This year poses new hurdles for the holidays - a year filled with circumstances we have never had to deal with before, the pressures of the holidays might feel more daunting than ever before! {insert deep breath} Plenty of us have had to restructure our whole entire lives, but this isn’t the time to get down, but instead lend a hand; not only to your inner circle but to those around you. Send that snail mail letter or extra thoughtful text message with lots of love, donate food to a local shelter, do a distance food exchange, donate where necessary, rethink traveling, shop small as much as possible... those little act of kindness go a long way. A great reminder for yourself as well, to set up boundaries and to be kind to yourself. Navigating a whole new terrain on how to celebrate mindfully and safely can be stressful and anxiety ridden. So, to lend that hand ourselves, we wanted to alleviate some of the pressure of needing to get creative for this holiday season by brainstorming with you. These guides, not only serve as gift guides, but also ideas of activities to do with your friends or even on your own! As we dive into stricter quarantines (heck, the winter season in general as we all hermit indoors), it doesn’t hurt to start a list of activities when life gets heavy (and yes! I mean a literal list! This tiny hack helps lift some of that pressure of making decisions and create a reminder of fun things you were looking forward to!) - Remember to take some time to appreciate nature and the outdoor, even if it’s too cold! Just a simple walk or break from social media can do wonders on the brain. Dive into something new? Learn a new craft? Tune in for some virtual classes? We listed some great new books (heck maybe even start a book club) and will be offering more and more as we continue towards the solstice. Until then, here is our gift guide for this years Holiday Season:
Have a gardener, green witch, herbalist in your life? Here is a quick Gift Bundle for this Gardener Guide! We saw ourselves a lot in this guide - especially going into winter, you have to send some extra love to those gardeners in your life. Pandemic has shown a huge increase of plant sales, which is a great new hobby to pick up whether outdoor plants or indoor! And heck, if there isn’t a jungle in your living room right now, then you are missing out on true love. That being said, new hobbyists and old alike would greatly appreciate Tyler Thrashers Grown a Damn Journal. Just a good way to document how your plants are doing and keep up with new techniques, whats working and whats not (for sure my plans over winter holidays to document all my plant babes!) And for those who want to learn more about the spirit behind their plants, herbs, and medicine - For Strange Womens Spirit of Botany (available in store) is a fantastic read or even using the Flower Essence Deck as a guide and learning tool! Here are some other gift ideas we brainstormed:
Framed Asterope Butterfly and Peanut Moth: Oracle's signature framed specimen are a perennial favorite! Double glass shadow box allows both sides to be studied and admired. $68-100
Natural Incense: Indulge in the luxurious natural scents of plants with Palo Santo sticks or Olive Leaf bundles. $4 each
Grow a Damn Plant Journal by Tyler Thrasher: Give the gardener in your life this beautiful journal to track plant care and plan for the next growing season! $33
Plant Ally Talismans: Small and sweet set of 10 cards featuring plant drawings and inspirational poems tucked into a hand-stamped brown paper sleeve. $12
Enamel Moth Pin: Beautiful California Dogface Butterfly pin by Adele Designs. $12
Flower Essences Decks: Volumes I and II. These oracle decks for working with flower essences by Patricia Kaminski feature drawings of each specimen as well as patterns of balance and imbalance for each. $28 each
As we were putting together this Guide For the Night Owl, we were thinking of cozy evenings with large warm blankets, candle lighting, and a good book with a soothing cup of warm tea. There’s so much more to the Night Owl, too. It’s the friend who loves a good movie night or coffee dates filled with lots of memorable chats and laughs. Maybe coordinate a zoom call over a cup of Witches Brew? Host your own Open Circle and dress some candles together? Some of what we thought fit the bill:
Candle Snuffer: Gently extinguish your candles with a traditional candle snuffer. $8
Mint + Coco Tea by Aesthete: Warm and nourish yourself with a cup of herbal tea from this empowering woman run business with folk medicine and ethical acquisition in mind. (*also available in 4 more varieties) $13
Twin Flame Ritual Candles: These 100% beeswax tapers give off a warm glow with a gentle honey scent. Created by Alysia Mazzella using the traditional technique of hand dipping. 2 pairs. $27 / Simple Hand Dipped Candles also available
Cast Iron Cauldron: Sturdy cast iron lidded tripod pot. Perfect for practical use and lovely enough for decoration. May be used as a storage container, incense burner, or miniature cauldron. 6” diameter $55 / 5. Incense: Instantly set the atmosphere with natural incense. Oracle Loose Blend (sage, palo santo, rose petal, juniper), Olive Leaf Smudge Bundle, and Rosemary Smudge Bundles. $4 each /
Background: Natural White Rabbit Pelt: $36
*Plan a little Cozy Evening Date or Indulge your Night Owl with this Gift Bundle!
