5 Quick Tips to Improve Your Intuition

Intuition goes by many names: sixth sense, inner knowing, gut feeling. I’m sure you’ve had at least one experience when you “JUST knew.” Maybe it was a safety concern, a work issue, or about a relationship.

If you look back you probably didn’t say, “hey intuition, can you please give me some information about…” Nope. The insight came in a flash and you knew exactly what to do.

What if you could call on that flash of knowing anytime you wanted? This post will help you do that with 5 simple tips on how to improve your intuition. If you want to learn 3 daily actions you can do to support your intuition, check out Cassie's post.

Acknowledge Intuition Exists

It’s innate in everyone, so even if you don’t feel like you have it, know you do. Make a declaration like, “I have a clear and strong intuition,” and observe how your body adjusts.

Clear Some Clutter

Getting rid of junk in your house and mind will create space for new information. Seem overwhelming? Start with just one small area of your house. Try to keep that area neat and tidy (maybe it’s your nightstand or corner of your desk).

Mental and emotional stuff got you weighed down? Dump all that stuff onto paper. No need to analyze or ponder, just freely write down what you are feeling and all the tasks you have to finish. You’ll be amazed at how light you will feel.

Know Your Colors

Here’s a quick exercise to help you connect with your inner knowing. Try this before you get out of bed in the morning. Ask your intuition to give you a color for “yes.” Stay away from the traditional stop light green. That’s too easy. Ask for your individual color for “yes.” Maybe it’s a light orange, or a deep purple. Then ask for your color for “no.” Again, watch for another color aside from red. Maybe it’s grey or bright pink.

Sit with this new information for a few quiet moments and be open for it to appear throughout your day.

Start Small

Now that you have your colors, let’s see how you can use them in everyday scenarios! Your intuition is like a muscle, it likes to be worked out, but you can’t start lifting 100 pounds right away. So start with asking about what shirt you should wear, or which road to take to work. Ask for your “yes” or “no” colors. Go with it!

Trust

Your intuition will get clearer with time and patience. One thing to keep in mind is following your intuition doesn’t mean that life will always go the way you want.

Your intuition is serving as your guide for a deeper purpose for reasons you might not see. Maybe that bad traffic your intuition lead you into was to keep you from something worse. Maybe those “yes” shoes you tripped in means you’ll get to tell a funny story to a new person!

The most important step is to have fun! Don’t worry about getting it right or wrong. Your intuitive power is supposed to bring you closer to who you are, not stress you out.

Developing your inner knowing just takes a few minutes a day. Clear some clutter, use your colors, and trust in your developing “muscle.” Your intuition is the inner gift that keeps on giving so have fun listening to what it has to say! If you are looking to play with your intuition some more, check out my funny and in-your-face oracle cards at www.rebeldeck.com.

How to Open Your Third Eye & Know When It’s Blocked

When was the last time you had a sense that you needed to check in with someone, leave a space, or had a flash of insight, and all at once something made perfect sense? These little intuitive moments are your third eye chakra at its best.

When your third eye chakra is balanced you do not only see but you understand. That inner knowing can be felt throughout your entire body, in every cell. Sounds nice, right?

If your third eye chakra is not balanced you’ll have a whole other set of manifestations that aren’t quite as favorable, which I’ll outline later.

The third eye chakra is located in the center of your brow bone. In Sanskrit, this chakra is called Ajna and translates to “to command” or “to perceive.” It is responsible for your intuition, imagination, and is your connection to having a deep understanding of the physical realm and the spiritual realm.

Before I dive into how to open your third eye, I want to give you some tips for recognizing when it’s blocked.

Is your third eye chakra blocked?

• Trouble sleeping or insomnia

• Confusion or anxiety about decisions you need to make

• Frequent headaches

• Lack of imagination

• Unsure of what to do with your life

• Poor memory

• Feel pulled to meditate, be in silence, and do restorative activities

How to Open Your Third Eye Chakra

Third Eye Meditation

Meditation is the quintessential method for tapping into the power of your third eye chakra. This can be as simple as sitting quietly for 5 minutes each morning. Whenever I get out of my meditation practice, I’m always shocked by how much of a difference 5 minutes of meditation affects my day. Check out this previous blog post for 8 Simple Ways to Be Here Now to help you bring more mindfulness into your day.

