Venus Retrograde - love in the time of pandemic, and crystals for self love
Venus is the planet that typically rules over the more sensual aspects of our lives: love, relationships, art, beauty, culture, and interpersonal stuff. Venus went retrograde May 12th, and this feels eerily appropriate right now, with so many of our interpersonal stuff being limited. Venus retrograde usually brings up dynamics or patterns in our relationships that need examining. Let me ask you: what is the most important relationship in your life? I want you to answer "my relationship with myself" but I have a feeling that wasn't the first thing that came to your mind. What if, in this time of isolation and physical distancing, we are being asked to examine our relationship with ourselves?
This pandemic has us rearranging our lives in ways we may never have imagined. Parents are balancing childcare and homeschooling with working full time jobs. People trying to telecommute in industries where that proves difficult. People out of work, and unable to get unemployment benefits. Small businesses that may never recover. It's rough out there, guys, and I know a lot of us are feeling like we are just not enough. But here's the thing - we are. Each and every one of us is enough just as we are. Go ahead and say it again "I am enough, just as I am."
So, goddess, what is coming up for you about self love right now? What areas of your relationship with yourself need work? What areas are you finding to be solid? Are you working around the clock right now? If so, ask yourself why. Are you feeling stir crazy being stuck at home? Are you feeling anxiety about going back to the office? Is something else going on?
For me, there's a lot of body image stuff happening. I've struggled with loving my physical body for my entire life. Exercise has always felt like a battle with my body. I've been the girl who tries every new diet fad, gets no results, and goes back to a "fuck it" attitude with a plate of cheese fries in front of me. I'm asking myself now, can I be okay with how my body has changed during this time? Can I be okay with how my body is always changing?
We talk about self love so much here, that you'd probably think that's, like, a cornerstone of our business or something ;) Another thing we love is crystals! So here's a little compilation of some crystals for self love!
Rose Quartz
Rose quartz is the stone of unconditional love. I keep rose quartz all over my house to keep the love vibes strong in my place. My home is my little bubble of love! We like to wear rose quartz too! It helps us remember compassion during our daily live. Get a rose quartz bracelet here.
Rhodochrosite
Rhodochrosite is known as the ultimate stone for self love. It's calm, soothing, everything's going to be okay vibes are totally what I need right now. I keep a small polished rhodochrosite on my bedside table, and sometimes I put it under my pillow for sweet dreams. This is also a good one to put in your bra ;) The belief is that, at our core, we all have compassion and love for ourselves, but that essence gets buried and covered up with outside messages of not-enough-ness. Rhodochrosite reaches deep into you and amplifies that inner compassion you can hear it better.
Citrine
Citrine helps connect you with your spiritual self - that part deep inside that knows and loves you. Connecting with it helps you to see and appreciate your own worth. Citrine's uplifting energy can also help boost confidence and give you the energy to get things done! We have some raw citrine clusters available here.
Rhodonite
self love requires compassion, and that is rhodonite's specialty! It is the emotional balancer, helping you to see all sides of a situation without judgement. I like to keep a little polished rhodonite in my car, because LA traffic - ugh. This is another good one to wear on your body. Or put it on your 2-year-old's body.... just kidding. But seriously, these guys make baby size bracelets.
Turquoise
What is the key to love? Communication. This goes for self-love too. The way we talk to ourselves directly effects how we feel about ourselves. Turquoise is great communication stone. It helps you express yourself genuinely and stops negative self-talk in it's tracks! We like to wear turquoise to remind ourselves that what we say to ourselves matters.
XOXO, Chelsea and Denshai
We love astrology, but we are not astrologers. For more information on Venus retrograde, check out this awesome blog post from Chani Nicholas.
We are also not mental health experts, and crystals and other healing techniques are never a substitute for mental health care. If you, or someone you know needs help right now, there are resources available here and here.