol of Christ's passion, death and resurrection. Christians saw the egg's shell as a symbol of the protective darkness of the life-giving tomb; a hatching chick represented the risen Christ emerging from the tomb on Easter morning. The egg's shape, with neither beginning nor end, was a symbol of eternity. It clearly is also the "womb" of the tomb, where the Crucified was given new life.  http://manakeepers.com

Thank you for visiting. Wishing you Peace today and everyday.



POI

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Tuesday, December 24, 2013

Happy Christmas Eve - Feliz Noche Buena

Wishing you love, light, peace and joy.

Deseándole amor, luz, paz, y felicidad.

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Wednesday, April 3, 2013

Honoring International Girls Day on 2012 ~12 year old, Severn Suzuki speaking at UN Earth Summit 1992

Honoring International Day of the Girl today by sharing 12 year old, Severn Suzuki speaking at UN Earth Summit 1992. She speaks volumes not just to the importance of preserving Mother Nature but in the important role of girls in our own preservation and survival as a species. 




Thank you for visiting. Wishing you Peace today and everyday.



POI
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