Here’s a meditation to try specifically for balancing and opening your third eye chakra:

• Clear 5-20 minutes of uninterrupted quiet time for yourself;

• Sit cross-legged on the floor or seated on a chair;

• Straighten your spine, lift your shoulders up and back and close your eyes;

• With your eyes closed, point them both towards the center of your brow bone at your third eye chakra;

• Focus on the inhale and the exhale of your breath;

• With each inhale imagine a deep purple glowing light expanding around your third eye center. As you exhale it decreases and then grows bigger and brighter with each inhale.

• Once you settle into a rhythm, repeat this mantra: I am connected to my higher self. I know that I am always guided. I make decisions with ease and grace. I accept and trust the path I am on. My intuition is my guide. OM. (OM is the bija mantra for the third eye chakra, so feel free to chant it more than once and really draw it out!)

• Repeat the mantra as often as you want.

• Once you’re ready to finish release your eyes, release any control over your breath, stop the mantra, and rest for a few moments.

If you love guided meditations you can also get my Chakra balancing meditation here.

Crystals & Symbols

The most potent crystals for your third eye chakra are amethyst, lepidolite, celestite, and azurite.

Crystal guru, Judy Hall, explains the benefits of azurite, “Azurite guides psychic and intuitive development. It urges the soul toward enlightenment. It cleanses and stimulates the third eye chakra and attunes to spiritual guidance.”

Wear any of these crystals or a symbol of the third eye as a reminder of your goal to stay connected to your intuition. You can also rest any of these stones on your third eye for added benefit.

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Caring for your Pineal Gland

Physically speaking, your third eye chakra directly relates to your pineal gland. Your pineal gland is a tiny, rice-sized gland tucked inside of your brain. It is part of your endocrine system, it releases melatonin and is responsible for maintaining your circadian rhythm. Research was done on the correlation between meditation and the pineal gland has shown increased activity and melatonin production in the pineal gland during meditation.

There are many foods and environmental factors that can affect it both negatively and positively. Fluoride can take a toll on your pineal gland. Excess fluoride can build up in your pineal gland and cause it to become calcified, lessening the efficacy of your third eye.

To care for your pineal gland, try to cut fluoride out of your diet as much as you can. Here are some foods that can help aid in removing excess fluoride from your body and help decalcify your pineal gland:

• Eat more iodine-rich foods like broccoli, spinach, and seaweed. Iodine-rich foods are helpful for many reasons but can also help cleanse fluoride from your body.

• Add more raw apple cider vinegar to your diet, in salad dressings, or simply in a mixture of water and honey. Raw apple cider vinegar has a high content of malic acid which is helpful for detoxifying the whole body.

• Have a cup of chamomile tea. Chamomile is a calming tea that can help soothe an overactive pineal gland.

Darkness & Light (Maybe)

Try minimizing light pollution in your room at night. Your pineal gland controls your circadian rhythm so it can be beneficial to give yourself time in the real dark. Try shutting out all light from the outdoors, and any inside lights to give you some pre-sleep time in a light-free space.

Alternatively, some ancient beliefs (that are still practiced today) suggest sun-gazing to invigorate your pineal gland and third eye chakra. I don’t really feel comfortable telling you to go stare at the sun because I’ve never tried this before and am not really sure that I feel comfortable doing it either! There are lots to read about it though, so if you’re interested in it I suggest doing your own research on it.

Scents

Meditative scents like sandalwood, frankincense, myrrh, and chamomile will help open and activate your third eye. Use scents in a diffuser or on pressure points on your body during meditation or as a reminder throughout your day.

I hope you take advantage of this amazing gift that lies within you! When your third eye chakra is balanced you not only see but you understand, so go get connected.

6 Signs You’re Not Grounded + How to Get Grounded

When was the last time you noticed that you were completely untethered from reality and ungrounded? Between the glorification of being busy and constant social media at your fingertips, becoming ungrounded might be happening more often than you think!

