Kathleen Borealis

Helping humankind live with the earth not against it

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Borealis Meditation S04E18 – The End of Season 4

July 11, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Sorry to say it but I really need a break. This is the end of season 4. I will be back with another season when I can but right now I just need to step back and take some time for myself.

I will still be around on socials so make sure to follow me on
Instagram: Katborealis
Twitter: Katborealis

And send me an email or a DM anywhere for access to the Discord server

If you would like to help cover the hosting costs for the podcast and website I also have a Ko-fi set up!

Be safe and I’ll talk to you soon!

Borealis Meditation – S04E17 Working with Crystals with Nicholas Pearson

May 1, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Listen to the podcast here:

Join me as I chat with Nicholas Pearson about working with crystals, trends in the crystal industry, why quartz pebbles are the best, and talking about licking rocks. We get into if you need to cleanse and charge your crystals and a whole bunch more! Curious enough yet? Good. This was a lot of fun!

Catch up with Nicholas Pearson all over the web!
Instagram HERE
Twitter HERE
facebook HERE
Tiktok HERE
Website HERE

Books! Author Page
Crystal Basics (from the publisher)

Follow me on the web
Instagram HERE
Twitter HERE
Ko-fi HERE

A little Update March 2021

March 26, 2021 /

Hello My Wonderful Reader and Listeners,

I wanted to give you a bit of an update. I have had a bit of a good run getting podcast episodes out. But if you have followed me for a while you know this is a bit unusual. Because of COVID in 2020 my normal work travel stopped allowing me to get more content out. I have been working on a series on crystals and so far we have talked about the difference between crystals, minerals, and rocks, how to identify minerals, and how they get color. We have also talked about the ethics involved in buying crystals.

At this point I would like to focus my time on getting some resources together for crystals including researching some purchasing options. I have also done several podcast appearances which can be found under the podcast tab on my page. I have also been doing some peer review work for a few authors and I am super excited about some of the new books coming out.

The current plan is to try and get a few short posts/infographics done for the crystal ethics section since that is something I get asked a lot. I am an auditory learner so that is why I gravitated towards podcasting but I know not everyone is. I wanted to make sure the information is available for everyone.

We will be finishing out the crystals series with an episode on safety and care, and finally using crystals. For that we are going to talk about some theories and what that implies in terms of good places to source your materials in an ethical way. Then I want to talk about rocks!

I am also working to try and add more climate focused work into my social media feeds. If you have known me for a while you may know that I have trouble with this topic (and have been known to have to leave talks at conferences because I couldn’t hold back tears). But I know it is also important as an outreach person to engage in this topic.

This is a one woman shop so if anyone has experience with infographic design and would like to help out I would greatly appreciate it! Please shoot me an email borealis (dot) meditation (at) gmail (dot) com.

2021 Should be a year with a lot of change for me. No matter what I will be leaving SE Asia this year. Fingers and toes crossed it will be to New Zealand since I have already accepted a PhD position but with COVID everything has been unknown. I usually take some time when I move to get settled before starting the podcasting back up so I would like to get as much done as possible before then.

If you would like to support the hosting of the podcast I made a ko-fi you can contribute to as well.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful support over the years! This podcast has truly been my heartfelt thanks to the community for being my secret weapon helping me through my career and you mean the world to me.

Much love,

Kat

3-11 the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami – 10 years later

March 11, 2021 / / 0 Comments

10 years ago a M9 rocked Japan. At that point I felt like the 2004 Sumatra earthquake and tsunami was going to my “big one”. I remember going to a meeting at school where everyone brought all the data they had run. I remember being in awe of how many buildings were able to stand up to the shaking of the earthquake. I remember my Mom calling to tell me to not be excited.

But also I remember talking about it on episode 11. I find it hard to listen to myself from that long ago so instead I wanted to tell you what I have learned in the 10 years since this event. (My archive can be found here)

We CAN build for large earthquakes. This was my biggest lesson. After Haiti in 2010 which was a M7 it was a big lesson for me. The different between a M7 and M9 is 100 times larger and 1000 times stronger. After Tohoku my advisor said something that stuck with me “earthquakes don’t kill people, buildings kill people” and we saw this play out again in L’Aquila.

