Crystal Aura Gaze

I have so many hobbies and passions that it’s hard to keep track sometimes… so I made a list! This is in no particular order…

Writing: blogging, horoscopes, short stories, novels, and journaling.

Writing is a great passion of mine — as you can see from my entire blog. Blogging is the number one way that I express my love of writing. I love having the freedom of my own blog in which I can write whatever I want, whenever I want — along with the visibility of everyone to see. I hope others enjoy reading my posts as much as I enjoy writing them.

I also write horoscopes every month on my Medium blog. This is where the majority of my passive income comes from.

As well, I love writing stories. From time to time, I am passionate enough about a story to turn it into a book. So far, I’ve written and self-published four novels. You can also find many short stories on my blog. And I have been private journaling since I was 12-years old.

Writing is my favorite form of communication. I find it much more natural than speaking. With writing, I like how there is no rush to say what you need to say, how it forces you to slow down your thoughts and put it into something meaningful.

Divination: tarot, astrology, numerology, runes, crystals, palmistry, witchcraft.

I love all forms of divination. My two favorites would be tarot and astrology. I also love crystals. I know some palmistry and I’m gradually learning more about runes. Any witchcraft in general is interesting to me.

I began studying astrology in middle school, and my interest continued picking up through the years. In my early twenties, I went much deeper into it, learning how to read birth charts and forecast horoscopes.

I was more skeptical of tarot, until my college years, when I obtained my first tarot deck through an app on my phone. At twenty-two, I bought my first physical deck. And after some years of practice, I started posting readings online and then opening up an Etsy shop.

In my early twenties, I also got into crystal healing. I opened up a whole world of divination — taking a zoom class on palmistry, reading many books on runes, numerology, witchcraft, and more. I love divination because it makes life feel a lot more mystical, plus it helps you further understand yourself and others.

Herbalism: herbal crafts, drinking tea, and learning about herbs.

I’m very much into herbalism which includes learning about herbs, using them, and making herbal crafts. I really like herbal skincare and perfume crafts. My favorite part of herbalism is drinking tea.

There’s so many crafts that you can make with herbs, whether it’s for consumption, topical treatments, or lighting up the senses. You can use herbs for both medical and spiritual purposes — often, they are wrapped in one.

There’s a lot to learn about herbalism, and I’m not sure if you can ever reach the point where you are done learning. Herbal academy offers several courses and classes. You learn how to use herbs, along with the biology and anatomy of how they affect us.

I was a teenager when I first began exploring the world of teas — black, green, herbal, etc. In college, I did more digging, and learned about incredible herbs such as kava, blue lotus, and ashwagandha. I never knew how powerful that herbs could be until I did my own research.

Music: Listening to music, writing music reviews, playing instruments, singing and dancing.

Just listening to music in general is a passion of mine. I’m obsessed with Spotify and not sure how I ever lived without it. I love to make my own playlists as well as explore other playlists by Spotify or other users. Listening to music is so easy to do and requires no skill — and it’s so accessible. You can do it while driving, cleaning, cooking, writing, sometimes at work, whatever! You can be any age, at any physical ability. I can’t imagine life without music!

Writing music reviews also ties into my passion for blogging. I like to write about music, describe how it feels, and define my personal meaning of it.

I also like to create music by playing instruments. We had a piano at my house growing up, which I sort of taught myself how to play, just a few pieces. In middle school, I took lessons on playing the trumpet. Recently, I’ve been learning how to play the kalimba, which is like a handheld piano with a lullaby sound. I have hopes of someday learning the lyre (a small harp.)

I love to sing — casually, like in my car or at home (or group karaoke!) I took chorus lessons growing up, but I just enjoy singing for the fun of it.

And dancing is a great passion of mine. I grew up taking formal dance lessons, including tap, jazz, hiphop, ballet, and lyrical. I did a lot of line dancing with my family as well. These days, I’m taking an online belly dance class.

Language: Duolingo, Latin, other languages

I’m on the Duolingo app every day. It began as a lifelong fascination for the Latin language, but the app has exposed me to so much more — French, German, Italian, Spanish, Greek, Hawaiian, Arabic, Hindi, Danish, Swedish, Welsh, Scottish Gaelic…

It really wasn’t until my mid-twenties, when I downloaded this app, when I realized how much I love learning new languages. It’s everything from understanding other cultures, to thinking more deeply about English grammar and vocabulary.