What does it mean to be “grounded”?

If you’re energetically grounded it means that your root chakra is balanced and healthy. You’ll feel strongly connected to the Earth, stable, and at ease. Fears and worries you have will fade away quickly. You’ll feel safe, protected, and have an inner knowing that you’ll be taken care of.

The most important part of being grounded is realizing when you’re not. Check out these 6 signs that you could use some more grounding energy. Does anything from this list ring true for you?

6 Signs You Could Use Some Grounding

1. Can’t finish projects or focus

2. Feel like your nerves are fried or are spacey

3. Questioning things more than usual

4. Difficulty with communication

5. Impulse to hoard things and money

6. Strong urge to be physical or go outside

The good news is that there are several ways to get grounded quickly, and one tip even involves chocolate! As someone who’s struggled with anxiety (aka the opposite of being grounded) for much of her life, I’ve used each one of these tips and find them all highly effective on their own and combined.

9 Tips to Get Grounded

Connect with Nature

Lay on the ground, go for a walk outside or rest your body on a tree. This one is a big one for me. A couple of years ago I was going through an extra anxious time and I kept having a strong pull to lay on trees! It was the strangest thing, but eventually, I went for it and started to feel better. My neighbors might think I’m a weirdo, but I don’t really care. Now when I feel the pull to be in nature, I listen.

Earthy Teas

Sip on some earthy herbal teas and definitely skip the caffeine. Dandelion root tea, hibiscus tea (red for the root chakra!), rose tea, and valerian root tea are all perfect for feeling more grounded. I suggest saving valerian root tea for nighttime, it is very calming and can make you sleepy.

Yoga pose

Nothing fancy here--a simple mountain pose, tree pose, or sukhasana work perfectly to tap into your grounding energy. Each of these poses offers you the opportunity to stand firmly on the ground and connect to the Earth.

Stones & Symbols

This tip is exceptionally important for feeling grounded. When you’re not grounded you’ll feel like you need more protection to feel safe. Wearing stones and symbols can be a great reminder to connect with your root chakra energy and feel protected. Obsidian, red garnet, and any earthy colors from the jasper family work great for protection and grounding.

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Eat

A mindful snack can go a long way, your body might be craving certain foods to feel more grounded too. Ditch the refined carbs and processed foods for a day or two and try adding some pink salt, root vegetables, nuts, beans, and even some chocolate to your diet. The darker the chocolate the more grounding it will be.

Get Physical

You know the feeling when you just need to get moving. Honor it! Go for a walk, head to the gym, a yoga class, or out for a run. Allow yourself time and space to connect with your body and give it what it needs.

Grounding Meditation

Another one of my favorites! Grant yourself 5 minutes of quiet meditation. As you meditate imagine roots growing out of you and into the Earth. Call upon the energy of the Earth to help you feel more grounded. You can envision your “roots” growing all the way into the center of the Earth. You can also try speaking this affirmation during your meditation.

If you love guided meditations, you can purchase my meditation bundle where you can find a grounding meditation practice. 

Muladhara

Muladhara is the root chakra which is located at the base of your seat. The color of this chakra is red. Another favorite grounding tool of mine is to imagine a red sphere in this area glowing a deep beautiful red color. Imagine the red energy around your chakra spinning and growing red around your pelvic floor. As mentioned above wearing a symbol of the root chakra or simply the color red will also be beneficial.

Scents

Anything earthy here will work wonderfully! Some of the most potent grounding scents are palo santo (be sure that comes from a sustainable source) frankincense, pine, and chamomile. I recently discovered palo santo essential oil and am in love with it!

One of my favorite things about all of these tips is that they’re all so simple. I hope you found some grounding gems here and if you know a soul sister who could use some extra grounding, please share this post with them.

Rituals for Every Moon Phase & Printable Moon Cards

Want to start harnessing the power of the moon, but don’t know where to start? There are simple and powerful things you can do for each moon phase. Scrolling through your Instagram feed, you might just think the full moon and the new moon are the only times worthy of your time. Not true, there is a special meaning behind each phase of our glorious moon Goddess!

