The Second Market Shopping video is almost done!

A couple of tweaks to fix, then all that’s left to do is export the audio to Audacity so I can clean up the audio; get together with Tinka next weekend to put in the final text balloon comments; and lastly, clean up the video. And it’s done! So within a couple/three weeks it should be available.

I’m also working on researching some of the topics referenced in the video (like art glass, vintage jewelry, etc.) to create white papers for bonus materials. There will be several of those.

I hope to get some preview clips up soon as well, to give people a taste of the great information contained in this video.

So keep checking back at Second Market Shopping for updates, or sign up here to be notified when the video is available:

I’ve added a new “Articles” page

I’ve added all the articles I have up so far at Article Base, and hope to add some files here at the site.

If anyone has suggestions for articles they would like to see, please add your comments to this post, below.

Happy reading!

BB,

Vivienne

If you become aware that some one is drawing energy from you via your solar plexus can you block or stop this?

On Mon, Apr 13, 2009 at 3:01 AM, one of my Article Base readers wrote:

Dear Vivienne,

If you become aware that some one is drawing energy from you via your solar plexus can you block or stop this ?

Yes, absolutely! The first step is to visualize the energy pull that you feel as a cord of light coming from your solar plexus (or wherever you feel the energy loss). Then imagine a pair of scissors, a knife, or some other sharp object that appeals to you, cutting that cord.

The next step is to seal off the energy in your aura and heal the wound or hole that has been left. Imagine the end of the cord completely falling away from your body, and using your hand, feel energy coming from your hand to seal over the place in your aura where the cord was attached, until it feels whole again.

Next (and this is kind of nasty, but it’s what I would do), I would imagine lighting the other end of the cord on fire, and watching it burn its way back to wherever it came from. That should make your attacker think twice about doing something like that again, to you or anyone else. Another option is, before you cut the cord, imagine a nasty, icky energy or emotion projecting out from you up through the cord, “poisoning” the fuel line, as it were. That may or may not make your attacker sick, depending on whether they are able to metabolize that kind of energy. Many people do feed on some of the most unpleasant emotions possible. You can find more ideas like this in Michelle Belanger’s Psychic Vampire Codex.

Finally, there are some shielding exercises you can use to keep your aura strong and protected. I’ve addressed some of these in the free 5-part course I recently began offering at this site for subscribers. You can subscribe to the blog in the upper left-hand corner of this page (it’s free), and you get the 5-part course as a bonus. A couple of the books I mention in there might be of particular help to you:

The Llewellyn Practical Guide to Psychic Self Defense by Melita Denning and Osborne Phillips, and Psychic Protection by William Bloom. Both of these books, and the Belanger book, are available in the Persephone’s Haven bookstore.

The Bloom book has some great visualizations using shields of different sizes, shapes and colors, so you might want to consider focusing on something like that guarding your solar plexus as extra protection until you feel ok again.

You might also want to spend some time drawing on Universal energy from above, and Earth energy from below, pulling columns of light down through the top of your head and up through your feet, meeting in the middle at your solar plexus and replenishing your energy. That should replace what’s been taken from you in short order.

***

If anyone else has had an issue like this, or has any questions, please add a comment to this post, or email me.

BB,

Vivienne

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Coming Soon: Modern Day Shamanism as taught by Stefan Druigonus

My friend Stefan will soon be setting up a web page offering classes in modern-day shamanism.  As soon as the website is set up I will be posting here to let you all know, and in the meantime you can check out the page I set up for him by clicking the “modern-day shamanism” tab at the top of the page.

His knowledge is voluminous, and he is a wonderful teacher; he already has a large amount of content put together, we just need to get his website up and running so he can start sharing it.

Stefan will teach you how to get in touch with your inner self, become more aware of your surroundings, and learn how to better handle today’s stresses.  Recognize people from your past lives to reconnect with old friends, and make new ones on the astral plane.

Materials will include video classes, audio files, articles, multi-media coursework, and more.

Subjects covered:

• astral travel
• psychic self defense
• animal totems
• dreamwalking
• incense making
• basic herbalism
• making soaps/oils/baths
• tarot
• energy exchange and psy work
• healing
• working with spirits and spirit guides
• past life regression

and lots more.

I’m really looking forward to seeing his website; I hope to have his first video posted here soon, on incense making.

