Better Late Than Never!
Hello again! I know, I know, its been a while since
my last newsletter. No real reason other than I've been letting other
things sidetrack me.
But now, hopefully, I will get back on track and send
these with more regularity.
One reason I have been procrastinating is that Bravenet,
the company I use to send these out, updated (ugh) to make
the newsletters more phone friendly...which means simpler, streamlined,
and boring-looking. So the 2 column format I liked doesn't look as
good. And now that most people surf the web online, the newsletters
on my website do not look as nice as I used a 3 column design which
gets squished and hard to read.
So now I will put the Moon Phases and Signs, Credit
& Butt-Kissing, and Song Quote at the bottom of the
newsletter on my website, they won't be in the email so you will have
to click to my website. I will be updating the design of the previous
newsletters in the Archive on
my website to make them more readable (this may take a while as
I'm also updating other parts of my website).
Since I collected many rocks and crystals while on
vacation to my favorite place, Michigan's Upper Peninsula, a few weeks
ago, in this newsletter I will be talking about hematite, magnetite,
and lodestone. Specifically, how to tell the difference between
them. All are forms of iron, but they are different and telling them
apart is easier once you know what to look for in your specimen. To
put it simply, if a magnet doesn't stick then its hematite, if a magnet
sticks then it is magnetite, and if it is itself magnetic then it
is lodestone. There is much more to these minerals and I'll go into
detail later in the newsletter, but first....some business....
Infinite Flame Updates
Its been very hard to find quality shows since Gibraltar
Trade Center closed but I've been lucky to find some good ones. You
can always check the Home Page for show announcements,
and follow me on Facebook. I do not have anything booked in September
at the moment, although I will be helping my sister at the 5th
Annual Grand Rapids VegFest, on September 22 at the Delta Plex
Arena from 10am to 4pm. I will have some of my products, not sure
which yet.
In October I will be doing the biannualEnlightened
Soul Expo that I have been doing for 6 years. It is usually in
Ann Arbor or Ypsilanti but for the October show it is at the Southfield
Pavilion. So all you East side friends who used to come to Gibraltar
can come say HI. There are many vendors that did the Gibraltar shows
that do this one too, plus many cool new people I have met. I'll send
more info closer to the show.
You can still purchase from me between shows.
Either through the website or contact me directly as not everything
is online yet. An email, or message on Facebook is best. Remember
the Naked Soaps
site is linked to the same PayPal Shopping Cart so orders from
both sites are combined into one transaction.
This summer has been very humid here in Michigan,
and glycerin soap is very temperature sensitive. What I mean
by that is how it sets up after melting the base to add the oils.
If it is too hot and humid, the soap doesn't cure properly and the
finished product is very soft, so doesn't last as long. I haven't
been making any soap but once we get into September, I should be able
to start up again. The humidity also effects the drying time of the
incense. I have been very busy making it ever since I was
able to order new supplies in the spring. Check out what is in stock
on the Incense page, the number in parenthesis
is how many 10 packs I have.
I am still looking for a supplier for the glass containers
for the Magickal Gel Candles. To be safe, I only use Anchor Hocking
or other heat proof containers. Once I find some, I'll be making more
candles.
I offer Tarot Readings by phone, no worries
about construction or road conditions. Go to TarotTemptress.com
for info then contact me to set up an appointment. I am considering
offering them by email also as scheduling is sometimes hard with the
weird hours I work.
Hematite, Magnetite, and Lodestone... Oh My!
Everyone knows I love hematite. Seriously, if you
ever were at my booth at a show and asked a simple question about
it, you know. I can talk about it for a long, long time. More than
you wanted to know. Out with friends, any hint at someone being curious
about my rings and yep, I'm talking about its properties and finding
it in the UP.
But even I don't know everything about it (gasp!).
And that inspired me to do more research, especially as some of what
I collected in the UP that I thought was hematite, is actually magnetite.
They look exactly alike, and are found in the same places. It is fairly
simple to tell them apart, though, just grab a magnet. As the name
suggests, magnetite is, well, magnetic. Hematite does not contain
enough iron to be magnetic. Hematite is iron with many impurities,
so the magnetic field is very weak.
Sorry to burst your bubble but those magnetic hematite
rings and beads...are not hematite. They are man made to look like
hematite. In fact, most 'hematite' jewelry is man made. Some contains
actual hematite, some contains magnetite. But they are beneficial
to wear. Magnets have many health benefits, as does hematite. So continue
to wear your hemalyke (trade name) jewelry, and enjoy it.
Another good way to tell the difference, and a bit
more scientific, is a streak test. No, this does not
involve stripping. A streak test is the process of rubbing a stone
or crystal on an unglazed tile and checking the color of the streak
left on it. What I find so cool about hematite is, although it is
black or silvery grey, it leaves a red streak on the tile. Magnetite
has a black streak.
Ok, so what about lodestone? Well, lodestone is magnetite
that is itself a magnet. While a magnet will stick to magnetite, it
won't pick up other pieces of metal on its own. A magnet will stick
to lodestone, and so will other pieces of metal. You might see lodestone
in a store with small pieces of metal shavings sticking to it to show
that it is indeed magnetic.
I found so much info on hematite and magnetite, including
how it formed and where it can be found, that it would make a very
long newsletter. So I created a page on my website as part of the
Stone Information that has all the information. On this page I also
have pictures, some are mine and some found on the Internet (credit
given). I am hoping to take some good ones of my stones to add to
the page. So go check out the Iron
Stones page to read more about these pretty shiny stones that
can be found in Michigan's beautiful Upper Peninsula.
Blessed be,
~~~~Rhiannon Rose @--^--