I created a simple and beautiful deck of ritual moon cards so you can better use your moon phase calendar. To get your printable moon cards, click here.

How to Use this Deck

None of these rituals require you to have anything except some time, space, and maybe a pen and paper. I do provide optional additions to each ritual that include accompanying tools like crystals, but they are all optional! Even better, you do not have to do these rituals in order. If the mood hits to do a moon phase ritual for the waning gibbous, but you didn’t do the ritual for the full moon, that’s fine!

Click here to download your free moon phase ritual cards from your email, print them on card stock paper, cut, laminate them if you wish, and use your moon phase calendar to see what phase you’re currently on. There are instructions for assembling your moon phase ritual cards within the free download. Don’t want to download a deck? You can simply check out my rituals below.

New Moon

☾ Themes: New beginnings, openness, hope

☾ Action: Allow 5 minutes of quiet solitude. Think about what changes, gifts, or manifestations you’d like to bring into your life. If lost ask for guidance from the universe, be open.

☾Optional: Light a white candle for newness and purity.

You can also check out this blog post for a new moon card spread.

Waxing Crescent Moon

☾ Themes: Set intentions, declare, cleanse

☾ Action: Create a list of 3 goals or manifestations you’d like to realize. Speak your list out loud. Put your list somewhere visible.

☾Optional: Cleanse your space with a smoke wand or herb.

First Quarter Moon

☾ Themes: Focus, momentum, face your fears

☾ Action: Choose one goal or manifestation you’re focusing on, commit to taking one action towards making it a reality within the next 24 hours.

☾ Optional: Tell one trusted soul your action to hold you accountable.

Waxing Gibbous Moon

☾ Themes: Refine, adapt, align

☾ Action: Allow a quiet moment, ask the universe for signs on how you can better align with your intentions.

☾Optional: Using divination tools like oracle cards, tarot, or runes, ask the universe for clear instructions on moving forward.

Full Moon

☾ Themes: Harvest, celebrate, gratitude

☾ Action: Write a gratitude list that includes everything you’ve accomplished over the last two weeks.

☾Optional: Let the moon's special relationship with water amplify any goals that have not yet come to fruition. Write down intentions you’re still working on, place the paper in a bowl of water under the light of the moon.

Waning Gibbous

☾ Themes: Reflect, meditate, receive

☾ Action: Meditate for 5 minutes. Before you begin ask the universe to shed light on your progress, or lack of progress, with your intentions. Receive and allow.

☾Optional: Take a bath with frankincense and myrrh essential oils to allow extra time for reflection. These scents will help you meditate and better tune into your inner knowledge.

Last Quarter Moon

☾ Themes: Release, surrender, let go

☾ Action: Choose something to remove from your life that is no longer serving you, a physical object, personality trait, or relationship. Write it on a piece of paper and burn it in a cauldron or other fireproof vessel.

☾Optional: Get in touch with your shadow side by tapping into the energy of the Goddess Kali.

Waning Crescent

☾ Themes: Accept, forgive, allow

☾ Action: Lay down for 5 minutes, mentally scan each part of your body, take notice of any areas you feel resistance. Be present with any resistance you feel in your body and offer it love.

☾Optional: Carry a piece of rose quartz with you to offer loving support during this sometimes painful process.

Dark Moon

This phase is often ignored, but I find it to be an important phase to recognize.

☾ Themes: Rest, self-care, reflection

☾ Action: Take everything in, relax, do nothing. Allow yourself space and time to simply be.

☾ Optional: Lay down, place a quartz crystal on your third eye and allow its subtle energy to wash over you, heal you, and calm you.

I hope you adore your deck of moon ritual cards and are inspired to have some moon rituals of your own! Be sure to tag @cassieuhl on social media to show off your deck.

4 Ways to Connect with Your Passed Loved Ones // Guest Post by Lindsay Marino

Losing a loved one is something that is indescribable. It’s as if a part of you has died with them. When someone has a physical presence in your life and they’re taken away from you, it’s hard to imagine communicating with them when you can’t “see” them as you did before. With the loss of my own loved ones, I’ve felt so much grief, at times that I could hardly get out of bed. The moment I started communicating with them, everything started to shift for me.