BB,

Vivienne

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NEW!!! Get a FREE 5 part mini-course: “Novel ways to work with your aura and boost your magickal abilities,” when you subscribe to the blog

This is a very meaty email course with lots of links and book references, so you can go deep with your research.
Part 1: Review of visualization and aura basics

Part 2: New cleansing techniques – Creating Sacred Space Wherever You Are

Part 3: New Cleansing Techniques – An Aura Cleanse

Part 4: A Morning Meditation

Part 5: A Magickal Larder
Sign up for this great 5-part course, and the Persephone’s Haven blog, here:

You will receive Part 1 of your mini course as soon as you confirm your subscription, and you will also receive the Persephone’s Haven blog posts as a regular ezine, direct to your email inbox! Stay up to date on our news, reviews, and articles automatically.

Looking forward to getting to know you here at Persephone’s Haven.

Blessed Be,

Vivienne D’Avalon

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$300 Oleg Cassini blouse for $5!

Another great find I made while yard sale-ing was this beautiful Oleg Cassini blouse.  My friend “Tinka” saw it in one of the thrift stores we visited and showed me, telling me it would retail for around $300.00.  It was being sold for $5!  “Do you want it?” she asked me.  “Absolutely!” I declared, without a moment’s hesitation.  I have never seen such beautiful bead work on an article of clothing — the collar and sleeves are literally dripping with stunning black bead work.

I’ve got video of this item too — I’ll try to get it posted soon to SecondMarketShopping.com

BB,

Vivienne

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Early 20th century pump organ

A couple of weeks ago, on Saturday Feb. 28, I went yard sale-ing with two of my good friends in Titusville.  Their hobby is going to yard sales and thrift stores every Saturday, buying for all their friends and family, and sometimes selling what they find on eBay.  (They have great advice on that score, by the way.  See our new website, www.secondmarketshopping.com.  I’ll be posting their tips on a regular basis there).

I made a fabulous find — for a wonder, I actually saw it first, before either of my friends.   A beautiful, early 20th century pump organ — still in working order, and worth at least $1,000.00 — and I bought it for a mere $150.00!!

The poor woman selling it had lost her job and was losing her home, and had to sell many of her treasured family heirlooms.  This organ had been with her family for two grandmothers, and it broke her heart to part with it.  But I have given it a good home where it will be loved and treasured.  (I hope to have some video footage up soon at Second Market Shopping).

We had a wonderful time opening up panels on the back and front.  The back, once I had brushed out a century of dust and polished it up with Old English, revealed a patent seal on a wheel component dating the part to July, 1806.

There was a possibility the front panel might have hidden treasure — the woman who sold it to us realized, as we were loading the organ onto the truck, that she and her brother had missed that panel.  When we asked them what they meant, she pointed out that in the 19th century, many families in the south had their houses taken from them because of the Civil War.  Her family apparently had occasionally hidden money and other valuables in panels of furniture.

Even though we didn’t find anything (I thought even a scrap of sheet music or an old letter would be a great find), the excitement of anticipation was wonderful.

As it happens, we needed to open the panel anyway, to fix one of the foot pedals.  When we first got the organ moved into position against the wall, I sat down to play a few notes and show my niece how a pump organ works.  (”First you plug it in,” joked boyfriend Magus).  I pressed the foot pedals until we heard the bellows starting to wheeze, and hit a few keys so she could hear it.  But then the right foot pedal went flat.  When we opened up the front panel we discovered that the straps attaching the pedals to the bellows were original (probably hemp), and one had snapped, rotten with age.

I’ve seen some interesting things in my life, but watching my boyfriend down on the floor, sewing two pieces of the pedal strap together, is going to go down as a treasured memory.  (I think we have some of that on video, too).

Even though I won’t ever play it, because I don’t want to risk damaging it (e.g., breaking the clearly fragile straps), it is a gorgeous piece of furniture that I will treasure.  I count myself incredibly lucky to have found such a lovely item at a yard sale for such a low price.  Talk about being in the right place at the right time!

My sister will be taking more pictures in daylight with a real camera (these were taken Monday evening, with Magus’ cell phone).  As soon as we have better pictures with more detailed close ups, I’ll post them here.  If anybody out there can give me more information about this piece, please add it to the comments here, or email me:

Shipman Organ Co., High Point NC (serial no.) 6094

I did some research and found out that company started doing business after the turn of the 20th century, under another name, and didn’t change the name to Shipman until the first factory burned down in 1911, so we know it’s early 20th century rather than 19th.  But that’s all I’ve been able to find out about it.  If anyone knows where I can use the serial number to get information about this piece, it would be greatly appreciated if you post such in the comments section, as well).

Thanks!

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