Not only can For the Geologist be for the collector and the gem hound, but also the person in your life deeply connected to nature and the earth. Do they have all the gems? Love to chat about all the metaphysical properties of each specimen? Love learning about the science behind the magic? Maybe coordinate a little kit of things to aid their gem collections! We put together a kit (Gift Bundle for the spirit that has it all!) that might help or send them down a rabbit hole by tuning into our Mineral Chats on our IG live. Here’s some ideas we thought might help:
Quartz Lamp or Rose Quartz Lamp: $80-$150
Crystal Oracle Deck: Colorful 54-card deck by Species by the Thousands. Draw a card to see what crystal energy you are being called too. $28
Aragonite Crystals Bundle: Features two different aragonite specimen and helpful information on the scientific and energetic qualities. Selenite is included to cleanse and the bay leaves can be used to set your intentions with the stones in meditation. Comes in a pocket-sized pouch. $28
Crystal Clearing Mist: Made of 100% organic and wild crafted essential oils this spray by Species by the Thousands is ideal to clear objects and spaces of unwanted energy. $23
Worry Stones: a variety of different specimens, these worry stones are great pocket or fidget stones or loose stones available in shop
Quartz Points & Specimen Jars: in shop availabilities or request by invoice - email us for more details! oraclenaturalscience@gmail.com
Crystalized Specimens by Tyler Thrasher: Show-stopping art piece by renowned artist Tyler Thrasher combining molecular geometry and crystalline structures with organic surfaces as an homage to ancient and esoteric alchemy. (local pick-up only, no shipping) $500
Fluorite: Beautiful large green cubic crystal specimen. Fluorite is associated with clarity, focus, alignment, and creativity. $120
And for a little bit of everything Consider a Crystal Lovers Gift Set!
The Oracle may be a daunting person to buy for but honestly probably the most fun if you just listen to that gut instinct! There’s always some good protection stone and spells to guide your friend on their journey. But if this being also enjoys the mystics and learning something new, we have so many new books to choose from and fun tutorials on our blog… that might just spark a fun (maybe mischievous) evening, but what’s fun anyways without a little mayhem and new tricks? Consider a tarot night or making your own bone reading bag? Map our your charts together with some guides to astrology or other fun gifts like:
Plantable Note Card Set: Not only are these great gifts on their own, but watch magic grow with these seed embedded grow kits. $5-29
Turkey Claw or other: Ethically sourced claws for protection and conjuring $38-50
For Strange Women Lip Balm: Scents like Baba Yaga and Datura Flower, find the magic in essences and poison plants
Book Club: Find a bunch of new editions and more on our website like Magic, a History $40 or The Armchair Tarot Reader: Simple and practical guide to reading Tarot for the at-home reader. $10 We are especially excited for the, Bird Kin Messages Oracle Deck, which comes with a guide booklet. This is the best option for people who have ever wanted to work with bird spirits and honor the Migratory Bird Act, $40
Starter Bone Reading Bag with Astragalus Bones: Astragalus Bones, also the talus bones, were used for making dice and were believed to hold strong energy - which is why they were used for shagai or fortune telling games. Use this kit as a beginning foundation for your own bone bag, rune bag, bone reading bag, or dice making kit. Especially fun as they are attached to such interesting medieval history. $16
Silk Scarf by Adele Designs: Luxurious white and gold silk bandana featuring moon phases, flowers, and mystic moth designs. Perfect for wrapping and storing divination tools or for wearing! $35
Oracle Malocchio: Italian for evil eyes, a talisman of protecting yourself from not only ill will from others but also a reminder to keep yourself grounded and in-check from negative thoughts $15
Single Candles or Candle bundle: 3 for $1 or bundle for $20
The Scientist is all of us at Oracle - the person who covets the cabinet or curiosities but also is mystified by the beauties of nature: it must be magic. That’s why “science is magic” is our favorite philosophy at the studio. There are a few fun things we forgot to add to this gift guide, like our new science game called Ecologies Card Game: by Matthew Montrose, which is not only a fun multi player game but also a fun way to learn about different ecologies in nature. If having to celebrate social distance style, consider going on a nature hike and creating a bingo card! Bring tools along to investigate specimens or a native Missouri birders card and see how many winter creatures and plants you can spot! Other great gifts are jewelry inspired naturalists like work by Dreamwings or Prairie Thistle Design. But nothing can beat helping this magpie finding the beauty in specimens like:
Asymmetrical Goat Skull: Unique skull of a goat with horn pathology. $120
Bobcat Skull: 75 and other Osteological Collectables
Specimen Vials: variety of small bone and paw specimens ranging from $4-$18
Framed Specimens and Bug Kits: Great activity for groups or watch tutorials on our IG live under Bug Club ranging from $25-up
Freeze Dried Specimens and Paws and Taxidermy
Aura Quartz: This fascinating specimen in a perfect combination of science meets magic - electroplated to create this fascinating specimen $45 (not to mention, bismuth also fits the bill as a natural specimen which looks completely alien!)
Articulated Skeleton Bee Eater: $93 or Squirrel: $210
Jaw bones and other specimens great for filling in those empty spots in any curio cabinet
Have a naturalist in your life? Here’s a little Gift Bundle to explore the magic of the natural world
We really hope this helps and even if not, it would help us to re-share this guide, comment, or even give us ideas for this holiday season! What are things you want to hear from us? What are your plans this winter solstice? Things may feel bleak but we can do this together - Stay tuned for some other small businesses we plan on supporting this year and thank you again reading and joining us on this gift guide journey.
- xo Oracle