There are ways you can still continue communicating with them because they’ve actually never left. They are very much alive, but just in a different form. It may feel odd at first, but once you get in the flow of connecting with them, there’s no turning back.

Here are 4 ways to communicate with your passed loved ones:

Talk to Them

• I always suggest for first-timers, to talk to them out loud (even if you feel like a crazy person).

• Wait for their response to pop up as a thought in your mind. This is an easier way to separate your thoughts from theirs.

• Once you get comfortable with that, you can start communicating through your thoughts. It’s very easy to feel like you’re making up this conversation in your head, but you aren’t!

Acknowledge Their Signs

Your passed loved ones are constantly nudging you to listen to song lyrics, look at the clock at a certain time, remind you of a memory they’ve had with you, and play around with your electricity. Once you start seeing these signs, let them know that you recognize them. They live on and want you to be aware of their presence.

Use Automatic Writing

Automatic writing is an amazing way to connect with them too. Here are some directions on how to use automatic writing:

• Set the intention for them to communicate with you

• Take out a pen and notebook

• Put on some relaxing music

• Move your pen and allow them to write a letter through you

Use Physical Tools, such as Oracle Cards or Pendulums to Get the Conversation Flowing

When you focus your attention on something, you will bring in that energy. Using an oracle deck specifically for connecting with passed loved ones, will help you open up to their messages. I created an oracle deck called Unlock Your Connection so you can receive messages from your passed loved ones.

• Directions to use my oracle deck “Unlock Your Connection” cards:

• Hold the deck of cards in your hand

• Think of your passed loved one

• Shuffle the cards and ask your loved one to help you choose a card

• Read your healing message

Click here to read this previous post by Cassie Uhl, on using a pendulum to learn another way of connecting with your passed loved ones.

Once you open up to communication with your passed loved ones, you’ll notice your loved ones are constantly guiding you in your life. They want you to live a full life and they are always a part of it. You just have to become aware of their continued presence. 

I hope you find some peace in these tools! To order my Unlock Your Connection oracle deck, click here.

5 Simple Steps to Get Started with Shadow Work

Intimidated by starting shadow work? Most of us have spent a lifetime hearing phrases like “be positive” and “look on the bright side,” so it’s no surprise that you might be a little freaked out about shadow work. While these sentiments are always shared in love, they can also cause us to repress trauma, difficult emotions, and thoughts we'd prefer to keep to ourselves. This constant repression will usually backfire, causing your fears and judgments to erupt out onto others later.

It’s no wonder most of us are hesitant to jump into shadow work. We’ve been told our whole lives to ignore it.

There are three fundamental steps to doing shadow work: to identify your shadow aspects, allow space for you to process them, and, finally, integrate them. By integrating your shadow side, you become whole.

As with all deep work, sometimes a qualified professional is needed. If you feel you need help from a therapist, psychiatrist, doctor, healer, or even a friend, I encourage you to do so. Facing the parts of ourselves often ignored can be difficult, especially if you've faced particularly traumatic events in your life.

I invite you to approach these offerings as ancillary allies to a shadow work practice. Here are four simple steps to help you get started with shadow work.

1. Practice Mindfulness

I mentioned in my last post that much of shadow work is becoming aware of how you’re projecting your shadow onto others and being triggered. Imagine your triggers as little notes from your shadow self.

The most effective way to bring more awareness into your daily life and catch those projections and triggers is through mindfulness. I’m not saying you need to commit to 30 minutes of silent meditation a day; a simple 5 minutes can really go a long way. If you need some pointers on how to start meditating, check out this earlier blog post on 8 quick tips to “be here now.”

2. Connect with Goddesses Associated with Shadow Work

There are Goddesses worldwide across cultures who correspond with the parts of life we're often told to keep to ourselves or ignore. Each Goddess below offers unique wisdom concerning shadow work. There are many more Goddesses and Gods to connect with

Kali

Kali is the wild and intense-looking Hindu Goddess of time, death, destruction, and rebirth. She is often shown with skulls around her neck and one in her hand. Morbid as it may seem, these skulls actually represent the death of the ego. Even though the image of Kali may be jarring or even scary, she is the personification of shadow and can help you get in touch with darker aspects of your ego that you may be avoiding.

