Notes on writing, stones, and the five elements

Practical guides to journaling, the five writing perspectives, and the natural stones behind each journal.

Latest notes

Four ceramic dishes holding malachite, red jasper, tiger's eye and clear quartz on linen, with a fifth dish left empty in the light

Missing or Weak Element in Your Birth Chart: What It Means (and What It Doesn't)

Your chart shows no Fire, or only a little Water. Most charts are missing something. Here's why that's...

Missing or Weak Element in Your Birth Chart: What It Means (and What It Doesn't)

Your chart shows no Fire, or only a little Water. Most charts are missing something. Here's why that's...

The Ember Journal open to its red Fire perspective page, beside printed pages titled A Quiet Way to Begin and Five Perspectives for the Page

Five Elements vs. the Four Elements of Western Astrology

Fire, Earth, Air and Water on one side. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water on the other. Here's...

Five Elements vs. the Four Elements of Western Astrology

Fire, Earth, Air and Water on one side. Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water on the other. Here's...

Oil painting of five raw gemstones in a row on a pale limestone ledge, lit by soft daylight: malachite, red jasper, tiger's eye, clear quartz and aquamarine.

What Element Am I? Your Birth-Year Element vs. Your Full Birth Chart

Find your element from your birth year in about ten seconds. Then see why your full birth chart...

What Element Am I? Your Birth-Year Element vs. Your Full Birth Chart

Find your element from your birth year in about ten seconds. Then see why your full birth chart...

Five Orileva leather journals laid out together: Luminous with clear quartz, Verdant with malachite, Ember with red jasper, Grounded with tiger's eye, and Tidal with aquamarine.

The Five Elements, Explained for Beginners

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, explained in plain English: what each one means, how they feed and...

The Five Elements, Explained for Beginners

Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water, explained in plain English: what each one means, how they feed and...

A beam of light with a rainbow edge falling across the clear quartz inlay on The Luminous Journal

When the Change Is Done and You Still Don't Feel Settled

The move is finished, but you’re still finding out how it feels to live here. On missing a...

When the Change Is Done and You Still Don't Feel Settled

The move is finished, but you’re still finding out how it feels to live here. On missing a...

The Luminous Journal resting on its ivory gift box

Journaling for Clarity When You Keep Turning a Question Over

You’ve checked the course timetable again, but that isn’t the part you’re unsure about. An imagined journal entry...

Journaling for Clarity When You Keep Turning a Question Over

You’ve checked the course timetable again, but that isn’t the part you’re unsure about. An imagined journal entry...