Nerd Alert! Cassadaga, Crystals & Healing

Hey everyone! I'm back for a Nerd Alert! post. I haven't done too many of these... mostly because the weather has not allowed me to get started on my Gold Coast Mansion series. Hopefully soon though! Anyway, today's post will be about my trip to the town of Cassadaga while I was in Florida. It was a really interesting experience for me because I've always been interested in spiritualism, mediums, psychics and crystal healing. Cassadaga is known for its concentration of psychics and mediums and is known as the "Psychic Capital of the World." It reminds me of a town in NY called Lily Dale which is said to be another town with a high concentration of psychics and mediums but I've never been to.

I had never heard of Cassadaga until my friend and I were sitting outside drinking coffee on his patio and figuring out what we wanted to do on Saturday. He then told me about Cassadaga and I was immediately excited! It worked out perfectly because he (I'll refer to him as G from now on) and his friend (who I'll refer to as C and who I love!) have been wanting to go for a long time as well. So it came together pretty quickly and we ended up making the 45 minute trip on Saturday. It was a hot (85 degrees), beautiful, sunny day and it was perfect for a day trip.

So when we got to town we parked and headed right to the bookstore and information center. I suspect it is the first stop for most visitors because it had a really amazing store with tons of books and crystals and gorgeous jewelry and lots of information about the town. There was also a large board with the names of all of the mediums in the town with their phone numbers so you can call and schedule a reading. I've been curious about readings for a long long time but we all decided to forego the reading for this trip. We decided to just explore the town by foot and check out a couple of the stores.

We spent a while in the Bookstore/Information Center checking everything out. I made my first purchase then because it was the only one that I saw in the exact style/color I wanted and didn't want to miss out on it so I bought it on the spot. It was really interesting too because C walked up to me with it and said that he knew it was perfect for me as soon as he saw it and I absolutely loved it.

This is my amazing Tree of Life necklace that I love so much. I'm not a big jewelry person and I'm certainly not a big, chunky jewelry kind of gal but I loved it the minute I saw it. I love that it is a tree of life which symbolizes wisdom, strength, protection, beauty, bounty and redemption. Buddhists call it the "Tree of Enlightenment" and in Judaism it is said to sustain and nourish life. These are all things that I want to manifest in my life so this necklace definitely came to me for a reason.

When I was young I had a massive gem/mineral/rock collection. This should be no surprise considering my love of geology and my current obsession with prospecting. I don't know what happened to it... my guess is that my rocks never made it when we moved from Queens to Long Island when I was 13. Interesting side story... my rock collection started as a reward for doing well in speech therapy when I was really young. I have NO IDEA why I was in speech therapy (my mom doesn't even remember that I was in speech therapy, ha!) but I specifically remember my mom buying me beautiful gems and minerals as my reward. Anyway, the memories of that collection came back when I was in that store, looking at all of the healing crystals that they had. I knew that I would be starting a rock collection again and this time I would use them for healing.

I asked G and C if we could go back for the crystals and they said no problem. We walked around the town and saw more shops with more crystals, jewelry and things of that nature. We walked down to the park and trail that I discussed in my post on Monday and enjoyed some time outside and soaked up some natural vitamin D. Before heading home we went back to the Bookstore/Info Center so I could pick up some rocks.

Before I show you what I got I should point out that the town is really big on encouraging you to tap into your intuition. They say you should let your intuition guide you when choosing your medium and I let my intuition guide me in my crystal selection. It was really interesting as I was drawn to crystals that make you feel grounded and help with anxiety, depression, and self esteem issues (all huge problems that I have). 

So here is the start of my new crystal collection!

Aragonite Cluster

I am OBSESSED with this crystal. I think it is one of the most gorgeous stones I've ever seen. I love the color, the formation and the overall look and this was the very first stone I was drawn to. When I read the description I was floored because my "intuition" drew me to this crystal that aids with self esteem and confidence... traits that I lack and have been especially challenged with over the past few years. It is also meant to alleviate stress, anxiety and other negative feelings you may have.

Fluorite

This gorgeous multi colored crystal is called fluorite. It is said to help bring order to chaos and to alleviate pain from issues such as arthritis and nervous system related pain. Pain relief is also something that I've been seeking for years as my neck and shoulders just continue to cause more problems and become more stiff... my neck has been "in spasm" consistently for months if not the past year. 

Labradorite

Labradorite is said to help you find your true path in life. It is also said to help you find balance, wisdom and patience (a virtue that I lost a long time ago!) and also is said to help with you deal with fear and insecurity. It also helps with physical ailments such as colds and "menstrual stress." Ladies, you know any help with that is welcome.

Jet

Jet is known for it's protection against violence and sickness. It also eases anxiety and depression and is most known for helping to deal with grief.

Sodalite

This gorgeous stone is called sodalite. This stone is meant to calm the mind, encourage rational thought, and encourage self esteem, self trust and self acceptance. It's also thought to calm panic attacks and balance emotions as well as boost the immune system and relieve insomnia. These issues are a pretty good summary of the ailments that have been plaguing me the past few years. I think I want to try and find a piece of sodalite jewelry to wear so I can have this healing energy on me while I'm out and about ;) Plus it's gorgeous!

Rainbow Moonstone

The rainbow moonstone is a stone for inner growth and strength. It is also known as the traveler's stone and is supposed to protect you in your travels. It is said to help with many physical ailments as well, such as swelling, menstrual issues, digestive issues and helps align vertebrae.

So now that I've described the healing properties of each rock you can see that my intuition led me to exactly what I needed. It's hard for me to wrap my mind around all of t