Early Warning systems and community education is important. Japan has invested in its early warning system. It has phone alerts, sirens and the most amazing geophysical network of sensors. That combined with the education of the population lead to video after video of people safely evacuating by going up in buildings or on hills. The US STILL doesn’t have even close to what Japan has.

Some misinformation just sticks around. This fucking map is the god damn tsunami model and not a fucking “radiation from Fukushima” map. I will slap you if you. Period. Your seafood in the eastern Pacific is FINE.

This is a model of tsunami wave height in the Pacific produced for the 3-11 Tohoku 2011 earthquake. THIS IS NOT A MAP OF “RADIATION” if you share this map as “radiation” you are dead to me. I am so sick of seeing it!

The videos continue to fascinate me. Last year my husband and I discovered a trove of videos of the tsunami and couldn’t stop watching them. We “know” what tsunami waves look like and how they work but watching them in action was something else entirely.

Information travels faster than waves of any kind. The information wave about the earthquake and tsunami traveled faster than any of the physical waves. Enough so that several colleagues were able to set up extra sensors in order to capture it around the globe.

Know your hazards! If you live on the coast and you feel strong shaking that lasts for more than a few seconds evacuate up hill. Be safe.

Here are some of the videos (to the best of my memory these don’t contain the images of any victims however they may be upsetting to watch):

This video shows the progression as the wave comes inland from something “I could totally walk through” to buildings being ripped up. Tsunami waves are not regular waves. Evacuate.
This video shows how the walls being designed for a smaller event were so close and yet so far from being able to hold the water back.
This video shows just how long the intense shaking is for these “Great” earthquakes. Incredible footage

Borealis Meditation – S04E16 – Being an Ethical Crystal Consumer

February 21, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Listen to the Episode here: 


This is part 2 of a two part episode on being a responsible crystal consumer. See part 1 here: Crystal Ethics – Extraction In this episode we talk about the supply chain post extraction.
To review these are my crystals series episodes: 

Two articles Mentioned:

Guests appearing in this episode: 
Yinan Wang, mineral seller
Find him on Twitter (where you can contact him for mineral requests) 
Patreon – Where he has a mineral of the month club (US only)
He has two Books: 50 State Gems and minerals and 50 state fossils. 
Shop his Etsy and Ebay

Nicholas Pearson is an author and teaches workshops on crystal healing. 
Find him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
Make sure to check out his Website where you can find all of his books

Fire Lyte is a fellow pagan podcaster 
Show: Inciting a Riot 
Upcoming book “The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft: Seeking an Intentional Magical Path”  is available for preorder now 
You can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
Also support his work on Patreon

Phoenix LeFae is the owner of Milk and Honey in Sebastopol CA 
Shop Website
Find her online on Twitter, and support on Patreon
New book with Gwion Raven Life Ritualized, a witches guide to honoring life’s important moments

Althaea Sebastiani is a witch, author, community leader, and independent prospector
Find out more information on her Website including her wonderful classes
Support her on Patreon
I highly recommend her books By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn: The theory and Practice of Effective Home Warding and Paganism for Beginners the complete guide to Nature Based spirituality for every new seeker
Follow online on Twitter and Instagram

Robyn Valentine is an author, online shop owner, and podcaster
Shop website
Per order her new Book: Magikal Tarot: spreads spellwork and rituals for creating your life
Listen to the Podcast
Follow on Twitter and Instagram

Devin Hunter is an author, podcaster, and works for the shop The Mystic Dream.
Shop website personal website shop
Personal Website
Books
Listen to his Podcast
Follow on Twitter and Instagram

Borealis Meditation – S04E15 Crystal Ethics – Extraction

February 17, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Listen to the Episode here: 

This is part 1 of a two part series on being a responsible crystal consumer. In this episode we talk about the extraction side of the supply chain. 
To review these are my crystals series episodes: 

Music played with Permission:
S.J. Tucker – Wild Times can be purchased through Bandcamp
Keep up to date with S.J. Tucker’s online website & twitter
Next Online show March 19 Tickets available soon through “online concert thing”

Guests appearing in this episode: 
Yinan Wang, mineral seller
Find him on Twitter (where you can contact him for mineral requests) 
Patreon – Where he has a mineral of the month club (US only)
He has two Books: 50 State Gems and minerals and 50 state fossils. 
Shop his Etsy and Ebay 

