It's time to give my home a serious cleaning. Not only can I see it, I can feel the magic dissipating. Old, stagnant dust is baggage. It weights the house down. My poor home is filled with negative yin energy.

Granted, our family has been distracted. The upstairs toilet developed a slow leak while we were out of town last month, and we came home to three rooms of wet carpet. No amount of disinfectant and fans could rectify the damage. We had to replace the carpet in the entire second floor. Which means, we had to move all the furniture out of the upstairs. Oh. My. Goddess.

So now we have fresh, new carpet. It's a muted mystical blue-gray and I love it.

Unfortunately, we also have crap everywhere, waiting to be either sorted and discarded, or cleaned and put away. It's a discouraging amount of work. To make matters worse, I decided to hold a garage sale last weekend, to sell some of the some of the stuff we've accumulated during the 22 years we've lived here. Not only is the upstairs in disarray, my front hall is full of displaced junk, and the garage has all the leftovers from the sale to box up and drop off at donation sites.

I realize that my state of mind is intertwined with the negative energy in my home. The chi energy is blocked by clutter and grime, which produces a depressed state. It's reflected in my life and emotional landscape.  A personification of, " As above, so below."
So I'm also not writing. Falling behind on deadlines. Stressed and cranky. And my blood sugar is spiking.

Enough already!

For the entire month of April, I'm going to clean and Feng Shui my entire home. Please join me each Friday and we'll make the journey together.
Get your brooms ready, let's do some…magical housecleaning!!
 
This week's Magical Housecleaning Chores
Cleaning house is powerful magic. Done with intention, it increases your energy, clarity and happiness, which in turn increases your ability to manifest your desires.
According to Feng Shui principles, our homes are a mirror of what's happening inside us, so clearing them out can literally clean up our mood and improve mental energy. Sounds better than bleach, if you ask me.
So, let's start there.

Magical Chore #1: Get rid of the toxic cleaning chemicals in your kitchen, and replace them with citrus-infused vinegar. I'm infusing mine with lemon because I have an abundance of lemons on the tree in my backyard, but you could also use oranges.
Fill a mason jar with lemon peels and pour white vinegar over the peels. Close tightly and let it sit for a week or two or three (depending on how lemon-y you want it to smell. Open, strain out the lemon, including any little pieces, and pour the vinegar into a spray bottle to use the next time you clean.

Magical Chore #2: Sweep and mop your floor with intention. As you sweep, visualize the stagnant energy being swept up with the dirt, and repeat, "I sweep away all negative energies, leaving only good and light," as you sweep. Then use your dustpan to dump all the dirt outside the house.Mop, using a magical floor wash. Here's one of my favorite recipes. In a mop bucket of hot vinegar water, add the following essential oils:

2 drops peppermint (get rid of negativity)
2 drops rose geranium (protect)

2 drops cinnamon (clear problems on the material plane)

Repeat as you mop, "I call upon these herbs to drive out negativity and chaos, and bring thy blessings of peace and accord in their place."
Magical Chore #3: Spring clean the kitchen
Take everything out of the refrigerator and freezer, and clean. (Use a natural cleaner if the citrus–infused vinegar is not ready). Throw away any expired or spoiled food and condiments (I tend to overlook the condiments).

Clean the stove, microwave and all the pots and pans. Get rid of or give away any pans you don't use or don't like.

Clean out all the drawers, surfaces, light fixtures, etc.

Next, minimize the clutter. Look at the items on the counters. Do you use each item weekly? Does it make you happy?

Take everything out of the cabinets and survey what you have. Get rid of stuff you don't use. Donate food that you haven't used in six months or longer.

The purpose is to create space, to make room for that which better serves you, and to create a fresh pathway for strong vibrant chi to flow around the room.

Think about bringing whole foods, plus three live plants or potted herbs into the kitchen to make it more "alive" again.  Locate them in an east window for proper Feng Shui and happy plants!

I'm going to stop here for the week. Have fun practicing your magical housekeeping. Let me know if it worked for you, and what part of the house we should tackle next week. I'd love to hear your ideas!
 

There are fifteen vortex sites within a ten mile radius of Sedona. The rock formations are composed of ferrous oxide mixed with sandstone and basalt, giving the Sedona landscape its rich red color. The earth here also has an unusually high iron content. The summer lightning storms awe-inspiring.

Most of the area was once an ancient seabed with subsurface volcanoes. When the volcanoes erupted, molten magma forced its way into cracks of the sandstone. Over time, the softer rock wore away, leaving spires called volcanic intrusions. For centuries these giant monoliths have served as natural shrines for prayer, meditation and connection with Great Spirit, Creator, or what some term God.
 
