Oakland Pootie Awks

Despite a measly 4 hours of sleep for the past two nights in a row, my lids refuse to flutter down over my dry, itchy eyeballs and zonk me out, leaving tourists to wander the streets of San Francisco in search of the eco-friendly van that was supposed to whisk them away to one national park or another. Nope, I'm wide awake and openly taking reservations for points of common interest near and far.

And what is the source of this stunning commitment to wine tasters, giant sequoia seekers and Grand Canyon caravaners everywhere? You might well ask this, especially if we are personally acquainted and you have been kind enough to lend an ear to my workplace woes this summer. I might just as well tell you that I've been to the well. It wouldn't just be a corny joke, either. Last night was the Grand Opening of the The Sacred Well, near Lake Merrit in Oakland. The store has been a long time in the works for a friend of mine and his business partner, so the opening was an exciting event. The store is like the Scooby Gang's Magic Box, except that instead of a martial arts studio in the basement, there is a snugly saronged room tucked away in the back for giving astrological readings. As far as I could tell, there were no strangulating ancient mummy hands or even an eye of newt bulk bin, so it's not completely like the Magic Box; but it is warmly beautiful, with plenty of wooden structures full of all sorts of wicked / winged things.* In fact, the logo for the store has these neat little birds flapping around on it that remind me of this artist I found online awhile ago and then lost. Anyway, the shadows of birds are very sweet images these days.

Other sweet things at Well:

• Alt Life Merch!
• People who told me about the tattoos they've seen featuring the form of the Morton Salt Girl, a version of which I was wearing on my shirt.
• Grapes on the appetizer plate that an eight year old patron highly recommended.
  
• Old friends, new friends and freaky fairy folk.
• Crystals, stones, minerals and the people who imbue them with mysticism. I poked around the display cases, bowls, and way cool library cataloging unit, and came away with the 2 pieces featured in the picture to the left, which I am very excited about!
  

Up to now, I've never done much more than admire "pootie awks," as my cousin used to call them when he was little and had a speech impediment. Awks were pootie entirely on their own merits, but even more so when my little sister and said cousin presented us with stones from the yard that they'd transformed into full on works of art, complete with paint, glitter, feathers, and even rhinestones and lace if mom was around to wield the glue gun. So, there hasn't been much more than that and the index of refraction associated with crystals in my personal experience.

Last night whilst browsing politely, a weird little bubble of green with black flecks caught my eye and I thought, That rock looks like an alien spider. If the light from a laser pointer fell on just the right spot during an electrical storm, it would activate and start spinning webs that spelled out science fiction stories. Before I got to decide who was going to be Zuckerman's famous pig in this scenario, I found myself talking to a couple of clairvoyant cats (man variety) who'd acquired a fairly large chunk of stalagmite-looking rock that turned out to be a catcher's mitt for angels! One could see right off how the angels would get stuck in the labyrinthine turns of soft heavenly blue gemstone crawling out of a craggy gray shell. Then one of them put a periwinkle piece into my palm that had been smoothed and flattened like a river rock. There's an outlandish story about the first and only discovery of this type of stone in a Peruvian mountain. While it was in the telling, I glimpsed the alien spiders in the dish again and decided that they were going to help me write my science fiction nanowrimo novel. So, I consulted a reference book the store keeps on hand and found out that it's called prehnite and is an inspirational rock that aids in prophesy, visualization and the remembrance of dreams! Kismet!

Here are a few descriptions of the prehnite (prehinite, prehenite, alt sp?) that I found online, though neither of these are nearly as good as the mystical one in the book at the Well.

From CrystalsandJewelry.com:

Prehnite is a very protective stone and can protect one on all levels. It strengthens the life force and generally increases and stimulates energy [. . .]. It aids spirit communication through meditation or visualization, out-of-body travel, and is a powerful dream stone. Prehnite is also known as a stone of prophesy which stimulates inner-knowing. Physically, prehnite is helpful in the healing of gout, anemia, and kidney problems.

Although I don't have the conditions listed here, my thyroid needs all the energy-boosting help it can get.

From Neatstuff.net:

PREHNITE (zeolite) Metaphysical Properties- 4th and 6th chakras. [Huh?] Prehnite used to multiply energy, good for using in crystal grids. [. . .] Some like to call Prehnite 'prophecy stones' for they give one the ability to see into the future. This is a good choice to use in dream work, it allows you to not only remember your dreams, but it also will inspire you to remember long ago thoughts which may be helpful in personal growth. Also inspires one in every aspect of life.

Numerology- Vibrates to the number 7. [(Huh?) x 2]

Gemological Properties- Zeolites are a popular group of minerals for collectors and an important group of minerals for industrial and healing purposes. [. . .] Typically forming in the cavities, or vesicles, of volcanic rocks "basalt", zeolites are the result of very low grade metamorphism. Some form from just subtle amounts of heat and pressure and can just barely be called metamorphic while others are found in obviously metamorphic regimes. [(Huh?) x 3] Zeolite crystals have been grown on board the space shuttle and are undergoing extensive research into their formation and unique properties. An example of the most common zeolites include: Prehnite, apophyllite, gyrolite, okenite, natrolite. Heulandite, Chabazite. Mesolite, and Stilbite.

In sum, I've now got my little alien spider muse sitting near my computer (and a really cool Optical Calcite cut into a rhombohedron for more visual aid), percolating ideas, getting me ready to put my hand back to yarn spindle, and even keeping me awake at work. I'm jazzed! If you're strolling around Lake Merritt, I highly recommend stopping by The Sacred Well right across Grand Avenue. As their slogan says: Magic happens every day.

*Going to see Sunset Rubdown play tomorrow night and intend to make it there on time so that I might actually see the show, unlike last time! This song is from their new album called Random Spirit Lover.