Rhondonite - Serpent Rose Connections.

Don't you love a good rabbit hole, a descent into the spiraling trail of knowledge and connections that leads to wonderful insights that feel so resonant. I know I do.!

A bit of back story first:

Serpent energies have been part of my path and practices for many years, having first been introduced to Medousa in my teens via ancient history at school back in the 80's and a deep knowing that she was/is so much more then the monstrous figure of mythos. As an "outsider" someone often on the fringe I immediately felt a connection to her and how misunderstood she appeared to be. Her serpent associations also intrigued me, having grown up an Aussie bush kid snakes were very much part of my life and whilst we had a healthy respect and perhaps fear for them at times, they were simply an accepted part of our world and all it's natural mysteries. To find a goddess that was misunderstood, who had snakes for hair and who was so very different from many of the other deities we were introduced too, who turned threats to stone, really caught my attention and imagination and appealed to me sense of injustice and I longed to find out more about her. Later when I realised her origins lay beyond Greece and hailed from Libya and the ancient Berber folk, and that she was so much more then she had been shown to be, it all made so much sense.

Along with beloved Medousa, I have also work with Hekate, she who is so often depicted girdled by, holding and crowned with serpents, she has also been a constant in my life for many years. Another of my great love and deep connections is Egypt and I am fortunate to have been twice in this timeline and in many others and the Cobra goddesses of Kemet also hold so much power for me. To me the Serpent is associated with not only transitions and fertility but also sovereignty and protection.

All Images are the property of Sanctum of the Rose

In my associations with Serpent I have been using several different stones and botanical allies and I have previously posted on social media and included in my workshops info on such minerals as Red Coral, Petrified Wood, Serpentine, Snakeskin Jasper and botanicals such as Hydrangea and more. However recently I discovered another stone ally: enter Rhondonite.

Rhodonite is manganese metasilcate mineral found in several parts of the world but very interestingly very close to my home town, the place that I grew up and I had no idea. It was named for the Greek Work Rhodon meaning Rose due to it's colour. I hadn't previously thought of Rhondonite and the Rose connection and I only came across this information when I was feeling into what theme I wanted to conjure up for my next Dark Moon Live at the end of February. A little bit more back story for those that don't know:

Along with serpents, Rose energy has been a long time ally within my life both mundane and magickal, there honestly isn't any separation for me between the two generally. Roses are one of my favourite flowers and to me also symbolise transitions through their cycles of growth. Last year I ran a Rose Goddess Temple for Women and Rose Healing sessions to support a deeper connection to the rose and self empowerment and so Rose has become not only entwined through my personal life but also my professional life and my business.

Back to the thread of connections: So for the Pisces Dark Moon I decided to bring in connection with Aphrodite and Poseidon and in the doing so revisited their children and came across Rhodos - a water nymph associated with the Island of Rhodes - The Isle of Roses, who is beloved of Helios, who is associated with Hekate. Yep it's all linked.

Interestingly in modern Greek Rodi or Roido is also associated with pomegranates, a fruit that I use a lot in my connections with Hekate and Medousa and other chthonic deities. I also recently read that the Minoans also had connections to Rhodes - and we all know the Minoan priestess statues are depicted holding Snakes.

I was discussing this with some of my magickal sisters and a couple of us said that Rhodes remind us of Rhondonite....and so I messaged another magickal sister for some of her crystals suppliers, seeking ethical sources and unique pieces and bam. The first link I checked out had the beautiful Rhondonite Snake that you see in two of my images.! It fits perfectly in my hand is is a wonderful size for journeying and ceremony and is now a treasured tool in my serpent.

And so with The Year of the Snake comes another serpent ally but this time with a rose connection too.

Rhondonite supports:

Heart Balancing - Comfort - Nurture - Mood Elevation - Clarity and Intuition so connected to Transitional energies of renewal.

And so I have decided to again offer my Medousa Course, that was previously run as a self-paced email series of lessons or full day workshop connections, now as a series of Live Sessions with information sharing and journeying included.

This heart offering is in devotion to my Serpent Queen Medousa and covers her History, Mythos, Modern Associations, along with my personal magickal associations and more and is not only aimed at supporting connection to her externally but also to support connection to her as the sacred serpent that dwells within all of us.

It will run over 5 Lives on Google Meet and also include pdf info emailed to you. I am now working on tweaking it a bit and a release date, however if you would like to be part of this powerful container please message me to go on the waitlist via my contact page.

Part of the Course includes guiding you to make your own Serpent mirror as tool of self reflection and many of you will also know that the mirror features in her story too and she also has Rose associations....more about that during the course.

I look forward to sharing space with those of you that feel called to delve into Medousa's magick with me this year.

A few weeks ago I ran a Year of the Serpent in-person full day's immersion, I may run that again, if their is interest for that too. It was such a wonderful day of ceremony, journeying and movement with serpent aligned folk.

Also in the works is a beautiful goddess Hathor container another series of Lives and info sharing and in the meantime if you dwell in the Northern Rivers or nearby regions then you may wish to book in with me for an Elements Healing Session that also includes rose and serpent energy. More about that in the Healing Section of this website.

If you are on social media you can connect with me as Sanctum of the Rose on Facebook and Insta, I have literally just joined BlueSky too and also opened a Telegram Chat Channel for Witches and Pagans, if you would like the link to join the channel and share space with others in interesting discussions that contact me for the link.

Many Blessings to you all for the Year of the Serpent and thank you for your interest in what I do.

Jen (Juniper Rose)

Sanctum of the Rose