Lillith

The Goddess Lilith has roots in several cultures and religions including ancient Sumeria and Christianity. She's referred to as both a demon and a seductive sex Goddess. Lilith is in touch with her sexuality which has caused men to fear her. She represents equality between men and women. Connect with Lilith to explore any sexual shadows you may have hidden.

Hecate

Hecate is a Greek Goddess of witchcraft and magic, she's closely related to ghosts and death. Hecate is often shown standing at a fork in the road as a reminder to examine our motives clearly before making a decision. She offers protection and wisdom. Hecate is perfect to work with if you're going through transitions. Ask for her guidance to shed light on the shadow side of changes you are going through.

Once you’ve found a goddess or god that you connect with, place a card, picture, or statue of her on your altar or in a place you’ll see it regularly to offer inspiration while meditating or journaling.

One of my favorite ways to connect with the goddesses is through The Goddess Oracle card deck. It doesn’t shy away from the dark goddesses, and my readings are always so powerful when they show up!

3. Create an Altar Space to Explore your Shadow Side

Altars are powerful healing tools. Much like a sacred container, your altar can hold space and energy for difficult emotions, traumas, and experiences. An altar can be as small or large as you'd like. It serves as a physical representation of what you're working on or working through. Small objects, tarot or oracle cards, crystals, herbs, pictures, or journal entries, etc., could all be parts of an altar. Learn more about creating an altar here.

To implement an altar for shadow work, start by selecting some representative items of what you're working through. It could be as simple as a black candle and a piece of rose quartz. Use the altar space to meditate at, call upon some of the Goddesses mentioned above, cry, yell, journal, process. When you're done, leave the energy you created at your altar space. You can go about your day knowing your feelings are safe at your altar, ready to be revisited when you're ready. The altar space will also serve as a reminder of your commitment to integrating your shadow.

4. Work with Supportive Crystals

Several crystals can be used for helping you with shadow work, but these are my favorites. Here are my top 3 picks for crystals to recruit for starting shadow work:

Snowflake Obsidian

This grounding stone is my top pick for shadow work. It can help open the door to your shadow side by bringing emotions, patterns, and fears to the surface. Black obsidian is also good for shadow work, but the balancing flecks of white in the snowflake version soften and balance its energy nicely.

Blue Kyanite

This stone is the softer, subtle version of snowflake obsidian. If you’re looking for a very gentle introduction to shadow work, kyanite is your stone, or you can just add it to your shadow work crystal collection! Kyanite comes with a host of other benefits but is helpful for recalling old memories and working through obstacles.

Rose Quartz

Shadow work will most likely bring up strong emotions for you. It’s important to bring in some soothing self-love energy while diving into shadow work, and rose quartz is the mother of loving vibes!This quote really says it all.

“If darkness is the absence of Love, then the most effective tonic to use in healing internal shadow is self-love. The more love we flow into our deepest wounds and darkest emotions, the quicker we are able to clear and raise our vibration.” - Jennifer Diamond

Place your shadow work crystal on your altar or in a place you’ll see them regularly. Another good alternative is to wear these stones for a beautiful and powerful reminder of your intention to do shadow work.

5. Draw, Paint, Write & Journal

You may find that tapping into your shadow side is more difficult than you thought. If you find yourself stuck in positivity mode, grab a pen or paintbrush and spend some time journaling and creating. Allow yourself time to create and/or journal without any outcomes in mind and let your subconscious flow. You might be surprised what naturally comes up when you commit yourself to some no expectation creative time.

This is the perfect time to keep some snowflake obsidian or kyanite nearby to help bring your darker side to the surface.

I also created an infographic for those who like visuals, and I added more ways to process shadow work.

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Shadow work is not a one-and-done kind of deal. This is work that will happen over a lifetime. Every time you uncover and process one thing, you'll usually find there's more underneath. It's part of the process of being a whole human.