Philomena's Love and Light
Philomena's Love and Light was officially used in October 2022 as the name for my Facebook-based shop for handcrafted crystals and beaded bracelets. But my relationship with St. Philomena's Love and Light (as I describe my friendship with her and what she brought into my life) goes way back to August 2014. From a confessed agnostic to a practicing Catholic to a faithful spiritual, I believe that St. Philomena paved the way for me to know more about religion but also to establish a relationship with Jesus Christ, and to strengthen my faith in God in the most unexpected ways. Here you can have a glimpse of my journey toward finding God, understanding energies, finding my purpose, knowing myself, and realizing the interconnectedness of all things and now mindfully choosing the energies and experiences I allow in my life.
Religion and Spirituality
As early as 6 years old, I was already exploring a different religion from what I was born into. Coming from a non-practicing Catholic family, I was taught to pray anywhere and didn't hear mass every Sunday. I grew up without any bias toward any religion and had friends that are Catholic, Born-again Christians, Muslims, Iglesia Ni Cristo, Jehova's Witnesses, and even Buddhists. So here you can see how religion, important people, and books have played part on my journey.
Crystals
Crystals or beaded bracelets played a major role in this journey. As I found myself researching the properties and benefits of crystals, I was opened to other concepts such as Starseeds, light workers, earth angels, healing, angel numbers to name a few.
Angel Numbers
I started seeing a certain number consistently and it quite bothered me already... it was not the usual 11:11 or 888, but it always kept appearing that I had to Google if there was a certain meaning to it. It was that time that I was introduced to the concept of Angel numbers and the meaning of the number that I was seeing mentioned that I am possibly looking for my life's purpose, and I realized I was. The feeling of "being lost", "feeling empty", and "lacking direction" when you have experienced lots in life and thought you'd done enough or learned your lessons was because something was amiss and that was having a meaningful purpose in life.
Lightworkers, Starseeds, Earth Angels
As I continued to look up numbers that came in especially when I caught myself taking note of that number, a certain number introduced me to the concept of "starseeds". It was then that I learned that the "alien" I knew from childhood could have a glimpse of reality and that it was not absurd and the funny part is, I even considered myself to be one. Reading features and articles about starseeds felt like I was reading a part of my autobiography because I resonated not only with the traits mentioned but with the life experiences I had that coincided with being a Starseed. As I have learned concepts about the different types of starseeds, I have also learned about lightworkers and earth angels. Those concepts expanded my perspective on life, creation, the universe, and God but at the same time, those concepts also held me back on pursuing spirituality since those concepts were not acceptable to many people especially the religious
Natal Chart Reading
From my curiosity about the concept of Starseeds, lightworkers, and earth angels I started studying natal charts to find the prominent markings that would indicate being one. Reading my natal chart, I realized it is far from the "horoscope" I grew up with. I learned that having a natal chart reading can serve as a tool to understand aspects of oneself that we don't understand or sometimes fail to see. Since I was still skeptical about its accuracy after learning that there are different ways to read a natal chart (Western or Eastern Astrology), I even looked at Numerology, Human Design, and the Matrix of Destiny to have a more conclusive view of a person's profile.
Oracle and Tarot Cards
My fascination with the concept of starseeds led me to own my very first Oracle deck, which is the Starseeds deck by Naomi Campbell. I find picking cards like my childhood practice of raffling papers when undecided, having the same concept of leaving it to fate (although people would see consulting the decks as "reliance" on an unknown, which is not the case for me). The use of Oracle cards (especially the Blindspot Oracle) has been an eye-opener to me for some of my issues that I was not aware of, and it made me reflect on my past to further understand myself.
As for the future, your task is not to foresee it, but to enable it.
Antoine de Saint-Exupery