Bard of the Month: Emily the Crystal Keeper
- Rabbit and Wolf Divination
- Nov 19, 2020
- 11 min read
Welcome to Bard of the Month! In Druidic tradition, some of the deepest truths are found through the art of the arts. To celebrate this ancient means of enlightenment and it's continued importance to the human spirit in the modern world, we will be meeting one esoteric artist each month on the 19th.
This month's artist is Emily! Professionally, she is a website designer, but she is most importantly a special soul who creates spiritual paintings, sigils, and other energy based works, in addition to reading tarot and working other esoteric studies. Faced with various adversities like many of us, she is a very friendly, optimistic, and wonderful person, and I am very excited to be able to introduce you all to her art and craft.
Don't forget to check out Emily on social media and YouTube if you like his vibe and are interested in seeing more of her craft in action! The links can all be found below.
If you are interested in becoming a part of this project, and are an artist attempting to make a name for yourself with your artistic creations and discoveries, please email me: rabbitandwolfdivination@gmail.com with the subject "Bard of the Month Submission." Include a brief synopsis of your art, and how you use it to deepen your connect to and understanding of spirit, as well as any relevant links you may have in relation to your work, such as social media accounts or articles.
An interview with...
Name: Emily Hawkins
Social Media Links:
Preferred Pronouns: She/her and they/them
Age: 21
Location: Central Massachusetts
Profession: Freelance website designer
Spiritual Practice: Eclectic witchcraft with a focus on spellwork, spirit work & energy work
Type of Art Made: Intuitive paintings (such as depictions of past life experiences, energies or auras), custom talismans, besoms and other magickal goodies!
Years of Bardic Experience: I've been making art all my life! I started selling prints of my art in 2018 but recently switched to a third party printing service.
1. Tell us a little bit about yourself to start off with!
Firstly I just wanted to say thank you so much for interviewing me! I love your blog and Instagram page.
My name is Emily Hawkins. I'm 21 years old (Gemini sun, Virgo rising, Sagittarius moon!), and I'm a queer & disabled artist and spiritualist. Art and spirituality have always been major parts of my life. I have struggled with PTSD, anxiety, and bipolar disorder from a young age. I was also born with a genetic condition known as Hypermobile Ehlers-Danlos syndrome. This condition causes constant pain and fatigue, so art and spirituality have provided me with an irreplaceable escape.
I had numerous spiritual experiences from the ages of about 7 through 14, mostly negative, and eventually decided I was finished with all of it. At 17, I had another major negative spiritual experience and decided I needed to take control of the situation. Thatās when I began to have more positive and diverse spiritual experiences that made me feel comfortable embracing that part of myself and improving the skills I knew deep down I possessed.
About a year ago, I underwent a new mental health treatment called dTMS (deep transcranial magnetic stimulation) and it was an essential part of my healing journey. Since finishing treatment, I've been able to fully embrace my spirituality and embark on a deep healing journey since then. It's been my greatest pleasure to share the fruits of this journey with others!
2. Can you tell us more about your art? What sort of styles you use or have used, and how long youāve been making it?
I have always considered myself to be creative, but for most of my life, my art didn't really feel like art to me. I used to do mostly anatomy sketches, mandalas, digital art and flower paintings in watercolor, ink, acrylic & digital mediums. It's hard to describe, but this type of art felt a little superficial to me. I knew it wasn't bringing me as much joy and fulfillment as it could.
Part of the reason was that I was too focused on perfection, and what I thought other people wanted. I never felt particularly invested in my own work, and didn't have strong emotions about it one way or another. I didn't understand how to truly express myself through art, how to make art that brought me pleasure, how to create something truly unique and true to myself. I spent years trying out different types of art, but nothing felt right for me.
When I first tried out wire wrapping about a year ago, I was sure it'd be the right thing - I loved the feeling of warming up the wire in my hands, and I liked the creations I came up with, but that wasn't right either. That's when I asked Spirit: how can I make my art feel like art?
It wasn't long after that that I discovered witchcraft, and really started to delve into spiritual art! Since then, my connection to my artwork and my spirituality has really blossomed.
3. How are art and spirituality combined in your practice?
One of the main areas in which spirituality comes into play is my paintings. I used to always paint tangible, physical subjects, like flowers or landscapes. Now, I've learned how to paint emotions, auras and energies.
