fandomhigh | Nature & Nature Magic (Thursday Afternoon, 06/08/2006)

Today's class was meeting in the park, which had been in a reminder e-mail Jenny had ~~*handwavily*~~ sent out.

"Today, we're going to talk about rocks. Well, we won't so much be talking as doing. Works? You've got some handouts on minerals and their magical properties--a general handout, one in detail on Bezoar stones, which aren't really stones at all. They're icky, but useful.

Some cultures carved or drew on stones in their magical practices. You've got handouts for those too. We call them petroglyphs--rock drawings. I've included some info on pictographs for you too, just for fun, if you want it.

Last, but not least, some cultures created what we believe to have been astronomical observatories out of large rocks. The most well-known example? Stonehenge, which some of us got to see on last year's trip to England during Spring Break. Astronomy, astrology, and magic were all interconnected in ancient societies, and some of us still think they are today. Portents in the heavens much?

What I've got here are things you can do with rocks. Lots of semiprecious beads, some fishing line, and tools and clasps--make your own magical jewelry with help from the handouts. I've also got some rock-carving supplies and some smooth river rocks, if you want to make your own petroglyphs. Also, I answer questions while you guys do the fun stuff. Have at it."

OOC: The handouts contain information from the following links (click at will & mod your own handout, please) -
Ancient Healing Stones & Crystals
Bezoar Stones
The Magic of Rocks & Stones (Warning: Site plays music.)
Stones & Gems (Warning: Site plays music.)
Petroglyphs & Pictographs
Wikipedia - Petroglyphs
Wikipedia - Pictograhps
Wikipedia - Stone Circles
Fire Mountain Gems - Jewelrymaking Supplies

Please note that Jenny has pulled any information on anything harmful out of those handouts, and hasn't included anything harmful in the supplies. Also, mod your own supplies, within reason. For example, Jenny didn't provide ruby, sapphire, alexandrite, or other valuable stones, but the findings (clasps and little o-rings and such things) are silver.

Course syllabus and roster. for this workshop.

OOC: With my availability the way it is, I should be good for daytime play, so long as work doesn't get unexpectedly busy. Nighttime access is extremely limited for the foreseeable future, but I will be checking this post again tomorrow during the day. Ping me in the OOC thread if there's something you specifically want brought to my attention.

~~Wait for the OCD!~~ Go for it.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

"Hmm. Protecting against them happening in the first place?" Jenny frowned and tapped her forefinger against her coffee mug while she studied Dawn's selections. "Not so much, but bloodstone's a good general healing stone--" She nodded at a tray. "The green beads with the little red flecks. Amplify that with some clear quartz, maybe, and I'll bet you could get some prevention added into there."

Despite taking a shower, Sam still had bits of mud and pudding on him from Wilderness Survival this morning, and he was trying not to get anything dirty as he looked through the stones.

Dawn took three of each of the stones Miss Calendar had pointed out and separated them into piles. "Is there anything else you can do to amplify these stones? Or one that would take a protection geas really well? Also, would they work better on wire or on a leather cord, since the leather is of nature, even if it's dead nature?"

She began separating the stones into three piles, with one of each stone in the pile, then arranging them for maximum effectiveness.

"What happened to you?" Dawn whispered, as she realized that she needed to make a fourth necklace and began selecting another set of the stones she'd picked out earlier. "You're kinda dirty."

Sam flushed a little, embarrassed. "Um, we had to take a really long walk in Wilderness Survival, and there was mud and dirt and I think I still have pudding in places I can't see."

"You do, actually," Dawn said, reaching over to wipe away the smudge of mud on the back of Sam's neck.

Lana nodded. "I like that about it. Nothing big, just quiet and helpful."

Sam snickered, ducking his head a little. "Thanks."

He glanced over at the stones she was picking out. "So what are you making?"

"Trust me," said Jenny, sitting down. "There's no way you need to worry about this." She pulled over a tray of beads. "What sort of effects are you looking for? We'll find some pretty beads that match up with what you want."

Dawn had made a slight miscalculation--she didn't have a tissue or rag to clean off her own hand now. So she chose the sleeve of Sam's shirt. "Protective necklaces for some people who need them. What about you?"

"I don't know," Willow admitted. "Protection's always useful. But then so's healing. Or courage. Or sending a message to a loved one."

"Hmm." Jenny looked thoughtful. "I already made sure the bad vibes went away before I brought them out for everyone. That's usually step one. Grab some of the bigger beads, and use the engraving equipment to add some protective symbols. Runes are always good for that. You know some, or want me to see if I can dig up the files on my laptop?" She fingered the leather cord and the wire. "The beads aren't drilled big enough to fit on the leather cord. But wire should work just as well--it's as factory-produced as the leather is, really, and metal comes from nature too."

Dawn put back some of the beads she'd selected and chose bigger ones. "Could you look them up for me, please?" She asked. "I really, really don't want to get them wrong. It's important."

"It is possible to do all of the above," said Jenny. "We'll start with protection. You have two choices: Coral provides protection from evil, and lodestone repels the unwanted, like negative energy. I don't have any fossil anything in here, so you can't get protection from spells--it's a symbolic, rocky shell acting as a shield to magic kinda thing." She nodded at the trays. "Shiney, orangey coral or grayish, magnety lodestone?"

"Lodestone," Willow said, brightening. "Definitely lodestone. Repelling would be big here."

Sam brushed the dirt off of his sleeve, and it was only because Dawn was a girl that he didn't flick some of it at her. "I'm making more of a protective chain," he said. "Something I might be able to convince my dad to hang off of the rear view mirror in the car."

"Of course," said Jenny, booting up her laptop. "Let's see what we can find." She snuck a sidelong glance at Dawn while typing in her login and password. "Who're you making these for?"

"Would he be hard to convince, do you think?" Dawn asked, hunting for a quartz.

"Buffy and Xander," Dawn said, then snuck a glance at Sam, wondering if he'd wear it, "and a couple of other people."

"Perfect." Jenny piled a few beads in front of Willow, along with some wire--taped at one end so the beads wouldn't fall off as she strung them. ~~As the player has learned through painful experience to do.~~ "Now, healing? Sugilite's a dark purpley stone, bloodstone's dark green with red flecks, and both are good for general healing. Though with bloodstone you get the added benefit of it being anti-anemia. Or there's amethyst, and that's more of a de-stressy, calming kind of thing. I think most of the amethyst beads I have are a lighter purple."

"Probably not if I tell him Dean made it," Sam replied lightly, organizing the stones he'd already picked out.

"Could I make more than one?" Willow asked. "Because if I could make three then I could do one of each."

"That's very thoughtful of you," said Jenny, following Dawn's gaze and smiling slightly. "Aha!" She tapped a couple more keys. "Here you go. I'd go with eihwaz and algiz, with maybe a side order of sowilo for achievement of goals, repeated three times each for a total of nine. That way you can add some numerology in there."

"Why would you have to do that?" Dawn tried to sound casual, but she had a sudden spurt of dislike for Mister Winchester.

Dawn smiled as she carefully copied down the runes. "Thanks, Miss Calendar. You totally live up to the hype."

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Nature & Nature Magic (Thursday Afternoon, 06/08/2006)

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