Two beautiful and unexpected things happened this weekend. I had recently lost my pocket tiger's eye and I found the perfect replacement. And I thought I'd have a hard timing finding the moon plant I had in my college dorm room for four years, but it presented itself precisely when I needed some greenery in the office!
I don't know a lot about stones, but I'm just starting to dip a toe in (with a hefty dose of skepticism). At any rate, I started carrying the tiger's eye last year because it was smooth and I've always liked tiger's eye and it was nice to have something to run my fingers over when I got anxious. Anyway, I lost it, probably in someone's car, and I was uncharacteristically ok with it (I normally hate losing things), but my friend had just come back from the Tucson Gem and Mineral Show and generously opened her wealth of stones to me to choose a new pocket stone. I've had carnelian on the mind a lot lately because I thought getting an orange crystal to put inside my orange lightsaber would be fun and nerdy (in Star Wars lore, kaiburr crystals are force-attuned and integral to a working lightsaber). I have a friend in my lightsaber group who has a purple crystal in his purple saber and I love the idea. So she not only gave me a beautiful carnelian pocket stone, but two carnelian beads to put in my saber.
It turns out carnelian is linked to fertility (perfect for our women's health focused clinic) and also balances energy levels, stimulates the appetite, and brightens outlook. It's also a little good luck charm. I'm happy to bring that energy into our work together!
Then yesterday I was walking through a neighborhood I don't get to frequent often enough and there was a giant pilea peperomioides in the window! I knew this plant as a moon plant in college and evidently that's only one of hundreds of names this little plant has. It's from the Yunnan province of China (unlike the other plant often called a money tree, Pachira aquatica, which is actually native to South and Central America) and is also thought to bring good luck. Once it gets large and strong enough, it starts to create baby plants that you can separate out and plant separately. Over four years in college I gave several baby moon plants away to friends and was very sad to have to eventually leave mine with a friend's parents before moving back West.
I'm happy to have the perfect plant friend cheering up the new office. I already spy a few baby moon plants that should be ready to go home with a lucky patient at my next open house!
ABOUT SHAWNA
Shawna Seth, L.Ac. is a California state licensed and nationally certified acupuncturist currently pursuing physician assistant training. To better understand acupuncture and how you can use it in your daily life, and to explore the connections between Western and Eastern medicine, follow her blog A Cuppa Qi. She also invites connection via email contact@shawnaseth.com or Instagram @acuppaqi.