Monday, The Turtle Clan and the Element Earth

Good morning to all of you out there in blogland.  Another Monday, and it's back to work.  I really didn't want to come.  Matter of fact, right up the last minute I kept saying to myself "I don't want to go."  But, here I am, and a sick day has been saved for a time I might need it more.  

It's a gorgeous day out there.  The sun is shining, and it's supposed to go up to 60.  Now, this is my kind of weather.  Sadly, I probably won't make the beach next weekend.  The weather doesn't look like it's going to be the greatest.  It's great being so close.  I used to spend every Sunday out there.  I'd do what I had to do in chores on Saturday, and Sunday head on out to the shore...and then somewhere along the line I got lazy; I became a 'couch potato'. I've made up my mind that this is going to be a breakout year for me.  Time to get back to nature, to enjoy the sun, the sea breezes, the ocean's mighty roar.  Oh, I am so looking forward to it.  

THE TURTLE CLAN

The elemental clans provide the building blocks for all life here on Mother Earth.  The Turtle Clan represents the Earth.  The stone is placed in the Center Circle about halfway between the North and West directions.  The mineral associated with the Turtle Clan is petrified wood, the plant is cattails, and the color is green brown.  To avoid any confusion, remember that "the tortoise is for Mother Earth, for the planet as a whole; and Turtle is for the Element of Earth."  Native American legend tells us that the Tortoise gave us a place to live, and North America is often called Turtle Island to show respect for this animal. 

Cattails are wetland plants with a unique flowering spike.  The leaves are used for making chair seats, mats, and baskets. It is an important and common wild food.  Cattails have a strong Earth energy that grounds, balances, and stabilizes people.

Petrified wood is wood from trees of long ago that have now been turned into stone by our Mother Earth.   It is a fossil which is formed by an infiltration of minerals into cavities between and within cells of natural wood.  Working with this stone connects you to both the plant and the mineral worlds.  It also brings us messages from the past as well as the knowledge that changes is a natural cycle of life.  It can awaken you to a renewed strength and purpose.

The color for this stone which honors the Element Earth is green-brown.  Use this color when you feel as if you have gotten too spaced out. This stone helps to stabilize you and bring you back to Earth.  Make a special object of this color to meditate on or just stare at whenever you need this kind of energy.

This is the stone to seek when you yearn to be more oriented toward the Earth.  This is the place where you learn the true meaning of loyalty to the Earth and to all your relations with Her.