Of course, learning multiple languages can make it feel impossible to master just one. I took French during my school years, but I wish my school would’ve offered German, as I had much more interest in it due to my ancestry. I actually did teach myself a tiny bit of German as a kid.

But even as a kid, I felt super intrigued by Latin. I think it’s because of it being a dead language, yet so strongly connected to history and religion.

Cooking/baking: making meals, bread, kombucha

Cooking and baking is fun and relaxing. I like learning new recipes — as long as they are simple and straightforward! I really enjoy being able to make something from scratch. I just can’t do anything that’s overly complicated.

I have a kombucha batch, which I struggle to keep up with sometimes. I’m in the process of learning how to bake sourdough bread, which is also a little challenging! One of my favorite recipes right now is homemade granola.

In the future, I hope to master many more recipes. I’ve got a whole Pinterest board filled with recipes I still need to try.

Cozy gaming: Sims, Animal Crossing, Candy Crush

I like video games, specifically “cozy gaming.” I like games that are relaxing with low stakes, typically open-world, involving side quests. Right now, my favorites are The Sims (computer), Candy Crush (Kindle), and Animal Crossing and MySims (Nintendo switch.)

Cozy gaming is a great way to escape from social media (although some games are online.) But generally, it helps you get away from the chaos of the internet. When you’re so tired that you just want to lay down and have some relaxing screen time, but you also don’t want to get sucked into doom scrolling and brain rot.

These games can still challenge you and work your brain, while also feeding the dopamine rush that virtual reality brings. It’s an alternative for the drama of social media. So much of the internet is people comparing one another, getting into petty arguments, feeling left out, competing for attention, and fishing for *likes.* Cozy gaming keeps you away from all of that.

Yarn crafts (crochet, punch needle, cross stitch) — and all kinds of crafting.

Arts and crafts in general is really fun. These days, I don’t make enough time for it. I did a lot of crafting growing up, especially with being in Girl Scouts, along with weekend projects with my mom and sister. I’ve been getting into scrapbooking again. I also love making kandi bracelets.

Herbal crafting can also fall into this category. That includes using aromatherapy to make my own perfume sprays and oils — or making balms, salves, and tinctures.

Just recently, I’ve been learning how to crochet. It’s so much fun, but I have a lot more practice to do. I’m also in the beginning stages of learning how to punch needle and cross stitch. I would love to learn knitting someday.

Resin art is also on my bucket list. There’s so many cool things that you can make from resin art. Getting into clay sculpting would be really cool too.

Lastly, there’s nothing like good old-fashioned drawing and coloring. I have some adult coloring books (and maybe some kid’s coloring books too…) But simply free-drawing on a blank sheet of paper is all that you need sometimes.

Exercise: belly dance, yoga, pilates, ballet/barre, hooping

There are many, many ways that I like to stay active! As already mentioned, I love to dance, and right now I’ve been focusing most on belly dance. I subscribe to an online belly dance program where I can do classes from home (Belly Fit.) It’s really fun to do, it’s beautiful to watch, and there are so many benefits. It has such a flow to it.

I’ve been interested in yoga since I was a kid, doing classes here and there while growing up. I got more into it as a teenager, when I bought a “yoga kit box” and found tons of free lessons on Youtube. I took yoga in college for a few semesters. I’m still keeping up with it today. I’m a very seasoned yogi, but I certainly have plenty of room for growth. I’d love to be able to do some crazy acrobatic poses someday.

Pilates is another exercise I enjoy, which is quite close to yoga. I absolutely prefer yoga over pilates, but pilates provide as an amazing muscle-building tool. It may look graceful from the outside, but I find it to be one of the hardest workouts ever. It really pays off, though.

I really love ballet; it was one of the first forms of dance that I ever learned, back when I was three-years old. In high school, I learned how to dance on pointe — which I haven’t done since, but maybe someday I could build my way back up to it. Barre is like a mix between ballet and pilates. It’s very accessible and easy to do at home, involving strengthening muscle through graceful and low-impact movement.

And hula hooping is something I’ve been doing since college. I mean, we all did some hooping as a kid, but college was when I started learning actual tricks and dance styles. I think I can hoop well, but I see videos of people hoop-dancing and think that I wish I could be that good! I believe I can get there one day — with enough focus.