Certain things cannot be communicated with words, and I've always struggled to find an outlet to express those things, especially since I stopped running from my spirituality. My spiritual re-awakening a couple of years ago brought up some confusing and intense emotions that I really struggled to understand. A more abstract and intuitive style of painting has relieved both the pressure to find inspiration and the pressure to be perfect. It's allowed me to understand the deepest crevices of my soul's cumulative experiences in a new way. I see what I want to create in my mind's eye and allow it to flow through me freely! It's so cathartic to be able to express myself when words fail to do so.
4. Can you name some ways or examples of how working with art has improved your experience or understanding of spirituality and metaphysical theory?
My art has provided me a fantastic opportunity to exercise my intuition. I used to constantly struggle to find inspiration, and I'd fuss so much with my work, never knowing when to stop. Now, I simply ask Spirit for guidance and allow the images, colors and sensations to flow through me and onto the canvas. It removes so much strain from my creative process and truly, finally feels like art!
The art that I create now is a reflection of the energies that surround me and it allows me to deepen my connection to and understanding of those energies. This has made me a more skilled and experienced light-worker and spiritualist. It has contributed greatly to my spiritual healing journey.
It's also helped me to deepen my connection to my spirit guides and the deities I work with, such as Kali-Ma, Archangel Michael and Archangel Gabriel. By asking Them for inspiration in my art, I can better understand Them and the nature of Their souls. I can also honor Them and show my respect for Them by providing offerings in this way. It allows Them to communicate something to me that is inexpressible with words.
5. Do you have any rituals or spiritual preparation practices that you use to help you create art?
Often, when I am deep in meditation, I see extremely vivid images in my mind's eye. All of my intuitive paintings, whether they are for myself or for someone else, require entering a meditative state first - a liminal space where I exit my physical body, so that I can perceive numerous highly detailed visuals.
Sometimes, I will also listen to classical music during meditations. Certain combinations of notes trigger profound emotions or past life memories that are impossible for me to describe with words, but which produce vibrant colors and patterns in my mind's eye.
These rituals and practices give me all the inspiration I need to create deeply meaningful and cathartic spiritual artwork!
6. What do you think is your most spiritually profound or meaningful work, to you or the viewer, and why?
I think my most spiritually profound work is a set of two paintings called "The Great Battle" and "The Great Rebirth." These paintings were a result of a past life regression meditation aided by classical music. These are the oldest memories I have been able to access so far.
I don't fully understand them, because I allowed the artwork to simply flow through me without trying to understand or analyze it. The memories came in flashes and were challenging to piece together, but I've spent much time reflecting on them and I think I have some idea what they are about.
"The Great Battle" was created first, and you can see by my use of color, and in the shapes of my brushstrokes (painting is featured below), the intense emotions that I was unleashing at the time. This is my best guess using my intuition: "The Great Battle" depicts a battle that did not take place in the physical realm as we understand it today, but rather an energetic realm.
I think it may have even taken place before the Big Bang, but of course I have no way to be certain. It was a battle of the most epic proportions and consequences imaginable. The painting depicts a battlefield engulfed in flames and chaos. Large God-like figures dominate the top of the painting, while many small human-like figures are being cast down to what I believe is Earth. To me, [this painting has] a powerful energy of separation, almost like a fall from paradise.
That memory was followed by a long period of darkness. When the darkness lifted, I saw the scene that is depicted in "The Great Rebirth."
The energy of this painting is totally opposite to the energy of "The Great Battle." I believe it is the earthly resurrection of the souls who were cast down from the Great Battle. The plants and animals I saw were not like anything we have on Earth today - they appeared to be prehistoric. Again, the use of color and the shape of the brushstrokes help to communicate the energy of a deeply serene re-awakening under the cover of a prehistoric ocean. The spirals represent the souls ascending and reaching towards the sun.
7. How do you feel that art and spirituality have helped you through your personal health struggles?
Entering a meditative state allows me to temporarily exit my mind & body in a safe way. I used to live in a constant state of dissociation because I couldn't handle the pain of being present in my mind & body. Now, I am in control of when I leave, and when I am present. Being fully aware of the sensations within the mind and body have been absolutely essential for developing my intuition.
As a trauma survivor, I can now use my art and my spirituality as tools to work through deep emotional wounds. Both therapy and my spiritual practice have taught me to observe my thoughts and emotions rather than identifying with them, which has really helped me to cope with anxiety and bipolar disorder. Using art to express myself is a great way to connect with my inner child & shadow self, as well as with my past lives.