Nicholas Pearson is an author and teaches workshops on crystal healing. 
Find him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
Make sure to check out his Website where you can find all of his books

Fire Lyte is a fellow pagan podcaster 
Show: Inciting a Riot 
Upcoming book “The Dabbler’s Guide to Witchcraft: Seeking an Intentional Magical Path”  is available for preorder now 
You can also follow him on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram
Also support his work on Patreon 

Phoenix LeFae is the owner of Milk and Honey in Sebastopol CA 
Shop Website 
Find her online on Twitter, and support on Patreon 
New book with Gwion Raven Life Ritualized, a witches guide to honoring life’s important moments

Althaea Sebastiani is a witch, author, community leader, and independent prospector
Find out more information on her Website including her wonderful classes
Support her on Patreon
I highly recommend her books By Rust of Nail & Prick of Thorn: The theory and Practice of Effective Home Warding and Paganism for Beginners the complete guide to Nature Based spirituality for every new seeker 
Follow online on Twitter and Instagram

Robyn Valentine is an author, online shop owner, and podcaster
Shop website 
Per order her new Book: Magikal Tarot: spreads spellwork and rituals for creating your life
Listen to the Podcast 
Follow on Twitter and Instagram

#WitchesWearMasks

January 12, 2021 / / 0 Comments

If you don’t already know I am currently located in SE Asia. Singapore to be exact. Have you seen our COVID numbers? They are pretty damn good. However, we are still wearing masks. My COVID reality is vastly different from the majority of pagan twitter/instagram. Here we are all wearing masks all the time. We have limited social gathering sizes even though we have zero community transmission most days. A lot of the reality of COVID life here is something that would not fly in the US for example. Sometimes honestly I have serious cognitive dissonance with the lack of freedoms I have here. However, I can see how it has worked in controlling an outbreak like COVID-19.

But about that #hashtag. I have been seeing more and more friends and online acquaintances sick and with friends and loved ones who are sick. This has been heartbreaking to watch. I have also watched in horror as the anti-mask/anti-science movement has grown. I started using this hashtag in December to try and spread a positive example. Even if everyone around you is being an IDIOT you are not alone in wearing a mask. Seeing everyone masked up has been so uplifting.

We have several different “myths” around the term “witches” in the west. One of them is that of the village healer or wise woman. So in channeling that, yes witches are those who care for their community so of course witches wear masks. The mask protects the wearing but actually it is more designed to protect everyone around you.

Wear a mask.
Protect yourself.
Protect others.
Show support to healthcare workers
Show our vulnerable community members you will protect them
Show our mourning and grieving community members you take it seriously

It is something so simple and really not that much of a hardship. Just wear a mask every single time you leave the house.

Also show your fabulous style with those amazing masks. Keep sharing them and keep tagging them and I will keep sharing them so we can show we have eachothers backs. This pandemic didn’t have to get so out of control but it did.

Take it seriously.
#WitchesWearMasks twitter/instagram

Making a Your Own Wheel of the Year

January 4, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Well, we did it. The clock has rolled over and it is now 2021. At least on a western calendar. The near year for the Chinese Lunar calendar isn’t until February 12th, in Nepal the New Year’s day for 2077 is 14th April. All of this is to say that time just… is! And calendars are human constructs. So, make your own! 

I thought this would be a good time to reshare an older episode on making your own calendar. 

I started a worksheet after I started working on my calendar this year. Hope it helps! 

P.S. If you are good at design and wanted to help with my handouts and worksheets I would love to hear from you!

Borealis Meditation – S04E13 Mineral Identification

December 1, 2020 / / 0 Comments

Listen to the episode here:

In this episode we go over the main parameters used to identify different minerals. These would be:

  • visual
    • color
    • luster
    • mineral form
    • streak color
  • physical properties
    • hardness
    • density or specific gravity,
  • mineral structure related
    • cleavage
    • fracture
  • other identifying characteristics
    • taste
    • smell
    • magnetism
    • fluorescence
    • radioactivity
    • reactivity

Music in this episode was played by permission and is by Aazav and SJ Tucker

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