Nature: hiking, camping, hydroponic gardening, composting, rock tumbling.

Nature is something that I am super passionate about. It’s so simple and it’s all around us. I love doing hiking and nature walks. It doesn’t have to be a crazy, strenuous hike. It can simply be a short walk through the park. Just walking and observing the world around me brings so much joy. You can have some really deep discussions with others on nature walks. Or, you can get lost in your own thoughts… or put on some headphones.

Camping is such a fun experience. My family did a lot of camping trips, growing up. My boyfriend and I try to go camping as much as we can. The best part of it is the low-cost. It’s so refreshing to unplug and reconnect with nature.

Anything about nature is cool. I’ll be interested in anything that involves it. Hydroponic gardening is perfect for urban apartment living. The upkeep is so simple and the results are so satisfying. I like growing my own herbs.

I recently got a compost machine for my apartment, which makes me feel better about taking care of the environment. And rock tumbling is something I tried recently — very cool! Turning chunky rocks into smooth stones is incredible (and saves money from crystal shopping.) The issue is that rock tumblers are very loud, so it’s not practical right now for living in an apartment.

Stories: Mythology, fairytales, reading books

I’m a lover of stories in general. And that shouldn’t be surprising from someone who writes stories. I also like to listen to stories, read stories, and think about stories. This is anything from real-life events to made-up fiction. But my favorite type of story is a myth, folk tale, or fairytale that’s been passed down through the ages.

When it comes to mythology, I especially love Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Norse, and Hindu — but I’m interested in every culture and background! Not only do I love the stories, I love the deities and figures. I feel a spiritual affinity for them, not just a likeness.

Fairytales and folklore are also wonderful to me. That also includes mythical creatures like unicorns, dragons, and mermaids. Fairytales and folklore come from olden times, typically the medieval ages, but often with roots to ancient history. Of course I love Disney fairytales, but I have preference for the originals, which are much more dark and gruesome.

Old and ancient stories are magical because they make you feel connected to your ancestors and the people who lived centuries ago, perhaps millenniums ago. There’s also that mystery of wondering which parts could’ve possibly been true. However, I still have love for modern fiction. Reading books is something that I try to keep up with (audiobooks count too!)

Other media: podcasts, film, nonfiction, etc.

Beyond music, I love listening to podcasts! This includes all kinds of genres spanning from science and history, to media reviews, to storytelling, to self-care and advice, to just chatting!

I also enjoy movies, TV shows, documentaries, etc. (I think this is probably the most common hobby that we all have.) I’m not like a HUGE TV person, but enough that it is a part of my life. I tend to watch the same few shows/movies on rotation. But I like to try something new if it looks interesting.

And I really love nonfiction books. I love books that can expand my mind and teach me things. I appreciate science, history, medicine, nutrition, spirituality, self-help, philosophy, biographies, and so much more.

Going out: concerts, faires, and festivals.

I don’t go out too much, but when I do, I like going to concerts, faires, and festivals. Concerts are so much fun — I don’t even need to know the artist that well in order to enjoy the show. I try to go to concerts whenever I can! That can also raves and DJ sets.

I enjoy any type of faire where there’s tents set up with people selling crafts and goodies (along with food stands and maybe some live music.) The Lunar Faire and The Renaissance Faire are my favorites, which I try to go to as much as I can — it’s the fantasy and witchy element. Big Dub Festival is a camping music festival that I’ve gone to several times.

Animals — especially my cats!

I’m a big animal lover. I’ve always had a special bond with animals, something that my siblings never really had. When I was born, we had my dad’s cat, Fasha. She was like a best friend to me! After she passed away, we got two more cats, Buttermilk and Penelope. In high school, we had backyard chickens.

In college, I majored in animal science. I worked at a doggy day care. I’ve had several pets over the years, including a chinchilla, a rabbit, and guinea pigs. I can’t wait to have more pets in the future, once I have more money and a bigger home. Right now, I have two cats named Venus and Luna.

My two cats are my entire world. I spend a lot of time caring for them. While I love all animals, cats have always been my favorite. Taking care of my cats is far more than a hobby or passion — it’s a lifestyle!

---

Goals: hobbies to learn in the future

• More instruments — the lyre, ukulele, guitar.
• Knitting, sewing machine
• Resin art
• Clay sculpting
• Botanical sketching & botanical pressing