I used to suffer from "empathy attacks" where I would feel extremely heavy grief for reasons I didn't quite understand. Now I understand that it is not my duty as an empath to relive the pain of my past lives, or to feel the pain of others. It is enough to give voice to this pain through my art and my spiritual practice, and it is enough to know that I'm doing everything I can to make this world a better place. I can't go back and change what happened in the past, but I'm more in control of what happens now.
8. You have recently launched a new project involving sigils! Tell us a bit more about that?
Yes! I'm so excited about the process I've developed for these talismans. Sigils can be created through many different methods. I chose a more traditional and basic method, which is to choose an intention, transform it into a present-tense phrase, delete the vowels and the duplicate letters, and create a design from the letters that are left. Anyone can do this - give it a try, it's fun! Once I've created the sigil, it acts as the bones of the final design.
What's unique and particularly fulfilling about this project is the intuitive process that takes over from there. I allow Spirit to guide me in a process of sacred geometry. It's probably a little different from what most people would consider sacred geometry, but I call it that because I never know what the final design will look like; I simply allow the shapes to flow through me and it always works out in the end. There are always symmetrical or repeating patterns and I notice that the intentions really influence the types of shapes I end up creating. It's so fun witnessing an ugly jumble of letters (admittedly I'm not very good at the actual sigil part, LOL) transform into a beautiful design.
The letters from the sigil are always included within the final design, so the owner of the talisman can spend time meditating with it and searching for the letters within the design (pictures included below).
9. You have an AMAZING collection of crystals! How many do you have, and what are some of your favorites?
Thank you! I honestly don't think I could count them all, because I have them in literally every corner of my apartment and inside every purse, LOL.
Many of them are from my childhood, and I've gotten a lot through trades or as gifts. I am so grateful for all my crystal babies,and I don't want to offend them by picking favoritesā¦ But my favorite crystals to work with in my practice are rose quartz, labradorite, and larimar.
I use the rose quartz to facilitate feelings of love, serenity, comfort, and safety. Rose quartz is a great conduit for Universal Divine Light Energy. Labradorite helps connect me to Spirit and aids with divination by thinning the veil between the physical and energetic realms. Larimar drains and transforms toxic energy that I've accumulated during and after a healing session so that I can recover more quickly. There are so many others that I use, but those are the main ones!
I also create personalized crystal arrangements for various purposes in my spiritual practice. For example, when I'm doing an aura reading, I'll pick out all the crystals that I feel drawn to for that person, and send them a picture of what I choose! For a healing session, I often ask Spirit which stones will be the most helpful for the client's concerns, and use those stones during the session. I have also asked Spirit guides for guidance to help me put custom crystal kits together for friends using crystals from my personal collection.
10. In what direction or path are you hoping your art and spiritual work move in next?
Healing myself and others, as well as educating others on how to do that [for themselves], are top priorities for my practice right now. As a healer, I feel it's really important to be honest and open about my own struggles and my own healing journey. For that reason, one of my current goals is to push out of my comfort zone and be more authentic on my online platforms.
I know that I've been guilty of putting other healers on a pedestal before, so I want people to know that I'm very far from being the perfect healer. I've gone through so much to get to where I am today, but the healing journey never stops.
I'm planning on sharing more personal growth and struggle stories on my Instagram page. When it comes to working with energy, spirits, and witchcraft, I've had so many experiences throughout my life that have taught me so many lessons and brought me so much healing. I'm not an expert by any means, and I consider myself an eternal student, but I'll be placing more focus on my Patreon, because I believe the information I have to share is really valuable! Especially for those who know they have the potential to heal themselves and others, but don't know where to start.
I'll also be discussing spirit work more in-depth on my Patreon with an emphasis on safe spirit work practices, since it can be extremely risky. Many spirit workers end up abandoning the work because of terrifying experiences, and I totally understand that because I've had some truly terrifying experiences myself. I hope to clear up some of that fear and confusion surrounding spirit work so that people feel more safe and empowered to work with spirits. The goal is for my Patreon to act as a safe spirit work toolkit - it is my hope that others can learn from the mistakes I've made! There is no such thing as risk-free spirit work in my opinion, but there are many ways to reduce the risk of negative experiences.
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