I feature one of the most well-known vortexes, Cathedral Rock, in my paranormal novel, Song of the Ancients.

Excerpt:
 I pulled a brochure out of my bag, brandished my latte toward the red mountain in front of us, and lectured in my best peppy, tour-guide voice. "According to local lore, Cathedral Rock is one of five major vortexes in Sedona. Each site has its own personality. Some radiate male, yang energies, active and energizing. Others are female, calming and tranquil yin."
 
I studied Cathedral Rock. This one was definitely male. It looked like a larger rock wall had been blasted apart, leaving vaguely phallic slivers of rock jutting through the center.
 
Rumor pointed to a flat spot between two spires. "Up there is where we're going. It's steep but only about two miles round trip."
 
I turned to Rumor. "Kamaria says it has magical energy. What do you think?"
 
"She's not the only one who feels the area is unusual," Rumor said. "The Native people think those rock spires work like satellite antenna, connecting to one of those mountains out in the middle of the valley called Vision Butte. Tribal medicine men have used the site for hundreds of years for vision quests and ceremonies. Cathedral is state land, but Vision Butte was decreed sacred. No non-Native visitors."
 
"Do you know which one is Vision Butte?"
 
Rumor shrugged. "No idea. It's not on any of the maps."
 
Ignoring the burning muscles in my thighs, I climbed to the top and stopped, panting. "Wow."
The overlook was like a wide sidewalk, with steep drops on each side. The view was jaw-dropping in both directions.
 
We walked to the edge and sat down, dangling our legs over the side. The breeze came up the ledge from the desert below, lifting my damp shirt away from my sweaty skin. I sighed and raised my arms over my head, stretching out my shoulders.
 
 The place slipped into me, a shimmering wind I drew in with each breath. It wasn't just the view, or the breeze; there was a vibration in the air, not quite audible, like a dog whistle barely above hearing range. I closed my eyes and listened.
 
I didn't know how long I sat, feeling the wind whoosh up my legs from the valley floor far below. At some point, the vibration increased, and I could hear words, in a simple melody:
"Wakan, wakan, every creature,
Wakan, wakan, every rock.
Tuku Skanskan, the time surrounds you.
From sacred earth we send our voices.
Wachin ksapa yo! Be attentive!"
 
I reached for Rumor, to ask if she heard it, but she was gone. I jerked my eyes open and looked around.
 
Rumor was standing, eyes closed and arms outstretched in a "V" over her head, oblivious to the precipice beyond her. The wind spiraled around her head, swirling the dark strands of her long hair across her face.
 
 I stood up slowly and tiptoed over to her, took her hand and pulled her gently away from the edge.
 
"Oh." She made a little, surprised sound, like she'd forgotten I was there. Then she crossed her ankles and sunk to the ground. 
"Wakan tanka, we watch the Earth.
To Man below, we send our voices.
Wakan, wakan, every creature,
Wakan, wakan, every rock."
 
The song rode the wind, ebbing and fading until it was no more, swallowed by the air currents from the valley floor below.
*****
Each book in my four-book series will be set in a different sacred site around the world. This summer I'm traveling to England, Scotland and Wales to finish research Book 2 of the Ancient Magic series, set in the magical standing stones of Great Britain. Book 3 is set in Hawaii and features the Goddess Pele, goddess of fire and volcanos. The final book will take place in Alaska and Newfoundland, and will trace the history of the ancient land bridge between the continents.

Have you ever visited a physical site where you felt an innate, unexplainable boost of power?  Was it positive or negative? Was it male yang, active and energizing? Or female yin, calming and tranquil? Did the land speak to you, and if so, what did it tell you? 

Please share your experiences, I love to learn about unusual power sites.

It's March in America, when many a man’s fancy turns to… basketball.

<disappointed sigh>

For some of us, the approach of the NCAA Basketball Tournament (also known as March Madness) leaves a bit to be desired, especially if one’s alma mater is not represented amongst the 64 teams, or once your favorite team is eliminated (and let’s face it, most of us will be in that position eventually). Maybe you never quite saw the point in obsessing over brackets… until now!

<Drumroll>

Here’s a little something different, be we sports widows, rabid fans, or just everyday appreciators of man candy: March Man-ness, Tournament of Hotties.

Throughout the month of March, the Desert Muses will post match-ups of romance genre hunks. You cast your vote in the comment section for which stud sends you swooning. The winning hero moves on in the tournament, and your comment/vote enters you in a raffle drawing for a $60 Amazon Gift Card at the end of the tournament (March 27). You can vote once per round, with 3 total entries possible per person.
The first battle of the hotties will post here on Monday, March 6. And to the winner goes the spoils!